Nightfall arrived.

Tang Xiao and his group finally arrived at the foot of the snow mountain.

Although they were still at the foot of the snow mountain, they could see the area covered in a thin layer of snow, causing the temperature around them to be quite cold.

Since they had been traveling since morning, they had experienced many battles until they arrived. Although they were able to cleanse their bodies using their qi, they felt uncomfortable because their bodies were sticky with sweat and blood, especially for women like Tang Yin, Xing Xing, and the others. Unfortunately, there were no rivers nearby, so they had no choice but to cleanse their bodies with qi and change into new clothes.

As usual, Tang Xiao and Fei Cangyu were responsible for building the bonfire, and they built it quite large because the temperature was so low; otherwise, they would have wasted their qi to warm themselves.

[Master, I have bad news for you.]

Tang Xiao froze and asked Xiao Ai for an explanation. He looked at the top of the snow mountain, thinking about his next plan. ’Were you able to check that woman’s strength?’

[Master, I can track that woman’s movements, but I can’t check her strength because your location is still far from her. I suspect that she is the leader of the two cultivators in Yunhai Town because one of them is up there, and she is on her way towards your group.]

’When do we think we will meet that woman?’

[Based on the distance between the two of you, you will meet that woman in around two days, Master. Are you thinking of using those three old men to deal with that woman, Master? Huangfu Jun is clearly a person from the Huangfu Clan, and Huangfu Meizhen sent him to protect you all. As for the other two, they are clearly people from the Shangguan Clan.]

Tang Xiao thought about his next plan to deal with the mysterious woman because he didn’t have any information about her yet, and he was worried that she was a female demon from the Shenwu Kingdom because they were in that kingdom’s territory.

"What are you thinking, Brother Xiao?"

Tang Xiao looked at Fei Cangyu. "Brother Cangyu, our journey to the top of the snow mountain will not be easy, and we will likely encounter strong enemies up there."

"Strong enemies?" Fei Cangyu was shocked. "Are you serious about that?"

"For now, this is just my intuition." After spending several days with Tang Xiao, Fei Cangyu didn’t dare take his words lightly. "We are now in Shenwu Kingdom territory, and we previously encountered some demons, so we must be fully alert for any sudden changes."

Fei Cangyu nodded in understanding. "We’ll have to tell the others about this matter later."

"Yeah."

After Tang Yin and the others returned, Tang Xiao immediately told them about the mysterious woman, causing them to become tense. "For now, I can’t confirm her strength, and we’ll be meeting her in two days, so you all must not let your guard down during these days."

"Where did you actually get the information about that woman, Brother Xiao?" Yao Meiqing curiously asked.

Naturally, Tang Xiao wouldn’t tell Yao Meiqing about Xiao Ai and the Primordial Divine Arc, and he decided to make up another excuse. "You might not have noticed, but someone followed us all the way here."

"What? Who’s following us?" Yao Meiqing spread her senses, searching for the person’s location.

"You don’t need to be this tense." Yao Meiqing looked at Tang Xao with a puzzled look. "That person is not our enemy, and he is the person Sect Master Huangfu sent to protect us."

Not far from them, Huangfu Jun’s lips twitched after hearing Tang Xiao’s words, and he didn’t expect that he had already realized that he had been following them for several days. What shocked him most was that he knew that it was Huangfu Meizhen who had sent him to follow them.

"Sect Master Huangfu? Why did she send people to protect us secretly?" Huo Yan asked in confusion because Huangfu Meizhen’s decision was really unusual.

"Hehe," Tang Yin giggled. "Senior Sister Yan, Sect Master Huangfu has her own reasons for sending that old man to protect us, but I can’t guess her reasons for doing so."

Sun Xiang spoke. "Although Sect Master Huangfu sent someone to protect us in secret, we must not be careless and be cautious in our actions."

"Is that mysterious woman powerful, husband?" Xing Xing asked.

Tang Xiao shook his head. "He does not have any information about that mysterious woman’s strength, and he asked me to be cautious."

"Big brother." Mu Yan hugged Tang Xiao’s arm. "You will protect us from the mysterious woman, right?"

Tang Xiao smiled in amusement at Mu Yan’s spoiled behavior, and he gently pinched her cheeks. "I will definitely protect you, but you must remember that I am not omnipotent. That woman may be far stronger than all of us, so you must still be prepared for the worst."

"Uhm! I will never lower my guard, and I will run away if that mysterious woman is too powerful." Mu Yan’s answer made them laugh out loud.

"You guys should rest now, and we’ll go up the snow mountain early in the morning."

Tang Xiao looked at Tang Yin. ’Yin’er, you should take them into the ark if that woman is too strong for us.’

’Eh?’ Tang Yin was surprised by Tang Xiao’s decision. ’Are you really going to bring Fei Cangyu, Yao Meiqing, and Huo Yan into the ark, husband?’

Tang Xiao nodded slightly. ’That’s the last option, and we’ll see how things go first.’

’Alright then.’

Tang Xiao looked towards the hiding location of Huangfu Jun and the two men from the Shangguan Clan. ’I’m not worried about Huangfu Meizhen, but the royal family is truly troublesome! Not to mention, Shangguan Qingyue approached Mu Qingge with ill intentions, and she seems to be plotting against her.’

.

.

.

Elsewhere, Chen Hongde and Tang Xiao’s clone were arranging firewood to make a bonfire. They could have gone to the nearest town and stayed overnight, but they preferred to rest in the open air.

’Junior Brother Xiao.’ Tang Xiao’s clone glanced at Chen Hongde before following his gaze, seeing Shangguan Qingyue trying to approach Mu Qingge. ’Sister Qingge is your wife, so you must protect her from that woman. However, you cannot overreact to her; otherwise, you will face the Song Clan and the Shangguan Clan.’

Tang Xiao’s clone nodded in understanding. ’Do you know anything about that woman, Senior Chen?’

’There’s nothing good about Shangguan Qingyue.’ Chen Hongde shared all the information he knew about the woman with Tang Xiao’s clone. ’I don’t know what really happened, but I believe that her real target is you, and she approached Sister Qingge to smooth her plans. If my guess is correct, she will try to get rid of her from your side because she is a possessive woman.’

’If she dares to touch my wife and hurt her, I will make her pay dearly for her actions. As for the Song Clan and the Shangguan Clan, I have my own ways to deal with those two clans.’ Chen Hongde smiled bitterly upon hearing that from Tang Xiao’s clone, and he didn’t know where his confidence to face those two clans came from. ’I’ll go there first, Senior Chen.’

’Alright.’

"Sister Qingge, you—"

"Hey, Senior Sister Qingyue." Shangguan Qingyue looked at Tang Xiao’s clone with a frown. "Don’t frown all the time, Senior Sister. If you do that, your beauty will fade as you age."

"You’re the old one! Your ancestors and your descendants are old!" Shangguan Qingyue’s furious shout made Su Xiulan and Mu Qingge stunned for a moment, but they laughed in their hearts afterwards.

"How can you say that I’m old, Senior Sister? What descendants? Don’t jinx me; all my wives haven’t given birth yet." Tang Xiao’s clone asked with an innocent look. "I’m only twenty-four years old, and you’re already over a hundred, so you’re much older than me."

"Huh?" Shangguan Qingyue was both angry and stunned. "Are you really still twenty-four years old now, Junior Brother Feng?"

"Don’t tell me that you were dazzled by my good looks just now, Senior Sister." Tang Xiao’s teasing made black lines appear on Shangguan Qingyue’s forehead. "Hehe! All my wives always compliment me on how handsome I am, so you don’t have to deny that you’re charmed by my good looks."

Upon hearing that, Shangguan Qingyue immediately stood up and dashed toward Tang Xiao’s clone, but he easily avoided her and smacked her buttocks, producing a crisp, loud slapping sound.

*Slap*

"Ahh!" Shangguan Qingyue jumped away from Tang Xiao’s clone, rubbing her buttock. "You... you scoundrel! How dare you slap my buttocks!"

"Hehe," Tang Xiao’s clone waved his hand. "Your buttocks are so soft, Senior Sister. Let me touch them again and give you a massage."

Su Xiulan and Mu Qingge stifled their laughter because Tang Xiao’s clone was acting like a rogue. They could see Shangguan Qingyue’s face turning red as her anger flared again, and she was truly furious.

"Bastard!" Shangguan Qingyue dashed toward Tang Xiao’s clone, unleashing her killing intent. "I will definitely kill you, scoundrel!"

*Slap*

Another loud, hard slap quickly landed on Shangguan Qingyue’s buttocks again, leaving her dumbfounded. She was caught off guard, and then she remembered that Tang Xiao’s clone’s speed was much faster than hers.

When Shangguan Qingyue regained her senses, she couldn’t find Tang Xiao’s clone anywhere. She stomped her feet with rage as she shouted furiously, "Asshole! I will definitely kill you one day!"

Mu Qingge simply smiled and left for another area, especially after receiving a voice transmission from Tang Xiao’s clone. Meanwhile, Su Xiulan went to help Chen Hongde, leaving the furious Shangguan Qingyue alone.