Deep in the mountains.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The faint sound of a reptile slithering through dry leaves and grass came from an unknown place.

Tiny rays of morning light pierced through the gaps in the branches.

Xiao He, holding the small jade sphere with the carving in her mouth, poked her head out from the grass.

She wandered around the forest, stopping occasionally to discern her direction.

The jade sphere in her mouth glowed faintly white.

...

This way.

After a moment of probing, the little snake slowly glided in one direction.

This was the northern part of Lingyuan Marsh, the easternmost edge of the Yanran Mountain Range.

If she went further north, over the great mountains, she would reach the borders of Qi Prefecture.

Xiao He searched and observed along the way.

Finally, in the distance, she spotted something glowing with a faint white aura by a cliff.

The glow of the jade sphere in her mouth also stopped brightening.

Xiao He looked around, saw no one, and quickly slithered towards that spot.

"There really is another one!"

Arriving at the source of the light, she saw with her own eyes another identical jade sphere.

It also had a carving, wide in the middle and narrow at both ends.

Snake Babe suddenly transformed into her human form, her smooth little feet stepping on the green stone of the cliff, and she leisurely lay down.

Holding one in each hand, she chuckled foolishly.

Her "toys" had appeared in a pair.

How could she not be happy?

She raised her small hands, holding the jade spheres towards the morning sun.

"Huh?"

She gently rotated the two jade spheres until their carvings stood upright.

"How could it be..."

A look of confusion was on her small face.

"It looks like... a pair of eyes."

"Those are eyes."

A cold female voice suddenly came from behind her, startling Xiao He so much that her hand trembled, almost sending the spheres flying.

She quickly turned around and took a few steps back.

From deep within the forest, a woman in white gracefully approached, looking at Xiao He with interest.

"You, you, you... Who are you?!"

Xiao He was scared to death at this moment.

Yan Yan had told her that the Cultivation World outside was very chaotic.

If she wasn’t careful, she would be captured and used for Alchemy.

"Are you an evil Alchemist!?"

"Alchemist?"

The woman paused, completely not understanding what this child was saying.

But she didn’t pay attention to that.

"You’re asking me? I wanted to ask you why you have my Spiritual Artifact?"

Now, it was Xiao He’s turn to be confused: "Spiritual Artifact?"

She looked down, holding up the two jade spheres with her small hands.

"Are you talking about these?"

The white-clothed woman nodded: "That’s right."

With a flash of white spiritual light, the two jade spheres slowly floated away.

Xiao He subconsciously reached out to try and keep them, but they were too high, and she couldn’t touch them.

"These are my Magical Artifacts; I simply lost them unintentionally when passing through this place before."

"Today, I was waiting here, hoping to catch you."

The white-clothed woman suddenly put on an indignant expression.

"I caught you, you little thief!"

"Xiao He is not a thief! Xiao He is not a thief!"

Xiao He was furious, her face flushed: "I picked them up!"

"I’ll give them back to you!"

"Really?"

The woman took a few steps closer, leaning towards Xiao He, her expression a little suspicious.

Snake Babe puffed out her chest, righteously stating: "Of course it’s true! Xiao He is a good child! She would never steal anything!"

"Alright, seeing as you’re returning the items..."

"I won’t pursue it."

The white-clothed woman flicked her sleeve and turned, a faint fragrance wafting into Xiao He’s nose.

"Sniff, sniff..."

"Sniff, sniff..."

Xiao He suddenly widened her eyes: "You are... a Yao."

...

The white-clothed woman turned her head, a cunning look flashing in her eyes.

"Yes, what about it?"

Her figure suddenly transformed, turning into a large white python!

It coiled around Xiao He.

Actually... she had been observing Xiao He for quite some time.

So young, yet already possessing spiritual intelligence and able to transform into human form.

This Aptitude, even within the entire Yao Realm of Chu, could be considered excellent.

Those two jade spheres were merely something she casually refined in her leisure time, mimicking human Artifact Refining methods.

They held no value.

If she could trick a talented young Yao Race member with these two small toys, it would certainly be a great gain.

After a bit of playing hard to get, she had indeed managed to strike up a conversation with this child.

"Wow..."

Xiao He was startled by the other party’s enormous body.

"How many years will it take to grow this big..."

"As long as you Cultivate normally, fifty years of Dao cultivation will suffice."

"Cultivate?"

Xiao He pondered the word, seeming a bit embarrassed.

The white snake suddenly paused, and a very absurd thought arose in her mind.

"You... you haven’t ever Cultivated, have you?"

Xiao He shook her head: "No, I haven’t..."

The white snake fell silent.

Never Cultivated?

What did that mean?

Born with spiritual intelligence, naturally transforming into human form... The white snake suddenly transformed back into the white-clothed woman, no longer daring to tease this child: "Are you... a descendant of some ancient Yao Race?"

"No, I grew up with Grandpa and Yan Yan..."

"Grandpa?"

The white-clothed woman’s gaze sharpened, as if she had found a Yao Race "Senior."

"Where is your Grandpa now?"

"No offense intended, I just wish to pay my respects."

Xiao He looked at her with a strange expression: "Grandpa? Grandpa is in the ground now."

"In... in the ground?"

"He’s already dead."

?

"That’s right, human lifespans are very short. He died at eighty-seven."

Human... The white snake felt a bit absurd.

A snake Yao actually considered a human as her Grandpa.

However, the more they talked, the more interested she became in this Snake Babe.

The two Yao sat down by the cliff and chatted.

Xiao He told the white-clothed woman everything about her life since childhood.

This was her first time meeting another snake Yao, and she felt a strange sense of closeness.

The white snake also told her many things about the Yao Race world.

"Xiao He, I think you shouldn’t keep messing around with that human Cultivator."

"Do you want to join us on Shangtong Mountain?"

"No, no, Yan Yan and I were both picked up by Grandpa, and we grew up together since childhood, so of course we have to play together!"

"I don’t want to play with strangers."

The white-clothed woman suddenly asked playfully: "Am I not a stranger?"

Xiao He was momentarily speechless.

"We..."

"We are all snake Yao."

But she still used her clever little brain to come up with an answer: "We might be relatives."

"Hahahaha..."

"Xiao He, come with Big Sister."

"Go? Go where?"

"To find the Land Between Mountains and Seas." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"The Land Between Mountains and Seas? What kind of place is that?"

The white snake pondered for a moment, seeming a bit complicated, thinking about how to explain it clearly to this child who understood nothing.

After a while, she spoke: "The Land Between Mountains and Seas, it is rumored to be the pure land of all Yao Race under heaven."

"The Yao Race world in Chu is a mess."

"Many Yao Cultivator Seniors have left here, heading to the Central Domain, searching for traces of the Land Between Mountains and Seas."

"The Land Between Mountains and Seas..."

Xiao He murmured the words in her mouth.

It seemed to possess a magical power.

"All Yao Race under heaven yearn for the Land Between Mountains and Seas."

"But its location is unknown to anyone... Only that it is roughly in the Central Domain."

Central Domain... Such a distant word.

Xiao He suddenly shook her head: "I’m not going."

"I want to stay with Yan Yan... He doesn’t like to travel far."

...

The white snake looked at this Snake Babe, not angry, but rather smiling brightly.

"Of course."

"This is your choice."

"However, you really must start Cultivating properly."

She suddenly gently tapped Xiao He’s forehead with her finger, and a faint spiritual light merged into her small head.

"If you keep delaying like this, your spiritual essence might fade away."

"Even the flourishing and wilting of plants takes a hundred years; for us Yao Cultivators, the Dao path is even longer..."

She stood up: "Alright, I have other important matters to attend to here."

"If you change your mind and want to search for the Land Between Mountains and Seas with us."

"Then come find me on Shangtong Mountain."

"However, I might not be able to wait for you for too long."

"My name is..."

"Bai Qi."

The lingering sound echoed, and only a white figure transforming into a rainbow could be seen, disappearing into the depths of the clouds.

Suddenly, Xiao He’s little head held some new things.

Hazy and indistinct.

Fortunately, Grandpa had taught her how to read.

"Profound... what... Dragon Transformation Scroll..."

Profound Dragon Transformation Scroll.