I am the villain in the book

Leaving the Mountain God Temple and continuing north, the road became increasingly difficult to traverse.

Or rather, there was no road at all. The group was simply weaving through snow-covered rocks.

According to Huang Sheng, there were actually a few relatively easy routes through the Tianshan Mountains, but the heavy winter snow made them indistinguishable.

However, this wasn't a major issue.

With the five people's cultivation levels, the presence or absence of a road wouldn't greatly affect their speed, as long as they maintained the correct direction.

"Huff!"

The sunlight was dazzling, and the mountain wind was gentle.

After passing through this mountain valley, another mountain peak lay ahead.

Being in the midst of the mountains, it was difficult to judge "altitude" by sensation alone. Wei Changtian could only infer that they were now at a very high location from the increasingly thin air and the approaching clouds.

The golden sun shone overhead, and the thick snow reflected the sunlight, creating a dazzling spectacle. The misty clouds mirrored the layered peaks of the snow-capped mountains, making one feel as if they were in the ninth heaven.

If it were in his previous life, or shortly after he had transmigrated, Wei Changtian might have praised the magnificence of nature upon seeing this scene.

However, he had now witnessed too many magnificent sights, so his heart was devoid of any particular emotion.

Thus, the five traveled silently for an entire day, without taking a break or exchanging more than a few words.

The heavens were also kind, remaining calm throughout the day until a heavy snow gradually began to fall at night.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the snow transformed from a gentle shower to a raging, dim blizzard.

The cold wind carried snowflakes, obscuring the moon but not its light, even giving the illusion of being in twilight.

After braving the blizzard for another half-hour, the group finally arrived at their destination for the day at midnight.

Heavenly Mountain Immortal Lake.

A clear lake reflecting white snow, completely revealing the moonlight.

When the snow-covered mountain lake, swirling with white mist, appeared before them, the five decided to rest by the lake for a while, and continue on their journey after the snow subsided slightly.

Although even a heavy blizzard wouldn't affect their speed, the heavy snow and darkness would interfere with their vision, making it difficult to travel quickly. It was better to rest for a while.

"Young Master, I have reported our safety to Madam Liang Qin," Zhang San whispered, approaching Wei Changtian, who was sitting on a boulder by the lake. "Also, General Liang just sent a message saying that all the spies among the enemy troops had their life tokens broken today."

"Mm."

Wei Changtian nodded slightly, gazing ahead.

This situation was expected, so he wasn't surprised.

"Anything else?"

"Yes."

Zhang San continued, "General Liang also said that a large number of scouts will be sent into the mountains tomorrow, with a reconnaissance range spanning hundreds of miles east and west."

"Hundreds of miles? A drop in the bucket."

Wei Changtian shook his head. "Alright, go rest."

"Yes."

...

Zhang San bowed and quickly retreated, finding a wind-sheltered spot to sit cross-legged.

The wind and snow were too heavy, and there was no shelter, so no one was in the mood to make a fire and cook. Everyone had just eaten a Qigu Pill and rested.

Of course, it was impossible to sleep in this environment.

However, they were all cultivators, and meditation could be considered rest, so Zhang San and the others were all meditating with their eyes closed.

Wei Changtian glanced back, then focused his gaze on the lake in front of him.

The water surface was wide, about the size of ten football fields, and the lake water was very clear.

If it weren't so windy, he could probably see the bottom of the lake.

When he went to Tianchi as a tourist in his previous life, the tour guide said that the reason why the snow mountain lake didn't freeze was because there was a volcano underneath, and the geothermal heat kept the water temperature stable.

Basically, it was a hot spring.

He wondered if this "Immortal Lake" remained unfrozen all year round for the same reason.

Wei Changtian pondered for a while, but didn't have the idea of taking a hot spring bath. He soon closed his eyes and entered the Dream Dao, continuing to practice his Falling Sky Sword.

Lake light and heavy snow harmonize, wind rolls ripples, mirror not yet polished.

Looking afar, the Immortal Lake reflects the light of the heavens, a white jade plate filled with the Milky Way.

Immortal Lake, wind and snow, starlight, reflection...

Unlike Wei Changtian and the others, Yang Liushi, who was also sitting by the lake, didn't need to cultivate. She silently watched this scene, her eyes flashing with excitement.

She was born in the perpetually humid Ten Thousand Mountains. Not to mention snow mountains, she had never even seen a single snowfall before her transformation.

Although she later transformed into a human and went to the capital on Qing Xian's orders, she could see a few snowfalls, large or small, every winter, but they were nowhere near as shocking as this.

So, seeing this miraculous scene, Yang Liushi naturally found it interesting.

However, after watching for a while, the emotion in her heart gradually faded. Bored, she took out the white orb again.

The moonlight fell on the smooth surface of the orb, reflecting a faint glow, which was then covered by the falling snow.

Yang Liushi looked at it back and forth for a while, only feeling that this thing should be extraordinary, but she didn't know where the extraordinariness lay.

She could only say that this thing had a very weak attraction, as if it was attracting her.

But this feeling was very weak, almost imperceptible unless she deliberately felt it.

"What exactly is it..."

Yang Liushi muttered softly, gently wiping the snow off the orb, preparing to ask Qing Xian after returning to Shu Province.

However, at this moment, the Immortal Lake in front of her suddenly showed an unusual phenomenon, and Wei Changtian and the other four also opened their eyes at the same time.

"Splash!!!"

Where the five people's gazes fell, the lake surface suddenly began to churn violently, and the originally calm lake water turned into waves rolling towards the shore.

Large waves leaped halfway to the sky, shattering silver mountains into snowflakes.

The change came too suddenly, causing the expressions of everyone on the shore to become extremely serious, their eyes staring fixedly at the increasingly turbulent lake surface.

In fact, if the Immortal Lake were shrunk down, this would be a very common scene.

After all, this is what it looks like when someone gets out of the bathtub after taking a bath.

However, compared to a beauty emerging from the bath, the thing that was about to emerge from the Immortal Lake was obviously much, much larger...

"Boom!!!"

The sound of waves crashing turned into a huge roar echoing between the mountain peaks, and the lake water in the center of the Immortal Lake also obviously bulged up a large amount, gradually revealing the appearance of a giant object at the bottom of the lake.

Sharp claws, white feathers, red scales...

"Clang!"

"Clang clang!!"

Wei Changtian, Zhang San, Lu Huang, and Huang Sheng almost simultaneously drew their swords, their faces gloomy, but their figures didn't retreat a step.

"Bang!! Bang bang bang!!"

Wave after wave of lake water, several feet high, crashed against the shield wall formed by true energy, turning into a rain of water and pouring down.

"Chiang!!!!"

A few breaths later, as a screech resembling the clashing of blades suddenly exploded in the night sky, the huge demonic beast coiled at the bottom of the lake abruptly broke free of the lake surface, finally appearing before the five people.

Looking at this thing in front of him, Wei Changtian's pupils suddenly contracted, and his breathing paused for a beat.

The reactions of the others were even more extreme.

The five people had begun to guess what kind of demonic beast was living at the bottom of the lake from the moment the unusual phenomenon suddenly appeared.

With such a size, the most likely thing would be a fish demon with extremely deep cultivation, or something like a water snake or turtle.

But what appeared before them at this moment was precisely the demonic creature that was least likely to be hidden in the water.

With feathers and wings, sharp beak and claws.

This was clearly a bird!

And not to mention why such a giant bird would be living in the freezing Heavenly Mountain Immortal Lake, just the appearance of this bird...

"Fuck..."

Wei Changtian moved his lips in disbelief.

"This is... a phoenix???"