Mo Xuan began to think quietly.
"Humans always choose what they want to believe…"
It was something she had learned long ago.
Whether in this world…
or in her previous one.
The truth was not always what guided human decisions.
It was what they wanted to believe.
And that had always been the case.
That day was the last day of the festival.
A special day for the Ming Lan clan.
By the end of it, a grand feast would be held, gathering all the clan members.
Children.
Young adults.
Elders.
Even the practitioners would attend.
The sounds in the main square were loud.
Laughter echoed.
Music filled the air.
The lights hanging between the wooden pillars glittered at night, adding a rare festive atmosphere.
But while everyone was busy celebrating…
Mo Xuan quietly stepped out of her house.
This time, her goal was not to attend the feast.
Quite the opposite.
She planned to leave the clan temporarily.
Silently.
Without anyone noticing.
She lifted her head slightly and looked at the dark sky.
Then murmured:
"This is a perfect chance to see what lies beyond the clan."
In reality…
This was not the first time she had done it.
Over the past months, Mo Xuan had crossed the clan boundaries several times.
But always with extreme caution.
Her goal was clear.
To learn about neighboring tribes.
To understand the terrain of the region.
And most importantly…
To locate places with high concentrations of shard energy.
This information was extremely valuable.
Shiao did not appear randomly.
It appeared only where shard energy was dense.
Mo Xuan paused for a moment as she walked along the dirt path outside the clan.
She bent down slightly.
Picked up a small handful of soil between her fingers.
And examined it carefully.
Good soil for nurturing Shiao was not ordinary soil.
It contained a high concentration of natural shards.
Shards existed in almost everything.
In rocks.
In trees.
In soil.
Sometimes even in the air itself.
They were formed from the energy of heaven and earth.
But Shiao…
Was something entirely different.
Shiao was not just energy.
It was a living creature.
Small, mysterious beings that fed on shard energy.
When controlled by a practitioner…
They granted the ability to wield supernatural powers.
Each Shiao had a unique ability.
Some granted strength.
Some granted speed.
Some allowed control over the elements of nature.
And there were even rarer types…
Like the Time-path Shiao.
These creatures were classified into different ranks.
From low, weak ranks…
To legendary ranks capable of changing the course of battles.
Because of this…
Finding even a single Shiao was like discovering a treasure.
That was why Mo Shuan always searched for the best soil.
Soil saturated with shards.
Soil that could feed the Shiao.
That was also why she had stored the Shiao of the River of Existence in a special box.
Covered with shard-rich soil.
This way, it could remain stable…
Even recover slowly over time.
Mo Xuan lifted her head slightly.
The night wind was cold.
But she did not stop.
She continued walking outside the clan boundaries.
Moving cautiously.
Hidden among the shadows.
After all…
What logical explanation could there be for a little girl outside the clan at this hour?
It would raise too many questions.
But fortunately…
Everyone was distracted by the feast.
Mo Xuan smiled faintly.
Then murmured:
"Near the Han clan, there is a rocky mountain…"
"I wonder if I might find a hiding place there."
Step by step, she continued.
Until she had walked about three kilometers.
But that was nothing for her.
In her previous life…
She had not been an ordinary person.
She was a professional athlete.
Trained in endurance.
And had practiced martial arts for many years.
Compared to her previous training…
Walking three kilometers was barely worth mentioning.
After a short while…
The rocky mountain appeared before her.
Mo Xuan stopped.
Lifted her eyes toward it.
"I've arrived."
But she did not rush in immediately.
Instead, she began to observe the area carefully.
Her eyes moved slowly.
Examining rocks.
Shadows.
Cracks.
Anything unusual.
Several minutes passed.
Until she stopped suddenly.
There it was…
Among the large rocks…
A narrow opening.
Almost human-sized.
But so tight that it could easily go unnoticed.
Mo Xuan approached slowly.
Then whispered:
"As expected."
She bent slightly and looked inside.
The darkness was thick.
But the air coming out was cold and damp.
She smiled faintly.
"This is indeed a cave…"
Then raised her eyebrows.
"But where is the real entrance?"
She reached out and touched the surrounding rocks.
Carefully examining them one by one.
Until she noticed something unusual.
One of the large rocks was not completely fixed.
It moved slightly.
Mo Xuan smiled.
"As I thought."
She placed both hands on the rock.
Then pushed slowly.
At first, it did not move.
But after a moment—
"Grrr…"
The rock shifted slightly to the side.
Behind it appeared a narrow, dark entrance.
A hidden cave entrance.
Mo Xuan' s eyes shone.
"So… this is it."
She lifted her small lantern and looked inside.
Darkness stretched deep into the mountain.
But it did not frighten her.
On the contrary, it increased her curiosity.
She took a step inside.
Paused at the entrance for a brief moment.
The darkness was thick…
Yet not as frightening as it was mysterious.
Step by step, she advanced.
The deeper she went…
The sounds of the outside world gradually
disappeared.
No wind.
No rustling trees.
Only the echoes of her light footsteps on the cold stones.
Minutes passed.
She furrowed her brows slightly.
"It was just a normal cave after all…"
But suddenly, she stopped.
Lifted her head.
"Why…"
She whispered softly.
"I… sense some strange energy."
She continued slowly.
The deeper she went…
The passage widened gradually.
The narrow corridor became broader.
And then opened into a massive stone hall.
Mo Xuan stopped again.
Raised her eyes to the ceiling.
"Considering the size of the mountain from the outside…"
"It doesn't seem possible for it to contain such a vast space."
She looked around.
The walls stretched far.
Corridors branched in multiple directions.
Then murmured:
"Am I… underground?"
But before she could finish—
Her foot slipped suddenly.
Crack!
The small rocks beneath her gave way.
The ground vanished.
And Mo Xuan slid down a steep rocky slope.
The rocks scraped against her body during the fall.
But strangely… her face remained completely calm.
She chuckled softly.
"If anyone else were here…"
She said in a low voice,
"They'd probably be crying and screaming now."
She paused for a brief moment.
Then added:
"Or perhaps trying to figure out a way to survive."
But this was not what she was thinking.
Her eyes watched the walls as she fell.
"This space…"
She murmured.
"Is… unnatural."
Then____
Swoosh!!
Her body hit the ground.
The sound echoed in the vast emptiness.
She lay still for a few seconds.
Then slowly sat up.
Wiping the faint blood from her face.
She lifted her head…
And froze.
The scene before her was breathtaking.
She was standing in a massive underground space.
Vast beyond her expectations.
The stone columns rose toward the ceiling like remnants of a lost city.
It felt like a buried stone city.
In the middle of the space…
A wide water pool stretched out.
She stepped closer.
Then her eyes widened.
"What…?"
She whispered.
"Is this… Bloodgrass?"
Around the pool grew strange plants.
Dark black stems.
Leaves red as if soaked in blood.
These plants were extremely rare.
Believed extinct for millions of years.
She murmured slowly:
"I thought they had disappeared long ago…"
She raised her head toward the walls.
Then noticed something else.
The cave walls were glowing.
Hundreds of colorful crystals embedded in the rock.
Green.
Blue.
Gold.
But the most abundant was deep jade.
The crystal light reflected on the water.
Creating enchanting ripples on the walls.
Above it all…
A small waterfall flowed from a crack in the mountain.
Water droplets scattered in the air like light mist.
Mo Xuan paused.
Raised her hand slowly.
Felt a faint energy in the air.
Then whispered:
"Could this… be shard energy?"
But what she saw next…
Was even more incredible.
In the air…
There were groups of Shiao.
Small transparent beings.
Floating slowly like schools of fish.
Swimming freely in the air.
Mo Shuan froze in place.
"What…?"
She whispered.
"Is this possible?"
In the outside world…
Obtaining even a single Shiao was a huge achievement.
Even Shard Masters would spend years searching for one.
But here…
There were dozens… perhaps hundreds.
She looked around carefully.
Then whispered finally:
"What is this place… really?"
At that moment…
A memory from her previous life suddenly appeared in her mind.
A memory so old.
Words she had once read in an ancient manuscript.
Words no one had understood at the time.
But now…
They started to make perfect sense.