"We travel alone, yet we have guards, ha, though they usually don't show themselves in public... er..." The words seemed to slip out of the green-clad girl's mouth before she could stop herself. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her round eyes darting around in a flicker of panic, followed by a couple of dry chuckles that carried a distinct note of apprehension.

Xiao Buyu felt a certainty settle in his heart. His earlier unease must have been a mere illusion; lately, he'd been overly jumpy, seeing threats everywhere. Neither of these two women showed the slightest fluctuation of profound energy. They were likely not important figures, as long as they weren't from the Southern Heavens.

He had genuinely feared a moment ago that this white-clad maiden might have some connection to that Venerable Mei; if so, things would have turned disastrously bad.

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case. Since it wasn't, the situation was manageable. Fengwu seemed quite fond of this girl. Well, he hadn't heard of any family in the secular realm capable of resisting Snowwind Silver City's... A true man taking multiple wives was common enough; even if Fengwu took another, it wouldn't be a huge issue, provided the main wife position remained reserved for the little princess...

With this thought, Xiao Buyu signaled Xiao Han. Xiao Han still appeared somewhat crazed, though his spirit had quieted, awaiting his battle with Jun Wuyi. The exhaustion of the past few days, however, had not yet recovered.

Having the currently erratic Xiao Han speak in a guise of foolishness would likely work well. If things went sideways, he could step in to smooth things over. After all, Xiao Fengwu was his direct, great-grandson. This girl before them was indeed exceptionally talented and possessed unparalleled beauty; even if her family background was slightly inferior and not quite a perfect match, it didn't matter much.

His judgment was accurate: this white-clad woman had absolutely no connection to Venerable Mei, of that he was certain. Yet, what he could never have foreseen was...

"Fengwu, have you taken a liking to this white-clad maiden?" Xiao Han understood immediately, tilting his head back slightly to look at his nephew, deliberately putting on an act of being even more erratic under the guise of his supposed madness...

"Ah... I..." Xiao Fengwu suddenly became quite flustered. He stole another glance at the white-clad woman, stammering, "Uncle... Uncle..."

"I only ask you, yes or no? Don't you think this girl is beautiful? Do you want to take her home as your wife?" Xiao Han acted as if drunk, slamming a fist on the table and glaring, his voice booming. His intention was clear: if the boy was interested, his uncle would play the villain for him this one time.

The green-clad girl rolled her eyes. Marry my boss as a wife? You people are something else!

"Yes... but..." Although Xiao Fengwu was indeed somewhat willful and domineering, he was still young and felt a pang of shame at such a proposition; his skin was still too thin for this kind of talk.

"That settles it! Your uncle will decide for you!" Xiao Han turned to the white-clad woman, his tone arrogant, his demeanor condescending: "May I ask, young lady, have you ever heard the name of our Snowwind Silver City?"

If Heaven intends to destroy someone, it first makes them mad; but what if that person is only pretending to be mad?!

When heaven lays a burden on a man, he can bear it; but when a man brings ruin upon himself, he cannot escape it!

As Xiao Han feigned madness and spoke these words, Mu Xuetong observed the white-clad woman intently. Everyone appreciates beauty, and though Mu Xuetong harbored no inappropriate thoughts, he felt a nascent urge to protect her—it was a pity for such a beauty to be sullied by the Xiao uncle and nephew.

Yet, he was clearly unable to step forward for the maiden. Not only would it mean fighting within their own ranks, but any discerning eye could see that this entire charade was being orchestrated by that old fox Xiao Buyu behind the scenes. What use would it be for him to intervene?

What surprised and perplexed him, however, was that even with his cultivation, at such close range, he still couldn't clearly discern the woman's actual features. Yet, the woman radiated a distinct sense of reality: she wasn't wearing any disguise, nor a veil; she stood there with a bare face, yet somehow, no one could get a proper look at her...

What was going on? What did this feeling imply?!

Another point that utterly baffled Mu Xuetong was that the despicable intent behind the conversation between Xiao Han and Xiao Fengwu was obvious to anyone. Especially since they were discussing the white-clad woman. Surely, if it had been any other woman, she would have been overcome with shame and wished the earth would swallow her whole. But this white-clad woman remained utterly unmoved, serene and cool, as if she hadn't heard a word. She continued to cradle that cup of Snow Mist tea, savoring it delicately, as if that singular, exquisite brew was the only thing in her world.

Even this extremely simple country teacup looked like a golden tripod or jade chalice from the imperial palace when held in her hand.

When Xiao Han addressed her, she seemed equally oblivious, not even blinking.

It seemed as though the name 'Snowwind Silver City'—a name potent enough to shake the world—meant absolutely nothing to her, held no significance whatsoever!

"Snowwind Silver City? What place is that?" The green-clad girl let out a tinkling laugh, tilting her head sweetly. She appeared to ponder deeply for a moment before finally adopting an expression of sincere apology, regret, and embarrassment, saying earnestly, "I'm truly sorry, I’ve never been there, nor heard of it. Is it very famous...?"

Xiao Han froze. In his estimation, uttering the name 'Snowwind Silver City' should have instantly elicited gazes of immense reverence and envy from the two women, allowing him to interrogate them condescendingly to uncover their background, then proceed directly to proposing marriage—a proposal no one would dare refuse given the prestige of Snowwind Silver City.

But reality was vastly different from imagination. The other party had never even heard of Snowwind Silver City! This left the uncle and nephew, who had prepared their entire posture for a grand display of dominance, feeling like they had punched cotton—not only failing to exert force but twisting their own wrists in the process...

If they hadn't known, fine. But the fact that they didn't know, coupled with their genuinely apologetic look, left Xiao Han, who was ready to exploit the situation, utterly at a loss for how to proceed... Of course, if Xiao Han knew the true identities of the two women before him, whom he was arranging a marriage for... he probably wouldn't even wait for Jun Wuyi; he would simply be scared to death right there...

"Snowwind Silver City is our home. Hehe... Perhaps the two young ladies haven't encountered this aspect because you aren't Profound Practitioners yourselves, nor do you associate with any," Xiao Fengwu quickly interjected with a smile, though a hint of arrogance laced his tone: "However, I believe there is not a single cultivator who has reached the ranks of the Profound Masters on the continent who hasn't heard of the name Snowwind Silver City! Snowwind Silver City is fundamentally the pinnacle existence on the Profound Profound Continent!"

"It's that impressive?" The green-clad girl exclaimed in feigned awe, covering her mouth with her delicate white hand, suddenly looking shocked. "Snowwind Silver City... is it perhaps built out of white snow? Wouldn't it melt when the sun shines on it?"

"Snowwind Silver City... is just a place name. Well, of course, it's not built from ice and snow..."

"But why haven't we heard of such a famous place at all?" The green-clad girl looked at him suspiciously, then suddenly had an epiphany. "Oh, yes, I remember now, Snowwind Silver City—a place where, during the first day of the New Year..."

The Xiao uncle and nephew breathed a collective sigh of relief. Finally, she remembers. Things will be much easier now. It made sense; with the reputation of Snowwind Silver City, even if they didn't cultivate profound energy, they should have at least heard of it.

They heard the green-clad girl announce to the white-clad maiden as if sharing a great treasure, "...Sister, remember when we were playing in the slum over there during New Year's? Didn't they pile up a really big snowdrift? And you had them build it into a wall, like a castle, right? At that time, you personally gave it a name, saying, 'Well, let's call this place 'Snowwind Silver City'.' Since it was the dead of winter, it made things convenient for travelers who were delayed on the road to relieve themselves or whatever... Was it like that?"

The white-clad maiden smiled faintly and slowly nodded—this was her first action.

The green-clad girl immediately became spirited, jumping up and declaring triumphantly towards Xiao Han and Xiao Fengwu: "Hmph! I was wondering what place it was. Turns out it’s just the outhouse in our village! And my sister gave your name a name. What is there to be proud of? Hey? You all look so well-dressed! Did you strike it rich? If you got rich, why are you still living in an outhouse? Perhaps because you just got the money and haven't built a new house yet. There's a saying for that, what was it again? Oh yes, 'nouveau riche'?"

Xiao Han's mouth twitched; he looked ready to erupt in fury.

On the other side, Xiao Fengwu was dumbfounded. The young master of Snowwind Silver City's mind hadn't caught up; he kept wondering: Could the world really have such a coincidence?

"Insolent wench, spouting nonsense!" Xiao Han roared in anger, leaping to his feet, his aura as a Heaven Profound Master surging out. Already emotionally unstable and manic, this statement was like pouring oil on a fire. He no longer cared that he was facing two frail women. He had killed no less than eighty or ninety people along the way; what was the harm in adding two more?

"Uncle, please calm down, Uncle, you must calm down! Th-this might just be a coincidence... They look like maids from a wealthy family, it's understandable they haven't heard of Snowwind Silver City..." Xiao Fengwu hurriedly tried to placate him, sweat beading on his forehead from anxiety.

The moment he saw the white-clad woman, he had been instantly captivated by her peerless grace. He felt that merely being able to speak a few words with her would be worthwhile, as if he had completely lost his usual powers of judgment.

"Get lost! You degenerate, can't you see they are playing games with us?" Xiao Han bellowed.

"What did you just say? Say it again if you dare, I want to hear it clearly?" An exceptionally cold, sinister voice suddenly rang out, devoid of any human warmth—a chilling wind blowing from hell itself, causing even Xiao Buyu, the strongest member of the Snowwind Silver City contingent, to shiver.

The face and eyes of the formerly charming, flower-like green-clad girl were now completely stripped of their smile, replaced instead by chilling murderous intent! Those normally lively eyes now looked like bottomless pits. Xiao Fengwu took one glance and felt himself almost sucked in, as if into a bottomless vortex...

Xiao Buyu was deeply alarmed!

Supreme-level cultivation! Supreme-level aura!

This was an overwhelming aura that even Xiao Buyu could not unleash! Who exactly is this green-clad girl?

Regardless of who the green-clad girl truly was, the situation had blown up beyond measure!

The atmosphere in the clearing grew taut, ready to snap at any moment! Xiao Han's single word, "wench," had finally provoked a catastrophe of monumental proportions! A trouble he could neither handle, nor resolve, nor even face!

Just then, with uncanny timing, a muffled thunderous sound rumbled in the distance. Banners fluttered and rising plumes of dust stained the horizon—Jun Wuyi's army had finally arrived!

[Ti: Dear readers, the current chapter has reached the last page of this book.]