The sky of the border, is exceptionally clear. Perhaps due to the lack of water, even clouds are rarely seen in the sky. At this moment, it's nighttime, and the stars twinkle brightly, shining with varying degrees of brightness, illuminating the night sky with a soft glow.

  The vast Gobi Desert and hills, the ground undulates with high and low uneven gullies, these gullies, like scars, are etched on the earth.

  Here, the temperature difference between day and night is very large. During the day, the sun shines brightly, scorching the earth, making people feel like they are being steamed to death as they walk on it. At night, however, the sky is filled with cold stars, their faint light covering the land, and a chilly wind blows in, carrying a thread of cold air that makes people feel like they have been put into a refrigerator.

  Ordinary people would not venture out at night and walk in the dark. If they were unlucky, they might encounter a storm and freeze to death.

  Fortunately, Lin Qingyao and others were all cultivators, and they could easily form a spiritual energy shield to block the biting cold wind.

  Xiao Xiang was still young, and her cultivation wasn't particularly profound. Maintaining a spiritual energy shield for an extended period was somewhat strenuous for her. Lin Qingyao reached out to grab Xiao Xiang, using her own spiritual energy shield to envelop them both inside.

  As for Song Lao, he walked ahead, seemingly unintentionally, blocking a lot of wind and sand for the two people.

  Xiao Xiang looked extremely happy, she had been living in the deep mountains and old forests since childhood, this was still the first time, seeing the scenery outside, although it's said that the Gobi Desert is dull, but at first glance, it's still delightful.

  Xiao Xiang has been in Fanjiang for a long time, but in the past, she had always stayed by the side of Song Lao's grave, afraid to go down and disturb Lin Qingyao, and had never freely appreciated the grandeur of this place.

  Of course, Fanjing Mountain is not just a landform like this, there are also towering mountains and vast plains, but Lin Qingyao deliberately chose such a place to refine the elixir, because it's closer to the fire pulse, so it becomes barren.

  Lin Qingyao now plans to walk on the plain, go and see the local conditions and customs there, broaden her horizons.

  A few people walked quickly, before dawn broke, they found a river.

  Along the gurgling stream, the grass and trees gradually became more lush. However, it was already deep autumn, and at night, some low shrubs were pressed down to the ground by the dew, with a somewhat withered appearance.

  But these were not enough to affect the good mood of a few people.

  Song Lao told Lin Qingyao a lot about the cultivation world along the way.

  Although Song Lao's cultivation was not high, his age was indeed impressive. The things he knew were naturally much more than Lin Qingyao, who had just come out of her shell. His scattered words were also very beneficial to Lin Qingyao.

  When it dawned, Lin Qingyao and others saw a village far away.

  Pretending to be a fellow traveler, she blended in and stayed overnight. She also bought some local specialties with the locals, which Lin Qingyao planned to bring back for everyone to try. It wasn't much trouble, so when no one was around, she simply packed them into her storage bag.

  These things will be fresher than those air-transported ones when brought back!

  Lin Qingyao was living with an elderly couple in their fifties. In the now heavily Sinicized Xinjiang, although this old couple did not speak Mandarin in their daily lives, when facing Lin Qingyao, they could still use awkward Mandarin to express themselves.

  "Are you leaving today?" The speaker was a young man in his early twenties, with deep eye sockets and a straight nose, typical of the people from the border region.

  That was the son of the old couple that year, Lin Qingyao lived in this house on that day, he helped a lot with busy affairs.

  Lin Qingyao nodded and said kindly: "Although it's hard to part with, I still have to go."

  "Can't you stay?" The young man from a distant land looked at the person in front of him with bright eyes, as if she were a fairy.

  Lin Qingyao smiled and replied: "My home is in Chuan City, I've been out for a long time this time. If you go to Chuan City in the future, remember to find me."

  When leaving, Lin Qingyao left her own address behind.

  This matter was also not taken to heart by Lin Qingyao.

  Waiting to leave here, Song Lao said with a raised eyebrow: "It's really Xiang Wang who has the intention, but the goddess is not in her heart..."

  Lin Qingyao reacted and said awkwardly: "Song Lao, don't talk nonsense!"

  Song Lao chuckled and said: "I'm not talking nonsense, that young man named Ma Xinghan has clearly taken a liking to you!"

  "You're just talking nonsense! That young man was just being polite!" Lin Qingyao said gritting her teeth, this old Song actually dared to tease her like that!

  Song Lao continued to say in a tone that was neither humble nor forgiving: "Hmph... being too polite? Why didn't you persuade this old man to stay?"

  Lin Qingyao opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but then found that being said by Old Song, it seemed that the young man did have some of that intention. Lin Qingyao's face turned red and she closed her mouth, pretending not to have heard this matter.

  Lin Qingyao naturally didn't take this matter to heart, did she like him? Ma Xinghan perhaps really liked her, but how long could this liking last? Not for long, she would probably forget soon.

  Lin Qingyao shook her head in self-mockery, and involuntarily thought of Zhao Zhang who had sworn to her with utmost sincerity back then, her heart gradually cooling down.

  In the following days, Lin Qingyao and others traveled and played along the way. When they saw that the final exams were approaching, Lin Qingyao finally called Xu Ran to say that she was going back.

  It was said that Lin Qingyao was coming back, and Xu Ran was naturally delighted. He hurriedly cleaned up the house, making it spotless, waiting for Lin Qingyao's group to return.

  When Lin Qingyao stepped into Liu Hutong, she had a different feeling in her heart, a sense of returning home as a wanderer.

  "Qingyao, you're finally back!" Xu Ran's tone was filled with inexpressible joy.

  Lin Qingyao looked at Xu Ran and suddenly said: "Xu Ran, come sit over here."

  Xu Ran was somewhat skeptical, but in the end, he still sat down according to Lin Qingyao's words.

  Lin Qingyao pinched her fingers together in a simple spirit-detecting seal, used to detect the spiritual root.

  Only a faint cyan light flashed on Xu Ran's forehead, very faint, just a flash.

  Lin Qingyao's face was filled with a mix of joy and worry as she stared at Xu Ran, never expecting that Xu Ran would actually possess the Wind Attribute Spirit Root! This was an incredibly rare mutation of the Spirit Root, occurring only once in ten thousand people!

  It's just... the spiritual root is somewhat incomplete, seemingly without any variation, and the spiritual root is messy and disordered. If one cultivates like this, their talent should be between three spiritual roots and two spiritual roots.

  After Lin Qingyao had gone through all this, her mind had broadened a lot. When she saw Xu Ran being so dedicated to her, she decided to lead him onto the path of cultivation.

  Moreover, she is no longer alone now that Song Lao is here, and it is enough to instruct Xu Ran at the elementary level. This is also an important reason why Lin Qingyao made this decision.

  Xu Ran indeed had spiritual roots, which really made Lin Qingyao let out a sigh of relief. She was actually afraid that Xu Ran wouldn't have spiritual roots, and she would be disappointed for nothing.

  Lin Qingyao looked at Xu Ran and asked seriously: "Xu Ran, do you want to cultivate?"

  Xu Ran's face lit up with surprise as Lin Qingyao asked, "Qingyao... are you asking if I want to cultivate? This means... this means... you want to teach me how to cultivate?"

  Lin Qingyao nodded: "You have a spiritual root, your talent is average, although you are older, but you can still cultivate, of course, this path is much more difficult than you think, if you don't want to, I won't force you."

  Lin Qingyao was saying this at the moment, it was something that Xu Ran had been thinking about all along, how could Xu Ran possibly disagree?

  Xu Ran nodded as if pecking at rice like a little chick.

  Lin Qingyao then called Lao Song over and instructed him to start teaching Xu Ran the most basic techniques for cultivating his Qi.

  Xu Ran is also considered one of the Yunmen school.

  Lin Qingyao packed the local specialties she brought back from Fanjiang into baskets, then hired someone to send some to a few people she had thought of.

  Qin Yu, and also the He Dafu from Miaoshou Hall, Lin Qingyao used to know some people in Chuan City, but after she married into a wealthy family, except for those who wanted to cling to wealth and nobility, everyone else had already cut ties with her.

  As for those who cling to wealth and nobility, after a long time, she herself becomes distant. Who would want the people around her to be bossing her around every day?

  So Lin Qingyao didn't have any close friends in Chengdu, and when she brought back some nice things, she didn't even know who to give them to.

  Lin Qingyao thought for a moment, and then remembered Gu Lao and Li Yu. As for Li Yu's share, Lin Qingyao had planned to personally take it to school to deliver it.

  Lin Qingyao stayed at home for a day, tidied herself up, and then drove back to school. After getting off the car, Lin Qingyao carried a fruit basket back to her dormitory.

  "Qingyao, you're finally back! If you didn't show up, I was going to go to your house to find you!" Li Yu said excitedly as she pulled Qingyao into the dormitory, chattering nonstop.

  At this moment, Bai Menghan was also in the dormitory. Seeing Lin Qingyao return, she didn't even lift her head and continued to do her own thing.

  Lin Qingyao didn't have the habit of flattering people, so she simply pretended not to see her.

  "By the way, Qingyao, during these days when you were not around, that handsome guy from the archaeology department came looking for you!" Li Yu said loudly, as if she had discovered some sensational gossip.

  Is it an archaeology major? A handsome guy? Lin Qingyao thought for a moment, somewhat suspicious, she didn't seem to know anyone in the archaeology department.

  Li Yu scratched his hair and thought hard: "What was it called...called...Yin..."

  "Yin Yixiu?" Lin Qingyao blurted out.

  Li Yu clapped his hands and exclaimed: "That's right, it's Yin Yishou!"

  Lin Qingyao furrowed her brow, what did Yin Yixiu want from her? Lin Qingyao hadn't forgotten how she got the Chuyun dart, and she still owed Yin Yixiu a favor that needed to be repaid. Now that Yin Yixiu had come looking for her, it was likely because she needed something from Lin Qingyao.