Imperial Threads and a Princess's Path

The dust of Yueyang City faded behind Wang Jian, swallowed by the vast, untamed wilderness that stretched towards the brooding Serpent's Spine mountains. His pack felt light, but his mind was heavy with meticulously organized plans. The city had been a necessary first step, a place to gather whispers and shadows of the cultivator world. Now, it was time to chase those shadows into the wild.

'The Seven Stars Pavilion… their tendrils reach into the mountains. That's the next thread to pull.'

He didn't head directly for their disguised compound in Yueyang. That was their fortress. He sought their outposts, the smaller ganglia of their network closer to the source of their wares – the perilous mountain range.