Chapter 869: Illusory Bubbles, Entering the Dao through Talismans

"Kill!"

Amidst the vast, snowy mountains, the sounds of battle were deafening.

Countless figures held their ground within ice fortresses, constantly striking out to slaughter the demonic beasts surging from the great snowy mountains.

However, this beast tide was unexpectedly ferocious.

Under the repeated, relentless charges of several Demon Kings, the ice fortresses—which had been reinforced with numerous defensive formations—collapsed one after another.

Boom!

As another ice fortress toppled, the two adjacent ones also crumbled.

This was the chain reaction caused by interconnected formations.

Relying on a group of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators to withstand this beast tide was only possible due to the power of the formations.

But once a formation eye failed, the backlash would be even greater.

Gu Gu Xiaorou and her junior sisters were forced to retreat, and as they watched the massive Frost Wolf King charge through the ruins of the fortress, despair filled their eyes.

A junior sister beside her asked blankly, "Where are the Martial Aunts? Why haven't they made a move yet?"

Gu Gu Xiaorou gritted her teeth and spat out, "They were severely injured during the exploration of the Lingkong Secret Realm organized by the Yuding Sword Sect; they cannot spare any strength now. We must rely on ourselves!"

As she spoke, she applied a talisman to her body and, ignoring the gasps of her junior sisters, charged headlong toward the Frost Wolf King.

Massive amounts of spiritual energy were drawn in by the Profound Ice Talisman, causing her aura to surge violently.

This moment felt remarkably like a Nascent Soul cultivator controlling the natural energy of heaven and earth.

Yet, the Frost Wolf King merely glanced at her with contempt.

With a single swipe!

Bang!

Gu Gu Xiaorou was sent flying back as fast as she had charged.

She became a tumbling gourd, rolling repeatedly across the freezing, bone-chilling ground.

When she finally managed to stop, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Pfft!

At this moment, even the young girl's eyes were filled with despair.

The gap in strength was simply too vast; without the aid of formations, they were no match for a Third-Tier Demon King.

And this was only one Frost Wolf King.

Across the battlefield, there was also a Seven-Ring Snow Python and a Barred Snow Owl.

Those two were also Third-Tier Demon Kings comparable to Core Formation cultivators; without the formations, the group of low-level female cultivators in the ice fortresses stood no chance.

"Is this... the end?"

Unaccountably, the image of the most reliable figure she knew surfaced in Gu Gu Xiaorou's mind.

"Zhou Shijie, where are you?"

Just then!

Sword Qi soared into the sky from the Heavenly Mountain.

A brilliant sword light crossed a thousand miles in an instant, piercing the Frost Wolf King through the heart as it shrieked in terror.

Gu Gu Xiaorou froze.

Then, a familiar figure gradually appeared before her.

"Zhou Shijie Fairy Canglong?"

The woman did not look back, her gaze fixed on the distance.

Beside her, the massive corpse of the Frost Wolf King collapsed with a thud, while in the distance, the Seven-Ring Snow Python surged forward amidst a storm of snow, and from the sky, the Barred Snow Owl rained down feathers like piercing blades.

She remained calm, merely raising her flying sword again to strike at the Barred Snow Owl King.

As for the Seven-Ring Snow Python charging straight at them, she seemed to ignore it entirely.

Gu Gu Xiaorou struggled to climb to her feet, crying out, "Zhou Shijie, watch out!"

The next moment, Fairy Canglong flicked her hand, and an object resembling a castle or a pagoda appeared above her.

With a forceful toss!

The castle expanded rapidly, transforming into a nine-story structure that crashed down with immense force.

Boom!

The terrifying Seven-Ring Snow Python was pinned firmly to the ground by the nine-story ice fortress in an instant.

And the Barred Snow Owl King in the sky let out a miserable shriek before flapping its wings and fleeing in a panic.

In a heartbeat, the three Demon Kings leading the beast tide were dead, injured, or in flight.

The crisis was resolved.

The massive number of low-level beasts, having lost their leaders, scrambled away in terror.

Only then did Fairy Canglong turn around, smiling at the young girl.

"Junior Sister Gu Xiaorou, why are you in such a sorry state?"

Gu Gu Xiaorou opened her mouth in shock, asking incredulously, "Zhou Shijie, have you broken through to the Core Formation stage?"

Fairy Canglong smiled faintly, waving her hand to recall the blood-stained flying sword; with a single wipe, its original luster was restored.

"If I hadn't reached the Core Formation stage, how could I have slain the Demon Kings?"

Gu Gu Xiaorou swallowed hard; she felt Zhou Shijie's Core Formation stage was not so simple.

To possess such terrifying combat power immediately after breaking through, and to control two magic treasures simultaneously without effort—the depth of her spiritual sense was so profound that even the Martial Aunts she had seen in the past did not display such capability.

Moreover, if she wasn't mistaken, that nine-story ice fortress should be the sect's supreme treasure—the Moon-Glazed Ice Fortress!

When did Master entrust this item to Zhou Shijie?

Fairy Canglong did not chat with her, instead instructing her to tend to her wounds before walking across the battlefield to mop up the remaining pockets of resistance.

Gu Gu Xiaorou struggled to lean against a wall, checking her injuries.

A gentle, magnetic voice sounded beside her.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, the courage you showed charging at the Frost Wolf King just now was truly admirable!"

Gu Gu Xiaorou looked up and saw an extremely handsome face.

If she remembered correctly, this person was a cultivator from a vassal family of the Ice Fortress, surnamed Shang?

He had been invited to help repel the beast tide and appeared completely unscathed.

Gu Gu Xiaorou shook her head, dejected. "It was nothing more than overestimating my own strength."

The cultivator surnamed Shang smiled. "To dare to draw your sword against a Third-Tier Demon King while only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment—that courage alone is worthy of praise."

Hearing this, Gu Gu Xiaorou felt a warmth in her heart.

In truth, she hadn't thought much at the time; she had simply felt instinctively that she couldn't let her junior sisters face the Demon King alone, so she had charged out.

She struggled to stand up. "I am Gu Gu Xiaorou. May I ask your name, Fellow Daoist?"

Unexpectedly, the man pressed his hand onto her shoulder.

Amidst Gu Gu Xiaorou's confusion and embarrassment, the man laughed. "Don't move around. I am an alchemist and also somewhat proficient in medicine. You have likely suffered broken bones and ruptured meridians; if you aren't careful and damage your sea of Qi, that would be unfortunate."

"Let me provide some simple treatment for you!"

Gu Gu Xiaorou opened her mouth, her face flushing red, but in the end, she did not refuse the kindness.

The handsome man moved quickly, setting her bones and channeling his magic power to remove the bruising.

He also revealed his background.

"My name is Shang Hu. You can call me Little Shang. As for my age... I believe it is about the same as yours."

"Mm."

Just as the two were chatting, a cry of alarm came from the distance.

A snowstorm was surging once more from the Great Snowy Mountains!

Within it, a red light flickered, exuding a powerful aura that one dared not look at directly.

Could it be that another Demon King had arrived?

Fairy Canglong stood before the crowd with her sword again, her expression a mix of shock and suspicion.

Behind her, a junior sister prepared to strike with a magic tool, but was stopped by her.

"Zhou Shijie?" the junior sister asked, confused.

Fairy Canglong shook her head and took a step forward as the crowd watched anxiously.

"Is it you?"

Out of the snowstorm, a massive red hound stepped forth.

Seeing the visitor, Fairy Canglong couldn't help but reveal a smile of long-awaited reunion.

"Big Doggy, you've finally returned!"

On the Heavenly Mountain, the Red Hound sat on the ground, gazing at the myriad living beings below the mountain. Behind it, in a cave dwelling, Fairy Canglong sat by the bedside, chatting respectfully with a sickly, beautiful woman.

"Master, thanks to the sect's supreme treasure you bestowed upon me, I have resolved the crisis of the beast tide."

The woman looked at Fairy Canglong with deep affection. "Even without the Moon-Glazed Ice Fortress, with your strength, slaying those three Demon Kings would not have been a difficult task."

"Master overestimates me."

The woman sighed with emotion. "It is not an overestimate. The depth of your spiritual sense is rare in the world, even surpassing that of Han Zhan, the peerless genius of the Falling Cloud Sect who appears once in a century. In Core Formation duels, one looks first at magic power, and second at spiritual sense. You have already mastered the 'Ten Directions Freezing Dao,' and your magic power is enough to look down upon your peers. With this terrifying spiritual sense you have cultivated, the Ice Fortress finally has hope for the future."

Fairy Canglong had been somewhat proud, but upon hearing this, she became flustered.

"Master, you and the other Martial Aunts are still in good health; why are you speaking of the future?"

The woman held the young woman's slender, delicate hand and coughed. "The Yuding Sword Sect harbors malicious intent, using the exploration of the Lingkong Secret Realm as bait to cause heavy losses to the experts of our six sects. Even Martial Aunt Wen has perished within. In the coming century, the Sword Sect will likely make further moves."

Fairy Canglong was shocked. "They are a high and mighty Nascent Soul sect; how can they act so despicably?"

The woman smiled. "Even Nascent Soul sects have their differences. Although the Yuding Sword Sect dominates the Yuding Region and claims unparalleled combat power, compared to other sects with deep foundations, they are truly vulnerable. They cannot even spare enough manpower to plot for the interests of this region, so they resort to underhanded tricks to weaken the strength of our Core Formation sects."

Fairy Canglong opened her mouth, absorbing information that was both strange and yet felt somewhat familiar.

Those tricks—whether sowing discord or suppression—were all intended to wait for them to descend into chaos so that the Yuding Sword Sect could gradually take control without expending any effort.

"Master, what should we do?" she asked, filled with worry.

The woman sighed. "What else can we do? It is nothing more than internal unity and seeking external allies."

She then analyzed the potential allies for Fairy Canglong one by one.

"Especially the Falling Cloud Sect!"

"During this exploration of the Lingkong Secret Realm, they relied on their puppets and suffered the fewest losses, preserving the most strength. Among the younger generation, there are talents like Han Zhan and Elder Linghu Xu Jie. It can be said that the rise of the Falling Cloud Sect is inevitable."

"If we can form an alliance with them, the Ice Fortress will not be left isolated and helpless."

"Coincidentally, I heard that Han Zhan has recently succeeded in Core Formation and intends to travel through the various regions of the Eastern Wasteland. You can accompany him and strengthen our relationship."

Fairy Canglong was stunned. She had met Han Zhan.

He appeared honest, but his mind was quite deep.

When he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, he had once tried to borrow the Ice Fortress's Ice Prison to cultivate a soul-refining technique, but she had refused him because she was using the Ice Prison to cultivate the "Soul Splitting Technique" at the time.

"Travel with this person?"

The woman smiled. "You should go out and see the world. Even with heaven-defying skills, if your wisdom and experience are insufficient, you can easily fall into a trap. Only when you have grown in all aspects can I feel at ease handing the Ice Fortress over to you."

Hearing the tone of her Master entrusting her with the future, the young woman felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.

"Ranran understands."

"Ranran?"

The woman was startled. "Have you remembered the past?"

Fairy Canglong nodded. "When I broke through to the Core Formation stage, I remembered everything. My surname is Xie, given name Ran. I am from Guangling Commandery, and I embarked on the path of seeking immortality to find medicine for my mother."

The woman's expression became complex upon hearing this.

She reached out and stroked the young woman's cheek.

"Good child!"

"Since that is the case, during this journey, you should also return to your hometown to take a look!"

Fairy Canglong nodded, and after chatting for a while longer, she no longer disturbed her Master's rest and took her respectful leave.

Once she left the cave, the young woman felt a heavy weight in her heart.

Only upon seeing the red hound sitting there did she feel a bit more at ease.

"Big Doggy, now that you've returned, you won't leave again, will you?"

The Red Hound did not answer, merely staring at Fairy Canglong before heading down the Heavenly Mountain.

"Recalling the events of yesterday, yet still unaware of the body within the dream."

"It is not yet time!"

In the cold, quiet new cave dwelling, Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes.

The Peerless Fairy asked nervously, "Can my Zhou Shijie not wake up yet?"

Luo Chen cast several incantations toward the ice coffin and the Dust Fate Immortal Mirror hanging above it, then stood up calmly.

"The timing is not right. Waking her now would do more harm than good."

"We must wait a little longer!"

The Peerless Fairy looked disappointed, but thinking that she had endured for so many years, waiting a few more days was nothing.

As long as there was hope for her Zhou Shijie, that was enough!

Luo Chen looked at the cold woman, who was anxious and uncertain, and recalled a joke made unintentionally by a cultivator named Fei from the Mount Ailao Mountains, as well as what he had seen in the dream constructed by Fairy Canglong just now, and couldn't help but laugh lightly.

The Peerless Fairy was confused. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just didn't expect you to be so brave in the past!"

"Ah!?" The Peerless Fairy did not understand.

"Gu Gu Xiaorou, charging at a Third-Tier Demon King while at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment—truly a heroine who does not yield to men!"

Laughing, Luo Chen left the cave dwelling with a carefree air.

Only the Peerless Fairy remained, her cold face turning bright red, beautiful beyond compare.

Dan Mountain!

The place where Luo Chen currently resided.

He had named it himself, both to commemorate the Alchemy Saint and because the mountain had been burned by the Nirvana Holy Fire, leaving it with a cinnabar-red landscape.

The spiritual vein within the mountain had not been destroyed by the Nirvana Holy Fire; instead, it had attracted a massive amount of fire-attribute spiritual energy, making it highly suitable for Luo Chen's fire-spirit body to cultivate.

However, it was not very suitable for other cultivators to practice here.

After all, it was simply too scorching.

Returning to his cave dwelling on Dan Mountain, Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

The Luo Tian Sect was now settled, and although the time for his old friend Fairy Canglong to wake was not yet ripe, step by step, there would eventually be a day of awakening.

With that, he could free his hands to focus on his own cultivation.

But if he followed the normal cultivation process, it would at most increase his magic power and improve his cultivation base slightly.

It would not bring about a qualitative change to his current strength.

This was not what Luo Chen was pursuing.

"Han Zhan once said that with my talent for spells, after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, there was a high probability of comprehending the corresponding Law Essence in advance."

"However, due to the misleading influence of the Withered Glory True Fire, I took a shortcut and ended up going in the opposite direction."

"If not for the misleading influence of the Withered Glory True Fire..."

"Monarch Sovereign Qixia also once said that with my fire-spirit body after Nirvana, I could naturally comprehend the Fire Essence and even face no great obstacles in ascending to the Soul Transformation stage."

"Now that I have returned to the righteous path, how can I comprehend that Fire Essence?"

For a time, Luo Chen, having no clue where to start, fell into distress.

Quiet meditation?

The results were too slow.

Sudden enlightenment?

It was something to be sought, not something to be found.

Borrowing the majestic Nirvana Holy Fire to glimpse the mystery?

Wouldn't that just be repeating the old path of Withered Glory!

Luo Chen, unable to find a way in, became the most distressed person among the five hundred disciples of the Luo Tian Sect.

Suddenly!

Amidst his myriad thoughts, he recalled the scene he had just seen in the dream—the Peerless Fairy Gu Gu Xiaorou using ice talismans.

"The so-called Law Essence is nothing more than the essence of nature, manifested externally as the control of heaven and earth spiritual energy, or even the power of the world's origin."

"The path of talismans is exactly this!"

"Can I enter the Dao through talismans and comprehend the Law Essence that belongs uniquely to me?"

Thinking of this, Luo Chen's heart began to beat violently. (End of chapter)