Chapter 147

This place is already the outskirts of the Extreme North Snow Region.

She really shouldn't be called Shi Ran; Shi Bing would be better. Since the Lotus Flower Secret Realm, she's been dealing with this icy snowy world day after day.

"Senior Sister Ruan, the map shows Ice Hail Valley is still a thousand li to the north." Shi Ran tightened her robes and shouted, her voice distorted in the wind and snow.

Ruan Xinli unfolded the map, determined the direction, and pointed ahead: "This way. Follow me closely; there may be ice crevices or traps under the snow."

The two circulated their spiritual power, pressing forward against the wind and snow. In the Snow Region, spiritual power consumption is far faster than outside, and the air's spiritual energy is thin and mixed with violent icy factors, so absorbing and replenishing requires extra caution.

Along the way, they encountered several waves of Snow Region demon beasts' attacks. There were cunning and ferocious snow wolf packs, ice pythons lurking in deep snow that suddenly launched attacks, and even snow sprites capable of controlling wind and snow to create illusions. Fortunately, both were not weak in cultivation; although Ruan Xinli specialized in medicine, the talismans and treasures Feng Ying gave her made her even more formidable.

Although Shi Ran's wrist was sealed and she couldn't exert full strength, she could still manage with the Bingxi Sword aided by talismans, and with their cooperation they got through safely.

After several days of continuous trekking, the wind and snow grew stronger and the environment became harsher. According to the map's indications, they had gradually approached the Ice Hail Valley region.

That day, a massive Ice Erosion Canyon appeared ahead, with ice cliffs on both sides towering into the clouds. The canyon was filled with a thick, almost substantive cold mist, visibility under ten zhang, and the wind carried intermittent howls that made the heart palpitate.

"This must be the place, Ice Hail Valley." Ruan Xinli's face grew solemn: "The cold mist inside the valley is strange; it can erode spiritual sense—be careful."

The two cautiously entered the canyon. Upon entering, the chill suddenly intensified, and the halo emitted by their protective jade pendants seemed compressed by a fraction. Spiritual sense here was greatly suppressed, able to probe only a tiny range around themselves.

Not far in, the ground suddenly trembled, the ice layer ahead exploded, and a huge beast burst out! It was a giant bear entirely made of crystalline ice, its eyes flashing with violent blue light, its fangs like ice spears, and its ferocious aura far surpassed any demon beast they had encountered before!

"It's one of Ice Hail Valley's guardian demon beasts, the Ice Soul Giant Bear! Be careful—it has immense strength and can control ice!" Ruan Xinli warned sternly, throwing out a talisman and preparing for battle.

Shi Ran also immediately drew her Bingxi Sword; the blade left its sheath, and its clear, cold sword light shone amidst the wind and snow.

The Ice Soul Giant Bear roared, shaking ice shivers down from around it; its huge paw, imbued with the force of rending cold wind, swept fiercely at the two.

Battle erupted instantly! Shi Ran's sword light like a ribbon clashed head-on with the bear, producing a metallic clang; sword qi could only leave faint white traces on its icy crystal body. Ruan Xinli's talisman flames struck it, barely effective, only enraging it further.

The bear went berserk, spewing a blast of extreme cold; wherever it passed, even the air froze. Ruan Xinli dodged a beat too slow; her skirt hem grazed the chill, instantly freezing and shattering, a cold seeped up her arm, stiffening her movements.

"Senior Sister Ruan!" Shi Ran cried, hastily casting a technique to dispel the cold.

At that moment, the seal on Shi Ran's wrist suddenly warmed slightly; the suppressed red silk twitched faintly! It seemed stimulated by this place's extreme yin-cold environment or the bear's icy power.

Shi Ran panicked, her movement lagging half a beat. The bear seized the chance; its other huge paw swept sideways, about to strike her!

"Watch out!" Ruan Xinli, disregarding her own lingering cold, shoved Shi Ran aside, but took the brunt of the paw's aftermath; her throat sweetened, she spat a mouthful of blood that stained the pristine snow.

"Senior Sister!" Shi Ran's eyes nearly burst; watching Ruan Xinli injured while saving her, and feeling the damned red silk at her wrist stir restlessly, a surge of extreme fury and helplessness welled up.

It's all because of this damned thing! It's all because of that old monster Shouji!

Fury and worry intertwined; the suppressed, forcibly slumbering fire lotus and abyssal power within her, plus the lingering breath of Brahma, were stirred by her intense emotion, uncontrollably quivering for an instant.

Though faint, the Ice Soul Giant Bear seemed to sense something it loathed and feared; its movement stalled abruptly, a flicker of uncertain surprise flashing in its violent blue eyes.

Though injured, Ruan Xinli keenly seized that instant!

"Now! Nine Heaven Mystic Thunder, become divine lightning! Magnificent heavenly might, guided by the sword!"

She summoned her spiritual power, ignoring her injury, and hurled the Celestial Pivot Sect's immensely powerful thunder talisman! The talisman drew the valley's thin thunderous force, forming a blinding purple bolt of lightning that struck the bear's skull with pinpoint accuracy!

Boom—

Thunder rumbled through the canyon; the Ice Soul Giant Bear let out a piercing wail, its massive body crashing down, skull charred, icy crystal body shattering into scattered ice fragments.

With the battle over, Ruan Xinli could no longer hold up; she coughed another mouthful of blood, her face as pale as snow.

"Senior Sister!" Shi Ran rushed over, produced a healing pill and fed it to her, her eyes full of self-reproach: "Sorry, it's all my fault..."

Ruan Xinli took the pill, eased her breath, shook her head: "Don't blame yourself; this demon beast exceeded expectations. Just now… was that red silk acting up?" She also noticed Shi Ran's earlier anomaly and the bear's momentary hesitation.

Shi Ran nodded wearily: "Yeah, it seems stimulated by the cold here or by the demon beast..."

Ruan Xinli frowned tightly: "We shouldn't linger here. We must find the Soul-Nurturing Flower quickly!" She worried about Shi Ran's unstable seal and that her own injury would slow them down.

After a brief rest, they pressed deeper into the canyon. The deeper they went, the heavier the cold grew, and even some drifting, incorporeal ice specters began to appear, capable of directly attacking one's soul, impossible to guard against.

After several more perilous encounters, both were exhausted, their spiritual power nearly depleted. Just as despair loomed, a soft white light faintly shone from beneath a wind-sheltered ice cliff ahead.

Their spirits lifted, they hurried over. Beneath the ice cliff grew several crystal-clear, ice-carved flowers, petals layered, emitting a pure, warm white halo that repelled the surrounding cold, forming a small warm zone. Inhaling that white light once made the soul feel at ease, fatigue greatly lessened.

"Soul-Nurturing Flower! We finally found it!" Shi Ran rejoiced greatly.

Ruan Xinli also exhaled in relief, her face showing relief. She carefully stepped forward, following the maid's instructions, using a specially made jade spade and jade box, cautiously harvesting three Soul-Nurturing Flowers and securing them properly.

Just as they obtained the spiritual flower and their minds relaxed slightly, a sudden change occurred!

A seemingly ordinary snowdrift nearby suddenly exploded, a gray shadow shooting out like a phantom, straight for Ruan Xinli holding the jade box! Its speed and angle far surpassed any previous demon beast.

"Watch out!" Shi Ran cried.

Badly wounded, Ruan Xinli reacted a beat slow; though she tried desperately to dodge, the gray shadow's claws still grazed her jade box!

Clap! The jade box flew from her hand, landing in the snow not far away!

The gray shadow revealed itself—a small, entirely gray-white weasel with blood-red eyes! This snow weasel bore an eerie aura, possessing intelligence and power comparable to a human Golden Core cultivator; clearly it had lain in wait here, ready to ambush the moment they harvested the spiritual flower and let their guard down.

"Beast!" Ruan Xinli flew into a rage, forcefully drawing on her spiritual power in an attempt to seize back the jade box.

But that snow sable moved with incredible speed; after a successful strike, it instantly turned into a gray light darting toward the jade box, opening its mouth to snatch it away.

As the Soul-Nurturing Flower was about to fall into the demon beast's mouth, Shi Ran panicked, lunging forward without regard for anything, and instinctively mobilized all the power she could within her body—including the faint strange aura seeping from the sealed red silk.

The snow sable sensed the red silk's aura, its movements suddenly froze, and in its blood-red eyes appeared a fear similar to that shown earlier by the Ice Soul Giant Bear, causing its motion to snatch the jade box to slow by a beat.

It was precisely that beat! Ruan Xinli had arrived, fiercely throwing out a Ten Thousand Sword Talisman, which struck the snow sable's body.

"Squeak—!" the snow sable let out a sharp cry, gravely wounded by the sword qi, blood pouring, it dared not linger, turning into a gray light and fleeing in disarray, instantly vanishing amidst the wind and snow.

Shi Ran seized the opportunity, clutching the jade box tightly to her chest, her heart pounding, still shaken with fear.

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing alarm in the other's eyes. They had not expected that the guardian of the Soul-Nurturing Flower would be not only the formidable demon beast plainly visible, but also such a cunning and sinister thing.

"We need to leave quickly!" Ruan Xinli suppressed her injury, pulled Shi Ran up, and without hesitation retreated from the valley.

What they did not know was that, in the direction the snow sable fled, an illusory gray shadow almost blending with the wind and snow silently appeared, gazing in the direction they departed, emitting a low, strange laugh; that sound bore a resemblance to Shouji…

"What's the point of running…… anyway, it's already…… growing…… when it matures…… that will be my day to return home!"

The gray shadow slowly faded, as if it had never appeared.

Meanwhile, in the quiet chamber of Bibo River, Qi Chengshuang, who was meditating, felt the temporarily suppressed extinction death aura within his body fluctuate slightly without warning, causing him to suddenly open his eyes, his brows furrowed.

Outside the window, clouds surged, and mountain rain was imminent.

Qi Chengshuang frowned tightly, carefully examining inwardly. That fluctuation was extremely faint, fleeting in an instant; had he not been fully focused on suppressing the deathly qi and circulating the Azure Sea Tide-Arising Heart-Condensing Secret, it would have been nearly imperceptible. Yet it did happen, like a strange undercurrent slipping beneath the calm dead water, carrying some ineffable… pulling sensation?

This is certainly not a good thing. Extinction death qi is a destructive force; it should be sourceless water, rootless wood, knowing only erosion and destruction. Why would it suddenly produce this kind of "activity" as if stirred by something outside?

He immediately turned his gaze to Shen Lingyue. She had somehow already opened her eyes; her languid expression tightened a little, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest, her eyes deep, as if sensing something.

"Senior, just now…" Qi Chengshuang began.

"Hmm, I felt it." Shen Lingyue interrupted him, her tone flat yet carrying a barely perceptible gravity, "The deathly qi inside you seemed to have been… lightly 'plucked' by something just now. Interesting."

He rose to his feet, walked up to Qi Chengshuang, extended two fingers, and lightly pressed them against his dantian, sending in a thread of extremely faint yin-cold spiritual power. Qi Chengshuang endured the discomfort, lowered his guard, and allowed the inspection.

After a moment, Shen Lingyue withdrew her hand, her eyes inscrutable: "Not an illusion. At the core of the deathly qi, there is an extremely faint and obscure 'mark'; had it not been stirred just now, even I might have overlooked it. This mark… carries a residual trace of spatial fluctuation, along with an unpleasant rotten odor."

"A mark?" Qi Chengshuang's heart sank. "Who made it? What is the purpose?"

"The one who placed this mark possesses extremely high cultivation, and their method is strange and hidden; without a fortunate coincidence, it would be impossible to detect." Shen Lingyue mused, "As for the purpose… well, it's nothing more than tracking, surveillance, or… detonating this 'great gift' remotely at a suitable moment, leaving you to die in obscurity. This extinction death qi itself is already unusual; now it looks like someone carefully designed it as a 'great gift' for you."

Qi Chengshuang's face turned ice-cold. He recalled the Dao-Fall War, that opponent shrouded in shadow who wielded extinction power—his moves were indeed strange and unfathomable; now, thinking back, everything seemed out of the ordinary. It turned out his cultivation path had been completely ruined, and behind it might lurk such a vicious scheme!

"Can it be removed?" He suppressed the surging killing intent and asked calmly. The urgent task is to eliminate the hidden danger.

Shen Lingyue glanced at him: "This mark is almost fused with the deathly qi; forcibly removing it would instantly trigger an explosion of all the deathly qi, reducing you to ashes on the spot. For now, we can only temporarily suppress it together with the deathly qi using the Azure Sea Tide-Arising Heart-Condensing Secret combined with my spiritual power, sealing it off so it cannot be sensed or triggered from outside. But to eradicate it completely, we must first resolve the deathly qi itself."

He paused, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc: "However, now that we know of this thing, it actually makes things easier. Perhaps… we could even turn it to our advantage, using it as bait to draw out the poisonous snake lurking in the shadows."

Qi Chengshuang instantly grasped Shen Lingyue's intention—using the scheme against the schemer. He nodded: "Junior understands. I will follow your arrangements, Senior."

"Hmm." Shen Lingyue expressed satisfaction with his calmness and perceptiveness, "Continue your cultivation. Focus your spirit and calm your qi; do not let external disturbances disturb you. Over there… it seems they have also encountered something." He glanced meaningfully toward the extreme north.

Qi Chengshuang understood implicitly; Shen Lingyue must have sensed, through some means, the changes on Shi Ran and Xinli's side—perhaps the fluctuation of that deathly qi mark is related.

A worry rose unbidden in his heart, but was quickly suppressed. At present, he himself is unstable; worry would be futile. All he can do is swiftly regain a bit of strength to cope with the changing situation.

Qi Chengshuang could only close his eyes again, focusing more intently on circulating the Azure Sea Tide-Arising Heart-Condensing Secret, guiding Shen Lingyue's vast yin-cold spiritual power, as if constructing invisible dams within his body to layer‑by‑layer seal the violent deathly qi and that strange mark, while also carefully experiencing how this marvelous technique concentrates and nourishes the power of the soul. Indeed, as Shen Lingyue said, in dire straits, if one's will does not break, one can instead glimpse another world. His understanding of his own strength, especially his grasp of "stillness" and "stability," has deepened a level beyond his former pure pursuit of fierce rigidity.

……

Extreme North Snow Region, outside Ice Hail Valley.

Ruan Xinli and Shi Ran fled the gorge in a sorry state, only daring to stop and gasp violently after putting distance between themselves and the heart‑pounding cold mist. That perilous scene left both of them with lingering fear.