Chapter 76: Chapter Seventy‑Six: Crimson Thread Bird

In the sea of consciousness, Brahma's dissatisfied voice came instantly; Shi Ran helplessly listened to him complain inside, though she didn't agree. She recruited the Golden Void Spirit Weasel—they could even play a game of mahjong in the sea of consciousness!

The four composed themselves, carrying the fatigue and vigilance of having just survived a disaster, and cautiously stepped out of the forest that had left them a deep lesson.

Suddenly the view opened up, and a bone‑chilling chill struck them without warning, instantly piercing their thin clothes and their not‑yet‑fully‑recovered spiritual shield, causing all four to shiver at once.

The forest's edge seemed to be split by an invisible boundary: just outside was lush, vibrant greenery, but just inside lay another world entirely—a suffocating ice‑and‑snow realm.

As far as the eye could see, it was endless white that made one's heart go cold. The rolling mountain ranges resembled a slumbering frost dragon.

It is covered with an unknown accumulation of tens of thousands of years. The mountain is steep and jagged, huge icicles hang like swords from the cliffs. In the faint light seeping from somewhere unknown, glimmers of azure or icy cold light flicker; the sky is bluish‑gray, low and seemingly within reach, oppressive enough to make breathing difficult. There is no wind, only an absolute chill that penetrates to the bone—a record and function.

The ground beneath their feet instantly turned to hard frozen soil, covered with thick snow; each step gave a crisp creak. In this silent, terrifying setting, the extreme cold turned exhaled breath instantly into white mist, and eyelashes and hair tips quickly gathered tiny ice crystals.

"Hiss—so cold!" Ruan Xinli instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, circulating her spiritual power to ward off the chill, but the effect was negligible.

Qi Chengshuang silently handed the warm treasure in his hand—Mu Cai Nuan—to Ruan Xinli, saying, "This is a little trinket I got in the Glazed Tile Tower; it can ease some of the cold."

Ruan Xinli took Mu Cai Nuan; it was a small heart‑shaped stone, warm and smooth to the touch, then gradually turned red and grew warmer.

Ruan Xinli held Mu Cai Nuan, as if she were holding a little sun.

Luo Changfeng looked around with a solemn expression: "The cold here is abnormal; these chill forces will invade and erode our spiritual shields. Be careful. Circulate your cultivation method to protect the heart meridian."

Qi Chengshuang frowned, habitually glancing at Ruan Xinli; seeing her complexion gradually turn rosy put him at ease. He cast a glance toward Shi Ran and noticed a layer of white frost on her brows. He had intended to teach her to circulate her cultivation method, but the words turned into an awkward concern: "Hey, you talisman cultivator, stop learning those flashy talismans—properly cultivating your technique is the real deal, or else your fire‑type spiritual root will freeze to death first!"

Shi Ran ignored his tone; her mood right now was colder than this snow mountain. The scene before her matched one of the perilous environments described in the original book where Gu Yusheng sought the Seven‑Colored Fire Lotus—the Snow Ice Abyss! How similar— that deadly lotus lies deep in the snow‑mountain cold pool that looks pure and flawless but hides murderous intent.

In the Snow Ice Abyss, they first encountered the Crimson Thread Bird, then the Black Panther Clan—either could prevent them from seeing tomorrow's sun. A huge sense of crisis gripped her.

"We can't go forward!" Shi Ran blurted out, her voice tinged with a tension she herself didn't notice. "This snow mountain feels wrong—more dangerous than the forest. The road ahead is vast, and unknown perils will only increase; we should skirt the edge."

Luo Changfeng and Ruan Xinli both turned their eyes to her, surprise and thought in their gazes. Shi Ran never says "no"; before entering the secret realm her simplest wish was just to survive to the end—what could make her so tense? Could she really have sensed something?

Qi Chengshuang snorted, pointing ahead at a faintly visible giant valley rift covered in ice and snow. "Detour?! Do you know how long it would take to go around this mountain? Maybe Gu Shi Di and A Xue are already beyond that valley, having made it here—are you still afraid of the cold? You…" He hadn't finished when his gaze was snatched by an extremely faint yet unusually pure ice‑blue light deep in the distant snow valley; the light flickered amid the endless white, exuding an indescribable allure.

"Wait, look over there—what is that light?" Qi Chengshuang's voice bright with surprise: "Could it be A Xue?"

The three followed his gaze; Shi Ran's heart clenched. That ice‑blue light indeed resembled Mei Ruoxue's glow, which had suddenly flared in the snow sea, indicating that Mei Ruoxue and the others were in danger.

The original book's setting states that several senior brothers, junior brothers, and even the sect master of the Floating Dream Sect regard Mei Ruoxue as a treasure in the palm, as dear as their own hearts; should Mei Ruoxue suffer any mishap, they would feel as if their hearts had been gouged out. During this period, Shi Ran also deeply felt that....

That ice‑blue light suddenly went out; Shi Ran startled, about to pull Luo Changfeng, when she heard Ruan Xinli's hesitant voice: "The light has stopped..... is it....."

"Wait a moment!" Qi Chengshuang grabbed Ruan Xinli first, warning, "Be careful—it might be a trap!"

Huh? Qi Chengshuang, this isn't like him? Shi Ran turned to look at Luo Changfeng, wondering what he'd say—she never expected the usually carefree senior brother to wear a grave expression: "You say this is clearly the Snow Ice Abyss, so why are the guarding demon beasts all fire‑type? For example, the Crimson Thread Bird, the black panther, the nine‑tailed red fish, and even the ultimate demon beast Chu Yin?"

"Yeah, why?" Shi Ran fell into thought, wondering if it was just a bug in the book's writing.

"Because back then they were brought into the secret realm by the Seven‑Colored Fire Lotus!" Qi Chengshuang explained in a sentence: "But I don't know the details either—Qian Zhi Jun isn't here, so I can't explain it!"

Shi Ran was completely bewildered—she wondered how carelessly she had read back then, and who Qian Zhi Jun was.

While they were speaking, at the edge of the pale gray sky an extremely faint, barely perceptible dark‑current qi gathered even more silently.

The Golden Void Spirit Weasel, which had been resting and recuperating in Shi Ran's sea of consciousness, suddenly opened its black‑bean eyes and let out a panicked squeak.

Shi Ran sensed it, and suddenly turned her head toward where the dark‑current qi was gathering—there it was!

Amid the sky‑filling ice and snow, a streak of crimson‑thread red suddenly appeared—its body huge, wings spread wide enough to cover the heavens, its entire form covered in flame‑like scarlet feathers that stood out starkly against the white backdrop!

Crimson Thread Bird!

The four froze, then turned and fled; compared to this ancient demon beast, the few in the forest were obviously more reassuring and easier to deal with.

It's a pity that, though only a step away, they simply couldn't return to the forest—as if a transparent barrier blocked them; could this secret realm be a series of layers you can enter but never leave?

The four looked back—the Crimson Thread Bird was already swooping close before their eyes; its eyes were like two molten gold orbs, burning with unextinguishable fire, its claws were unmatched, wrapped in scorching demonic fire, and it exhaled a gust at them, the howling wind of fire scraping their faces painfully.

The Breaking Cloud Sword leapt from its sheath like a flashing silver dragon, shooting straight at the Crimson Thread Bird; Luo Changfeng's eyes were icy, and under his command the sword swept all before it. Qi Chengshuang retreated a few steps, and the Silver Soul also wound around the Crimson Thread Bird; the two coordinated seamlessly, with Breaking Cloud Sword and Silver Soul locking onto the beast from left and right.