Chapter 224: Bai Mao's Former Residence

Frozen Moon Cold River is very far, not even bordering Great Qian.

The vast northern expanse of Great Qian is the territory of the Demon Race, wide in land but sparse in demons.

To the west of Great Qian lies the Tian Shuang Kingdom. The northern part of the Tian Shuang Kingdom also borders the Demon Domain, while Frozen Moon Cold River lies to the west of the Demon Domain.

Flying west from Xiazhou, gradually there is no longer any sign of human habitation below.

The climate of the entire Tian Shuang Kingdom is much colder than Great Qian; now it is the fifth month, yet winter scenes are frequently visible within the borders of Tian Shuang below, becoming more obvious the further north one goes, with frost hanging on mountains and rivers.

Ye Tinglan sent Miss Qingli to the Tian Shuang Kingdom to investigate the situation precisely because this place suits her well.

Not only are the customs and climate of the Tian Shuang Kingdom vastly different from Great Qian, but its system is also quite distinct. Due to the vastness of the world and the long distances, Lu Xingzhou has not researched it in detail, knowing only that it resembles a typical Xianxia world where various sects act on their own, the imperial court has low presence, and towns depend on sects.

This situation usually arises because the imperial court is weak, lacking a particularly strong unifying force. This leads to a state named as a kingdom but actually closer to a sect alliance system, where the monarch is like an alliance leader. Their main enemies are also the Demon Race, making them allies with Great Qian.

Since the journey is long, the climate is harsh, and the immortal gates are arrogant, Great Qian never considered bringing the Tian Shuang Kingdom under its rule, as it would be entirely effort with no reward. Thus, the two countries have little conflict, and neither has stationed troops along their borders. If conflicts arise, they are more often factional disputes between immortal gates, never reaching the national level.

For hundreds of li on either side of the border line, there is no one at all, only barren mountains and evil waters, making it a good hiding place for many fugitives and villains. Some demonic sects also hide their lairs here, such as the Charming Women Hehuan Sect.

Therefore, the Charming Women Hehuan Sect is relatively not far from Xiazhou, which is why Pei Chuyun's first stop upon venturing out was Xiazhou.

Flying north for several days after entering the Tian Shuang Kingdom brings one to the southern end of Frozen Moon Cold River.

Looking out, it is a vast expanse of white, a thousand li of glaciers; apart from the cold, there is nothing special. In reality, many ancient ruins are covered beneath these glaciers; not to mention other things, there are at least many ancient tombs.

Of course, given its vast territory, even the so-called "many" are extremely hard to find. Over hundreds of years, cultivators seeking opportunities in this ghostly place have rarely found anything, and gradually fewer and fewer people come here.

Du Gu Qingli has lived here since childhood; with such a vast area and few visitors, even if someone were present, they might not be seen, so she has seen almost no one for many years.

The small boat flies overhead as Lu Xingzhou strokes his chin, eyeing the ice plain below with great confusion: "Strange, the Imperial Preceptor left little Bai Mao alone in such a place, and she was a child back then! Was this training or exile?"

Ye Tinglan sat cross-legged on the bow, ignoring him.

"How did she survive? What did she eat?" A Nuo added, "There aren't even many animals here, right?"

Ye Tinglan finally spoke in a bad mood: "Du Gu Qingli's situation is very special; if she hadn't lived here as a child, she couldn't have survived elsewhere. She survived on the Ice and Cold Qi, only becoming normal after her cultivation rose."

Lu Xingzhou said, "In that case, it's not entirely baseless for some to think she is a demon."

"Of course she is not a demon; modern people are ignorant of rare things, unaware of special innate holy bodies. Du Gu Qingli's Ice Soul Sword Body is a once-in-ten-thousand-years occurrence."

"That still doesn't mean a child should live alone; the Imperial Preceptor went too far."

"She was not alone. The Tian Yao Holy Land has always had people monitoring this area; someone has always been responsible for Qingli's condition. In fact, I... also know the Imperial Preceptor has a split soul by her side; otherwise, how could he guide her cultivation? Leaving her here doesn't count as a master-disciple relationship?"

"A personal old grandpa?"

Hearing this term for the first time, Ye Tinglan found it fitting and smiled: "About right."

"True heroine treatment," Lu Xingzhou said. "Then what does she eat?"

"There are things to eat here. Look."

Following Ye Tinglan's pointing, Lu Xingzhou indeed saw a cluster of crystal-like plants, from leaves to fruit appearing as if carved from ice, like works of art.

Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo's eyes lit up: "Fun."

"Broadening horizons. These are Ice Crystal Fruits, nonexistent outside. Not only plants, but animals too, all are strange beasts. Strange beasts will attack you, but they also have many uses for alchemy," Ye Tinglan said. "Some of these things can be seen in high-end auctions in Great Qian, but most are completely unseen. You are alchemists, yet you have never seen these special things nonexistent in Great Qian; you are nothing but frogs in a well, what kind of alchemists are you? This is the trial you need."

Lu Xingzhou stroked his chin: "If someone specifically collects these things here to sell back in Great Qian, wouldn't that be huge profits?"

"So do you think why the Tian Yao Holy Land has people stationed here to monitor? Of course, they won't sell to Great Qian; everything is stored and used by the Tian Yao Holy Land itself. Other powers, Great Qian basically has none, but many powers in the Tian Shuang Kingdom do the same. Do you think Du Gu Qingli has only dealt with strange beasts for all these years? Of course, there are humans too."

As they discussed, suddenly a biting cold wind swept past, piercing the small boat's external shield and stabbing straight at Lu Xingzhou's face.

Lu Xingzhou casually waved it away, but the cold wind poured in through the crack in the shield, instantly covering his hair with frost.

Ye Tinglan pressed the bow down to the ground: "Here, frost winds howl from time to time, the ice and cold sharp as blades, with considerable power. Hmm, just like those unexpected attacks you felt in the Demon Suppression Domain."

"Wind blades and frost swords, indeed," Lu Xingzhou said, landing and looking around. "In the Demon Suppression Domain, it was because unowned energy from dead demons ran wild; what is the cause here?"

"No cause, just common wind. Only that the wind contains strong Ice and Cold energy, giving it a certain aggressiveness; the deeper one goes toward the center, the denser and stronger it becomes, so ordinary cultivators cannot enter the core area."

"Has Qingli entered?"

"How would I know? I'm not her personal old grandpa." Does a personal old grandma count... Ye Tinglan rolled her eyes at him: "You came to visit Du Gu Qingli's former residence, right?"

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

"If visiting a former residence, there might indeed be one. If you see a small house built from ice blocks cut with a sword somewhere, that is likely it. After practicing during the day, she would cut ice blocks on the spot at night to build a house to live in."

A Nuo imagined a scene of a little white-haired girl about her own age grunting and groaning while building a house herself, her small face turning flat: "So pitiful..."

"No choice; extraordinary people can only do extraordinary things. If the Tian Yao Holy Land hadn't discovered her, she would have been gone long ago..." Ye Tinglan thought of her obedient disciple's pitiful appearance as a child and sighed a bit: "What truly should be puzzling is her origin; how could a child be abandoned in Frozen Moon Cold River... It can't just be because she has white hair and blue eyes?"

Lu Xingzhou fell silent for a moment: "It could be some power in the Tian Shuang Kingdom."

"Hmm." Ye Tinglan had sent Du Gu Qingli to the Tian Shuang Kingdom partly to let her obedient disciple find her origins, but there was no need to tell Lu Xingzhou that: "Let's go, look at the Ice Crystal Fruits first."

The three put away the small boat and walked toward that cluster of Ice Crystal Fruits.

Just as they approached, with a "Shua" sound, an ice snake darted out from beneath the fruit tree, quietly going to bite A Nuo's foot.

A Nuo stepped on the seven-inch mark of the ice snake; the snake twitched twice, emitting wisps of Ice and Cold from within its body, and died completely.

Ye Tinglan said casually: "Put it away, let's see its medicinal properties."

A Nuo: "..."

"So do not think that because the thousand-li glacier is visible at a glance, there seems to be no danger; in reality, every step here is fraught with crisis, and unexpected killing intent can emerge anywhere. And... do you now feel your blood circulation becoming increasingly stagnant, causing your True Qi to be equally sluggish?"

"Hmm..."

"This is also a trial in cultivation. This is merely the edge; I am also very curious, given your level, how many li you can penetrate into Frozen Moon Cold River."

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PS: A bit short, make do for now; more tonight.

(End of this chapter)