Chapter 923: Spirit Mirror

Shan Shan instantly perked up, the previous gloom swept away, she grabbed Ao Jing's hand and left.

Ao Jing watched Shan Shan's fighting spirit reignite, and their tightly clasped hands, and couldn't help thinking that this trip he had truly come for the right reason.

Originally Ao Jing thought Shan Shan would directly take him southwest.

Shan Shan said that the snow-pattern leopard's location was in the snow mountain region southwest of the Feng Clan.

But the further they went, the more Ao Jing felt something was off.

The direction Shan Shan led him wasn't southwest; at first, Ao Jing thought she was going back to pack up, since a snow-pattern leopard of that sort was no easy foe and required some preparation.

Only when Shan Shan brought Ao Jing to the Feng Clan's Spirit Shrine did he realize something was amiss.

The Feng Clan's Spirit Shrine is a forbidden zone; aside from important members of the Feng Clan, no one is permitted to enter.

It is said that everything stored in this Spirit Shrine consists of antiquities and spirit objects that A Cheng gathered after recovering his memories, including the treasures the Feng Clan's elders had painstakingly preserved; they are extremely precious.

Some of these items even concern the fate of the entire clan.

Upon seeing the plaque of the Spirit Shrine above the palace gate, Ao Jing stopped in his tracks.

Shan Shan turned her head, looking at him puzzled: "Brother Jing, why aren't you moving?"

Ao Jing said: "Shan Shan, this is the Feng Clan's Spirit Shrine; as an outsider, I really shouldn't go inside."

"Ah, Elder Cousin, you're not an outsider."

Shan Shan said while pulling Ao Jing toward the Spirit Shrine.

The Spirit Shrine was heavily guarded inside and out, but with Shan Shan leading the way, and everyone knowing Ao Jing's identity, no one came forward to stop them.

Only after Shan Shan and Ao Jing entered the Spirit Shrine's interior did Tang Xun and A Cheng appear from within the gate.

In fact, Shan Shan had been secretly crying, avoiding everyone; Tang Xun and A Cheng knew, but the matter hit Shan Shan too hard, and they hadn't yet figured out how to comfort her without making her feel worse.

When Ao Jing arrived, Tang Xun and A Cheng were both surprised; they quickly concealed their auras and hid.

Shan Shan wanted to take Ao Jing to hunt the snow-pattern leopard, so the two hurried to the Spirit Shrine to say hello.

They also wanted Shan Shan to perk up soon.

The Spirit Shrine is large; after entering the main gate, one must pass through four doors and three courtyards to reach the area where the main hall stands.

As they approached, Ao Jing sensed the barrier surrounding the main hall.

Shan Shan raised her hand and lightly pressed the barrier; inside, two spirit beasts opened a gap in the barrier, letting the two through, then sealed it again.

Only after entering the barrier's interior did Ao Jing clearly see the main hall's appearance.

Majestic and solemn, yet imbued with spirituality; even the ridge beasts lined up along the roof looked vividly alive.

Shan Shan pushed open the main hall's doors, and Ao Jing followed her inside.

Stepping over the main hall's threshold, Ao Jing felt another barrier.

This time, Shan Shan didn't rush to open the barrier; instead, she fluttered her hands, forming seals in midair, chanting softly, then lifted her right hand and swept it before her.

Soon, a gigantic picture album appeared out of thin air before them.

Shan Shan kept waving her right hand, and the images on the picture album shifted continuously with her motions.

Ao Jing noticed that some of the images were blank, some misty, some pitch black, and only a few were clear and familiar.

Each page of this picture album seemed like a tiny world; in a daze, Ao Jing even felt that every blade of grass and tree inside appeared to be moving.

"Here!"

Ao Jing was thinking when Shan Shan suddenly cried out excitedly; he quickly gathered his thoughts and looked at the frozen page in midair, where he saw an expanse of endless white snow and, within the snow sea, a towering, continuous snow mountain.

Upon the snow mountain, tree shadows overlapped.

Yet all the trees were buried under heavy white snow, discernible only by their shapes.

A gentle breeze seemed to blow, causing the snow on the trees to flutter down.

The scenery seemed beautiful at first glance, but the longer one looked, an inexplicable fear would unconsciously rise from the heart.

The whole picture was too silent.

It wasn't the silence of no sound, but rather… the oppressive, suffocating feeling of lacking any living creature.

Yes, in the whole picture, aside from snow, nothing else could be seen.

The mountain ranges were covered in white snow, the trees likewise; only their outlines were visible, with no substance to be seen.

Shan Shan turned her head again to look at Ao Jing and said: "Brother Jing, this is the snow mountain I told you about in the southwest; the snow-pattern leopard lives within this snow mountain, and I have seen it with my own eyes."

Ao Jing puzzled: "So… this domain isn't actually in the real world?"

"It used to be." Shan Shan said, a bit deflated, "But that was long ago; over the years of the Feng Clan's decline, so many things have happened, some I can't even explain. In short, if we want to enter this snow mountain now, we can only do so through this Spirit Mirror."

"And you just saw it—many areas of this Spirit Realm remain unopened; the snow mountain before us was only recently developed by my maternal uncle last year, and it currently serves only as a training ground for important members of the Feng Clan."

"When it was first opened, we could only stay inside for ten minutes before being pushed out by a repelling force; but with time and my maternal uncle's continual effort, we can now remain inside for up to four hours."

Ao Jing considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, yet the Feng Clan's Spirit Mirror had opened the door to a new world, and his curiosity was piqued.

Ao Jing narrowed his eyes at the image in the Spirit Mirror, pondering whether four hours would be enough, and then asked: "If we come out when the four-hour limit is reached, can we re-enter for another four hours to continue?"

"No." Shan Shan said solemnly, "Each time external power enters the Spirit Mirror, it inflicts some damage; after we exit, the Spirit Mirror temporarily seals itself to heal, and it will not reappear until a month later."

So that's how it is.

Shan Shan looked at Ao Jing's thoughtful expression; the earlier hesitant enthusiasm finally cooled: "Brother Jing, I actually don't want the snow-pattern leopard as a mount that badly anymore; my mood has improved a lot. Thank you for accompanying and guiding me—I'll send you back. I also miss Aunt Su Su; I'll go see her."

Ao Jing knew Shan Shan was backing down; he declared firmly: "Actually, I'm quite curious about the scenery inside the Spirit Mirror; chances to enter the Spirit Shrine are rare. Shan Shan, I want to go into this snow mountain and have a look……"