Bai Qingxue put the jade slip into her storage bag.
The moment her fingertips left the pale-green jade surface, the stone room jolted.
The tremor was light, as if something deep within the earth had turned over and accidentally brushed against this layer of ice.
Bai Qingxue’s hand stopped mid-air, her gaze sweeping across the four walls. The runes on the stone bricks dimmed for an instant before brightening again, looking no different than before.
"Go."
Ning Qinghan's voice came from behind, sounding like a completely different person from her previously lazy self.
Bai Qingxue turned around to see that Ning Qinghan had already stood up straight, her arms no longer crossed but hanging at her sides.
She wasn't looking at Bai Qingxue; instead, she was staring at the runes on the walls, her brow furrowed deeply.
"Leave, now!"
As her second urge fell, the stone room jolted again.
This time, it was much heavier than before.
The stone slabs beneath the trio's feet began to tremble violently. Bai Qingxue could feel a chill surging up from deep underground, striking the soles of her feet as if pushed by something.
The runes on the walls began to change color, shifting from dark red to blood-red. The color spread outward from the center of the lines, like blood soaking into Xuan paper, devouring the original dullness inch by inch.
Lu Xueqing's hand already gripped her sword hilt. "What's happening?"
"Taking the jade slip triggered something." Ning Qinghan's voice was tighter than before. Her gaze shifted from the runes to the dome, her pupils shrinking suddenly. "Look up!"
Bai Qingxue looked up.
The first crack appeared on the dome.
Starting from the edge of the circular groove in the center, the crack looked as if an invisible hand had traced a line across the ice, spreading from the dome toward the walls. Then came a second, a third, and a fourth.
The cracks spread like a spiderweb, crawling from the dome to the walls and from the walls to the ground, weaving through the runes and shattering the blood-red patterns into fragments.
Ice shards fell in a flurry, like a silent snowstorm.
Ning Qinghan was the first to react.
She rushed toward the entrance of the stone room, her bare feet treading on the shattered ice with a pace as swift as a startled deer.
The bell at her waist swayed violently, yet it still made no sound.
At that moment, rocks and ice blocks cascaded from above the ice walls, completely sealing the narrow passage that could only fit one person.
The largest ice stone was wedged in the middle of the passage. Its cross-section was jagged and its edges sharp, looking like a giant tooth stuck in a throat.
Ning Qinghan stood before the pile of rubble, her shoulders rising and falling slightly.
"Is there another way?" Bai Qingxue asked.
Ning Qinghan was silent for a breath. "Yes. But it's far."
Before she could finish, the stone room jolted a third time.
This tremor was more violent than the previous two combined.
A fissure split the ground, extending from beneath Bai Qingxue's feet all the way to the wall at the other end of the stone room. The sound of the ice shattering mixed with a low rumble, sounding like something was roaring deep within the ice layers.
A chill erupted from the fissure, condensing into visible ice mist. The white fog instantly swallowed half of the stone room.
The ice lotus inside Bai Qingxue's dantian rotated rapidly.
The ice mist had no effect on her; the chill passed through her body like water through a sieve, leaving no trace behind.
But Lu Xueqing was different.
Protective spiritual power condensed into a thin film of light on the surface of Lu Xueqing's body. However, under the erosion of the ice mist, this film was dimming at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Suddenly, a piece of rubble fell from the dome, hurtling toward the top of Bai Qingxue's head.
Before Bai Qingxue could react, Lu Xueqing's sword arrived first.
A flash of cold light flickered, and the rubble was sliced in two mid-air. Lu Xueqing sheathed her sword with almost no gap in her movements.
Immediately after, another rock fell toward her own side. With a flick of her wrist, she struck it with the spine of her sword, sending the rock flying into a corner.
However, after making her move, Lu Xueqing's face grew even paler.
Seeing this, Bai Qingxue reached out and gripped Lu Xueqing's wrist.
The moment she took hold, she felt the wrist bones trembling slightly in Lu Xueqing's palm, like a skylark caught in the rain.
Lu Xueqing turned her head and glanced at Bai Qingxue.
Her gaze dispersed before it could focus, and after just one look, she turned away.
Then, Lu Xueqing's hand moved.
Just like before, her fingers slid down along the back of Bai Qingxue's hand.
Lu Xueqing's fingertips carried a damp chill, like stream water flowing over a stony beach, slowly seeping into the gaps between Bai Qingxue's fingers.
Finally, her fingers curved into the spaces between Bai Qingxue's own, locking tight.
This time, the grip was even tighter than before.
It was so tight that it felt like a drowning person grasping at a final piece of driftwood.
However, Bai Qingxue only slowly closed her fingers, clutching that bit of coldness and trembling together within her palm.
When Ning Qinghan turned around, she saw this scene.
Bai Qingxue and Lu Xueqing stood in the ice mist, their fingers interlocked.
Bai Qingxue's silver-white hair fluttered slightly in the ice mist. Lu Xueqing stood at her side, her shoulder almost brushing Bai Qingxue's arm.
The ice mist between the two was thinner than elsewhere, as if pushed away by some invisible force.
Ning Qinghan's gaze lingered for a moment on their joined hands.
Then, she looked away.
"This way," Ning Qinghan said, her voice slightly lower than before.
She turned around and stopped looking at Bai Qingxue and Lu Xueqing, walking quickly along the edge of the stone room.
Her bare feet stepped on the shattered ice, making a faint crunching sound.
The bell at her waist swayed gently, remaining silent like a small beast with its eyes closed.
Bai Qingxue pulled Lu Xueqing along to follow. The ice mist grew thicker, gradually rising from their ankles to their waists.
The blood-red runes on the stone walls flickered in the mist, like bloodshot eyes blinking.
The cracks on the dome were still spreading. They were no longer spiderweb-like but had become a massive fissure cutting from the center to the edge, nearly splitting the entire dome in two.
Rubble continued to fall. Some were only the size of fingernails, hitting their shoulders with a dull, painless thud.
Others were as large as heads, slamming into the ground and gouging out deep pits, sending ice shards flying.
Bai Qingxue stepped aside to avoid a falling rock. The Frost Radiance Sword hummed lowly in its sheath, as if issuing a warning.
Ning Qinghan stopped in front of an ice wall.
This ice wall was different from the other three. It had no runes and no cracks; it was only a smooth, nearly transparent surface of ice.
Through the ice, a narrow ice path could be seen behind it, winding and twisting without a visible end.
Ning Qinghan pressed her hand against the ice. Her palm lay flat against the surface, her fingers spread slightly, her fingertips a shade of red from the extreme cold.
However, nothing happened.
Spiritual power surged from Ning Qinghan's palm into the ice, but it was like pouring water into a bottomless abyss—there wasn't even an echo.
The stone room jolted again.
A piece of rubble fell from the dome, crashing less than three feet from Ning Qinghan's side, splashing her with ice shards.
She didn't dodge. Her hand remained pressed against the ice, her teeth clenched so hard that her canine teeth left a shallow mark on her pale lips.
Bai Qingxue released Lu Xueqing's hand and stepped forward.
She placed her hand next to Ning Qinghan's, her palm flush against the ice.
The ice lotus in her dantian spun rapidly, and Ice Spirit power surged from her palm into the ice wall.
The ice surface lit up.
The ice no longer displayed a blood-like red but turned into a clear, transparent light. The radiance spread outward from where Bai Qingxue's palm rested, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, causing the ice to begin to melt.
No, rather than melting, it was more like it was receding.
The ice layer grew thinner and more transparent from the center outward, finally revealing a gap just large enough for one person to pass through.
A chill surged from the gap, thicker and purer than the ice mist in the stone room.
"Thank you," Ning Qinghan whispered to Bai Qingxue beside her.
"It is only right," Bai Qingxue replied with a slight nod.
Then, she turned back, took Lu Xueqing's hand, and stepped into the ice path.
Ning Qinghan followed at the very back. As she stepped through the gap, she looked back at the stone room.
The blood-red runes on the walls were nearly extinguished, like the pulse of a dying person—weaker and weaker with every beat.
The fissure in the dome finally tore through the entire ice layer. Rubble and ice blocks cascaded down, crashing into the spot where the jade slip had once floated and into the widening fissure on the floor.
The stone room was collapsing.
Ning Qinghan withdrew her gaze and turned to enter the ice path. The bell at her waist swayed slightly.
This time, it rang.
Ding-dang.
A single, short sound, like a sigh.
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