A biting wind poured down from the shaded slope, swirling withered leaves and fine grit.
Bai Qingxue and the snow-maned wolf locked eyes; neither made the first move.
Monster beasts at the mid-stage of Qi Refining had developed a spark of intelligence. At this moment, the snow-maned wolf was quietly observing the cultivator before it.
Bai Qingxue could feel that eerie green gaze, as if it were testing her through some method.
And Bai Qingxue didn't want to give it any more time.
Frost.
The moment the Frost Condensation Sword left its sheath, spiritual power erupted.
A thick frost mist exploded outward with Bai Qingxue at the center, instantly enveloping the surrounding area for several yards.
The snow-maned wolf's vision was obscured. It let out a low, angry roar and pounced toward her, relying on its memory of her position.
Bai Qingxue dodged to the side.
The wolf's claws grazed her shoulder, taking a few strands of hair with them. The fierce wind made her cheeks sting as she moved silently through the frost mist, circling to the snow-maned wolf's flank.
Ice Seal.
The tip of her sword tapped the snow-maned wolf's left hind leg. There was an old wound there with sparse fur—the weakest spot on its entire body.
A faint blue spiritual light sank into its flesh. The snow-maned wolf's left leg was quickly covered in a layer of white frost, its movements visibly sluggish.
But it was only for a moment.
As a beast at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, its vitality far exceeded that of an ordinary snow-maned wolf. With a roar, it forcibly broke through the Ice Seal and turned to pounce at Bai Qingxue.
This time it had learned its lesson. It no longer pounced blindly but darted left and right, attempting to block her retreat.
Bai Qingxue swung her sword as she retreated, releasing Frost again and again to keep the mist at its thickest.
The snow-maned wolf rampaged through the mist, its sharp claws shredding the surrounding bushes, yet it could never precisely lock onto her position.
However, Bai Qingxue knew she couldn't hold out for much longer.
Her spiritual power was being consumed rapidly. The total spiritual power of the third level of Qi Refining was far inferior to that of the fifth level. If this dragged on, she would have no choice but to crush the jade talisman.
But she didn't want to.
If the talisman broke, Liu Ningshuang would come.
She hadn't reached that point yet. Although this wolf's cultivation was significantly higher than hers, it wasn't invincible.
And it was in Bai Qingxue's nature to never ask for help with things she could handle herself.
At this thought, Bai Qingxue took a deep breath and stood her ground in the frost mist, no longer moving.
The snow-maned wolf keenly sensed this change and, with a low growl, lunged toward her.
This time, Bai Qingxue didn't dodge.
She poured her spiritual power into the Frost Condensation Sword, and the blade lit up with a blinding blue light. As the wolf's claws struck, she neither dodged nor parried, thrusting her sword straight into the snow-maned wolf's front leg.
Ice Spirit power surged through the tip of the sword.
That was the cold poison that had once kept her awake at night, now assimilated by the Mystic Frost spiritual power to become her trump card.
As soon as the power entered the snow-maned wolf's body, it spread along its meridians. Everywhere it passed, the flow of spiritual power stagnated and flesh stiffened.
The snow-maned wolf's front leg froze for a split second in mid-air. Its entire body lost balance, and the momentum of its pounce collapsed instantly.
In that very instant—
Bai Qingxue withdrew her sword, took half a step back, and raised it high with both hands.
Shatter Ice.
She poured all her remaining spiritual power into the blade. The Frost Condensation Sword glowed to its limit as she slashed down at the snow-maned wolf's slightly parted snout.
A pale blue sword qi shot out, sinking into the wolf's throat just as it opened its mouth to roar.
The sword qi exploded inside it. The snow-maned wolf's body stiffened in the air before slamming heavily onto the ground, sliding over a yard and only stopping when it hit a large boulder.
Bai Qingxue stood where she was, gasping for breath.
Her spiritual power was almost completely exhausted, and her arms were so sore and numb she could barely hold her sword, yet she did not fall.
A slight chill came from the top of her head.
Bai Qingxue raised a hand to touch her temple and was somewhat surprised to find that several strands of hair had actually begun to lose their color starting from the roots, turning from black to gray, and then from gray to white.
It wasn't obvious unless one looked closely, but it had definitely changed.
At this moment, even Bai Qingxue's body temperature was a few degrees lower than usual, and her fingertips were an unnatural, pale blue-white.
However, Bai Qingxue simply lowered her hand, her expression as calm as ever.
She then walked over to the snow-maned wolf's corpse, cut open its belly, and extracted a walnut-sized monster core. It was frost-white and emitted a faint chill.
A monster core from the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
As Bai Qingxue was about to stand up, her gaze suddenly fell toward the snow-maned wolf's den. Behind the boulder was a narrow rock crevice, through which a faint glimmer of eerie blue light could be seen.
She squeezed inside sideways.
Deep within the crevice, a spirit herb half a foot tall grew quietly.
Its leaves were ice-blue, with a faint light flowing through their veins. The air around it was significantly colder than elsewhere.
Ice Spirit Grass.
Bai Qingxue recognized it. For an ice-attribute spiritual root cultivator, this was considered a top-tier cultivation aid. Perhaps it was because of this herb that a mid-stage Qi Refining snow-maned wolf had appeared here...
Bai Qingxue then carefully dug out the Ice Spirit Grass by its roots and placed it into a jade box. After all, it was a hard-won spiritual item.
...
At the entrance of the valley, Liu Ningshuang was leaning against a pine tree.
Hearing footsteps, she opened her eyes. Her gaze lingered for a moment on Bai Qingxue's torn robes and the bloodstains on her shoulder, then for another moment on those few white strands of hair.
“Are you injured?”
“Just superficial wounds.” Bai Qingxue handed over the monster core.
Liu Ningshuang took it, her brow twitching slightly. “A fifth-level Qi Refining snow-maned wolf?”
“Yes.”
Bai Qingxue briefly recounted the battle. After listening, Liu Ningshuang fell silent for a moment before returning the monster core to her.
She stood up. “The practical assessment is a pass. Let’s go.”
Bai Qingxue nodded slightly.
Liu Ningshuang turned to walk toward the mountain gate. After a few steps, she suddenly spoke: “Rest well and recover once we return. We will continue the assessments after your injuries have healed.”
“Yes.”
Bai Qingxue followed behind her, leaving the Luoyun Mountain Range.
As the mountain wind blew, she looked down at the wound on her waist and felt the heavy monster core and the Ice Spirit Grass in her storage bag.
At the third level of Qi Refining, she had actually managed to kill a beast at the fifth level—a two-rank gap. The power of the Ice Spirit power was even greater than she had imagined, though it seemed there was a price to pay.
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