After breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, Bai Qingxue went to the cold pond on the back mountain.
Liu Ningshuang had told her to let her cultivation settle for a few days, and after some thought, Bai Qingxue decided the cold pond was the best place for it.
The spiritual energy there was abundant and the chill was pure, making it more suitable for stabilizing her foundation than the quiet room.
In the early morning, the cold pond was shrouded in a layer of mist. The water's surface was as still as a mirror, reflecting the grayish-blue sky.
Bai Qingxue took off her outer robe and stepped into the pond.
The icy water reached her waist. She sat cross-legged, leaving only her head and shoulders above the surface.
She had already committed the techniques of the second layer of the 《Mystic Frost Heavenly Heart Art》 to memory.
This layer began to involve the fine control of Ice Spirit power, where ice forms with intent. It was not about using spiritual power to forcibly condense ice crystals, but using one's will to guide the chill into natural shapes.
Bai Qingxue closed her eyes and focused, drawing the chill from her dantian out of her body.
A speck of blue light lit up at her fingertip. The chill condensed, and an ice crystal as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in her palm.
She tried to control the shape of the ice crystal, changing it from a circle to a rhombus, and then into a hexagonal snowflake. The ice crystal rotated slowly in her palm; its edges were so thin they were transparent, looking as though they would shatter at a touch, yet they remained intact.
She opened her eyes and looked at the perfect snowflake in her palm, her heart stirring slightly.
Just as she was about to continue, the sound of footsteps came from the shore.
Bai Qingxue turned to look.
Through the mist, a pale green figure stood on the path by the cold pond, about a dozen paces from the water's edge.
It was Ye Qingyao.
She was wearing the disciple uniform of Qingyun Peak. A few strands of her hair were dampened by the morning mist and clung to her forehead.
In her hands, she held a flat wooden box wrapped in cloth, clutching it to her chest.
Ye Qingyao stood there, standing on her tiptoes to peer into the pond. When she saw Bai Qingxue looking at her, she froze, and her face instantly turned red.
“How did you find this place?” Bai Qingxue asked.
Ye Qingyao lowered her head, her voice very soft. “I asked the peak-guarding senior sister... she said you often come to the back mountain to cultivate. I’ve been coming here for two days, and I only found you today.”
Bai Qingxue did not respond, simply watching her.
Looking at the current Bai Qingxue, Ye Qingyao took a deep breath as if she had made a decision. She walked quickly to the shore with her head down, placed the wooden box on a rock, and then took two steps back, keeping a distance from Bai Qingxue.
“Senior Sister said... I should deliver it myself.” Her voice was still very small. Her fingers twisted her sleeves, and her eyes didn't dare look at Bai Qingxue, landing instead on the wooden box.
“Every time I asked someone else to deliver things before, Senior Sister said that if I kept doing that, I would never...”
She couldn't finish the sentence, her ears turning a shade of red so deep it looked like they might bleed.
Bai Qingxue rose from the pond water. Droplets slid down her robes, shimmering with fine light in the morning sun.
The mist swirled around her, and the soaked white clothes clung to her body, outlining her slender frame.
She walked to the shore, threw on her outer robe, and pulled her wet hair back behind her shoulders.
Ye Qingyao kept her head down the entire time, staring at the tips of her own shoes.
Bai Qingxue walked over to the wooden box, unwrapped the cloth, and opened the lid.
Inside was a stone the size of a palm. It was a deep, ghostly blue with fine patterns on the surface, looking like a piece of cut ore.
The stone was cushioned with soft cloth, clearly placed there with great care.
“Cold Iron Stone?” Bai Qingxue picked it up to examine it. It was cold and heavy to the touch.
“It’s a scrap piece of Cold Iron Stone,” Ye Qingyao said softly. “I... I saw it at the market. They said it can help ice spiritual root cultivators focus and calm their minds. The grade isn't high, so it wasn't expensive. I exchanged contribution points for it.”
She paused and added another sentence. “It’s not a pill or a cake. I thought... Sister Bai, you probably don't need those things anymore. But this... it should be useful to keep in your quiet room.”
Bai Qingxue turned the Cold Iron Stone over to look at it. One side of the stone had been polished smooth as a mirror; it could be used as a paperweight or an auxiliary tool during cultivation.
The polishing work wasn't particularly refined, and there were a few small scratches on the edges, but one could tell that a lot of effort had been put into it.
“Did you polish this?” Bai Qingxue asked.
Ye Qingyao nodded, her voice muffled. “Yes. I... I polished it when I had nothing to do. I worked on it for several days.”
Bai Qingxue said nothing. She placed the Cold Iron Stone back into the wooden box and closed the lid.
“Thank you.”
Two words, but the tone was as flat as ever.
Ye Qingyao bit her lip, her eyes turning slightly red, but she held it back. She turned to leave, but after taking two steps, she stopped as if she had something more to say.
“Your cultivation has improved again,” Bai Qingxue suddenly said.
Again.
Ye Qingyao froze where she stood.
She remembered that last time in Bai Qingxue’s courtyard, Bai Qingxue had said, “Your cultivation has also improved.”
That was the first time. This was the second. Bai Qingxue had used the word “again,” which meant she remembered. She remembered what her cultivation had been before, remembered what she had said, and remembered that she had been working hard.
It wasn't politeness or a perfunctory remark; she had truly remembered.
Ye Qingyao’s chest felt as if it had been gently bumped by something. There was a bit of a sting and a bit of an ache, a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.
She lowered her head, staring at her toes, and remained silent for a couple of heartbeats.
“Yes,” she whispered back. Her voice was a bit muffled, but she didn't cry.
Then she turned around and walked away quickly.
After a few steps, she stopped again. With her back to Bai Qingxue, her voice was soft and trembling slightly. “Sister Bai, that Cold Iron Stone... it might not be a very great thing. But... keeping it in the quiet room should help you.”
With that, she quickened her pace and disappeared into the mist.
Bai Qingxue stood on the shore, watching the pale green figure vanish.
She looked down at the wooden box and opened it again. The Cold Iron Stone lay quietly inside, its ghostly blue patterns glowing faintly in the morning light. She took the stone out and held it in her palm; the icy sensation spread along the lines of her hand, resonating faintly with the Mystic Frost spiritual power within her body.
It truly could help one focus.
She put the Cold Iron Stone back into the box, tucked it into her storage bag, took off her outer robe, and stepped back into the pond.
The mist swirled, and the cold pond remained icy. She sat cross-legged and closed her eyes. An ice crystal as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in her palm.
Ice forms with intent.
There was no rush.
Ye Qingyao walked quickly out of the cold pond’s vicinity, through the withered forest, and up the stone steps.
Her pace was fast, as if she were in a hurry, or perhaps as if she were running away from something.
It wasn't until she turned into the mountain gate of Qingyun Peak and heard the sounds of people around her that she slowed down.
“Junior Sister Ye?” Lin Xiaoxi caught up from behind, holding a water skin. “Why are you running so fast? Did you deliver the item?”
“I delivered it,” Ye Qingyao said, her voice having returned to normal.
“What did she say?”
“She said thank you.” Ye Qingyao paused and then added, “She also said my cultivation has improved again.”
Lin Xiaoxi glanced at her, not quite understanding what was so special about that sentence. But seeing the slight curve at the corners of Ye Qingyao’s mouth and noting that her eyes, though a bit red, held no tears, Lin Xiaoxi smiled.
“Well, that’s good then. Come on, let’s go back and rest.”
Ye Qingyao shook her head. “No, I’m going to go cultivate.”
Lin Xiaoxi watched her back as she headed toward the training ground, shrugged, and said nothing more.
Ye Qingyao entered the training ground, drew her sword, and settled into a starting stance.
She didn't cry.
She just felt that her chest felt a little warm.
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