About a season had passed since Bai Qingxue broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.
Bai Qingxue’s perception of time was always a bit blurry.
Her life was monotonous: the cold pond in the morning, the quiet room in the afternoon, and sword practice in the evening. It was like the water of the cold pond—still, constant, and without ripples.
She couldn't remember exactly which day it was when the texture of the spiritual power in her dantian began to change.
When the spiritual power flowed through her meridians, filling them like rising water, Bai Qingxue knew the time had come.
The sky was not yet bright. On this day, Bai Qingxue did not go to the cold pond. Instead, she sat cross-legged on the stone couch in her quiet room.
Only a single lamp was lit in the room. The wick had been trimmed short, leaving a flame the size of a bean that dyed the surroundings a dim yellow.
The Cold Iron Stone lay by her knee, its faint blue light intertwining with the lamplight, casting flickering shadows across her face.
Bai Qingxue closed her eyes, and her spiritual sense sank into her dantian.
The pale blue light in her dantian had condensed into a near-solid mass. The frost patterns at its edges had turned into fine ice crystals, rotating slowly within her.
Every pulsation of the light was steady and powerful, like a heart pumping spiritual power to every part of her body. The barrier leading to the sixth level of Qi Refining was as thin as a cicada's wing, trembling under the wash of spiritual power as if urging her forward.
Bai Qingxue took a deep breath and mobilized all the spiritual power in her dantian.
In an instant, the power surged out, whistling through her meridians.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles... Bai Qingxue didn't count. She simply let the spiritual power wash through her again and again until the light in her dantian was blindingly bright and the barrier was so thin it had almost dissolved.
Then, she slowly drew the spiritual power back into her dantian, re-condensing it. Finally, she pressed all of her power against that barrier.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The barrier shattered.
There was no sound, and there was no pain.
It was like ice naturally melting under the sun—silent and effortless. Bai Qingxue’s dantian suddenly expanded, and a surge of spiritual power, far stronger than before, rapidly filled her sea of qi.
The sixth level of Qi Refining was reached.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath.
Immediately, the temperature in the quiet room plummeted. However, it wasn't the uncontrolled explosion of cold from before; it was a calm, composed flow of frost, as if the entire room were responding to the new power within her.
White frost formed on the edge of the stone couch, then spread to the stone walls and the door frame. The layer of frost crept outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But this time, she did not let the cold spiral out of control. With a single thought from Bai Qingxue, the chill retracted, and the frost abruptly stopped its advance.
Bai Qingxue looked down at her palm and shifted her intent again.
Chill bled from her palm, condensing into tiny snowflakes in the air.
The snowflakes drifted slowly through the quiet room, landing on the stone couch, the table, and her shoulders.
Each one was a perfect hexagon with edges as thin as a cicada's wing, shimmering with a faint silver light under the lamp.
They didn't melt when they landed on the couch; they just lay there quietly, like a thin layer of fallen snow.
Where the will goes, ice is born.
After breaking through to the sixth level, her Ice Spirit power no longer required deliberate guidance. It had become an extension of her will.
Her control was no longer a crude matter of freezing; she could control the shape, the intensity, and even keep the snowflakes from melting, allowing them to persist.
Bai Qingxue reached out and caught a snowflake.
It rested in her palm for a moment before slowly melting, eventually turning into a single drop of water. The droplet slid along the lines of her palm and dripped onto the stone couch with a faint sound.
Bai Qingxue raised a hand to tuck back a stray lock of hair, but the sensation felt slightly off. She realized the hair between her fingertips felt finer and smoother than before, and the color seemed lighter.
She pinched a strand and brought it close to the lamp to inspect it carefully. Previously, there had only been a few white hairs at her temples, but now there seemed to be several more strands that were silver-white from root to tip, gleaming coldly in the lamplight.
Bai Qingxue froze for a moment, then lowered her hand.
The lamplight was probably too dim, tricking her eyes. Or perhaps some frost had clung to her hair when the cold leaked out during her breakthrough, making it look white...
Bai Qingxue didn't dwell on it and left the quiet room.
Xueji Peak had a rule: disciples who broke through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining or higher had to report to an elder. Bai Qingxue walked up the stone steps toward the main hall, the night wind pouring down from the peak and making her robes snap in the air.
When she arrived, the doors to the main hall were slightly ajar.
Bai Qingxue pushed the door open and found Liu Ningshuang sitting at a desk, holding a jade slip. The elder looked up, her gaze lingering on Bai Qingxue for a moment.
“You’ve broken through?” Liu Ningshuang asked. She didn't use her spiritual sense, but she could tell the general state of things just from Bai Qingxue’s aura.
“Yes,” Bai Qingxue nodded.
Liu Ningshuang set down the jade slip, stood up, and walked over to Bai Qingxue, placing a hand on her wrist.
A thread of spiritual sense entered her meridians, traveling through her dantian and throughout her body. After a few breaths, she withdrew her spiritual sense.
“Good. Your foundation is still solid, and your Ice Spirit power already far exceeds the spiritual power of ordinary cultivators.” Liu Ningshuang’s tone remained flat, but a hint of satisfaction was hidden in her eyes. “Among the Qi Refining disciples I’ve seen on Xueji Peak, your spiritual power purity is definitely in the top three.”
Bai Qingxue didn't respond, not knowing how to answer.
She felt nothing toward the praise, but she knew Liu Ningshuang was not one to give compliments lightly.
Liu Ningshuang glanced at her and continued, “The transition from the sixth to the seventh level is the turning point of the Qi Refining stage. it will be more difficult than before. Do not slacken.”
“Yes.”
Bai Qingxue bowed to Liu Ningshuang before withdrawing from the main hall.
However, she didn't return to her courtyard immediately. Instead, she went to the cold pond.
The cold pond was even chillier in the dead of night. The mist on the water was thicker than usual, a vast expanse of white that obscured the opposite bank.
The moon hung in the sky, its light filtering through the mist to turn the entire cold pond into a world of deep blue.
Bai Qingxue removed her outer robe and stepped into the pond.
The freezing water rose to her waist. She sat cross-legged, leaving only her head and shoulders above the surface. Mist churned around her as the cold surged in from all directions, merging with the Mystic Frost spiritual power inside her.
Bai Qingxue raised her right hand and shifted her intent.
Chill spilled from her palm, actually condensing into a thin wall of ice in the air.
The ice wall extended outward from her palm, growing larger and larger until a barrier about ten feet wide and half a foot thick stood before her. The ice wall was crystal clear, its surface as smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting her face. Her features were cold, her eyes pale, and her hair shimmered silver-white in the moonlight.
Bai Qingxue noticed that her hair really did seem a bit whiter than before. It wasn't just at her temples; even the hair behind her ears was tinged with silver frost.
She stared at her reflection on the water's surface for a moment, then looked away.
Yes, it must be an illusion... But even if it isn't, it doesn't matter.
Bai Qingxue withdrew her hand, but the ice wall did not shatter. It remained standing over the cold pond, gleaming coldly in the mist.
Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. The ice wall didn't budge.
It wasn't until forty-five minutes had passed that fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the ice wall, spreading from the center like a spiderweb. Another fifteen minutes later, it collapsed with a crash, shattering into countless tiny ice crystals that fell into the pond, sending out ripples.
The crystals floated on the surface for a moment before slowly melting and vanishing into the mist.
Bai Qingxue watched the crystals dissipate, having gained a clear understanding of her progress.
Half an hour. Not bad.
She rose from the pond, threw on her outer robe, and walked back up the mountain path.
Back in the courtyard, the bare branches of the old plum tree swayed gently in the moonlight.
Bai Qingxue stood under the tree and glanced up at the sky. The moon was full and the stars were few, making the night feel somewhat lonely.
But soon, she withdrew her gaze and entered the quiet room, sitting cross-legged on the stone couch.
The Cold Iron Stone continued to emit its deep blue light beside the couch.
Bai Qingxue closed her eyes, feeling the spiritual power flow slowly through her meridians.
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