The aftermath slowly subsided.....
Snow dust rustled down, gradually covering the messy surface of the ice.
The black sword still floated quietly in front of Fang Xuan, its blade undamaged, without even a speck of ice dust on it.
It was as if the self-detonation that was powerful enough to overturn a small hill was nothing more than a bit of wind and frost.
Fang Xuan reached out and sheathed it, and the ferocious intent settled down as the battle ended, returning to its usual deathly stillness.
It was indeed the sword Ning Xian could use all the way into the later stages of the original work; it was tough enough.
He turned his head and looked at Ning Xian beside him.
She was gazing at the original entrance of the ice cave, which was now completely collapsed, and the precious millennium ice-spirit jade marrow inside had also been utterly destroyed.
She just watched, looking quite regretful.
Although she had moved quickly and used jade bottles to collect some beforehand, compared to the entire pool of jade marrow, it was just a drop in the bucket.
Fang Xuan looked at her long hair, which was flecked with a bit of snow.
He suddenly reached out and naturally brushed the top of her head, saying, "Senior Sister, there's snow on your head."
In truth, his hands were just itching; he couldn't help but want to pat her head.
Ning Xian seemed still immersed in her regret over the jade marrow and didn't notice the extra meaning in his small gesture, looking somewhat dazed.
She only instinctively tilted her head and whispered, ".....It's a pity."
"It's fine," Fang Xuan withdrew his hand, his tone light. "Besides, this secret realm is so big; there must be more good things."
Seeing Ning Xian's still somewhat disappointed profile, he simply reached out and took her hand.
"Let's go, Senior Sister....."
Feeling her hand grasped by a warm palm, Ning Xian trembled slightly and snapped out of it......
"Yes," she replied softly, letting Fang Xuan lead her as they turned and walked toward the higher parts of the snow mountain.
......
He began to let his treasure-hunting mouse of a senior sister lead him to find treasures on the mountain.
That old dog Shen Chen had suffered a great loss this time; his split soul was damaged, and his main body was likely spitting blood in anger.
Given his character, he would certainly be plotting something outside.
However, since Lu Qingsong wanted to win him over, he would naturally deal with Shen Chen himself, so it wasn't a big problem.
......
Over the next few days, the two of them moved within this vast snow mountain region.
With Shen Chen's split soul destroyed and the female vessel self-detonated, the biggest obstacle seemed to have been temporarily cleared.
Along the way, they encountered some spirit beasts unique to the snowfields, such as ice-armored bears, snow bats attacking in swarms, and even a frost-marrow python hidden in an ice crevice that almost froze Fang Xuan's ankle, but all were easily handled by the two of them.
Naturally, the harvest was quite bountiful.
On the snow mountain, in places where spiritual energy gathered, rare spirit medicines often grew.
"This is snow-spirit lingzhi. It grows in extremely cold ice crevices and takes a hundred years to form. It has the effect of calming the mind and resisting inner demons, which will be beneficial for you in consolidating your Void Core Realm."
Under a leeward ice cliff, Ning Xian carefully dug out a lingzhi that was crystal clear like white jade with a faint blue glow on its cap.
She also picked a few light blue lotuses floating on the water's surface near an ice stream.
"This is the ice-heart lotus. Its petals can be used in medicine, and the lotus core is a top-grade material for refining high-level pills."
"And this, dragon-patterned ice ginseng. Looking at the patterns on its body, it's at least seven hundred years old. It's an excellent tonic for body tempering, capable of strengthening bones and resisting cold energy."
Every time they discovered a spirit medicine, Ning Xian would softly explain its name, characteristics, and uses with great seriousness.
She seemed very intent on making up for the losses Fang Xuan had incurred while wasting time treating her injuries and dealing with Shen Chen.
Fang Xuan just stayed by her side, occasionally responding with a "yeah" or "I'll remember that."
He simply watched the profile of Ning Xian crouching in the snow, carefully gathering spirit medicines, and noticed her nose, which was slightly red from the cold wind.
.......
A few days passed in a flash.
The opening time of the secret realm was limited; they couldn't stay in the snow mountain area forever.
"It's about time to head down the mountain."
Ning Xian tallied their harvest; various spirit medicines filled two of Fang Xuan's storage pouches, and their quality was quite good.
They had basically gathered all the cold-attribute spirit medicines on the mountain.
The two of them then made their way down the snow mountain.
As they descended, the cold gradually dissipated.
At the foot of the mountain was a vast, boundless grassland stretching to the horizon.
A gentle breeze blew past, causing waves of grass to layer upon one another.
"The scenery is nice."
Fang Xuan took a deep breath.
He turned his head to look at Ning Xian beside him.
She stood at the edge of the grassland, her plain white robes fluttering slightly in the wind.
A few strands of hair brushed against her cold, ethereal profile, and the sunlight spilled down, coating her entire body in a faint golden light.
She looks even better. Fang Xuan silently added in his heart.
Ning Xian seemed to sense his gaze and turned her head.
Fang Xuan immediately looked away, pretending to watch a herd of spirit deer flickering in and out of the distant grass waves. "Cough, Senior Sister, where do we go next?"
Ning Xian also cast her gaze deep into the grassland. "The grassland looks peaceful, but the number of high-level spirit beasts inhabiting it might be even greater, and many have pack-hunting habits. We should be careful and just see if there are any special spiritual materials."
The two of them proceeded along the grassland.
The terrain here was slightly undulating, with grass reaching their knees, and occasional low shrubs and scattered wildflowers.
After walking for about half an hour, everything was very quiet.
Until they reached a clear boundary line.
The lush green grass ahead suddenly became sparse, and the ground turned moist and muddy.
A vast wetland marsh appeared at the edge of their vision.
Just as the two stopped to observe the environment—
"Roar—!!!"
The grass to their side-front was suddenly pushed aside.
A giant spirit beast with a single horn on its head and crimson eyes lunged toward the seemingly weaker Ning Xian.
It was a late-stage Foundation Establishment rhinohide beast.
It had clearly mistaken the lone Ning Xian for a tasty snack.
Ning Xian only glanced sideways, and several invisible, intangible strands of sword intent instantly flashed past.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
The aggressive rhinohide beast's forward momentum came to a sudden halt. Its thick four limbs were severed at the base, and its massive body crashed onto the muddy ground with a thud.
Blood stained a patch of the grass.
Yet Ning Xian continued to look deep into the shrubbery, her brow slightly furrowed.
Her divine sense could clearly perceive that within a range of dozens of yards around them, at least twenty or thirty different spirit beasts were lurking.
Most were in the Foundation Establishment stage, with a few whose auras had reached the early-stage Void Core Realm.
But not a single spirit beast dared to be the first to charge out.
Fang Xuan didn't really want to fight.
Spirit beast inner cores from the Foundation Establishment stage weren't worth much in the Southern Region unless they were rare species with special uses.
It was a waste of time for such trifles.
He stepped forward, standing side-by-side with Ning Xian.
Then, he slowly released the spiritual pressure of his middle-stage Void Core Realm, mixed with a hint of the ferocious sword momentum remnants.
Those lurking spirit beasts, upon feeling this pressure that clearly exceeded their own level—
Especially that murderous intent that made their very souls tremble—were all preparing to retreat.
But at that moment, a sudden, large movement came from all directions.
And the auras of those original spirit beasts had already completely vanished.
Just now, those at least twenty or thirty spirit beasts—including several in the early-stage Void Core Realm—had all been cleared away.
Rate on N.U.
