Lin Zhiyue walked for more than another half an hour in the secret realm. The warmth of her koi-fish constitution throbbed from time to time, and every throb guided her to find something—a three-hundred-year-old red ginseng hidden in a rock crevice, several pieces of mid-grade spiritual ore scattered by the stream, and a purple lingzhi growing at the root of a dead tree. Though its age was not particularly high, its quality was exceptional.
She stored the items in her space one by one, her mood gradually recovering from the shadow of being dragged into the mirror world by the Mirror Demon earlier.
As she turned a corner in a mountain hollow, she heard familiar footsteps ahead. Looking up, she saw Cen Xi'er stepping out of the bushes opposite her. A few dry leaves clung to the hem of her robe, but her expression was relaxed.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Lin Zhiyue. “Junior Sister! Are you heading this way too?”
The two walked side by side for half an hour. Cen Xi'er mentioned that she had traveled north for a bit, harvested some decent spiritual herbs, and even fought a Golden Core Stage demon beast for about fifteen minutes. After finishing her story, she asked Lin Zhiyue if anything had happened to her after they got separated earlier.
Lin Zhiyue vaguely replied that she had run into a Mirror Demon but had already escaped.
Seeing that she was completely unharmed, Cen Xi'er did not press further.
After walking for a while longer, the surrounding vegetation began to thin out, replaced by an increasingly vast expanse of grayish-white permafrost.
At first, there were still some dry grass and low shrubs scattered about, but after walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the ground beneath their feet was entirely hard-frozen, grayish-white earth. The wind grew biting, and their exhaled breath stretched into long trails of white mist before them.
A boundless snowfield stretched out before them. In the distance, a few low ice mounds rolled like waves. The sky hung much lower than it did at the entrance of the secret realm, with heavy, grayish-white clouds pressing down.
Cen Xi'er pulled her collar tighter, the spiritual energy of her Gold Spiritual Root forming a thin halo around her to ward off the chill. “The concentration of spiritual energy here is quite high, but the cold is somewhat abnormal. You have an Ice Spiritual Root, so you probably don't mind it, but my Gold Spiritual Root won't be able to hold out for too long.”
The moment Lin Zhiyue stepped onto the snowfield, the ice spiritual root within her body automatically became active. Far from feeling uncomfortable, the surrounding cold felt as pleasant as soaking in warm water.
She took a few steps forward, and the warmth of her koi-fish constitution throbbed gently in her dantian.
She turned to look at Cen Xi'er. “Second Senior Sister, there should be something good this way. Why don't you wait for me at the edge first? I'll go explore and come right back.”
Cen Xi'er glanced at her and smiled. “I'll go with you. Two people are always safer than one.”
The two walked side by side into the depths of the snowfield.
After walking for a distance, several demon beasts appeared ahead, perched on the ice mounds. They were Snow Lynx Beasts, their bodies covered in white fur and about the size of calves. Sensing someone approaching, they stood up one after another, growling and baring their fangs.
Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er both drew their swords, working together to drive the Snow Lynx Beasts away.
Just as Lin Zhiyue was sheathing her sword and catching her breath, her dantian suddenly grew burning hot, more intense than any time before.
She wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead and turned her gaze toward the deeper part of the snowfield. “Second Senior Sister, there is definitely something good inside.”
Cen Xi'er also felt that unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy, her expression turning more serious. “Let's go take a look.”
Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er walked deeper into the snowfield for over fifteen minutes. After bypassing two ice mounds, the terrain ahead gradually sloped downward, forming a sunken valley.
In the center of the valley lay a small patch of exposed dark-brown rock. The air above the rock was condensed with a dense mist of fine ice crystals, and the cold here was several times more intense than the surroundings. Even someone with Lin Zhiyue's Ice Spiritual Root constitution felt a slight sting on her skin.
Right in the middle of the rock surface, an entirely snow-white lingzhi grew quietly.
The cap of the lingzhi was about the size of a palm, its surface covered with fine, ice-crystal-like patterns, looking as if layers of frozen snowflakes had condensed upon it. A very faint, light-blue spiritual glow shone around its edges.
The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the entire lingzhi were rich and pure, carrying a crisp, sweet chill unique to extremely cold lands. Even standing several zhang away, one could feel that spiritual energy slowly rippling through the air.
A thousand-year-old Shattered Snow Congealing Lingzhi.
Lin Zhiyue had seen it recorded in 《Tiance Palace Spiritual Herb Encyclopedia》—born in extremely cold lands, taking a hundred years to form, and a thousand years to mature.
Once harvested after maturity, it served as a core material for refining high-grade spiritual pills. When used in medicine, it could drastically increase a cultivator's cultivation speed and spiritual energy purity.
Around the valley stood seven or eight people wearing teal-green disciple robes, surrounding the Shattered Snow Congealing Lingzhi in groups of twos and threes.
Leading them was a tall female cultivator with a cold, stern face. She was looking down at the ground around the lingzhi, seemingly confirming its maturation time. Beside her, several others held weapons, their positions subtly blocking the entrances to the valley.
Lin Zhiyue recognized the figure shrinking at the very back of the crowd at a single glance.
Tang Yiran was wearing the teal-green disciple robe, standing at the end of the line with her head lowered, her fingers nervously twisting her sleeves.
Sensing someone approaching, she looked up, and the moment she saw Lin Zhiyue, she froze in place as if turned to stone.
Her mouth fell open, a complex mixture of guilt, panic, and disbelief flashing across her face—she had clearly watched Lin Zhiyue get dragged away by the Mirror Demon's green light, so how was she standing here completely fine so soon?
Lin Zhiyue met her gaze. Tang Yiran took half a step back almost instinctively, her eyes darting away, not daring to look a second time.
The tall female cultivator leading the Qingling Sect also spotted Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er, her brow furrowing instantly. She took two steps forward to block the Shattered Snow Congealing Lingzhi, her tone cold and hard. “From Tiance Palace? We found this Shattered Snow Congealing Lingzhi first.”
Cen Xi'er stood beside Lin Zhiyue, remaining silent as she quietly observed the other party.
Lin Zhiyue did not reply immediately either. She glanced at Tang Yiran's evasive back, then looked at the Shattered Snow Congealing Lingzhi that was still waiting for the right moment to mature.
When she spoke, her tone was unhurried. “A thousand-year-old Shattered Snow Congealing Lingzhi is a treasure of heaven and earth, a masterless object. Whoever finds it first owns it? I'm afraid that logic doesn't work in a secret realm.”
The Qingling Sect female cultivator's face darkened. Several disciples behind her also took a step forward, their hands already gripping their sword hilts.
The temperature in the valley seemed to drop by a few more degrees as the ice crystal mist billowed slowly above the lingzhi.
Lin Zhiyue did not draw her sword. She simply stood where she was, her eyes level as she looked at the Qingling Sect disciples opposite her.
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