C1437 Little Snow

In the shadowy chamber, the dark disciple Lian Hu's gaze flickered with intensity. As Yu Yuan was lost in contemplation, Lian Hu instinctively resorted to arcane techniques to spy on him.

Bloodshot veins webbed across Lian Hu's eyes, betraying a fatigue akin to several sleepless nights, his energy drained to its nadir.

Through his arcane perception, Yu Yuan's Heart Lake appeared as an enigmatic and shadowy forbidden area. The moment Lian Hu's consciousness reached out to touch the surface of Yu Yuan's Heart Lake, it was severed as though by an invisible demon.

A chilling darkness crept along the soul thread from his heart, spreading insidiously toward his own Heart Lake and spirit.

Shivering with cold, Lian Hu mustered a pained, pleading smile. "Master, it was an unconscious act, a careless mistake..."

"Your carelessness nearly cost you your life," Yu Yuan retorted, having his train of thought interrupted. He shot Lian Hu a derisive look. "What's the matter? Feeling defeated in my presence? Are you so eager to hear my innermost thoughts, to find out if I intend to kill you?"

"It's just a bad habit," Lian Hu replied with an awkward chuckle.

Yu Yuan's eyes narrowed, his silence speaking volumes.

The instant Lian Hu employed the sinister technique, Yu Yuan became vigilant. He clearly perceived a smoky tendril, like a fisherman's line, gently descending toward his Heart Lake.

With a mere thought, the "fishing line" that Lian Hu had conjured with his dark arts was effortlessly severed.

Yu Yuan's own spirit consciousness traced the rapidly dissipating "fishing line" back to Lian Hu, advancing toward Lian Hu's Heart Lake.

Had Lian Hu not pleaded for mercy, the strange power emanating from his soul would have begun to corrupt Lian Hu's heart.

Yu Yuan felt an innate revulsion to the "fishing line." Were it not for his lucid and untainted mind, and his knowledge that Lian Hu posed no threat, he might have plunged into Lian Hu's psyche and Heart Lake, ending Lian Hu's life then and there.

"A wisp of exceedingly delicate smoke."

Memories flooded his mind of three centuries prior, when he was engaged in intensive pill refining within the forbidden area, his soul assailed by the corrosive miasma emanating from the rock walls.

His brow creased with concern.

The fragmentary Spirit Magic that Lian Hu had acquired lacked even a name; it was a fortuitous find from the Rainbow Ocean.

The incomplete Spirit Magic alone bestowed upon Lian Hu the sinister ability to peer into the hearts of others, indicating that the Spirit Magic was far from ordinary. Yet, the origins of this incomplete Spirit Magic remained a mystery to this day.

After realizing the wonders of the Spirit Magic, Lian Hu had inquired far and wide about its background. He was clueless about who had left behind the incomplete Spirit Magic or which sect's arcane knowledge it represented. Since he hadn't even begun to practice cultivation in his past life, he hadn't paid much attention to its history.

At that moment, he recalled the forbidden area of the Order of Healing. Someone had taken control of Qu Yun and inscribed numerous rune magic circles on the rock walls, from which pale green, light purple, and pitch-black wisps of smoke emanated. These seemed somewhat similar to the soul thread that Lian Hu had extended towards his Heart Lake.

After some time, Yu Yuan abruptly said, "You can either return to Healing Island or stay hidden underground."

"I..." Lian Hu, uncertain of Yu Yuan's intentions, was filled with dread.

Accustomed to hearing the inner thoughts of others, Lian Hu could only relax after discerning their true intentions. He attempted to use his mystique but failed to hear Yu Yuan's thoughts. Instead, he nearly exposed himself to Yu Yuan's probing remnant soul, which instilled a fear that spread towards his own Heart Lake and consciousness, startling him.

He was unsure whether Yu Yuan's actions were deliberate or if Yu Yuan wished him harm. "Rest assured, you won't die just yet. I might need to question you later," Yu Yuan stated with impatience.

"Oh, oh, that's a relief," Lian Hu responded eagerly.

"Hand over the incomplete Spirit Magic."

"Sure, right away."

Yu Yuan decided to remain on Celestial Isle for the time being.

Once Lian Hu was back on Celestial Isle, he presented the incomplete Spirit Magic to Zheng Luanjie and Qi Lingyu, inquiring if they were aware of its origins. The two senior members of the Skyreach Consortium examined it thoroughly but ultimately shook their heads.

They suggested that Feng Zhong, the head of the Windspeaker, with his unparalleled access to information about the Everlands, might have the answers he sought.

He sat patiently, awaiting Feng Zhong's arrival.

He had a premonition that his senior brother, Zhong Chichen, was also in dire straits, and Chu Yao... oblivious to the lurking dangers, was unreliable.

He needed to uncover the puppet master without raising any alarms that might cause the adversary to become wary and sever all the hidden threads.

He had no choice but to proceed cautiously, step by step.

"Hmm!"

While Yu Yuan was deep in meditation, he detected an anomaly at the Dragon Slaying Stage and immediately dispatched his Lunar Spirit to investigate.

Within the Dragon Slaying Stage, an oval-shaped, frigid "moon fragment" had absorbed an immense amount of psionic power, resulting in the silver lifeblood within the fragment solidifying into a tiny snowman.

The snowman, no larger than Yu Yuan's thumb, had yet to take on a distinct form and was merely beginning to exhibit signs of vitality.

This "moon fragment" was the Moon Soul of the Glimmerdrift Nebula, the quintessence of the crescent moon.

Having been brought to the Dragon Slaying Stage, it transformed into a crescent moon, harboring a drop of the snow bear's pure lifeblood, in an attempt to give rise to an entirely new life form.

As the master of the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan felt a sense of gratitude towards the snow bear and thus granted it access.

He infused it with some of the life essence from his Solar Spirit, allowing the crescent moon to freely draw upon the power within the Dragon Slaying Stage.

At last, it coalesced into this diminutive snowman.

Yu Yuan was alerted by the sound of a heartbeat.

The thumb-sized snowman, its gender indiscernible, resembled a plump, radiant snow figure, its heart just beginning to throb...

As the snowman's heartbeat emerged, it seemed to be filled with trepidation.

Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit penetrated the inner realm, in harmony with the cosmic order, affording him insight into the most subtle of details.

Instinctively, he knew that the little snowman's fear was of the Titan Spinosaurus' offspring.

With a mere thought, he distanced the formidable yet vulnerable creatures as much as possible.

Having separated them by a great expanse, he conveyed a sense of reassurance to the tiny snowman.

The origins of this bloodline trace back to a newly discovered species of snow bear. Soothed by its master's touch, the creature gradually settled down, no longer harboring any fear.

"Once it's grown enough to leave the Dragon Slaying Stage, I'll take it to the Darkpinion and entrust it to that snow bear," Yu Yuan mused with a smile. He was confident that if he could assist the snow bear in nurturing new life, fulfilling its longing, the bear—ferocious with others yet docile with him—would be more inclined to aid him in his quest to locate a frigid Astral Domain.

With this in mind, he inspected the Wintermaw once more, noting that the concealed arrays within the well-shaped structure were functioning smoothly. Intricate beams of icy light darted through the shadows on the well's walls, carrying with them the vibrations of spatial disturbances. Content with the stability, he nodded in satisfaction and departed with the Lunar Spirit.

...

Several days passed.

Feng Zhong, having traveled via the teleportation circle from the Serpent Spine Mountains, arrived at Celestial Isle, dusty from his journey, and made his way to Yu Yuan's mountainside abode.

Before entering, Feng Zhong, stroking his goatee, gave Yin Xueqi a curious glance.

"I'm Yin Xueqi. I was formerly with the Artifact Sect..."

Yin Xueqi, recognizing the disheveled old man as the long-standing premier guardian of Celestial Isle, felt a twinge of nervousness. "Congratulations, Elder Feng! I've come to seek an audience with Yu Yuan, and also... Chen Liangquan of the Songbird Empire has been informed by Elder Zheng."

"I'm aware of who you are," Feng Zhong said, gesturing for her not to elaborate.

"Chen Liangquan sent you to meet Yu Yuan? I recall the saintess of the Dawnbringers is currently in the Songbird Empire, right there with him," Feng Zhong murmured to himself.

"The saintess of the Dawnbringers has brought something from beyond our world to Chen Liangquan. That artifact has suffered damage from a great conflict. And I..." Yin Xueqi stood tall, her face alight with determination, "I might just have the skills to repair it!"

"Young lady, puffing out your chest won't get you anywhere; there's no need for such posturing. Yu Yuan is a man of integrity who has little patience for such antics!"

Feng Zhong made his comment, but his leering gaze remained locked onto her chest, which was perfectly proportioned in both size and shape.

"Just wait here. I'll head inside first, and we can talk once I've finished."

With a lingering look of regret, Feng Zhong gave Yin Xueqi's chest one final, covetous glance before stooping to enter the stone building.

...