Xu Ziqing swept the jade talismans with his spiritual sense and frowned slightly.
The problem was not the number of talismans, but that the information contained within them was insufficient.
Three concerned the whereabouts of Southern Melting Extreme Water, while the other two recorded traces of Blazing Rock Extreme Water.
Both were, unexpectedly, reports about fire-attribute extreme-yang water.
Even if he managed to find some, he would only possess four divine waters; there was still no information about metal-attribute extreme-yang divine water.
The one consolation was that he no longer needed to choose between the polarities. He could only pursue the extreme-yang waters now, and finding another variety was better than finding nothing.
Xu Ziqing made up his mind and turned to Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, shall we proceed this way?”
He passed over all five jade talismans.
Yun Lie raised a hand and accepted them, glanced over the contents, and nodded. “All right.”
They memorized every clue. There could never be too much information about divine waters: if one lead failed, the other might still bear fruit.
Their luck surely would not be so terrible as to fail them both.
With the information they needed, the two left the Hall of Ten Thousand Merits and returned to the Hall of Ten Thousand Treasures.
Xu Ziqing took out several of the resource plaques he had accumulated. After calculating their value, he handed them to the steward and exchanged them for three varieties of extreme-yang water.
Fortunately, although these waters were precious, they were not classified as special-class resources. Equivalent ordinary plaques were sufficient to redeem them.
After putting the waters away, Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie did not linger. They returned directly to Wuling Mountain Domain to request an audience with the Domain Lord.
Their intention, naturally, was to leave the sect in search of divine water.
Defending the heavenly pillar was an important duty. For that reason, Xu Ziqing felt rather guilty about leaving.
But forming his Nascent Soul was still more important. He could only ask the Domain Lord whether some arrangement might be made.
If absolutely necessary… he would have to say farewell to Senior Brother for a time and go out searching alone.
On the main peak, when Xu Ziqing explained his situation, Domain Lord Hang smiled kindly. “Ziqing, you needn’t be troubled.”
Xu Ziqing looked up attentively, waiting for him to continue.
Domain Lord Hang said, “Both of you possess extraordinary aptitude, and you in particular haven’t formed a Nascent Soul. We cannot waste your potential by making you remain here guarding a mountain domain.”
Xu Ziqing still felt apologetic. “But the Heaven-Challenging Battles…”
Hang raised a hand slightly to stop him. “Before you two came, our Wuling disciples never neglected their cultivation either. The sect’s rules are severe, but that doesn’t mean there is no flexibility.”
Although failing to answer a challenge meant losing the right to occupy a mountain domain, certain protections existed. A domain could be challenged no more than once a month; moreover, once a year it was allowed to display a noncombat plaque granting three months’ exemption. During that period its members could travel, train, and seek resources.
Once those three months ended, however, if someone challenged and a guardian failed to appear, that pillar would count as lost by default.
Before Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie arrived, Xing himself had to guard a pillar. When another disciple urgently needed to leave the sect in search of resources, the domain had to display the exemption plaque if a challenger happened to arrive. Only good luck, in the form of no challenge that month, allowed them to save it for another time.
Now that the two newcomers had brought greater flexibility, they could simply let Xing resume guarding the pillar while they were away.
Hearing this, Xu Ziqing finally relaxed.
Though he was determined to make this journey, it would be best if he could do so without harming Wuling’s interests.
Once Domain Lord Hang granted his permission, Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie wasted no time. They visited Honored Master Xing, explained their plans, and prepared to leave.
Seeing that they intended to travel by their own escaping techniques, Xing offered a reminder. “The Qianyuan Great World is boundless. If you want to come and go freely within three months, I suggest visiting the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts to find spiritual birds for transport. Relying only on your own cultivation for the journey may be unwise.”
This was excellent advice, and Xu Ziqing followed it. Before departing, he spent a large sum of spirit stones on two beast-control plaques, each containing a fifth-rank spiritual bird. Their flying speed was no less than his own escaping light, and they could fly for three days and nights without stopping. With two of them, the birds could take turns carrying the travelers day and night, avoiding exhaustion while allowing Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie to conserve their true essence.
The Qianyuan Great World was full of hidden and unpredictable dangers. Any strength that could be conserved ought to be conserved.
With their disciple tokens, leaving the sect was not difficult. The two sat side by side on the back of a Wind-Rending Eagle and flew outward through the rushing air.
After a long while, they finally crossed beyond the main sect’s outer grounds. The sky outside was clear and open, spiritual energy whistling past their ears, and the air they breathed wonderfully fresh.
Their destination was the Desolate Snow Icefield, in the far north. A million li of land lay frozen there. Rumor had it that ordinary cultivators entering the area would freeze stiff, their cultivation techniques unable to circulate. Even Golden Core cultivators felt bone-piercing cold, and only Nascent Soul ancestors or stronger could regard the climate as ordinary. But the weather was only one danger. The icefield was inhabited by demon beasts, hidden savage figures and peoples, and innumerable large and small sects cultivating ice techniques. Even Nascent Soul ancestors could not necessarily come and go unhindered.
The Wind-Rending Eagles flew continuously. Sometimes Yun Lie used sword intent to tear open the void and cross through its fissures, after which they mounted the birds again to rest and restore their spirits. Even so, it took fifteen or sixteen days merely to approach the icefield.
And even at its edge, the cold was extreme.
After many years of cultivation, Xu Ziqing had long become impervious to ordinary heat and cold. But in this unusual region he could not help feeling wave after wave of chill.
It was as if even the circulation of his true essence was becoming sluggish.
Yun Lie took out a long robe and draped it around him. “It’s bitterly cold here. Let’s visit the market first.”
Cold filled even Xu Ziqing’s breathing, so he naturally nodded. “Yes, Senior Brother.”
They changed direction and walked toward a formation.
Within it lay an enormous marketplace, so extensive that it rivaled some of the commercial houses and auctions Xu Ziqing had visited.
In the Qianyuan Great World, however, it was merely a fairly respectable market.
Cultivators guarded the entrance to the formation. After collecting ten low-grade spirit stones from each of them, they allowed the two inside.
As Xu Ziqing stepped through, a warm current washed over him, sweeping away every trace of chill.
“This formation truly is ingenious.”
Yun Lie’s expression remained unchanged. He swept his spiritual sense across the area and headed toward the right.
Xu Ziqing followed. After several hundred steps they found a shop called Jade Treasure Studio.
Jade Treasure Studio stocked many treasures and curious goods, but most were suited to snowy, icy places. There were especially numerous protective robes and magical treasures capable of resisting cold, along with the naturally useful pelts of demon beasts.
Yun Lie walked directly to a display shelf where several formations shone. Within them hung completed garments of beast hide and various other cold-weather clothes.
Xu Ziqing joined him and looked around. He almost felt he had entered a clothing shop from his previous life. Unlike the thin ritual garments he had seen in other shops, many of the clothes here were extraordinarily thick and heavy.
Yun Lie glanced over the displays, removed talismans from two of the formations, and handed them to an attendant. “Calculate the price.”
The maid smiled brightly. “One protective robe woven from fire-spider silk and ten-thousand-year fire-jade thread, and one heavy cloak made from the pelt of a mature sixth-rank Flame-Devouring Beast! Both are excellent for resisting cold, and you’ll have no trouble with the icy winds if you wear them on the icefield.” She spoke briskly, then added, “Together they’re only twenty thousand middle-grade spirit stones.”
Yun Lie said nothing more. With a sweep of his hand, two hundred upper-grade spirit stones appeared, shining with overwhelming spiritual energy.
The maid hurriedly swept her hand as well, collecting the stones into the storage ring on her finger. Then she cast several seals upon the formations to reveal the two garments inside.
Yun Lie took them and handed them to Xu Ziqing. “Put these on.”
The maid was quick to understand. “We have a changing room inside. If Senior doesn’t mind, would you like to come with me?”
Xu Ziqing glanced at Yun Lie, knowing that this was a gesture of his senior brother’s heartfelt care. His expression softened. “Then I’ll go.”
Yun Lie nodded. “I’ll wait for you here.”
Xu Ziqing felt even warmer inside and went to change.
Yun Lie withdrew his gaze and inspected the other formations.
As expected of a famous shop outside the icefield, many of the demon-beast pelts naturally carried fiery power, wrapping a wearer in warmth like a furnace. Other protective robes incorporated exquisite formations that excluded cold during the process of refinement.
After thinking for a moment, Yun Lie purchased another seven or eight sets of inner and outer clothes, together with several more heavy cloaks, and placed them all in his storage bracelet.
He did not know how long their search on the icefield would last. His Nascent Soul cultivation could withstand the cold, but Junior Brother’s was insufficient, and without enough clothing he might suffer.
Other customers had been choosing their purchases. Now some noticed Yun Lie’s behavior and were surprised.
The Desolate Snow Icefield was perilous, but rich in resources, and many people came seeking fortune. Cold-resistant goods therefore sold easily, and the better garments were extremely costly. Unless a large group was traveling together, one or two people seldom bought so much clothing.
Yet this stern young man had clearly come with only a single companion. Such extravagant spending drew attention.
Some began speculating about Yun Lie’s background. Was he a disciple of a great sect, or the son of an illustrious family? At the same time, others made plans of their own.
Those with particularly ruthless natures could not help developing malicious intentions.
Just then the curtain of the inner chamber opened, and Xu Ziqing emerged.
He normally wore green, his presence tranquil and gentle. Now both his undergarments and cloak were fiery red, making him appear enveloped in flames and lending exceptional beauty to his elegant features.
He was truly as beautiful as a painting.