After swiftly cleaning up the scene, Nie Shiyun put away the Golden Core cultivator’s magical treasure, planning to study it later. The few storage bracelets didn't contain much of value. He mentioned this to Zhai Bairong, who had no need for them, so Nie Shiyun tossed everything into his Chaos Space for the time being.
Zhai Bairong looked curiously at the red figure in the distance.
"It’s me, it’s me!" Meiqiu called out cheerfully.
"Meiqiu! You’ve taken human form." As soon as Zhai Bairong heard the voice, he could no longer fail to recognize him.
"Yeah, yeah. Perfect, isn't it?" Meiqiu twirled around boastfully, showing off his new physique.
The cultivator who had been facing Meiqiu had already been burned to nothingness. The Phoenix True Fire was far too overbearing; even the Yin Soul Banner the man held had been melted down, leaving only a storage bracelet on the ground.
Meiqiu picked it up and ran over to the two of them with somewhat unsteady steps.
"There are some spirit stones and herbs inside," Meiqiu said.
"Keep them for yourself. Since you've taken human form, you should carry a storage space anyway. This saves me from having to buy you one," Nie Shiyun said, taking the bracelet to inspect it before sliding it back onto Meiqiu’s wrist.
"Stingy," Meiqiu muttered under his breath.
Nie Shiyun shot him a sidelong glance, and Meiqiu fell silent, turning instead to show off to Zhai Bairong. Zhai Bairong very graciously praised him for a long while, making Meiqiu incredibly happy.
"Since we’ve regrouped, let’s get on our way quickly." Nie Shiyun summoned his flying sword, and Zhai Bairong nodded.
"Meiqiu, do you want to fly with us on the sword?"
Meiqiu immediately shook his head like a rattle. "Why would I waste my spiritual energy out there in the wind and rain? If you’re in a hurry, I’m going to sleep!"
"Cultivate—" Nie Shiyun reminded him helplessly.
"Right, right, cultivate, cultivate," Meiqiu corrected himself smoothly.
Zhai Bairong watched their back-and-forth with amusement. With a flash, Meiqiu disappeared from the spot. He and Nie Shiyun then consulted each other, combining the directions they had traveled and the scenery they had observed over the past month to create a rudimentary map. Having decided on their next destination, the two did not dare linger and set off immediately.
After several more days of travel, the anxiety they had felt before reuniting had calmed significantly. During this time, Zhai Bairong received another message from Duan Mingyu. The latter had finally encountered Xu Yehua at a critical moment and had been "rescued by the hero."
"Wait a moment, let me handle this..." Although the situation was already clear, Zhai Bairong was still not used to communicating with Duan Mingyu in front of Nie Shiyun and felt a bit awkward.
Nie Shiyun thought for a moment and spoke before Zhai Bairong could reply. "In a moment, ask him if he has a general direction. Say... you’ll find a way to meet up with him later."
They had searched for so many days without results that Nie Shiyun decided to "cheat" a little.
"Alright," Zhai Bairong nodded in agreement.
A short while later, Duan Mingyu told Zhai Bairong that he had no specific plan, but he had heard from Rong Lü that a cluster of hot spring vents had been found. Those hot springs were unusual; they seemed capable of tempering the physical body and were rich in spiritual energy. Thus, Duan Mingyu and Xu Yehua had decided to seek them out.
There wasn't much other information, but from what Duan Mingyu relayed, Nie Shiyun and Zhai Bairong learned that the snow there was extremely thick, surrounded by continuous ranges of snow-capped mountains. The vents were located halfway up a mountain, flowing all the way down into a valley.
Nie Shiyun clapped his hands. "That's the place!"
In the original novel, the group had only discovered the hot springs a good while after obtaining the celestial artifact remnants, using the spot to relax and regroup. He hadn't expected that some unknown flap of a butterfly's wing had caused the order of events to change this time.
"Extremely thick snow, snow-capped mountains..." Zhai Bairong murmured. Although he didn't know if the rule of it getting colder the further north one went still applied in this secret realm, the two decided to give it a try, heading north by following the sun.
To prevent being recognized if they happened to run into Duan Mingyu halfway, Zhai Bairong also took a Disguise Pill and changed into Nie Shiyun’s clothes, disguising himself as someone else from head to toe.
Occasionally encountering other cultivators along the way, the two would rush over to ask if anyone had seen a valley where hot springs gathered. Even though they suppressed their cultivation levels, they still appeared to be two early-stage Golden Core cultivators to outsiders. Coupled with their somewhat aggressive momentum, several passersby who were caught were scared half to death, thinking they had encountered seniors working together to commit robbery. Only when the two left without stopping after finishing their questions did the travelers breathe a long sigh of relief.
At first, no one knew anything, but the further north they went, the heavier the wind and snow became, and more people had seen the hot spring valley. The two were now certain the general direction was correct, which put them at ease. Nie Shiyun estimated how much longer it had taken Duan Mingyu’s group to leave the treasure site in the original work and began to keep an eye out for any signs of the Ice Peak Mourning Forest within the vicinity. After all, their goal was the celestial artifact, not actually going to soak in those hot springs.
If they could control the movements within the secret realm, they would know that Duan Mingyu had actually just missed them.
Starting to explore outward from a few miles around the Hot Spring Valley, Duan Mingyu and Xu Yehua were currently flying in from the west, heading straight for their destination.
"I hope we can find those hot springs soon to warm up. This secret realm is too cold, and I have a naturally cold constitution. I really don't know how I'll endure the next few years..." Duan Mingyu lamented.
Xu Yehua had reunited with him a few days prior, rescuing Duan Mingyu from a group of insolent cultivators. He had always felt that Duan Mingyu was indeed prone to attracting unwanted attention, but in the past, Xu Yehua hadn't found it annoying; the fact that his partner was so attractive was merely a testament to his own good taste.
However, at this moment, he felt somewhat puzzled. Wasn't Duan Mingyu’s constitution a bit too prone to attracting men? In this frozen wasteland, a group of cultivators could barely look after themselves, yet they still had the mind to harbor lustful intentions upon seeing Duan Mingyu.
"The pills that Zhai Bairong gave you—have you finished them?" Xu Yehua asked him.
Xu Yehua’s tone turned sour whenever Zhai Bairong was mentioned. Duan Mingyu knew the two had become enemies after their earlier fight and had no way to mediate. "I've taken half. I didn't know when I would run into you and rely on your constitution to get through the difficulties via dual cultivation... If I ate them all at once, wouldn't I be left with no way out? But now I’m at ease."
Xu Yehua narrowed his eyes, thinking of certain things the sect ancestor had asked him during a lecture before he returned to Chiyan Cliff.
"Mingyu, has your constitution always been naturally sensitive to the cold?"
Duan Mingyu paused and shook his head. "It seems that when I was very young, back in the mortal realm, it wasn't like this. But as I grew older, it started getting worse. I think perhaps it’s because as I cultivate, the cold qi of the Ice Spiritual Root has entered my body?"
"Perhaps," Xu Yehua echoed, somewhat uncertainly. Ice Spiritual Roots were rare, but they weren't unheard-of geniuses. He had heard of Ice Spiritual Root cultivators before, and even among women, none had a body this cold and yin-heavy.
"But even so, the Yingyue Sect was comfortable letting you come to the Hantian Secret Realm for experience?" Xu Yehua probed.
"Um... Master and the others said whether I came or not was entirely up to me. This time, I wanted to come and see for myself!" Duan Mingyu smiled. He had originally felt that his constitution might make things worse here. However, he subconsciously felt that there was something very important in the Hantian Secret Realm, and he was certain his three companions would keep him safe. Therefore, he had decided to come without much second thought, only failing to expect the small accident after entering the realm.
"Your Master..."
"Hmm? What is it?" Duan Mingyu looked at him.
"Nothing." Xu Yehua shook his head.
Seeing Duan Mingyu smiling so innocently, he didn't seem to have any suspicions toward the Yingyue Sect. Xu Yehua thought of the suspicions his sect's ancestor had expressed regarding the Yingyue Sect. Originally, he just thought the ancestor had lived too long and had become paranoid, but after probing a bit now, he couldn't help but start doubting as well.
However, Chiyan Cliff couldn't guess exactly what shameful things the Yingyue Sect was up to; they only felt that perhaps the breakthrough point lay with Xu Yehua’s little lover. This time, the ancestor had specifically told Xu Yehua to observe more. Compared to matters of love, cultivation and opportunities were more important. If it came to a necessary situation, he should know which side to choose.
Recalling how he hadn't even had time to argue before being suppressed by the ancestor’s cultivation as a warning, unable to even lift his head, a fire burned in Xu Yehua’s heart. But he also had to admit... perhaps the old man was right.
"Ah, I see it! That must be the valley, right?" Duan Mingyu pointed into the distance, shouting with joy. "Let’s go meet up with Brother Rong Lü quickly. Maybe before long, Senior Brother will come over too."
Glancing at Duan Mingyu, Xu Yehua thought of the heartbeat he felt when they first met. He thought secretly that unless it was absolutely necessary, he would still protect Duan Mingyu’s safety... unless it was absolutely necessary.
If Nie Shiyun knew what was happening here, he probably wouldn't be able to help laughing out loud. In the original work, Xu Yehua followed Duan Mingyu and encountered constant opportunities, obtaining the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover. The team also had Zhai Bairong, a protective alchemist. His path of cultivation had been smooth sailing and full of spirit; why would he have taken the words of the Chiyan Cliff sect to heart?
Now that his path in cultivation was not going smoothly, his thoughts had undergone a slight change.
However, for now, this attitude remained submerged beneath the floating ice. Duan Mingyu’s group didn't know, and it was even more impossible for Nie Shiyun to know.
Not long after Duan Mingyu’s side found the Hot Spring Valley, Nie Shiyun and Zhai Bairong also seemed to have found something.
"Wait, over there...!"
Nie Shiyun’s eyes, which had been exhausted after days of travel, suddenly lit up as he caught sight of a forest that looked slightly different from the scenery they had seen before.
Seeing Nie Shiyun come to a sudden halt, Zhai Bairong nearly failed to react in time. He had also been using both his eyes and his spiritual sense to search for a long time these past few days and was becoming somewhat numb.
"Shall we go down and look?"
"Yes, let's go down."
The two landed on the outer edge of the forest. In the cold wind, the withered trees were blown until they were swaying precariously, but not a single tree fell. Entering the dense forest of withered wood, the two discovered that although the trees had no leaves, the further they walked, the more the sky was obscured.
Looking up, the withered branches were interlaced and clinging to one another, the accumulated snow shaking and scattering with the wind from time to time. That wasn't much, but occasionally, a branch frozen solid like an icicle would snap at a point where it could no longer bear the weight and fall from halfway up. It would be somewhat dangerous if one were hit.
They had mistaken the location several times before, so they shouldn't have held too much hope. But Nie Shiyun had a strong premonition that this place would not be wrong.
"It’s a bit dark here, and the sunlight can't fully penetrate. Be careful," Zhai Bairong cautioned from behind Nie Shiyun.
"This is the right place..."
Hearing Nie Shiyun’s words, Zhai Bairong couldn't help but show a look of joy. "It’s really right this time?"
Nie Shiyun turned back and reached out his hand to Zhai Bairong. "We’ll only know for sure by continuing deeper. I don't know if there are demonic beasts hidden in this forest; let’s stay close."
He wasn't worried about other cultivators. If this was truly a treasure site, then if Duan Mingyu hadn't had the chance to visit yet, no other passersby would have entered first.
Zhai Bairong naturally placed his hand in his.
As they walked deeper, their figures gradually disappeared into the withered forest. Their footprints were soon completely covered by the wind and snow, leaving not a single trace behind.
***
Glossary Table:
