“Cough, cough…”
Sang Nian woke up shivering from the cold. Goose feather-like snowflakes drifted down on the wind, landing upon her eyelashes and lingering there for a long time without melting.
Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she shook uncontrollably as a familiar sweet, metallic taste of blood rose in her mouth.
Standing nearby, Xie Chenzhou was using a sword to hack away at a piece of wood.
“Cough, cough, what are you doing?” she rasped, feeling as though she might cough up her heart, lungs, spleen, and kidneys all at once.
He squatted down to work the wood drills. “Starting a fire.”
Weakly, Sang Nian asked, “Don’t you know any fire spells?”
“Spiritual energy can’t be used inside this place.”
Inside this place?
Sang Nian raised her head to survey the distance, only to realize that they were no longer on that frozen lake.
Before her eyes lay a flat expanse of wilderness, with accumulated snow piled high enough to reach her knees. Further away stood a modest patch of woods, pitch-black and dark, save for scattered glints of snow reflecting a faint light.
She asked Liu Liu in her mind, “Where is this?”
Liu Liu replied hurriedly, “I’m not entirely sure yet, but data indicates that the hazard level of this area is S+.”
“S+?!”
Sang Nian bolted upright. “Then how are we supposed to get out?”
“I’m still looking for a route, but it seems like some kind of force is interfering with me,” Liu Liu said. “Hold on, let me run a diagnostic.”
With that, it vanished into radio silence.
Unwilling to freeze to death here, Sang Nian shivered as she unzipped her storage bag and pulled out a plant seed the size of a walnut.
Plowing away the snow in front of her, she dropped the seed onto the soil and let go.
The seed took root the moment it touched the ground, sprouting within a few breaths into a half-person-tall plant. Its branches were heavy with translucent, lantern-like fruits, each one containing a ball of blazing fire burning fiercely inside.
The ambient temperature shot up drastically.
Xie Chenzhou, who was still hard at work trying to drill wood for a fire, paused:
“What is this?”
Plucking a fruit to cradle in her arms for warmth, Sang Nian marveled at the fact that she still wasn’t dead yet before replying, “Fire.”
“I’m asking what this tree is called.”
“It’s called the ‘It Doesn’t Look Like Much of a Fire But It’s Ridiculously Hot Tree’, valued at two thousand spiritual stones.”
“You… named it yourself?”
“Mhm.”
Tossing aside the stick in his hand, Xie Chenzhou walked over to sit beside the fire-tree to warm himself.
Only then did she notice that his complexion didn’t look too good; he was slightly pale. He must have expended a tremendous amount of effort to save her.
“Where does it hurt?” Filled with a mixture of guilt and gratitude, Sang Nian said, “Thank you for saving me. Once we get out of here, I’ll give you thirty million as a reward.”
Xie Chenzhou averted his gaze and let out a soft scoff.
“A thousand wishes of health, a thousand wishes of happiness, a thousand wishes of joy?”
Startled, Sang Nian asked, “How do you know about that?”
“You already gave me thirty million the day you got drunk.”
Embarrassed, Sang Nian muttered, “I was just talking nonsense after drinking; don’t take it to heart.”
“Rest assured, though—the thirty million I mentioned today is a genuine thirty million spiritual stones,” she added quickly. “Or if there’s anything else you want, I’ll gift it all to you.”
Having warmed his body through, Xie Chenzhou strode toward the dark woods.
“Miss Sang really is a generous and kind person.”
Hastily hoisting the small tree onto her shoulder, Sang Nian hurried to keep pace with him. “You risked your life to save me multiple times—you’re the real good person.”
“A good person?” He sneered. “No one has ever called me that before.”
“Well, they do now.”
Stepping directly into the footprints he left behind in the snow, she kept close right behind him to ensure she stayed within the glow of the fire tree’s light, her tone breezy and cheerful:
“To me, you’re a good person—a great person, the greatest, most wonderful person in the entire world. Except for my brother, of course.”
Xie Chenzhou stopped in his tracks abruptly.
Caught off guard, she crashed headfirst right into his back, clutching her nose as she wailed:
“Xie Chenzhou, you’re going to break my nasal bone!!”
Turning his head slightly, he reached out and collared her by the scruff to toss her to the side.
“Stand back.”
Sang Nian looked at him, puzzled.
A rustling sound began to mingle with the whistling wind.
Her heart tightening with a jolt, she whipped her head around to stare at the patch of woods.
Every single withered branch stood motionless in the biting wind and snow.
Only the dangling vines seemed to have sprung to life, constantly writhing and creeping toward them like hundreds and thousands of pale tentacles.
Goosebumps erupted all over Sang Nian’s skin as she hoisted the tree and scrambled away to the side.
Xie Chenzhou drew his sword from its scabbard, standing tall and straight.
Suddenly, all the vines lunged forward simultaneously, attempting to constrict and slaughter him.
With a casual sweep of his sword, he slashed out.
The blade’s light abruptly tore through the dense curtain of snow, crashing down with the overwhelming momentum of a thunderbolt. In an instant, the vines were pulverized into fine dust, scattering widely into the howling wind.
Sang Nian was struck completely speechless in sheer awe.
He was terrifying even without spiritual energy…
If he actually had his spiritual energy back, wouldn’t chopping her down be as effortless as slicing vegetables?
She touched the back of her neck, a persistent chill creeping down her spine.
The vines seemed endless. No sooner was one batch decimated than another charged forward, their stalks growing tougher with every wave. Toward the end, when they clashed with the sword blade, they produced the ringing sound of striking metal.
Making a prompt decision, Sang Nian abandoned the tree she was carrying and dashed to Xie Chenzhou’s side amid the window of opportunity provided by the spreading flames burning the remaining vines to ash:
“Let’s go! There’s something wrong with this forest. We need to get out before we get worn down and killed here!”
The moment the words left her mouth, a freezing iron chain darted out from a blind spot, wrapping around both of their ankles in the blink of an eye.
Losing their balance instantly, they were dragged at high speed deep into the woods.
The newly sprouted vines attempted to block their path, but by the time they reached out, the two had already vanished without a trace.
When everything finally quieted down, the surrounding scenery had entirely changed.
This was a tree hollow of an exaggerated, massive scale.
Pale-blue ice crystals covered the walls of the cave, of unknown thickness, with countless golden runes suspended within them.
Over a hundred wrist-thick freezing chains protruded from the dome ceiling, extending all the way down into a massive pillar of ice below, which was likewise covered in golden runes.
A bone-chilling, piercing cold rushed over them in a wave.
Within a single breath, frost bloomed across Sang Nian’s eyelashes and the tips of her hair. A sharp, violent pain pierced through her chest, freezing her entire body in place so that she couldn’t move an inch.
The ice spread across her skin at a visible rate.
At the very moment she was about to be completely sealed in ice, a hand gave her a hard yank.
Stumbling, she crashed directly into that person’s chest. Looking up, she saw it was Xie Chenzhou.
His condition was no better than hers; his complexion was so pale it was almost transparent, making his ink-black pupils stand out all the more starkly.
He looked like a piece of dark amber dropped into snow water.
Clutching her chest with trembling lips, Sang Nian forced out a breathy whisper:
“Xie Chenzhou, I think my illness is acting up.”
Lowering his gaze to give her a brief glance, Xie Chenzhou bit down on his fingertip and lightly smeared a drop of blood across her pale lips.
It was the familiar, sweet, metallic taste.
Pressing her lips together, Sang Nian rolled that single drop of blood into her mouth.
The pain within her chest gradually subsided.
In an instant, understanding dawned on her:
“You already gave me your blood after I fell into the water?”
Releasing her hand, he replied with a cold, indifferent expression:
“Your life or death has nothing to do with me. I merely wanted to prevent your brother from holding me accountable.”
With a serious expression, Sang Nian said:
“A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his hidden thoughts.”
Noncommittal, Xie Chenzhou retorted, “I am hardly a gentleman.”
Abruptly, the chains directly above them began to rattle violently in unison.
Amid a deafening roar, a faint spark of fire ignited within the ice pillar ahead.
Rising steadily, it actually pierced straight through the ice layer and flew right before Sang Nian and Xie Chenzhou.
The bitter cold surrounding the two of them instantly dissipated.
Exchanging a glance, Sang Nian tentatively asked the spark of fire:
“Did you bring us here?”
The spark gave no response.
Instead, a few hoarse coughs echoed from within the ice pillar.
Following the sound, Sang Nian drew in a sharp breath.
At some point, a strange bird had appeared inside the ice pillar.
It was of an unknown breed, featuring a bare body and a white head, three eyes and six claws, and tail feathers as brilliantly vibrant as rosy clouds.
At present, it crouched on the ground as countless chains pierced right through its wings, with countless ice spikes drilling relentlessly into those wounds—though they were quickly vaporized into nothingness by the blazing fire raging across its feathers.
Exchanging another glance, Sang Nian and Xie Chenzhou nodded slightly.
The one that had brought them here was most likely this bird.
Sensing that the creature didn’t harbor any apparent malice, she took a cautious step forward and asked politely:
“May I ask your senior’s esteemed name?”
The strange bird cast a weak glance at them before transforming into a woman with white hair and red robes, the crimson demonic seal at her collarbone striking and vivid.
Waving a hand to banish the chains, she swayed unsteadily as she stood up from the ground:
“My name is Qiezhi.”
Since this character didn’t exist in the original book, Sang Nian grew even more cautious:
“May I ask why Senior brought us here? Is there something you need of us?”
Qiezhi’s gaze swept across her face, lingered on Xie Chenzhou for a few seconds, then lowered as she coughed twice, her expression obscured.
“Bringing you here was truly a last resort. There is a matter I wish to entrust to you both.”
“What is it?” Sang Nian asked.
Lifting her head, Qiezhi wore a sorrowful expression:
“I am originally the guardian spirit beast of the Zhuyu tribe, the Chidi bird. The Myriad Immortals Alliance lured me out of the mountains, used a cage of ten-thousand-year mystic ice, and cast a grand sealing spell to imprison me in this place for a full five hundred years.”
Hearing this, Sang Nian instinctively glanced over at Xie Chenzhou. Sure enough, his expression didn’t look well.
She knew he must have been reminded of those seven years he spent imprisoned.
There were truly far too many perverts in the cultivation world, locking people up at the drop of a hat.
Sang Nian sighed inwardly.
“You want us to rescue you and help you escape?” she asked.
Qiezhi shook her head, a desolate smile touching her lips:
“My oil is spent, and my lifespan has reached its end. Whether I escape or not is no longer important.”
“…”
I’m going to slap myself twice the moment I get back.