Chapter 135: Chapter 134: Saving Ice Lotus

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Through Yu Binglian’s tear-filled eyes, she saw the black-shirted youth who had just saved her surrounded by over a dozen Bright Soul Realm experts. Several streams of Blade Qi, condensed from Soul Ice Spirit Charm, slashed toward him all at once.

The night was bathed in a blue light as a frigid wind whipped up ice crystals.

’All I wanted was to use my innate special sense to survive, to help Iron Power’s group in exchange for papers to live in North Border City. I just didn’t want to wander the snowy wastes, begging for food anymore.’

’But for the past few days, all I’ve gotten were curses and humiliation. Even though I was the one who led them to steal the Ice Crystal Fruits, I was the one who got slapped when the North Snow Wolves found us.’

’Now that I’ve finally found someone willing to risk his life to carry me to safety, he’s about to be killed in the blink of an eye. Why?’

Tears spilled from Ice Lotus’s eyes. The stinging pain of her swollen, red right cheek mirrored the stabbing agony in her abdomen. She bit her pale lips, her trembling body curling into an even tighter ball.

’So cold...’

BOOM—

Suddenly, a blazing fire erupted before her eyes. A lone flame in the darkness, it banished the surrounding chill, melting the ice and snow for dozens of meters around into water.

Ice Lotus’s large, limpid eyes widened, reflecting the warm glow of the fire. Her wolf tail slowly perked up. "He’s not dead?"

BANG, BANG, BANG...

All sixteen Bright Soul Realm experts, including Iron Power, were blasted back five or six meters. Some of their cotton armor burst into flames and their blades were chipped. They jumped about in a panic. "He’s a Body Cultivator?!"

Jiang Qiu wielded the [Chuyuan] spear in his right hand, his body bathed in raging flames. The golden-patterned vertical pupils of his blood-red eyes flared as the shirt on his upper body disintegrated into ash.

He drew a slow breath, glancing at his shoulders. Two small, clean cuts, as if made by a razor, bled steadily. He shrugged, feeling a slight twinge of pain.

Iron Power’s pupils contracted as he stared at the man’s powerful physique, his muscles coiled like an Azure Dragon. "Just who in the world are you?!"

’The Martial Artists of the Northern Wilderness are a motley bunch, hailing from every country and region imaginable. Most are outcasts and exiles, unable to return to their homelands.’

’But some don’t come here because they have to. They have powerful backing, abundant resources, and immense strength. They come to the Northern Wilderness purely to temper themselves!’

’Someone who dares to walk the path of a Body Cultivator and reaches the Bright Soul Realm at such a young age... He can’t possibly be from some ordinary power!’

"I have no obligation to tell you."

Jiang Qiu took a step, his spear lunging forward with a twist of his waist. A Flaming Cyan Dragon burst forth, its massive, fiery head roaring toward Iron Power and tearing a trench in the earth as it went.

"Bastard!"

A tremor shot through Iron Power. He raised his blade to block once more, gritting his teeth as he condensed the surging Spirit Charm in his body. An Ice Crystal Shield materialized before him, the Ice Crystal Armor on his body grew thicker, and even his weapon transformed into a solid Ice Blade.

BOOM—

The Ice Crystal Shield, over two meters tall, was like paper in a fire. The Dragon Form smashed a huge hole through it in an instant, and as the flames touched Iron Power’s hands, his entire suit of Ice Armor melted away!

’Dammit, how can a Body Cultivator use such a devastatingly powerful Spear Skill?!’

Iron Power’s heart pounded wildly. The blast of heat was so intense it felt like it was peeling his eyelids back, and his lips trembled. He felt as if he were standing naked in a storm of fire and ice—scalding hot in front, bone-chillingly cold behind.

WHOOSH—

The thermal storm from the fiery explosion sent him staggering back, his heels digging into the earth. The vast reserves of Soul Ice Spirit Charm in his body had been completely burned away. He stood there, stark naked, gulping down scorching air that seared his lungs.

"Boss, that guy took the little mongrel and ran!"

At someone’s cry of alarm, Iron Power’s heart lurched. The image of Jiang Qiu before him dissipated into a flicker of flame. He whipped his head around. Ice Lotus was no longer on the ground. In the distance, a fiery silhouette flickered and faded into the night. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He clenched his left fist, a complicated look in his eyes. ’To have cultivated both the Spear Dao and the Body Dao to such a level at his age... He must be a peerless genius. We’ve gotten ourselves into big trouble...’

SHINK—

A prickle of danger ran down his spine. Without looking, Iron Power thrust his blade backward. Its edge, instantly sheathed in frigid air and ice crystals, pierced the abdomen of a Martial Artist who was raising his own blade to strike. The man’s blood was scalding hot against the cold steel.

"You thought I was finished after that fight with the kid?"

He sneered, murder in his eyes, as he glanced at the Bright Soul Realm Martial Artist he had just impaled.

He kicked the man to the ground. As he yanked his blade free, he reversed his grip and plunged the pommel into the man’s terrified face with a sickening crunch. "I came to North Border City over twenty years ago. You think there’s anything I haven’t seen?

All of you, cut the crap. Keep your heads down, and I might still give you a few Ice Crystal Fruits. Otherwise, none of you are leaving North Snow Ridge alive!"

The oppressive aura of a mighty Seventh Realm of the Bright Soul expert weighed down on them like a giant wolf staring down its prey. Everyone shivered, their eyes fixed on the mangled corpse as they swallowed nervously.

Iron Power snorted, then strode past the others with his head held high, dragging his greatsword as he made his way out of North Snow Ridge.

The moment his back was turned to the others, his cheek twitched, and the sweet, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

...

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Jiang Qiu sprinted across the snow, carrying the petite Ice Lotus. His pace grew slower and slower, hot air pluming from his nostrils with every breath. The heat radiating from his chest felt intense enough to melt her pale left cheek.

’I haven’t been in such a sorry state since I broke through to the Spirit Body Realm. Just to block the [Ice Claw] from the Three Ancestors of the North Snow Wolf Tribe, my own [Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven] instantly consumed most of my Fiery Flame Spirit Charm.’

’On top of that, using [Shadow Stepping] to travel has been draining my Fiery Flame Spirit Charm like sand through an hourglass.’

’In this frozen wasteland, my Spirit Charm is being depleted far too easily.’

’Just why am I...?’

A sudden chill on his chest interrupted Jiang Qiu’s thoughts, and he slowed to a stop.

He looked down at Ice Lotus. Her small, cold hand was pressed carefully against his chest. The moment their eyes met, she snatched it back as if startled. Her body trembled, the pair of wolf ears on her head drooped, and tears welled in her large eyes, shimmering like starlight.

’Like a little wolf cub seeing a person for the first time.’

"Do you know the way to North Border City?"

"I... I don’t know."

Seeing Ice Lotus’s timid look, Jiang Qiu sighed inwardly.

’In a vast, barren snowfield like the Northern Wilderness, human settlements are few and far between. Without a [Coordinate Disc] or a marked road, how could anyone find North Border City from memory alone?’

’I should head back and find Lin Wei and the others before deciding on my next move...’

"B-Be careful... we’re... we’re about to enter the Secret Realm."

Ice Lotus’s soft, timid voice slipped from her lips, her little heart hammering in her chest.

Jiang Qiu frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

’We’re still within the boundaries of the North Snow Wolf Clan’s domain, but I haven’t sensed any Secret Realm fluctuations. How could we be about to enter one?’

"J-Just now... the... the North Snow Wolf Clan’s Spiritual Great Demon... it can activate this Medium-sized Secret Realm..." Ice Lotus buried her head, her little wolf tail curling up. The soft fur brushed against the arm Jiang Qiu had around her legs, and her small frame trembled. "And... and Iron Power and his men stole too many Ice Crystal Fruits. The North Snow Wolf Clan won’t let them get away. I can feel it... the Secret Realm is about to become active..."

Before she could finish, a low hum, VMMMM, echoed as a pulse of Secret Realm energy rippled out from deep within the distant Snow Ridge. It swept over Jiang Qiu and Ice Lotus’s heads, expanding far into the distance and causing the thick clouds above to twist like ocean waves.

At that moment, Jiang Qiu’s pupils contracted. ’This Medium-sized Secret Realm is this huge?!’

’The area swept by the fluctuation defines the Secret Realm’s domain. Every living creature within it will be pulled inside.’

’And this domain seems to be more than twice the size of the Dongqi Lake region...’