The No.1 Undercover in the Immortal World-Chapter 717 - 225: No Matter How Many Tricks You Play, I Remain Unmoved
Wu Xin and Hu Yuling followed behind the Snow Maiden, unaware that a little tail was also following behind them.
Xiao Qing had joined the pursuit as well.
Originally, she only intended to track Yuan Zihe and then bring her back to her master.
Now that Yuan Zihe had been taken away by the Snow Maiden, she naturally couldn’t just return like that, and happened to see Hu Yuling with Wu Xin.
Xiao Qing remembered very clearly what a shameless woman Hu Yuling was.
In the face of others, Lin Yun always protected them gently, but only towards Hu Yuling could the master start whipping someone right from the beginning—she was no ordinary woman!
Moreover, Xiao Qing had always stayed inside Lin Yun’s body and could sense his blood and qi state, with it boiling the most whenever he faced Hu Yuling.
This indicated that Lin Yun was most excited when dealing with Hu Yuling.
Ranked second was Fang Yu.
Therefore, in Xiao Qing’s eyes, their rankings were determined by some kind of factor.
Hmm, Dongfang Hongyue, who was considered the greatest threat by others, was placed last.
But back to the main story, three groups of people entered the grassland separately, rushing to Snow Mountain with utmost speed.
The Snow Maiden wasn’t specialized in speed, but having broken through to the Defiant Heavenly Realm, she was by no means an ordinary mortal. Wu Xin wasn’t under any pressure when following her, and in terms of speed, Wu Xin was even faster by quite a margin.
But now, she was very unwilling.
How old the Snow Maiden was—she knew that.
Younger in age than her by several orders, yet her strength was already comparable, and if they really fought, she might not even win.
The more Wu Xin thought about it, the more wronged she felt; what had she been doing all these nearly ten thousand years!
When compared with others, she always felt like such a waste.
Clearly, within the Demon Race, she should be considered a prodigy, but now, she didn’t feel any sense of pride as a genius.
Not only had someone taken her diary, but she also had to help that villain to monitor and protect others—too grievous!
The more Wu Xin thought about it, the angrier she became, wishing she could run away immediately, but then she remembered the fresh blood that Lin Yun had given her in advance, and she couldn’t bear to leave.
"Enough, I’m not working for nothing; I’ve gained benefits as well."
Since there was no one else to comfort her, Wu Xin comforted herself.
Only then did she realize that Hu Yuling had fallen behind because she couldn’t keep up with their speed.
"Humph, truly a disgrace to the Demon Race."
Wu Xin thought for a moment and still turned back to give Hu Yuling a hand.
"Thank you."
"No need, I was just thinking that if we do end up fighting later, you could exert some effort too."
Hu Yuling: "..."
Although she couldn’t quite describe Wu Xin, she did find Wu Xin very adorable at that moment.
By nightfall, the Snow Maiden had returned to the foot of Great Snow Mountain.
Yuan Zihe, who was tied up tightly, shivered uncontrollably.
The bitter cold of Great Snow Mountain was hard to resist; even cultivators with a cultivation level couldn’t fully ward it off, let alone Yuan Zihe, whose cultivation had been sealed by Fulong, leaving her to rely only on shivering to keep warm.
Of course, she wouldn’t freeze to death; it was just somewhat uncomfortable.
The Snow Maiden stood at the base of Great Snow Mountain but did not head straight for the Snow Mountain Temple; instead, she stood there for a long while.
Looking at the ever-snowy Great Snow Mountain, the Snow Maiden suddenly felt a surge of emotions.
She was usually a simple character, rarely given to sentimental feelings, but this time, a myriad of emotions flooded her heart.
The Snow Mountain Temple had always been like her home, and this time was probably the longest she had ever been away from home.
She felt a bit unaccustomed to the sudden return.
However, now that she had returned, the things that remained were ultimately up to her to confront.
The Snow Maiden might be a bit naive, but she wasn’t a fool; she could see through some simple matters clearly.
She knew the Grand Shaman was suspicious, Lin Yun must have had a reason for his conjecture.
Yet, for her, the Grand Shaman also felt like family.
She had been raised by the Grand Shaman since she was young; he said she was the daughter of a God, and as a Grand Shaman, it was his duty to bring her up.
Even so, the Snow Maiden still trusted and relied heavily on the Grand Shaman.
Which is why, even knowing that the Grand Shaman had schemes, the Snow Maiden still wanted to return and see for herself, to verify in person.
Furthermore, this was also the destiny the Snow Maiden saw for herself during her breakthrough.
She couldn’t fear any challenge, the Grand Shaman might be the most difficult hurdle in her life, but she had to get over it.
There was no need to rely on others; she could handle it herself.
When the wind and snow covered Yuan Zihe’s neck as well, the Snow Maiden finally ended her contemplation. She looked toward the direction of the Snow Mountain Temple and once more steeled her resolve.
Lifting her head and taking a step forward, the Snow Maiden continued on her path.
The Snow Mountain Temple was exceptionally quiet after nightfall. Already situated in a land of bitter cold with sparse population, the Snow Maiden carried Yuan Zihe by the arm, slowly making her way up from the base of the mountain.
What looked like a slow pace was only a matter of moments before she had reached the steps outside the Snow Mountain Temple.
She ascended the steps one by one, the solemn atmosphere making Yuan Zihe, already shivering from the cold, feel even more uneasy.
"This is bad, something seems off; her return doesn’t look like coming home, it clearly seems like she’s heading for a fight..."
When immortals clash, mortals suffer!
As the Snow Maiden ascended the steps, the great doors of the Divine Temple swung quickly open, and an elderly voice emanated from within.
"You’ve returned."
It was the Grand Shaman.
The pace of the Snow Maiden’s steps remained unchanged, she walked unhurriedly towards the Divine Temple, and spoke slowly, "The Grand Shaman sent messengers calling for my return, so of course, I must come back."
"It’s rare for you to think this way. Has Ya Ruo not conveyed the message to you?"
The voice of the Grand Shaman suddenly became much younger, and as the Snow Maiden entered the temple, she saw a completely different Grand Shaman from before.
She no longer draped her figure entirely in black robes, nor did she hide under the broad hood; instead, she revealed a young and beautiful face.
The Snow Maiden had always suspected the Grand Shaman was an old woman and hadn’t anticipated such an appearance.
However, hanging beside her were several similarly robed figures, their complexions extraordinarily withered, like rotting dry wood or as if someone had drained them of all purification within, leaving them wrinkled.
Faced with such a bizarre scene, even with her simple mind, the Snow Maiden could guess an approximation of what happened.
The others in black robes were the ordinary shaman-priests, had the Grand Shaman killed them?
They should have been young women, yet suddenly aged; should it be the old woman who was the Grand Shaman who had suddenly turned young? This extreme reversal could only mean the still-living Grand Shaman had done it.
"You killed them?"
With Yuan Zihe in one hand, the Snow Maiden remained expressionless, while Yuan Zihe, glancing at the hanging corpses and the ropes tied around them, thought of her own similar predicament dangling from Lin Yun’s hand and couldn’t shake off a chill.
"Wrong. Rather, they have always been my avatars. They never truly existed. Now, I have simply reclaimed my power because, after all, we have a tough battle ahead."
The calm words of the Grand Shaman hid an immense terror, but the Snow Maiden’s heart was utterly calm, and she did not dwell on the Grand Shaman’s words with horror.
She simply took back Fulong from Yuan Zihe’s possession.
Holding Fulong, the Snow Maiden calmly gazed at the Grand Shaman. There was no hint of joy or sorrow in her eyes, but the Grand Shaman still knew that, inside, she was very disappointed.
With emotions, came weaknesses.
Now there was an opportunity for her to exploit.
Yet, the scene was smaller than she had expected; the Snow Maiden’s emotional fluctuations were not intense enough to be in the optimum state.
She could not rashly display her abilities just yet.
This direct confrontation with the Snow Maiden was a gamble for the Grand Shaman, who had put all her chips in. Should she succeed, she could steal the divine power of the deity from the Snow Maiden.
If she failed, it was no matter; she was confident that the Snow Maiden couldn’t hold her.
"Can you defeat me on Snow Mountain?"
Staying on Snow Mountain, the Snow Maiden felt an unprecedented strength.
Now, she would boldly declare even if Lin Yu stood before her, "I can fight ten of you!"
She assumed that she would only have the Snow Mountain Divine Power’s strengthening when she was weak, but now that she had pushed beyond the mortal limits, the Great Snow Mountain could still boost her tenfold.
The moment she set foot on Snow Mountain, the Snow Maiden felt she was definitely going to win.
Even if the Grand Shaman harbored malice, she could shatter it with sheer force.
This was why her emotions had not fluctuated too much thus far.
"Although we are to have a contest, now is not the time."
Saying this, the Grand Shaman stroked her smooth cheek with a sigh, saying, "After so many years, I can finally live without skulking in the shadows."
The Snow Maiden ignored the Grand Shaman’s topic change, her piercing gaze fixed on her, ready to strike at any moment.
Had it not been for her past sentimental ties to the Grand Shaman, the Snow Maiden wouldn’t have been so courteous now.
But her refusal to engage in conversation was the greatest torture for the Grand Shaman.
The Snow Maiden’s plain reaction made the Grand Shaman feel like her strategizing and plotting for some time had become a bit of a joke.
"Aren’t you curious about just how many years I’ve been in hiding?"
Unable to hold back, the Grand Shaman finally retorted.
The Snow Maiden shook her head emphatically, "I’m not curious. I only know that you are now an enemy. I won’t believe what you say anymore. Of course, you may speak, but I will have Ah Yun analyze it for me later."
Grand Shaman: "..."
Damn... too hasty.
Despite all her calculations, she hadn’t anticipated the Snow Maiden’s straightforwardness and simplicity.
Yet her simplicity was quite logical, which left the Grand Shaman with no place to vent her frustration.
Fearing being swayed, she chose to believe nothing.
But she could listen, and leave the analysis to the wise for later; her concern was only with the fighting.
For a moment, the Grand Shaman was a little at a loss as to how to proceed.
To think she had been preparing for this act for over a year.
If it were about lying in wait, she had done so for even longer.
She had planned to share her years of undercover stories to shake the Snow Maiden’s heart during their conversation, but the Snow Maiden’s heart remained undisturbed, almost cultivating a Heart Demon in the Grand Shaman instead.
Simple-mindedness can be both the easiest and hardest thing to handle.
Because the thoughts of a normal person are not on the same wavelength as hers. With a calm heart, the one in a hurry is naturally someone else.
So, the question arose, should she speak her long-harbored words or not?
Expressing them now seemed tasteless, and the whole situation felt overly reminiscent of reporting to a boss and waiting for instructions.
If she said nothing, that would be even more infuriating.
Racking her brains for such a neat move, yet unable to show off, how frustrating!
