"Did he leave any message before departing?"
Li Zhi'an took out a key. "He said if he doesn't return, you should find what he left behind."
Cao Changjing accepted the key from Li Zhi'an's hand.
"..........."
Heavenly Extreme Cold Secret Realm.
Li Xuanxiao had been guarding this place for three months.
According to Li Zhi'an, the entrance to the Extreme Cold Secret Realm only opened once per year.
Li Xuanxiao dispersed his spiritual sense and multiple clone puppets to ensure he wouldn't miss the opening.
He sat cross-legged in an ice cave, using the furnace fire within his cauldron to ward off the cold.
The chill here could freeze even cultivators' bodies, let alone ordinary people.Di Nü Feng huddled in her clothes, her small face deathly pale as she leaned her head against Li Xuanxiao's shoulder.
None of her usual vitality remained.
The bluish-purple veins on her wrist had spread throughout her body, and even her fair neck was now covered with them.
"Hmm..."
Li Xuanxiao hadn't expected the venom of the ancient serpent god to be so potent.
With the serpent god's demise, its remaining poison erupted at an even more terrifying speed.
This was the creature's final self-preservation measure - venom that had survived since ancient times.
It had caused Di Nü Feng, a Tribulation Transcension cultivator, to rapidly decline in power.
If one listened carefully, they could even hear "popping" sounds coming from Di Nü Feng's body.
That was the sound of Tribulation Transcension spiritual energy being corroded, like shattering glass.
Now, even Di Nü Feng's exhaled breath could instantly petrify surrounding objects into snake-scale shaped crystals.
Snowflakes turned into crystalline snake scales before they could reach the ground.
"Whoosh whoosh~"
Time was running out.
Li Xuanxiao understood this clearly.
"Li Xuanxiao, I think I'm going to die."
"You won't."
"Hmm... I really am dying. It hurts so much."
"You won't."
Li Xuanxiao's tone became unusually firm.
"Hmm... My head hurts so bad. I, Di Nü Feng, might actually perish here."
Just as Li Xuanxiao was about to offer comforting words, one of his detection arrays suddenly sensed spiritual energy fluctuations.
His heart tightened as he rushed to investigate.
Thinking it might be the entrance opening, he instead found two flying ships breaking through the blizzard.
Li Xuanxiao immediately concealed himself and Di Nü Feng, withdrawing all nearby arrays to avoid detection.
He could faintly sense powerful auras aboard the ships.
On the flying ship, Mozi stood with hands behind his back, scanning the landscape below.
Fierce winds wove pale curtains of ice particles in the air.
He had come under his master's orders to hunt down the remaining Shushan fugitives.
Recognizing the Zhongzhou-style construction of the ships, Li Xuanxiao immediately activated escape arts despite not knowing their identities.
Soon, he sensed more presences arriving.
From Li Zhi'an, Li Xuanxiao had learned precise information:
The Extreme Cold Realm entrance opened yearly, with a Frost Essence Decay occurring every century.
This weakened the core region's frost poison and loosened the restrictive arrays, reducing danger by half.
Thus, this became the optimal time to enter—which explained why so few dared enter annually.
Yet this year, so many had come from afar.
The crowd actually eased Li Xuanxiao's worries.
He'd sensed multiple presences from the Zhongzhou ships searching for something.
More people meant better concealment.
"Those are Northmoon Sword Sect members."
"On such an important day, how could the Northmoon Sword Sect not come?"
"Don't you see the Snowveil Commerce people over there?"
"Hey, check out that ship's design!"
"That's a Zhongzhou flying ship."
"Zhongzhou people came too!?"
".............."
Northmoon Sword Sect. Snowveil Commerce.
Upon sensing several auras, Mozi voluntarily restrained his own power.
Entering foreign territory naturally suppressed his cultivation.
In Cangzhou, his Tribulation Transcension cultivation made operations difficult.
"It's the Snowveil Commerce's Goddess of Wealth!"
A shout rang out as a figure descended from the sky.
Before landing, golden objects rained down.
Not snow, yet they dyed the surrounding snowfall gold.
Golden spirit stones—rare and valuable—now showered from above.
Nearby cultivators scrambled to collect them.
A gold-and-red figure spiraled downward.
Sunlight pierced the clouds, setting her golden hair aflame like molten gold, tips flowing with honeyed light.
Her golden robe's 108,000 golden silk threads trembled in the wind.
A stunning golden-haired woman.
The Snowveil Commerce's Goddess of Wealth.
For the first time, Li Xuanxiao felt like a stranger in a foreign land.
Previously, no matter where he went or who he met, hearing a name instantly conjured complete information.
Now, though people shouted thunderously famous names, he recognized none, only gleaning fragments from bystanders.
Di Nü Feng made a small noise upon seeing the Goddess.
Staring at the woman's beauty, then at her own reflection in the golden spirit stones scattered below.
(｡•́︿•̀｡)
"Hmm..."
Carried on Li Xuanxiao's back, she sadly buried her face against him.
Sensing her mood, Li Xuanxiao said:
"She's quite beautiful."
"Hmm?" Di Nü Feng raised an eyebrow.
"What a pity." Li Xuanxiao suddenly sighed. "She pales in comparison to you."
(◕‿◕✿)
The Goddess of Wealth fanned herself elegantly as attendants erected a luxurious platform amid the snowstorm.
"Young Mistress, this is the Master's confidential letter."
"Hmph!"
The Goddess snorted lightly.
"The old man wants me back again? Tell him I'll handle the Frost Venom Toad."
"..........."
Another half-month passed.
In a certain region, previously calm spiritual energy suddenly began violently trembling.
As if disturbed by tremendous power, the energy scattered like startled bees.
At the epicenter, a massive light gate gradually materialized.
As it opened, dense spiritual energy gushed forth like a flood, instantly permeating the area.
After the long wait, the secret realm's gates finally stood open.
"It's open!"
"The gates to the Extreme Cold Land."