Spirit Realm

The dark cold energy spread and coiled around his body like ice snakes, and the surface of Qin Lie’s body was rapidly frozen.

“Crack crack!”

Strange sounds came from inside his body as thick ice formed and covered him.

Seconds later, he became sealed in ice. He was trapped inside and couldn’t even move a finger.

The only thing that remained was his soul that could still feel the bone-chilling cold. His body gradually became numb and had almost lost all sensation. He could not detect his surroundings any longer.

“Frost concept…”

Inside the ice, Qin Lie’s soul floated as his thoughts almost froze to a stop.

Cold energy gradually permeated his very being and was about to corrode his mind, freezing even his soul!

At this time, the Icestone Snow Wolf King that had turned into a wolfdog had a puzzled look in his eyes as though he was asking if this would work.

Li Mu smiled. “I don’t know if this will work either. One handprint to seal the sky and earth, the person that sealed these hundreds of beasts deliberately left behind this frost concept. Maybe they intended for others to make a breakthrough and feel the profoundness of their spirit art. I’m extremely confident that if Qin Lie can comprehend the wonders of this frost concept, he can definitely step over the doorway and achieve this kind of frost spirit art.”

He shook his head and said regretfully, “You are a snow wolf, a creature of this land of snow and ice. What you have is a cultivation method imprinted on your soul. Even though you can use this place to help you cultivate, you can never comprehend the frost concept here and cultivate the wonders of that person’s spirit art.”

“And I… if I could have entered this place back then, I would have thrown myself completely into this. I would have used all my energy to comprehend the frost concept here to feel that domineering spirit art.” Li Mu sighed. “It is a pity that I am past that age. My spirit arts and techniques have formed, and it is very difficult for me to accept a completely new spirit art.”

As he talked, he looked at Qin Lie for a while and then said, “He won’t die. Let’s go out for now. We will come back for him in three months.”

The Icestone Snow Wolf King nodded.

Two balls of icy light wrapped around him and Li Mu. Once the icy light suddenly became blinding, the two figures disappeared.

……

Dark Fiend Valley.

Ling Yushi’s clothing was wet while her beautiful body was immersed in the water as she practiced her spirit art.

Drops of sparkling water formed and spun around her like crystals as they gathered the moisture around her. They caused Ling Yushi’s face to glow and become tender, almost like there was an otherworldly presence on her body.

A fire red figure flew close like the red sunset and landed next to Ling Yushi’s pond.

“Sis!” Ling Xuanxuan’s face was covered in tears, and her eyes were swollen. “Senior Sister Lu has come back. Sh-she returned with news about our family…”

“Xuanxuan, what happened?” Ling Yushi’s expression changed.

“Daddy’s dead!” cried Ling Xuanxuan as she burst into tears.

Ling Yushi’s body shook. The crystal-like water droplets all exploded.

“Third Uncle is outside the valley,” Ling Xuanxuan said.

Ling Yushi instantly came ashore. She quickly changed clothes and went with Ling Xuanxuan to the forest outside the valley. At first glance, she saw the members of the Ling Family covered in dust as she and Ling Xuanxuan approached them.

“Third Uncle! Ling Feng!” Ling Yushi went forward, her eyes glistening with tears as she shouted, “What happened?”

Lu Li’s expression was indifferent as she stood at the front of the group. Seeing Ling Yushi and Ling Xuanxuan crying, her brow furrowed slightly. “That Du Haitian’s scheme killed your father.”

Separated for two years, Ling Chengzhi also teared up when he saw the two sisters. With red eyes, he explained the situation.

“Liu Yuntao, Du Haitian, and Wei Xing had Big Brother and the others go to that mountain valley. They didn’t explain beforehand, so when Big Brother and the others encountered a great number of spirit beasts… they died due to that scheme.”

“Liu Yuntao was promoted to become the Pavilion Master, and Du Haitian became the Vice Pavilion Master. Yuan Tianya of Dark Asura Hall thinks highly of them.”

“Our Ling Family were helpless and could not get in contact with you. Even Pavilion Master Tu Mo was forced to abdicate. No one was going to get justice for the Ling Family.”

“There was only Qin Lie!”

“He challenged Du Haitian on the street and cut of his head! He killed Du Jiaolan and her son! He even killed Du Heng! And he continued to kill!”

Ling Chengzhi’s eyes were red as he narrated everything that happened in detail.

“Qin Lie!” The the two Ling sisters shook as they asked in unison, “Where is he?”

“No one knows,” Lu Li interjected. She paused, and then, a strange expression showed on her face. She nodded and said, “This guy that Junior Sister likes… isn’t bad.”

“Senior Sister, I need to leave the valley!” Ling Yushi suddenly exclaimed after having remained in silence for a while with her head down. “While Master is not in the valley, I need to leave. Senior Sister, please let me go!”

“What are you going to do?” Li Lu’s brow creased. “Du Haitian’s entire family has already been killed, justice has been achieved. Qin Lie has been taken away by that shop owner, and no one knows where he is. What point is there in leaving the valley at this time?”

“Senior Sister, please let me!” Ling Yushi did not explain and persisted.

“Do not beg me, I will not agree.” Lu Li’s expression was frosty. “If you are going to sneak out during the night, I will not be able to guard you every day, take care of yourself…”

Ling Yushi’s eyes lit up.

That night, she helped Ling Chengzhi, Ling Feng, and the Ling Family settle down. After asking for more details from Ling Chengzhi, she disappeared from Dark Fiend Valley.

……

In the land of ice.

Qin Lie was a statue of ice that stood at the peak of a glacier. There weren’t any signs of life on his body, just extremely faint spirit energy vibrations.

Wisps of cold energy spread from the ice and permeated his bones and tendons, causing even his bones to produce coldness.

His dantian’s spirit sea seemed to also have frozen over. There wasn’t a single wisp of spirit energy that could circulate. Even the thunder and lightning power inside his Natal Palace had been frozen.

Other than his thoughts and soul which could still move, he could do nothing else.

“Frost concept, frost concept, frost concept…”

These words continuously echoed in his mind. He used his soul to feel the cruel coldness which resulted in the trembling of his soul.

When he used his perception to feel the cold, his thoughts would gradually slow as though they were being frozen.

The coldness here seemed to be able to even freeze thoughts. Even something that was intangible could not escape being filled with this coldness!

He didn’t know how much time had passed, nor did he know of the changes of the outside world. He maintained this state and used his soul to feel the existence of this icy-cold energy, to feel the cruel coldness of this land of ice and snow.

Days passed by, but he did not gain anything. He still could not discover the crux of the frost concept.

His body had lost all feeling long ago. Only his soul and mind were still active and told him how cold the environment he existed in was.

The wisps of cold energy were like strands that filled this land of ice. They were omnipresent and numbered in the billions. Each strand of cold energy would reach his bone marrow and swim as though they were fish…

They were moving in every piece of ice, every crag, every inch of frozen ground, every corner of this world!

The cold energy was alive...

It was like an unique lifeform, a special race. It lived in this land and was born relying on this land.

“Spirit energy… animation?”

A beam of spirit light was released, and when the spirit light touched the ground, life was bestowed upon it. It quickly turned to a new lifeform. This was spirit energy animation; it was a divine technique that belonged to the legends, a divine act…

The frost concept was active cold energy that seemed to possess life. Was this… spirit energy animation?

Under the effects of the cold energy, Qin Lie’s thoughts were slow. Every problem was difficult to think about, but he still tried hard to think through it.

The actively moving cold energy was like billions of lines that filled every corner of the world. Lines… spirit lines!

A light flashed through his head. Qin Lie suddenly caught the crux. His soul consciousness instantly scattered.

He went to feel the wisps of cold energy, to look at the distance between the wisps of cold energy, to see the minuscule vibrations of the cold energy, and to see the responses between them…

He treated the strands of cold energy in the world as spirit lines of a spirit diagram. With that method of comprehending spirit diagrams, he felt the profoundness here!

“All things are diagrams. The channels of the great earth, the veins of the human body, the path of the stars, and the changes of the world, each of these are all spirit diagrams!” He suddenly recalled what Qin Shan had taught him before.

His soul quieted down, and he used the method he initially used to study spirit diagrams to feel the omnipresent cold energy, detect the flow of every strand of cold energy, and grasp their minuscule movements.

He threw himself in.

Gradually, he forgot himself and entered the state of Thoughtless Tranquility to use all of his mind to feel the changes in cold energy around him.

The strands of cold energy were like the most complex spirit diagram in the world that crisscrossed this place and every corner around him.

Then, they slowly wrapped onto his body!

He didn’t know how long it had been when he felt coldness, coldness from his body!

Then, he suddenly found that, inside the frozen spirit sea of his dantian, a new Natal Palace was taking form!

This Natal Palace appeared to be an enormous glowing ball of ice, and as the ball of ice slowly rolled, The strands of cold energy tangled onto it and slowly became thicker and increased in size.

He didn’t know where the cold energy came from. All he knew was that it passed into the spirit sea in his dantian and gradually formed a new Natal Palace.

As he looked at the changes within his spirit sea, he was completely dumbfounded. In his state of Thoughtless Tranquility, he was like an outside observer, and nothing could affect his mind.

He continued to use his mind and soul to feel the changes in flow of the cold energy outside.

More cold energy came in and gathered on the ball of ice. It continued to slowly cause the ball to grow and also started filling it as well.

The amount of spirit energy in this land of ice seemed to lessen as his understanding of the strands of cold energy formed as though the land of ice had lost its soul…

In silence, time continued to move forward.

Gradually, the insides of the ball of ice in his spirit sea became completely filled with flowing cold energy, yet more still seeped in!

Then, his third Natal Palace started to form…

Three months later.

When Li Mu and the Icestone Snow Wolf King appeared again in this land of ice, Li Mu’s expression shifted as he exclaimed, “The frost concept has almost disappeared!”

The eyes of the Icestone Snow Wolf King also showed shock as though it could not currently accept that.

“Was Qin Lie the one who did this?” Even Li Mu was in disbelief. “Comprehending frost concept is one thing, but directly absorbing it is a completely different matter!”

Li Mu and the Icestone Snow Wolf King quickly rushed to Qin Lie.