The next day, all four of them donned snow-resistant cloaks and arrived at the entrance to the Yin Extreme Secret Realm.
The Yin Extreme Secret Realm had opened at the same time as the Yang Pole Secret Realm, and it had been about half a month since then. The plaza at the entrance bustled with people coming and going, creating quite a lively scene.
Few people focused on soul refining, but enhancing one’s divine soul was something everyone dreamed of. Control, perception, and reaction speed were all tied to the divine soul.
Elevating divine soul cultivation would send combat prowess soaring.
To avoid drawing trouble, Zi Xunyi had donned a purple veil, which lent her an air of mystery.
After entering the Yin Extreme Secret Realm without issue, a bone-chilling zero-degree cold assaulted them. It was colder than the depths of winter because this chill struck directly at the divine soul—neither clothing nor skin could block it.
A vast expanse of snowy plains stretched before their eyes, with tall, straight pine trees marking the horizon.
Those pine trees served as both boundaries and cultivation spots.
The Yin Extreme Secret Realm was divided into the outer ring, the inner ring, and the central Ice Lake, all separated by the pines.
Those without any divine soul cultivation generally practiced in the outer ring. The inner ring required the Hidden Realm, while the Ice Lake demanded the Manifest Realm. Venturing beyond one’s level risked injury.
A divine soul injury was no small matter, and no one dared to take such a risk.
As a result, the outer ring was the most crowded, numbers dropping sharply in the inner ring—after all, soul cultivators were exceedingly rare. The Ice Lake saw even fewer people, mostly from the Technique Refining Division.
The Holy Land Academy had its own Technique Refining Division, which operated independently of the outer and inner academies. It was subdivided into five classes: Pill Path Class, Artifact Path Class, Talisman Path Class, and Formation Path Class. The Pill Path and Artifact Path classes had the most students, while the Talisman Path and Formation Path classes were relatively smaller. In total, there were around two hundred students.
By contrast, the outer and inner academies combined had nearly fifty thousand students, underscoring just how rare Pill Refiners were.
Rarity bred value, so every Pill Refiner tended to be an arrogant sort.
Take the leader of the “Pill King,” for example.
The four dashed forward through the deep snow until they reached the pines that separated the inner and outer rings, where they finally came to a stop.
“Long Ying, Wenqing—you two don’t have any divine soul cultivation. Do you want to head into the inner ring?”
“No biggie! I’m the world’s one and only Supreme Dragon-Phoenix!”
“It’s fine. Let’s keep going.”
“Alright, just speak up if you can’t handle it.”
Yan Zhen recalled the plot from the script. Once Long Ying reached the inner ring, her head had started buzzing. By the time Yan Zhen brought her to the Ice Lake, she couldn’t take it anymore and passed out cold, her eyes spinning in circles. He ended up tying her to his back and carrying her around like some doting nanny.
That said, Long Ying had a solid foundation. A single trip through the Yin Extreme Secret Realm had advanced her divine soul, so Yan Zhen wasn’t too worried about her.
His main concern was Huangfu Wenqing. In his view, she was starting from zero. The outer ring would be best for her cultivation—pushing into the inner ring might lead to trouble.
Little did he know that both Long Ying and Huangfu Wenqing were reincarnators, and their cultivation bases from their past lives had been far from low. Their divine souls were much stronger than average, rivaling the Manifest Realm in intensity even without cultivating soul arts to draw out spiritual power.
Thus, once they reached the inner ring, Huangfu Wenqing urged Yan Zhen to press on, all the way to the central Ice Lake.
Seeing his fiancée looking utterly unfazed, Yan Zhen was baffled.
The wind and snow had picked up here. Without reaching the Manifest Realm, it would scour the divine soul with excruciating pain. How was Huangfu Wenqing enduring it?
“Wenqing, are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s just a bit cold, and circulating qi doesn’t help.”
“This is wind and snow that invades the divine soul. Circulating qi is useless, and no amount of layers will protect you. You need spiritual power to wrap around your body.”
“Then can you wrap me up with your spiritual power?”
“Well…”
He could do it, but Yan Zhen still couldn’t freely detach his five senses from his spiritual power. Enveloping Huangfu Wenqing that way would be like touching, licking, smelling, and scrutinizing every inch of her body—not to mention hearing her heartbeat and breathing crystal clear. Who could withstand that?
Zi Xunyi, well-versed in the mysteries of spiritual power, said coolly, “We came to the Yin Extreme Secret Realm to temper our divine souls, didn’t we? Endure it yourself.”
Long Ying, who was being led by the hand by Zi Xunyi, nodded in deep agreement. She shot the green-haired bad woman a look of disdain, as if gazing upon some spoiled young miss.
Why couldn’t she learn from a dragon? Not only would a dragon never trouble Yan Zhen Zhen—she’d even help him clear out any fools who got in his way.
Clear superiority! Dragon wins! Hmph~~~
Huangfu Wenqing had only said it offhand. Seeing the displeasure from the other two women, she shut her mouth sullenly. In her heart, she thought: This isn’t my turf, so I’ll hold back for now. Once Yan Zhen takes me back to Cloud Heaven Palace, we’ll team up with my master and make sure not a drop of soup is left for this lot.
You strike first on the first, and I’ll hit back on the fifteenth. Let’s see who’s afraid of whom!
Each of the three women harbored her own thoughts. Yan Zhen quietly broke into a cold sweat, sensing they might erupt into argument at any moment—and he’d be the one to suffer.
…
The four arrived at the Ice Lake. Quite a few figures were already seated cross-legged on the icy surface, each position featuring an ice hole before them. Manifest Realm divine soul experts could extend mental tentacles, transforming them into fishing lines to hook the Soul Spirit Fish lurking in the depths.
Soul Spirit Fish were extremely sensitive to spiritual power and would dart away at the slightest touch. The waters of the Ice Lake eroded the mental tentacles as well, requiring frequent replacement. The work was both time- and energy-intensive, with success rare—but reeling one in meant striking it rich.
Yan Zhen scanned the area and spotted members of Black Horn not far off. There were only two: a Mystic General and a Mystic Master, both unfamiliar faces identifiable only by the badges on their chests.
The full Black Horn contingent was in the inner and outer rings. It wasn’t that they couldn’t enter the Ice Lake—they simply couldn’t stay for long.
The other Top Ten Societies were represented as well, alongside the rest from the Technique Refining Division—you could tell by their uniforms. There were even two instructors from the division.
As Yan Zhen observed the crowd, plenty of students took notice of the newcomers.
Yan Zhen, Zi Xunyi, Huangfu Wenqing, Long Ying—any one of them was striking enough to turn heads.
Yan Zhen led the three women to an empty spot on the ice and claimed two ice holes, since only he and Zi Xunyi possessed mental tentacles for fishing.
Huangfu Wenqing knelt beside Yan Zhen, ostensibly standing guard for him. Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she fixed them on her beloved.
Long Ying put on a show of leaning against Yan Zhen’s back in a cultivation pose. But before long, she was fast asleep.
Mm, the Dragon Slumber Breathing Method!
As for Zi Xunyi, she began spiritual fishing with practiced ease.
The wind and snow in the Yin Extreme Secret Realm no longer held any tempering value for her. Only the Soul Spirit Fish could offer even a modest boost to her divine soul.
In the script, Yan Zhen was supposed to advance his divine soul here in the Yin Extreme Secret Realm. But in reality, he had inexplicably broken through back in the Yang Pole Secret Realm. After forging his sword the night before, he had also discussed the fourth symbol with his beautiful female master.
He had progressed from the Fire Symbol to the Wind Talisman, then the Water Symbol. For the fourth, he chose the Thunder Symbol.
Transforming wind into thunder, unifying wind and thunder—it would aid his later entry into the Thunder Pool atop the Firmament Nine-Story Tower to subdue the Wind-Thunder Crystal Fire.
Moreover, the Thunder Symbol would help with fishing right now.
Yan Zhen’s mental tentacles, laced with arcs of electricity, plunged into the ice hole and extended downward, seeking traces of Soul Spirit Fish.
The moment they brushed one, he could unleash the Lightning Whip to electrocute it into paralysis, then reel it in.
