Chapter 43: Cuddling for Warmth

Devil Qi and Yin Baleful Qi invaded his body. Mo Zhenfeng’s expression twisted into extreme brutality, then gradually he descended into frenzied madness, consumed by the Devil.

By now, the Fortune Guiding Talisman was glowing crimson red, but it was already too late.

As if he still possessed a thread of reason, Mo Zhenfeng would rage manically for a while, then, with extreme contradiction, collapse into tearful confessions, remorse, and pleas for mercy.

“All opportunities are mine! All beauties are mine!”

“Hahaha, I am the master of this world!”

“I was wrong, I deserve to die. I shouldn’t have set my sights on your fortune, your opportunities…”

“Ah, I beg you, spare me! I’ll kowtow to you!”

Throughout this time, Linlang had always harbored an unquenchable hatred deep within her heart. When she was first reborn, all she wanted was to take revenge on everyone. After capturing Mo Zhenfeng, she intended to refine his body into a Corpse Puppet and his soul into a Soul Slave—never to be free, forever to be tormented by her.

But now, watching Mo Zhenfeng struggling, constantly kowtowing yet lapsing back into gnashing, manic rage, Linlang realized that, without her conscious awareness, her hatred was no longer as obsessive as before. This person before her was not worth the time to torment or the energy to care about.

She had more important matters, more important people!

Her mind was completely filled with images of Huo Zhi. She had to rush to her aid immediately!

What would happen when Devil Qi—something even a person of Wenren Sumian’s caliber couldn’t control—entered Mo Zhenfeng, Linlang didn’t know. She no longer cared. She knocked Mo Zhenfeng unconscious, took his Fortune Guiding Talisman, and wiped the Spiritual Sense imprint on it. It reverted to a plain, unassuming static Talisman.

Linlang didn’t linger. She activated a Teleportation Talisman to search for Huo Zhi.

On the other side, Shentu Xingyue’s cultivation level was high. The time it took her to activate a Teleportation Talisman was shorter than Huo Zhi’s, and her teleportation distance was longer. She had already caught up to Huo Zhi.

The moment she saw Huo Zhi, Shentu Xingyue lashed out with her long whip. Huo Zhi, still holding the Little Snow Fox, rolled on the ground, dodging the first strike. The second whip followed immediately.

Shentu Xingyue’s whip was terrifyingly powerful. Even just being grazed on the back by its tip, Huo Zhi felt agonizing pain wracking her body. The hands holding the Little Snow Fox trembled uncontrollably.

“It’s no good. You run on your own! I’ll hold her off for now!” Huo Zhi was unable to activate the Teleportation Talisman Artifact again. Shentu Xingyue’s relentless aggression made her feel she truly couldn’t cope. She used Sound Transmission to address the Little Snow Fox, then with a sudden heave, threw it away. At the same time, Huo Zhi lunged for Shentu Xingyue, grabbing the tail of her whip.

Huo Zhi was snagged by the whip’s tail and thrown to the ground. Shentu Xingyue’s whip struck out again.

After being thrown aside, the Little Snow Fox turned its heterochromatic eyes back toward Huo Zhi. Just as Shentu Xingyue’s whip was about to land on Huo Zhi again, the Little Snow Fox’s figure flashed, and it leaped in front of Huo Zhi, taking that whip strike head-on.

As that whip landed upon the Little Snow Fox, its body gradually expanded. A somewhat immature beast roar escaped it. Everything touching the Little Snow Fox—the whip, and even Shentu Xingyue herself—froze with extreme speed.

Then, the Little Snow Fox’s body shrank again, like a deflating balloon. Before, it had been the size of a palm. Now, having shrunk further, it was barely the size of a fist. As it fell from the air, it looked utterly weak, its body even appearing somewhat ethereal.

Huo Zhi had been rolling to dodge Shentu Xingyue’s whip when she noticed the white shadow blocking her front. Turning to look, the Little Snow Fox had already taken a strike and was rapidly shrinking, plummeting down. Huo Zhi quickly rolled over and caught the Little Snow Fox.

She hadn’t expected this Little Snow Fox, from whom she sensed no cultivation whatsoever, to possess such an ability.

After catching the Little Snow Fox, Huo Zhi felt extreme astonishment. The Little Snow Fox’s body didn’t feel like a physical body; it was more like a spirit body.

As Huo Zhi touched the Little Snow Fox’s body, the Little Snow Fox seemed to melt, disappearing wherever it touched her. Simultaneously, Huo Zhi felt a bone-piercing cold spreading throughout her entire body, especially concentrated at her tailbone. Her body’s Spiritual Qi was rapidly drained, while at the same time, she began absorbing the surrounding Ice-Type Spiritual Qi at an extreme speed, all of it concentrating at her tailbone.

Huo Zhi became immobilized, as if frozen in place, unable to control what was happening.

Just as Shentu Xingyue, who had been frozen into a block of ice, began struggling to break free, cracks appearing across the ice, Spiritual Qi undulated—Linlang had arrived.

Seeing the situation, Linlang first grabbed Shentu Xingyue’s whip, which had been frozen solid, and hurled it away with great force. It flew into a distant ice hole from which a group of Walrus Demons was emerging. Then, she grabbed Huo Zhi, activated a Teleportation Talisman, and immediately left that place.

Huo Zhi’s body temperature was extremely low. A layer of frost covered her face, and her eyebrows and hair were coated in white.

When Linlang touched her, she was also chilled by the cold. She concentrated her Fire Attribute at the point of contact to make it somewhat better.

Linlang didn’t dare stop, teleporting four or five times in succession until she was certain they couldn’t be tracked by perception. Only then did she choose a safe place to stop.

“What happened to you? Are you injured? Speed up your cultivation technique,” Linlang said, seeing Huo Zhi’s condition.

“No, no, not injured… Something’s not right. I’m automatically absorbing Ice-Type Spiritual Qi! My back, look at my back, what’s happening?” Huo Zhi shivered as she spoke.

Previously, Huo Zhi’s back had been struck by Shentu Xingyue’s whip. After the Little Snow Fox melted into her body, she felt absolutely no pain there.

Worried for Huo Zhi and not knowing what was wrong, Linlang activated a Protective Barrier after Huo Zhi asked her to check her back. She then lifted Huo Zhi’s clothes and examined her.

Starting from Huo Zhi’s tailbone and going straight up the middle of her back was an ice-blue, indistinctly faint pattern of a tail. The tail seemed to be constantly extending.

Linlang reached out and touched it. The area was intensely cold. Just that brief touch left her fingertips numb from the chill.

Feeling an itch, Huo Zhi trembled, and her back shuddered as well.

Linlang hastily covered Huo Zhi’s clothes back down.

“That Little Snow Fox earlier, it felt like it melted into my body, and then this happened. What’s wrong with my back?” Huo Zhi shivered as she asked Linlang.

“A tail pattern, like a talisman embroidery, has appeared. This seems to be a good thing. Don’t worry!” Linlang replied, pausing after hearing Huo Zhi’s explanation.

“What good thing? Do you know something?” Huo Zhi asked.

“In a Storage Bag I acquired earlier, there was a map marking a significant treasure discovered in this Extreme North Region. It mentioned Nine Yin Profound Ice and Nine Yin Xin Metal. There were some related books. Let me flip through them. They recorded that Nine Yin Profound Ice is a Heavenly Spiritual Object, capable of evolving an ultimate Ice Attribute. It’s a special, evolutionary type of Inherited Spirit Talisman, formed in an extremely cold region over tens of thousands of years. The Nine Yin Profound Ice Spiritual Object that formed this time is somewhat different—it has Dual Attributes; there’s also a Nine Yin Xin Metal attribute. Just now, Shentu Xingyue desperately wanted the Little Snow Fox. After the Little Snow Fox melted and disappeared into you, your body underwent changes. This explains one thing: that Little Snow Fox was the Nine Yin Profound Ice Spiritual Object, and you absorbed it!” Linlang rummaged through her Storage Bag, found the books she had seen earlier, and explained to Huo Zhi.

“…There’s actually such a magical Heavenly Spiritual Object. When will it stop absorbing enough Spiritual Qi? It’s just too cold,” Huo Zhi said.

Linlang bringing this up also reminded Huo Zhi.

In the original story, what Mo Zhenfeng and the Shentu Family had been hunting in the Extreme North Region was precisely the Nine Yin Profound Ice Spiritual Object.

What the Shentu Family had their eyes on was specifically the Nine Yin Xin Metal attribute among its dual ice-metal properties.

But it seemed the Nine Yin Profound Ice had a rather “fiery” temperament. Cornered and pushed to desperation, it hadn’t acknowledged a master but had self-destructed instead.

As a result, Shentu Xingyue was severely injured and rescued by Mo Zhenfeng.

She hadn’t expected that, by a stroke of luck, Huo Zhi—who hadn’t wanted to get involved in their hunt at all—would save the Little Snow Fox, the incarnation of the Nine Yin Profound Ice, and be acknowledged as its master!

“It is helping you raise the grade of your Ice-Type Spiritual Qi. Don’t worry. It has only just taken form. Shentu Xingyue and her people depleted a large portion of its Spiritual Qi, causing it injury. Once it absorbs enough Spiritual Qi, it should stop,” Linlang said.

“Did the book say anything about how to not feel cold? If it keeps going like this, I’ll freeze to death!” Huo Zhi shivered, curling up tightly. It was simply too cold. Circulating that cultivation technique of hers couldn’t withstand this kind of cold at all.

“It didn’t say. My guess is that it might be because your cultivation technique’s rank isn’t high enough. As it elevates the grade of your Spiritual Qi, you feel the cold,” Linlang said.

Huo Zhi was speechless. The Little Snow Fox meant well, but it hadn’t expected her to be so lacking that she couldn’t even handle such Ice-Type Spiritual Qi.

There were no techniques available to learn in this current location.

The Dao of Ruthlessness Technique she cultivated now was imparted by Qin Ceyi. She didn’t know what rank it was, but presumably, it wasn’t too high. Qin Ceyi had mentioned several times that he knew the flaws and secrets of her technique—though what those were, she didn’t know.

Back then, there was no time to find a new technique, so she had just made do with this one.

She could only look for a new technique after leaving this place.

But what could she do now? Huo Zhi felt she would freeze to death long before it absorbed enough Spiritual Qi.

As Huo Zhi hugged her arms and shivered, she sensed the surrounding temperature rise. The heat source was coming from Linlang’s direction.

Linlang was circulating her own technique to its maximum, raising the temperature around her.

Involuntarily, Huo Zhi edged closer to Linlang… and then closer again… until she was pressed right against her.

“Sorry about this, let me warm up a bit, okay? It’s too cold. I’ll pay you Spirit Stones,” Huo Zhi looked at Linlang with pitiable, eager eyes.

“One hundred Spirit Stones per hour,” Linlang said in a low voice.

For some reason, Huo Zhi didn’t have a single Spirit Stone yet was always talking about paying Spirit Stones.

Did it mean that as long as someone was of the Fire Attribute, she would cling to anyone?

Huo Zhi felt much more at ease knowing this was paid-for warmth. She hugged from the front, from the back, from the side—several angles, making sure every part was warmed.

Linlang had previously absorbed the Fire Scale Flood Dragon’s Talisman, effectively raising her fire attribute by a level. She could withstand Huo Zhi’s mild cold.

The Ice-Type Spiritual Qi kept being absorbed. Huo Zhi, utterly exhausted, fell asleep clinging to Linlang.

Once Huo Zhi was asleep, Linlang adjusted the person in her arms into a comfortable sleeping position and removed her veiled hat.

At this moment, Huo Zhi’s appearance was her shapeshifted form of pure Fox Demon bloodline. Her features were delicate and sweet, her sleeping face adorably endearing.

Linlang smoothed her hair, looking at the peacefully sleeping person. She lowered her head and kissed her forehead, pressed her cheek against Huo Zhi’s to warm her, and simultaneously placed Huo Zhi’s hands inside her own clothes for warmth.

The sleeping Huo Zhi, feeling the warmth, pressed herself as close to Linlang as possible. Linlang also held Huo Zhi extremely tightly.

On the other side, Shentu Xingyue fought her way out of the Walrus Demons. Shivering, she activated a Warming Talisman and immediately used a Sound Transmission Talisman Artifact to summon the Cultivators she had brought earlier.

“All of you, search! Two female Cultivators. They should be absorbing Ice-Type Spiritual Qi right now. Find areas with active Ice-Type Spiritual Qi! And that Mo Wentian, where is he? Leave some people to search for him. Once you find him, use Sound Transmission!” Fuming, Shentu Xingyue transmitted several messages, then activated a Teleportation Talisman, going first to find Mo Zhenfeng, alias Mo Wentian.

Mo Zhenfeng previously had the Fortune Guiding Talisman and could locate the Little Snow Fox’s direction, even stating the exact distance and position.

While dispatching her people for a large-scale search for Huo Zhi and her companion, Shentu Xingyue wanted to find Mo Zhenfeng first and have him continue guiding the way.

What she never expected was that when she saw Mo Zhenfeng, he had already gone mad. His once handsome and dashing face was filled with violent malice. He attacked any other Cultivators he saw, screaming to kill. And when he saw her, he lunged at her lecherously.

Shentu Xingyue kicked him flying over a dozen meters, breaking several ribs. He lay there groaning, unable to get up.

The slight favorable impression Shentu Xingyue had once held for Mo Zhenfeng vanished completely at this moment.

“Useless! Search him. Does he have anything on him? Bring it all here,” Shentu Xingyue ordered. Her subordinates searched him and found nothing.

“Detestable! Those two women—utterly detestable! Everyone, find them! If you don’t find them, none of you will live!” Shentu Xingyue commanded her subordinates.

“You court your own death. Don’t blame me for wanting to kill you! No one picks up a bargain at my Shentu Family’s expense! Wenren Sumian, that damn Wenren Sumian! Just wait until I get out of here—I’m not finished with you!” Thinking that Huo Zhi and the other woman were connected to Wenren Sumian, her fury toward her mortal enemy Wenren Sumian intensified, grinding her teeth.

Without Wenren Sumian’s help, without all those Talisman Artifacts and Talismans, Shentu Xingyue couldn’t believe those two would have had the ability to find the Nine Yin Profound Ice, much less get it to acknowledge a master!

Once the Nine Yin Profound Ice acknowledged a master, it couldn’t be separated unless the previous master died.

Shentu Xingyue had been absolutely determined to obtain the Nine Yin Xin Metal. Now, someone else had snatched it and claimed it first.

Shentu Xingyue’s goal now was to find those two, kill them, and seize the Nine Yin Profound Ice!