Chapter 217: Ice Sculpture in the Cavern

Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Ice Sculpture in the Cavern

Having spent half a month in the valley’s Bamboo Sea, Chu Fan had no idea that half the Central Domain was in an uproar because of him and the White Fox. Undercurrents were surging, and a great net was waiting to ensnare him the moment he appeared.

Now, he and the White Fox were preparing to head for the karst cave on the mountain peak Shi Lun and the others had told him about.

With their parting imminent, he and Yun Xi were naturally finding it hard to say goodbye.

But no matter how much they lingered, they still had to go their separate ways.

"You four old-timers, take good care of my wife. If anything happens to her, or if she suffers any hardship, I won’t let you off the hook."

Though Chu Fan was putting on a brave front, he still spoke his mind.

"Get lost, get lost! Is she your wife or my own legacy disciple? This old man cares about her more than you do." Miao Guchun waved his right hand as if shooing a fly, eyeing Chu Fan with disdain as he spoke.

"My dear, you must take good care of yourself."

"Yes, you take care too!" Yun Xi urged softly.

Chu Fan nodded, kissed her on the forehead, and then soared into the air with the White Fox.

At that moment, Chu Fan had no way of knowing that after this farewell, it would be ten years before he and his wife were reunited.

Yun Xi watched Chu Fan’s receding figure, silently shedding tears.

"Lass, what’s there to cry about? It’s not like you’re parting forever. With that kid’s skills, he could probably outlive a tortoise," Shi Lun said.

"Master Shi!" Yun Xi shot him a glare.

"Heh heh, this old man doesn’t have a way with words, don’t mind me. What I mean is, that kid’s as cunning as they come. Not many people can get the better of him."

The moment Shi Lun finished speaking, Miao Guchun’s shocked cry rang out from behind them.

"Holy shit!"

"What’s wrong, Old Miao?" The others hurried over to Miao Guchun.

They saw Miao Guchun staring dumbfounded at a pile of things on the ground. When the other three saw it, they too were left murmuring in stunned silence.

"Chu Fan left those for me to practice with. They’re herbs we gathered on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."

"He left these treasures for you to *practice* with?" Miao Guchun said, incredulous.

"Is that the point? The point is they managed to gather so many Spirit Medicines from Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. How did you get into the mountain’s restricted zone?" Dugu Ling asked.

"The King of Ten Thousand Beasts is my sworn sister. I can go whenever I want," Yun Xi said, casually dropping a bombshell.

"You’re sworn sisters with the King of Ten Thousand Beasts? Are you sure you’re not bluffing?" Liu Yizhen asked, equally disbelieving.

Shi Lun said, "My disciple doesn’t lie. If she says it’s true, then it is. Otherwise, how would you explain all these Spirit Medicines?"

"Lass, hurry and tell us, how did you two meet the King of Ten Thousand Beasts?" said Liu Yizhen.

"Lass, do you think you could take us to stay on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain for a few days?" said Miao Guchun.

"..."

...

Following Shi Lun’s directions, Chu Fan found the mountain peak. Sure enough, there was a cave on its western cliff face.

At such a height, on a sheer, smooth cliff face, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to climb up to it without the ability to fly.

But for Chu Fan, it was merely a single leap from the ground.

Upon entering the cave, a blast of cold wind rushed to meet him.

A passage led from the back of the cave, winding its way down.

There were no forks in the path; he just had to follow the passage.

The deeper he went, the more intense the cold became.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the bone-chilling cold became almost unbearable even for Chu Fan, despite his Divine Separation Realm Cultivation. His teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

"Little one, it’s too cold down here. I’m afraid you won’t be able to stand it. How about you wait for me up here?" Chu Fan stopped and gently set the White Fox down from his robes.

The White Fox whimpered.

"Okay, but you have to be quick. If you take too long, I’ll get scared."

It was the same sweet, melodious voice, a sound so heart-meltingly sweet it felt like it could turn your very core to sugar.

"Okay, I’ll come right back up the moment I’ve gathered the herb," Chu Fan promised.

With that, he continued on his way down. The White Fox remained where it was, its hopeful gaze following Chu Fan’s figure until he was out of sight.

Chu Fan’s original intention had been to leave the White Fox behind to keep Yun Xi company, but the fox had refused and insisted on coming with him.

Seeing its pitiful expression and hearing its sweet, aggrieved little voice, Chu Fan’s heart had melted on the spot.

Deep down, Chu Fan felt he shared a bond of fate with this White Fox. Back on Dingfeng Slope, the little creature had been deeply wary of Jing’an and his group, yet it had allowed him to approach and even bandage its wound.

He never expected to encounter it again here in the Central Domain.

Since fate had brought them together, Chu Fan didn’t mind bringing the little one along. A creature this small wouldn’t be difficult to protect.

Chu Fan continued down the passage, and with every step deeper, the temperature plummeted further.

Soon, the fine hairs on his face were coated in white frost, and his breath billowed out like puffs of white powder.

His very breath was freezing in the air.

He lost track of how long he had been walking. Just as he felt he couldn’t endure the cold much longer without using his True Qi to resist it, the passage finally opened up before him.

In the center of an underground cavern roughly one hundred yards square was a small Cold Pool, only a foot across. Above it, a smooth stalactite dripped water into the pool, one drop at a time.

Despite the profound cold, the Cold Pool itself was not frozen.

Surrounding the Cold Pool grew countless stalks of translucent Ice Grass.

It was called Ice Grass because, while it had the shape of grass, it looked as if it were carved from ice.

"Wait, what’s that?"

At first, his attention had been completely captured by the Cold Pool and the Ice Grass. Only now did he notice a human-shaped ice sculpture standing by the cavern wall.

Chu Fan couldn’t resist walking closer.

He saw that there was, in fact, a real person inside the ice.

What’s more, it was a woman whose peerless beauty was in no way inferior to Yun Xi’s.

The woman appeared to be around twenty years old. With ethereal, flawless skin and a long white dress, she looked as if she were alive, were it not for her tightly shut eyes.

"Who is this woman? Why is she here?" Chu Fan wondered aloud in a soft voice.

He shook his head. ’Forget it. Who knows how long she’s been dead. I have to focus on the task at hand.’

’The bone-chilling cold won’t permit me to linger. If she were alive, I’d try to figure out a way to save her,’ he thought. ’But she’s been dead for who knows how long. Better to just leave her be.’

’At least within the ice, her body won’t decay. Her peerless beauty has achieved its own kind of immortality.’

Suppressing the flow of True Qi in his body, he began to harvest the Ice Grass on the ground.

Since this was the only type of grass here, it had to be the Eight-cornered Profound Ice Grass that Shi Lun had spoken of.

He squatted, gently touched a stalk, and gave it a firm tug. It came out easily.

’Is one stalk enough? That old geezer Shi Lun didn’t say how many he needed. To save myself another trip, I’d better grab a few more.’

Without hesitation, Chu Fan proceeded to pull up more than a dozen stalks.

’This should be enough, right?’

Still feeling unsure, he kept pulling. In total, he uprooted fifty or sixty stalks, clearing out more than half of the entire patch of Profound Ice Grass.

Chu Fan failed to notice that with each stalk of Profound Ice Grass he pulled, the temperature in the cavern rose slightly.

Only when he had gathered fifty or sixty stalks and decided to stop did he realize the cavern was no longer bone-chillingly cold. In fact, it was becoming scorching hot.

Just as he was preparing to leave, he heard a DRIP... DRIP... DRIP... sound from behind. He turned and saw that the ice sculpture was rapidly melting.

Perhaps it was just a man’s nature, but as he watched the ice begin to melt, he found himself wanting to see just how beautiful the woman within truly was once she was completely revealed.