Chapter 4

The mountain range belonging to Zhuo Chen was called Qiongding. Located in the far north, it rose straight into the clouds and remained covered in snow throughout the year, with scarcely a soul in sight.

Fortunately, Ning Chuyu was not afraid of the cold. Following behind Zhuo Chen, she saw the palace constructed entirely from ice and nearly dropped her jaw. “Master, d-do you live in there?”

Zhuo Chen had been observing Ning Chuyu throughout their journey. Seeing that she experienced no discomfort whatsoever despite being in a place of extreme cold that ordinary people could not endure, Zhuo Chen understood that it must once again be due to her strange blood.

In that case, there was no need to build another wooden house nearby.

“Yes. Timber is only available at the foot of the mountain, so I simply built this ice palace.”

Zhuo Chen’s expression remained unchanged. After walking inside, she turned back to look at Ning Chuyu, who was still standing where she had been. “What is it? Are you not accustomed to living here?”

Of course she wasn’t. Any human living in a place like this would develop snow blindness, wouldn’t they?

Despite thinking this, Ning Chuyu smiled and shook her head. “No. It just feels a little unusual.”

She then followed Zhuo Chen and examined the interior. The first floor consisted of an enormous open space with a study built to one side. It had no door, and an entire wall was covered in books, rivaling a small library.

The second floor had the same layout, except there was only one bedroom. Ning Chuyu finally saw what a genuine “cold jade bed” looked like and even had the leisure to think that she absolutely had to complain about it to Zhou Li once she returned home.

A barrier had been placed around the third floor, preventing anyone other than Zhuo Chen from entering.

Ning Chuyu glanced over curiously [stolen content]before obediently withdrawing her gaze. “Master, where will I sleep?”

Zhuo Chen indicated the bedroom with her eyes. “There.”

“What about you?”

“I live on the third floor.”

“Oh, all right.”

Ning Chuyu nodded in understanding, then suddenly remembered something. “Does this place have a kitchen and a bathroom?”

She had heard that cultivators could abstain from food, but she was still a mortal and could not yet escape such mundane needs.

After asking, Ning Chuyu was about to explain what she meant by “bathroom” when Zhuo Chen lightly tapped the center of her brow, transmitting a string of runes directly into her mind.

Zhuo Chen quickly withdrew her hand. “The Cleansing Art. Use it once every morning and evening to remove impurities.”

“All right. Thank you, Master.”

Ning Chuyu tried reciting it once, and sure enough, her entire body immediately felt much cleaner and fresher. Her delighted expression made it seem as though she had obtained some priceless treasure.

She truly was far too easily pleased.

Zhuo Chen helplessly averted her gaze and ​unauthorized copy​released her spiritual energy, condensing it into a kitchen on the other side of the open space. “If you wish to prepare food in the future, you may do so here.”

“All right. Thank you, Master!”

Ning Chuyu smiled even more brightly, her eyes curving into crescents and giving her an innocently foolish air.

Zhuo Chen suddenly wanted to place another Truth Talisman on her forehead to see whether that smile was truly sincere, but she restrained herself.

There was no need to verify it, was there?

“Follow me.”

Zhuo Chen turned and headed downstairs, her voice lowered and carrying a faintly detached coldness.

Ning Chuyu hurried after her. Upon reaching the study, she was instructed to sit down and watched as Zhuo Chen searched through a drawer.

What Zhuo Chen eventually placed on the table were porcelain medicine jars—many of them, all in different colors—along with several rolls of gauze. At the far end sat something resembling a miniature money pouch.

With a wave of Zhuo Chen’s hand, most of the items on the table disappeared. She handed the storage pouch to Ning Chuyu. “I have prepared all the medicine you will need for your injuries. Their uses are written beneath the lids. Now, apply the medicine.”

Ning Chuyu looked somewhat confused. Only when Zhuo Chen’s gaze fell upon her wrist did she belatedly remember that the bite there had been so deep that spiritual energy alone could not heal it.

“Master…”

Like Zhou Li, Zhuo Chen appeared extremely cold and distant. When Ning Chuyu had first awakened that morning, she had [unauthorized copy]thought she was doomed. Yet unexpectedly, Zhuo Chen had accepted her as a disciple, defended her, secretly helped her defeat those who looked down on her, and even remembered her injury and prepared every medicine she would need.

The first warmth Ning Chuyu received after arriving in this unfamiliar world had come from Zhuo Chen.

Ning Chuyu could not help her eyes from reddening. She opened a medicine jar whose lid read “Remove Decay and Regenerate Flesh.” Inside was a small spoon that could be used to scoop up the ointment and spread it evenly over the wound.

The ointment was pleasantly cool and caused no pain when applied. Afterward, Ning Chuyu wrapped several layers of gauze around her wrist, but with only one hand available, she could not tear it. She could only look toward Zhuo Chen for help.

Zhuo Chen could just barely discern that Ning Chuyu had been moved, although she did not understand why. Seeing her predicament, Zhuo Chen summoned her life-bound sword. Cold light flashed, severing the gauze.

“Don’t move.”

Ning Chuyu had not wrapped the bandage securely. Zhuo Chen stood before her, bent down, and tied the gauze into a knot—even forming it into a beautiful bow.

With that deeply familiar face so close to her own, longing involuntarily surfaced in Ning Chuyu’s eyes. Would she still be able to return home?

Would she still…be able to see Zhou Li?

When Zhuo Chen straightened, she saw that look in Ning Chuyu’s eyes. It was filled with genuine affection, yet that affection was not meant for her.

“What are you thinking about?”

She should not have asked. After all, it had nothing to do with her. But by the time she realized it, the words had already escaped her lips.

Caught staring, Ning Chuyu flushed bright red with embarrassment, read the original at bailiantales.comyet she could not suppress the grievance and tears in her voice. “I was thinking about home.”

“Then why don’t you return?”

“Because I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?”

Faced with Zhuo Chen’s question, Ning Chuyu smiled through her tears and picked up the storage pouch. “Oh, let’s not talk about that. I’ll go down the mountain to chop some firewood and see if I can hunt any wild game along the way.”

Young people’s emotions came quickly and faded just as fast. With one turn, Ning Chuyu had already composed herself. Zhuo Chen could only toss her life-bound sword over and say coolly, “Be careful.”

“All right, Master!”

Ning Chuyu waved with a smile, then eagerly left the ice palace and ran down the mountain.

After last night’s vigorous activity—which could tentatively be described as “dual cultivation”—Ning Chuyu felt much lighter on her feet. It was as though a hidden power now lay within her body, and she desperately wanted to test it.

She continued down from the snow-covered heights until lush greenery surrounded her. Ning Chuyu discovered that the sword was astonishingly powerful. Merely unleashing a wave of sword energy could cut down a tree, leaving behind such a smooth cross-section that every growth ring remained perfectly visible.

She had been careful not to uproot any trees while cutting them down. Beforehand, she had even jumped around to frighten away the birds nesting in their branches. After gathering wood from several different areas, she had enough to fuel a fire and construct a simple house.

It was nearly noon when Ning Chuyu began skipping back up the mountain, only to encounter a wild boar along the way—a man-eating one, at that.

Upon seeing her, a sharp gleam entered the boar’s tiny eyes, and it swiftly charged at her.

Ning Chuyu’s first reaction was to run. Only after leaping onto a tree branch did she realize that she was a cultivator now. Why was she running?

Kicking off the tree trunk for momentum, Ning Chuyu thrust her sword forward aggressively. Yet as the blade drew near, it suddenly changed direction and struck the boar unconscious with its hilt instead.

Ning Chuyu discovered that no matter what she did, she could not make the blade move even half an inch closer to the boar. Its resistance made it seem utterly disgusted by the thought of being stained with pig’s blood.

Could the sword be just as obsessed with cleanliness as its owner?

Ning Chuyu could not suppress her laughter. She stopped trying to force it and placed the boar into her storage pouch as well. Only after resuming her climb did she wonder whether the pork would smell unpleasant without any seasonings.

However, there were no towns at the foot of the mountain, so she would simply have to make do.

After returning to the ice palace, Ning Chuyu hurriedly took the boar out, afraid it might awaken and smash the medicine jars inside her storage pouch. Fortunately, the sword’s hilt had been powerful enough that the animal remained unconscious.

Zhuo Chen was in the study. Upon hearing the noise, she formed an ice blade in her right hand without shifting her gaze from the ancient text before her. “Use this.”

Ning Chuyu had been wondering what she could use without the sword. She happily accepted the blade and replied in an exceptionally sweet voice, “Thank you, Master.”

It was obvious that Zhuo Chen was an extremely clean person. Ning Chuyu carried the boar outside the ice palace and killed it neatly with a single strike. She then separated the meat by cut, muttering as she worked, “This is the front leg, this is the hind leg, the pork belly can be braised, and the ribs can be used for soup. Mm, perfect.”

After using the Cleansing Art to remove the blood, Ning Chuyu sniffed the collar of her clothes to ensure there was no lingering odor before going inside to find Zhuo Chen. Her eyes curved ingratiatingly as she asked, “Master, could you make a relatively large block of ice for me? Half the size of a bed should be enough.”

Zhuo Chen finally looked at her. Turning her [read the original at bailiantales.com]palm over, she directed spiritual energy into the open space. Only after finishing did she ask, “What is it for?”

“Meat is less likely to spoil when stored at a low temperature. That pig was quite large, so there’s enough to last for many days.”

Ning Chuyu explained with a smile. She partitioned off a separate section inside the storage pouch and placed the ice inside, creating a simple refrigerator.

Zhuo Chen did not understand why she had gone to such unnecessary trouble. “Why not simply leave it inside the ice palace?”

Standing at a respectful distance, Ning Chuyu scratched her head in embarrassment. “Master is lofty and pure. I was afraid such mundane things might offend your eyes.”

That was indeed true.

Zhuo Chen had not eaten ordinary meat since reaching Foundation Establishment. Partly, this was due to her emphasis on tempering the body, and partly because she genuinely possessed no desire for food. Her life-bound sword had inherited her temperament and refused to touch the wild boar no matter what.

Unexpectedly, although Ning Chuyu appeared somewhat foolish, she was actually very considerate.

Closing the Complete Compendium of Talismans and Contracts, which she had been reading for quite some time, Zhuo Chen rubbed her temples. She took an Introductory Mental Cultivation Method for Fire Spiritual Roots from the bookcase and handed it to Ning Chuyu. “Read this after you have eaten. After last night, a considerable amount of spiritual energy should be stored within your body. Our spiritual roots oppose one another, so I cannot teach you much in this regard. You will need to refine it yourself.”

“After last night”…

It did not seem like something Zhuo Chen should be able to mention so calmly. Ning Chuyu’s face turned bright red merely upon hearing those words. After accepting the book, she hurriedly said, “I’ll go cook first,” and fled in embarrassment, failing to notice the darkness filling the eyes behind her.

Zhuo Chen lightly tapped her fingertips against the table, her expression dark and still.

The disparity between their cultivation levels was too great. Rather than unauthorized copy calling it “dual cultivation,” the term “essence harvesting” was actually more appropriate.

That was also what troubled Zhuo Chen. She had already been trapped at the bottleneck of the Spirit Transformation stage for far too long, while vengeance for the slaughter of her family remained unfulfilled. Now, an unknown contract had been forced upon her as well. Although she appeared no different from usual on the outside, her internal reserves had long since been depleted, and she urgently needed to enter seclusion and recover.

The reason she had forced herself to endure until now was that she was worried about Ning Chuyu.

It was not concern for her well-being. Zhuo Chen merely feared that once she entered seclusion, Ning Chuyu’s blood would draw someone’s covetous attention and she would secretly die somewhere beyond Zhuo Chen’s sight, dragging her down with her.

The Shared-Fate Art…

Zhuo Chen frowned in contemplation, then suddenly remembered what Ning Chuyu had said.

‘I’m not a demon. I only came here because a fox was trying to kill me. She said a lot of strange things about some divine bird and the Golden Crow, and she wanted to drink my blood…’

A divine bird and the Golden Crow?

A flash of inspiration crossed Zhuo Chen’s mind. She turned to the chapter concerning divine contracts, where the solar divine beast known as the Golden Crow and the terms of its contract were clearly recorded.

“The Golden Crow forms contracts through its blood. Once a drop enters the space between the brows and is exposed to sunlight, the contract is successfully established. A marked divine attendant cannot attack the divine beast, or they will suffer the agony of burning bones and a devoured heart.”

“The divine attendant and divine beast share a lifespan, and their cultivation advances together. If both possess fire spiritual roots, their progress may cover a thousand miles in a single day, leaving all others far behind.”

“Note: Although the Golden Crow’s blood is exceptionally sweet and fragrant, the marked individual must obey its every command. Exercise caution.”

The more Zhuo Chen read, the colder her expression became. She nearly wore the ancient text to pieces from turning through it, yet still could not stolen content find any way to dissolve the divine contract.

For the first time since entering the Dao, her state of mind was in such turmoil.

Besides, what did it mean for “their cultivation to advance together”?

Until Ning Chuyu’s cultivation caught up with hers, was she destined to be reduced to nothing more than…a cultivation cauldron?

With a sharp crack, Zhuo Chen shattered the incomparably solid ice table beneath her palm. Her chest slowly rose and fell, and even her eyes trembled.

No. She would never allow it.