The Sect Leader’s Daughter Awakened - Chapter 14

The Polar Icefield was located in the far north, and for that reason, it was also called the Far Northern Icefield. This place was covered in ice and snow all year round. Endless glaciers never melted, no matter the season. Never mind mortals without cultivation—even some cultivators with shallow cultivation could not endure the bitter cold of the Polar Icefield. Because of that, this place was not suitable for people to live in. Most of those who came and went were passersby here to gather herbs or search for treasures.

Of course, because of the Polar Icefield’s unique environment, certain resources here could not be found in the outside world. For example, the Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass Yun Sheng had used as an excuse to travel was almost impossible to find anywhere outside the Polar Icefield.

Precisely because of this uniqueness, the Polar Icefield did not lack people coming and going. Gradually, some scattered gathering places had also formed.

More than ten streaks of sword light cut across the sky. From afar, they could see a patch of color different from ice and snow in a glacial valley ahead. The person leading the group narrowed his eyes and looked carefully, then turned back to his companions and said, “Senior Sister, Little Junior Sister, that should be the Glacier Valley gathering place up ahead. It looks fairly large, with quite a few people. Should we go down and take a look? We might be able to find news about Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass.”

Hearing this, Liu Jing and Yun Sheng also looked ahead. At this point, they were a little closer, so with one glance, they saw the stretch of tents filling the valley. Liu Jing immediately looked toward Yun Sheng, and Yun Sheng nodded slightly. “Let’s stop here. We’ll go down first and ask around.”

Although Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass was only an excuse Yun Sheng had found for going out, this excuse was not something she had made up carelessly. The Polar Icefield covered an extremely vast area. Even at the speed of a Golden Core cultivator flying on a sword, circling the entire place would take at least half a month. Yet the opening of a secret realm often lasted only a brief moment. If you happened to encounter it, it was an opportunity. If you failed to make it in time, you could only sigh helplessly. And she vaguely remembered that in the “dream,” the lucky group who had happened to enter the new secret realm had been searching for Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass. So the place where the secret realm opened must be somewhere nearby.

Liu Jing and the others did not know Yun Sheng’s calculations, but the whole group had come to accompany her in gathering herbs, so naturally, they followed her suggestion. They said nothing more and lowered their flying swords one after another, landing toward the Glacier Valley gathering place.

…

Across the vast icefield, gathering places where cultivators spontaneously came together were scattered in every direction like stars across the sky.

The Glacier Valley gathering place was nothing special. It just happened to be located in the direction Yun Sheng had casually pointed to. After the group landed, they discovered that this gathering place was much larger than it had appeared from high in the air. The stretch of tents covered more than ten li. However, there was no real manager here. Those tents might be set up today and taken down tomorrow. Most would not remain for long.

Yun Sheng’s little senior brother, Meng Shu, was not much older than her. He was at the age when youth was most high-spirited, and also when one loved excitement most and could not sit still. His steps were light as he walked through the temporary market of the gathering place, carrying a bit of curiosity as he looked at the various icefield specialties displayed on the stalls along the road.

However, Meng Shu was neither an alchemist nor an artifact refiner, nor did he have an ice spiritual root. The icefield specialties held only limited appeal for him. After satisfying his curiosity, he quickly withdrew most of his interest, turned around, and walked backward while saying to Yun Sheng and the others behind him, “Everyone says the icefield is bitterly cold and unsuitable for people to live in. I thought this place would be uninhabited wilderness, but it turns out one gathering place alone has brought together this many people.”

Never mind Meng Shu—even Yun Sheng, who had insisted on coming, was actually seeing the icefield for the first time. Hearing this, she could not help nodding. Then she raised a hand and tightened the cloak around herself, saying, “The resources on the icefield are unusual, and they sell for quite a high price outside. There must be plenty of people who come here to earn spirit stones.”

This was true. Although Yun Sheng had been born into wealth, there had never been a shortage of cultivators in this world who worked hard to earn spirit stones for cultivation.

Meng Shu was not ignorant of worldly hardship either. Hearing this, he nodded and was just about to say something when the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of something. He abruptly turned his head to look, and surprise appeared in his eyes at once. Then the words he had not yet spoken immediately changed, even his tone carrying a bit of excitement. “Little Junior Sister, look! Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass! Someone here is selling Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass!”

The moment his voice fell, it instantly attracted many gazes. Yun Sheng, Liu Jing, and the others all turned to look at the stall displaying Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass. The stall owner also raised his head and looked over, while quite a few envious gazes around them were cast toward him.

Naturally, those gazes were aimed at the stall owner. After all, icefield specialties were valuable if brought outside to sell, but here on the icefield, they were not especially popular. And Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass was also somewhat niche.

The stall owner’s spirits immediately lifted. He promptly stood up and called out, “Fellow Daoists, do you need Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass? This spiritual herb was picked not long ago, and my harvesting technique is skilled. I guarantee that over ninety percent of its medicinal efficacy has been preserved.”

Yun Sheng crouched down, picked up a stalk of Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass, and examined it. She knew at once that the stall owner was not boasting. This was indeed a stalk of Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass in fairly good condition. If she truly lacked this one spiritual herb for refining pills, she could buy it with spirit stones right now, then turn around and go back home. But she was not. So after carefully looking it over, she set the spiritual herb down and asked the stall owner, “This Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass is quite good. May I ask where you picked it?”

When the stall owner first saw her put down the spiritual herb, then heard her ask that question, his expression immediately became somewhat unhappy.

Most things in this world could be settled with spirit stones. Even if you were asking about someone else’s way of making money, after paying more spirit stones, that person would tell you without hesitation.

As it happened, Yun Sheng had never lacked money, so she successfully used spirit stones to pry open the stall owner’s mouth.

Liu Jing and Meng Shu did not stop her, but afterward, Meng Shu still could not help muttering a few words. “Little Junior Sister, you really spend money too extravagantly. With the amount you gave that stall owner, you could buy at least a hundred stalks of Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass. The pills refined from them would be enough to eat until you got sick of them. And from the way that stall owner was hemming and hawing, I’m afraid the place where he gathered the herbs doesn’t even have a hundred stalks of Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass. You really made a huge loss.”

Of course Yun Sheng knew that. She was not stupid, nor was she rushing to give people money. But before the new secret realm opened, she could not very well tell anyone about the real reason. So at once, she could only give a spoiled and willful “hmph.” “The spirit stones are mine. I’ll spend them however I like!”

Hearing this, Meng Shu immediately shut his mouth. Who told Master to be rich, giving Little Junior Sister an entire small spiritual vein just as pocket money?

After a short silence, Meng Shu could not keep his mouth idle after all and asked again, “Fine, then, Junior Sister, are we going to the place that stall owner mentioned to gather herbs?” After asking, without waiting for Yun Sheng to answer, he continued on his own, “We should go early. From what that stall owner said, the place isn’t exactly hidden. If we go too late and all the Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass there has already been picked clean, that would really not be worth the loss.”

He had said everything there was to say, leaving Liu Jing and Yun Sheng with nothing more to add. On top of that, Yun Sheng counted with her fingers and calculated that the time until the new secret realm opened did not seem far off. Better to arrive early than late. And so she nodded and agreed.

The group did not stay long in the Glacier Valley gathering place. After asking for information about Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass, they set off again and left.

It had to be said that perhaps because Yun Sheng had spent so generously, a string of little tails followed behind the group when they left. However, whether it was Liu Jing or Meng Shu, both were reliable enough. They did not give anyone the chance to rob them at all. Instead, they set up an ambush and earned a little pocket money for the junior brothers and sisters traveling with them. After that, the group stepped into the vast glaciers, and anyone with ulterior motives found it difficult to trace them again.

…

On the icefield, snow drifted for ten thousand li, dyeing both heaven and earth into a vast expanse of white.

Yun Sheng’s group traveled deep into the icefield for three days and had long since arrived in the depths of the Polar Icefield. The surrounding temperature had already dropped to the point where even Golden Core cultivators felt cold. The robes that usually regulated heat and cold had long since lost their effect here. Not only had everyone in the group wrapped themselves in warm fur cloaks, but Yun Sheng had also taken out the pills she had prepared early on. Only then could she ensure that everyone could move without issue.

After continuing on with such difficulty for another two days, the group finally arrived at the place the stall owner had mentioned.

It was a rift valley. The ice-sealed earth seemed to have been torn apart by brute force, leaving behind a rift several dozen zhang wide in the ground. No one knew how long it stretched. Standing beside the rift and looking down, they could not see where the valley bottom was. However, according to the stall owner, Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass grew inside this rift.

They had finally found the place, but no one could feel happy.

The reason was nothing else. Although this rift valley was deep within the icefield, it was not uninhabited. On the contrary, around the rift valley, several dozen tents had been scattered and set up. Clearly, people had long since been gathering herbs here.

The moment Meng Shu saw this scene, he immediately gnashed his teeth. “That swindler! So many people have already been guarding this place and gathering herbs. We’ve only arrived now. How could we still find Snowfield Dragon Saliva Grass? Little Junior Sister, your spirit stones were spent so unjustly!”

Yun Sheng had actually expected this scene long ago, so she was not surprised at all. However, facing her indignant little senior brother, she naturally did not dare tell the truth. She awkwardly touched her nose and was just about to offer a few words of comfort when the corner of her eye suddenly seemed to catch sight of a familiar figure.

She instinctively turned her head to look, but she did not see anyone. She only vaguely saw the hem of a blue-and-white robe disappear behind a certain tent.