In an instant, Lin Jing saw the icy pond Elder Shen Song mentioned.
The surface of the pond was calm and wave-less, like a giant mirror. Cold air rose slowly from the bottom, forming a thin layer of icy mist that lingered on the surface, adding an ethereal touch to the pond.
Lin Jing, holding the dragon carp, plunged headfirst into the icy pond. As he dived deeper, the temperature dropped rapidly, but it didn’t affect him much. Leaving aside the warmth brought by the dragon carp, Lin Jing’s Ice Soul Body granted him a high resistance to cold!
It was unclear how much time had passed, but Lin Jing seemed to fall from the sky, dragged down by the pond water, crashing heavily on the ground. The surrounding temperature underwent a qualitative change, causing even Lin Jing’s Ice Soul Body to feel the chill.
He quickly looked around, and saw that the pond bottom had become a sky pond. He was now inside a huge ice and snow cavern, surrounded by piles of ice stones and bone-chilling cold that pierced his soul. Upon entering this place, he even felt the long-sealed Ice Soul Gu rousing within him.
"Bop!!!" Upon reaching this place, even the dragon carp, who previously disregarded the cold, shivered. Seeing this, Lin Jing tossed it back into the icy pond above and said, "You can train in the water until you’re not afraid of the cold."
"A descendant of the fire qilin afraid of the cold, it’s truly ridiculous."
The dragon carp gave Lin Jing a look, feeling that simplifying its attributes without considering temperature was just playing tricks.
After arranging things for the dragon carp, Lin Jing exhaled a breath of white mist and looked around, saying, "Below Golden Core level, anyone without a special physique who enters here would likely freeze to death quickly."
"Freezing to death would be the least of their worries. Even cultivators with higher cultivation might leave with permanent ailments after staying here too long. Alright, quickly unseal that Ice Soul Gu and let it freely absorb this extreme cold!"
Urged by a suddenly emerged pinecone, Lin Jing nodded and said, "Then I’ll trouble you to be my guardian, Elder. Also, regarding the formation you mentioned to deal with the cultivators from the Yin Corpse Sect..."
"No need to worry. If he finds this place, he won’t be leaving," Elder Shen Song said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Lin Jing closed his eyes, and his spirit entered the sealed world, where he saw the Ice Soul Gu bound tightly by tree roots.
Looking at this giant spider made entirely of ice and snow, he couldn’t help but feel:
"You’ve suffered being sealed for so long... Though in the Dragon and Phoenix Grotto Heaven, you weren’t mistreated either. In past cycles, you might not have even reached the eleventh level of Qi Cultivation."
"I hope your Foundation Establishment this time helps me break through to the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation in one go!"
"Thirteenth level would be even better!"
As Lin Jing released the seal, the Divine Tree loosened its hold on the Ice Soul Gu, revealing the spider’s entire form. More cold air poured into Lin Jing’s body from the outside, passively absorbed into his body by the Ice Soul Gu.
At the same time, the Ice Soul Gu continued to emit cold air. The two types of cold air were distinctly different: one was pure cold nurtured by heaven and earth, and the other was the toxic cold transformed by the Ice Soul Gu.
The latter was more damaging to Lin Jing’s body, but fortunately, a golden Buddha Bead in his body helped absorb most of the yin-energy.
Allowing the Ice Soul Gu to absorb extreme cold without restraint would only be a matter of time for it to complete its Foundation Establishment. During this time, Lin Jing didn’t plan to remain idle. He took out the Hundred Flowers Immortal Honey gifted by Hundred Flower Valley and a transcribed one-time Secret Technique jade slip, planning to seize this opportunity to practice the "Art of Transformation" to diminish his presence.
"So fragrant." The Hundred Flowers Immortal Honey truly lives up to being one of the ten spiritual treasures of the Great Wilderness. Lin Jing only opened the jade bottle and smelled the fragrance of the golden honey inside, and the taste buds that had been sealed away by the delicacy of dragon liver and phoenix marrow began to stir.
"So fragrant." A voice echoed, seemingly in agreement.
Lin Jing nodded but was momentarily stunned because the voice just now wasn’t from Elder Shen Song, nor from the pine leaf rat or the dragon carp. His expression suddenly changed as he quickly sensed inside his body.
Inside his body, in a vast icy region, a small white ice crystal spider had already awakened from its slumber.
Lin Jing was shocked. Wasn’t it said that the Ice Soul Gu is difficult to awaken before its Foundation Establishment... How did it wake up not long after the seal was lifted?
"Container, you’re so fragrant." The Ice Soul Gu continued to speak.
"So it turns out this guy was saying I smell good." Lin Jing had a headache.
The Ice Soul Gu’s sudden awakening caught Lin Jing off guard. He also remembered that after reincarnation, the top ten Gu worms would have their memories erased. This meant that this Ice Soul Gu should be akin to a "baby" right now. Yet, it knew he was its container and could communicate mentally, clearly exhibiting intelligence surpassing that of the pine leaf rat or dragon carp by several levels.
"Let me take a sip." The Ice Soul Gu said, starting to crawl within Lin Jing’s body, breaking through the ice chamber. It was about to suck Lin Jing’s blood like a mosquito. Seeing this, Lin Jing immediately used the power of the contract to restrain the Ice Soul Gu.
The Ice Soul Gu froze, puzzled, and asked, "Why are you stopping me?"
"You’re trying to eat my flesh and blood, and you ask why I’m stopping you?"
"But you smell so good." The Ice Soul Gu replied.
Lin Jing was exasperated.
"No means no. Don’t think about eating my body." Follow current novᴇls on novel_fіre.net
"But you smell so good." The Ice Soul Gu mumbled.
Lin Jing remained silent.
"So fragrant ah ah ah ah ah."
Lin Jing felt something was off: "Stop thinking about eating, eating, eating..."
Oh no, it’s a glutton. How’s a Beast Master supposed to sleep at night ?
In comparison, the dragon carp and the pine leaf rat were much more restrained.
"So fragrant ah ah ah ah ah ah." The Ice Soul Gu said.
"Just let me take one bite, just one."
"Maybe in the future." Lin Jing said while cleaning his ears, adding, "For now, it won’t work. In any case, while I can’t let you eat my flesh and blood directly, I can let you indulge in other things."
The Ice Soul Gu felt somewhat appeased: "I knew that fish in the pond was prepared for me to eat. I misjudged you, container. It also smells good."