Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord could barely contain his excitement. “Chen Ping, this is wonderful! There is hope for the blood lotus!”
“Yes!” Chen Ping nodded, just as thrilled.
Not long after the palace lord left, several divine clan maidservants entered the side hall carrying trays of ice jade.
The trays held various crystalline pills that released a rich medicinal fragrance, along with delicate snacks made from the ice plain’s unique spiritual fruits and a pot of steaming spiritual tea.
“The palace lord bids the honoured guests to rest and heal without worry.”
The lead maidservant spoke in a cool, clear voice. She bowed, set down the items, and withdrew silently.
Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord picked up a bottle of pills. The moment he uncorked it, the fragrance flooded out. Merely breathing it in steadied his churning qi and blood. “All top-grade healing sacred medicines. The lord of this Northern Darkness Palace is truly considerate.”
Ling Shuang swallowed a pill and closed her eyes to circulate her energy.
Her wounds were not overly severe. The main issue was the chill qi from Xuan Ming’s ice soul threads that had invaded her meridians. It would take time to dispel.
Chen Ping took a pill to replenish immortal power, then glanced at the healing medicines and said to Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord, “Senior, these pills are gentle yet exceptionally potent. They are perfect for stabilising your injuries.”
Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord did not refuse. He needed to recover as quickly as possible. Ling Yue was still waiting for the blood lotus to save her life. Every moment lost increased the danger.
The little fire qilin lay at Chen Ping’s feet, looking weary.
Clashing directly with Man Shan had drained it considerably. Now it squinted in half-sleep, its golden flames much dimmer.
Chen Ping gently stroked its head, channelling a strand of chaos immortal power into its body to aid recovery.
The little fire qilin nuzzled his hand contentedly, rumbling softly.
That night, the three meditated quietly in the side hall, healing their wounds.
Outside, the measured footsteps of patrolling warriors occasionally passed, mingled with the endless howl of wind and snow across the distant ice plain.
While recovering, Chen Ping reflected on everything the palace lord had told him.
The divine clan, the Divine Emperor, the Golden Immortal realm, grudges spanning millennia.
The information gave him a much clearer picture of the divine clan, but it also brought immense pressure.
Golden Immortal realm. An existence he could scarcely comprehend, let alone reach.
He was merely at the first grade of Heavenly Immortal realm. Though his combat strength far exceeded his peers, even allowing him to slay peak eighth-grade opponents across realms, against a Golden Immortal he would probably not survive a single casual strike.
“Strength… still far too weak.”
Chen Ping thought silently. “I must go to the Eleventh Heaven. Only there can I advance quickly enough. I need the Earth Core Jade Marrow Milk, and I must search for Nine Apertures Divine Soul Grass, but most important is finding the opportunity to break through.”
His chaos immortal power embraced all phenomena, yet the resources and insights required for each breakthrough were far greater and more difficult than for ordinary cultivators.
He had already touched the barrier to the second grade of Heavenly Immortal realm, but something still felt missing.
When the first faint rays of morning light filtered through the ice crystal windows into the side hall the next day, Chen Ping slowly opened his eyes.
After a full night of regulation, his immortal power had recovered seventy to eighty percent. His wounds were essentially healed. The lingering fatigue in his divine soul from forcibly executing “Slash the Void” had also vanished under the nourishment of the pills.
Ling Shuang and Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord awoke shortly after, their complexions much improved.
The little fire qilin sprang up energetically, its golden flames blazing brightly once more.
At that moment, the hall doors opened without a sound. The palace lord appeared in the entrance.
She still wore her plain white dress, but her hair was now neatly arranged. The sorrow of the previous night had lessened, replaced by greater clarity and authority.
“How did you rest?” she asked.
“Thanks to the palace lord’s medicines, we are largely recovered,” Chen Ping replied, rising.
“Good.” She nodded. “Then follow me. I shall take you to the chill pool.”
The three hurried after her.
The palace lord brought only four composed divine clan maidservants as escort. The group passed through the palace complex towards the three ice peaks at the rear.
Along the way, every Northern Darkness Palace warrior and maidservant they encountered bowed respectfully to the palace lord. Their glances towards Chen Ping and his companions were complex.
Curiosity, hostility, probing. Clearly, word had spread through the palace that the palace lord had personally received and housed these three outsiders the night before.
After traversing numerous halls and bridges, they reached a secluded side gate. Opening it revealed the depression beyond. The Blood Soul Chill Pool lay only a few hundred zhang away.
Daylight had fully broken. The aurora had faded, leaving the ice plain shrouded in grey gloom.
The three ten-thousand-zhang ice peaks loomed like silent giants guarding the central depression. The pool surface remained dark red as blood. The blood lotus bud at its edge trembled faintly in the morning breeze, appearing even fuller than the night before.
“The blood lotus is about to bloom.”
The palace lord gazed at the bud and spoke softly. “Its flowering lasts only three days. You have arrived at precisely the right moment.”
Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord trembled with excitement, eyes fixed on the blood lotus as though seeing Ling Yue’s revival.
“However,”
the palace lord continued, her tone shifting, “my permission alone is not enough to harvest it.”
Chen Ping tensed. “What do you mean, Palace Lord?”
“The Blood Soul Chill Pool is a naturally formed realm of extreme yin chill poison. For this thousand-year Ice Soul Blood Lotus to grow here makes it extraordinary in itself.”
She explained. “It is not ownerless. Or rather, it has its own guardian.”
“Guardian?” Chen Ping and the others turned towards the chill pool at once.
The surface lay calm and undisturbed. Aside from its eerie dark red hue and bone-piercing cold, nothing unusual could be seen.
