The light of the fourth day grew increasingly dim.
What filtered down from the fractured ceiling of the ruins was no longer bright sunshine, but a cold luster that hovered between grayish-white and eerie blue.
Though the sun still hung high overhead, it radiated only a profound chill.
Bai Qingxue's footsteps came to a halt before an extremely well-hidden ice fissure.
This ice fissure was located at the edge of the collapsed area, half-hidden by several massive, precariously hanging ice spikes.
Those ice spikes loomed overhead, looking as if they might plunge down and crush anyone beneath them at any moment.
Had Bai Qingxue's spiritual sense not been as sharp and delicate as a spiderweb, catching that nearly imperceptible gap, it would have been almost impossible to notice that a hidden world lay beyond.
Bai Qingxue slipped in sideways, her frost-white robes brushing against the ice walls in the narrow darkness with a faint rustling sound.
Lu Xueqing followed close behind, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her vigilant gaze sweeping over the mirror-like ice walls on either side.
The ice was so smooth it could reflect their silhouettes, yet the reflections were warped and distorted, resembling countless eyes peering at the intruders from the dark.
The further they ventured, the lower the temperature dropped, until the air itself felt as if it were freezing into a solid block.
Lu Xueqing instinctively circulated her spiritual power to ward off the chill. Her breath condensed into white mist in front of her, only to be swiftly swallowed by the darkness behind them.
Lu Xueqing looked at the slender and aloof figure ahead of her, watching how Bai Qingxue's spine remained straight despite her weakness. A complex knot of emotions, much like the chill in this ice fissure, wound its way around her heart.
Up ahead, Bai Qingxue's footsteps paused, and she stopped before a ruined ice wall.
Sure enough, the ice wall was not naturally formed; it was carved with a dense array of runes.
The lines were twisted, ancient, and obscure, identical to the runes in the core area of Mystic Ice Mansion that had previously triggered the malevolent golems' frenzy. However, these were even more fragmented, as if they had been excessively eroded by the passage of time.
Staring at the runes, Bai Qingxue inexplicably reached out her hand.
The moment her fingertips were about to touch the ice wall, she felt a faint yet pure chill.
The chill was not biting; instead, it carried a strange sense of affinity, like a traveler returning to a long-lost homeland and catching the scent of familiar flora.
Upon making contact with the Ice Spirit power inside Bai Qingxue's dantian, it triggered a faint resonance. It was like a whisper between long-lost friends, echoing softly in her sea of consciousness.
Bai Qingxue's fingertips trembled slightly, as if the whisper were trying to convey something.
Just as she was about to trace the path of the runes to investigate deeper and attempt to decipher even a fraction of their true meaning—
“Crack...”
A violent sound suddenly erupted from behind the ice wall.
Immediately after, the seemingly intact ice wall shattered inch by inch before their eyes. Massive blocks of ice peeled off from the top and crashed to the ground, kicking up countless shards of ice.
In a matter of breaths, the potential passage was completely blocked off. Nothing remained but several yards of solid mystic ice, standing like an insurmountable wall of iron and bronze, cutting off any possibility of peering further.
The clue had broken once again.
Bai Qingxue's hand hung in midair, only an inch away from the newly refrozen ice wall.
A faint trace of regret flickered in her pale eyes—so faint that it resembled a melting mark on ice—but it quickly returned to a deep, unfathomable calm.
However, Bai Qingxue did not withdraw her gaze. Instead, it fell upon the freshly exposed cross-section left behind by the collapsed ice wall.
Embedded within the layers of solid ice was half of a broken jade hairpin.
The hairpin was broken, with only about two inches protruding from the ice. Its texture appeared as warm and smooth as mutton-fat jade, emitting a soft luster in the dim light.
What drew Bai Qingxue's attention the most was the texture of the jade. It bore an indescribable, subtle resemblance to Frost Moon Chant hanging at her waist.
Bai Qingxue reached out with her fingertips and gently brushed away the frost on the hairpin's surface.
Yet, the moment her fingertips touched the fracture—
There was no fluctuation of spiritual power, nor was there any special aura. It seemed the jade hairpin was merely a broken, ordinary object made of common jade.
But deep within these ruins, sealed by an ancient master beneath layers of mystic ice, why would such a hairpin be buried here?
The mystery, far from being solved, had grown even deeper and more elusive, much like the ice fissure itself.
Bai Qingxue silently retrieved the broken half of the hairpin. It felt warm and cool in her hand, the sensation spreading from her fingertips all the way to her heart, feeling exactly like Frost Moon Chant.
She placed it into her storage bag with her usual composure, though her thoughts swirled faster than ever within her pale eyes.
“Junior Sister Bai.”
Lu Xueqing's voice sounded from behind her, soft and carrying a subtle, reassuring rasp.
Lu Xueqing did not ask what the hairpin was, nor did she press about the runes on the ice wall. She simply stepped forward, using her modest shoulders to naturally block the cold wind howling in from the entrance of the fissure.
Lu Xueqing looked at Bai Qingxue, forcing her lips into a relaxed curve in an attempt to dispel the heavy, almost suffocating atmosphere.
“This place is terribly cold and damp. Let's head out first.”
Lu Xueqing's voice softened even further. “Your spiritual power hasn't fully recovered yet. If anything else happens, it... it would break my heart.”
Bai Qingxue glanced back at her.
Lu Xueqing's face looked rather pale in the dim light. The dark circles under her eyes, though concealed, were still visible, carrying several days of exhaustion and anxiety that had yet to fade.
Yet, the look in Lu Xueqing's eyes as she watched Bai Qingxue was bright.
There was not a single trace of frustration over their meager harvest, only full, undisguised warmth and concern.
Bai Qingxue's gaze lingered on Lu Xueqing's face for a moment, and the gloom brought on by the broken clue seemed to dissipate slightly under that look.
Withdrawing her gaze, Bai Qingxue gave a quiet murmur of agreement, “Mm,” and turned to walk out.
For the remainder of the time, the two did not venture into any more dangerous areas.
Just as Lu Xueqing had said, the collapse of the core area had indeed ruined most of the opportunities. The occasional spiritual items they spotted were a mere drop in the bucket for their standing on the Dao Discourse leaderboard.
For some reason, Lu Xueqing felt she couldn't let this silence drag on.
She wanted to say something to break the oppressive atmosphere, even if it was just a few meaningless jokes.
“Junior Sister Bai, look at this Ice Heart Grass. It grew quite stubbornly.”
Lu Xueqing squatted down and found a relatively intact spiritual herb near a stone crevice.
Lu Xueqing carefully pried it loose with her scabbard, brushed the ice shards from its roots, and forced a lighthearted smile as she held the herb up to Bai Qingxue. “Buried right next to such a deep ice fissure and crushed under so much debris, yet it still managed to survive.”
Bai Qingxue stopped and looked back at her.
Lu Xueqing held the herb, her smile a bit strained, but her eyes were filled with undisguised warmth and concern.
There was a clumsy eagerness to please in that smile, along with an earnestness that seemed to say, As long as it makes you a little happier, I will do anything.
Bai Qingxue's gaze lingered on Lu Xueqing's face for a moment before she reached out to take the Ice Heart Grass. When their fingertips brushed, Lu Xueqing's hand trembled slightly, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she gently squeezed Bai Qingxue's fingertips before quickly letting go.
“Mm.” Bai Qingxue put away the spiritual herb. Her voice was still flat, but it had lost some of its previous coldness, carrying a trace of imperceptible softness.
“It is indeed quite stubborn.”
Lu Xueqing smiled, and this time, the warmth in her expression was genuine, spreading from her eyes to the corners of her lips.
Lu Xueqing said no more. She simply followed quietly behind Bai Qingxue, clearing the path and shielding her from any falling shards of ice.
She used her actions rather than words to convey the same message over and over.
Even if their harvest was meager, as long as she was with her, there would be no regrets.
By the time the last rays of the setting sun vanished completely beneath the horizon, the two had walked out of the ruins. The night wind blew fiercely, cutting against their faces like knives.
Bai Qingxue looked back, casting a glance at the dark, yawning ice fissure that resembled the mouth of a giant beast. Her fingertips gently stroked her storage bag, brushing against the warm, cool sensation of the broken hairpin.
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