Chapter 32: The Protagonist's Power Fantasy (31)

To capture the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame, Su Bai discarded her physical body.

A cultivator at the Mahayana stage no longer needs to rely on a physical form, nor can they adapt to such a fragile vessel. However, Su Bai had spent one million reward points, which only sustained that power for fifteen minutes.

The good news was that she became the master of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame. The bad news was that the moment the domain changed hands, the physical body she had left behind within the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame’s domain shattered along with the collapsing world.

Yet, with the power of the Mahayana stage combined with the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame, there were too many things Su Bai could do now—even if her power could only be maintained for another three minutes.

The young girl’s soul descended into the wind and snow, glowing with a faint blue hue. With a thought, she existed in the air in her spiritual form; her translucent figure dissipated in the blizzard, and when she reappeared, she was standing beside the lair of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame.

The Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame had lain dormant on this snowdrift for ten thousand years; there was no better material to reshape her body than the snow here.

Su Bai molded a new body out of the snow. With her Golden Core cultivation base and the flawless ten-percent Golden Core within her, the power of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame gave her new ideas for forging this "Suzhao Sword." She broke off a piece of Frost-Coagulated Ice from her Universe Bag to shape the Dantian of this new vessel.

Then, in the very last second, her soul dived into the snow-made shell.

The power of the Mahayana stage faded from her body, and she regressed back to the Golden Core stage. Now, Su Bai needed to learn how to adapt to this brand-new vessel using the power of the Golden Core stage. More importantly, she had to learn how to skillfully wield an exotic flame—an exotic flame with a very distinct personality of its own.

Su Bai sat in the snow, spending a day and a night balancing the different forces within her body. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a sea of Snow Demons kneeling before her.

The Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame, curled up within her sea of consciousness, saw the Snow Demon Saintess kneeling at the very front and remarked with bright eyes, "Oh, isn't this my big wife?"

Su Bai: "……?"

The Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame smacked her lips. Upon seeing the beauty, all her worries about being inferior from now on vanished, and her mood brightened. "My big wife is just so beautiful."

She praised with great interest, "Do you know? She is the youngest Tribulation-stage peak expert in the entire Snow Demon clan."

"Want to know why?"

Su Bai flatly refused: "I don't want to know."

The Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame acted as if she hadn't heard and continued to herself: "It’s just because I’m often with her. The Snow Demon clan also shares the ice attribute, so the closer they are to me, the faster they cultivate."

"My big wife became a Tribulation-stage peak expert after staying with me for eight hundred years. You, on the other hand, not only used the snow that has been stuck to me for ten thousand years to shape your body, but you also used me to forge it."

"You are quite something, little girl. I have high hopes for you. Work hard to become a great power in the cultivation world in the future, and I can count as one who 'attains the Tao and rises to heaven' along with you."

Though she was a flame, she lay in a posture of complete relaxation. "The feeling of winning without effort is truly great! Xiao Bai, I’ll be counting on you from now on!"

Su Bai: "..."

Is the metaphor of "rising to heaven" really appropriate?

The Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame had stayed in the Far North for a long time. Now that she found she could catch someone to talk to at any time, she actually found joy in it. Once she opened her floodgates, she poured out gossip about the Snow Demon clan and even many ancient experts of the Guiyuan Continent like beans from a bag.

Although Su Bai had absolute control and usage rights over the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame, she could not control the flame's mouth. Furthermore, as the most primitive power born of the world, the will cultivated by an exotic flame was protected by the laws of heaven. Even with the cultivation of Su Bai's peak, she could not simply erase the soul of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame within those fifteen minutes. From another perspective, if the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame lost its original soul, the power of the exotic flame would be cut in half, so it was not a profitable deal.

Listening to the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame chattering away in her mind, Su Bai made up her mind that once she got out, she would definitely find a place for this exotic flame to stay, instead of letting it hide in her sea of consciousness and spout strange, brazen words.

Shen Xing looked at the Snow Demons kneeling on the ground and then at the composed young girl at the front. He stammered, "Ju-Junior Sister."

He looked at Su Bai in shock and asked, "These Snow Demons... are they on our side!?"

A peak Tribulation-stage expert, also on their side?

Yue Nianxin looked blankly at the Snow Demon Saintess kneeling in front. As far as she knew, her Junior Sister's master, Elder Yaoguang, was also at the peak of the Tribulation stage, right? If Elder Yaoguang knew that Junior Sister Xiao Bai had taken a stroll in the snowy region and brought back the entire Snow Demon clan...

Yue Nianxin shuddered, not daring to imagine such an absurd scene.

In the entire cultivation world, this was an absolutely explosive existence. If Junior Sister Xiao Bai wanted to, she could directly rely on these Snow Demons to become a local emperor and ascend to the throne as the Snow Demon Sovereign. After all, the Snow Demon clan was too special; they belonged to the Demon Domain but were not under the jurisdiction of the Demon King. That is to say, they could completely form a fourth major faction in the Guiyuan Continent.

But before they set off, they all thought this was just a slightly less than ordinary sect trial. How did it end up in such an absurd state?

Suddenly, thick dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the air filled with the dampness of rain.

The Snow Demon Saintess stepped forward and spoke first: "Master, these three cultivators have ulterior motives and have repeatedly tried to disturb your cultivation. How do you intend to deal with them?"

Su Bai looked at the thunderclouds gathering in the sky, her eyes sharpening: "She is about to break through."

The "she" referred to Yun Zhu.

"These are my senior brother and senior sister."

With a wave of Su Bai's hand, the ice walls trapping Yue Nianxin, Yun Zhu, and Shen Xing collapsed with a roar.

The Snow Demon Saintess bowed her head in apology: "I am sorry, Master. I did not know they were your respected guests."

Spiritual energy churned around Yun Zhu, and beads of sweat covered her forehead as she tried desperately to suppress the spiritual energy rushing into her Dantian. Crossing the tribulation rashly was not a rational act, but Yun Zhu had been trapped at the peak of the Golden Core stage for too long; once she experienced an epiphany, she could not stop the rapidly rising realm.

Su Bai formed seals with her hands, using snow to carve a formation around Yun Zhu, briefly suppressing the restless spiritual energy within her.

But the dark clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, and the thunder sounded dull, as if the drumming were wrapped in thick cotton.

Yun Zhu had been trapped at the peak of the Golden Core for nearly thirty years; if her state of mind did not progress, she could not form a Nascent Soul. Therefore, when she had gone out to train with Qin Yang, she had visited many life-and-death danger zones, but she had never been able to find the opportunity to break through. Who would have thought that after coming out of the illusions of this Far North and being provoked by the Snow Demon Saintess, she would finally pierce the veil of the Nascent Soul.

She had unparalleled talent in alchemy; she could refine sixth-grade heavenly pills even at the Golden Core stage. However, the name of a genius was both the motivation for her to climb upward and the most useless vanity that hindered her from breaking the status quo.

Both Yun Zhu and this body of Su Bai admired Qin Yang, but the biggest difference between Yun Zhu and Jiaojiao was that she had her own path. Yun Zhu was a genius of alchemy in the true sense.

"You are completely different from other female cultivators."

Qin Yang had once said this, as did some male cultivators who admired Yun Zhu, and even her female friends: "You have a path you truly want to pursue. As an alchemist who is not good at protecting yourself, you dared to walk out of the Huichun Valley alone to challenge demon beasts and seek a breakthrough."

*I am different from them.* This was the capital Yun Zhu was proud of, but it was also the shackle that bound her the deepest.

Yue Nianxin also saw that something was wrong with Yun Zhu and hurriedly took out magic weapons for crossing the tribulation from her Universe Bag one by one: "But there is no one to protect her in this Far North, and we haven't made any preparations... this..."

Can it really work?

"It can. I can help her set up a lightning-avoidance array."

Su Bai looked at the sky and said, "In that case, let Lingxue protect Yun Zhu."

Yue Nianxin asked, "Who is Lingxue?"

Su Bai looked at the Snow Demon Saintess.

The Snow Demon Saintess's icy blue eyes curved slightly, and she revealed a humble smile. She leaned forward slightly, placed one hand on her chest, and said softly, "Happy to serve you, Master."

Yue Nianxin & Shen Xing: "……?"

Just... just like that, she asked a peak Tribulation-stage expert to protect her?

The Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame said happily in Su Bai's sea of consciousness: "My big wife is beautiful and kind. Not only can you let her protect your senior sister, but she also has many tribulation-crossing magic weapons that I picked up from other cultivators."

Hearing this, Su Bai was silent for a moment.

"Magic weapons for crossing the tribulation..." She hesitated.

Lingxue took over the conversation smoothly: "Master, I have many magic weapons related to crossing the tribulation, so you don't need to worry."

Very good.

Su Bai: ...

She really is a beautiful and kind confidante; no wonder she could win the favor of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame.

**

Su Bai and her group stayed in the Far North for four long years.

After Yun Zhu finished her Nascent Soul thunder tribulation, her realm was still unstable and needed consolidation. Yue Nianxin and Shen Xing had finally gotten the opportunity to train outside the sect and did not want to go back so easily.

Moreover—the Snow Demons were gentle by nature and were best at creating illusions. Their little junior sister had suddenly become the master of the snowy region, so there was no place more suitable for honing one's state of mind than the Far North. In this dangerous land, they could simply walk sideways with confidence.

For Su Bai, first, this body was originally shaped from the ice and snow of the Far North, so staying here could help her adapt to this body and cultivate faster. Second, Su Bai could not yet control the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame well. She had subdued the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame with Mahayana-stage power, but the cheat only lasted for fifteen minutes. There needed to be a long period of adjustment between her Golden Core cultivation and the vast power of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame.

The Far North was vast, and the Snow Demons followed her orders. Looking at the entire cultivation world, there was no place more suitable for her to practice controlling the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame.

The Three-Headed Dragon was also very satisfied with the Far North. Or rather, the Three-Headed Dragon was too satisfied with the master he had found for himself.

As an ice-attribute dragon, he initially only wanted to get closer to the Frost-Coagulated Ice to facilitate his cultivation. Who could have imagined that his master would be so capable as to bring the ice-attribute exotic flame, the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame, into her possession and become the master of the Far North!

Frost-Coagulated Ice, Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame, the Far North—these were all things that ice-attribute demon beasts dreamed of!

The Three-Headed Dragon was moved to tears and knelt before Su Bai, kowtowing several times; no one could stop him.

Four years passed in the blink of an eye. During these four years, Shen Xing and Yue Nianxin wandered around the illusions of the Far North, treating the illusions like a dungeon to be cleared. The illusions set by the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame were not only realistic but also struck directly at the heart. Therefore, while Shen Xing and Yue Nianxin's states of mind grew daily, their combat experience increased exponentially.

Shen Xing's cultivation had reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, and Yue Nianxin had reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core, touching the threshold of the Nascent Soul.

The Three-Headed Dragon had practiced diligently for these four years and successfully passed the Spirit-Separation thunder tribulation. Ice-attribute demon beasts were already favored by the laws of heaven. Under the blessing of the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame and the Frost-Coagulated Ice, and by honing his state of mind in the illusions of the Far North, the Three-Headed Dragon stabilized his realm at the mid-stage of Spirit-Separation.

In these four years, Su Bai spent the first two years focusing on adjusting to this body and the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame. However, in the last two years, her cultivation speed could be described as riding a dust-sweeping steed.

This body, shaped by her, had almost no bottlenecks in cultivation after completely domesticating the Heaven-Swallowing Ice Flame. In just four years, she jumped from the early stage of the Golden Core to the early stage of the Nascent Soul. And this cultivation speed was based on the fact that Su Bai hadn't put too much effort into cultivation in the first two years.

As a cultivator's cultivation rises, it usually requires more time. At the Golden Core stage, even if a cultivator jumps a small realm, it would likely take decades. Therefore, the speed at which Yue Nianxin and Shen Xing ascended a small realm in just four years was already very amazing.

But Su Bai went from the early stage of the Golden Core to the early stage of the Nascent Soul in only four years.

After successfully passing the Nascent Soul thunder tribulation in the Far North, Su Bai returned to the Wuji Sect to continue learning the third level of the Water-Cloud Art and the third style of the Tianyan Sword Art from Elder Yaoguang and Venerable Yujian.

Another two years passed. During these two years, she occasionally heard news about Qin Yang.

It was said that Qin Yang had found an opportunity in the southern border of the Guiyuan Continent, finding the Prajna Blue Lotus, which only bloomed once every ten thousand years. He used the Prajna Blue Lotus to reshape his Dantian, and it took him only six years to go from the middle stage of Foundation Establishment to the current Nascent Soul stage.

In addition, he also left his mark at many auctions and competitions in the Guiyuan Continent. Rumors claimed that Qin Yang had contracted the only divine beast in the world with ancient bloodlines, the Vermilion Bird, and possessed more than one exotic flame.

In these six years, Su Bai either stayed in the Far North, where no one set foot, or focused on sword forging, almost fading from the sight of the cultivation world.

Three months before the Three Thousand Dao Discussion Conference officially began, everyone was surprised to find—

On the Divine Weapon Ranking engraved with the power of heaven, the world's number one divine sword had changed owners.

It was changed to the Suzhao Sword.

And the name of the sword-forger had never been heard of in the world of weapon refining before.

When the news spread, the entire cultivation world was in an uproar.