The medicinal power of the first Spirit Gathering Pill dissolved in her meridians. Bai Qingxue closed her eyes and circulated her technique, guiding that warm energy bit by bit toward her dantian.
An hour later, most of the pill had been absorbed. The spiritual power in her dantian had grown significantly more solid, but she was still some distance away from the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Bai Qingxue did not stop. She took the second Spirit Gathering Pill and swallowed it.
This time, the medicinal power came even more fiercely.
The power of the two pills stacked together, meeting in her meridians like two torrents crashing into each other, surging against every acupuncture point.
A dull, swelling pain radiated through her meridians, as if they were being stretched from the inside out by invisible hands.
Bai Qingxue’s brows furrowed slightly, but her circulation of the technique did not falter for a moment.
Her Ice Spirit Physique proved its worth at this moment. Within her body, the Ice Spirit power wrapped around the scorching medicinal energy, converting it into pure spiritual power before drawing it into her dantian.
Three hours later, the power of the second pill was also completely absorbed.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and looked down at her palms.
By now, the spiritual power in her dantian was filled to the brim. The frost patterns at the edges were as dense as a spiderweb; she was only a thin barrier away from the fourth level of Qi Refining.
She looked at the last Spirit Gathering Pill remaining in the porcelain bottle before her and did not rush to take it.
She had a faint feeling that relying on pills alone would not be enough. Although the power of the Spirit Gathering Pills was potent, there was an indescribable gap between it and her Ice Spirit Physique.
Her gaze then fell upon the jade box beside her.
The Ice Spirit Grass lay quietly inside, its leaves an icy blue with glowing veins.
This item shared the same ice attribute as her constitution. If she could fully absorb its medicinal power, it would likely help her break through that barrier.
However, the nature of Ice Spirit Grass was extremely cold. While she could absorb it in the quiet room, more than half of the medicinal power would dissipate.
If there were a place of extreme cold, she could use the external chill to lock in the medicinal power, making her efforts twice as effective.
“I need a place with enough cold...”
Bai Qingxue put away the jade box, stood up, and pushed open the door.
...
On the back mountain of Xueji Peak, there was a cold pond—a place where the peak’s disciples rarely set foot.
Bai Qingxue had caught a glimpse of it from a distance when she first joined the peak. The pond water never froze throughout the year, yet it was bone-chillingly cold, with a layer of white mist perpetually blanketing the surface.
It was said that the bottom of the pond was connected to an underground cold vein. It was rich in spiritual energy, but the chill was so heavy that disciples with insufficient cultivation would find their limbs turning stiff just by approaching it.
Bai Qingxue walked up the small path of the back mountain. The snowy wind poured into her collar, but her expression remained unchanged.
After bypassing a grove of withered trees, the cold pond appeared before her eyes.
The pond was not large, spanning only a few yards. The water was as calm as a mirror, with white mist rising from the surface and flowing slowly through the air.
The rocks by the pond were covered in a thin layer of ice, and even the withered grass on the bank was encased in a frost-white shell.
Bai Qingxue crouched down and reached out to test the water.
It was freezing—not the kind of cold that made one shiver, but a chill that seeped outward from the bones.
To her, however, this feeling was actually comfortable. Even the Mystic Frost spiritual power within her body became active the moment it came into contact with this chill.
This was the place.
Bai Qingxue took out the Ice Spirit Grass, placed the entire plant into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.
The moment the medicinal power dissolved in her stomach, a stream of extreme cold surged from her dantian, spreading along her meridians to her four limbs and every bone.
And while this piercing chill was highly compatible with Bai Qingxue, the speed at which it dissipated was also very fast.
Seeing this, Bai Qingxue did not hesitate. She removed her outer robe and stepped into the pond.
The icy pond water rose past her waist. She took a deep breath and sat cross-legged, leaving only her head and shoulders above the surface.
The spiritual energy of the cold pond poured into her body from all directions, merging with the medicinal power of the Ice Spirit Grass.
The two types of cold combined, causing Bai Qingxue’s body temperature to plummet, yet her eyes remained calm—even clearer than usual.
As the pond water submerged her waist, her soaked robes clung tightly to her body, outlining her slender and well-proportioned figure.
Amidst the swirling mist, her features were partially obscured. Her brows were like distant mountains, her nose straight and elegant, and her lips had paled slightly from the cold, making her face appear even more cold and ethereal.
Tiny frost beads condensed on her eyelashes, trembling slightly with her breath like snow on a winter branch about to fall.
Bai Qingxue was entirely oblivious to this, closing her eyes to fully circulate the 《Mystic Frost Heavenly Heart Art》.
The spiritual power in her dantian began to accelerate its rotation, spinning faster and faster, becoming denser and denser.
At that moment, faint footsteps sounded from the mountain path.
Lu Xueqing had just finished turning in a mission and intended to take a shortcut back to her courtyard. However, her footsteps suddenly halted as she passed the cold pond.
A figure was faintly visible in the mist. She focused her gaze and recognized that face; it was the little junior sister she had met at the market a few days ago.
Lu Xueqing originally wanted to call out a greeting, but the words died in her throat.
The girl in the pond had her eyes slightly closed, her frost-white robes half-submerged in the water. The mist was like a veil, shrouding her figure in a hazy glow. Her face was white to the point of being nearly transparent under the saturation of the cold, and a layer of thin frost had condensed between her brows, making her look so cold she hardly seemed alive.
Her white and black hair clung wetly to her forehead and the sides of her ears, contrasting with her bloodless face to create an indescribable, almost fragile sense of sternness.
Lu Xueqing’s footsteps felt as if they were nailed to the spot.
She stared at that face in the mist for several breaths, forgetting to look away and even forgetting to breathe.
It wasn't until her chest felt slightly tight that she realized she was holding her breath.
For some reason, the tips of Lu Xueqing’s ears suddenly felt a bit hot.
She hurriedly took a step back as if afraid of being noticed by the person in the mist, then turned and quietly departed along the mountain path.
After walking a few steps, Lu Xueqing couldn't help but look back once more. The figure in the pond was still sitting perfectly still, as if she had noticed nothing at all.
Lu Xueqing withdrew her gaze and walked away quickly.
However, her pace was much faster than when she had arrived, as if she were fleeing from something.
...
Even after returning to her own courtyard, Lu Xueqing felt that image flickering before her eyes.
She poured a cup of tea and brought it to her lips, only to pause after a single sip; it was cold.
The chill spread from the tip of her tongue to her throat, carrying a hint of bitterness.
Lu Xueqing looked down at the tea in the cup. The color was murky and the tea leaves had sunk to the bottom, having been steeped far too long.
She initially wanted to pour it out and brew a fresh pot, but after extending her hand, she pulled it back.
Never mind.
Lu Xueqing set the cup on the table. She didn't pour it out, nor did she brew more; she just left it there.
Her finger trailed over the tabletop, unconsciously tracing circles. One circle, then another. By the seventh circle, she stopped because she realized the circles she was drawing were becoming flatter and messier, eventually turning into meaningless scribbles.
That cold face in the mist surfaced in her mind again.
The skin so white it was nearly transparent, the silver strands mixed in with black hair, and those slightly closed eyelids with tiny frost beads condensed on the lashes. She remembered it very clearly—so clearly that she even remembered the angle at which those few locks of white hair fell beside the girl's ears. Yet she had clearly only looked for a few breaths.
Lu Xueqing pulled her hand back from the table, clenched her fist, and then relaxed it.
She went out into the courtyard, snatched her sword from the rack, and began practicing the “Xueji Sword Technique” from the beginning.
The sword's edge pierced the air, bringing with it a whistling wind. Every move and stance was sharp and crisp. By the third repetition, a thin layer of sweat had broken out on her forehead, and her breathing had become slightly erratic.
Lu Xueqing sheathed her sword and stood in the courtyard panting, even as the night wind poured into her collar, bringing a continuous chill.
But that image remained in her mind.
Lu Xueqing closed her eyes and put the sword back on the rack.
“Forget it.” She then turned and went back inside.
The tea had gone completely cold, sitting on the table, but Lu Xueqing did not touch it again.
...
Bai Qingxue was completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world. The spiritual power in her dantian began to accelerate its rotation, spinning faster and faster, becoming denser and denser.
The medicinal power of the Ice Spirit Grass and the spiritual energy of the cold pond were absorbed bit by bit into her dantian, merging into that pale blue light orb. The orb grew larger and brighter, and the frost patterns at its edges turned into fine ice crystals.
The flow of spiritual power in her meridians reached an unprecedented speed. With every completed cycle, the barrier leading to the fourth level of Qi Refining was pushed open a fraction further.
One cycle, then another.
She didn't know how much time had passed when the light orb in her dantian expanded to its limit, like a bubble blown to its absolute maximum, ready to burst at any second.
Then, the bubble truly burst.
Immediately afterward, her dantian suddenly expanded, its capacity nearly doubling from before. The light orb recoalesced during the expansion, becoming even more solid and bright.
Spiritual power surged through her meridians, flowing without obstruction. All those previous minor sensations of stagnation had completely vanished.
The fourth level of Qi Refining.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
That breath condensed into a white streak above the cold pond, lingering for a long time.
She looked down at her palms, then released her spiritual power. A cluster of fine ice crystals appeared in her palm, shimmering with a cold light in the mist.
Her Ice Spirit power had undergone a change after the breakthrough. Previously, it could only freeze; now, it could congeal.
Bai Qingxue withdrew her spiritual power and stood up from the pond.
Her soaked robes clung to her body, and the chill was bone-deep, but Bai Qingxue’s expression remained as usual. She even felt that every inch of her meridians was refreshed and comfortable.
She then walked to the bank, put on her outer robe, and glanced back at the cold pond.
The white mist on the water was thicker than when she had arrived, likely because she had just absorbed a large amount of the pond's spiritual energy.
Bai Qingxue did not linger. She turned and walked back along the small path.
By the time she returned to her courtyard, the sky had already darkened.
The petals of the old plum tree fell in the night wind, landing on her wet shoulders.
She did not brush them away and went straight into the quiet room.
After changing into a dry set of Daoist robes, Bai Qingxue sat before the bronze mirror and pulled her wet hair behind her.
The person in the mirror still had those same cold features, but because of her breakthrough in cultivation, her skin was even whiter than before, glowing with a faint, translucent light like fine mutton-fat jade.
The few strands of white hair in her locks had not changed back; instead, they added an indescribable touch of character.
She did not look for long, standing up to sit cross-legged on the stone bed.
Outside the window, the moonlight was cold. Bai Qingxue closed her eyes and continued her cultivation, consolidating her newly achieved breakthrough.
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