The golden runes that had been flickering faintly on the ice wall suddenly blazed with brilliant light.
Then, the wisps of white light deep within the ice peak converged toward a single point, and in an instant they coalesced into a small figure roughly a foot tall.
The figure's eyes were shut, its entire body shimmering with an ethereal glow, and its features and attire were an exact match for the white-robed elder outside.
The elder outside the ice peak saw this and raised one arm, pressing a finger against the space between his own brows.
A muffled pop!
A milky-white crystalline thread shot forth from the spot, flickered once, pierced straight through the ice wall, and sank into the forehead of the small figure before vanishing.
The small figure's expression shifted subtly, and then its eyes slowly opened.
Its twin pupils swirled with an ever-changing luminescence — they were a blazing gold.
"You've worked hard, but the matter is finally settled. As long we can obtain the Thread of Time, we can cut the refinement time for the fellow below by more than half. That way, I can breathe a little easier. If we truly had to spend ten thousand years refining him, who knows what unforeseen complications might arise," the small figure said slowly, its voice identical to that of the white-robed elder.
"If that's truly possible, then naturally that would be best. However, those Lei Xiao Talismans are somewhat of a pity. They were originally intended for several highly promising juniors in the clan — to help them endure a few great heavenly tribulations," the white-robed elder sighed.
"There was no other choice. The spirit talismans and pills we brought down from the Immortal Realm — things that don't exist in the lower realms — after all these years and several great calamities befalling the clan, they've been consumed to the point where only twenty or thirty percent remain. The only things that could move those Mahayana-stage cultivators were these Lei Xiao Talismans. But Old Ancestor Stone Heart actually perished, and instead two human Mahayana cultivators arrived — that was quite unexpected. One of those two, Han Li — isn't he the human youth who entered the Demon Realm together with Qianqiu and the others?" The small figure's golden eyes flashed several times as it spoke.
"That's right, that newly ascended human Mahayana cultivator. No one knows what happened to their group in the Demon Realm, but Qianqiu and the others all perished, while this one alone returned unscathed. Moreover, as soon as he came back to the Spirit Realm, he survived his heavenly tribulation and became a Mahayana cultivator. At the Mahayana ceremony, he easily inflicted severe injuries on a Nightwalker Clan Mahayana — his strength is far beyond that of an ordinary Mahayana cultivator." The white-robed elder's expression grew solemn, as though explaining things to the small figure, or perhaps simply speaking his own thoughts aloud.
"Then it seems this human youth truly did enter the Spirit Cleansing Pool and consume the Pure Spirit Lotus; otherwise, he wouldn't possess such power. That works in our favor, then! The greater his abilities, the better the chances of obtaining the Thread of Time when he enters the Small Asura Realm," the small figure replied after a moment's thought.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. If it had been Grand Patriarch Ao Xiao who came together with Mo Jianli instead, I would never have agreed to their terms so readily." The white-robed elder chuckled softly.
"Mm, since things are progressing smoothly, let them continue as they are. I must now devote myself entirely to refining the True Immortal soul below. Leave everything on the outside to you. Unless those people emerge from the Small Asura Realm, there's no need to wake me again," the white-robed elder said without hesitation.
"Good — focus on your refinement with peace of mind. You and I were originally one being. If you can successfully refine the Immortal Soul Pill sooner, I too will benefit immeasurably." The white-robed elder smiled, formed a single-handed seal, and pointed a finger at the empty air within the ice wall.
A muffled pop!
The small figure simply nodded, and its body dissolved into motes of spiritual light that scattered and vanished.
Then the elder turned around. Without any visible motion, a flash of spiritual light appeared beneath his feet, and a teleportation formation materialized on its own.
With a low hum, the elder blurred and vanished from the space.
……
The True Immortal Realm — across a boundless, seemingly infinite continent, neat square plots of spirit fields were being tended by countless figures dressed in yellow farmer's garb.
Looking more closely, these "farmers" all had identical faces, their expressions wooden and blank — they were nothing more than vividly lifelike humanoid puppets.
Most of the spirit fields were planted with a type of enormous rice, each stalk as thick as the rim of a bowl, radiating an inconceivably pure spiritual energy. A single breath of it could invigorate one's spirit immensely.
In the empty air a hundred zhang above the fields floated patches of spirit clouds roughly an acre in size, each a different color. Seated cross-legged upon them were individuals in flowing robes, holding various implements.
These figures — whether alone or in groups of two or three, regardless of age — all wore the appearance of Daoist attendants. They patrolled back and forth over the vast fields, periodically activating the implements in their hands to make the spirit clouds beneath them release cascades of clear rain that irrigated the fields below.
And higher still, some ten thousand zhang up, stretched a vast sea of rolling fog. A sweep of the eye in any direction revealed no edge, as if the entire continent were blanketed beneath it.
Directly above the spirit fields below, spirit birds and spirit beasts darted through the fog, carrying figures in various styles of dress in and out of the misty expanse.
Suddenly, a dragon's roar came rumbling from the distance!
A flash of crystalline light appeared on the horizon, and a blue ice wyrm over a hundred zhang long materialized in the sky.
With a crash of wind and thunder all around, the blue ice wyrm hurtled across the sky and arrived above the spirit fields with blinding speed.
Were such a colossal creature to appear before ordinary beings in the Spirit Realm, it would either frighten their souls out of their bodies or attract the stares of countless eyes.