16: Chapter 16 Stepping on Ice Without a Trace, Snatching the Orchid from the Snake's Mouth

Facing three sleeping Middle Stage Yao Beasts at the Qi Refining stage, any unnecessary sound, temperature change, or fluctuation in Spiritual Qi could invite disaster.

A direct assault would be foolish, and taking shortcuts carries unpredictable risks.

The only method is to completely "merge" oneself into the environment of this ice cave.

The Qi Concealment Technique masks life aura and fluctuations in Spiritual Qi, while the icy Spiritual Qi of the Ice Soul Sword Art simulates the ambient cold, all supported by absolute calmness and patience.

Lin Ye took a deep breath. The bone-chilling air entered his lungs, yet it only made him more focused. He sat cross-legged at the entrance of the ice cave; instead of descending immediately, he exerted his full effort to circulate the basic Qi Circulation method of the Ice Soul Sword Art.

This time, it was no longer to Cultivate, but to "assimilate."

Wisps of pure, icy Spiritual Qi drifted up from the Ice Eye below. He carefully guided and absorbed them, circulating them along specific routes within his Meridians, then slowly let them dissipate from his skin, forming an extremely faint, almost invisible, ice-blue shimmer that covered his entire body.

This shimmer not only further restrained his aura but also caused his body temperature to drop rapidly, gradually aligning with the temperature of the surrounding mysterious ice.

The ancient ring on his left hand also transmitted a cooling sensation, assisting him in more precisely controlling this "frosty coat."

The preparations lasted for about half an hour.

When Lin Ye opened his eyes again, his pupils seemed to be covered by a thin layer of ice mist. He gently moved his hands and feet; his movements were slow and soft, like the slow growth of the ice layer itself, without making a single sound.

It was time.

The descent route he chose was a place slightly below the entrance of the ice cave where the ice wall was relatively flat and had many protrusions that could be used for leverage.

There were no ropes, no tools. He relied entirely on his fingers and toes, searching for those tiny ice ridges and depressions, moving downward bit by bit, like the most cautious ice-wall lizard.

Every movement was rehearsed in his mind several times beforehand to ensure absolute stability.

Every time he touched the ice wall, he first used his frost-covered palm to gently sense it, confirming it was stable.

The bone-chilling cold penetrated through the thin frosty coat, and his fingers soon went numb, but he dared not slacken in the slightest, relying entirely on his willpower to hold on.

Ten zhang, eight zhang, five zhang...

He was getting closer and closer to the bottom of the ice cave. He could even clearly see the leaves of the dozens of ice soul orchids on the bank stretching out under the ghostly blue ice light, and smell that cold, refreshing, faint exotic fragrance. He could also more clearly see the bottomless, mirror-like, dark blue of the Ice Eye pool, as well as several unnatural, slightly arched outlines under the ice layer not far from the pool's edge—those were the sleeping Ice Crystal Snakes.

Three snakes were coiled in three directions, vaguely surrounding the ice soul orchids and the entrance to the pool in the middle.

The closest one was less than three zhang away from the landing spot he had chosen!

Lin Ye's heartbeat, under the dual suppression of the frosty coat and the Qi Concealment Technique, was slow and powerful. Like a weightless snowflake, he landed silently on the solid, cold, mysterious ice ground at the bottom of the ice cave.

The first step, success.

He did not act immediately but maintained his landing posture, motionless, and sensed again.

The Ice Crystal Snakes had no reaction; only the eternal cold air in the depths of the ice cave flowed slowly.

After confirming it was safe, he began to "slide" toward the nearest small cluster of ice soul orchids with the same slow, gentle posture. Yes, slide. He barely lifted his feet, only using the soles of his feet to rub against the ice surface with extreme subtlety, driving his body to shift laterally. The speed was infuriatingly slow, but its advantage was absolute silence.

One foot, two feet...

His hand finally touched the ice-blue leaves of the first ice soul orchid. The leaves felt cold and hard to the touch, like fine blue jade.

He dared not use tools, fearing they would make a sound. He could only use his frost-covered, nearly numb fingers to carefully pinch the most fragile part where the orchid's root connected to the ice surface, and give it a gentle twist.

"Snap."

An extremely faint, yet clear crisp sound in the deathly silent ice cave.

Lin Ye's body froze instantly, his blood almost freezing solid!

He stared fixedly at the ice layer arched by the nearest Ice Crystal Snake.

The outline under the ice layer seemed to... move slightly?

Time seemed to stand still. After a few breaths, the outline returned to calm, with only the faint, almost inaudible rhythm of breathing.

A false alarm?

Lin Ye could not be sure, but he knew his movements had to be faster and lighter.

He no longer picked them one by one, but targeted a small patch of three growing together. His fingers moved like a butterfly weaving through flowers (though incredibly slowly), pinching off their roots almost simultaneously, and then quickly putting the three ice soul orchids into the ancient ring's space.

Next were the two beside them...

He was like the stingiest gardener, only picking the ice soul orchids that were densest, of the best quality, and located on the perimeter (slightly further from the Ice Crystal Snakes). As for the few thickest ones by the pool, whose top fruits were already faintly emitting a jade-like glow, he didn't even look at them—that was the absolute forbidden zone of the Ice Crystal Snakes.

One, two, three...

In just a short time of picking, Lin Ye felt it was more mentally exhausting than climbing down. When he put the ninth, and the last planned, peripheral ice soul orchid into the ring, the half-foot square space of the ancient ring was almost filled.

Enough. Greed leads to loss.

He slowly straightened his waist and began to retreat at an even slower speed. His target was a depression on the other side of the ice cave, far from the ice soul orchids and the pool, near the ice wall, where the cold air was heavier, the ice layer was thicker, and perhaps it was suitable for temporary hiding and... Cultivating.

Retreating tests the psyche more than advancing. Because you have to turn your back to the danger.

When he finally retreated to that ice wall depression and leaned his back against the bone-chilling mysterious ice, he felt his tense nerves relax slightly.

The first stage goal was achieved. He had harvested nine precious ice soul orchids and remained undetected.

He curled up in the ice depression, slowly recovering his nearly frozen body and over-exhausted spirit, while observing the Ice Eye pool.

What to do next?

Directly look for the hidden waterway at the bottom of the pool leading to the main pool? The risk is too high; it will inevitably alert the Ice Crystal Snakes.

Then, there is only one choice left—utilize the incredibly pure icy Spiritual Qi here, as well as the newly picked ice soul orchids (which can assist in Cultivating), and Cultivate the Ice Soul Sword Art right here!

If he could raise his Cultivation to the Second Level of Qi Refining here, or even initially master some applications of the Ice Soul Sword Art, his chances of dealing with the upcoming dangers or exploring the waterway would be much greater.

He took out an ice soul orchid, plucked the not-fully-mature ice-blue fruit from the top, and put it in his mouth.

The fruit melted as soon as it entered his mouth, turning into a stream of cold, sweet, spring-like energy that surged into his limbs and bones, not only dispelling the discomfort of the cold within his body but also making the trace of icy Spiritual Qi in his Dantian active and stronger.

Pure ice-attribute Spiritual Qi surged in from all directions.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and exerted his full effort to circulate the Ice Soul Sword Art.

Time, in this eternal ice cave, seemed to lose its meaning.

Just as he was immersed in Cultivating, his internal Spiritual Qi growing bit by bit, and his control over the ice-attribute Spiritual Qi becoming increasingly handy—

Suddenly!

The mirror-like, dark blue surface of the Ice Eye pool, without any warning, rippled with a faint circle!

Following that, a second circle, a third circle...

It was as if something was... slowly rising from the depths of the pool!

It was not an Ice Crystal Snake! The Ice Crystal Snakes were still sleeping under the ice layer on the bank.

It was something at the bottom of the pool!

Lin Ye opened his eyes abruptly, his heart contracted, and his Cultivation stopped abruptly.

He stared fixedly at the center of the pool where the ripples were spreading.

The ancient ring on his left index finger transmitted an unprecedented violent vibration, mixed with longing and extreme vigilance!

And at the center of the ripples, a trace of deep, heavy, Soul-freezing... pitch-black water color vaguely emerged.