24: Bai Wanqing's whereabouts, bathing together in the cold pool.

The roar of the collapsing stone chamber still echoed in his ears. As Lin Yang led Su Qingyue and the twins into the side cave, the burning pain in his back had already spread to his entire arm. When he had detonated his Fire Element True Essence earlier, he had inadvertently aggravated an old injury. Although his Chaos True Essence was rapidly repairing it, a restless energy still surged through his Meridians.

"There's cold Qi ahead." Su Qingyue suddenly stopped, her fingertips brushing against the white frost condensed on the cave wall. "This aura is very pure; it might be a natural cold spring."

Passing through a narrow passage, a deep, emerald-green pond suddenly appeared before their eyes. The pond water emitted wisps of white steam, and the cold Qi was mixed with extremely faint Spiritual Qi. The surface of the water reflected the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling, glowing with a faint blue luster in the dim light. The words "Ice Soul Cold Pond" were carved into the stone wall by the pond, the brushstrokes as sharp as swords, clearly left by a powerful Ice Element cultivator.

"The cold Qi of this pond can suppress the restless True Essence." Lin Yang said to Su Qingyue, feeling the surging energy within him. "You all wait here; I'll go into the pond to meditate for a moment."

Shedding his Dark-colored Tight-fitting Suit, the moment Lin Yang stepped into the cold pond, a bone-chilling coldness penetrated his body through his pores, making him shiver. But soon, his chaos star core hummed, guiding the cold Qi to envelop the restless True Essence, gradually calming his Meridians like ice water extinguishing a flame. He sank to the bottom of the pond, sat cross-legged on a smooth bluestone, and began to circulate the Chaos Swallowing Heaven Art.

He didn't know how much time had passed when ripples suddenly appeared in the pond water. A white figure, like willow catkins, floated to the edge of the pond. Her plain white skirt swayed gently in the cold Qi; it was Bai Wanqing, who had arrived by tracking him. She looked at Lin Yang, who was meditating with his eyes closed in the pond, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Immediately, three inches of ice-blue True Essence condensed on her fingertips—she had sensed a familiar Chaos aura and thought it was an enemy in disguise.

"Who's there?!"

Lin Yang suddenly opened his eyes, and the pond water splashed due to his alertness. He instinctively circulated his Metal Element True Essence, and Sharp Metal Sword Qi protected him like a spiderweb, only to see an ice prism already shooting through the air, carrying a biting coldness directly towards his face.

"It's me." Bai Wanqing's voice was as clear and cold as the pond water. The ice prism suddenly stopped three inches from Lin Yang, transforming into a sky full of ice crystals.

Lin Yang recognized her but did not relax his guard: "Miss Bai, why are you here?"

"I tracked the spatial fluctuations here." Bai Wanqing slowly walked closer to the pond's edge, her gaze falling on his exposed shoulder, which was faintly purplish-blue from the invasion of cold Qi. "Your Chaos True Essence is too overbearing; if not guided, it will eventually harm your Origin."

Before she finished speaking, a violent tremor suddenly came from the bottom of the pond. Lin Yang and Bai Wanqing simultaneously looked down, only to see silver-white star patterns beginning to appear on the bluestone beneath the pond water. Countless ancient runes emerged from the cracks in the stone, spreading upwards like chains, instantly enveloping both of them.

"It's an Ice Sealing Restriction!" Bai Wanqing's expression changed slightly, and ice-blue True Essence condensed into a shield around her. "An ancient Formation is hidden beneath this cold pond, triggered by our True Essence fluctuations!"

The silver-white runes tightened, and the cold Qi surged dramatically. Lin Yang felt his limbs begin to stiffen, and the circulation of his Chaos True Essence became sluggish. He tried to cut the runes with his Metal Element Sword Qi, but it was bounced back, and the Sword Qi instead provoked an even more violent Restriction power.

"We can't resist it head-on!" Bai Wanqing's voice carried a hint of urgency. "This Formation requires two extreme energies to neutralize it. Your Chaos True Essence might be able to try fusing with my Ice Element True Essence!"

Lin Yang did not hesitate. He guided his Chaos True Essence towards Bai Wanqing. The gray-gold Qi flow met her ice-blue True Essence in mid-air, initially repelling each other like fire and water, emitting sizzling sounds. But under the pressure of the Restriction, the Chaos True Essence suddenly displayed its characteristic of devouring and Fusion, actually beginning to envelop and assimilate the Ice Element True Essence, forming a new grayish-blue energy.

"That's it!" A flash of pleasant surprise appeared in Bai Wanqing's eyes, and she increased her True Essence output. The grayish-blue energy surged towards the rune chains like a tide. Wherever it passed, the silver-white runes actually melted like ice and snow, revealing the deeper bottom of the pond behind them.

The two of them jointly attacked for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and the Restriction finally emitted a crisp sound, completely breaking apart. The bluestone at the bottom of the pond cracked open, revealing a fist-sized indentation, where a perfectly white pearl lay quietly, emitting a cold Qi even purer than the cold pond—it was precisely the ice soul pearl.

Lin Yang reached out and took it. The pearl was icy cold to the touch but carried a gentle energy that surged into his body through his palm, instantly calming all restless True Essence and even making his Innate second-level Realm more stable.

"This ice soul pearl can nourish True Essence and also conceal one's aura." Bai Wanqing looked at the pearl in his hand, her tone softening slightly. "Consider it an Opportunity from our combined effort to break the Formation."

Lin Yang put the pearl into his chaos star core space, then suddenly remembered something: "Miss Bai has been secretly observing me; is it because of the chaos star core?"

Bai Wanqing was silent for a moment, then squatted down and scooped up a handful of pond water, speaking softly: "Twelve years ago, my Family was hunted by enemies. I escaped to a certain household, severely injured and unconscious. An old servant of the Lin Family saved me and gave me half a jade pendant carved with star patterns. He said that if I ever encountered someone who could resonate with the jade pendant, I should take good care of them." She looked up, a trace of complexity in her eyes. "Your chaos star core's aura is exactly the same as that half of the jade pendant."

Lin Yang's heart stirred, remembering the small box Uncle Liu had hidden under the bed board before his death; it seemed to contain half a similar jade pendant. He looked at Bai Wanqing's cool profile and suddenly understood that her previous aloofness and secret assistance were all due to this connection.

"Thank you for telling me, Miss Bai." Lin Yang stood up, and the pond water slipped down his skin. "This ice soul pearl might be more useful for your Cultivation Technique; I..."

"You keep it." Bai Wanqing interrupted him, turning to walk towards the cave entrance. "The aura of the chaos star core within you is growing stronger and will eventually attract more dangerous entities. This pearl can help you temporarily avoid their sharp edge." Her voice drifted away in the cold Qi, carrying a hint of imperceptible warmth. "I'll wait for you at the exit of the ruins; don't die in there."

Lin Yang watched her departing back, clutching the ice soul pearl hidden in his palm. The pond water was still icy cold, but a warm current flowed through his heart. He looked down at the crack at the bottom of the pond, where faint light flickered, seemingly hiding more secrets. But he knew that the most important thing now was to leave the ruins as soon as possible. Bai Wanqing's warning was by no means groundless—the secret of the chaos star core had begun to attract more and more prying eyes.