80: Chapter 80 For those who believe in themselves!

The spiritual power that had been suppressed by the Spirit-Gathering Array began to flow once more, and the Ice Phoenix key seal lit up pulse by pulse, with the main pattern on the Cold Palace gate responding in kind.

Foundation Establishment, Third Layer.

Foundation Establishment, Sixth Layer.

Golden Core, Early Stage.

With every circle the wind and snow made around her, her aura stabilized a little more. It wasn't until she reached the Peak of the Golden Core that the power surging from the Cold Palace slowly subsided.

Peak Master Shen Tingxue did not speak.

She could see that the aura on Luo Qingli did not entirely belong to her. This was the home-field advantage granted to her by the Cold Palace; it was the might lent to her by the wind and snow within the gates.

Yet, this borrowing of power was even more unsettling than a simple Breakthrough.

Because the Cold Palace was willing to lend it, it simultaneously revealed the attitude of the Cold Palace.

From the depths of the Cold Palace, that ancient female voice finally sounded again.

This time, it did not speak of old rules.

It called out her name.

"Luo Qingli."

The main pattern in the center of the palace gate lit up completely.

The main-locking nail emitted a faint cracking sound, and ice shards peeled off inch by inch, carried away by the wind and snow.

The ancient female voice uttered a second sentence.

"Return to your position."

Boom!

The half-collapsed Cold Palace gate opened a sliver inward.

Ice-blue light poured out, illuminating the entire snowfield.

The key seal between Luo Qingli's brows resonated with the main pattern of the palace gate from afar. Behind her, a phantom of an Ice Phoenix spread its wings and let out a long cry toward the sky.

This Phoenix cry surged out of the Northern Territory, crossed the snowfield, and vanished into the sky of the Eastern Wasteland.

On a snow-covered main Peak of the Frost Sacred Land, the formation bell suddenly rang urgently.

Several young Disciples in the hall looked up simultaneously.

Soon, the hall doors opened, and a youth in silver robes walked out. A slender, cold sword hung at his waist, its scabbard covered in a thin layer of frost.

He gazed toward the Northern Territory, his eyes filled with surprise at first, followed by a hint of interest.

"An Ice Phoenix phenomenon."

A Disciple nearby whispered, "Senior Brother, that direction appears to be the old site of the Cold Palace."

The silver-robed youth stroked the sword hilt and thought for a moment.

"Did Peak Master Shen Tingxue go to the Northern Territory?"

No one answered. The formation bell was still ringing.

The silver-robed youth looked back toward the depths of the main hall. An Elder was in seclusion there, the hall doors tightly shut, with not a single sound emerging.

He smiled and removed the jade token from his waist.

"The ancient palace has just opened, and the old restrictions are at their most unstable. It may not be more convenient for the Elders to enter than it is for us."

"Send word to the other Peaks."

"We go to the Northern Territory to take a look."

At another sword Peak in the Eastern Wasteland, a youth in white robes sat by a snowy cliff polishing his sword, when the sword body suddenly gave a faint tremor.

He raised his head and saw a flash of an ice-blue Phoenix shadow on the northern horizon.

A moment later, he closed the sword case.

"The ancient Cold Palace."

"If any old artifacts have emerged, it would be worth a trip."

In a valley of alchemy and artifacts, the furnace fire reflected the shadow of an Ice Phoenix.

The old man guarding the furnace watched for a long time before summoning two Disciples.

"Take people to the Northern Territory."

The Disciple's eyes lit up.

"Revered Master, if it truly is the Cold Palace opening..."

The old man pressed the furnace lid back down, the firelight casting his face in shadow.

"Only explore the outer palace."

"Take what you can. If you cannot take it, make sure you remember who did."

In front of the Cold Palace gate in the Northern Territory, Peak Master Shen Tingxue also heard the commotion in the distant wind and snow.

She withdrew the shadow of the snow soul furnace, and a thin cut appeared on her palm. The blood had barely seeped out before it was frozen by the cold Qi. The crack on the furnace wall remained.

She raised her eyes to look at Luo Qingli, the previous trace of pity gone from her gaze.

Luo Qingli looked back at her as well.

Separated by several yards of wind and snow, Peak Master Shen Tingxue said nothing more about delivering her from suffering, only staring at the other with icy, fixed eyes.

Luo Qingli gripped the ice-blue palace token that had just flown out from within the gates.

The palace token was very cold.

Yet, when she held it, the key seal between her brows grew slightly warm.

On the front of the palace token, there was only one ancient, simple character: [Cold].

The wind and snow inside the gate parted, revealing a flight of ice stairs leading into the depths of the Cold Palace.

Luo Qingli did not enter immediately.

She first glanced at Peak Master Shen Tingxue, then looked toward the cold jade cage that had already closed.

A moment later, she recalled how those Disciples had addressed her just now.

"Peak Revered Master Shen."

She spoke.

Peak Master Shen Tingxue's eyelashes lifted slightly.

Luo Qingli's voice was steady.

"You asked me just now why I was reluctant to give up this name."

"Actually, it is not that complicated."

She lowered her head to look at the palace token in her palm. The ice-blue light reflected on her fingertips, and also revealed a corner of the heavenly secret note in her sleeve.

"This name has not only been used by people to break off an engagement, and written by people as a mere vessel of a material."

"There were also those who believed in it."

"Someone wrote it at the top of the list, telling everyone in the city that Luo Qingli is not trash."

She paused when she reached this point. The wind and snow swept past her side, obscuring the faint red on her earlobes.

"If I were to give up even my own name."

"Wouldn't that note of his have been written in vain?"

Peak Master Shen Tingxue's fingers tightened little by little inside her sleeves.

The confusion in her eyes did not dissipate; instead, it deepened.

To Peak Master Shen Tingxue, this answer was even somewhat laughable.

However, the Cold Palace gate had already opened for Luo Qingli.

The Artifact Refiner behind her kept their head bowed, no one daring to speak.

Luo Qingli withdrew her gaze and stepped onto the ice stairs.

The palace gate slowly closed halfway behind her. The wind and snow obscured her back.

Outside the gate, Peak Master Shen Tingxue stood for a long time before crushing the frozen bloodstain on her palm.

From the direction of the Eastern Wasteland, several beams of light had already broken through the clouds, heading toward the Northern Territory.

...

Behind the Cold Palace gate was a very long flight of ice stairs.

When Luo Qingli stepped onto the first step, the chill beneath her feet surged up along the soles of her shoes.

That chill did not hurt her. It seemed to be testing, and it also seemed to be confirming.

She held the ice-blue palace token in her palm, the key seal between her brows resonating gently with the palace token.

With every step forward, a dilapidated palace lantern on either side would light up, and the ice-blue light spread along the walls, revealing many long-mottled Ice Phoenix patterns.

The Cold Palace had been silent for too long.

There were collapsed ice bricks in the corners, broken claw marks on the stone pillars, and several side halls in the distance were half-hidden in the cold mist, making it impossible to see what was hidden inside.

Luo Qingli was in no hurry to go deeper.

She knew very well that she had just obtained the palace token and only counted as having opened the outer gate of the Cold Palace.

The cultivation that had surged just now was not truly her ascending to the heavens in one step. It was the Cold Palace willing to lend her the wind and snow in this territory, so that she would not be pressed back into the cage by Peak Master Shen Tingxue.

If she left the Cold Palace, this power would slowly subside. She needed time to stabilize.

The palace token grew slightly warm in her palm.

Luo Qingli looked down, and beneath the character [Cold] on the face of the token, a very faint pattern emerged.

That pattern pointed toward the side hall on the right.

She followed the pattern.

The side hall door was half-collapsed, and inside there was no accumulation, let alone the Spirit Treasure that could allow one to ascend to the heavens in one step as legends claimed.

There was only an ice pool, and in the pool, a shallow layer of jade-colored cold marrow had congealed.

Above the cold marrow, a thin Jade Slip was suspended.

As soon as Luo Qingli approached, the Jade Slip descended on its own, stopping in front of her.

She reached out and caught it.

As the Jade Slip entered her hand, a line of ancient characters surfaced in her mind.

[Outer palace opened, old Revered Master returns.]

[A pool of cold marrow, can stabilize one's fate.]

[All gates of the outer palace, open and close by the token.]

After reading, Luo Qingli did not immediately touch the pool of cold marrow.

She looked back toward the direction of the palace gate.

Outside the gate, the sound of wind and snow was much more chaotic than before.

Someone had come. Moreover, it was more than one group.

...

On the snowfield outside the Cold Palace, when the first batch of flying lights landed, Peak Master Shen Tingxue was still standing in front of the palace gate.

The bloodstain on her palm had been sealed by the cold Qi, and the shadow of the snow soul furnace had been withdrawn into her sleeve.

However, that crack on the furnace wall was like a thorn in her heart, impossible to shake off.

The first group to land was from the Frost Sacred Land.

The silver-robed youth leading them had a cold sword hanging at his waist, his features somewhat similar to Peak Master Shen Tingxue, only younger and sharper.

After landing, he glanced at the Artifact Refiner behind Peak Master Shen Tingxue, then looked toward the half-closed Cold Palace gate.

"Peak Revered Master."

The silver-robed youth cupped his hands, his voice not loud.

"The main Peak's formation bell rang. Disciple Shen Zhaohan has been ordered to come and explore the palace."

Peak Master Shen Tingxue looked at him.

"Who ordered you to come?"

Shen Zhaohan said, "The commotion from the Ice Phoenix phenomenon in the Northern Territory was too great; all the Peaks saw it. It is inconvenient for the Elders to easily enter the old forbidden area, so they let us of the younger generation come to scout the path first."