178: snowy plateau

Regarding the origins of these Spirit Bees, one must mention the Utility Disciple Wang Tie of the Spirit Herb Hall.

Wang Tie often came to deliver honey to Lin Yan, and over time, they became well-acquainted.

The Bloodline of the Bees he raised was extraordinary; they had all become first-rank Spirit Bees now.

Even more miraculously, after controlling the Bees through Beast Taming Arts, these Bees could relay information to their master.

Thus, Lin Yan also raised some Bees to use as surveillance for the valley.

Small Spirit Beasts like the Colorful Feather Sparrow also possessed this ability, but they were too conspicuous.

In contrast, those who were unaware could easily overlook the existence of these small Bees.

Little did they know, these were all Lin Yan's scouts.

Three types of Spirit Rice in the spiritual fields were heading and flowering simultaneously, but these Spirit Bees seemed to favor the Crescent Rice the most.

One by one, the Spirit Bees landed gracefully on the crescent-like flower spikes, their slender mouthparts probing into the hearts of the flowers, greedily siphoning nectar.

After a moment, the segments and fuzz of the Spirit Bees' legs were covered in yellow and white pollen.

Then, they took flight, trailing a wisp of pale green spiritual mist as they returned to the beehive beside the spiritual fields.

Inside the beehive, within the dense hexagonal wax chambers...

Nectar and pollen blended within the wax chambers, repeatedly processed by the worker bees using spiritual power and fanned by their wings. The fresh fragrance of vegetation in the air grew increasingly potent, eventually condensing into layers of crystal-clear beeswax.

Brewing honey was indeed a busy task for these Spirit Bees.

Perhaps because the quality of the pollen was very high, the nectar brewed by the Spirit Bees was also quite extraordinary.

Even before it was fully brewed, Lin Yan could feel the dense spiritual power and wood essence within.

"This honey seems to have the wondrous effect of concentrating wood essence..." Lin Yan was somewhat surprised.

"This is quite a pleasant surprise."

If the wood essence in the honey could reach the level of Millennial Ginseng, the value of this honey would be immense.

"However, now is not the time for you to brew honey. Come with me."

Lin Yan selected a few Spirit Bees and placed them into his spirit beast pouch.

These were all Spirit Bees he controlled using Beast Taming Arts.

Carrying the Spirit Bees, Lin Yan gave Little Fatty some instructions and then steered the flying boat toward the northwest of the Sword Pavilion.

That was the direction of the Snowy Plateau.

His True Dragon Bloodline and Sword Bone had temporarily hit a Bottleneck, so he planned to try improving his Fire Spiritual Root.

Improving his Spiritual Root would also enhance the strength of his Dao Foundation.

Currently, he had a surplus of Crimson Crystal Rice; all that was missing was the ten-thousand-year profound ice.

This stuff was basically useless to Cultivators, so it was difficult to purchase, and the Sword Pavilion's Treasure Pavilion did not have it in stock.

Lin Yan had to take matters into his own hands... Just as the flying boat left the Spirit Herb Hall area, several hidden figures flashed and vanished within the dense mountain forests below.

Unbeknownst to Lin Yan, his movements had already fallen under the watchful eyes of those with ulterior motives... The flying boat flew faster and faster, and the landscape below changed accordingly.

The continuous Jian Ge Mountain Range was left behind, and the towering ancient trees gradually thinned out, replaced by an endless expanse of gentle meadows.

A strong wind brushed past, and the sea of grass rippled like waves, stretching all the way to the horizon.

After flying for another distance, when the flying boat climbed over a higher ridge, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A sheet of silvery white pierced through the clouds, and towering, continuous snow-capped mountains shimmered with a cold radiance under the sunlight.

The thin air carried a biting astral wind, causing the spiritual light outside the flying boat to stagnate slightly.

Lin Yan looked up and murmured to himself:

"The Snowy Plateau... I've arrived."

The Snowy Plateau was extremely cold, and the thin air made every breath sting like ice shards.

However, this frozen land was not dead; instead, it harbored a heart-pounding, majestic vitality.

Looking out, Spiritual Qi surged through the snow valleys like a majestic tide.

The rich spiritual energy nurtured various creatures of the Snowy Plateau.

Standing on the snow plain, Lin Yan's gaze swept across, and he saw several snow-white shadows flashing across the snow.

Those were snow rabbits, their bodies entirely white, almost blending in with the snow.

Their long ears stood up alertly, and their ruby-like eyes scanned the surroundings warily before their hind legs kicked off, and they darted under the snow like arrows released from a bow, leaving only a few disturbed tracks in the snow.

Besides snow rabbits, there were also Spirit Beasts such as snow antelopes and snow wolves... and even Cultivators were not uncommon here.

In the distance, several Loose Cultivators were trekking with difficulty, clad in thick animal skins and hunting snow rabbits.

Other Loose Cultivators were bent over, carefully using jade shovels to dig through the snow and permafrost, searching for spiritual materials buried beneath, such as snow ginseng and ice soul grass.

Seeing Lin Yan's arrival, some Loose Cultivators even warmly invited him to catch rabbits together, but Lin Yan politely declined... Further in, high in the sky, the invisible astral winds became even more violent, scraping against the flying boat's protective shield like blades, making a piercing "chi-chi" sound.

The flying boat shuddered violently, its light shield flickering, clearly no longer able to withstand it.

"The astral wind is too strong."

With a thought from Lin Yan, the flying boat's spiritual light dimmed, and it slowly landed on the snow.

He stowed the flying boat and stepped onto this vast, white ice field.

"Rumor has it that ten-thousand-year profound ice only exists in the deepest parts of the glaciers, where ordinary Cultivators find it hard to approach."

Lin Yan looked into the distance.

There, a massive glacier lay like a dormant silver dragon, shimmering with a deep blue light under the dark clouds.

Taking it one step at a time, he walked toward the glacier.

To find ten-thousand-year profound ice, one must venture deep into the Snowy Plateau's glaciers.

After trekking on the snow plain for a day, the surroundings became increasingly frigid, and signs of human activity grew extremely scarce.

Pushing aside a patch of snow at random, one could see the eternal, unmelting glacier beneath.

It was unlike the ice that formed on riverbeds in winter; it was more solid, appearing as a deep blue and carrying a unique chill.

"This ice should be at the level of hundred-year profound ice..." Lin Yan murmured to himself.

Profound ice was not particularly precious; the glacier beneath his feet was entirely made of it.

However, higher levels such as thousand-year profound ice and ten-thousand-year profound ice were relatively rare.

After searching for so long, he hadn't found a single piece.

Continuing forward to a gentle slope surrounded by glaciers, Lin Yan was surprised to find two Loose Cultivators there.

The cultivation of Loose Cultivators was generally low, so they mostly stayed in the peripheral areas of the Snowy Plateau.

Just as Sun Xiaochuan and Li Dan had been in the past.

Loose Cultivators who ventured deep into the glaciers were few.

The two were dressed in thick animal skins, their brows and eyes bearing the marks of wind and frost, as they sat around a rock resting.

Seeing Lin Yan approach, they immediately stood up alertly, their hands already on their weapons.

Lin Yan stopped, his gaze calm as he took the initiative to speak: "Fellow Daoists, no need to be nervous. I mean no harm."

One of the Cultivators, slightly taller with a short mustache, sized him up. Seeing his steady aura, unlike that of an ordinary Loose Cultivator, he relaxed slightly and cupped his fists.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist. We two brothers are practicing here. We just saw you coming from the south; may I ask where you are headed?"

Lin Yan smiled slightly. "I am on my way to the depths of the Snowy Plateau."

A glint flashed in the eyes of the other, slightly younger Cultivator, and he lowered his voice.

"You're going to the depths? It seems your strength is quite extraordinary, Fellow Daoist."