126: Chapter 126 Tacit Understanding Beneath the Ice Field

Wind blades cut across the exposed rocky ridges, emitting sharp whimpers, as if this ancient ice plain were wailing in a low voice.

Shen Xiao dragged Xia Lengbai into a depression formed by ice erosion. Calling it a "depression" was a bit generous; it was actually a crevice squeezed between two giant rocks eroded by wind and sand for ten thousand years. It could barely fit two adults, and a precarious ice cap hung overhead, looking like it could collapse at any moment and serve them a "buried alive" combo.

"Is this it?"

Xia Lengbai's voice squeezed through her teeth, carrying undisguised disdain, "Are you planning to lure him here, or are you just planning to bury yourself to save time?"

"Better than being a living target in an open area."

Shen Xiao knelt on one knee, one hand supporting himself against the cold rock wall, the other pressed against his chest.

That foreign energy seeping from the Tomb Guardian Seal was writhing deep within his Meridians, as if it had sensed some threat, becoming increasingly restless.

Shen Xiao tried to mobilize the pathetic amount of spiritual power in his Dantian to suppress it, the moment the spiritual power touched the ice thread.

"Hiss!"

He gasped.

He wasn't the only one.

Xia Lengbai beside him frowned at almost the same moment, her left hand clenched into a fist, knuckles turning white. The dark red Tomb Guardian Seal on her forearm jumped violently, like some kind of response.

Shen Xiao's pupils constricted slightly.

Connection.

That damned connection.

Once the foreign energy in his body became restless, it was like pulling an invisible thread, dragging her Tomb Guardian Seal into a synchronized reaction.

It was the same in reverse; any fluctuation in her power would travel along that thread to him, stirring up his Meridians.

"Don't move around."

Xia Lengbai spoke coldly, her voice filled with suppressed anger, "When you move, I get messed up on my end too."

"What a coincidence," Shen Xiao smiled bitterly, "I wanted to say the same thing."

The two looked at each other, both seeing the same irritation in the other's eyes.

This feeling of being forcibly bound was even more infuriating than being hunted.

But there was no time to complain.

Shen Xiao suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking.

On the northeastern horizon, a cold aura was approaching, not the Spiritual Pressure fluctuation caused by a Cultivator flying, but something purer, something "cleaner."

It was as if someone had moved a ten-thousand-year-old glacier directly into the sky. Wherever it passed, even the water vapor in the air was frozen into fine ice crystals, refracting an eerie, deep blue light under the moonlight.

Lin Yun.

Or rather, something that used to be Lin Yun.

The scarlet text on the System panel was still jumping, the distance number plummeting from thirty li to twenty li, fifteen li...

The figure's movement speed was so fast that it didn't look like "flying," but more like "gliding," cutting across the night sky precisely and mechanically along some invisible trajectory.

"He has locked onto this area," Shen Xiao lowered his voice, "Not exact coordinates, but a general range. He is searching."

Xia Lengbai did not speak, only coldly looking at the approaching deep blue light, dangerous chill reflected in her ice-blue pupils.

"Your cold energy," Shen Xiao suddenly spoke, his speech very fast, "Can you simulate the natural spiritual fluctuations of this ice plain?"

Xia Lengbai frowned slightly.

"The range needs to be large, but thin," Shen Xiao gestured, "Like... like ripples on the water surface, uniform, natural, without a source."

"You want to hide us within the aura of the ice plain itself?"

"The Puppet has no brain, but the Heavenly Dao does," Shen Xiao's eyes flickered, "It tracks 'anomalies'—life aura, spiritual power fluctuations, things that don't belong to this ice plain. As long as our sense of presence is diluted to the same concentration as the surrounding cold, it will sift us through like sand."

Xia Lengbai was silent for two seconds.

Then, she didn't ask again, instead placing both hands directly on the frozen ground beneath her.

Ice-blue light seeped from her palms, but it wasn't an explosion; on the contrary, it was an extremely restrained, extremely precise release.

The power of the Tomb Guardian Seal seemed tamed by her for a moment, turning into countless hair-thin cold currents that spread along the cracks in the ground.

Shen Xiao felt it.

That power had no aggressiveness, not even an obvious "sense of presence."

It was just "inducing," inducing the cold air that had accumulated for thousands of years deep in this ice plain, like an experienced fisherman gently stirring the water surface, letting the sleeping school of fish swim up on their own.

The temperature within a few li began to drop in an extremely slow, extremely natural way.

The wind was still howling, but it was mixed with a more subtle humming—the trembling of the cold air deep within the ice layer after being awakened, low and distant, like the breathing of the land itself.

Shen Xiao looked at Xia Lengbai's profile.

Her expression was very focused, her brows slightly furrowed, fine cold sweat seeping from her forehead.

This was not an easy task; to manipulate its power so precisely without triggering a rampage of the Tomb Guardian Seal was no different from dancing on the tip of a knife.

But she was doing it.

No hesitation, no questioning, not even asking "Will this work?"

As if on some level, she had already understood his intent.

Shen Xiao retracted his gaze and took a deep breath.

It was his turn.

He closed his eyes, sinking his attention into his body, locking onto that wisp of foreign energy lurking near his heart Meridians.

The ice thread flickered slightly in his perception, carrying an ancient pulse that didn't belong to him.

He did not suppress it.

Instead, he guided it.

Following that connection, he slightly released the foreign energy within his body, like a wisp of cold air leaking from between his fingers.

That power was extremely weak, weak to the point of being almost negligible, but its "nature" was incredibly distinct—carrying the cold and ancient charm unique to the Tomb Guardian Seal.

Then, he immediately reined it in.

One release, one retraction, the interval less than half a breath.

Just like... just like the occasional aura fluctuation of some cold-attribute Spirit Beast deep in the ice plain, irregular, purposeless, as natural as breathing.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The timing, intensity, and duration of each release were slightly different, as if some living thing had turned over under the ice and fallen back into a deep sleep.

Xia Lengbai's breathing paused.

She felt it.

That wisp of energy fluctuation coming from the connection, which didn't belong to her, had actually produced a subtle resonance with the ice plain's cold energy she was currently guiding.

Not conflict, not interference, but... Fusion.

Just like two drops of water merging into the same river, blending together, no longer able to distinguish between you and me.

Her pupils contracted slightly, and a hint of complex emotion added to the look she gave Shen Xiao.

But there was no time to savor this strange "tacit understanding."

Overhead, that cold aura had approached within a few li.

Shen Xiao and Xia Lengbai held their breath at the same time.

Not intentional, but instinctual—a spontaneous reaction of the body when facing an overwhelming threat.

Heartbeat slowed, blood flow decreased, even the spiritual power fluctuations in the Meridians became faint and ethereal.

Deep blue light swept over their heads.

The figure paused above the ice cliff not far away.

Lin Yun, or rather the thing that occupied Lin Yun's form, hovered in mid-air, surrounded by pale blue ice crystals, its face as stiff as an exquisite doll.

His eyes had no focus, reflecting hollow void in his pupils, but his head was turning slowly and mechanically, like some kind of scanner checking every inch of land below one by one.

Divine Sense pressed down overwhelmingly.

Shen Xiao felt as if he had been grabbed by an invisible giant hand; from head to toe, every inch of skin, every Meridian was being "examined" by some cold will.

That feeling was extremely uncomfortable, not pain, but a fear of being "seen through," as if all his secrets were exposed under the sun, with nowhere to hide.

But he did not move.

Neither did Xia Lengbai beside him.

Their auras had completely merged into the induced cold of the ice plain, like a drop of ink dissolving into the ocean, no longer distinguishable from each other.

Divine Sense swept over.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

That cold will lingered above their heads for a long time, long enough that Shen Xiao almost thought he was about to be exposed.

His back was soaked with cold sweat, every second like walking on the tip of a knife.

Then...

The figure moved.

Not descending, but turning.

Lin Yun's "Puppet" seemed to have received some new instruction; its head turned sharply to the west, its figure flashed, turning into a streak of deep blue light, speeding away in another direction.

Shen Xiao did not move.

Neither did Xia Lengbai.

They maintained that position, holding their breath and concentrating beneath the ice layer, motionless.

Until that cold aura completely disappeared from their perception range, until the warning text on the System panel slowly dimmed, until the induced cold of the ice plain above their heads returned to calm.

"Phew..."

Shen Xiao let out a long breath, his whole body as if drained of strength, his back leaning heavily against the rock wall behind him.

Xia Lengbai's state was no better.

Her complexion was pale to the point of being almost transparent, cold sweat from her forehead sliding down her cheeks, dripping onto the frozen ground, instantly freezing into tiny ice beads.

But her eyes were still sharp, only a hint of fatigue added to that sharpness.

The two looked at each other.

Neither spoke.

The wind howled, whipping up ice fragments, swirling in the narrow crevice.

Moonlight leaked through the gap in the ice cap overhead, casting a swaying light and shadow between them.

The connection still existed.

Both could feel that discordant foreign energy within the other, continuing to spread, grow, and undergo Fusion in a slow and stubborn way.

Xia Lengbai averted her gaze, looking down at her left hand.

The Tomb Guardian Seal lay quietly on her forearm, its dark red patterns like a sleeping snake, no longer restless at all.

"Let's go."

She stood up, her voice as cold and indifferent as if nothing had happened, "We cannot stay here for long."

Shen Xiao did not refute.

He stood up, supporting himself against the rock wall, his gaze sweeping across the moonlit ice plain outside the crevice.

In the distance, a rift valley formed by ice erosion was vaguely visible, the valley entrance obscured by weathered rock layers, revealing only a narrow slit, looking like the entrance to some cave.

"Over there."

He lifted his chin, pointing toward the rift valley.

Xia Lengbai looked in the direction he indicated, a barely perceptible ripple flashing in her ice-blue pupils.

She did not speak again, simply stepping forward first, heading toward the rift valley.

Shen Xiao followed behind her, the sound of his footsteps swallowed by the howling wind.

The two figures elongated under the moonlight, one behind the other, silently merging into the ancient ice plain.