181: Chapter 181 Winter Ceremony Preparations (Part Two)

Floating Island, Chenbi Bay.

Ling Hao's figure appeared on the banks of Chenbi Bay. This place was originally slightly cold, but at this moment, it was filled with a strange warmth, and water vapor was rising in clouds.

The Disciples of the Fire Vein from Xiayu Peak were busy. They carefully controlled their spiritual power, burying pieces of bright red, fire-like Yangyan Crystals into specific Spiritual Vein nodes along the bay.

As the crystals were buried, a gentle but continuous geothermal heat was stimulated, and the water temperature of Chenbi Bay slowly rose, spreading throughout.

The Disciple in charge of testing on the shore merely dipped her toes into the water, and a warm current seeped into her body along her Yongquan acupoints, driving away the chill of winter and bringing a feeling of total comfort, even having a slight effect of nourishing her Meridians.

Ling Hao's gaze swept over and landed on a female Disciple in red.

Name: Liu Yaner

Age: 32

Spiritual Root: Heavenly Spiritual Root (Fire)

Physique: Nanming Lihuo Physique

Cultivation: Golden Core, 9th Layer

Loyalty: 100 (Core Disciple)

Liu Yaner, the current Chief of Xiayu Peak.

"Yaner." Ling Hao spoke.

Hearing the voice, Liu Yaner immediately turned around, her face joyful, and bowed respectfully: "Sect Master!"

"How is the progress?" Ling Hao asked, his gaze sweeping over the Spiritual Lake, which was emitting a gentle warmth.

Liu Yaner had a confident smile on her face:

"Eighty percent of the Yangyan Crystals have been buried according to the Formation map. The effect of the warm spring is stable, and the consumption of Spiritual Qi is within expectations. The Disciples are debugging the final nodes to ensure that the entire Chenbi Bay will be as warm as spring during the ceremony."

"Very good." Ling Hao nodded, "This is the foundation of the Winter Festival's 'Water Jade Giving Birth to Spring', it must be stable."

"This Disciple obeys!" Liu Yaner responded solemnly, her eyes flashing with the excitement of being recognized.

Panlong Peak, Golden Lotus Workshop.

Leaving Chenbi Bay, Ling Hao stepped into the Golden Lotus Workshop of Panlong Peak. This was the core location for opening the hot spring source.

Ling Hao landed here and saw Lin Xiwei discussing something with a female Disciple.

The young female cultivator opposite Lin Xiwei had a gentle and calm temperament, wearing simple and elegant Dharma robes.

She and the other Disciples of the Golden Lotus Workshop were only wearing silk socks as thin as mist, and the contours of their bare feet were faintly visible beneath the silk socks.

Those Golden Lotus Workshop Disciples moved gracefully, stepping with strange footwork. With every step, a weak ripple of Spiritual Qi was generated between their soles and the ground.

They were chanting, appearing to be sensing the subtle flow of the earth veins and Spiritual Qi nodes beneath their feet. This was the so-called "Foot Apertures Connecting to Earth Qi", using the most sensitive acupoints on the soles of the feet to sense and guide the Earth Fire Spiritual Veins, positioning them to open a safe and stable hot spring.

"Xiao Wei, Xiao Chan."

Xiao Chan's figure paused, then she led the Disciples in a graceful bow, "Greetings, Sect Master."

Lin Xiwei also stopped talking, her cold eyes looking at Ling Hao, and she nodded slightly: "Revered Master."

Ling Hao's gaze swept over Lin Xiwei's slender, beautiful feet, which were wrapped in silk socks beneath her moon-white shark-silk skirt, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth: "Are you also practicing this method of 'Foot Apertures Connecting to Earth Qi' here?"

Lin Xiwei's expression remained normal, but her cold, fair ears were quietly stained with a faint red: "This Disciple is quite interested in the technique of earth vein surveying and came to ask Junior Sister Xiao Chan for some guidance."

Ling Hao turned to Xiao Chan.

Xiao Chan understood and pointed to a glowing earth vein map in the hall, reporting:

"Using the method of 'Foot Apertures Connecting to Earth Qi', the orientation, Spiritual Qi concentration, and stability of the main vein and the three auxiliary veins have been accurately surveyed."

"The locations of the three excellent spring eyes have also been marked, just waiting for the fellow Disciples of Qihuang Peak to use their wonderful techniques to stabilize the channels."

Ling Hao's gaze fell on the clear light points on the spirit map and nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Qihuang Peak, Tianxiang Pavilion.

The air was filled with the faint scent of sandalwood and cinnabar.

Lu Changning was leading a group of Tianxiang Pavilion Disciples in front of a huge sandalwood screen. The screen was plain white, with only hundreds of mandarin duck outlines in various poses sketched in ink lines, not yet dotted with eyes.

A female Disciple with a beautiful face walked forward, bit the tip of her left index finger, and bright red blood beads seeped out. She looked solemn, concentrated her Spiritual Qi on her fingertip, and carefully dotted the eye of a mandarin duck.

"Spirit Imbuing Curse, activate!"

With her soft shout, a flash of bloody spiritual light from her fingertip sank into the mandarin duck's eye. Immediately after, she formed seals with both hands, injecting her pure Spiritual Qi into the screen.

Hum...

The blood-colored mandarin duck that had been dotted with eyes actually came alive! The ink lines seemed to have gained life, swimming on the screen, forming dynamic ink paintings containing the circulation of Yin and Yang.

Seeing Ling Hao arrive, a flash of joy crossed Lu Changning's eyes. She stepped forward quickly and bowed obediently: "Revered Master!"

Yun Suyi had just finished dotting the eyes, her face slightly pale due to the consumption of Spiritual Qi and the solemnity of the ceremony: "Sect Master!"

Ling Hao's gaze lingered for a moment on the ink painting with flowing aura, then looked at Yun Suyi's blood-stained fingertip and the joyful faces of the Disciples.

"Good, this is almost finished."

Lu Changning tilted her small face,

"Junior Sister Suyi is gifted, and the mandarin ducks she dotted have already captured their charm. In just half a day, all the mandarin ducks will be imbued with spirit. By then, the screen will become a Spiritual Artifact, guiding the Qi of Yin and Yang harmony during the Winter Festival."

"Hmm," Ling Hao looked at Yun Suyi, "The blood from the fingertip is the guide for imbuing the spirit, and also the proof of sincerity. Well done." Hearing this, a flush and excitement appeared on Yun Suyi's pale face, and she bowed deeply: "Thank you for the praise, Sect Master!"

The last day before the Winter Festival.

Xuanyin Peak, Pill Pavilion.

This place was filled with the fragrance of medicine all year round. Seven days ago, after the plum blossoms bloomed, it now added a clear plum rhyme and a strange sweet fragrance.

Qin Zhaoxue was wearing a smoky green gauze dress, her figure slender, her brows and eyes elegant, and she was supervising in front of a huge cold jade pill cauldron.

The liquid medicine in the cauldron presented a translucent pinkish-white color, emitting a coldness that made people feel calm and a faint plum fragrance.

The Disciples of Yingyu Terrace were busy around the pill cauldron. Leading them was a female Disciple named Jiang Wantang, with a beautiful face and focused eyes. Like the other Disciples, she was concentrating on controlling the pill fire, carefully guiding the Fusion of the liquid medicine in the cauldron.

Beside the cauldron, a Disciple was holding a special cold jade pestle, slowly grinding a mysterious ice bead the size of a pigeon's egg into fine powder.

Another Disciple was putting this powder, which contained the essence of mysterious ice, into the pinkish-white liquid medicine in the cauldron according to a specific rhythm and amount. This was a key step to catalyze the liquid medicine and give the paste "ice muscle" properties.

At the same time, a Disciple was carefully peeling off the most delicate petals from the blood-petal exotic plum blossoms picked from Chunxi Peak this morning.

These plum petals, known as "Hundred Flower Essence Dew", were put into the pinkish-white liquid medicine, dissolving rapidly, giving the jade paste that intoxicating crimson and the alluring, rich fragrance.

"Xiao Xue." Ling Hao approached, his voice gentle.

Hearing the sound, Qin Zhaoxue looked at Ling Hao, and a trace of warmth naturally flowed in the depths of her eyes.

She turned her gaze to the pill cauldron, "Revered Master, the Drunken Jade Paste has reached the paste-condensing stage. The catalysis of the mysterious ice essence is stable, and the Fusion of the Hundred Flower Essence Dew is perfect. Wantang and the others are controlling the fire precisely and are doing it very carefully."

Hearing the Elder mention her, Jiang Wantang's focused expression added a bit more seriousness, and her cheeks turned slightly red.

Ling Hao looked at the crimson paste in the cauldron and asked: "This paste... is the effect as expected?"

The extremely faint smile on Qin Zhaoxue's lips deepened,

"Cold plum proud of snow, ice muscle and jade bones. This paste contains mysterious ice essence and the vitality of exotic plums..."

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she was weighing her words, and her voice became softer,

"...This paste can be dotted on the center of the eyebrows or applied to the lips, or it can be... applied all over the body..."

Qin Zhaoxue laughed softly,

"When Revered Master applies and guides it himself, its effect will be best. It will surely help the Disciples to 'Spirit Body Bathed in Snow', cleanse the dust and dirt, temper their Physique, and radiate vitality in the cold."

...

Sunset at dusk, the bright moon rises in the east.

Ling Hao stood on the top of Haoran Tower, overlooking the Sect.

Among the pavilions and jade buildings, thousands of flowing light spiritual lamps were like stars paved on the ground, reflecting the bright moon in the sky. The colorful brocades decorated during the day flowed with soft halos under the moonlight, the snow color set off the warm light, and the quietness contained the hustle and bustle of a grand festival.

Everything was just waiting for tomorrow.