The ice palace is silent, and a needle can be heard. The white robe was folded like snow, and the sword mark hung between Chu Xuan's eyebrows, flashing twice, as a greeting, as a warning: Don't move, or you'll freeze into ice chips.
But Chu Xuan grinned, toothy: "Senior, don't worry. I'm timid and only dare to use my brain."
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden chill ran down his back, as if someone had placed an ice skater around his neck. He stood up with a whoosh, his hair all over his body, and without a moment's thought, he pointed his toes forward three feet, and at the same time, he made a backhand slash - the back of the machete "clang" into the air, sending up fine ice chips.
"Quick to react." A cold female voice rang out, like a snowdrop rolling on a jade plate, without a hint of fire.
Chu Xuan turned his head and saw a shadow slowly solidifying on the ice platform - white dress, black hair, snowy face, it was Ling Qingxue who had just dissipated. But at this moment, the ice chains around her were broken, yet there was still a wisp of coldness escaping, like an unawakened mist, and her eyes were even colder, and one glance could freeze a person's blood into ice shreds.
"Junior Chu Xuan, see Elder Ling." He drew his sword, bowed his hands, and bent his back just right, neither overly flattering nor haughty. A hunter of the mortal world, he knows the sky best - the one before him is the largest sky in the forbidden area.
Ling Qingxue did not answer, but raised his hand and tapped it lightly with one finger. A wisp of ice-blue mist instantly wrapped around Chu Xuan's wrist, like a venomous snake probing the way, meandering along the meridians, and wherever it passed, the blood nearly froze. Chu Xuan, however, gritted his teeth and stood still, allowing the mist to explore - a primordial spirit could not hide itself and there was no need to hide it.
After three breaths, the mist withdrew, and at last a ripple appeared in Ling Qingxue's eyes: "Primordial spirit... How could the mortal world give birth to such a root? The voice was a little lower, as if talking to oneself, as if questioning.
Chu Xuan took the opportunity to speak, his voice clear: "I'm from Chu family Village, a hunter. The whole village pooled five or three taels of silver to send me to the Qingyun Sect. The matter of the spirit body was not known before. I thought it was naturally cold-resistant and could go into the river to catch fish in winter."
In one sentence, the origin, background, and all the cards were revealed in an amusing way, and even Ling Qingxue's lips curled up imperceptibly. She raised her hand, and the illusory figure floated down the ice platform, circling around Chu Xuan. The coldness was like countless ice needles, probing every inch of his skin.
"Knowing my identity and still daring to inhale my coldness?" She stopped, her voice as soft as a snowfall.
Chu Xuan smiled wryly: "Senior, you know, the coldness itself buries into my arms. I can't freeze myself to death. Besides -- "he raised his right hand, the lotus seal in the palm of his hand, a faint blue light, echoing the coldness around Ling Qingxue," it was the senior who brought me here first."
The lotus seal flashed, as if in response, as if in protest. Ling Qingxue's eyes flickered slightly, and the coldness subsided a little: "Since the lotus seal is given to you, it is fate. But the forbidden land is not a vegetable garden; no one is allowed to wander around."
Chu Xuan immediately followed the trend: "I am willing to do the work of the elder!" Chopping firewood, boiling water, suppressing inner demons... Everything is fine!" The last four words, he bit very hard, his face full of "I'm very capable".
Ling Qingxue narrowed her eyes, and the coldness suddenly intensified, as if it had been pierced into a sore spot. She raised her hand, her fingers clenched loosely, and the air around Chu Xuan froze instantly, turning into a semi-transparent ice prison that trapped him in place, unable to move.
"Do you know my demon?" The voice was as cold as an ice cone, straight to the point.
Chu Xuan's breath froze, but he forced himself to calm down, his gaze calm: "The senior's coldness is released, condenses into ice chains, chains produce barbs, and stab at oneself - this is the sign of the inner demon's counterattack. Though my cultivation is low, I am naturally cold-resistant, and perhaps I can share some of the burden for you."
Binglao trembled slightly, as if weighing, as if hesitating. After half a breath, with a "crack", the ice cell shattered and turned into a ground full of ice chips. Ling Qingxue turned her back to Chu Xuan and her voice returned to indifference: "For a month, at this time every day, come to the Ice palace to help me suppress my inner demons. If you dare to slack off, or have a second mind -- "she raised her hand, and with one finger lightly touched the void, an icicle ten feet away instantly blew to dust," this is the end."
Chu Xuan's eyelids twitched and he immediately bowed his hands, saying, "I cherish my life and dare not play with it." "
Ling Qingxue said no more, raised her hand and threw it, and a white light shot out. Chu Xuan reached out to catch it, his palm sank, and there was an extra jade slip, ice-blue all over, with fine sword patterns engraved on the surface, chilling.
"The fragment of the Cold Star Sword Technique, enter within a month, or --" she paused in her voice, chilling, "get out of the forbidden area yourself."
Chu Xuan held the jade slip tightly and felt a sharp sword intent piercing through his palm, making half of his body numb from the cold, but his teeth turned white with laughter: "Senior, don't worry. I have no other skills, but I learn things quickly. In a month, I will surely have you check the results."
Ling Qingxue no longer looked at him, her shadow slowly dissipated, leaving only one indifferent word that echoed in the ice palace: "Don't let me down."
Chu Xuan stood still, holding the jade slips, the lotus and sword seals in his palms flickered at the same time, like two newly acquainted friends greeting each other, as if reminding him: January, the countdown begins.
He took a deep breath and bowed solemnly to the void: "Senior, wait and see."
With that, he turned and strode out of the ice palace. Under the moonlight, the young man's back was drawn long, like a sword just drawn from its scabbard, with its edge just beginning to show and its coldness restrained. The silver dragon swirled in his dantian, rolling the newly acquired sword mark, and with each breath he exhaled, it added an indescribable connection to this forbidden land.
The wind blows, the leaves rustle, as if responding to his vow, as if whispering --
"For a month, the sword emerges from the cold star. If the demons of the heart stir, the spirit will be hired."
Chu Xuan walked back to the woodshed in the moonlight, tossing the jade slips up, catching them up, and tossing them up again. The icy blue light fluttered through his fingertips like a flickering ghost lamp. The silver dragon coiled around his dantian, its whiskers entwined with sword marks, and with each inhalation and exhalation, a wisp of sword intent as fine as a hair pricked him along the meridians, causing him to inhale in pain but to laugh with pleasure.
"One month to get started? Who do you look down upon?" He kicked open the wooden door, and the musty smell of the room could not hide the light in the young man's eyes. With a "click", the fire beam lit up, and the big bean lamp made the dilapidated house dim. Chu Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed board, the jade slip pressed against his forehead, and as his consciousness reached in, "buzz," a storm of ice blue burst out in the sea of consciousness --
Countless cold star sword lights, like meteors in a snowy night, came crashing down on the face! Wherever it passed, the sea of consciousness was almost frozen into a mirror. Chu Xuan's teeth quivered, but he held on and did not retreat, allowing the sword light to wash over him. The silver dragon roared, and with a flick of its tail, it swirled the sword intent into a vortex, dragging it bit by bit towards the dantian, like a millstone grinding beans, grinding the sharp and cold air into warm and moist liquid, and then nourishing the limbs and bones.
"So that's it..." A realization rose in his mind: The Cold Star Sword Technique emphasizes intention over action. First, plant the "Cold Star seed" in the sea of consciousness, then nourish it with spiritual energy until the star intention penetrates to the bone. With one strike, the cold light is ten thousand points, sealing the meridians and freezing the soul.
In the flickering light, the young man's face changed from pale to bluish, then from bluish to red, and a speck of ice-blue starlight appeared between his eyebrows. The night slipped away in the tug-of-war between the sword's light and the dragon's breath.
...
As dawn broke, the door of the woodhouse creaked open, and Chu Xuan stretched out, with tiny ice crystals still hanging on his eyelashes, but couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes - the Cold star seed had taken root firmly in the sea of consciousness, and the first wisp of sword intent was slowly moving along Ren Du.
"Only one night to get started. Save some time for the senior." " He said to himself, picking up the firewood knife, carrying an empty basket on his shoulder, and moving deeper into the forbidden area - chopping firewood was a pretext, but taking advantage of the cold was the real thing.
...
Outside the ice palace, Ling Qingxue, hidden behind the ice mist, made a gesture with his bare hand, taking in all the movements of the young man that night. The frost in her eyes dimmed slightly, but ripples rose in her heart: How could a boy from the mortal world actually plant the seeds of the Cold star in one night? It took her three days to learn the art when she first started.
"The primordial spirit is indeed unreasonable." She murmured to herself, and with a flick of her finger, the ice mist dispersed, revealing the path ahead - Chu Xuan was humming a mountain tune, leaping and stepping, his firewood knife swinging merrily on his shoulder, as if he were going to the market.
Ling Qingxue frowned, but did not appear, but sent a wisp of more refined coldness quietly to the end of the path. She wanted to see where the boy's limit was.
...
As Chu Xuan walked on, he suddenly felt a chill under his feet. Looking down, he saw that the road had formed a thin ice mirror that stretched deep into the forest, as if someone had specially paved the "swordsmanship path" for him. He laughed: "The senior is so considerate that he was afraid I would get lost and even built a starlight avenue."
While joking, he was not at all slow on his feet. Stepping onto the ice mirror, the silver dragon emerged automatically, its scales spread out and swallowed up all the cold air that came upon him. With each step, the seed of the Cold star brightened a little, and the sword intent condensed a little. After a hundred steps, his dantian was shaken, and the barrier at the peak of the fifth layer of qi was cracked with a "crack".
"More!" His eyes shone, and he ran as fast as he could. The ice mirror cracked "click-click" at his feet and was sucked dry by the silver dragon in an instant. Deep in the forest, Ling Qingxue hid behind the mist, her lips involuntarily lifted and then quickly flattened - she didn't want to make this sly lad too proud.
At the end, there was a small ice valley, and at the entrance stood a broken stone tablet with the words "Test the Sword" written on it, forceful but covered with frost. In the valley, the cold condensed into substance, turning into a sky full of ice blades that roared and spun like cold soldiers waiting to be inspected.
Chu Xuan stood at the mouth of the valley, took a deep breath, the lotus seal and sword seal in his palm lit up simultaneously, the silver dragon coiled around his arm, and the dragon's roar was low. As he stepped in, the sky of ice blades suddenly froze, as if drawn by an invisible force, all aimed at the young man.
"Good time!" He laughed, swinging his machete, a wisp of cold Star sword intent shot out from the back of the blade, "ding" to shatter the nearest ice blade. Before the broken ice fell, the silver dragon opened its mouth and swallowed it all up, feeding back his pure spiritual power to help him take another step.
Ten steps, twenty steps... With each step, the sword intent condenses a little, the lotus seal brightens a little. By the time he reached the middle of the valley, the seed of the cold star had turned into an ice crystal the size of a fingernail, hanging in the dantian, spinning and dripping, with each spin, scattering tiny starlight that merged into the silver dragon's scales.
Ling Qingxue stood on the ice cliff outside the valley, with his bare hand behind his back, his eyes moved slightly: The cold star turned into crystal, the sword intent was slightly formed - just two days!
She suddenly raised her hand, flicked her fingertips, and a wisp of ice soul sword intent, ten times purer than the coldness in the valley, quietly sank into the valley, like a pebble thrown into the lake, instantly creating a thousand waves. As if commanded, the ice blades in the valley merged in unison and turned into an ice sword about ten feet long, with the tip pointing straight to Chu Xuan's brow!
The young man's eyebrows twitched wildly, but he grinned: "Here?" That's exactly what I want!"
He pointed together like a sword, and the ice crystals in his dantian trembled violently. A wisp of cold star sword intent, condensed to the extreme, shot out from his fingertips and collided with the giant sword with a thunderous crash --
"Jingle!"
The crisp sound echoed, and the ice sword cracked inch by inch, turning into ice chips all over the sky. Chu Xuan took advantage of the momentum and charged forward. The sword intent on his fingertips remained strong, leaving a deep sword mark on the ground in the middle of the valley. The silver dragon rose into the air and devoured all the broken ice. The dragon's roar shook the valley!
Outside the valley, the frost in Ling Qingxue's eyes faded, and the corners of her lips lifted involuntarily. This time, she did not flatten it again and said softly, "qualified."
The ice valley was silent. The young man withdrew his posture and bowed to the outside of the valley in a clear voice: "Senior, one month, two days ahead of schedule, are you satisfied?"
In the wind, there was only an indifferent response, but less cold: "It's okay. From tomorrow, every day at this time, come to the Ice Palace with me to suppress my inner demons, dare to be late --"
Before I could finish speaking, the ice mirror at the valley mouth "clicks" into dust and scatters with the wind.
Chu Xuan laughed and clasped his hands: "Order!"
In the moonlight, the young man turned and strode towards the woodshed. His back was drawn long, like a sword that had just opened its edge. The cold light was restrained, but the sharpness could not be concealed. The silver dragon swirled in his dantian, with the newly acquired sword intent, and with each breath he exhaled an unbreakable bond with the forbidden land.
The wind blows, the leaves rustle, as if responding to his laughter, as if whispering --
"The cold star has appeared, the sword intent has begun to form. January is the betrothal, the inner demons can be in peace."