The spirit carriage came to a halt at the edge of Spirit Mist Valley.
A sea of white fog stretched across the land like a sleeping ocean, swallowing ancient trees, broken stone pillars, and the remnants of what once seemed to be an old sect entrance.
The air was cold.
Too cold.
Each breath carried traces of spiritual energy.
Lin Tianyu stepped down first.
His black-and-gold robes fluttered as the morning wind brushed against him. Beside him, Mu Xue'er's silver hair shimmered beneath the pale light filtering through the mist.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the system panel flashed.
[Ding!]
[Secret Realm entrance detected]
[Spirit Mist Valley]
Opening Time: Active
Danger Level: High
Fated Heroine Position: Inner Mist Lake
Estimated Time Before Xiao Feng's Arrival: 2 hours
Lin Tianyu's eyes gleamed.
Two hours.
More than enough.
He turned to Mu Xue'er.
"Stay close."
She nodded, her hand already resting on the hilt of her frost-blue sword.
The two stepped into the mist.
Instantly, visibility dropped.
The world around them blurred into shifting white shadows.
Ancient broken statues lined the stone path, half-covered by moss and spiritual frost. Strange runes glowed faintly beneath the mist-covered ground.
Every step echoed softly.
Then—
a distant roar.
A woman's cry.
Lin Tianyu stopped.
Mu Xue'er's eyes sharpened.
"That way."
Without hesitation, the two rushed deeper into the valley.
The mist grew denser.
The spiritual pressure is heavier.
Soon, the broken ruins opened into a moonlit lake hidden beneath towering cliffs.
At the centre of the lake bloomed a radiant blue lotus.
Its petals glowed with cold light.
The Frost Soul Lotus.
And beside it—
a woman in white robes.
She was cornered against the cliff wall by a massive serpent beast covered in ice-blue scales.
Its golden eyes glowed with killing intent.
Its body coiled like a mountain.
A Frost Mist Serpent.
The woman held a slender sword, but her breathing was uneven.
Blood stained her sleeve.
She was injured.
Her long black hair clung to her shoulders, damp from the mist.
Her face—
beautiful.
Elegant.
And proud.
But right now, there was visible desperation in her eyes.
The system panel flashed urgently.
[Target Detect] ed]
Name: Su Yueran
Physique: Snow Spirit Vein
Future Role: Fated Heroine of Xiao Feng
Interception Window: Active
Lin Tianyu's lips curved slightly.
Perfect timing.
The serpent lunged.
Su Yueran raised her sword in panic.
But before the beast could strike—
BOOM!
A crushing nascent soul pressure descended like a mountain.
The serpent's body slammed into the lakeshore.
Its scales cracked.
Its roar turned into a shriek.
Lin Tianyu stepped forward.
His aura erupted.
The golden light of Nascent Soul's fourth layer of cultivation spread through the mist like a storm.
Su Yueran's eyes widened.
A patriarch-level expert?
Here?
Lin Tianyu raised one hand.
Golden spiritual qi condensed into a massive palm.
Heaven Shaking Palm.
The strike descended.
BOOM!
The Frost Mist Serpent was smashed into the cliffside.
Stone shattered.
Water exploded upward.
The beast let out one final scream before collapsing lifelessly.
Silence returned to the lake.
Only the sound of falling water remained.
Su Yueran stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Her breathing was still uneven.
Lin Tianyu stepped toward her.
"Are you injured?"
His voice was calm.
Deep.
Steady.
She looked at him for a moment.
Then nodded slightly.
"My shoulder."
Mu Xue'er immediately moved closer, her icy eyes scanning the woman.
A faint trace of jealousy flickered in her gaze—
But she said nothing.
Lin Tianyu knelt beside Su Yueran.
The injury was a deep slash from the serpent's claws.
Poison frost energy still lingered around the wound.
The system chimed.
[Ding!]
[Healing mission available]
[Reward: Favorability +15, Snow Spirit Technique Fragment]
Lin Tianyu immediately took out a Spirit Healing Pill from his system inventory.
"Take this."
Su Yueran hesitated.
Then accepted it.
The moment the pill dissolved, the frost poison began fading.
Colour slowly returned to her face.
She looked at him with complicated eyes.
"You saved me."
Lin Tianyu smiled faintly.
"It was simply the right thing to do."
The system chimed.
[Ding!]
[Su Yueran Favorability +20]
[Current Favourability: 35 / 100]
Excellent.
As expected, saving a heroine gave immediate returns.
But before anyone could speak further—
The system suddenly flashed red.
[Alert!]
[Son of Heaven Xiao Feng has entered Spirit Mist Valley.]
Lin Tianyu slowly turned his gaze toward the mist-covered entrance.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Too late.
Far too late.
The woman.
The beast kills.
The first favourability.
And soon—
The Frost Soul Lotus.
Everything meant for Xiao Feng…
was already slipping away.