It was then that an accident that shouldn't have happened had occurred.
The five Snow Witch halted their steps and shot her a meaningful glance. Then they turned around and headed north, disappearing on the other side of the glacier.
Zhao Layue lifted her head and looked at the lonely peak in the distance. She had vaguely guessed what had happened, but she didn't feel lucky to have survived the calamity. On the contrary, she grew more alarmed.
A powerful spiritual awareness, or rather a grand one, came from the distant lonely peak and landed in her Sea of Awareness.
Whoosh!!! It sounded like countless ancient bells being rung at the same time. Zhao Layue spat out a mouthful of golden blood with a pale face.
Fortunately, the spiritual awareness left her Sea of Awareness in the next moment and returned to the lonely peak.
In an instant, Zhao Layue had sensed that the spiritual awareness intended to convey a great deal of rich and complicated information, and the following were the clearest ones.
We are very similar.
Neither of us is a substitute.
We will grow stronger and defeat those who have created us.
I hope you can leave here alive, though it's very difficult.
… …
… …
In the early spring in White Town, the cold snow was still falling in the air. The snowland grew thicker, and the icy streams were frozen to the bottom, looking like a piece of art carved out of crystals.
He Zhan was good at zither, chess, calligraphy and painting, but he was best at barbecuing fish, which was regarded as an art by many people.
However, the fish he barbecued day by day tasted worse than before. Sensei didn't lose her temper, which was rare for her. It was because she knew that He Zhan was worried and in no mood to do such a thing.
Zhao Layue had been in the snowland for a long time, but she hadn't come back yet.
Some Cultivation practitioners came back from the snowland a few days ago and brought back the latest news. They said that they had seen her somewhere, but they didn't tell her the details. The wounded disciple of the Windy-Broadsword Church kept staring at his colleagues, as if to prevent them from leaking the news.
Cao Yuan was the previous disciple of the Guocheng Temple experiencing the mortal world, and He Zhan was the disciple of this generation. As such, his relationship with the Windy-Broadsword Church was different. The disciple of the Windy-Broadsword Church had finally told him what had happened at the time under his interrogation.
Knowing that Zhao Layue had killed the elder of the Kunlun Faction named Peng Si, He Zhan was not very worried as long as others did not know about it.
The problem was that it was already early spring and the Aoyama Assembly was about to begin. Why wasn't Zhao Layue back yet?
"Back then, I felt that Sister Zhao definitely didn't go to the snowfield to nurture her sword."
Sensei said, "Given her temperament, she will definitely want to go to that icy peak to have a look."
No matter how talented and powerful Zhao Layue was, if she really went to the ice peak to see the Queen of the Snow Kingdom, she would definitely die.
After a moment of silence, He Zhan handed the barbecued fish in his hand to Sensei, saying, "I'll go and have a look."
Sensei knew that he wouldn't change his mind once he made up his mind, so she didn't try to dissuade him. "Be careful," she reminded him.
He Zhan said, "Don't worry. I won't go too deep into the snowfield. I'm just worried that she might need help."
Now that the decision was made, Sensei took out a box from the room and tossed it to him without further delay. Over the last one hundred years, He Zhan had gone to the snowfield many times and killed many monsters of the Snowy Kingdom, so he was quite experienced. The box contained all the necessary items, so there was no need to tidy them up.
He took over the box and leapt up in the air, heading toward the snowfield. He did it casually, as if he went to White Town to buy fish every day; but he was actually in a heavy mood.
As soon as he arrived in the sky, he suddenly heard a few surprised screams in the barracks and other courtyards. In the next moment, a dozen Cultivation practitioners headed toward the snowfield by riding their swords or magic treasures. He Zhan was startled. Looking in the direction of the snowfield, his expression grew solemn. His body suddenly turned illusionary and vanished in the sky like a puff of smoke.
In the current Cultivation circle of Chaotian, his speed was the fastest, save for Jing Jiu. Even the Escape Method of Heaven and Earth at the Zhongzhou School was not as fast as the method he learned from the Old Grandmaster Hong in the Illusionary Realm of the Green Sky Mirror. He overtook those Cultivation practitioners easily, and arrived in front of the black rock mountain in a few minutes.
The accumulated snow on the outskirts of the valley was very thick, with a few dried leaves dropped by the birds on the surface.
With a cracking sound, the dried leaves broke into pieces, and the surface of the snow caved in. A foot full of dirt and dried blood landed on the ground.
A moment later, the other foot landed on the ground as well.
Along with the sound of someone stepping on the snow, a short-haired young woman in tattered clothing walked out from the valley.
The young woman walked very slowly, and it seemed that she had to exert all her strength to move her feet.
He Zhan arrived in front of her like a puff of smoke. Seeing her in such a state, he was astonished. He reached out his hand in an attempt to help her up, but he didn't know where to start.
Her clothing was in tatters, and more terrifyingly, her entire body was covered with blood and wounds, with no part of her body left intact. The little toe of her right foot was broken!
"What … what is going on?" He Zhan asked in a trembling voice.
Zhao Layue said expressionlessly while looking at him, "I'm not familiar with you, so you are not an illusion."
After the spiritual awareness landed, no more monsters of the Snowy Kingdom came out to cause her trouble. However, as the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom had told her, it was almost impossible for her to leave the snowland alive since she was severely wounded and on the verge of death.
Her Sword Source had been used up, and her body and meridians were severely damaged, so she couldn't recover by meditation. She couldn't ride the sword, so she had no choice but to walk. As such, she walked out from the deep part of the snowland until her boots were torn to shreds. As for the little toe she had lost in the fight, she didn't feel any pain in the cold snowland.
The most difficult part of walking out of the snowland was not the wounds and pain, but the hallucinations she had when her consciousness was scattered.
During the long journey in the wind and snow, she had seen Jing Jiu, her parents, Ada, Yuan Qu, Zhuo Rusui, Liu Shisui, Yuan Qu, Bai Zao, and a woman with a blurred face.
That was not Guo Dong's face, so it must be the face of Lian Sanyue that she had imagined.
Few people could overcome all these when they were in an extremely weak state, and they would lose their direction and get lost in the wind and snow.
Yet, she didn't.
She knew that it was all an illusion.
Usually, her mind was occupied with nothing but the path toward heaven. Even Jing Jiu would only think of her once every few years. How could that beautiful face appear so often in her mind?
She walked and walked … but her wounds didn't get worse, nor did they get better.
She walked between life and death for a great many days. She had finally walked out of the snowland and saw He Zhan.
At this moment, even a snowflake could easily knock her down, but she still maintained her composure and did not lose her ability to deduce and calculate. She calmly determined that the other party was real and not an illusion. Then, she should be able to fall now, right?
Zhao Layue told herself in her mind.
As a result, she fell down.
…
…
In the quiet courtyard, the pear tree, which should have a hard time growing green leaves in the early spring, suddenly blossomed overnight.
It was because a Formation of Gathering Spirits was set up in the courtyard, absorbing a great deal of the energy of heaven and earth.
The Church Master of the Windy-Broadsword Church walked out of the room tiredly. He bade farewell to He Zhan after exchanging a few words with him.
The Cultivation practitioners and the generals of the magic army were everywhere outside the courtyard. The Church Master of the Windy-Broadsword Church furrowed his eyebrows slightly, but he didn't say anything since these people were quiet.
Everybody had learned that Zhao Layue was severely wounded, and some of them had witnessed her terrible wounds. The whole of White Town was shocked, and they all wanted to know what had happened in the snowland.
The energy of heaven and earth gathered in the courtyard like threads and then entered the room through the formation, falling on the bed like the spring rain.
Seeing He Zhan come back, Sensei asked after wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, "What do you mean?"
"We can only maintain it for the time being. Whether it will work or not depends on her willpower. But don't worry, her willpower is very strong … "
Looking at Zhao Layue on the bed, He Zhan continued after a moment of silence, "Unparalleled in the world."
Sensei snapped angrily, "Even if the Church Master of the Windy-Broadsword Church can't come up with a solution, what about the Broadsword King?"
He Zhan said while shaking his head, "The Broadsword King said that he hadn't seen such a severe wound before."
Cao Yuan had said one more thing.
In light of Zhao Layue's Cultivation state, she should be dead for sure after suffering such a severe wound. As for how she survived … nobody could tell.
Sensei turned around and took out some ointment with the tip of her finger, applying it gingerly on Zhao Layue's wound.
She applied the ointment carefully and gently, like the spring breeze; but the unconscious Zhao Layue furrowed her eyebrows, as if she had experienced a severe pain.
Sensei's finger couldn't help but tremble. She couldn't stand it any longer, exclaiming while crying, "She must have suffered a lot during the journey."
Looking at Zhao Layue on the bed, He Zhan sighed with an admirable expression in his eyes, "It's really remarkable that she could walk out from the snowland after suffering such a severe wound."
It was then that Zhao Layue opened her eyes and turned her head slowly to take a look at He Zhan and Sensei, confirming her current condition.
Sensei said while sobbing, "Big Sister, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"
"I don't like pain, but I'm not afraid of it either."
Zhao Layue said this to her, and then looked at He Zhan.
"I promised him that I would live forever. Maybe our paths will be different in the future, but our goals will be the same. As such, I can endure anything as long as I can live."
This was the answer.
…
…
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