An unknown amount of time passed.
On the snow-covered mountain, a meticulously crafted life-sized ice sculpture was completely buried under the heavy snow. Yet, through the thick layers, faint traces of red could be seen writhing inside.
Gradually, the red grew more pronounced, and the snow covering the sculpture began to fall away, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful woman inside—like a masterpiece sculpted by nature herself. Though her body was mostly covered, with only small patches of skin exposed, a single glance was enough to make one’s heart race.
Strangely, beneath the girl’s skin, crimson “worms” squirmed, leaving trails of dark blue flames in their wake.
As the “worms” crawled over her entire body, the red gradually faded until it vanished completely, while the dark blue flames burned brighter and fiercer.
Suddenly, fine cracks began spreading across the surface of the ice sculpture.
A crisp shattering sound echoed as the cracks multiplied and widened.
With a sharp crack, chunks of ice collapsed to the ground.
“Hah… what just happened…?” Su Mo muttered to himself, only to suddenly feel an icy chill on his skin.
He looked down.
Oh my—what a sight!
His clothes had vanished the moment the ice shattered, along with the mask on his face.
However, the red bumps that had once marred his cheeks were now gone.
Su Mo retrieved a set of clothes from his white jade ring and dressed, sensing that something about his body had changed.
It was just a gut feeling.
After confirming that he was unharmed, Su Mo turned his focus inward to his qihai acupoint and was astonished to find that his qi core had grown significantly larger than before, rhythmically expanding and contracting—as if on the verge of explosion.
This was a sign that his qihai was about to fully awaken.
Su Mo sat cross-legged, preparing himself for the moment.
Nearby, the cyan core was unusually active, as if it had just absorbed a surge of fire-attribute energy.
His thoughts gradually honed in on a single point as he stared intently at the qi core, his breathing syncing with its pulsations.
Thump… thump… thump… BOOM!
A resonant hum filled his ears.
The qi core in Su Mo’s vision suddenly blazed with light—brighter and brighter, until it became blinding.
After a brief period of “blindness,” his vision slowly cleared, revealing what seemed like an entirely new world before him.
An ocean!
Yes, what stretched before him was an endless sea, identical to the phenomenon that had appeared when Qin Xun had slain those terrorists—except Su Mo’s qihai lacked the towering snow-capped mountains.
Though there were no mountains, there was something else Qin Xun didn’t have—the cyan core.
It now hovered midair like a dark cyan sun, casting its radiance over everything below.
Su Mo attempted to scoop up a handful of the seawater, only to find it formless and intangible—not a true liquid.
It seemed his next major task would be to condense this spiritual energy into actual liquid, then solidify it into mountains.
This was the entire process of evolving from the qihai realm to the snow mountain realm.
From a physics perspective, it was the gradual liquefaction of gas and subsequent solidification of liquid.
Su Mo “withdrew” from his qihai, returning his consciousness to reality, only to find himself buried under another thick layer of snow.
Brushing the snow off his clothes, he stood up and casually threw out a palm strike—the sheer force of it sent a flurry of snowflakes scattering into the air.
He could clearly feel that his body had undergone a qualitative leap, not just in strength but also in perception.
When he absentmindedly touched his cheek, his expression instantly brightened with delight.
“They really are gone… So Mother Shī was right. Those red bumps were gradually absorbed as nutrients, helping evolve my bloodline. No wonder my physical strength has improved so much—they played a part too.”
Amid his joy, his admiration for Zhang Yue Lu’s knowledge and abilities grew even deeper.
However, when it came down to it, the catalyst for all this seemed to be those three ice pearls, combined with the “treasure” left behind by the frog-man, which together propelled him into the qihai realm.
Su Mo was almost certain that, with his current strength, he could practically stride through the Longshan Ruins without fear—so long as he didn’t run into any hidden high-level cultivators lying in wait.
But he felt he had already gained plenty from this trip, so there was no need to be greedy. Without hesitation, he crushed the spatial teleportation spirit stone and left the ruins.
As the ground beneath his feet shifted from solid to void, then back to solid, Xia Qingqing’s voice was the first thing he heard:
“Qingyi! It’s Qingyi—she’s out!”
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw her rushing toward him excitedly before throwing herself into his arms, nuzzling against him like an overeager puppy.
“Hey, hey—you’re getting snot all over me,” Su Mo grumbled, pushing her away. He noticed that aside from Wang Yun and Lei Hao, everyone else was waiting for him.
A-Kun bombarded him with concerned questions, while Luo Xiu and Huo Jingshuo said nothing but clearly had been worried.
“Where are those two?”
“Still not out yet. Probably dead,” Xia Qingqing said with clear disdain.
“Achoo!”
Lei Hao and Wang Yun, who had just stepped out of the teleportation array, sneezed in unison and exchanged glances. “Who’s bad-mouthing us?”
Relieved to see no casualties, Su Mo let out a long sigh. “Since everyone’s here, let’s head back early to avoid any more trouble.”
His concern was justified—there were undoubtedly spies mixed in among the crowd, as well as people from other factions lurking nearby. There was no guarantee they wouldn’t target the group.
“A commoner’s only crime is owning treasure.” Most people would assume that anyone who entered the ruins must have come out with valuable loot.
“Wait.”
Someone called out to Su Mo. He turned to see the guardian of the teleportation array standing there.
“You’re Ye Qingyi?”
“That’s me,” Su Mo replied politely.
“They said you were captured by the Hundred Immortals Sect. How did you escape?”
“They concealed their true strength, but they accidentally revealed it while trying to escape an avalanche and were erased by the rules. Whether they actually died or not, I don’t know.” Su Mo answered truthfully.
The guardian studied him for a moment before nodding, signaling that they were free to leave.
A-Kun grinned. “Damn, you’re something else. The higher-ups actually sent people in to look for you.”
“Wow, I’m that important?”
“Of course! An A-grade aptitude is no joke… Wait, did you just break through to D-grade?” A-Kun suddenly gasped in a hushed tone.
“Yeah.” Su Mo didn’t hide it and nodded.
“Damn, impressive.” He gave a thumbs-up.
Xia Qingqing gazed at him with admiration, Luo Xiu looked awed, Lei Hao and Wang Yun wore complicated expressions, while Huo Jingshuo clenched her fists, already formulating plans in her mind…
On the way back, the group trekked through the mountains, sharing their experiences inside the ruins.
Then, out of nowhere, Wang Yun asked, “So, what rewards did you all get?”
The question immediately piqued everyone’s interest.
Xia Qingqing: “Some fruit—sweet and sour, really tasty! Oh, and it boosted my mental energy too. After eating it, my vision even got sharper.”
Lei Hao: “A sword. Feels pretty good—it’s a magic artifact.”
Luo Xiu: “I got a technique manual.”
……
Once everyone had shared their rewards, only Su Mo and A-Kun remained silent, exchanging awkward glances.
Su Mo stayed quiet because he hadn’t actually received any reward. If Wang Yun hadn’t brought it up, he would’ve completely forgotten about the “one-month survival reward” rule mentioned earlier.
As for A-Kun… he had his own reasons for hesitating.
Under the group’s expectant gazes, he reluctantly pulled out a miniature basketball from his pocket. If one looked closely, they’d notice a tiny, adorable chicken printed on it.
(•ω• ٥)