Journey to the Northern Territory, Mission Reorganized

Northern Territory, Skywater City.

Snow drifted through the air, and the land was frozen solid.

"It's really cold." Lin Mo looked out the window.

By now, he had long changed into winter clothing, and his appearance had changed as well. The Simulation skill was still in effect.

His cultivation was not high enough for him to ignore the cold yet.

If he could first obtain the Immortal Herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the journey north might become much easier.

But there were too many obstacles.

With his low cultivation, getting into the core region of Sunset Forest was one problem.

Climbing down the valley and avoiding Dugu Bo was another.

Most importantly, even if the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot were placed right in front of him, did he really dare eat them recklessly with only two rings of cultivation?

Even Tang San in the original story had needed to reach four rings before enduring the Ice-Fire Water Spring.

Huo Yuhao was enough of a chosen one, wasn't he?

Even he had been tortured badly by that spring and nearly lost half his life.

Lin Mo knew he did not have masochistic tendencies.

With such high risks and no guarantees whatsoever, he should wait until his cultivation was stronger before touching them.

Given Tang San's current age, as long as the storyline did not undergo any major changes, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could wait another six or seven years at least.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could wait another six or seven years at least.

Perhaps that gap of six or seven years was exactly why Dugu Bo was still in his prime.

There was no rush.

The carriage slowly came to a stop.

"Sir, we've arrived."

Lin Mo stepped down from the carriage.

He had taken the appearance of a young man in his early twenties, dressed in luxurious clothes and carrying an imposing air.

The Simulation skill truly was an incredibly useful divine ability.

With the system's support, the skill consumed very little of his Soul Power and could be maintained for quite a long time.

For his foothold in the Northern Territory, he had chosen Skywater City as his first stop.

It was the center of the entire Northern Territory. If he wanted to investigate anything, starting from the central anchor point would make things much smoother.

The first thing he needed to do was buy a residence here so he could settle down in seclusion.

What came into view before him was a residence built in Skywater City's prosperous district.

It was of exceptional quality, extravagant and ostentatious.

His persona was that of a young master from some Soul Master family.

Being more high-profile would also help him gather information later.

After all, his name now was—Lin Han.

After purchasing the residence, Lin Mo temporarily settled down in Skywater City.

Over the following period, he kept a low profile in Skywater City and rarely drew attention.

Lin Mo also used this free time to focus on cultivation.

At the same time, he spent heavily to gather detailed intelligence throughout Skywater City.

First establish roots, then expand outward.

He had rarely had such leisure before. Now he could bask in the sun in the courtyard without having to disguise himself so painstakingly.

Once he had money, he could naturally enjoy life for real.

Selling that gemstone back then had been the right decision.

Even Soul Masters were constrained by money.

One after another.

The money Lin Mo spent returned to him in the form of reports.

Skywater City was controlled by the Tianshui Clan.

The so-called city lord was also a member of their family.

Skywater Academy had been founded by an important figure from the Skywater Family.

As for why it only admitted female students, there was supposedly a hidden reason behind it.

The academy's founder had also been a woman. After suffering exclusion and cold treatment from her family, she eventually left the family and struck out on her own.

In the end, the academy she established had grown into one of the foremost institutions in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

Hmm...

Lin Mo flipped through the information and formed a rough guess.

In other words, Shui Bing'er's status in the Northern Territory was comparable to that of a princess?

Her family held such tremendous power. If he could get the Skywater Family to help, perhaps he could locate the burial site of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow more quickly.

Then Lin Mo shook his head.

No, that would make it far too easy for others to covet it.

Unless he had a sufficiently powerful backer, he could not avoid worrying that they might take it from him.

He continued reading.

How to join Skywater Academy and become a member.

Huh?

He checked it repeatedly.

Why was there even such perfunctory information?

Those slackers took the money without doing any work.

Couldn't they provide something useful?

The next report.

A guide to courting Skywater Academy's beautiful female teachers.

Lin Mo's face darkened. This intelligence was far too chaotic.

The next page.

Soul Beast activity in Icebound Forest.

Some people had once encountered Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in that region.

Those reports had marked out areas and roughly described where the creatures had been found.

Lin Mo considered it.

This was at least somewhat useful.

However, his Martial Soul was of the plant and lightning attributes.

The Soul Beasts of the Northern Territory were mostly of the ice, wind, and water types. It was almost impossible to find one compatible with him.

Of course, that would be another matter if those Soul Beasts could produce Soul Bones.

He flipped through the rest.

Was that all?

Lin Mo felt somewhat helpless.

What he wanted to see was information related to a mysterious ancient well in some residence.

But he could not make the clues too obvious. If the target was too specific, it would draw attention, so he could only collect information broadly before sorting and filtering it.

This was hard to bear.

Lin Mo could not help sighing.

No wonder those protagonists always had a butler or servant-like character at their side.

They could simply leave intelligence gathering to servants.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

Having no leads for now was normal. He should cultivate in peace first.

Both his age and cultivation were too low. There was not much he could do.

Ding!

Lin Mo was slightly startled.

The long-absent system notification sounded once more.

Could this system activate map tracking?!

A trace of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

[Ding! The host has successfully arrived in the Northern Territory of the Heaven Dou Empire]

[System Mission: Go to Icebound Forest and survive continuously in an extremely cold environment for one month]

[Reward: Frost Guardian] (Passive Effect)

[Effect: Allows the host to ignore the effects of extreme cold. A Frost Shield will form around the host's body, capable of resisting external attacks]

[Note 1: The thickness of the Frost Shield depends on 30% of the host's maximum Soul Power]

[Note 2: After the Frost Shield shatters, it will inflict frost damage on enemies]

[Note 3: Frost Shield cooldown reset time: one day]

Lin Mo looked at the flashing system interface, his expression slightly stunned.

This mission... was almost too fitting.

Immunity to extreme cold.

This passive effect was exactly what he needed.

If he obtained this skill, then even with such low cultivation, he could survive in the Extreme North, right?

And that Frost Shield it came with.

Why did the description of this skill sound so familiar?

That could wait for now.

The key issue was the mission requirements.

"Survive continuously in Icebound Forest for one month. In other words, the days cannot be interrupted," Lin Mo thought.

For other Soul Masters, this would be no small challenge.

The environment in Icebound Forest was already extreme.

While resisting the bitter cold, they would also need to guard against attacks from Icebound Forest's Soul Beasts.

There was also the problem of food shortages.

Lin Mo had an enormous system storage space, so food and equipment were not a problem.

His current cultivation was too low. If he acted alone, he would likely find it difficult to last thirty days.

If he spent heavily to hire a team of Soul Masters to accompany him, things might go more smoothly.

After all, the system mission had not said "independent survival."

As for the purpose...

He could say he was gathering rare medicinal herbs, such as Heaven Mountain Snow Lotus.

At that thought, Lin Mo's eyes lit up, and he felt it was increasingly feasible.

No rush.

The system mission had not specified a completion deadline.

He would first spend some time making a plan and ensure his safety.