After several days of travel, Yao Shi arrived at a town near the Far North.
He was leisurely walking along a small gravel path.
"Hey, little girl, you're not from around here, are you? Why did you come alone to a place this freezing?"
A middle-aged man ahead called out to Yao Shi. His long pale golden hair was quite conspicuous in this frost-covered town, where white and light blue hair were everywhere.
"Oh, Uncle, that? I'm planning to have some fun in the Far North." Yao Shi could tell that the man was at least a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster. Ordinary people would not settle in a place of ice and snow like this, so he smiled at him.
The middle-aged man curled his lips. "Hahaha, little girl, you sure are funny. Coldstone Town is already freezing enough to make people miserable. Who would have nothing better to do than visit that godforsaken place, the Far North?"
"You must be here with an academy to train or hunt Soul Beasts, right? It's getting late, so you should head back to your teacher first. This place isn't very peaceful at night."
The middle-aged man merely assumed that Yao Shi was joking. After giving him a reminder, he waved and left.
"There really are more good people in this world. Too bad I really am going to the Far North. Still, it is getting dark. I should rest first and continue tomorrow. There isn't much distance left anyway."
Watching the man walk away, Yao Shi looked up at the sky. A sliver of crescent moon had already appeared. He then directly entered the Glazed Abundance Pure Land.
At present, his third soul skill, Glazed Abundance Pure Land, could only be used as a residence and storage space. Yao Shi was still only at three rings, so the space inside the Pure Land was not especially large—only a little over a thousand cubic meters. Still, it possessed all the abilities it was supposed to have.
After Yao Shi entered the Glazed Pure Land, he found that the energy within was far denser than at Shrek Academy. Once inside, his body automatically absorbed the energy and cultivated on its own. These past few days, he had traveled during the day and come in here to sleep at night.
Only seven days had passed, yet his Soul Power Level had risen another two levels, reaching level 39. In a few more days, he believed he would break through to Four Rings.
The next morning, Yao Shi left the Glazed Pure Land, stretched lazily, and continued toward the entrance of the Far North.
He ran all the way on his own two legs, finally reaching the foot of the mountains near noon.
Looking at the towering snow-covered mountains stretching endlessly before him, Yao Shi could not help but mutter to himself.
"These snow peaks really are snowy peaks. If I had a camera, I'd really want to take a picture of these snowy peaks and keep it as a memento."
Yao Shi did not linger. Just as he was about to start climbing the mountain, he saw two people walking down from above.
He narrowed his eyes and looked over. It was a middle-aged man and a girl about his own age, though the man did not seem to be in very good condition.
"Uncle, your lips seem a little purple. It looks like you've been poisoned. Do you need help?"
Yao Shi could tell that they seemed to have encountered some trouble, so he quickly walked over and asked.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man became a little agitated. "Hey, little girl, don't talk nonsense. I'm in great condition right now. Do you believe me if I say you can't outrun me?"
As he spoke, he made a motion as if to run a few steps. Yet after only a couple of steps, he flopped face-first into the snow.
"Dad!"
Seeing the man collapse, the girl hurried forward to check on him.
Yao Shi stared at the scene with dark lines across his face. This old man was obviously poisoned, wasn't he? Could he have been forcing himself to endure it just to maintain his image in front of his daughter?
Seeing the girl's anxious expression, as though she were about to cry, Yao Shi immediately walked over to the man and waved his hand, scattering a streak of green light.
Under the green light, the man's purple lips instantly returned to a healthy color, and he slowly showed signs of waking up.
"Alright, I've already cured your father's poison. He should wake up soon."
"And after he wakes up, tell him not to act tough when he's poisoned. If he needs medical treatment, he should get medical treatment."
After saying that, Yao Shi turned and walked toward the snow-covered mountains.
"Thank you, big sister!"
The little girl's grateful voice came from behind him.
Well, big sister it was. He was used to it.
The higher he climbed, the deeper the snow on the ground became, nearly reaching his waist.
Another two hours passed. By then, Yao Shi had completely entered the desolate inner regions of the Far North. The low-year Soul Beasts from the outskirts did not dare set foot here at all.
"Forget it. I won't go any farther. This place will do."
Yao Shi did not plan to venture any deeper. He had come here to find the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, the Ice Empress. Her four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation was about to arrive, and if she could not safely overcome it, she would certainly die. Yao Shi had come to persuade her to join his Glazed Abundance Pure Land and become his aid.
"Hehehe, as long as I make enough noise, I refuse to believe you won't come out."
As soon as his words fell, antlers sprouted from Yao Shi's head, manifesting Abundance.
He summoned thousands of vines, which continuously whipped the ice and snow on the ground around him, turning the naturally smooth snowdrifts into a devastated mess.
The reason Yao Shi dared to be so bold was naturally because he had the Glazed Pure Land to rely on. As long as the high-level Soul Beast he disturbed was not the Ice Empress, he would immediately hide inside the Pure Land. Once they left, he would come back out and continue stirring things up.
Gradually, dozens of emerald-green scorpions began crawling out from a nearby ravine. However, they were only low-level Soul Beasts of a few hundred or thousand years.
After these scorpions emerged, they surrounded Yao Shi. He continued using the vines to fend off their attacks, but his control over his strength was precise. He only tried to knock them unconscious and did not kill them.
Half an hour later, dozens of emerald-green scorpions lay sprawled across the snow, with no soul rings appearing.
He was not stupid. These were clearly members of the Ice Empress's clan. If he really killed them, then forget about making her his aid—he would be lucky if she did not skin him alive.
"Hey, hey, hey, get up. You're not allowed to sleep here."
After so long, all these ordinary Ice Jade Scorpions had passed out, yet the Ice Empress still had not appeared. Yao Shi began poking the scorpions with his vines.
Suddenly, the snow near Yao Shi began shaking violently, and a layer of emerald-green light instantly spread outward.
The pitch-black sky turned emerald green, and a murderous pressure crashed down heavily upon Yao Shi.
Pfft—
The sudden, overwhelming pressure made Yao Shi feel as though his internal organs had all been punched. He could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood, but fortunately, it was not fatal. His self-healing only needed a moment.
A crisp voice rang out from every direction.
"Human, you have some nerve!"
"A mere three-ringed soul master dares to run wild in this emperor's territory? You're simply courting—"
Before she could finish, Yao Shi curled his lips into a faint smile.
"Here she is!"
Then he swiftly slipped into the Glazed Pure Land.
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