Your Lips Are Turning Purple

After several days of travel, Yao Shi arrived at a town near the Far North.

He was currently strolling leisurely along a gravel path.

"Hey, little girl, you're not from around here, are you? Why did you come alone to a place this freezing?"

Yao Shi was stopped by a middle-aged man ahead. His light golden hair stood out sharply in this frost-covered town, where white and pale blue hair were everywhere.

"Oh, Uncle, you mean this? I'm planning to go have some fun in the Far North." Yao Shi could tell that the man was at least a two-ringed Grand Soul Master. Ordinary people would not settle in such an icy, snowbound place, so he smiled at him as he spoke.

The middle-aged man curled his lips. "Hahaha, little girl, you really know how to joke. Coldstone Town is already freezing enough to kill people. Who'd have nothing better to do than go to that godforsaken place called the Far North?"

"You must be here with your academy to train or hunt soul beasts, right? It's getting late. You should head back to your teacher first. This place isn't peaceful at night."

The middle-aged man merely assumed Yao Shi was joking. After giving him a reminder, he waved and left.

"There really are more good people in the world after all. What a pity, I really am heading to the Far North. Still, it is getting dark. I'll rest first and continue tomorrow. There isn't much of the journey left anyway."

Watching the man walk away, Yao Shi looked up at the sky. A crescent moon had already emerged, and he immediately 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 only a three-ringed Soul Master, so the space within the Pure Land was not especially large yet, only a little over a thousand cubic meters. Still, it possessed all the abilities it should have.

After Yao Shi entered the Glazed Pure Land, the energy inside was far denser than it was at Shrek Academy. Once Yao Shi entered, his body would automatically absorb the energy within and cultivate on its own. Over the past few days, he had traveled during the day and come inside to sleep at night.

Only seven days had passed, yet his soul power had risen another two levels, reaching level 39. He believed he would break through to four rings in a few more days.

The next morning, Yao Shi left the Glazed Pure Land, stretched, and continued toward the entrance of the Far North.

He ran the entire way on foot, only finally reaching the foot of the Far North's mountains near noon.

Looking at the towering snow-covered peaks stretching endlessly before him, Yao Shi could not help muttering to himself.

"These snow peaks are truly snow peaks. If I had a camera, I'd really want to take a picture of the snow peaks and preserve it as a memento."

Yao Shi did not linger any longer. Just as he was about to head up the mountain, he saw two people walking down from above.

He narrowed his eyes and looked closer. They were a middle-aged man and a girl around 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 saw that they seemed to have encountered some trouble, so he quickly walked over and asked.

Upon hearing that, the middle-aged man became a little agitated. "Hey, little girl, don't talk nonsense. I'm in great shape right now. Would you believe me if I said you couldn't outrun me?"

As he spoke, he made a motion to sprint forward. Yet after only a few steps, he flopped face-first into the snow.

"Dad!"

Seeing the man collapse, the girl hurried forward to check on him.

Yao Shi's face darkened at the sight. This old man was obviously poisoned, wasn't he? Had he been forcing himself to endure it just to maintain his image in front of his daughter?

Seeing the girl's anxious expression, as if she were about to cry, Yao Shi immediately walked over to the man and waved his hand, scattering a beam of green light.

Under the green radiance, the man's purple lips instantly regained their rosy color, and he slowly began to show signs of waking.

"All right, I've cured your father's poison. He should wake up soon."

"And after he wakes up, tell him not to pretend he's fine after being poisoned. If he needs treatment, he should get treatment."

With that, Yao Shi turned and walked toward the snowy mountains.

"Thank you, big sister!"

The little girl's grateful voice came from behind him.

Big sister, then. I'm used to it.

The higher he climbed, the deeper the snow became, nearly reaching his waist.

Another two hours passed. By then, Yao Shi had completely entered the desolate interior of the Far North. The low-year soul beasts from the outer region did not dare set foot here at all.

"Forget it, I won't go any farther. This is fine."

Yao Shi did not intend to venture any deeper. He had come here to find the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress's four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation was approaching, and if she could not pass through it safely, she would certainly die. Yao Shi had come to persuade her to enter his Glazed Abundance Pure Land and become his ally.

"Hehehe, if I make enough noise, I refuse to believe you won't come out."

As soon as he spoke, deer antlers emerged from Yao Shi's head, embodying Abundance.

He summoned several thousand vines and had them continuously lash at the ice and snow 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 drawn here 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 crawled out from a nearby gorge, though they were all low-level soul beasts with only hundred- or thousand-year cultivation.

After emerging, the scorpions surrounded Yao Shi. Yao Shi continuously used his vines to fend off their attacks, but he controlled his strength well, merely trying to knock them unconscious rather than kill them.

Half an hour passed, and dozens of emerald-green scorpions lay sprawled across the snow without a single soul ring appearing.

He was not stupid. These were clearly members of the Ice Empress's clan. If he actually killed them, then forget about making her his ally—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 much time had passed and these ordinary Ice Jade Scorpions had all fainted while the Ice Empress still had not appeared, Yao Shi began poking the scorpions with his vines.

Suddenly, the snow around Yao Shi began to tremble violently, and a layer of jade-green light instantly spread toward him.

The dark sky turned jade-green, and a pressure filled with killing intent crashed down heavily upon Yao Shi.

Pfft—

The sudden, overwhelming pressure made Yao Shi feel as though his internal organs had been punched. Unable to hold it back, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Fortunately, it was not fatal, and his self-healing only took a moment.

A crisp voice rang out from every direction.

"Human, you have quite the nerve!"

"A mere three-ringed Soul Master dares to run wild in this Empress's territory. You're simply courting—"

Before she could finish, Yao Shi curled his lips into a faint smile.

"Here she comes!"

Then he swiftly slipped into the Glazed Abundance Pure Land.