Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi (A New Book Isn't Easy—Please Vote and Bookmark!)

Ten days after Kong Jiao's group of three entered Frostmoon Altar.

Whoosh!

Today's frost and snow were especially fierce, mixed with biting winds that ravaged the Frostmoon Altar gorge and blew into a dilapidated hall open to the wind on all sides.

"So cold!" Even as Zhou Tingyu circulated her spiritual power to ward off the chill, the howling wind slipped through every crack, freezing the young woman's pretty face pale.

She instinctively moved toward a sheltered corner.

Kong Jiao stood near the entrance of the hall, squinting at the Frostmoon Altar altar buried beneath boundless white snow. He let the cold wind lash his face, let the bone-piercing snowflakes melt into icy water upon his skin.

Yet he showed no sign of discomfort.

His Frostfall Wheel-Nourishing Scripture made him exceptionally resistant to cold. Where others found the environment unbearable, he felt as though a fish had returned to water.

"I said before, this damned Frostmoon Altar is unnaturally cold. Even on the coldest days of winter, we could endure it by circulating spiritual power, but not here. It's cold enough to make your bones tremble." Feng An shivered as well, his old face creased in worry as he looked at the weather outside.

"How about we rest today and come back after the snowstorm passes?"

In truth, Feng An did not want to rest. Over the past ten days, they had reaped quite a harvest—nearly fifteen Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi in total.

Split evenly among the three of them, that was five each, long surpassing the sect's required three.

But who would not want more good things? Any extra spiritual herbs came with generous additional rewards. Even if they were not handed over to the sect, they could be kept for personal use or sold for spirit crystals.

Especially given the speed at which Zhou Tingyu and Kong Jiao worked together to find spiritual herbs—it had left even Feng An dumbfounded.

Resting for one day would likely mean one or two fewer herbs.

But there was no helping it.

Feng An felt that his old bones could no longer withstand the wind and cold.

"I agree!" As soon as Feng An finished speaking, Zhou Tingyu raised her little hand. Then she looked pitifully at Kong Jiao.

Kong Jiao was still thinking about the opportunity.

It had been so long. They had searched nearly every pavilion and tower in Frostmoon Altar, yet found no clues. To be honest, he was growing anxious.

If the one-month deadline passed without any leads and the Cangwu Sect disciples all left, he would likely have to remain in Frostmoon Altar alone.

In this Frostmoon Altar, where battles could erupt at any moment, the risk was truly great.

Ah, I'll take it one step at a time. If it comes to it, staying behind alone isn't impossible. Wasn't that the plan from the start?

Kong Jiao consoled himself before finally looking at Zhou Tingyu. Seeing her bright black eyes, he raised a brow irritably. "Rest, then."

"Yay!"

With the three of them in agreement, they gradually relaxed.

They began searching the building, which resembled a council hall, for somewhere that could shield them from the wind and snow.

"At the very least, we need somewhere sheltered from the wind to rest." Kong Jiao glanced at Feng An and Zhou Tingyu's pale faces and shook his head helplessly.

Not everyone was as cold-resistant as he was.

The three followed the ruined path deeper inside, and the howling wind and snow gradually faded.

"There's a cellar over there. We'll wait out the snowstorm there." By the light filtering through the building's many cracks and holes, Kong Jiao spotted a cellar entrance just large enough for an adult to enter.

With that, he led Feng An and Zhou Tingyu, whose faces had long turned bluish from the cold, inside one after another.

Without snow-laden winds pouring in from all sides, the cellar was noticeably warmer, and the clamor of the storm was gone.

"Whew!" Zhou Tingyu let out a heavy breath. Without minding the filthy ground, she sat cross-legged atop a protruding section of collapsed wall in the cellar.

"I'll stand watch." Kong Jiao nodded to Feng An.

His mind was filled with thoughts of the opportunity, and he likely would not be able to rest well anyway. He might as well keep watch.

Feng An did not insist. After saying thanks, he found himself a place to curl up.

The cellar returned to silence.

Time slowly passed, but the wind and snow outside showed no sign of abating.

Kong Jiao leaned against the cellar entrance, replaying the areas they had passed through over the last ten days again and again in his mind. He marked those places where he believed the opportunity was most likely to be found.

Another half day passed.

Evening drew near.

The blizzard blotted out the sky and covered the earth, and Frostmoon Altar no longer held its usual pristine white nightscape.

Within the silent cellar.

Kong Jiao, still immersed in his memories, suddenly felt a faint white glow rise within his field of vision.

That tiny glimmer stood out sharply in the pitch-black cellar.

"Hm?" Kong Jiao voiced his confusion and turned toward the source of the light.

A spiritual herb, crystalline from top to bottom and giving off a delicate fragrance, slowly grew from a corner of the cellar wall.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, it grew from smaller than a thumb to the size of a palm. In just a few breaths, it went from tender sprout to maturity.

The reason it was they was because this Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi was joined together—there were three of them in all.

"Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi?" Upon clearly seeing the herb's shape, Kong Jiao's expression immediately turned strange.

The thing they had searched all day for without finding had actually grown right where they were resting.

The herb's fluctuations alerted Zhou Tingyu, who cultivated the Spring Renewal Formula, and she opened her eyes after keeping them closed for half a day.

The sight before her left her little face blank. Then she tilted her head to look at Kong Jiao by the cellar entrance and muttered in a rather muddled voice, "Oh no, I've frozen stupid. I'm seeing things."

"It's not an illusion!" Feng An's deliberately lowered voice sounded from the other side.

At some point, the old man had awakened as well. His eyes gleamed as he stared at the three joined Twin Moon-Condensing Ice Lingzhi that had grown out.

"It's the legendary Twin Moon-Condensing Ice Lingzhi. Their medicinal potency melds together, and all three can be used in a single medicine. Their efficacy is several times greater than ordinary Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi. This thing has already surpassed a first-grade spiritual herb—it should be second-grade. Even sect elders in the Wheel Ascension realm would be tempted by it."

The more Feng An spoke, the more excited he became, until even his old face flushed red.

"A second-grade spiritual herb!" Hearing Feng An rattle off its details like treasured lore, Kong Jiao, who had initially believed it was merely ordinary Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi, also had a sharp gleam burst from his eyes.

A second-grade spiritual herb was only one grade above a first-grade herb, yet its value was more than tenfold greater.

The breathing of all three turned heated almost at once.

Suddenly.

Crack! A sound came from outside.

In the deathly silent cellar, even the slightest rustle became exceedingly distinct.

Kong Jiao and the other two all turned their eyes toward the cellar entrance.

They saw a figure slowly walk in through the entrance.

The arrogant young man wore a faintly excited smile as he looked at the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi in the cellar, the greed in his eyes utterly undisguised.

Holding a compass, he practically ignored Kong Jiao and the other three within the cellar.

He stared only at the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi and said in a hushed, excited voice, "Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi. I've finally found it."

"Don't even think about it!" The sudden appearance of the young man instantly darkened Kong Jiao's face. His longbow was already drawn to its fullest, an ice arrow nocked on the string as he coldly aimed at the newcomer.

Feng An's expression became more ferocious than ever before. Staring at the newcomer, he said almost crazily, "Get lost!"

Zhou Tingyu silently retreated to the back. She knew what she should do now: not cause trouble for her two companions.

Seeing Kong Jiao's group of three poised for battle.

The young man's smile grew even brighter. His gaze swept over Kong Jiao and Feng An one by one as he said softly, "What if I say no?"