With the Gray Wolves standing guard, Fang Qianyuan could sleep without worry. He had traveled across the snowfield for an entire day and covered only some two thousand li. Tomorrow, he would have to keep moving.
Early the next morning, Fang Qianyuan woke from his dreams. When he opened his eyes, he saw Little White sprawled across the cave entrance, blocking the wind and snow with her body.
The weather had changed again during the night. Had Little White not blocked the cold air with her body, which stretched over ten feet long, Fang Qianyuan, human as he was, would inevitably have suffered its effects.
A faint warmth of gratitude rose in Fang Qianyuan's heart. He stroked Little White's head to thank her.
Little White had spent the entire night exposed to the elements. Snow covered her body, making her look like an enormous snowball.
The incarnations of spirit creatures in the manifestation Dao had bodies formed from spirit essence. Under normal conditions, they steadily lost spirit essence as time passed.
Once that loss reached a certain point, the incarnation would verge on collapse.
If a Spirit Tamer wanted to summon the spirit creature again, they had to recall it and supply it with sufficient spirit essence.
If they waited until it actually collapsed, they would have to establish spiritual contact anew and rebuild its incarnation. This was equivalent to a serious injury, and in severe cases, it could damage the essence of the true spirit. Most Spirit Tamers would never let their spirit creatures fall into such a state.
Yet when Fang Qianyuan touched her, he made a curious discovery: she had lost far less spirit essence than she normally would have.
It seemed that the environment here allowed Little White to draw a trace of spirit qi from