Draw Water, Carve Ice

Crack!

Crack!

Rust flaked off the Sword Comprehension Stone, piece by piece.

More and more of Snow Soul's blade emerged, and its chill grew increasingly intense.

"So cold!"

"What's going on? Why is the rust suddenly falling off faster and faster?"

"It's almost all gone!"

"What a beautiful sword!"

With such a dramatic change underway, the disciples practicing their swordsmanship could no longer continue. They gathered beneath the stone, shivering and hugging their shoulders.

Even trembling with cold, they could not contain their curiosity. They had to get a good look.

The sword's hilt had been fully exposed.

True to its name, Snow Soul was whiter than snow, its form naturally flawless. Its blade was clear and keen, radiating a piercing, desolate chill.

It seemed to be deliberately revealing itself.

As everyone studied it, a gust suddenly swept overhead. A man appeared atop the Sword Comprehension Stone, and a hand closed around Snow Soul's hilt.

"A fine sword."

The blade slid effortlessly out of the stone.

All the rust scattered away.

Snow Soul now rested entirely in one man's hand. Its bone-piercing chill inexplicably subsided, the frost on its hilt vanished, and yin energy spread along the blade instead.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

Clearly unwilling to hurt its master, it had actually reined in its own cold!

Was this the master it had chosen for itself?

Their gazes traveled upward, first taking in a black cloak, then the fierce flying fish embroidered beneath it, and finally an exceptionally handsome face.

He was studying the sword marks the founding master had left on the Sword Comprehension Stone, deep in thought.

According to legend, these sword marks contained the most essential moves and sword intent of the Dark Yin Sword Technique.

Unfortunately, in the three hundred years since the founding master's time, not a single disciple had managed to comprehend them.

Suddenly, a foul wind rushed toward them from behind.

Startled, they looked back and nearly had their hearts scared out of their chests-a gigantic white snake was hurtling through the air like lightning, lunging straight at them!

"Move!"

A sharp command rang in their ears.

Everyone instinctively scattered to either side. A streak of sword light flashed out, shooting straight toward the white snake!

A piercing hiss followed, and the black figure clashed with the white serpent. Metallic clangs and furious hisses rang out one after another!

They moved too quickly. The disciples could only make out two shadows, repeatedly colliding and separating. Their impacts thundered, and bursts of force sent icy blossoms and waves of air surging outward!

Wounds appeared on the white snake's body, and its attacks grew even more frenzied.

"Huh? Isn't that Hidden Dragon in the Abyss?"

"That's Frost Blossoms Fill the Sky!"

"And that's Wild Geese Tread on Snow!"

The disciples watched in stunned disbelief. These were clearly the Dark Yin Sword moves they had spent years practicing!

Yet there were subtle differences. In this man's hands, their freezing power surged, and their variations became far more refined. They looked even stronger than when their master performed them!

Had he grasped the founding master's sword marks after only a few glances?

Suddenly!

The battle changed again.

"Roar!"

The man swiftly retreated, but for some reason, the white snake remained coiled around a carved stone lamppost, unable to move. A closer look revealed a huge block of solid ice freezing its tail to the post!

The white snake struggled wildly.

Seizing the opening, the man drew back. He held his sword upright before his chest and swept two fingers of his left hand along the blade. Instantly, his sword intent surged, and his sword energy shot skyward!

Centered on him, a bone-piercing chill transformed everything within thirty meters into a realm of ice and snow!

"Draw Water, Carve Ice! That's Draw Water, Carve Ice!"

A disciple cried out in shock. Draw Water, Carve Ice was a supreme move of the Dark Yin Sword, one they all knew. But they had never even seen it wielded with such power, let alone achieved it themselves!

The saying "draw on water, carve on ice-all fades with time" meant that paintings on water and carvings on ice would soon vanish into nothing.

This sword move was the same: gone in an instant!

But the founding master had created it for that very instant!

Fireworks in a thought, a night-blooming flower in a flash!

This strike was dazzling and magnificent, incomparably beautiful. At the same time, it concentrated all the wielder's sword energy and sword intent, making it lethally dangerous!

Cao Jinxing stamped one foot against the ground and shot forward with his sword, tracing a white line through the air. Wherever the sword light passed, even the air seemed to freeze!

But just as this killing stroke was about to sweep across the White Dragon Gu's vulnerable neck, a clear chime suddenly rang out.

Jingle!

A speck of golden light struck a moment later. Cao Jinxing slashed it away and saw that it was a three-inch throwing weapon shaped like a golden snake.

Cao Jinxing turned his blade again, launching a second strike at the White Dragon Gu! This time, a woman in a pale yellow dress appeared before the serpent, wearing a pair of gold-thread gloves.

"I don't care who comes!"

Cao Jinxing had already guessed who she was, but he had nothing but contempt for people who walked their dogs without a leash! His true qi surged, and he flashed past in an instant!

A metallic crash exploded!

Snow Soul's edge swept across her gold-thread gloves!

A trail of sparks burst from the blade.

Snow Soul was a middle-tier fifth-grade spiritual weapon, but her gloves were no ordinary items either. His slash had failed to cut through them!

Still, under the assault of his supremely yin, supremely cold sword energy, a thick layer of frost formed over the gloves.

The woman staggered back several steps. Her entire right arm was frostbitten and hung limply at her side, trembling slightly.

"The Cold Toad Art..."

Cao Jinxing was about to unleash a third strike and teach that damned snake a lesson it would never forget when those words suddenly left her lips. He paused.

Only then did he take a proper look at her.

She wore yellow, with a full head of black hair, silver earrings in a distinctly Miao style, several bells around her wrist, and a slender, golden, snake-shaped flexible sword wound about her waist.

She was in her early twenties, with exquisite features and breathtaking beauty. Yet there was something uncanny about that beauty, something that could steal a person's soul.

Cao Jinxing frowned. "Bai Yunxiu?"

Bai Yunxiu, the current Spirit Snake Envoy of the Five Poisons Cult.

"Yes."

Bai Yunxiu was not a Miao woman, and she spoke without a regional accent.

First, she circulated her energy to expel the cold.

The White Dragon Gu finally broke free of the ice. In its fury, it shattered the stone carving with a lash of its tail, then forgot all about Cao Jinxing. Reining in its vicious aura, it flew to Bai Yunxiu's side and slipped its massive head beneath her palm, gently nuzzling her in an ingratiating manner, as obedient as a dog.

The beauty and the giant serpent made a striking picture, but Cao Jinxing had no interest in admiring it.

After expelling all the cold, Bai Yunxiu's expression eased somewhat. First, she glared at the White Dragon Gu. "I'll deal with you when we get back!"

The White Dragon Gu shrank back, seemingly terrified.

Bai Yunxiu turned to Cao Jinxing and said sincerely, "Two months ago, I entered seclusion at Black Dragon Pool. White Dragon was shedding its skin, so I settled it in a nearby cave. But this naughty thing wanted to play and actually sneaked out after an outer disciple... If it offended you, I apologize on its behalf."

She bowed.

Seeing this, the White Dragon Gu hurriedly followed her example and lowered its head. It was so docile that it seemed like a different snake altogether.

Bai Yunxiu then took out a bottle of pills and a jade-green pearl. Rather than handing them directly to Cao Jinxing, lest he refuse them for fear of poison, she placed them on the open ground before her.

"This bottle contains Holy Origin Pills, a secret medicinal treasure of the Five Poisons Cult. This is a Poison-Averting Pearl. The former can treat poisoning and heal injuries; the latter protects against gu poison and miasma. Please accept these small tokens."

The fifth-grade Holy Origin Pills were secondary. The Five Poisons Cult was renowned for gu and poison, so offering a Poison-Averting Pearl as compensation demonstrated considerable sincerity.

Of course, the main reason was still the Cold Toad Art.

Cao Jinxing glanced at the two gifts without committing himself. "That strike probably wouldn't have killed it anyway. I never expected the Cold Toad Art to command so much respect..."

The White Dragon Gu was a great gu formed from three thousand snake gu. It had not used a single innate ability involving gu or poison earlier, yet its flesh alone had allowed it to trade blows with Cao Jinxing while he wielded Snow Soul. A monstrous creature like this was not so easily killed.

Bai Yunxiu gently tucked back her long hair and smiled. "The Cold Toad Art is the culmination of Uncle's lifetime of insight. As his successor, you naturally deserve the respect of everyone in the Five Poisons Cult."

"This 'Uncle' of yours is...?"

"..."

Bai Yunxiu gave him a strange look and examined him from head to toe before realization dawned. "...I see. You have only the cultivation method, not the techniques. You must have acquired an incomplete text by chance... In that case, you don't know where he is either?"

Cao Jinxing had been watching her expressions closely. Finding no sign of pretense, he said, "The last time I saw him was on Crouching Tiger Mountain in Binzhou. Three bandits at the peak of Houtian had captured him, tied him up in a dungeon, and tortured him. They extracted the Cold Toad Art from him..."

"?????"

Bai Yunxiu was stunned. Her lips parted slightly, and she wondered whether something had gone wrong with her ears. Only after a long while did she recover. "How could that happen?"

I'm just as baffled, Cao Jinxing thought.

At the time, they had all thought the man had kicked the bucket.

Bai Yunxiu lowered her head in silence. After some thought, she seemed to understand. "He must have been badly injured when his attempt to obtain the treasure went wrong, then used the bandits' lair to hide from his enemies' search... No wonder he still hasn't returned after so long... Something's wrong!"

She suddenly grew anxious. "Something has happened within the cult. We urgently need Uncle to return to the Ten-Thousand Great Mountains. I must find him! We'll speak another day!"

With that, she patted the White Dragon Gu.

The White Dragon Gu's body swelled, growing several times larger once more. Bai Yunxiu leaped onto its back, and the giant snake hissed and soared into the sky!

"Hey..."

Watching the enormous beast rise into the air before him, Cao Jinxing felt that this world was becoming more and more absurd!

"You still haven't told me who he is!"

When Cao Jinxing had researched the Five Poisons Cult in the archives, he had scoured the records. There had been no cultivation method called the Cold Toad Art, nor any mention of an ice-wielding expert.

Now that he had finally found a lead, he had no intention of letting it slip away.

"Uncle's real name is Song Chengxi..."

Bai Yunxiu's voice reached him in broken fragments. "Don't worry... He'll come to find you... When the time comes, I'll be waiting in the Ten-Thousand Great Mountains to welcome you..."

The white snake vanished beyond the horizon.

Song Chengxi?

Cao Jinxing started, and the relevant information swiftly surfaced in his mind: the leader of the Five Poisons Cult two generations ago? But hadn't he been dead for over forty years?!