Li Yun The moment he put his palm against the ice wall, his fingertips trembled slightly.
Her eyes were slightly closed, her palms pressed against the smooth and cold surface, and the water-attributed spiritual power slowly came out like a trickle, seeping into the ice, spreading and sensing along the internal structure.
After a few breaths, she opened her eyes.
There was light in those eyes, and an extremely bright light blue lit up in the depths of her pupils for a moment, as if the light refracted by ice condensed in her eyes.
"It's here." Her voice was very low, with a hint of urgency that Qin Tiexin had never seen on her before, "Profound Ice Crystal Marrow's breath is inside. I can feel it."
Looking at the ice wall of Heaviness, Qin Tiexin held Edgeless tightly and stepped forward. He lowered his waist and exerted his strength, slashing the ice surface with a knife - the knife was heavy and unreserved, and it was enough to split an ice layer of an ordinary foot thick.
There was a muffled sound. The moment the blade touched the ice wall, the ice surface lit up with a faint blue light. A soft resistance spread from the contact point of the blade, and he bounced backwards with the blade. He took two steps back to stabilize his body, and his arms were slightly numb.
The ice wall was intact, not even a white mark was left.
Li Yun stepped forward quickly and reached out to stop his next move. "Don't worry." She looked at the fleeting glimmer of light on the surface of the ice wall and said with certainty, "This is a man-made formation."
She retracted her hand, walked back to the ice wall, looked at it from top to bottom, took a deep breath, and then pressed both hands on the ice surface at the same time. She did not use Ice Icicle Sword, nor did she cast any spells. She just closed her eyes, Cultivation Method operated in a smooth way, and the water spiritual power was injected into the ice wall along her arms.
The light on the surface of the ice wall began to flicker, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, with a rhythm like breathing.
Qin Tiexin stood a few steps behind her without disturbing her. He kept [Spirit Material Sense] turned on and paid attention to the movements around him.
Li Yun's hands slowly sunk into the surface of the ice wall.
As if being actively accepted by the ice wall, the ice around her palms formed circles of tiny ripples, spreading like water waves, and the hand holding her slowly sank into it. She stopped this movement and did not continue to move forward. Instead, she pulled her hands out and took half a step back.
She turned to Qin Tiexin: "Junior Brother Qin, come and try it too." She explained, "This formation is sensitive to the spiritual power of the water element. You are Five Spirit Roots, and you also have the spiritual power of the water element in your body, so maybe you can do it."
Qin Tiexin stepped forward and placed his palm on the position where Li Yun had just pressed. The tentacles on the ice were extremely cold. He ran "Primordial Unity Instruction", mobilized the water spiritual power from Dantian, and transported it along the arm to the palm of his hand, trying to explore Entering the ice wall. The moment his spiritual power came into contact with the ice, it was as if he had hit a thick wall. He could not Penetration or arouse any resonance. The ice wall showed no response, not even the ripple-like glimmer of light just now. He tried several times and changed several methods of spiritual power output, but the result was the same.
He took back his hand and shook his head. "You can't get in."
Li Yun looked at the ice wall and was silent for a few breaths. Then she raised her head and glanced at the sky. The sun had turned westward, the light beams shining through the canopy began to tilt, and the shadows at the edge of the forest were lengthening. She seemed to be making a decision, weighing the pros and cons in her mind.
After a moment, she turned to Qin Tiexin: "Junior Brother Qin."
Qin Tiexin looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"I feel that there is something very important to me inside." She said, her voice was not loud, but very steady, word for word, "Profound Ice Crystal Marrow, it is probably behind this ice wall. It may not be a thousand years old, but even if I am just close to it, I can get a chance to make a breakthrough."
She paused slightly, as if she was considering her words: "On the way to practice, fortuitous opportunity is here, and I can't let it go. I'm afraid of missing this time, and I don't know when the next time will be."
Qin Tiexin did not interrupt her and listened quietly.
After she finished speaking, she paused, took a deep breath, and the cold air poured into her lungs. Then she continued, her tone becoming calmer:
"But I don't know what's going on inside. This ice cliff is man-made, and there may be formations and protective mechanisms inside. After I go in, I don't know when I can come out."
Qin Tiexin was about to say something, but she raised her hand to stop him.
"Listen to me." Her tone was very calm, not fast, but with a kind of certainty that could not be interrupted, "Now you find a hidden place to hide outside. With my ability, I will try to come out within an hour. If I don't come out after an hour, you can knock on this ice wall - knock hard and make a sound. If I don't respond after knocking."
She paused. "Just go back to Wind and Snow Pass first."
"Or if you meet other teams who want to return to the customs, go with them and don't stay alone outside overnight. I will find a way to go back by myself."
When she said these words, her tone was very calm, as if she was explaining a very small matter.
Qin Tiexin After listening, he was silent for a moment, and then nodded.
He knew that she did not make this decision impulsively. The purpose of her coming to Wind and Snow Pass was for Profound Ice Crystal Marrow. In the past six months, she had traveled to every marked point on the map, and every time she went there with high hopes, she came back empty-handed. Now that the aura of Profound Ice Crystal Marrow was right in front of her, it was impossible for her to give up. All he could do was to guard the outside and ensure that it would be safe when she came back.
"You go in," he said, "I'm outside."
When Li Yun heard this, a faint smile appeared on her face. She nodded, said nothing more, turned and walked back to the ice wall. Her expression became focused again, "Gentle Water Instruction" in her body was operating to the extreme, and a layer of light blue water aura filled the whole body.
Then she raised her hands and pressed them against the ice wall again. The moment her hands were pressed against the ice wall, her whole body seemed to be accepted by the ice. Ripples appeared on the ice surface layer by layer, as if the water was broken by a thrown stone, and the ripples spread to all directions. Her body gradually became blurred in the ripples, starting from her hands, to her arms, shoulders, and torso, and finally her entire figure seemed to be integrated into the light blue light, completely submerged into the ice wall.
The ripples slowly calmed down and the ice wall returned to its original state.
Smooth, cold and silent.
Qin Tiexin stood in front of the ice wall, looking at the ice surface that had returned to calm. After a few breaths, he turned around, first erased the traces of the two people's arrival, and then placed a simple shielding array at the entrance of the ice wall to ensure that nothing strange could be seen from the outside.
Then, Qin Tiexin scanned the surroundings and found a hidden location under a boulder about three feet away from the ice cliff - there was a protruding rock mass with a natural depression below it, which was enough for one person to hide. Looking from the direction of the ice cliff, it happened to be blocked by a few thick tree trunks and dense bushes. The location was relatively dry and the snow was shallow.
He squatted down, cleared the snow from the depression, and moved a few pieces of gravel to pile up on the side of the entrance as a shield, creating a position that could barely cover his body. After doing this, he put Edgeless by his hand, sat cross-legged, and looked in the direction of the ice cliff. He kept [Spirit Material Sense] open and began to wait quietly.