Shui Bing'er closed her eyes and adjusted herself for a few breaths. Her Soul Power regrouped, and the phantom of the Ice God Bow emerged from her palm.
She opened her eyes and nodded to Feng Xiaotian.
"Start."
Feng Xiaotian turned to face the ice field. The wind surged from the southwest, bypassed the ice mounds, and formed a backflow on its back. He had already memorized the point of stagnation and didn't need to judge it anymore.
The cold light of the Ice God Bow rose from behind him. A wisp of icy blue aura passed over him and spread into the depths of the icy plain. The oppressive feeling was pushed back a bit, like the tide receding to reveal the stone surface at the bottom of the water.
Feng Xiaotian sensed it.
Without hesitation, he took a few steps forward and stood in the position he had determined. The Wind Trace emerged during a brief moment of suppression, slowly shifting and moving towards where he stood. Finally, it stopped in front of Feng Xiaotian.
Feng Xiaotian stretched out his hand, palm open.
The Spirit of Wind emerged from the Wind Trace and circled around his palm.
Feng Xiaotian didn't use his Soul Power to grab it, but he didn't just wait idly either. He closed his eyes, lowered his Soul Power to the same frequency as the natural wind, and spread out his understanding of the wind.
"Wind doesn't come from nowhere. Air sinks in cold places and floats in warm places. When the sinking air pushes against the light air, wind is formed. Wind doesn't have a fixed shape; its form depends on where it passes."
As his Soul Power spread out, he could feel his frequency gradually approaching that of the Spirit of Wind. It wasn't that he actively moved closer; rather, the two winds naturally merged at the edge of contact.
When the Spirit of Wind spun its second circle, it slowed down a little. It hovered above Feng Xiaotian's palm, as if listening.
Feng Xiaotian continued, offering his understanding. "The wind stops because it found the smoothest path in that location. You stop there because the wind itself formed a vortex there."
The Spirit of Wind hung there, motionless.
After completing its third rotation, the Spirit of Wind did not immediately drift towards Wind Trace. Instead, it flew to Feng Xiaotian's side and gently touched his fingertips with its body, as if acknowledging Feng Xiaotian words. Then it turned and floated into Wind Trace's starting point.
A bluish light shone from the patterns.
Feng Xiaotian looked at the blue light and suddenly remembered the first Wind Trace.
The one in the ice chamber, with the help of the Spirit of Wind, lights up from the beginning to the end; only the light itself is illuminated. That's the basic lighting, a single line, visible from start to finish.
The second difference is that half of the Wind Trace on the icicle was blurred, but when the blue light spread over, it brought back the parts that were about to disappear. That was a restoration, filling in the gaps and making it take shape again.
This dish doesn't need any more filling.
It is complete in itself, but the blue light starts from the beginning, spreads one-third, two-thirds, and reaches the end, connecting the entire stripe from beginning to end.
This time it's not about illuminating or filling gaps, it's about connecting the dots. From beginning to end, it's like a complete line formed by veins.
Feng Xiaotian began to count. One. The azure light spread one-third of the way. Two. It spread to two-thirds of the way. Three. The azure light reached its end, and the entire Wind Trace lit up.
The directions of the three Wind Trace appeared in his mind simultaneously. The first one came from the northeast and went to the west of the south. The second one came from the south of the west and went to the north of the east.
The third stream, originating from the west-southwest, undergoes two refractions and heads towards the east-northeast. The three streams intersect, with the intersection point falling in the north-east direction.
Feng Xiaotian did not speak immediately. This was merely a judgment, not a divine decree.
He exhaled and turned around.
Shui Bing'er had already put away her bow and was leaning against Little Frost, panting, her face still pale. The Frost Dragon let out a low growl and nuzzled her shoulder with its head. She glanced at Feng Xiaotian, didn't ask about the result, and simply nodded to him.
Feng Xiaotian walked up to her, glanced down at her hand holding the Ice God Bow, which was still trembling.
How are you?
"That was a bit too much." Shui Bing'er put the bow back into her body. "I'll be fine after a rest."
Feng Xiaotian nodded and sat down next to her. Little Frost glanced at him, but this time she didn't swat her tail over; she just tilted her head towards Shui Bing'er.
The two sat on the ice field to rest for a while. The Far North wind was still blowing, but the oppressive feeling had subsided, as if it had dissipated on its own after completing its mission. The distant ice mounds stood quietly in the gray-white light of the sky, their outlines blurred.
"When you counted to three just now, I almost couldn't hold on," Shui Bing'er suddenly said.
Feng Xiaotian turned to look at her.
"The pressure returned on the fourth breath, even stronger than the first time," Shui Bing'er said calmly without opening her eyes. "If I had been even a breath slower, I would have had to retract my bow, and your end would have been cut short."
Feng Xiaotian remained silent for a moment.
"So it's three breaths," he said. "Just enough."
Shui Bing'er didn't reply, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
Little Frost lay behind her, resting its head on its front paws, its eyes half-open as it looked at Feng Xiaotian. Feng Xiaotian reached out to touch its horn, Little Frost turned its head away and buried its face in Shui Bing'er's shoulder.
Feng Xiaotian withdrew his hand, looked at it, and said nothing.
After resting for about an incense stick's time, Shui Bing'er's complexion improved somewhat. She stood up, stretched her wrists, and beckoned Little Frost to come up.
"Let's go back to the Ice Cliff first." Feng Xiaotian looked around. "It's too windy here; we can't stay long."
Shui Bing'er nodded in agreement.
The two climbed onto Little Frost's back, Frost Dragon spread its wings and took off, flying towards the Ice Cliff.
Feng Xiaotian sat on the dragon's back. After a while, Shui Bing'er's voice came from the front. "Any clues about your Fourth Trial?"
"No official confirmation," Feng Xiaotian said, "But I pieced together the directions of the three Wind Trace, and their intersection is in the northeast."
Shui Bing'er tilted her head to look at him. "Do you think the Fourth Trial is over there?"
"Uncertain," Feng Xiaotian said, "But most likely."
He paused, then asked, "What about you? Do you have any guidance for the Fourth Trial?"
"No," Shui Bing'er said, "There's no new information from the remnant soul of the Ice God."
Feng Xiaotian remained silent for a moment.
"Then come with me first," he said. "Once I've settled things on my end, you can come with me to the northeast. Maybe you'll get a signal along the way."
Shui Bing'er didn't answer immediately. After a few moments, she nodded.
"Good."
Little Frost flew towards the ice cliff. Feng Xiaotian sat behind her and looked down at his palm. The three lines had faded to the point of being invisible, but the direction of north-northeast was still in his mind.
He glanced back at the icy plain.
Where the Wind Trace disappeared, a new crack appeared on the ice. It was shallow, but he recognized the shape—it followed the same direction as the three Wind Trace trails, forming a complete line from start to finish.
It was as if the Wind God had left him a confirmation mark after he completed the Third Trial.
He turned back without saying a word, but his judgment was already made up.
North-southeast.
(Just realized I didn't post yesterday ╮(╯▽╰)╭)