The Ice and Snow Manor, Full of Sin

Outside a quiet little mountain manor a hundred li from the edge of the Far North on the Douluo Continent.

Over the past two days, Luo Zixi, wearing a black mask, had led Hu Liena through several changes of carriages along the way.

Although they had encountered several violent inspections by Spirit Hall along the route, Luo Zixi had been able to sense the surrounding vegetation and learn of the situation ahead each time, allowing him to take Hu Liena on foot to bypass them.

This way, although their pursuers could guess their general location, they had no way of finding their exact whereabouts.

Perhaps because they were close to the Far North, even though they were still nearly a hundred li from the true Far North, the temperature here had already dropped to nearly minus ten degrees.

"M-Master, Na Na is so cold."

Although Hu Liena was a Soul Ancestor, all her abilities lay in her spiritual power. Her resistance to extreme cold was only about equal to that of a Defense Type Soul Grandmaster.

In fact, this was also why he had originally wanted to leave Hu Liena behind. According to the Goddess of Life's divine trial, aside from the sea, the only place he could find Soul Rings over eighty thousand years old was the Far North.

He had ruled out the sea immediately. Any sea Soul Beast over eighty thousand years old would command at least hundreds, if not thousands, of its kind—not to mention the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King lurking in the ocean depths.

He himself possessed an Ice Spirit Body and feared neither extreme cold nor heat. He could move freely through the Far North.

But if he brought Hu Liena along, both the difficulty and risk would increase more than tenfold.

At that thought, Luo Zixi seemed to hear the Goddess of Life's voice again.

Damn it, what should I do if I want to spank her little butt? Need advice, waiting online!

At the same time, in the God Realm, within the Life God Temple.

"Achoo!"

The Goddess of Life, who had been lightly dozing amid the flowerbeds, unexpectedly sneezed.

She slowly sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"I feel like someone is cursing this goddess."

She immediately opened her crystal ball, and the figures inside were none other than Luo Zixi and Hu Liena.

"Hm? The Far North? Oh my, as expected of someone I chose—what a sharp mind."

Luo Zixi turned back to look at Hu Liena. Perhaps it was the effect of the Slave Mark, or perhaps she had simply yielded, but over the past two days, she had been very cooperative with his actions.

Though her expression sometimes carried a hint of displeasure, it remained within what Luo Zixi could tolerate.

Since she had now said she was cold, she was probably genuinely close to freezing.

After all, she normally would not say a single extra word to Luo Zixi, and he could not be bothered to pay her any attention either. He merely regarded her as a bargaining chip to keep himself alive.

Seeing her body trembling all over, Luo Zixi took a soft women's winter coat from his System Warehouse.

Inside the coat was a layer of exceptionally warm fur from a second-rank magical beast, a Crimson Flame Tiger, while its exterior was covered with the hide of a third-rank Exploding Flame Bear. The whole garment was reddish-brown.

The soft winter coat still carried a faint milky scent mixed with lavender. Clearly, it was not Luo Zixi's. It was one of the "personally worn" winter coats Xun'er had once given him.

Whenever the nights turned cold, Xun'er liked to wear all sorts of winter outfits for Luo Zixi to see. Then, after he escorted her back to her room, she would directly drape the clothes she had worn over him.

Her excuse was that she was afraid he would catch cold.

In truth, she simply wanted Luo Zixi to wear clothes carrying her scent.

There were at least eighty, if not a hundred, such garments in his System Warehouse.

Naturally, he knew this was Xun'er's heartfelt gesture. But these were extraordinary circumstances. If Hu Liena, whom he had gone through so much trouble to save, froze to death on the way to the Far North, he would have no one to reason with.

"Put it on. It'll keep you warm."

He casually handed the winter coat to Hu Liena. To her, the garment did not seem particularly thick; it could even be called rather thin. At the sight, a trace of dissatisfaction appeared in her eyes.

She was a "slave" now, after all. He could not seriously intend to watch her freeze to death here, could he?

Still, she did not dare say anything. To keep warm, she could only put the "thin" fur coat on.

Yet once she had properly put on the winter coat, she realized that it was no ordinary fur garment.

Warm, comfortable, soft—these three simple, unadorned words appeared in Hu Liena's mind.

But after the warmth settled in, she caught a faint, distinctive scent, a blend of lavender and milk.

As a girl herself, she almost instinctively recognized it as the unique body fragrance of another girl!

"For the next while, we'll be entering the inner regions of the Far North to hunt Soul Rings. This is your only warm garment, so don't ruin it."

Luo Zixi's words were as cold and stiff as ever.

They had now arrived at the final manor, a hundred li outside the Far North, where lodging was available. Over the last two days, they had merely used cultivation in place of sleep aboard the carriages. Having arrived here today, they could finally rest and regroup.

After all, by Luo Zixi's estimate, he would likely obtain three Soul Rings over eighty thousand years old here.

Absorbing Soul Rings could also rapidly increase one's cultivation.

Heh, I'm one step closer to slaughtering Tang Hao. So happy!

The luxurious carriage slowly came to a stop at the manor's gate. Luo Zixi knew this was probably the farthest distance it could take them.

Looking at the sky, which had already gradually darkened, Luo Zixi led Hu Liena, wrapped in the winter coat, down from the carriage. He paid the driver the remaining fare and gave him a very generous tip.

Luo Zixi walked ahead, while Hu Liena followed behind him.

Glancing at the four large characters carved from ice beside them—Ice and Snow Manor—Luo Zixi strode straight inside.

As Luo Zixi stepped inside, the excitement he had been feeling gradually turned grim.

The goose-feather-like heavy snow obscured their vision. Before long, they arrived at the entrance of an inn situated on higher ground.

Pushing open the doors, Luo Zixi led Hu Liena beneath the porch to shake the ice and snow from their clothes before walking straight inside.

As Luo Zixi and Hu Liena entered the warm hall, a trace of cold air swept in with them. The three burly men seated off to one side, drinking and eating meat, sensed the chill and revealed a faint, barely noticeable viciousness in their eyes.

"Boss, one superior room, and bring us a table of your finest food and wine."

He directly pressed a bulging pouch containing five hundred Gold Soul Coins onto the counter.

For some reason, Luo Zixi's eyes were filled with hostility as he looked at the waiter. The man seemed frightened by his expression and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"Honored guest, here is the room key. The room is upstairs, on the right. Please wait a moment for the finest meal; I'll arrange for someone to prepare it right away."

The waiter's eyes held a hint of servility. Hu Liena was deeply puzzled by this scene. From what she had observed over the past two days, Luo Zixi rarely seemed to get angry, yet now...

"Mm. Make it quick."

Ahem, keep it up.