The icy mist spread along the ice cracks, and when it encountered the gray ice formed by Evil Energy, it turned into tiny ice crystals, gradually enveloping the gray ice. The flame layer continued to release warmth, causing the ice crystals enveloping the Evil Energy to slowly melt, turning into ice water with black threads, which flowed along the ice cracks into the "purification tank" that A Ya had dug in advance.
" A Ya! It's time to plant the Ice Dew Grass!" A Mu called out to those behind him. A Ya immediately picked up the Ice Dew Grass and followed A Xue, the Ice Dwellers's child, into the icy ground beside the purification tank. A Xue expertly used an ice chisel to carve shallow pits in the ice and spread some ground " Ice Condensation Moss " into them. "The old chieftain said that Ice Condensation Moss can help the Ice Dew Grass take root in the icy ground and can also lock in the Evil Energy together with the grass's roots, preventing it from seeping back into the ice layer." A Ya then followed the " Low-Temperature Symbiosis Method " taught by Liya, scattering the Ice Dew Grass on the Ice Condensation Moss and watering it with diluted Soul-Purifying Water ( Snow Spirit Qilin had already prepared the Soul-Purifying Water into an "anti-freezing liquid")—as soon as the seeds touched the water, tiny green sprouts emerged, the leaves instantly glowed with a pale blue light, and the roots quickly burrowed into the icy ground, intertwining with the Ice Condensation Moss, like weaving a glowing net for the icy ground.
A Shi squatted beside the ice spring, his notebook filled with rapid notes. "At 2:40 AM, the Low-Temperature Energy Control Technique was activated, and the Ice Fissure Evil Trace receded by 20%; at 4:40 AM, the symbiotic zone of Ice Dew Grass and Ice Condensation Moss took shape, and 30% of the Evil Energy ice water was absorbed; at 1:15 PM, the gray mist and thin ice of the ice spring dissipated, and the Icefield Beast began to approach!" He also asked A Xue to help measure the changes in the width of the ice cracks and drew a distribution map of the ice spring and ice cracks on the notebook, marking "The ice cracks are deepest in the direction of the Aurora Ice Cavern, which needs to be repaired in the most important way"—that was what A Xue said, because every time the aurora was at its brightest, the ice cracks at the bottom of the cave would emit gray mist.
Just as A Mu was purifying the main ice fissure on the west side of the ice field, a "crack" sound suddenly came from the ice layer— the Evil Energy deep within the main ice fissure suddenly erupted, freezing the warm membrane that A Mu had condensed, causing fine cracks to appear. The Evil Energy ice water that had just been absorbed began to flow backwards towards the ice spring! A Mu hurriedly gripped the hilt of his sword, and suddenly remembered what the Ice Dwellers had said about " Aurora Power Borrowing." He immediately looked up at the aurora in the sky, combining the power of the ice mist with the pale purple light of the aurora, and condensed it into an "aurora ice belt" along the aurora projection at the top of the ice fissure, temporarily blocking the backflow of Evil Energy.
"Use the ' Aurora Crystal Fragments ' from the Ice Plains as a catalyst!" The old chieftain of the Ice Dwellers approached, leaning on his ice staff, holding a small handful of shimmering shards. " Aurora Crystal Fragments can neutralize the chill of Evil Energy. Mix them into the power of ice and fire, and inject them into the ice cracks in accordance with the frequency of the Ice Speech, and you can melt away the deep layers of Evil Energy ice."
A Mu immediately took the Aurora Crystal Fragments and fused them with the power of ice and fire—the power of fire was tinged with a pale purple aurora color, while the power of ice mist shimmered with a pale green aurora color. The two powers intertwined to form a light stream of the same origin as the aurora, which flowed into the main ice fissure along with the resonance of the Ice Speech. The "response" of the ice layer suddenly became clear, as if the ice layer was cheering—the gray ice formed by Evil Energy melted rapidly like spring snow when it encountered the aurora light stream, turning into harmless ice water, which was firmly absorbed by the Ice Dew Grass and Ice Condensation Moss; the fine lines of the ice fissure also slowly healed under the nourishment of the aurora light stream, and the surface of the ice layer regained its luminous blue glow.
"Look deep into the ice cave!" A Xue suddenly pointed towards the Aurora Ice Cavern. Everyone looked up and saw a crystal core shimmering with the aurora floating in the center of the ice spring at the bottom of the cave—half of the crystal core was submerged in the ice spring, its surface wrapped with very faint black threads, it was the " Icefield Crystal "! The light of the crystal core echoed the color of the aurora, clearly the life core of the icefield, but it was bound by the Evil Energy ice cracks, which prevented it from playing its role in stabilizing the icefield.
"This is the ' Heart of the Ice Vein ' of the Ice Plains!" Loran crouched down, his fingertips glowing with a purifying light. "Activating it will completely stabilize the Ice Fissure Evil Trace and restore the Ice Spring to its former luminous blue— A Mu, are you willing to give it a try?"
A Mu nodded, placing the New Sprout Sword on the ice layer at the edge of the ice spring. He didn't rush to inject power, but first let the power of ice and fire resonate with the aurora and the ice layer at the same time. Then, he slowly injected the light stream mixed with Aurora Crystal Fragments into the Icefield Crystal. The aurora color of the crystal core instantly surged, and the black threads on the surface, like ice and snow melted by the aurora, quickly receded. The aurora color spread along the ice spring, covering the entire Aurora Icefield.
"The ice spring is clear again! The Icefield Beast are back!" the Ice Dwellers suddenly cheered. Everyone looked up and saw that the ice spring, which had been shrouded in gray mist, had returned to its bright blue color, and the water that seeped out carried a sweet coolness; the ice cracks on the west side of the ice field had mostly healed, and the pale blue light of the Ice Dew Grass reflected the aurora, weaving a magical band of light across the ice field; herds of Icefield Beast ran over through the snow, lowered their heads to drink the water from the ice spring, and their horns gleamed a healthy pale blue.
The Ice Dwellers emerged from their igloos, carrying "ice grain cakes" frozen from the icy spring and warm "beast milk wine." The old chieftain handed a bowl of warm beast milk wine to the youths, smiling as he said, "This is made with icy spring water and beast milk; it can ward off the cold. Thank you for bringing the icy plains back to life!"
A Ya took out her paintbrush and knelt down beside the ice spring to sketch—she deliberately included the aurora reflecting on the ice, the blue light of the Ice Dew Grass, and the scene of the Ice Dwellers leading the Icefield Beast in the drawing. She also marked next to the Icefield Crystal, " Aurora Icefield Primal Core, requires monthly monitoring of ice cracks and ice spring Evil Energy concentration." The Icefield Wolf came over and gently touched the Icefield Crystal with its paw. The aurora color of the crystal core condensed into a small ice crystal flower in its paw, making A Xue and the boys laugh.
As the sun set, the A Mu borealis on the Aurora Icefield lit up early, with pale green and pale purple bands of light swirling around the icefield. The shimmering blue of the ice springs and the blue light of the Ice Dew Grass intertwined, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty, like a dream. Amu compiled today's patrol records into the "Icefield Guardian Log," with a symbiotic diagram of Icefield Crystal and ice springs drawn on the title page. A Shi, on the other hand, compiled the data on ice crack repair and the ice spring's Evil Energy index into a table, saying he would take it back to the Holy Land to compare with the elemental data of the woodland and study the patterns of Evil Energy dissipation under different extreme environments.
On the return journey, the Icefield Crystal suddenly emitted an aurora-like light, extending towards the " Mist Archipelago " on the eastern side of the Icefield. Loran touched the crystal core and smiled, saying to the boys, "It seems it sensed the life force fluctuations of the islands. Next time we patrol, we can go and take a look at the Mist Archipelago."
A Mu gripped the New Sprout Sword tightly, the Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern on the scabbard echoing the aurora color of the crystal core. "Whether it's the archipelago or somewhere else, we can find a way to protect that suits the local environment!" The laughter of the boys echoed across the ice plains, and the golden figure of the Icefield Wolf ran across the snow, a glowing Ice Dew Grass in its mouth, as if collecting souvenirs for the next protective journey.
As night deepened, A Mu placed the Icefield Log into the "Guardian Bookshelf"—the shelf was already filled with nine logs, from the water veins of the Clear Creek River and the flowers and plants at the edge of the abyss, to the Ironleaf Flower of the mines and the Fluorescent Butterfly of the Elven Woods, to the wind Windwhisper Stone of the grasslands, the Tidal Crystal Core of the bays, the Marshheart Crystal of the swamps, the Fallen Star Crystal of the woodlands, and the Icefield Crystal of the icefields. Each log was filled with the growth and protection of the young people. Moonlight shone through the gaps in the tent onto the logs, reflecting off the ice and fire warning crystals and the Ice Dew Grass specimens beside the bookshelf, as if telling a story: the path of protection has no end. Those small, beautiful moments hidden in the icefields, woodlands, and swamps, those ways of protection that are constantly adjusted to adapt to different environments, will eventually nurture a more complete and diverse picture of the continent's vitality over time.
The story of " The Qilin of Falling Maple " continues to unfold amidst the aurora borealis on the icy plains, the light of the crystal cores, and the laughter of young boys. There are no thrilling battles, only the Ice Dew Grass planted by hand, the Ice Speech whispers recorded by pen, and the warmth of low-temperature cooperation transmitted across the icy plains—these ordinary acts of protection, like the shimmering blue ice springs of the Aurora Icefield plains, are fierce yet resilient, slowly converging into a protective river that illuminates the continent, flowing gently towards the more distant Mist Archipelago and the more expansive marine ecosystems.