Recovering in the Ice Valley

Nan Feng lay in the Ice Valley for a whole day before recovering.

It was more like sprawling on the ice platform than lying down. A thick bearskin, which the Snow Empress had somehow found, was placed under his back, and the turquoise robe that the Ice Empress had thrown over him covered his body. The robe carried the cool scent of the Far North spring.

He had used up seventy percent of his Immortal Power, and his meridians were as empty as a riverbed that had been parched for three years. The Old Huai locust tree in the Tower Spirit Space drooped, not even bothering to curse, only occasionally swaying to indicate that it was still alive.

Shifang squatted at the tower entrance grilling fish. Once they were done, he would place them on the ice platform without urging them to hurry up. After a while, when they cooled down, he would eat them and grill them again. When he was grilling the fifth fish, Nan Feng finally opened his eyes.

Ice Empress squatted beside the ice platform, his arms propped on his knees, his chin resting on the back of his hand, his scorpion tail idly sweeping the ice behind him. When he opened his eyes, she was initially delighted, but the corners of her mouth just started to turn up before she forcefully suppressed it, turned her face away, and snorted.

"I slept all day. I thought you'd died down there."

"That thing down there is more tired than me." Nan Feng propped himself up on his arms and sat up. His turquoise outer robe slipped down, and he picked it up and handed it to Ice Empress.

Ice Empress snatched the robe and draped it over her shoulders. The robe was stained with his sweat. She paused for a moment after putting it on, her ears turning slightly red, but she remained defiant.

"You're not borrowing this shirt again; it stinks."

Snow Empress walked over from the stone stove carrying a bowl of hot soup. The bowl was made of rough pottery, and a few thin slices of Icefield Mushroom and bits of meat floated in the soup, which smelled very faint. Nan Feng took it and took a sip. A warm feeling slid down his throat, and the empty space in his meridians was warmly filled.

Snow Empress sat down opposite him, holding a bowl in her hands, and sipped her drink with her head down. Her long, silvery-white hair fell from her shoulders, covering half of her face.

"How well is the crack sealed?" Ice Empress asked.

"The main vein is welded shut, and all the branches are blocked. I've pushed that thing behind the door back to sleep." Nan Feng finished his soup and placed the bowl on the ice table. "It won't leak out again for three to five years. But if that watchdog in the Abyssal Outer Domain wakes up again and pushes from the inside, it'll leak again. So I have to come and reinforce it regularly."

Ice Empress nodded without saying a word. The tip of its tail swept across the ice twice, creating an arc.

Snow Empress put down her bowl, looked up and stared at Nan Feng for a while.

"You've exhausted too much of your Immortal Power, damaging your foundation in your meridians. You need to recuperate."

"It'll be fine after a few days."

"A few days isn't enough." The Snow Empress's tone remained calm, but she spoke with certainty. "Your Immortal Power has been depleted by more than 70%, and there are minute cracks in your meridian walls. Normal recovery would take at least a month. But if you're willing, the Far North Origin of me and the Ice Empress can help you accelerate your recovery. We'll transfer a little to you every day, and you'll be fully recovered in half a month."

Ice Empress's scorpion tail suddenly snapped up.

"Snow Empress, you--!"

"You don't want to cross over yourself?" Snow Empress turned her head to look at her.

Ice Empress's tail drooped again, and it turned its face away, muttering.

"I didn't say I didn't want to..."

Nan Feng glanced at Ice Empress's ear tips, then at Snow Empress's unchanging face, and placed the empty bowl back on the ice platform.

"Okay. Then I'll trouble you for half a month."

From that day on, a new scene began to unfold in the Ice Valley every day.

Every morning, Ice Empress arrives first, sits cross-legged opposite Nan Feng, and places his scorpion tail on Nanfeng's wrist. The emerald green Far North Origin flows into his wrist along the tip of the tail, cool and refreshing, causing his meridians to tighten.

The Ice Empress left after completing their transformation into their original essence two days ago, moving incredibly fast, their scorpion tails leaving a trail of craters on the ice. Nan Feng called after them, "Are you coming tomorrow?" They didn't turn around, only uttering a curt "Nonsense."

On the third day, she stopped. After completing the process of converting to the source, she sat there watching him meditate, occasionally reaching out to poke him.

Why are you frowning? Did I do something wrong?

"You crossed too quickly." Nan Feng opened her eyes and looked at her.

"What's wrong with Meng? Meng is recovering quickly!"

"My meridians hurt if I go too hard."

Ice Empress pursed her lips and stared at him for three breaths. The next time she transferred the Origin, she indeed reduced her strength by 30%. Nan Feng didn't mention it, but the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. Ice Empress saw it, the tips of her ears turned red again, but the force with which she poked the ice with her tail was much lighter.

After the Ice Empress finished converting his source energy, the Snow Empress brought over tea. Her method of converting his source energy was different from the Ice Empress's.

My fingers rested on his pulse point. The Far North Origin seeped in like a trickle of water, gradually filling the cracks in his meridians.

She didn't talk much while channeling the essence, occasionally glancing at Nan Feng's expression. If she saw his brow relax, she would continue; if she saw his brow furrow, she would slow down and wait for him to calm down on his own before continuing.

On the tenth day, the Old Huai finally poked half its face out of the tower. A branch of the immortal tree swept through the Nan Feng's meridians and clicked its tongue.

"The Far North Origin was transferred in and reacted with your Primordial World Immortal Power. The Ice Empress's Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul and the Snow Empress's Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul were nourished by the Immortal Power when the Far North Origin was repeatedly transferred in. Look at their scorpion armor and icy bodies."

Nan Feng opened her eyes and looked across. Ice Empress was sitting cross-legged, idly drawing circles on the ice with her scorpion tail. On her emerald green scorpion armor, a golden pattern had appeared, running from her chest to her shoulder.

It's a thin strand, like a hair, but it's definitely golden.

Ice Empress themselves hadn't even noticed. It wasn't until Nan Feng stared at them for a couple of moments that they reacted, looked down, and froze.

"What is this?"

"Immortal Mark." Nan Feng scanned them with his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light. "Your Martial Soul is evolving. A portion of the Immortal Power I transferred to you was absorbed by the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, and it's starting to change towards becoming Immortal Level Martial Soul."

Ice Empress's scorpion eyes widened in disbelief.

"Evolution? I haven't evolved in four hundred thousand years!"

"So?" Nan Feng tilted his head and glanced at her.

Ice Empress opened his mouth, then swallowed back the words "So don't mess around," and muttered something else instead.

"So... it's actually quite good-looking."

The situation was similar on Snow Empress's side. When she was undergoing the transformation of her origin, Nan Feng noticed a layer of warm golden light on the side of her neck.

It blends into the deep blue of the icy body, and is almost impossible to spot without careful observation.

Old Huai said that her Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul was also moving towards the Immortal Level, but because of her quiet nature, her Martial Soul changes were also quiet, unlike the Ice Empress who had a new pattern every day.

After Old Huai pointed out the matter of evolution, Ice Empress's "Crossing the Origin" time became even more justified. She arrived earlier than Snow Empress every morning. Sometimes, before Nan Feng even opened his eyes, he could feel a cool, Far North Origin flowing through his meridians. Ice Empress was already squatting on the opposite side crossing, her scorpion tail draped over his wrist, with half a piece of frozen jerky in her mouth for breakfast.

"What time did you arrive?" Nan Feng couldn't help but ask one day.

"Who remembers?" Ice Empress mumbled, chewing on some jerky. "You go to sleep."

Old Huai said from inside the pagoda, "This girl arrived before dawn and has been squatting there for over an hour."

Ice Empress's tail tip plunged three inches into the ice. Nan Feng didn't reply, but after completing his transformation, he took out a piece of Huo Wu- brewed strong liquor candy from the Tower Spirit Space and placed it on the ice platform in front of Ice Empress.

That was something I brought back from my last trip to the Blazing Fire Academy; Huo Wu insisted on giving it to him.

Ice Empress's scorpion-like eyes lit up for a moment, and he said, "What is this thing?" while his hand was already outstretched. After tucking the candy into her bosom, she muttered something with her ears turning red.

"Bring more next time."

Snow Empress was boiling water by the stone stove when she saw this scene. She didn't say anything, but she added an extra handful of tea leaves to the teapot.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Nan Feng's meridians were almost fully restored, and the Martial Soul of Ice Empress and Snow Empress had also changed.

The golden pattern on the Ice Empress Scorpion Armor stretched from his heart all the way to his tail.

When she swung her tail, it left a pale golden trail, which she played with for several days.

A layer of warm light appeared within the Snow Empress's icy body. She no longer looked as cold as before, and when she occasionally stood at the entrance of the Ice Valley and felt the wind and snow fall on her, they would automatically veer away, appearing more natural than before.

On the morning of the sixteenth day, after Nan Feng completed his final crossing of the Origin, he stood up from the ice platform and dusted off his clothes.

"I should return to Heaven Dou City."

Ice Empress, who was squatting nearby, was poking at the craters they had made in the ice with a scorpion's tail when they heard this, and paused in their actions.

"Fine, I'll come back then." She didn't even look up, but her tail stopped poking at the hole. "When will you come again?"

"If we reinforce the seal, it will be five years later. But we might have to pass through it in between."

"What's wrong with just passing by?" Ice Empress finally raised her head, her scorpion-like eyes fixed on him. "Passing by doesn't count."

Nan Feng looked at her for a while.

"Then let's make a proper trip in five years. Bring some wine."

Ice Empress's lips curled up slightly, then quickly suppressed it. The tip of its tail poked two shallow, parallel dents into the ice, resembling a colon.

"It's a promise."

Snow Empress walked over from the stone stove, carrying an ice curling stone and a small coarse cloth bag.

"The ice pot contains spring water from the Far North; drink it on the road. The bag contains frozen jerky and a few bearskin flatbreads; eat them while you travel."

She handed the things over, paused, and added a sentence.

"Let me know next time you come, so I can make tea."

Ice Empress turned and glared at her.

All you know is how to brew tea!

Snow Empress's expression remained unchanged.

"Or should I just squat on the ice rink and play with my tail like you?"

"When did I play with my tail?!"

"I've been playing every day for the past two weeks."

Ice Empress's scorpion tail froze in mid-air, unsure whether to retract it or not. Nan Feng, standing to the side, was trembling with suppressed laughter. He took the ice curling stone and cloth bag from Snow Empress, took two steps toward the entrance of the Ice Valley, then stopped and looked back.

"Oh, right. Ice Empress."

"What?"

"The golden patterns on your scorpion carapace can be used as a killing move in a fight later. Don't just play around with it."

Ice Empress's tail suddenly jerked up, and its eyes lit up.

"Can it be used as a killing move? How powerful is it?"

"Activating Immortal Mark can break through the defenses of Titled Douluo. Just how powerful that is, you'll know once you've cultivated your Immortal Power."

Ice Empress's scorpion eyes narrowed, and its tail swung twice in the air, leaving a pale golden trail.

He was muttering "the defense of Titled Douluo" to himself, completely absorbed in his own world.

Snow Empress sighed beside her and nodded to Nan Feng.

The Nan Feng turned and headed south, Shrinking the Ground to an Inch and taking a hundred steps at a time.

As we walked out of the Ice Valley, Old Huai suddenly popped out of the tower, his tone filled with the excitement of watching a spectacle.

"Guess what that girl from Ice Empress is doing right now?"

"Training the tail?"

"Practicing her tail." Old Huai chuckled twice. "Snow Empress was counting for her, how many times she broke through the defenses of Titled Douluo. Listen to that—"

Nan Feng pricked up his ears. From the direction of the Ice Valley came the excited shouts of the Ice Empress.

"Snow Empress, look! This time the golden pattern has shone so brightly for such a long time! Does that mean it's broken?"

The Snow Empress's voice drifted from afar.

"Yes, but you poked a hole in the ice."

Nan Feng's lips curled up slightly, and he quickened his pace. The outline of Heaven Dou City at the end of the official road was already in sight.