“We move now, no more delays.” He turned toward Linden, voice firm yet warm. “Your sect still needs its patriarch’s hand. Remain here and restore order. The three of us will take our leave at once.”
Linden escorted them to the foot of the mountain gate. Snow-bearded and grave, he said, “Sir, the Northern Abyss Celestial Clan is fathomless. On their own frozen tundra, they are super strong. If victory proves impossible, guard your life; time is long. The Sword Sect’s doors will always stand open for you.”
Jared nodded once, eyes steady. “Rest easy, Mr. Cloudridge. I know my limits.”
A new streak of light, brighter, swifter than their arrival, shot skyward. Jared, Clara, and the Vermilion Demon Lord became a single comet, arrowing toward the far-northern edge of Level Ten.
With every mile north, the air thinned, and the temperature plunged with frightening speed.
Verdant hills gave way to austere tundra, then rose again as chains of blizzard-scoured peaks and knife-edged glaciers. Needle-fine ice crystals rode the screaming wind, sleeting against their spiritual light shield with a ceaseless, rasping hiss.
An ordinary cultivator, even skimming the outskirts of this land, would already be forced to burn reserves of power just to keep blood from freezing.
Clara knew the route well. She pointed out subtle shifts in cloud banks, steering them clear of white-out maelstroms and invisible fractures in space. Her instructions came crisp and spare, as efficient as the woman herself.
The Vermilion Demon Lord traveled in silence. Most of the time, his eyes stayed shut as he honed his demonic essence, yet now and then he gazed toward that endless whiteness with a flash of urgency, and of resolve.
Jared, cruising beside them, let the strange northern laws of nature wash over him like sleet. Here, ice and water rules thrummed, bold and abundant, while every other element muted itself to a distant echo.
Within Jared’s core, chaotic celestial energy reshaped itself into threads of diamond frost, teaching his body to breathe the cold. From time to time, he unfurled his spiritual sense, spearing it through storm clouds in search of divine signatures or any ripple that did not belong to the snow.
The further north they flew, the madder the weather grew. Leaden clouds sagged over the ice plain, and shards of wind hammered their light shields with gunshot bursts.
After two full days aloft, Clara pointed toward a ring of colossal ice that guarded a natural cavern mouth.
“Ahead lies an ice den that can block the storm. Let’s rest till morning,” she suggested, clear voice almost lost to the gale.
Jared nodded. With a sweep of his sleeve, chaotic celestial energy opened a corridor through the swirling snow and ferried them to the cave entrance.
Inside, the cavern was unexpectedly dry. A sheen of frost glassed the rock floor, and ice pillars of every shape glimmered in the shadow like muted chandeliers.
The Demon Lord chose a corner, sat cross-legged, and wrapped himself in a veil of demonic essence, sealing the world out.
Clara laid several warming jades upon the ice, then produced spirit fruit and a flask of water, presenting both to Jared.
“You have travelled hard. Refill your strength,” she said. Her pale fingers glimmered in the dim light, a faint rush of color still warmed her cheeks from the long flight.
When Jared accepted the fruit, his fingertips brushed the back of her hand, meeting an unexpected, glacial coolness.
“Thank you, Clara. You’re very thoughtful,” he said, eyes lingering on the shy flush that deepened across her face.
Startled, she withdrew her hand and twisted the edge of her sleeve. “Please, sir, our sect owes you rebirth. This is only my duty…”
She hesitated, then gathered courage. “When we reach the Eternal Ice Plains and the Northern Abyss Celestial Clan stands before us… Do you have confidence?”
“When soldiers charge, I meet them head-on. When floods rise, I raise the earth,” Jared said, his tone calm yet ringing with certainty. “That haughty little division of a celestial clan will not block my way.”
“Your power really blots out the sky,” Clara breathed, eyes shining with quiet reverence. “But I have heard of the Northern Abyss Celestial Clan. On the ice plains, even seasoned wanderers skirt them. Please, be careful.”
Her words carried real fear for him, her gaze fastening to his face like a plea no training could silence.
From the moment they left the Mystic Sky Sword Sect, Clara had asked him lots of questions. She asked about lost sect legends, cultivation riddles, the taste of wind across unknown valleys, each question threaded with admiration that glowed brighter each night.
Jared, seasoned by many journeys, needed no oracle to read her heart. He studied the warm flush rising on her cheeks, the way her lashes hid her thoughts. “Clara, is there something you wish to tell me?”
She froze, then lifted her head. Under his steady gaze, her face went crimson, bright as a ripened apple.
“I… I only hoped to ask about cultivation, sir,” she whispered, the words thin as spider silk while her eyes darted away.
Jared laughed, good-natured mischief flickering in his eyes. “Ask about cultivation? It sounds more like you want to dual-cultivate with me, yes?”
A soft, startled, embarrassed cry slipped from her lips before she could bite it back. Panic fluttered through her limbs; tears pooled, glittering, on the brink of falling.
“S-Sir, I never meant offense. If I could dual-cultivate with you, my realm would soar, and I could better aid your search for the blood lotus. But if you do not wish it, please forget I spoke…” She stammered, her eyes shimmering with both dread and fragile hope.
“There is no need for shame,” Jared said, his voice becoming serious. “Travelers often share the road as partners… I see your feelings, and I do not dislike you. Strength rules our paths. Dual cultivation weaves hearts and multiplies power. The ice plains are lethal. More power means more life. If this is truly your wish, come to me.”
Clara stared, caught off guard by such open acceptance. She had practiced for hesitation and refusal, never for a yes spoken so easily.
