“Can you really stay that far away from me?”

  “It’s too early to worry about that. Let’s head inside first—we can figure it out later.”

  “…Alright.”

  Dante suddenly came sprinting back toward them. “Miss Lauren! It’s about to open! We need to get ready—now!”

  The two of them quickly packed up the tent. Standing side by side, they faced the howling wind, staring at the raging blizzard ahead.

  The storm appeared to be shrinking, but the wind itself was growing stronger.

  Lower-level cultivators, unable to suppress their excitement, pushed closer to the entrance. But as the violent gales intensified, their enthusiasm quickly turned to fear. Many retreated, scrambling behind higher-level cultivators for protection.

  Then—

  A deep, thunderous rumble echoed from the center of the storm. The blizzard twisted violently, drilling downward like a massive ice auger.

  Moments later, chunks of frozen ice were ripped from the ground and shredded into razor-sharp shards that shot toward the crowd like a lethal hailstorm.

  “Defend yourselves!”

  Magical artifacts flashed into existence as cultivators scrambled to block the attack. Screams erupted everywhere.

  As expected, the ones suffering the most were the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

  A young Qi Training girl standing beside Lauren froze in terror as a jagged shard of ice flew straight toward her throat. Lauren casually reached out and caught it midair.

  The girl’s face turned ghostly pale. “Th-thank you! Thank you so much!”

  Lauren released the shard and replied calmly, “If you want to survive, you shouldn’t go inside.”

  “I came with my brother,” the girl hurriedly said. “He’s a Core Formation cultivator.”

  Lauren simply shrugged. It had only been a passing warning anyway.

  At that moment, the storm abruptly split apart like a curtain being torn open. Behind it, a massive field of crystal ice surged upward from the earth.

  Excited shouts exploded across the crowd.

  “The Icefield Secret Realm is open!”

  “It’s open! It’s finally open!”

  High-level cultivators wasted no time. Streams of light shot forward as they rushed toward the entrance.

  “Move! Charge in!”

  “Go! Go!”

  Those capable of flight soared through the air. Others sprinted across the frozen ground at full speed. Not far from Lauren, an extraordinarily handsome man dressed in crimson suddenly transformed into a massive bird and streaked into the storm.

  Dante instinctively leaned forward, but Lauren grabbed his sleeve and held him back.

  “We’ll go in later,” she said calmly. “There’s nothing worthwhile in the outer perimeter anyway—and it’s already afternoon.”

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  The crowd was simply too large. The noise alone made her ears ring.

  The map stored in her memory depicted the Far North as a fan-shaped region divided into multiple layers.

  “The first layer is just the outer perimeter,” Lauren explained quietly. “Nothing there is worth our time.”

  “The second layer naturally filters out most Qi Refining cultivators.”

  “The third layer blocks Foundation Establishment cultivators.”

  “And the fourth layer…” She paused. “Even Core Formation cultivators rarely reach it. That’s where the real treasures are.”

  She glanced at Dante before continuing.

  “If we can reach the fourth layer, this trip won’t be wasted. If we manage to circle the fifth layer, we’ll exceed our mission goals.”

  She added casually, “Oh, and each layer has several elite monsters. Kill them whenever you find them, because—”

  “Wait,” Dante interrupted.

  “Yes?”

  “Uncle-Master… what exactly are elite monsters?”

  Lauren paused briefly.

  “They’re beasts stronger than everything else in the surrounding area. They don’t wander. They guard territory. And their territory usually contains something valuable—high-grade spiritual herbs, rare materials, or other treasures.”

  Dante nodded slowly. “I see. Miss Lauren seems very well prepared.”

  She smiled faintly. “Didn’t the Sect Leader brief you?”

  Dante shook his head. “My master has never entered this place. The secret realm opens at irregular intervals, and it only stays open for three days each time. Once it closes, you can leave—but you can’t re-enter. He missed every opening over the last few thousand years.”

  By the time nightfall approached, the two finally entered the secret realm.

  The temperature inside plummeted instantly. This wasn’t ordinary cold—it seeped straight into the soul.

  Dante immediately swallowed a Fire Spirit Pill and shuddered violently.

  “Damn… it’s freezing. I swear my soul is shaking.”

  The sky above was heavy with dark clouds, yet the snowfield itself glowed with an eerie brightness. Across the pristine white landscape, splashes of crimson blood bloomed like grotesque flowers.

  Cultivators clashed with monstrous beasts everywhere. Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators disdained lingering in the upper layers, rushing deeper into the realm the moment they entered.

  Lauren and Dante deliberately lagged behind, planning to explore each level methodically.

  The ground was blanketed with a peculiar blue grass unfamiliar to the cultivation world. Cultivators called it Lampwick Grass.

  From the center of each blade grew a wick-like filament about the length of a palm.

  Lauren and Dante harvested large bundles of it. In absolute darkness, this plant could mean the difference between life and death.

  A beast suddenly lunged toward them.

  Dante reacted instantly, killing it in a single strike before skillfully skinning and dismantling the corpse.

  “No external wounds,” he noted. “We can tan the hide and use it as a ground blanket.”

  Lauren had collected several beasts herself. As she worked on skinning one, she suddenly noticed something strange.

  One of the still-living beasts beside her had vanished.

  A chill of unease ran through her.

  She immediately sent her spiritual sense into her inner space—and found it.

  “Edmund… did you drag that thing in here?”

  “Yes.”

  Lauren stared in disbelief as the beast rampaged wildly across her carefully cultivated spiritual garden. Fragile plants were crushed beneath its claws in seconds.

  “Catch it—now!” she transmitted urgently. “That species has mutated. It can’t be domesticated—”

  Before she even finished speaking, Edmund had already killed it.

  Without any visible movement, the hide cleanly separated from the flesh. He casually carried the hide beneath the Weak Tree, laid it down, and sat on it like a cushion.

  Lauren stared silently.

  …So that’s what he wanted?

  “A little small,” Edmund commented casually.

  Lauren’s lips twitched.

  “Be careful,” she warned. “What do you think people will say if a huge living beast suddenly disappears beside me?”

  “Then kill it and toss it inside,” Edmund replied lazily.

  “…Fine.”

  Lauren withdrew her spiritual sense.

  The moment she refocused on reality, she froze.

  Right beside her lay a freshly mutilated corpse—clearly the beast Edmund had just tossed back out.

  Lauren: “…”

  That damned old dragon.

  She quickly abandoned the scene and jogged forward to catch up with Dante.

  The two of them cut down several monsters, claiming a handful of high-grade spiritual herbs and several chunks of pure mineral crystals from the creatures’ nests.

  Nearby Qi Training and Foundation Establishment cultivators watched the battle unfold with wide eyes. Seeing how effortlessly the pair handled the monsters, no one dared to try stealing their spoils.

  Before long, night fell.

  “It’s getting dark,” Lauren said. “Time to prepare the lamps.”

  These weren’t ordinary lamps. They were crafted using the Lampwick Grass they had harvested earlier.

  When true night descended, the snowfield would become engulfed by a strange black mist—one that ordinary lamp flames could not pierce.