Qin Yu could feel the change in Frostfire’s aura and a glimmer of respect appeared in his eyes. There were trillions of lives in the world, but how many of them could face death head on? Even if this person was an enemy, he still deserved respect.
Extremely terrifying fluctuations of aura erupted from within Frostfire’s body. White flames ignited around him, wrapping his body.
The blazing flames leapt about. But, they didn’t emit any heat at all. Rather, the already cold temperature began to fall at an even more astonishing speed.
He had been given the name Frozensky Frostfire because of this current phenomenon. But what a pity, this was the last time such a sight would appear in the world.
“I am Wen Congong!”
With a loud roar, the white flames immediately blew into a conflagration. Frostfire’s body disintegrated within, fully vanishing. After losing control of the white fire, it burst out like a broken dam, sweeping out through the surrounding area for 5000 miles.
Everything in that region was frozen. The ice was pure white in color, without any impurities.
In this 5000 mile zone, everything, including the sealed stones, had become an incomparably large block of ice.
A calm voice spread out from the ice. “I will remember your name. Fellow daoist Wen Congong…have a nice trip.”
Mei Ruyu had fled 10,000 miles away before she relaxed and came to a stop. As she turned back and looked towards that area which was covered by sealed stones, her eyes filled with even greater horror and fear.
If she were only frightened before, then that fear now grew into abject horror, a dark fog that drowned her mind.
Every breath of time passed at an incomparably slow pace. The sound of her heartbeat became increasingly clear in her ears. Mei Ruyu could feel the goosebumps rising up all over her skin.
Suddenly, her eyes fiercely widened and she spat out a mouthful of blood. It was like an iron bar had been stabbed into her head and was being ruthlessly stirred around. She screamed in pain.
The contract runes between her and Lord Frostfire had broken apart and faded away at this moment. There was no need to guess why this had happened.
Frostfire had died…he had unexpectedly died!
Although she already had an ill premonition, once this matter truly occurred, great waves of shock still rose up in her mind. For a time, even the pain she felt was overwhelmed.
Frozensky Frostfire…he was an ill.u.s.trious character whose name echoed in the highest heavens. He was absolutely a formidable character who was known by everyone in the Sealed Stone World.
But today, that towering mountain had collapsed without any warning.
Endless fear gushed out of Mei Ruyu’s eyes. In particular, she thought back to how she, Song Zhongyi, and some others had tried to surround and kill that man…
Flee!
There was no other thought. The only idea in her mind was to run away as far as possible and hide as well as she could.
But just as she turned back around, Mei Ruyu fiercely stiffened. Looking at her wide eyes and the cold sweat that covered her forehead, this clearly wasn’t what she intended.
Pa –
A small bloody hole appeared between Mei Ruyu’s eyebrows. Her eyes began to gloss over as her aura rapidly faded.
Qin Yu stepped forward. “Fellow daoist Wen Congong seemed to have some interest in you. Then, I invite you to keep him company on the road to the yellow springs.”
On this day, the entire Sealed Stone World fell into chaos!
Frozensky Frostfire had died. All cultivators who had a contract with him had suffered heavy losses from the backlash. This news instantly spread out.
Information about the mysterious black-robed cultivator spread through the Sealed Stone World in the shortest time possible. As people spoke about him, their voices were filled with praise and awe.
But this resounding event didn’t have any follow-up. This was because after the mysterious black-robed cultivator killed Frostfire, he didn’t make any moves to fill the power vacuum left behind. Rather, as news spread, this mysterious figure vanished from sight.
Numerous people discussed the situation and finally came to a conclusion: Even if this mysterious black-robed figure had managed to kill Frostfire, he had still been severely wounded and had hidden away to heal…there was even a chance that they both perished together!
After all, whether this was true or false, it was a fact that the mysterious black-robed cultivator hadn’t made an appearance. After waiting for some time, all those other great beings began to make their moves, dividing up Frostfire’s remnants between themselves.
This process clearly wasn’t peaceful. A wave of blood and death was set off within the Sealed Stone World.
And amidst this chaos, Qin Yu appeared at a lively trading market.
This was an area where they sealed stones were relatively close to each other. There was a sealed stone every several dozen feet and each sealed stone had a few places for stalls atop them.
Where there were cultivators there were sure to be demands. And, demands would drive the appearance of transactions. This was a trading market necessary for all living beings in the Sealed Stone World.
Throughout the long years, the Sealed Stone World had already evolved and produced its own laws for survival.
Some cultivators realized that continuing down their road of cultivation and making progress was hopeless. In order to survive, they had no choice but to adapt themselves.
For instance, farmers who specialized in spirit plants.
For instance, refining masters who crafted tools.
For instance, doctors who treated and healed others.
Of course, there were also women who were willing to sell their bodies in exchange for income to survive.
As a result, this trading market was extremely lively and prosperous. It wasn’t dry or boring as one would imagine.
Throughout all of this, the most welcomed and received currency remained stone beads.
For those living within the Sealed Stone World, if there was a key point for them to rejoice about that allowed them to live relatively calm and stable lives, it was that the eruption frequency of the ‘destruction of will’ events was low.
Qin Yu swatted away a woman who nearly pasted herself onto his body. He looked around and found his target.
Atop a hundred foot tall sealed stone, there was a three level wooden building. It couldn’t be called grand or exquisite, but in this Sealed Stone World where there was a lack of building materials and other common commodities, this was already a great show of wealth. Cultivators often flew out from the front doors, indicating that business was good.
Qin Yu stepped forward and soon arrived outside the wooden building. He looked up and then walked in.
A maid immediately came forward to welcome him; she was a young and shy-looking girl. She glanced at Qin Yu and hurriedly lowered her head, softly saying, “Dear guest, I welcome your arrival. Is there anything you need?”
Qin Yu lightly said, “I want to exchange for stone beads.”
That’s right, he was here for stone beads.
This was something that happened back on the day that Qin Yu killed Frostfire. When he picked up the stone beads that Frostfire and Mei Ruyu left behind, he inadvertently discovered a secret.
The stone beads contained a will that was more formidable than those within the sealed stones.
Of course, the strength referred to here was not quantity, but quality.
To draw a comparison, Qin Yu would ‘become full’ after absorbing the strength of three sealed stones. After that, he would need to wait to digest them before he could continue.
But, if he were to absorb the strength from the stone beads, it wouldn’t be a problem even if he were to absorb ten. And each one would provide him with even more power than three sealed stones.
The most important reason was that absorbing the strength of the stone beads wouldn’t leave behind any hidden dangers. This was the most attractive point to Qin Yu.
Although he had killed Frostfire and it hadn’t been too difficult, it was exactly because of this that Qin Yu didn’t dare to be complacent or blinded by arrogance.
He didn’t believe that he could reach the peak of the Sealed Stone World so easily. Moreover, before Frostfire died, he had said that the ice spear was prepared to help him rush into the sequence.
Although he had no idea what this so-called ‘sequence’ was, it was clear that there was another level within the Sealed Stone World that Qin Yu had yet to touch upon…and, the beings that existed on that level were absolutely terrifying!
All of this was to explain a single point. If there was a better way to enhance his will, Qin Yu would rather give up on the sealed stones. It was simply far too dangerous for him. The smallest mistake might lead to total destruction.
Since the stone beads were the best way for him to cultivate his will, Qin Yu decided to use them instead. Without too much effort, he learned some information from another cultivator.
Thus, he arrived here.
The young maid hurriedly said, “Dear guest, please follow me.”
She turned and walked away. After several steps, her face flushed red and she said, “Sorry, sorry…I…I…went the wrong way…”
She had an appearance as if she was about to cry.
Qin Yu had a surprised expression. He had already noticed the smell of fatigue and weariness from the other maids. Was his luck so good that he encountered the legendary brainless little bird? Or was this merely her way of attracting attention?
He thought for a moment before tossing it to the side. No matter what the truth was, he didn’t care at all. He directly stated, “It doesn’t matter. Guide me.”
The immature maid nodded in gratitude and walked in the opposite direction.
Soon, Qin Yu was brought to another floor. There was a long divided counter that separated the area. Once a cultivator stood up and left, the young maid brought him over to sit down.
“My lord, this guest would like to exchange for stone beads.” As the young maid finished speaking she bowed and walked to the side.
Although this was a semi-open floor plan, there were clearly special arrangements made. Once one entered, all outside sounds were isolated and the images within were blurred so that one couldn’t see inside.
The middle-aged cultivator behind the counter had a pale complexion. He greedily glanced at the animated young girl standing to the side and then smiled as he asked, “How would you like to exchange?”
Qin Yu calmly said, “What is the exchange rate?”
The middle-aged cultivator said, “Ten low-grade beads for one medium-grade bead. Ten medium-grade beads for one high-grade bead. Of course, the market price for high-grade beads has always been high. If dear guest wishes for them, we can at most exchange them for 12 medium-grade beads.”
Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows, “Is that so…”
The middle-aged cultivator’s smile faded. “If dear guest still needs to make further considerations, you can come back after some time.”
Qin Yu looked at him. “I heard there are some other ways to exchange for stone beads at half price. I wonder if this is true?”
The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes brightened. “Of course it is true. Dear guest, every once in a while, our trade association will send a ship into the Sea of Bewildering Fog. As long as dear guest voluntarily boards the ship and helps the trade association with some simple matters, not only will you obtain the favorable condition of exchanging for half price, but the trade association will freely bestow upon you five medium-grade stone beads.”
Qin Yu wavered for a moment. “Is it dangerous?”
The middle-aged cultivators hesitated. “Of course it is dangerous, otherwise we wouldn’t offer such rich rewards. But, our trade association has a wealth of experience for entering the Sea of Bewildering Fog. As long as you are a bit cautious, there shouldn’t be any problems. There just happens to be a ship that will be departing soon and there aren’t many spots remaining. If dear guest intends on joining, then you should decide as soon as possible.”
Qin Yu took a deep breath, “Good, then I’ll go!”
