Spirit Realm

Wood carving? Grandpa!

Qin Lie’s expression shook as he suddenly looked at the carving in his hand. His breathing suddenly sped up. “Uncle Li, he’s my grandpa, I want to know. What happened?”

“Your grandpa?” Li Mu’s eyes lit up as he quietly said, “Your grandpa is a capable person…”

Right as Qin Lie’s desire to know more flared up, Li Mu told the Icestone Snow Wolf King, “We’re far enough away from Icestone City. Mn, go ahead.”

The large wolfdog the Icestone Snow Wolf King had transformed into nodded like a person and then spat out a mouthful of silver-white mist.

The cold mist was like a tent that wrapped around Qin Lie and Li Mu. Under the bright sun, Qin Lie, Li Mu, and the wolfdog quickly became covered in ice.

A short time later, the ice evaporated without turning into water and simply dissipated like mist.

Qin Lie, Li Mu and the large wolfdog had disappeared without leaving behind a single trace.

……

Qin Lie seemed to come to in a cold and quiet crevasse. When he opened his eyes, his expression changed as he shouted, “Where is this?”

What he saw were thick ice blocks. He seemed to be at the bottom of a glacial world with glaciers that were tens of meters, even hundreds of meters high stood tall. In addition, it was possible to discern that something was sealed inside the glacier.

The cold stones under his feet and the hard ice were everywhere. He was constrained to this narrow passage of ice, and it was difficult to move about.

“Come this way.” Li Mu’s voice came from in front of him. He and the Icestone Snow Wolf King were idly strolling along one of the passages of ice.

When Qin Lie stepped out, he suddenly froze in place. He found that there was an invisible ripple around him that was layered and seemed to help him deflect the iciness of the environment.

Puzzled, Qin Lie’s brow creased, but he proceeded to chase after Li Mu and the Icestone Snow Wolf King.

Walking like this, they slowly climbed up an ice mountain. After traveling for more than an hour, he followed Li Mu and the Icestone Snow Wolf King up to a glowing glacier and stepped onto its peak.

“Look closely at the side,” said Li Mu, pointing it out in a serious manner.

Qin Lie closely examined a little ice mountain nearby and looked inside it…

There was a terrifying spirit beast that was similar to a Golden Crag Beast, but the one sealed within the ice mountain was more than fifty times larger!

This Golden Crag Beast that was fifty times larger than a regular one was ten meters tall and as vast as a mountain. Gold light flashed across its body, completely covered in thick ice. Its position seemed to be one of howling to the skies in discontent.

“Look at the other ice glaciers,” reminded Li Mu.

Qin Lie’s heart shook, and as he went to inspect the other surrounding glaciers, the shock on his face and in his eyes grew even more pronounced.

An enormous Ice Soul Python like a dragon. Its coiled body was thirty meters tall with layers of ice circling around the python’s body, so it appeared as though it was floating on a cloud.

This Ice Soul Python was also frozen by the glaciers and unable to move.

At the other end, inside a glacier, was an enormous lion was staring with its eyes wide open. Its eyes still glowed with a purple-blue light.

When Qin Lie glanced at it, it felt as though his heart was going to stop beating. The terror was so great it was like he was being chased down by a titanic monster.

“I do not know the names of these three spirit beasts. The Golden Crag Beast, the Ice Soul Python, and the present beast king, the Purple-eyed Flame Lion King probably descended from them,” Li Mu commented as he pointed to the more distant glaciers. “There are also enormous spirit beasts similar to these ones frozen inside those glaciers…”

“These are the ice mountains deep inside the Arctic Mountain Range?” Qin Lie took a deep breath and shouted, “Is this the place that the Icestone Snow Wolf King and the Purple-eyed Flame Lion King cultivate? The glaciers here are not as high as the rumors say?”

“You are correct but also not.” Li Mu smiled. “While we are in the depths of the Arctic Mountain Range, these are not the glaciers of the outside but a world hundreds of meters below the earth’s surface.”

“What? We’re underground? Hundreds of meters under the Arctic Mountain Range?” Qin Lie was astounded.

“Yes.” Li Mu pointed above his head. “Can’t you look for yourself?”

Qin Lie abruptly raised his head. He saw there were stalactites hanging down hundreds of meters above him.

There was no sky above, only the sharp icicles. Only an endless expanse of glaciers and ice could be seen, without any signs of life.

This was the world at the bottom of the Arctic Mountain Range!

“In the past, I once stayed in the Arctic Mountain Range. It is a pity that I did not know the wonders underground then,” Li Mu said quietly. “After I left, Little Ice was fortunate enough to have stumbled on this place. It was a snow wolf back then and could borrow the cold energy in this place to cultivate. With that, many years later when I came back, it had become the Icestone Snow Wolf King, the beast king of the Arctic Mountain Range.”

Li Mu looked at Qin Lie. “The achievements that Little Ice have made are all due to this wondrous place that is shrouded in extreme cold.

Qin Lie looked in wonder at the Icestone Snow Wolf King.

“Your grandpa also came here.” Li Mu changed topics. “He waited for a few years in the Arctic Mountain Range. Furthermore, he seemed to have already known that there was a place like this and searched for it for several years. According to Little Ice, your grandpa is a very ethical person. When he found this, he did not carelessly kill the spirit beasts of the Arctic Mountain Range, nor did he destroy the Arctic Mountain Range’s environment…”

Qin Lie listened attentively.

“You grandpa finally arrived at the glacier above us. He found the entrance, and the entrance… has always been guarded by Little Ice.” A thread of wonder flashed through Li Mu’s eyes. “He defeated Little Ice at the entrance and came into here. He came to this glacial world deep within the earth and also saw these sealed spirit beasts.”

At this time, the Icestone Snow Wolf King also had respect in its eyes.

“Your grandpa toured this place. He did not move or take anything. When he came out, he seemed very disappointed as though this was not the place he was searching for. Because he seemed to have found the wrong place… he came out empty-handed.” Li Mu looked deeply at Qin Lie. “He talked for a while with Little Ice and then left the Arctic Mountain Range. Since then, he has never returned.”

“Where did he go?” Qin Lie asked urgently.

“Haha, that is something we don’t know.” Li Mu shook his head. “It was Little Ice that told me everything about him.”

“In the past, Little Ice thought it was the beast king of the Arctic Mountain Range, and felt it was strong enough. He could also continue to use the cold energy underground to cultivate, so he hesitated about leaving with me. After it was defeated by your grandpa, it knew that it was not as powerful as it imagined, so it decided to leave with me. After that, the Purple-eyed Flame Lion King became the new beast king, so there was the fight between spirit beasts and martial practitioners this time.

Li Mu smiled freely. ”So if we have to talk about the culprits, your grandpa is the main one. He pushed Little Ice into leaving.”

“What was he searching for? He was also searching for several years…”

Qin Lie’s brow was tightly locked. He suddenly realized that Qin Shan had taken him to Ling Town and settled down at the Ling Family so he could enter the Arctic Mountain Range and search for something.

But even this wondrous glacial world was not what he was searching for. What in the world did he want?

Where did he go after this?

A mystery was solved, but more mysteries arose. Now, Qin Lie had even more questions. He wanted to grab Qin Shan and ask all of his questions at once.

“Your grandpa once helped many spirit beasts in the Arctic Mountain Range, that wood carving… is the symbol of his identity. Many spirit beasts of the Arctic Mountain Range recognize the carving. Of course, the spirit beasts that recognize the carving are of high rank, the kind that have intelligence.” Li Mu was slightly regretful. “After I heard about your grandpa from Little Ice, I went to the mountain to see if I could meet him. It is a pity that I did not have the chance.”

Qin Lie became quiet. Long after, he asked, “Uncle Li, why have you taken me here? Just to resolve one of the things puzzling me?”

Li Mu grinned. “Your grandpa did not destroy this place. He clearly could kill Little Ice but chose not to. He also conversed with Little Ice about cultivation… Little Ice is grateful to him, so it wanted to show you its gratitude. So I have taken you here to let you comprehend frost concept.”

“Frost concept?” Qin Lie was dumbstruck.

“Yes, frost concept!” Li Mu’s expression became serious. “A long time ago, the Arctic Mountain Range should have been a rich forest with numerous ancient spirit beasts residing here. The reason that this place turned to the present Arctic Mountain Range, why there are so many ice glaciers underground, why there are so many ancient era spirit beasts frozen here, is all due someone pressing a palm down from a distance above...”

“Pressing a palm?” Qin Lie shouted in shock.

“Mn, a palm pressed down from a distance above. The land a hundred miles around the mountain range sank hundreds of meters below the surface. The cold spread and froze all the spirit beasts. The ice sealed the world under the ground, causing the mountains to become ice mountains, causing this place to remained as the Arctic Mountain Range.” Li Mu respect rose. “This palm truly upended the earth and caused the sky to change color. The frost concept contained in this palm is eternal and has stayed in this ice crystal world.”

He looked at Qin Lie and said, “Little Ice wants you to feel the frost concept here. As to whether you can comprehend it, that will be up to you.”

The gears in Qin Lie’s mind turned as he listened. He didn’t know if Li Mu’s words were true or not, but just thinking of the scene caused excitement to rise within him.

A palm that upturned the laws of the world, caused mountains to be covered in ice, resulted in the land within a hundred miles to sink deep into the earth. The frost concept never dissipated and was eternal. Could a person really do this?

“Un-Uncle Li, how… do you know this was formed by a palm?” Qin Lie stammered out.

“Because the handprint is still here,” Li Mu said haltingly. “The handprint is covered by thick ice and snow. You cannot see it now. Gather your mind and use your heart to comprehend the frost concept here.”

“How much time do I have?” Qin Lie asked.

“Three months,” answered Li Mu. “Three months later, Little Ice and I will leave the Arctic Mountain Range. I have other arrangements for you.”

“How do I comprehend the frost concept here?”

“Simple.” Li Mu snickered.

The next moment, the invisible barrier around Qin Li suddenly disappeared.

Bone-chilling cold instantly came from all directions. Qin Lie felt as though he was suddenly pulled into ice, his entire body numbed from the cold as the bones in his body cracked.

……