Chapter 126: Agarwood for Bones and Jade for Flesh

Lu Han was thoroughly defeated by this Evil Wind Beast—no, he decided it was better to call it a "Shameless Snake." Ignoring the creature, he walked straight to the tree and sat down cross-legged.

As usual, he began to circulate his "Heavenly Frost Cold Energy." As a Profound-grade intermediate cultivation technique, and a rare ice-attribute one at that, its power was beyond doubt. However, Lu Han soon noticed something unusual, and his expression shifted into one of wild joy.

Watching Lu Han’s changing expression, the Evil Wind Beast muttered, "Has this fellow named Lu finally gone mad?"

Since being sent out of the inheritance space by the Nether Crow Throne yesterday, Lu Han had been unconscious. Upon waking, he had spent his time studying the "Nether Crow Soul Canon" and the movement technique left behind by the strange man, "Sword Shadow Phantom Body," without practicing his own cultivation technique at all. Just moments ago, however, he realized that his cultivation speed had increased by more than a mere fraction.

Through a stroke of luck, Lu Han had fused with that mysterious cold bead, which had altered his constitution. Yet, the transformation had not been absolute. According to his master, Old Man Ling, Lu Han had possessed five-tenths of an ice attribute. While not as potent as a pure ice-attribute constitution, it was far superior to a dual-attribute one, as ice attributes were inherently rare.

However, Lu Han had just discovered that if he had previously possessed five-tenths, he now seemed to possess seven-tenths.

Lu Han rubbed his nose. This couldn't have anything to do with the Nether Crow inheritance. There was only one possibility: his breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm had further strengthened his inherent ice attribute. Thinking of this, Lu Han couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. This meant he might one day possess a pure, single ice attribute. One had to realize that martial artists with a single attribute were objects of fierce competition for any sect; even within the Great Xia Empire, they were few and far between.

At this thought, Lu Han couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"It seems signing that Evergreen Pact with this fellow named Lu was truly a mistake. To think that I, the great Evil Wind, a legendary figure among snakes..." Watching Lu Han giggle like an idiot, the Evil Wind Beast stood upright on its lower body and sighed.

Lu Han, still immersed in his joy, felt his face darken upon hearing the creature's remark.

He reached out and flicked the head of the Evil Wind Beast, which was still preoccupied with being a "legendary figure among snakes."

"What is wrong with signing the Evergreen Pact with me? Regardless of anything else, I am the successor of the Nether Heaven Great Sage. Furthermore, if you hadn't signed that pact with me, I fear you wouldn't have lasted long in your condition back then," Lu Han said.

"Do not flick the noble head of the great Evil Wind!" The Evil Wind Beast raised its tail to cover its head and roared.

"Noble..." Lu Han’s mouth twitched.

...

The sky gradually darkened as night shrouded the land.

Lu Han ate his dried rations by the campfire; he still had plenty left from what he had purchased at the Myriad Delicacies Pavilion.

"I’ll head out tomorrow. I hope I can run into someone to ask for directions," Lu Han muttered, looking at the full moon in the sky.

Although the Evil Wind Beast said they were near the Soul-Confusing Plains, Lu Han had no map, and the Soul-Confusing Plains were the furthest he had ever traveled.

Just then, a cool breeze drifted by, and the surrounding air grew colder by half.

The mysterious cold bead in Lu Han's Niwan Palace at the center of his brow suddenly began to spin frantically, as if drawn by some force. Then, it returned to calm, quietly hovering at the center of the Niwan Palace. The Nether Crow phantom that Lu Han had cultivated through the "Nether Crow Soul Canon" remained far away from the cold bead, not daring to approach it.

Lu Han’s eyes narrowed. A hazy white figure appeared before him, seemingly drawing closer.

The Evil Wind Beast flicked its tongue to sense the surroundings. It froze for a moment, then slithered down from Lu Han’s arm. Its cyan-gold scales stood on end, and it stared forward with vertical snake eyes. Lu Han found the beast’s nervousness quite strange.

Just as Lu Han expected the Evil Wind Beast to do something extraordinary:

"Whoosh!"

To his surprise, the Evil Wind Beast escaped with astonishing speed, hiding behind a large tree behind Lu Han, only peeking its head out to watch the hazy figure.

"This is... there can be no mistake about this aura!" The Evil Wind Beast gulped in a remarkably human fashion.

Looking at the beast hiding behind the tree, Lu Han doubted, "Is this really the once-mighty Evil Wind Beast that possessed two great bloodlines? Is it really this cowardly?"

Lu Han turned back to look. The hazy white figure grew clearer, stopping ten meters directly in front of him.

"A woman? How could a woman appear in these desolate mountains?" Lu Han was puzzled.

The moonlight was like water, and as the mountain wind blew, a faint fragrance wafted into Lu Han’s nose. He appraised the woman before him.

She was in the prime of her youth, dressed in cloud-white palace robes. Her skin was as white as snow, and her long dark hair was gently tied up with butterfly tassels. Her face was bare of makeup, yet it could not hide her peerless beauty. Her figure was slender, her waist cinched with cloud-silk, and her expression was as cold as ice. Her deep eyes were filled with a sense of tranquility. She was stunningly elegant, like a fairy from the nine heavens who had descended into the mortal world. The icy aura surrounding her made one feel a sense of reverence.

Lu Han was momentarily dazed, involuntarily reciting: "Born of water, a unique wonder; water for bones, jade for skin."

"Hmph!"

The woman let out a soft snort, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, and the temperature in the entire forest seemed to drop.

Startled by the chill, Lu Han came to his senses. Realizing his lack of composure, he hurriedly cupped his hands in a salute.

"Miss, I did not mean to offend you."

Seeing that Lu Han’s eyes were clear and devoid of any evil intent, the woman’s furrowed brows relaxed, though her icy demeanor remained enough to keep others at a distance.

"Miss, why are you here alone?" Lu Han asked.

Although Lu Han did not know where he was, the Evil Wind Beast had said that the Nether Crow Throne had followed the Nether Heaven Great Sage and destroyed itself, using its last bit of power to send them out. The destruction of the Nether Crow Throne meant that the aura that suppressed cultivation levels in the Soul-Confusing Plains no longer existed, so the throne had sent them to a minor pocket dimension—a place just outside the Soul-Confusing Plains.

However, Lu Han could not discern the woman’s cultivation level. Yet, it was impossible for a woman with no cultivation to appear here; such a person could not survive in this place.

There were only two possibilities: either her cultivation was far beyond his, making her unreadable to him, or her level was not very high, but she was using a special technique to mask her aura.

Lu Han looked at her and judged her to be about his own age, making the first possibility unlikely. If it were true, her talent would be terrifying.

Lu Han became secretly wary. The woman had appeared suddenly in the night, and judging by the situation, she seemed to have come specifically for him.

Though he could not perceive a shred of her cultivation, her icy aura alone was enough to compel reverence; she seemed like a superior being. Furthermore, he had witnessed the Evil Wind Beast’s reaction. Although the beast had lost all its cultivation after signing the Evergreen Pact, it still possessed the bloodlines of two great demon beasts, which only served to highlight the woman’s extraordinary nature.

In Lu Han’s memory, he had never crossed paths with her. Why, then, had she come for him?