Chapter 430 - 234: Profound Ice Pavilion (2)

Chapter 430: Chapter 234: Profound Ice Pavilion (2)

Seeing her reaction, Xuzhuang followed her into the grand hall. At the head of the hall stood an elegant Daoist with hair like a cascading waterfall and skin as fair as ice and snow. Xuzhuang’s heart stirred, realizing this must be the current Sect Leader of the Profound Ice Pavilion, Master Jing Chu.

Upon seeing Master Jing Chu, Lan Su Nu hurried forward and bowed. "Master, I’ve brought Senior Brother Xu."

So Lan Su Nu was Master Jing Chu’s disciple. But for a cultivation prodigy like her, who had formed a Nascent Soul in just two hundred years, it was only natural to have an extraordinary background.

Xuzhuang stepped forward with Lan Su Nu and bowed. "This junior, Xuzhuang, greets you, Zhenren."

Master Jing Chu smiled and nodded, then glanced at Lan Su Nu. When Lan Su Nu feigned ignorance and made no move to leave, she let out an exasperated little cough.

Lan Su Nu batted her eyelashes, a hopeful look in her eyes. The stalemate lasted for several breaths before she finally pouted and withdrew.

Only then did Master Jing Chu speak. "For the First Venerable of the Mystic Gate to visit so suddenly is quite a surprise. I hear you’ve come on a mission for your sect. May I ask what it is about?"

Xuzhuang was taken aback. ’So even a Primordial Spirit True Man like her addresses me this way.’ After a moment’s thought, he decided against false modesty and replied respectfully, "This junior has come on the order of my Master, Daochen Zhenren. I wish to trade the ’Wind Stabilizing Pill Technique’ for your sect’s ’Profound Refining Avoiding Tribulation Ice Soul Method’."

"Oh?" Master Jing Chu mused for a moment, then her face lit up with a smile. "Very well."

Xuzhuang was astonished. He had expected Master Jing Chu might agree—after all, the Wind Stabilizing Pill Technique was a supreme Tribulation Crossing Technique—but he hadn’t anticipated her accepting so readily.

For a moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was some scheme afoot. On second thought, however, Master Jing Chu wouldn’t stoop to such tricks. It wouldn’t just be a senior scheming against a junior—an act of profound disrespect—it would be an attempt to defraud the entire Tai Su Orthodox Sect.

Thus, Xuzhuang hesitated no longer. He took out the treasured casket containing the Wind Stabilizing Pill Technique and presented it. "Thank you, Zhenren."

Master Jing Chu accepted the casket but seemed in no hurry to open it. With a flip of her hand, a scroll of soft silk appeared in her open palm. She handed it to Xuzhuang casually. "This is our sect’s Profound Refining Avoiding Tribulation Ice Soul Method. You may look at it first."

Daochen Zhenren had already told him that if he succeeded in the exchange, he was free to examine the technique first. So, dispensing with pleasantries, Xuzhuang unrolled the silk scroll and read it through carefully, only for his brow to immediately furrow.

It turned out that the Profound Refining Avoiding Tribulation Ice Soul Method was split into two separate techniques: the Tribulation Avoidance Technique and the Xuan Refining Method!

To use the Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul, one first had to procure Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice without a single impurity. Then, one had to find an extraordinary Ice Attribute Spiritual Land, set up an Array, and refine it for a full ten thousand years. Only then could one create the ’Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul’ needed to perform the Tribulation Avoidance Technique.

Of course, Master Jing Chu hadn’t played any tricks; both techniques were right there in Xuzhuang’s hands. But this Xuan Refining Method...

The flawless Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice was one thing; as precious as Heavenly and Earthly Treasures were, they could still be found. An extraordinary Ice Attribute Spiritual Land wasn’t exclusive to the Land of the North Pole, either. But the ten thousand years of labor... that could not be shortened by a single day.

Even if the Tai Su Orthodox Sect obtained the Profound Refining Avoiding Tribulation Ice Soul Method and found a Profound Ice Spiritual Land, it would be ten thousand years before they could put it to use.

Just as Xuzhuang looked up, Master Jing Chu seemed to sense his thoughts. She raised a hand and said, "Now, it’s not that I’m trying to pull a fast one. The requirements for your Tai Su Orthodox Sect’s Wind Stabilizing Pill Technique are hardly trivial themselves."

The words died in Xuzhuang’s throat as sudden understanding dawned on him. A Tribulation Avoidance Technique was priceless. To be able to evade the Three Calamities was a miraculous feat. This was a true path to longevity, a boon to one’s Daoist journey. Of course it would be monumentally difficult. Master Jing Chu was indeed not trying to cheat him.

Xuzhuang’s thoughts shifted. ’Daochen Zhenren might not have known the specifics of the Profound Refining Avoiding Tribulation Ice Soul Method, but he must have suspected something like this. That’s why he gave me alternative instructions. Perhaps this gives me some leeway.’

After considering it carefully, Xuzhuang clasped his hands in a formal salute. "May I ask, Zhenren, if it is possible to trade the materials for creating the Wind Stabilizing Pill in exchange for a finished Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul?"

’Refining a Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul is so laborious,’ he thought. ’The Profound Ice Pavilion must have some in reserve. They should have a long-term process for creating these.’

"Oh?" Master Jing Chu smiled. "Are you authorized to make such a deal?"

A flicker of joy sparked in Xuzhuang’s heart. He replied, "Before I departed, the Master instructed me that if your esteemed sect was unwilling to trade the technique, I could offer to have ’Wind Stabilizing Pills’ crafted as payment for your sect to perform the refining and casting on our behalf. Therefore, I am authorized to make this decision."

Master Jing Chu mused, "That would work as well. I will approve the exchange, then..."

She suddenly recalled something and asked, "How many pieces of the Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul do you wish to trade for?"

Xuzhuang’s brow furrowed slightly. "In answer, Zhenren, I would like to exchange for two pieces. Would that be possible?"

"Two pieces." Master Jing Chu’s expression brightened. She smiled. "If you can wait thirty to fifty years, it won’t be difficult."

"My Profound Ice Pavilion had three pieces of the Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul in our stores, but we have already sent one away. Another will be ready for completion within thirty to fifty years... Although no one in our sect is currently facing the calamity of fire, we must keep one piece in reserve for unforeseen needs. I trust you can understand."

Xuzhuang breathed a sigh of relief. "Of course. We shall proceed as you arrange, Zhenren."

Master Jing Chu nodded. "Very well. I will have someone take you to collect one Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul now. You may collect the other when it is complete. Or, if you’re worried, you’re welcome to stay in my sect and watch over the process."

She even ended with a joke. This Zhenren was nothing like her cold and distant appearance.

Xuzhuang could only say, "You jest, Zhenren."

Master Jing Chu waved her hand, not to dismiss Xuzhuang, but as a summons to the hall’s entrance. Lan Su Nu immediately popped out from behind the open doors, grinning. "Master, Senior Brother, are you two finished talking?"

Master Jing Chu, unsurprised by her eavesdropping, simply said, "Take Dao Miaozhi to retrieve the Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul."

Lan Su Nu wasn’t surprised by the instruction either. She agreed with delight and said to Xuzhuang, "Senior Brother, please follow me."

After bidding farewell to Master Jing Chu, Xuzhuang followed Lan Su Nu from the grand hall. Lan Su Nu was a whirlwind of endless chatter along the way. Xuzhuang was beginning to realize that the Profound Ice Pavilion was home to more than a few innocently cheerful souls. He didn’t find it tiresome, however, and made casual responses as they went.

They walked like this for a while until the buildings grew sparse. Lan Su Nu then initiated an Escape Technique, with Xuzhuang following closely behind. Only then did he realize how vast this small realm truly was. It was a world of ice and snow; the scenery, while fantastical, was ultimately monotonous.

"We’re here." After flying for over two thousand li, Lan Su Nu suddenly pointed downward. "Down there is the place where the Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul is created."

Xuzhuang looked down and saw a shallow fissure in the earth. He followed Lan Su Nu as she flew into it. The fissure grew wider and wider as they descended. He lost track of time, but when they finally reached the bottom, they were in a cavern tens of thousands of zhang wide.

Xuzhuang took a moment to sense his surroundings. The Ice Attribute Spiritual Mechanism was indeed incredibly dense, but it was concentrated in specific locations, which he guessed were individual Mysterious Refining Arrays.

Even after a Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul was complete, it had to be stored in an Ice Attribute Spiritual Land. Since the Profound Ice Pavilion’s spiritual land was one of the finest in the world, they simply stored all the finished products here for future use.

Lan Su Nu said, "I need to cast a Spell to see which Array has finished its cycle. Please wait a moment, Senior Brother."

Xuzhuang had no objection. While she cast the Spell, he began to examine their surroundings, but his heart suddenly clenched.

He scanned the area and finally pinpointed the faint source of the feeling of being watched. His gaze fell upon a mountain of deep blue ice standing silently some three or four thousand zhang away.

’Isn’t that...?’

The longer Xuzhuang stared, the more familiar it looked. It only took him a moment to confirm it: he had seen this ice mountain before.

A completed Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul was merely the size of one’s palm. When activated, however, it transformed into a massive ice mountain, encasing the person seeking to pass their tribulation.

Xuzhuang didn’t know if all such ice mountains looked alike, but he was certain that the one before him was the very same Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul he had once seen in the Dharma Origin Grotto Heaven—the one used by True Master Xu Chen of the Dharma Origin Sect to evade his fire calamity!

He was so certain not just because of its shape, nor even because of the feeling of being watched he had just sensed.

It was because, a moment after his eyes fell upon the ice mountain, a voice resounded in his mind. "Young Friend Xu, we meet again."