Chapter 117 - 60: Frost Heaven Mark

Chapter 117: Chapter 60: Frost Heaven Mark

Not only did they have to endure the severe cold, but the scarcity of food in winter meant they could only struggle to survive.

One could say that for a fox, every harsh winter was an ultimate trial of life and death.

The slightest sign of weakness meant the cruelest end awaited it.

In the end, the old fox failed to survive the brutal cold and collapsed into the vast, white snow.

HUFF...

Its death was not the end.

Soon, Jiang Xuan experienced another Illusory Dream. This time, he became a butterfly, emerging from its chrysalis to soar between Heaven and Earth, only to perish in a cold gust of wind.

After the butterfly came a cicada, then a cricket, a dragonfly... The lives of these creatures were all exceedingly brief, and against the biting winter tide, they were utterly defenseless.

Of all these countless Illusory Dreams, the experience that shook the unconscious Jiang Xuan’s Heart Spirit to its core was becoming a locust.

It was a locust plague. Hundreds of millions of them swarmed together, creating an overwhelming sensation, as if they could devour everything in their path.

And yet, even a plague of such magnitude was silently annihilated when the harsh winter descended.

By becoming all manner of living things within the Illusory Dream, Jiang Xuan truly felt the terror of winter.

It was extinction. It was death. It was an unstoppable cataclysm.

Before the Winter Solstice, Heaven and Earth were a picture of prosperity, with all living things undergoing vigorous Growth. But the moment the cold tide arrived, those billions of Prosperous creatures would instantly wither and die.

The survivors would be left trembling in the cold, struggling to stay alive.

"When the cold tide comes, all life is extinguished." This was no mere exaggeration by poets and scholars, but a depiction of the world in its truest form. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

And in years when winter arrived early, or when Heaven and Earth were exceptionally cold, it was a terror of mass extinction.

Hundreds of millions, even billions or tens of billions of living creatures, would be utterly annihilated by the premature arrival of the cold winds.

Humans, after all, are the lords of all creation. They have clothes to ward off the cold, shelters to hide from it, and various methods to survive the harsh winter. For this reason, as a human, Jiang Xuan had never truly experienced the terror of the bitter cold.

But when he became an ordinary creature, the fear of Heaven’s cold—a fear carved into his very bones and fused into his genes—and the majestic might of Heaven that extinguished all life in the cold tide became deeply branded upon his Soul Spirit.

HUFF...

Meanwhile, although Jiang Xuan’s Divine Soul, lost in the Illusory Dream, was bewildered by the power of the Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup to the point he could no longer remember his own identity, the blessing of the Three Purification Mantra: True Communication and the Effect of the Feast Ceremony had never faded.

The core of the Feast Ceremony was its ability to chew and devour everything. All his epiphanies within the Illusory Dream, his fear of the cold of Heaven and Earth, and his experiences of death in desperate straits were being silently chewed and slowly digested by the Feast Ceremony.

The might of the cold Heaven, which made all living things bow and drove billions of creatures to extinction, was no exception!

Everything Jiang Xuan experienced was part of the Illusion Realm. And though within it he played the role of insects and other creatures, placing him in opposition to the frosty aura of Heaven, it was undeniable that the might of the cold Heaven was also part of the Illusion Realm, a manifestation of the Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup’s power.

To put it more simply, the frosty aura of Heaven was just another "flavor" in the soup.

And since it was a power derived from the soup, it could naturally be digested by the Feast Ceremony.

Thus, the might of the cold Heaven—feared by all living things, the cause of death and extinction for countless billions of creatures—was "chewed" and swallowed bit by bit through the Feast Ceremony, until it was fully integrated into his Soul Spirit.

Then, at a certain moment, a hidden special ability was quietly triggered. It merged with the Effect of the Three Purification Mantra: True Communication, and then, combined with the Frost Heaven Sword that Jiang Xuan had long yearned for, a single, cold Rune began to slowly condense and take shape within his Sea of Consciousness.

...

In the outside world, Yan Shouzhuo and Wu Shan watched Jiang Xuan fall silent after drinking the four bowls of soup. They didn’t find it strange—this was one of the expected effects of the Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup. At that moment, both were filled with curiosity and anticipation, waiting for him to awaken.

They waited for nearly the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

By this point, Wu Shan was already frowning.

"How is it taking so long? With his Talent, he should have woken up long ago..."

Wu Shan, still frowning, wanted to make a few excuses for Jiang Xuan, but before he could finish, Yan Shouzhuo waved his hand. "Enough. Don’t make excuses for Jiang Xuan. He has indeed been asleep longer than most."

Despite saying this, Yan Shouzhuo’s face held no trace of disappointment. Instead, there was a strange look. "However, it’s not because Jiang Xuan’s will is weak. His ability to digest is simply too astonishing. He has completed the Refinement of the Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup’s medicinal effects. For him, those four bowls had the Effect of seven bowls for anyone else."

At this, he chuckled and shook his head. "This kid... he’s in for a rough time when he wakes up."

"Er..." Learning that Jiang Xuan’s Heart Soul wasn’t weak, but that his digestive ability was just exceptional, Wu Shan was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.

Meanwhile, Yan Shouzhuo had already risen to clear the table.

This pot of soup was incredibly valuable. The cost of the Spiritual Materials alone exceeded three thousand Spirit Stones. Factoring in the Heart Power and Magical Power he had expended, as well as the consumption of his Purple Soul Blue Flame, this one pot of Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup was worth around nine thousand Spirit Stones—nearly ten thousand.

Of course, as much as Yan Shouzhuo valued Jiang Xuan, he wasn’t so generous as to use such a precious resource entirely on one person.

This soup wasn’t just effective for Jiang Xuan. Within the Shenxiao Sect, there was more than one Dharma Vein related to cold and death.