Chapter 252

The Arctic lands were definitely not human-friendly. Tang Yin pressed herself closer to Jiang, who used his wings to shield her from the icy winds and his body to keep her warm. She used her spirit power as well as she could to keep herself from freezing to death; nevertheless, ice crystals formed on her lashes and hair. It was bitterly cold.

Occasionally they encountered spirit beasts, but most kept their distance, spotting Jiang. Flying had eventually become impossible, at least with her as a passenger for them. It was too cold. So they walked through the snow as their footsteps vanished behind them, carried away by the winds.

The lands in front of them were endless expanses of blue ice and glittering white snow. At some point, Yin took out a piece of white, semi-transparent silk to cover her eyes with, as the sun shining upon the ice was too bright and she did not have any sunglasses at hand. The nights she pressed close to Jiang's dragonic form as he covered her with his giant body from the bitter cold that only ever grew colder.

Without him, she would have frozen to death at this point, spirit power and might gathered be damned.

Still, it was utterly fascinating.

The night sky was filled with thousands upon thousands of stars, the aurora dancing over it every odd day in shades of green and purple. The moon seemed closer than ever; sometimes she stretched out her hand and almost felt like she could touch it.

They were almost a week into travel when Jiang lifted her up. "We are almost there...from now on, stay like this; there are spirit beasts here who dislike humans enough that my presence would not deter them."

She nodded and hugged him as they headed into a mountainside formed of massive ice structures. The snow and ice beneath Jiang's boots made crunching sounds as above them a how echoed through the icy lands. Tang Yin's head whipped upwards as a giant snow beast ran towards them.

A wolf with snow-white fur, almost invisible in the snow, with a horn of ice on its forehead. Jiang stilled, and Yin gulped as the giant beast came to a halt in front of them, blue eyes like glaciers mustering them.

"Gravekeeper, what are you doing in my lands? Other spirit beasts had informed me of your coming," the voice growled. "With a human spirit master on top of that?"

"I am only here for passage," Jiang said. "I would fly, but I cannot do so right now; my human companion would freeze to death.”

"We do not permit humans in these lands." The wolf said and mustered her openly hostile.

"She is the moongod heir," Jiang told the spirit beast. "She is no threat to you or yours either; she does not kill spirit beasts."

"She has spirit rings; thus she must have killed before. I admit she does not have the scent to her, but humans are crafty; they surely find a way to conceal it. Do not be fooled, Gravekeeper." The wolf rumbled. "I do not mind giving you passage, but the human will not go through my lands in peace."

"I know human craftiness, but she will go with me," Jiang said, and the wolf mustered him.

"She will not set foot on my soil." The wolf growled. "She will leave. In respect for you, I promise neither I nor any of my pack will hunt her, but she will not step onto my territory."

Yin blinked and then looked towards the ground. "Currently, I am technically not stepping on your soil." She said and then looked at the wolf. "And I do not intend to hunt anyone on these lands. I promise."

"A human's promise is not worth much." The wolf growled. "The Gravekeepers' presence is the only thing keeping me from ripping you into shreds, human." The wolf growled and bared his fangs. "Do not be arrogant."

"I can promise on my being a god heir." She tilted her head and looked at Jiang, asking silently if he would let her down. He shook his head, and she sighed. Well, there was no convincing him otherwise, and she was being pretty toasty warm like this too, not about to give that up. "I will not hunt you. I have never hunted or slayed a spirit beast in my life, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Why are you here then?" The wolf put his ears close to his head.

"Iceflower Dawn," Jiang answered the wolf.

The Wolf barked a howl that was almost like a laugh. "That old legend? Are you mad, Dragon? If you truly value that human, you will not go there; it will rip her apart. Iceflower dawn is not something meant for humans."

"I am half spirit beast." Tang Yin said and tilted her head.

"No spirit beast would be mad... no, I take that back; there was one. The Blue Silver Emperor." The wolf said the aggression had not vanished but lessened. Apparently Jiang's presence made him listen.

"My mother," Yin told him. She only knew that because Tang San had told her about it. She opened her hand and revealed her Blue Silver Emperor; it was shining in a colder silver light than her brothers', who had golden threads running through it, having evolved differently.

"You are the Blue Silver Emperor's daughter?" The wolf's ears peeked forward. "Then maybe you will survive; your vitality must be great."

"I'd say I am pretty hard to kill." She admitted. "I mean, I will not hunt. I only want to pass through with Jiang. Should I hunt even a single one, feel free to rip me into those shreds you mentioned."

Jiang pressed her closer, and she admitted she snuggled closer to him as well.

"I see." The wolf bobbed his head up and down, sniffing her. "Then, for your mother's sake and with the benefit of the doubt, as the gravekeeper has spoken. I will let you pass. Remember, though, that should you hunt or harm any spirit beast while in my territory, my Pack and I will hunt you."

"As long as I am allowed to defend myself." She pointed out. "Should I be attacked, I do not intend to take it lying down."

"That I can accept." The wold nodded and howled. Soon it was surrounded by wolves that appeared from beyond the mountains, standing still in the wind. Some were bigger than others. The wolf turned to them. "Follow this path; don't stray. We will watch you. The ice mountains are a treacherous place."

"We will thank you, old wolf." Jiang tilted his head, and the wolf barked out a laugh.

"I am not that old; I am missing a few millennia to reach the level of cultivation benefiting a century millennium spirit beast. Stay well,

Gravekeeper." The wolf and his pack vanished like ghosts as they had come. Yin grabbed Jiang. Curious, she turned to him.

"Who was that?" She asked him.

"His name is Bai Hao. He is the glacier mountain wolf king. Alpha of all wolves in the mountains, after the Arctic Kings, the next most powerful spirit beast. I did not expect to meet him this soon, though. His first mate was hunted by spirit masters, heavily injured and later saved by the predecessor of your mother, the previous Blue Silver King. If not for the fact that you were related to the Blue Silver King, I am certain we would not have gotten off this easily."

"Oh."