Chapter225 – Far South

“Alright, alright, forget that.” He waved a hand. “I came for something else.”

“Go ahead.”

“The sect leader sent word. He’s asking whether Starfell Summit plans to recruit some inner disciples.”

“Inner disciples?”

“Yes.” Tarot leaned forward. “Master wanted Starfell Summit to flourish. How are we supposed to run this place with just direct disciples? There’s no one to handle basic tasks. Look at the hills—overgrown with weeds. I’m out there planting spiritual herbs around Starfell Hall myself. I’m a direct disciple of an Immortal Venerable. Do you think it’s appropriate for me to be doing manual labor?”

Lauren nodded solemnly. “Senior Brother is absolutely right.”

“Good, then you handle the selection.”

“Me?” She slung her storage bag over her shoulder. “I’m leaving tomorrow. You do it.”

Tarot pointed at himself. “Me?!”

“Of course. I already told you—I’m going on a long trip.”

“You couldn’t wait a few days?”

“I’m already delayed.” She lifted her chin. “And I’m the Peak Master. I make the decisions.”

Tarot: “…” She was actually pulling rank.

.....

The next morning, Lauren set off for the Far South.

This world wasn’t so different from her old Earth—both the Far North and Far South were frozen wastelands of endless white. Except the Far South was even colder.

By the time she arrived, the wind was slicing through her robes like blades.

Briar refused to come out. “I’m not coming out,” the little flower spirit muttered from inside her sleeve. “It’s freezing.”

Lauren snapped, “You’re a hundred-thousand-year-old monster. What, you think you’re going to freeze to death?”

“I won’t die,” Briar retorted, “but I can still be cold.”

Lauren: “…” So you’re scared of heat and scared of cold. What are you, a delicate houseplant?

Honestly, who wouldn’t want sunshine year-round? Mild breeze, eternal spring—no bullshit extremes.

She pulled out the map Gerald had given her years ago and scanned the landscape.

This should be the location. The map clearly marked a “deep sea” beneath this region.

She looked around. Nothing but endless ice. No water. No cracks. Just a solid, frozen wasteland stretching to the horizon.

“…Don’t tell me I have to break through this shit myself.”

She sighed. “Briar. Get out here. Time to work.”

Briar reluctantly emerged, tiny feet stepping onto the ice. It immediately started hopping. “My feet are freezing through my shoes! How am I supposed to break through this?”

“I need to crack the ice and reach the deep sea below.”

Briar pressed both hands to the surface, sensing it carefully. After a moment, he shook his head violently. “No. It’s too hard. This ice is comparable to black iron. I can’t break it.”

Lauren frowned.

Then she pulled out one of the chisels she’d prepared and channeled spiritual energy into it. She drove it down.

A sharp crack echoed across the wasteland. A crater three feet deep appeared instantly.

Her eyes lit up. “There’s hope.”

She gestured to Briar. “Stand further back. I’m going all out.”

If the sect leader’s map marked this exact spot, then Gerald and Freya must have broken through it the same way back then.

The first strike had just been a test. This one would be full force.

Lauren inhaled slowly, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy. Power surged through her meridians. She focused everything into the chisel and brought it down with all her strength.

BOOM.

The impact rang out like thunder. Deep cracks spiderwebbed outward across the ice. The impact point caved in, forming a crater more than ten feet deep. Then—

The ground trembled violently. From the surrounding towering snow peaks, white masses began cascading downward.

That wasn’t mist. It was snow. An avalanche.

“…Oh, shit.”

The rumble grew deafening as walls of snow and ice thundered toward her.

“Briar! Get over here!” She snatched the flower spirit and tossed him straight into her inner space, then shot into the sky.

From above, she watched helplessly as the avalanche swallowed everything. The pit she’d painstakingly carved?

Gone. Completely buried under who-knew-how-thick layers of snow. The surface was smooth again, as if she’d never touched it.

Silence returned to the frozen wasteland. Lauren hovered midair, staring down in disbelief. “…You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Just when she was about to lose her damn mind, she spotted movement in the distance. Two figures were clawing their way out of a snowdrift, coughing and spitting out mouthfuls of powdery snow. “What the hell? Why did an avalanche suddenly hit? This place has always been stable!”

Lauren froze. Then she shot toward them. “Freya? Tyler? What are you doing here?”

The two of them looked up at her. For a moment, there was confusion in their eyes—then recognition.

“Lauren?” Tyler blinked. “So this is what you look like all grown up. What are *you* doing here?”

“I came to retrieve an Eternal Ice Bed,” Lauren said honestly. “Freya… I’m sorry. The one you left at the sect is almost used up. I need to bring another one back.”

Freya didn’t respond immediately.

Lauren pressed gently, “Freya, since you’ve already come out of Sky-covering Valley, why not return? The sect leader has sent people everywhere looking for you.”

Freya smiled faintly and shook his head. “Freya is dead,” he said calmly. “I am Devourer now.”

Lauren’s heart skipped. “Don’t say that,” she murmured. “Master never expelled you from the sect.”

“But to Master,” Devourer replied softly, “wouldn’t it be the same?”

Lauren didn’t know what to say. Whatever had happened between him and her master—it clearly ran deep.

She didn’t dare probe further. If she pushed too hard and pissed him off, she might not get another word out of him. Better to change the subject.

She turned to Tyler. “Then what are you doing here?”

Tyler grinned and shrugged. “After the seal on Sky-covering Valley broke, everyone scattered. Light and his disciple left first. Herbert and his apprentice returned to the Moonlit Sect. Butcher ran off with Flower Wife. Jaxon and Cade said their mission was complete and went off to find a place to ascend together.”

He spread his hands. “Devourer and I had nowhere to go. So we wandered around the world. Somehow ended up here.”

Lauren’s mind raced. Jaxon and Cade had been the first to break the seal. If they hadn’t, she never would’ve managed to bring Edmund out.

From what Tyler was saying… their purpose in Sky-covering Valley had always been the seal.

Upper realm? Edmund once mentioned that descending through reincarnation while retaining memories was possible—but the price was steep. Far more than simply rebuilding cultivation.

If that were true…

Then maybe, they’d succeed in ascending again.

“Lauren,” Devourer said quietly, already walking ahead. “You’re digging in the wrong place. Come. I’ll take you there.”

Tyler dropped back onto the snow with a sigh. “I’ll wait here. I’m not like you freaks with immortal ice roots. I can’t stand this damn cold.”

Lauren followed Devourer, still completely confused. Wrong place?

She had checked the map over and over. The sect leader had clearly marked that location. Could the old man have misremembered?

“…That old fox,” she muttered under her breath. “He fooled me.”

She’d trusted him completely. Never even considered he might’ve drawn the damn map wrong. Fortunately, her avalanche stunt had flushed Devourer and Tyler out.

Devourer led her to a section buried beneath fresh avalanche snow. After clearing it away, an opening appeared—an ice cave entrance.

The tunnel slanted downward, disappearing into darkness.