Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 226 White Hair's Former Residence
Frozen Moon Cold River is very far away, and it doesn't even border the Great Qian Dynasty.

The vast northern region of the Great Qian Dynasty is the territory of the demon race, a land where demons are scarce.

To the west of the Great Qian lies the Heavenly Frost Kingdom. Part of the northern part of the Heavenly Frost Kingdom also borders the Demon Realm, with the Frozen Moon Cold River located to the west of the Demon Realm.

Flying westward from Xiazhou, the land below gradually became deserted.

The climate of the entire Tianshuang Kingdom is much colder than that of Daqian. It is currently May, but winter scenes can often be seen within the territory of Tianshuang Kingdom below. The further north you go, the more obvious it becomes, with frost covering the mountains and rivers.

Ye Tinglan sent Dugu Qingli to Tianshuang Kingdom to investigate the situation because the place was very suitable for her.

The Tian Shuang Kingdom not only differs greatly from the Great Qian Kingdom in terms of climate and customs, but also in its system. Due to the vastness of the world and the long distances involved, Lu Xingzhou had not conducted a detailed investigation. He only knew that it was more similar to a typical Xianxia world, where each sect acted independently, the imperial court had a very low profile, and towns were subordinate to the sects.

This situation generally arises because the imperial court is weak and lacks a particularly strong unifying force. Consequently, what is called a nation is in reality more like a sectarian alliance, with the ruler acting as a leader. Their main enemy is also the demon race, and they are allies of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Due to the long distance, harsh climate, and the arrogant nature of the immortal sects, the Great Qian Dynasty had no intention of bringing the Heavenly Frost Kingdom under its rule; it would be a thankless and arduous task. Therefore, there was little conflict between the two countries, and neither side even stationed troops on their borders. Any conflicts were more often sectarian clashes between immortal sects than at the national level.

For hundreds of miles around the border between the two countries, there were no people, only barren mountains and treacherous waters, making it a good hiding place for many fugitives and villains. The strongholds of some demonic sects were also hidden here, such as the Joyful Union Sect of the Maidens.

Therefore, the Hehuan Sect of the Maidens is not far from Xia Prefecture, which is why Xia Prefecture was Pei Chuyun's first stop when she first entered the world of martial arts.

After flying north for several days after entering the Frost Kingdom, you will reach the southern end of the Frozen Moon River.

As far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of white snow, a thousand-mile-long glacier, nothing particularly special except for the cold. In reality, many ancient ruins are hidden beneath the glaciers; for one thing, there are numerous ancient tombs.

Of course, given its vast area, the so-called "many" is extremely difficult to find. For hundreds of years, cultivators have searched for opportunities in this godforsaken place, but few have actually found anything, and gradually fewer and fewer people have come here.

Dugu Qingli has lived here since childhood. The area is so large and few people come here, so even if someone does come, you might not see them. Over the years, she has hardly seen anyone.

The small boat flew overhead. Lu Xingzhou stroked his chin and looked down at the icy plain below, puzzled: "Strange, the Imperial Advisor just left Little White Hair alone in a place like this. She was just a child back then! Is this training or exile?"

Ye Tinglan sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat, ignoring him.

"How did she survive? What did she eat?" Ah Nuo asked. "There aren't many animals around here, are there?"

Ye Tinglan finally spoke up, somewhat annoyed: "Dugu Qingli's situation is very special. If she hadn't lived here when she was a child, she wouldn't have survived anywhere else. She survived on icy energy until she reached a higher level of cultivation and then became normal."

Lu Xingzhou said, "So, it's not entirely unfounded for some people to think she's like a demon."

"Of course it's not a demon. People today are ignorant and don't know about some special innate holy bodies. Dugu Qingli's Ice Soul Sword Body is one in ten thousand years."

"But you can't let the child live alone. The Imperial Advisor is going too far."

"It's not just one person. The Tianyao Holy Land has always had people observing this area, and someone has always been in charge of Qingli's condition. In fact, I... also know that the Imperial Preceptor has a fragment of his soul by her side. Otherwise, how could he guide her cultivation? Would leaving her here make her a master and disciple?"

"A personal old man?"

Ye Tinglan heard this phrase for the first time and thought it was quite fitting, and smiled, "Pretty much."

"True leading lady treatment," Lu Xingzhou said. "Then what does she eat?"

"It's not that there's no food here. Look."

Following Ye Tinglan's direction, Lu Xingzhou indeed saw a cluster of ice-crystal-like plants, which looked like works of art sculpted from ice, from leaves to fruits.

Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo's eyes lit up: "This is fun!"

"I've learned something new." Ye Tinglan said, "This is the Ice Crystal Fruit, something that doesn't exist outside. Not only are there plants, but also animals, all of them exotic beasts. These beasts will attack you, but they also have many uses in alchemy. Some of these things can be seen in high-end auctions in the Great Qian Dynasty, but many more are completely unseen. You are alchemists, yet you've never seen these special items that don't exist in the Great Qian Dynasty. You're just frogs in a well; what kind of alchemists are you? This is the trial you need."

Lu Xingzhou stroked his chin: "Having people collect these things here specifically to sell back in Daqian, isn't that incredibly profitable?"

"So why do you think Tianyao Holy Land has people stationed in this area for observation? Of course, they won't sell them to Daqian; Tianyao Holy Land stores and uses them for its own purposes. Other forces, Daqian basically doesn't do this, but many forces in Tianshuang Kingdom do the same. Do you think Dugu Qingli has only dealt with exotic beasts all these years? Of course, there are also humans involved."

As they were discussing, a sudden gust of cold wind swept by, piercing through the outer protective shield of the small boat and hurtling towards Lu Xingzhou's face.

Lu Xingzhou casually waved his hand, and the cold wind rushed in through the crack in the protective shield, instantly covering his hair with frost.

Ye Tinglan pressed down on the bow of the boat and landed on the ground: "Here, frost winds howl from time to time, icy and sharp as blades, quite powerful. Hmm, just like the unexpected attacks you felt in the Demon-Slaying Domain."

"This is truly a place of harsh winds and frost." Lu Xingzhou landed on the ground and examined the area. "In the Demon-Slaying Domain, the chaotic flow of unclaimed energy is due to the death of demons. What is the reason here?"

"There's no particular reason; it's just the usual wind. However, the wind contains intense icy energy, which makes it somewhat aggressive. The deeper you go into the center, the denser and stronger it becomes, which is why ordinary cultivators can't enter the core area."

Has Qingli been there?

"How would I know? I'm not her ever-present grandfather." Does being a "present grandmother" count...? Ye Tinglan rolled her eyes at him: "You're here to visit Dugu Qingli's former residence, right?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

"If you visit her former residence, it might actually be there. If you see a small house made of ice blocks cut with a sword, that's probably it. She would cut ice blocks and build the house to live in at night after practicing her cultivation during the day."

Ah Nu imagined a little white-haired girl, about her own age, struggling to build her own house, and her face fell: "How pitiful..."

“There’s nothing we can do. Extraordinary people can only do extraordinary things. If Tianyao Holy Land hadn’t found her, she would have been gone long ago…” Ye Tinglan sighed as she thought of her poor disciple’s pitiful appearance when she was a child. “What we should really be puzzled about is her background. How could a little child be abandoned in Dongyue Hanchuan… It can’t just be because she has white hair and blue eyes?”

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment: "It could be some force from the Tian Shuang Kingdom."

"Hmm." Ye Tinglan sent Dugu Qingli to Tianshuang Kingdom partly to help her good disciple find her place, but there was no need to tell Lu Xingzhou about that. "Let's go and take a look at the Ice Crystal Fruit first."

The three of them stowed the small boat and headed towards the cluster of ice crystal fruits.

Just as they got close, with a "whoosh," an ice snake darted out from under the fruit tree and stealthily tried to bite Ah Nuo's foot.

Ah Nuo stepped on the ice snake's vital spot. The ice snake twitched twice, emanating a chilling aura from its body, and was completely dead.

Ye Tinglan said casually, "Put it away and see if it's useful for medicine."

Ah Nuo: “…”

"So don't think that just because this thousand-mile glacier is visible from afar, it's safe. In reality, this place is fraught with danger at every turn, and unexpected killing intent could appear anywhere. And... do you feel your blood circulation becoming increasingly sluggish, and even your internal energy becoming stagnant?"

"Um……"

"This is also a trial in cultivation. This is just the edge. I'm also very curious to know how far you can go in this Frozen Moon River, given your level."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: This is a bit short, please bear with it for now, there will be more tonight.

(End of this chapter)