Immortality and cultivation begin with full comprehension.

Chapter 630 Choosing a Route, Heading North (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"The 'Huangze Continent' is indeed safer than the 'Buddha Light Continent,' but you have to cross the 'Frozen Wasteland' in between, where snow and wind rage all year round, and it is said that even Nascent Soul cultivators may lose their way."

Zhao Qi lightly tapped the map with her fingertip, outlining the route Li Yunjing had described. She frowned slightly and spoke softly.

"No way!"

Li Yunjing shook his head and said, "This is already the best choice."

"Husband, what is your current cultivation level?"

Zhao Qi suddenly asked.

"I have already broken through to the fourth level of the Golden Core Realm, and I can break through to the fifth level at any time!"

Li Yunjing understood Zhao Qi's meaning, smiled slightly, and added, "In terms of combat strength, I am invincible within the Golden Core realm. Even if I were to encounter a cultivator at the first level of the Nascent Soul realm, it would be uncertain who would live and who would die!"

"Great!"

Zhao Qi's eyes flashed with surprise, but then she said with worry, "But the 'Huangze Continent' is the territory of the Zhou royal family. The entire continent is a country, and the checks on passing cultivators are extremely strict."

"It doesn't matter."

Li Yunjing sneered, "With our cultivation levels, unless we have a grudge against the Zhou royal family, they would never send experts to target us!"

"My husband is very well prepared."

Seeing that Li Yunjing was very confident, Zhao Qi covered her mouth and chuckled: "Then we can set off."

"very good!"

Li Yunjing nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Are you ready?"

"I am ready!"

Zhao Qi smiled and said, "All these years, besides cultivation and making a living, hasn't it all been for this?"

Zhao Qi has diligently cultivated over the years, and with the benefits given by Li Yunjing, she has already reached the second level of the Golden Core Realm. This level of cultivation is the highest among Li Yunjing's women.

Although such cultivation level is not enough to travel across the continent, it is not a burden for Li Yunjing, and he can take it with him on adventures.

Three days later, in the backyard of "Star Moon Trading Company".

"You are fully responsible for all matters, large and small, of the business."

Zhao Qi handed over the work to her trusted manager: "If there is anything important, you can send a message to 'City of Glory' and ask Xing'er and Yue'er to take charge."

Li Yunjing smiled slightly after hearing Zhao Qi's words.

In the "City of Glory," Xing'er, Yue'er, and Liu Ruyan were still together. These three women deliberately kept their distance from Li Yunjing's other women.

Currently, Li Yunjing's women are as follows: First wife Yu Yunyi and second wife Lü Ruoxi are in one group; Liu Ruyan, Xing'er, and Yue'er are in another; and Zhao Qi is alone.

They split into three groups.

The current situation is not bad. None of the six women have deliberately created any disputes, so there are no family problems in Li Yunjing's household.

This made him feel much more at ease after being away for so many years.

Otherwise, with palace intrigue at home every day, he would inevitably be distracted, affecting his cultivation and the situation at the front.

"Rest assured, sir, I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

The old man, who was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, solemnly accepted the token.

Li Yunjing checked the supplies in the "storage ring" from the side, making sure that there was enough of each item.

The road ahead is long, and no one knows what will happen.

Only sufficient resources can bring a sense of security.

"Let's go."

After explaining the business of the shop and taking most of the resources with them, the two smiled at each other, transformed into two streaks of light, and soared into the sky, disappearing into the northern horizon in the blink of an eye.

To the north of the "Great Ming Cultivation World" lies the land of the barbarian tribes.

These places were extremely harsh and cold. The "Shenxiao Dao Sect" united with the forces of the immortals to sweep away demons and barbarians, driving them all to live in the harsh environments of the surrounding areas.

This was the first time Li Yunjing and Zhao Qi had ventured deep into the territory of the barbarians.

In the vast grasslands, scattered tribes dot the landscape, and the primitive atmosphere still lingers.

Li Yunjing and Zhao Qi concealed their auras, transforming into a pair of wandering cultivators, and slowly walked through the waist-high grass.

In the distance, several barbarian children were chasing a herd of long-haired goats, their laughter carried on the wind.

"I never imagined that the land of the barbarians would be so peaceful."

Zhao Qi said softly, "It's quite different from the rumored image of someone who eats raw meat and drinks blood."

"The barbarians are divided into Black Barbarians and White Barbarians. These should be White Barbarian tribes, who make a living by herding sheep and are gentle in nature."

Li Yunjing's gaze swept across the tribal tents on the horizon: "Some still retain primitive lifestyles, their methods are primitive and extremely brutal, making them difficult to eradicate."

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from afar.

A troop of cavalrymen, clad in leather armor and with blood-red totems painted on their faces, roared in and surrounded the two.

"Black Barbarian Warrior!"

Zhao Qi sent a telepathic reminder, but there was no fear in her eyes.

After all, these patrolling soldiers were the lowest-ranking warriors among the nearby barbarian tribes. They were no match even for Qi Refining Realm cultivators, let alone two Golden Core Realm cultivators.

“Cultivator! Why have you trespassed into our clan’s sacred ground?”

The leading barbarian man, holding a bone spear, shouted in broken Central Plains language.

"My husband and I were just passing through, heading towards the cold, icy wilderness to the north."

Li Yunjing smiled slightly and gave the other party the power of choice.

He wouldn't bother killing these low-level ants; if they were courting death, then he wouldn't be so ruthless.

"lie!"

The burly man roared, "Recently, three groups of cultivators have sneaked into the Holy Mountain and stolen our clan's sacred artifacts!"

He pointed his spear and shouted, "Take them down!"

More than ten cavalrymen simultaneously threw out lassos, the ropes of which were wrapped with strange runes that restrained magical power.

It was clearly crafted by a shaman among the barbarians and given to his subordinates to use specifically against ordinary cultivators.

A cold glint flashed in Li Yunjing's eyes, and he was about to make a move when Zhao Qi suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Why should my husband bother with such a petty thief?"

Zhao Qi chuckled lightly, but showed no mercy. A chill emanated from her body, and the surrounding grass and trees instantly froze into ice.

Those dozen or so knights, in their terror, turned into ice sculptures.

"Let's go!"

Li Yunjing shook his head, knowing that all of these people were dead.

They chose this path themselves, so they can't blame Zhao Qi for being ruthless.

"Husband, they say three groups of cultivators have entered the Holy Mountain. What does that mean?"

As Zhao Qi followed Li Yunjing forward, she asked a question.

"Five years ago, I devised a plan at Seven Star Peak to unite the Northern Emperor's faction and start a conflict with the 'Sky Wolf Barbarians' of the barbarian tribes."

Li Yunjing chuckled, "Perhaps this is something the 'Northern Emperor's Faction' did."

The two traversed the frozen grasslands, heading towards the sacred mountain of the barbarians.

The frozen Black Barbarian warriors remained in their charging stance, reflecting an eerie light in the sunlight.

"How dare the 'Northern Emperor Faction' covet the sacred artifact of the barbarians?"

Zhao Qi frowned slightly. "Do they really have that much strength?"

"hey-hey!"

Li Yunjing sneered, "You underestimate the 'Northern Emperor Sect'. I suspect that the sect's most treasured artifact is still intact. This sect is far more terrifying than you imagine."

"Is it really that powerful?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhao Qi's eyes: "Then why didn't your 'Divine Firmament Dao Sect' test them? Why did you just let them develop like this?"

"No way!"

Li Yunjing's gaze was deep. "'The Northern Emperor's Faction' and 'Louguan Taoism' are both allies, and very trustworthy allies at that!"

"Although my sect is powerful, there have been times of decline over hundreds of thousands of years. At those times, one of the two factions was in charge. Although the other side suppressed us to some extent, it did not damage the foundation of our sect."

"This method has been used by the three factions since ancient times. Small-scale battles are acceptable, but large-scale battles are absolutely unacceptable."

"After all, besides the three factions, there are many enemies on 'Tianlan Star'. We need to unite as one to block the external dangers."

Li Yunjing gave Zhao Qi a brief explanation.

"I never imagined there was such a hidden story!"

Zhao Qi was greatly shocked after hearing Li Yunjing's explanation.

Over the years, she had actively integrated into the "Great Ming Cultivation World" and was practically a local. She thought she knew everything, but she never expected that the information she received would be so different from the truth.

The two walked and talked, their pace quick, and in just one day they reached the edge of the grassland.

In the distance, a majestic snow-capped mountain gradually comes into view.

The mountaintop was shrouded in an eerie blue mist, with several faint, flickering beams of light visible.

"There really are still people here."

Zhao Qi scanned the area with her divine sense, "I just don't know which side they're from."

"Don't worry about them!"

Li Yunjing sneered: "We have only one goal, which is to cross the ice field as soon as possible and enter the heart of the 'Southern Sky Continent'."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a blinding blue light suddenly burst forth from the mountaintop.

The three streaks of light fell like kites with broken strings, followed by a deafening roar that echoed across the land!
"boom……"

The entire sacred mountain trembled violently, and the accumulated snow collapsed, forming terrifying snow waves.

A towering ice crystal giant, hundreds of feet tall, emerged from the mountain, its chest adorned with a dark blue crystal—the legendary "Mysterious Ice Soul"!
"A fourth-tier ice puppet!"

Li Yunjing's pupils shrank sharply. "These idiots from the 'Northern Emperor's Faction' actually awakened the mountain-guarding puppet!" As he spoke, the auras of Li Yunjing and Zhao Qi instantly decreased, almost to the level of mosquitoes.

The ice golem roared to the sky, and countless ice spikes shot out in all directions like a torrential rain.

After the ice golem roared for a while, one by one, barbarian priests flew out and a fierce battle broke out on the other side of the snow mountain.

"Husband, look over there!"

Zhao Qi suddenly pointed to the mountainside.

A blood-soaked cultivator from the Northern Emperor Sect was fleeing in a sorry state. The woman was clutching a jade box tightly in her arms, from which wisps of blue light seeped.

"what?"

Li Yunjing was startled, and memories from many years ago surfaced in his mind.

Back then, he and Fu Chao were being chased by demonic cultivators here, but they were rescued by people from the "Northern Emperor Sect". Unexpectedly, they encountered the young female cultivator who had saved them.

"This woman saved my life!"

Li Yunjing leaped into the air, and the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword" transformed into a hundred-foot-long giant blade, slashing towards the priests.

"Puff puff……"

Li Yunjing made his move, and the priests were almost instantly killed.

"Li...Li Yunjing?"

The female cultivator from the "Northern Emperor Sect" stared wide-eyed, her pale face filled with disbelief.

The jade box in her arms fell to the ground with a "thud," revealing half of the broken Xuanbing Soul inside.

Li Yunjing carefully examined the woman in front of him.

It was Su Muqing, the elder of the "Northern Emperor Sect" who had saved him on the border of the barbarians back then.

However, her Taoist robe was stained with blood, and her left arm hung down unnaturally, indicating that she had suffered a serious injury.

"Fellow Daoist Su, it's been many years."

Li Yunjing took out a bottle of healing pills and handed it over, saying, "Heal your wounds first."

"My lord, the ice puppets and the barbarian priests will be here soon, we..."

Zhao Qi glanced around warily and said in a low voice.

Before the words were finished, a deafening roar came from afar.

Driven by the barbarian priest, the ice golem charged toward their location from another direction of the snow mountain!

"go!"

Li Yunjing grabbed Su Muqing, and the three of them transformed into streaks of light and sped toward the other side of the snow mountain.

There's a cave ahead!

A hundred miles away, Zhao Qi, with her sharp eyes, pointed to other distant mountain peaks and the hidden cave entrance halfway up the mountain.

The three of them slipped inside, and Li Yunjing quickly set up a concealment formation at the cave entrance.

After a dozen or so breaths, the massive figure of the ice golem swept past outside the cave, shaking down chunks of snow.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

Then dozens of barbarian cultivators appeared nearby.

After searching around without finding any trace of Li Yunjing and his companions, the group continued their pursuit.

In the dimly lit cave, Su Muqing finally caught her breath: "Fellow Daoist Li, I never expected to meet you here..."

She glanced at Zhao Qi, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

“This is my Daoist partner, Zhao Qi.”

Li Yunjing gave a brief introduction, then asked in a deep voice, "Why does your 'Northern Emperor Sect' want to steal the 'Mysterious Ice Soul'?"

“Three years ago, we went to war with the ‘Sirius Barbarians,’ and things started off very well.”

Su Muqing smiled wryly: "But later, other barbarian tribes came to our aid, and the battle became a stalemate. We heard that there was a barbarian high priest in the barbarian holy mountain who mediated the conflict, which is why other tribes helped us."

"In order to deal with the source of the barbarians, the sect wanted to steal the 'Mysterious Ice Soul' to weaken the power of the array on the barbarian sacred mountain, in preparation for annihilating the barbarian sacred mountain!"

"Fellow Daoist Su, have you all gone mad?"

After listening to Su Muqing's words, Li Yunjing's expression turned serious. "Do you want to start a full-scale war with the barbarians?"

"All-out war?"

Su Muqing shook her head and smiled bitterly, "Fellow Daoist Li, you may not know this, but half a year ago, a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred at the Sacred Mountain of the Barbarians, with blood-red light spreading over a radius of a thousand miles. After my investigation, I discovered that they were holding some kind of blood sacrifice ritual..."

She took out a recording stone, and after injecting her true essence, a terrifying image appeared.

Countless barbarian warriors knelt before an ice sculpture altar, on which lay dozens of Central Plains cultivators, their bellies ripped open!

"They are using the essence and blood of cultivators to awaken some ancient being."

Su Muqing's voice trembled, "The sect leader suspects that this is related to the legendary 'Ice Demon Resurrection.' If we don't fight them, they will come to fight us."

"Ugh……"

Li Yunjing shook his head; trouble was brewing.

Didn't we tell Void to let the "Northern Emperor Faction" take advantage of us?

Why does this seem like a decisive battle now?

How is this possible?

Can the "Northern Emperor Faction" handle this on their own?

If they can't resolve this, will they seek help from the "Shenxiao Dao Sect"?
Since it concerns the stability of the "Great Ming Cultivation World," there is almost no reason to refuse the "Northern Emperor Sect's" request for help.

Isn't this dragging the "Shenxiao Dao Sect" into the quagmire of war once again?

Are you confident of victory?

Li Yunjing had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask the question.

Just as Su Muqing was about to answer, a rustling sound suddenly came from outside the cave.

The three turned around alertly and saw a crystal-clear ice snake emerging from a crevice in the rock, with a human face prominently displayed on its head!
"Ice Spirit Gu!"

Su Muqing's expression changed drastically, "It's the tracking method of the barbarian high priest!"

The ice serpent opened its mouth and spewed out a burst of cold air, causing the temperature inside the cave to drop sharply.

With a flick of his sword, Li Yunjing sliced ​​the ice snake in two with a burst of sword energy. Unexpectedly, the severed snake transformed into dozens of smaller snakes that lunged at him!
"That's rather strange!"

Li Yunjing raised an eyebrow, and "Samadhi True Fire" appeared in his hand.

The "Samadhi Fire" transformed into dozens of small flames, engulfing dozens of small snakes and burning them to ashes.

"It's not safe here! Let's find somewhere else!"

The three rushed out of the cave, only to find that the entire snow mountain was surrounded by barbarian warriors.

High above, an old priest with tattoos on his face held a bone staff and sneered sinisterly: "Those who trespass on the sacred mountain will become sacrifices to Lord Ice Demon!"

"Formation!"

Hundreds of barbarian warriors struck their shields simultaneously, creating visible ripples from the sound.

The two women immediately felt their internal energy stagnation, and even Li Yunjing felt a sense of annoyance.

"Humph!"

Li Yunjing let out a cold shout, deep and thunderous. Amidst the booming sound, the striking sound on the shield stopped, and Li Yunjing and his two companions charged towards the barbarian army.

Li Yunjing took the lead, and the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword" shone with dazzling seven-colored divine light. As the sword energy crisscrossed, dozens of barbarian warriors in the front row fell like wheat being harvested.

Blood sprayed onto the snow, instantly freezing into scarlet ice crystals.

"Follow me!"

With a roar, his swordplay suddenly changed, the power of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements flowing through the blade, transforming into a five-colored sword rainbow that swept across all directions.

The barbarian warriors' runic armor was like paper before such sword force; in an instant, limbs and severed arms flew everywhere.

Zhao Qi followed closely behind, constantly firing flying needles to accurately kill the barbarian archers who attempted to ambush her.

Although Su Muqing was injured, she gritted her teeth and summoned an ancient mirror. Wherever the mirror light shone, the barbarian warriors' movements immediately became sluggish, as if they were stuck in a quagmire.

"Stop them!"

The old priest roared in the distance, and as he swung his bone staff, countless ice spikes suddenly rose from the ice surface.

"The fire spreads across the prairie"

Li Yunjing's swordplay continued uninterrupted as he made a hand seal with his left hand.

"Boom!"

Blazing flames erupted from the sword's edge, colliding with the ice spikes and creating a cloud of steam.

Under the cover of the fog, Li Yunjing and his two companions had already broken through the first line of defense.

"Watch out overhead!"

Zhao Qi suddenly exclaimed.

A dozen or so "ice winged eagles" that had been circling high in the sky swooped down, each with a barbarian shaman on its back, blowing a piercing sound from a bone flute.

Where the sound waves passed, countless deep craters were blasted open in the snow.

Su Muqing hurriedly turned the ancient mirror towards the sky: "Mysterious Light Stabilizes!"

Under the mirror's light, the three "Ice Wing Eagles" froze and plummeted.

Li Yunjing seized the opportunity, his sword transforming into a dragon as he charged straight at the nearest wizard.

The wizard hastily threw out a string of skull artifacts, only to have them shredded by the sword energy.

"puff!"

Blood splattered as the wizard, who was comparable to the third level of the Golden Core realm, was cleaved in two by a single sword strike, along with his eagle!
The remaining wizards were horrified at the sight and hurriedly increased the altitude.

(End of this chapter)