I don't want to be trained by my senior sister!

The aftershocks gradually subsided...

Snow dust fell softly, gradually covering the messy ice surface.

The black sword remained silently suspended in front of Fang Xuan, its blade undamaged, without even a speck of ice on it.

Just like that self-destruction that was powerful enough to overturn a small mountain, it was nothing more than a little wind and frost.

Fang Xuan reached out and sheathed it. The fierce intent subsided as the battle ended, and he returned to his usual calm and serene state.

As expected of Ning Qianneng's sword, which she used until the later stages of the original work, it's tough enough.

He turned his head and looked at Ning Qian beside him.

She was looking at the original entrance to the ice cave, which had now been completely washed away, along with the precious pool of thousand-year-old ice jade marrow inside, all of which had been destroyed.

She just watched, looking very regretful.

Although I acted quickly and filled some into a jade bottle beforehand, it was still just a drop in the ocean compared to the entire pool of chalcedony.

Fang Xuan looked at her long hair, which was covered with a few specks of snow.

Suddenly, he reached out and casually brushed her hair, saying, "Senior sister, there's snow on your head."

Actually, he just couldn't resist touching his head because his hands were itching.

Ning Qian seemed still immersed in her regret over the chalcedony, unaware of the additional meaning behind his little gesture, and looked dazed.

She simply tilted her head slightly and whispered, "...What a pity."

"It's alright," Fang Xuan said, withdrawing his hand with a relaxed tone. "Besides, this secret realm is so vast, there are bound to be more good things out there."

Seeing Ning Qian's still somewhat disappointed profile, he simply reached out and took her hand.

"Let's go, Senior Sister..."

Ning Qian's hand was grasped by a warm hand, and she trembled slightly, snapping back to reality...

"Mmm." She responded softly, and with Fang Xuan pulling her along, she turned and walked towards the higher part of the snow mountain.

......

Continue by having Treasure Mouse Senior Sister take him to the mountain to search for treasure.

Shen Chen, that old dog, suffered a great loss this time. His split soul was damaged, and his main body was probably so angry that it vomited blood.

Given his personality, he'll definitely come up with some other schemes outside.

However, since Lu Qingsong wants to win him over, he will naturally take action against Shen Chen, which is not a big problem.

......

Over the next few days, the two spent their time in this vast snow-capped mountain area.

With Shen Chen's divided soul destroyed and the female vessel self-destructing, it seemed that the biggest obstacle had been temporarily cleared away.

Although they encountered some unique monsters of the snowfield along the way, such as the Ice Armor Bear, groups of snow bats that ambushed them, and even a Cold Marrow Python that hid in an ice crevice and almost froze Fang Xuan's ankle, the two of them dealt with them easily.

The harvest was, of course, quite substantial.

On snow-capped mountains, where spiritual energy gathers, rare and precious medicinal herbs often grow.

"This is Snow Soul Mushroom, which grows in the extreme cold of ice crevices and takes a hundred years to form. It has the effect of calming the mind and resisting inner demons, and is beneficial to consolidating your nascent core realm."

Beneath a sheltered ice cliff, Ning Qian carefully unearthed a Ganoderma lucidum that was as clear as white jade and had a faint blue tinge on its cap.

She then picked a few pale blue lotus flowers floating on the surface of a frozen stream.

"This is the Ice Heart Lotus. Its petals can be used in medicine, and its heart is an excellent ingredient for refining high-level pills."

"And this one, the Dragon Pattern Ice Ginseng. Judging from the patterns on its body, it's at least seven hundred years old. It's an excellent tonic for body refinement, capable of strengthening bones and muscles and resisting cold."

Every time she discovers a medicinal herb, Ning Qian would carefully explain its name, properties, and uses.

She seemed eager to make up for the time Fang Xuan had wasted on healing her and dealing with Shen Chen.

Fang Xuan stayed by her side, occasionally responding with "Mm" or "I'll remember."

He simply watched Ning Qian squatting in the snow, carefully picking medicinal herbs, and noticed her nose tip turning slightly red from the cold wind.

.......

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

The secret realm is open for a limited time, so they cannot stay in the snow mountain area indefinitely.

"That's about it, time to head down the mountain."

Ning Qian took stock of her spoils. The various spiritual herbs filled Fang Xuan's two storage bags to the brim, and they were all in excellent condition.

They collected almost all the cold-attribute spiritual herbs from the mountain.

The two then headed down the snow-capped mountain.

The further down you go, the cold gradually dissipates.

Below the mountain lies a vast, boundless grassland that stretches to the horizon.

A gentle breeze rippled through the grass, creating waves upon waves.

"The scenery is nice."

Fang Xuan took a deep breath.

He turned his head to look at Ning Qian beside him.

She stood at the edge of the grassland, her plain white dress fluttering slightly in the wind.

A few strands of hair brushed against her cool and aloof profile, and the sunlight shone down, gilding her with a pale golden edge.

"He's even better looking." Fang Xuan silently added in his mind.

Ning Qian seemed to notice his gaze and turned her head.

Fang Xuan immediately looked away, pretending to be looking at a herd of spirit deer faintly visible in the distant waves of grass: "Ahem, Senior Sister, which way to go next?"

Ning Qian also turned her gaze to the depths of the grassland: "The grassland may seem peaceful, but there may be more high-level demonic beasts living there, and many of them have a gregarious habit. Let's be careful and see if there are any special spiritual materials."

The two then continued their journey along the grassland.

The terrain here is slightly undulating, the grass is knee-high, and occasionally you can see some low shrubs and scattered wildflowers.

After walking for about half an hour, everything was peaceful.

Until they came to a clear dividing line.

The lush green grass ahead suddenly became sparse, and the land became damp and muddy.

A vast wetland marshland appeared at the edge of the field of vision.

Just as the two stopped to observe their surroundings—

"roar--!!!"

The bushes to the side were suddenly swept away.

A gigantic, single-horned monster with bloodshot eyes lunged at Ning Qian, who appeared even more delicate.

It is a rhinoceros-armored beast in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

It clearly saw the lone Ning Qian as a delicious snack.

Ning Qian merely glanced to the side, and several invisible and intangible sword intents instantly swept past.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The fierce rhinoceros-armored beast's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt. Its thick limbs were severed at the root, and its massive body crashed onto the muddy ground with a loud thud.

Blood stained a patch of grass red.

Ning Qian, however, kept looking into the depths of the bushes, her brows slightly furrowed.

Her divine sense could clearly perceive that within a radius of several dozen feet around them, there were at least twenty or thirty different kinds of demonic beasts lurking.

Most of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage, with only a few reaching the early stage of the Core Formation stage.

But not a single monster dared to rush out first.

Fang Xuan didn't really want to fight.

In the Southern Frontier, the inner cores of demonic beasts at the Foundation Establishment stage are not particularly valuable, unless they are rare species with special uses.

It's such a waste of time to do this.

He stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Ning Qian.

Then, he slowly released his spiritual pressure, which was at the mid-stage of the Void Core realm, mixed with a trace of fierce sword aura.

The lurking demonic beasts sensed this oppressive force that clearly surpassed their own level.

Especially after encountering that menacing aura that made their very souls tremble, they all prepared to retreat.

But just then, a loud commotion suddenly came from all around.

The aura of those demonic beasts had completely disappeared.

Just now, at least twenty or thirty demonic beasts, including many at the early stage of the Void Core realm, were all wiped out.