The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

"The Snow Essence Pill is the source of all the Snow Spirit's original power and talent. So rather than saying it is its inner core, it is more accurate to say that it is the Snow Spirit itself. If you want to completely control the Snow Essence Pill while maintaining your rationality, in addition to this technique, you also need a strong will."

"What you need to overcome is not only the malice left behind by the previous Snow Spirit, but also the pull of the rules of heaven and earth, and most importantly, the will to give up under the intense pain. This is a high-stakes gamble."

After Wei Zhi finished his reminder, he seemed to remember something, and a hint of regret flashed in his blood-red pupils. "But you have no other choice now. If it had been earlier, you could have sealed that Origin Pearl and kept it in your body for the time being, and digested it when you were fully confident."

Lin Du took out the wine flask again, took a swig, and said, "Then it's in trouble. I'm just a person who likes to go against the rules and instincts."

She stretched her stiff wrists, activated the technique, and glanced at it.

"To tame a primordial inner core that far surpasses one's own realm or even the world's realm, one must strengthen one's physique..."

Lin Du closed the book, his eyes vacant. "Am I too late?"

Chu Guanmeng drooped her ears and said, "Is it possible that your physical strength is also quite good? Although it is indeed far inferior to mine, it is still stronger than the average person."

Lin Du pondered for a moment, "Where did you get your physical strength from?"

Chu Guanmeng glared angrily, "Even a simulated form has a physical body!"

"I remember you were indeed born weak, and it seems you have a heart condition?" Wei Zhi thought for a moment. "Then you might only be able to hold on by sheer willpower. Have you prepared any elixirs?"

Lin Du was indeed prepared.

But it's not a elixir; it's a true spirit from the deep sea.

According to the spirit, it is for treating the heart, but she was unsure whether this true spirit would have the same side effects as the Snow Essence Pill, so she hadn't used it.

According to the ancient texts she found, the spirit of the deep sea was a spiritual object extracted from the Night-Shining Pouch of the Night-Shining Sea Beast, which is located in the deepest part of the Spirit Canghai Sea. That sea beast is extremely rare, almost only existing in ancient texts. The deep sea is also fraught with danger, and those who go there have a nine-out-of-ten chance of dying.

Ancient books only record its miraculous effects, that it can rejuvenate those suffering from the five signs of decay overnight, filling them with strength and serving as a source of powerful vitality.

Lin Du's heart, which was failing day after day, could probably be revitalized with it.

When Wei Zhi saw that she had opened the cultivation manual again, he knew that she had a plan in mind.

After Lin Du turned to the second page and began to circulate and transform the energy, he began to speak. He read a sentence from the original text, which was somewhat obscure, and then explained some precautions and his personal understanding. He covered almost every detail, combining theory with practice, and tried his best to teach every word thoroughly.

Lin Du's assessment was that Yan Ye's master was more like a proper master.

This cultivation manual only has a dozen or so pages, but Wei Zhi talked about it for almost a whole day. It took so long that Chu Guanmeng fell asleep like a rabbit pancake, and it took so long that Wei Zhi's strange power melted the ice, only to have it refreeze by Lin Du, and so on.

"Did you understand? If you didn't understand, remember to ask me again, otherwise, if we're not careful, the number one talent on the Qingyun Ranking might have to be replaced."

Wei Zhi held the companion stone in his hand and rubbed it, but never used it.

Lin Du nodded. "I understand."

"You must remember everything before you begin cultivating. Once you start, you cannot stop, or you will suffer a backlash," Wei Zhi reminded him.

"I've got it."

Wei Zhi explained it in such detail and depth that Lin Du had almost grasped the complete structure and branches in his mind after just one reading. He couldn't remember all the words, but he understood the operation perfectly.

"...So fast?" Wei Zhi asked suspiciously.

"Master, didn't you remember it all too?" Lin Du looked up, puzzled. "Not even a single word was wrong."

Wei Zhi sighed helplessly, "I read it countless times, every day. I could tell with my eyes closed which page of the book had a few torn holes and creases. But you've only been reading it for less than two days."

After forcing Lin Du to memorize every word and then testing him with several key questions, Wei Zhi finally released him.

"Go."

Lin Du looked dazed, almost thinking he was in a primary school Chinese class, where the teacher was checking each student's memorization.

It's a real shame that Wei Zhi isn't taking the teacher qualification exam.

After a moment of daze, Lin Du stiffly got up, picked up the rabbit that was fast asleep, and leaped out. Wei Zhi liked to bury himself in the snow, but she didn't have that habit.

After the defensive and isolation formations were set up one by one, Chu Guanmeng finally lifted her head from her shoulder in a daze. "What are you doing? Are you done chanting your sutras?"

"I've finished reading." Lin Du activated a communication talisman and sent a message to her empty-nest father, explaining that she had found a suitable cultivation method and planned to go into seclusion to advance her cultivation level. When she returned, she would be the earliest genius in Zhongzhou to advance to the fourth level of the Hou realm, surpassing her master. She would be the most outstanding one.

Chu Guanmeng belatedly realized something, "You're sending a telepathic message to your master? Didn't you tell him that you ate Xue Ling raw, which is causing you to almost transform into a spirit?"

Lin Du released the communication talisman, then turned and sat down cross-legged with difficulty. "No."

"Why not tell him? Maybe he has a way?"

"He doesn't like me using such risky and unconventional methods." Lin Du hesitated for a moment, then said casually, "If he really knew, he'd probably think that all the water under Luo Ze had gotten into my brain."

And... it's best to wait until your hair turns black before going to see him.

Yan Ye probably couldn't bear to see her with her hair covered in snow; it probably reminded him of his own death. He was getting old and couldn't handle such stimulation, which could easily cause him to have a stroke.

Chu Guanmeng nodded in agreement, "You must have lost your mind when you ate Xue Ling."

"That's still not as much as the water in your brain. You eat everything." Lin Du gave all the food in his storage ring to Chu Guanmeng. "Eat one a day, help me guard the defensive formation for a few years, and if you're really bored, you can play with those snow wolves. I'll take you to eat something delicious when I come out of seclusion."

Chu Guanmeng looked at the mountain of food, carefully stuffing it all into her personal storage space, then pulled out a piece of candy. "What's this?"

Lin Du's eyes softened for a moment. "Orange candy."

She reached out and took the remaining bags, saying, "I forgot, I can't give you this."

"Why?" Chu Guanmeng asked, puzzled. Then, she angrily stuffed the candy into her mouth. After a while, her rabbit face became twisted and ferocious.

"Uh, no...it hit my tooth!"

Lin Du laughed out loud, then closed his eyes. "It's okay, don't you eat everything?"

"Eh..." Chu Guanmeng suddenly opened her mouth indistinctly, "You're not going to die, are you? If your soul is truly devoured and becomes a new Snow Spirit, can I eat you?"

"Don't worry, I'm not that useless. If you bother me again, I'll just start a fire and roast rabbit meat." Lin Du opened his eyes and looked at her.

Chu Guanmeng bared her teeth, "I'll eat you alive right now!"

Lin Du smiled and closed his eyes again, remaining silent.

She wasn't actually very confident, and Wei Zhi's repeated emphasis on the key points probably indirectly confirmed that her success rate was not high.

But people always need to give themselves some positive self-affirmation; who knows, it might just work out.

After Lin Du began circulating his cultivation technique, Chu Guanmeng stared at him for a while, then quietly pulled out another bag of food, sat down in front of the weak point of the formation, and began to eat it seriously.