Learning from yesterday’s lesson, Nuobai slowly climbed the mountain, resting every so often to let Bai Luxin adjust to the altitude.
“Sigh.”
Bai Luxin sighed. Why was she so weak?
As a Beast Master, she could gain some physical enhancement from Nuobai through their contract.
The stronger Nuobai became, the stronger she would become.
“Master, don’t fall off.”
Bai Luxin was lying sideways on her back, one foot dangling over the edge, swinging weakly back and forth.
“Sigh, Nuobai, why am I so weak…”
The sigh drifted down from her back. Nuobai didn’t know how to answer. In her eyes, her master was a porcelain doll.
Afraid she would melt if held in the mouth, afraid she would chip or break if held in the hand.
It made Nuobai usually not dare to resist at all, letting Bai Luxin do whatever she wanted.
Neither of them knew that if not for Nuobai’s formidable strength providing immense feedback, Bai Luxin’s severe altitude sickness wouldn’t have recovered in just one night.
An ordinary person would already be preparing their farewell speech, not having the strength to sigh and lament here.
Bai Luxin crawled up to Nuobai’s neck, touching her much larger ears. The texture was so strange, completely different from when they were tiny.
“Stop that, Master.”
“We’re almost there.”
The mist shrouding the mountain body dissipated, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.
The cold veins converged on the mountaintop platform. Things reaching an extreme turn into their opposite, and here, they had instead formed a springhead.
The spring water emitted steam, gathering into a lake, its clear surface reflecting the blue sky.
Bai Luxin couldn’t help but exclaim, “The Mirror.”
“So this is the Mirror, hidden in the sky.”
“Not seeing the lord, the lord unseen, the mirror hidden in the sky.”
Guessing why the Secret Realm was called this name, Bai Luxin excitedly jumped down from Nuobai.
The lake water was clear to the bottom, its temperature slightly higher than body temperature. The closer to the center of the lake, the warmer the water became.
On the higher ground east of the lake, there were also springs of varying sizes, forming pools.
“Nuobai, want to soak in the hot spring?”
As she spoke, Bai Luxin found a suitable spring, undressed, and got in.
The warm, comfortable sensation instantly washed away all her fatigue. Bai Luxin sat leaning against a rock, relaxing as she looked at the sky.
The summit of Not Seeing the Lord was very peaceful. A sea of clouds covered the sky below the mountain.
Snow Velvet Flowers grew at the water’s edge, swaying gently in the breeze.
As Bai Luxin was lost in the azure sea and sky, a figure was reflected in her pupils.
Fair, delicate skin. Long hair flowing in the wind. A pair of slender legs stepping over her face.
From this angle, she could even clearly see the small, white-haired forest.
Splash.
The sound of entering water rang out, droplets splashing onto Bai Luxin’s face.
Nuobai looked at her with her usual aloof expression.
With the blue sky as a backdrop, her white hair as an accent, and a pair of heterochromatic eyes that seemed cold yet held concern within.
Her master had gotten in the water and then just lain on the rock without moving. She was a little worried.
A rush of heat surged to Bai Luxin’s nose, as if she had soaked in the hot spring too long and was getting dizzy.
Catching her master, whose face was flushed red and who had fainted, and considering that going out directly would give her a cold, Nuobai silently adjusted her own body temperature.
She made as much physical contact as possible, helping her cool down in the water.
To faint from soaking in a hot spring… what an idiot.
Bai Luxin slowly regained consciousness. She was lying on Nuobai’s chest, the bigger bullying the smaller, using her position to take advantage.
Such intimate contact made her a bit embarrassed, so she simply continued to pretend to be unconscious.
Through [Energy Perception], Nuobai sensed a place of highly concentrated energy along the water flow.
Absentmindedly stroking her master’s hair, it seemed she was about to make a big gain.
…
At the center of all the springs, the cold veins converged here.
Threads of cold air, so dark they appeared bluish-green to the naked eye, turned into droplets upon contact with the air, falling into the spring water with high temperature.
“Nuobai, are you really going down there?”
“Don’t worry, Master.”
Nuobai patted her head and walked in without hesitation.
Her right foot stepped into the cold vein. The originally slowly rising cold current found a vent and suddenly turned violent.
Bluish-black patterns began to spread upward along her tender skin.
Nuobai felt an indescribable discomfort and couldn’t help but frown, revealing a pained expression.
Bai Luxin grabbed her hand.
“Nuobai!”
Nuobai waved her hand, signaling her to step back.
Not sensing any danger, Nuobai steeled her heart and walked her entire body into it.
The black dress she wore turned to powder under the erosion of the cold current.
The discomfort accumulated wildly within her body, the pain growing more intense.
“Mmm, ah…”
Afraid of worrying Bai Luxin, Nuobai clenched her teeth, not letting herself make a sound.
The bluish-black patterns spread and grew on her body. Her entire person looked like a terracotta figurine that had been shattered and barely glued back together.
Bai Luxin covered her mouth, not daring to cry out loud, forcing herself to watch, to remember every image.
At this moment, [Constant Temperature Physique] was pushed to its limit. The Betrayal Golden Pupils separated energy from the cold current.
Strands of pure energy were absorbed, quickly exceeding the total of one Spirit Crystal.
Two… fifteen… forty…
Nuobai counted, a twisted smile appearing on her face.
Finally, she could be fed until full.
With enough energy accumulated, Nuobai directly advanced to the mid-stage of the Second-tier.
The cold current showed no signs of drying up. She accelerated her absorption rate.
Late-stage Second-tier!
This feeling of riding a rocket was simply addictive for Nuobai. She disregarded everything else, only wanting to absorb as much energy as possible.
As Bai Luxin watched, she realized something was wrong. The cold vein began to grow restless, and Nuobai’s entire body also became like an ice sculpture.
“Nuobai, wake up!”
“Something’s wrong!”
At this point, Nuobai couldn’t hear any external sounds. Her whole body was crystalline and translucent blue, seeming to merge with the cold vein.
“Nuobai!”
Bai Luxin cut her palm. The fluctuation of Contract Power startled the lost Nuobai.
“Get out, hurry!”
Now Nuobai also realized something was wrong. She wanted to get out, but her entire body was frozen stiff.
The cold current was still uncontrollably pouring into her body. A pulling force came from the cold vein deep within the mountain, wanting to completely merge with her.
“I’ll come get you.”
Seeing she couldn’t move, and the contract space couldn’t recall Nuobai either, Bai Luxin walked in without a second thought.
The cold current here had been absorbed a lot by Nuobai, but it still wasn’t something an ordinary person could withstand.
Bai Luxin’s legs instantly froze and cracked. The blood didn’t even have time to flow out before it was frozen again, then cracked again.
Don’t come over!
Move, move!
Bai Luxin!
Before she could get close to Nuobai, Bai Luxin’s legs were frozen stiff. The cold current spread to her waist. Tears froze and shattered in mid-air.
Damn it!
Move!
Guilt, heartache, anger, resentment, pain, self-blame—they exploded in her heart all at once.
Bloody tears flowed from her golden-red heterochromatic eyes. The Betrayal Power quietly became active.
A brand new talent appeared within her body—[Ice Soul]!
Under the extreme crisis, [Fight to the Death] was triggered. Nuobai shook off the cold current’s restraints and wove an energy net to lift Bai Luxin.
The two landed in the largest hot spring lake. Nuobai spat out a mouthful of ink-blue blood, her aura rapidly declining.
Not even caring about herself, she carefully and meticulously helped Bai Luxin expel the cold poison from her body.
With [Energy Perception], [Ice Soul], and the assistance of the hot spring, the cold poison was extracted and dissolved in the lake water.
Fetching the prepared Living Grass from the backpack, Nuobai applied it to her body.
Fortunately, she hadn’t been in the cold current for long, and the current wasn’t as severe as at the beginning. Everything could be salvaged.
Her mind relaxing, Nuobai lost perception of her body and sank into the lake water.
…