Chapter 176: Within the Iceberg

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Mo Tiange was dumbfounded by his answer. “This…”

Jiang Shanghang grinned and said, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, you’ve been in Kunwu for a long time and have seen a lot of beautiful women in the cultivation world, so you didn’t think much of yourself. However, we’re in the northernmost region—haven’t you realized that my two senior martial sisters look pretty average?”

Upon hearing his question, Mo Tiange lifted her gaze to look ahead. According to their identities as cultivators, Ai Xian and Xia Houyuan indeed looked too mediocre.

“There are rarely any beautiful women in the northernmost area. When I first arrived here, I also wasn’t accustomed to this. Back then, I didn’t have any particular thoughts about Junior Martial Brother Ye, but after we met again, I finally realized that I missed out on a beauty before!” Jiang Shanghang said jokingly.

Mo Tiange wasn’t accustomed to this kind of joke, so she said helplessly, “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, don’t tease me; my skin’s thin.”

“Heh.” Upon seeing that she really did look uncomfortable, Jiang Shanghang dropped the subject. “Sorry, Junior Martial Brother Ye. I shouldn’t have thrown such a flippant joke at you.”

Mo Tiange shook her head. “I’m just not used to this kind of joke; Senior Martial Brother Jiang doesn’t have to worry about it.”

“En.” Jiang Shanghang thought for a moment then proceeded to console her, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, you don’t need to worry. Those senior martial brothers are used to seeing female disciples in the sect every day, so they’re just a bit curious about you. As for the two senior martial sisters, even if they don’t like you, you’re a Xuanqing School disciple after all, so they won’t do anything to you.”

“… I know.” In general, cultivators were always rational. Besides, she really wasn’t a peerless beauty who was so beautiful that others would go mad with envy. However, the current situation really made her feel torn between laughter and tears. As it turned out, one’s appearance required others to act as a foil. When she was in Kunwu, only Bai Yanfei showed interest in her, and that was because she suited his requirements. When she arrived in the northernmost area, however, she finally realized she could also be considered a beauty.

She sized up her temporary teammates again. The two men surnamed Lu and Xiang were slightly older than the rest; they seemed to be in their forties while the others looked around twenty to thirty years old. Nevertheless, in the end, they were cultivators from cultivation groups, so compared to individual cultivators, they were a lot younger. However, their appearances were quite average, so they indeed fell short of Kunwu’s cultivators who were mainly good-looking—Mo Tiange cast a glance at Jiang Shanghang, sensing an urge to tease him. With these people as his foils, Jiang Shanghang also looked much more handsome.

The group of ten flew for a long time, but the iceberg remained far away in the horizon.

Mo Tiange furrowed her brows then she asked Jiang Shanghang: “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, it didn’t seem that far when we looked before!”

Jiang Shanghang explained, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, maybe you’re not aware of this, but in the northernmost area, all of this is the glacial zone—it’s just a vast expanse of white, so we might perceive depth incorrectly when we look at it. This Land of Hiding Dragon is, in fact, several thousand miles away.”

“I see…” Several thousand miles away… Foundation Building cultivators indeed had to fly for a long time to cross that distance.

They continued to fly for some more time before the iceberg gradually got closer. By the time it was right before her eyes, Mo Tiange finally realized that the magnificence of this iceberg didn’t lose out to the mountains in Kunwu.

The magnificence of Kunwu lay in its vast mountains features. Its mountains stretched for thousands of miles, but each was connected to each other. Every part of it had different scenery; some parts of it were precipitous and bizarre, and others were elegant and serene. The iceberg before her, however, towered by itself alone. Several thousand feet of icy peaks was alone and quiet. It was as if it stood alone, watching the Northernmost Ocean, watching the icebergs around it drifting, and watching the transformation of the world, while itself stood here, isolated from the world for eternity—it was a kind of lone, aloof beauty.

Jiang Shanghang gazed at the mountain and said, “In the legends of the northernmost people, this iceberg has always been here. Other icebergs have melted, disappeared, drifted—only this one has remained like this from the very beginning of time.”

“Why doesn’t it melt?” Mo Tiange couldn’t help but ask. Under the sun, each of its icy peaks was pure, translucent, and sparkled with a brilliant light, presenting a magnificently beautiful sight to behold.

“No one knows.” The person who replied to her was unexpectedly Ren Yufeng. His cultivation level was the highest among them and he was their leader, so he was now standing ahead of everyone. “This is how the Land of Hiding Dragon is; even Nascent Soul grandmasters aren’t able to come up with an answer to that question. Maybe we’ll only get an explanation when someone becomes a Deification cultivator.”

Once he finished talking, he briefly swept his gaze over the group. “Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters, are you all ready? If you are, we can enter now.”

Mo Tiange looked at Jiang Shanghang. Before this trip, Jiang Shanghang said they’d need some special things but he’d prepare her share.

At that moment, Jiang Shanghang took out a small pouch the size of his palm and gave it to her. “Junior Martial… Sister Ye, these are Bubble Fruits. Right after you eat them, your body will form a waterproof enchantment which can last for a day. There are about a dozen inside; those should be enough.”

Bubble Fruit? What… a childish name. Mo Tiange accepted the small pouch and examined the fruit. She then took out a plum-like fruit and took a bite— en, the taste isn’t bad. It’s a bit sweet.

Jiang Shanghang also ate one while whispering to her, “This fruit’s specific to the northernmost glacial zone, and they’re often fed to children.”

“…” In their silence, Ren Yufeng already led them to dive into the water.

Mo Tiange noticed they didn’t use their spiritual aura or form protective barriers. However, once they were underwater, their body automatically formed a waterproof enchantment—these Bubble Fruits really did live up to their names…

After they dove for about several dozen feet, everyone suddenly stopped. Ren Yufeng took out a jade talisman, murmured a set of unknown incantations, and shot several beams of spiritual aura towards the ice. For a moment, there seemed to be a current in the water around the surface of the ice. Then, a black cave opening gradually appeared on the surface of the ice, which was smooth a moment ago.

This was an extremely sophisticated restriction. Despite Mo Tiange’s knowledge in formations, she couldn’t see any traces of its existence before; apparently, the Nascent Soul grandmasters of Zhengfa Sect also attached great importance to this place. But since that was the case, Mo Tiange was even more puzzled. Since this was a very important place to Zhengfa Sect, why would they have invited a disciple from another sect like her? Jiang Shanghang trusted her, but why did the others have no objections at all?

She didn’t have time to think about it more thoroughly because Ren Yufeng turned around and looked at them. Underwater, his voice sounded rather different. “Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters, we’re going to enter now, so be careful!”

Everyone cupped their hands and voiced their agreement. All of them had solemn expressions on their faces.

At that moment, Mo Tiange actually had the slight urge to laugh. This was her first time seeing such a scene. There were so many Foundation Building cultivators, and everyone had to speak with bubbles; this was indeed… amusing.

With Ren Yufeng’s lead, the ten of them slowly entered through the black cave opening. Mo Tiange followed behind the others, but Jiang Shanghang deliberately let her walk in front of him.

Right after they passed through the cave opening, the scenery in front of them changed and warmth suddenly returned to their bodies. In the depths of the Northernmost Ocean, there was only water and ice. Inside this iceberg, however, it was unexpectedly filled with the light blue color of the ocean. There were lush water plants, fish that swam around in groups, and dots of refracted light—it looked just like a warm ocean!

When Mo Tiange looked up, it seemed that the water’s surface and sunshine weren’t far away. A group of small, silver-colored fish the size of a finger swam over. Among the light refractions in the water, their silvery white scales sparkled with a silvery light, creating an extremely beautiful sight.

She was a bit fascinated with this scene that she even stretched out her hand, wanting to caress the small silver fish. However, behind her, Jiang Shanghang’s expression changed. A sword appeared in his hand, and he immediately rushed to kill that shoal of fish.

Mo Tiange was shocked. She turned around to look at the others but realized everyone had the same expression as Jiang Shanghang and had taken out their magic tools.

No matter how stupid she was, she also ought to know there must be something wrong with those small silver fish. At once, she swung her Shuttle of Flying Apsara, causing golden rays to shoot forward—but underwater, the strength of her attacks wasn’t as strong as she wanted and was obviously much slower.

Realizing this dilemma, Mo Tiange pondered inwardly. These Zhengfa Sect disciples came here all year round, so they could move without any hindrances at all. She, on the other hand, was hindered by the water, so her strength was significantly decreased. This situation was very unfavorable for her…

The ten Foundation Building cultivators attacked together, and the shoal of fish was soon completely exterminated. Mo Tiange took advantage of the moment everyone was busy fighting and whispered to Jiang Shanghang: “Senior Martial Brother Jiang, these tiny fish only have a bit of spiritual aura. They’re not demonic beasts at all, so why…”

Jiang Shanghang put away his sword then explained, “Junior Martial Sister Ye, these fish indeed aren’t demonic beasts, but they have strange teeth. If they run into us, they’ll want to bite us—their bites can break even the protective barriers on our bodies.”

“…” Mo Tiange was astounded. This was her first time hearing about beasts that weren’t demonic beasts being able to injure cultivators. Indeed, this world was vast; extraordinary things were everywhere.

Subsequently, the seemingly harmless water plants were also able to sprout tentacles which tried to coil around them, and even the shrubbery had a gigantic mouth that tried to swallow them.

After only about two hours since they entered the iceberg, they went through several consecutive battles. Now, Mo Tiange finally understood what Jiang Shanghang meant.

Facing these peculiar creatures, they had to constantly remain vigilant because seemingly harmless things might try to take their lives. All in all, this place was beset with dangers because there were many small things that they might not even notice but were actually dangerous creatures. However, if they were always on the alert, it wasn’t hard to kill these seemingly harmless things.

By the time they finished killing a bunch of jellyfish, they already reached an enormous, crimson coral reef that glittered brightly. Mo Tiange could see that the coral was brimming with spiritual aura, so they could also be considered treasures.

At that moment, their leader, Ren Yufeng, stopped then turned towards them. “Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters, these Red Flame Corals are also rare objects, so we should take as many as we can. However, there must be dangerous small things floating among them; you must be careful.”

Everyone nodded and answered with “yes.” Soon afterward, everyone split up, looking for a piece that suited their taste.

Jiang Shanghang pulled Mo Tiange to the side then said, “Junior Martial Sister Ye, these Red Flame Corals are at least a thousand years old, so we should take some back with us. That way, even if we don’t get anything later on, this trip still wouldn’t be in vain.”

Corals were only used in a few unusual pill recipes while their usage in refining tools was basically unheard of, so they weren’t really precious. But in any case, they were thousands of years old spiritual objects rarely found in this world, so she’d better take some; maybe they could come in handy one day.

Jiang Shanghang, who already took out his flying sword, cautiously cut off a piece of coral. Mo Tiange followed his example. She took out her own flying sword and cautiously cut off a piece for herself. Upon confirming that it wasn’t dangerous, she finally put it into her Qiankun Bag.

Mo Tiange stopped after taking a few pieces. She wasn’t greedy, and Ren Yufeng said there might be some dangers within these corals—taking risks for something that wasn’t very precious wasn’t worth it.

A while later, Ren Yufeng also spoke. “That’ll do, everyone can stop; don’t pick too many. It’s not worth it if get ourselves into danger just for these.”

After he spoke, the Zhengfa Sect disciples obediently stopped, stored their harvests then moved towards him.

Everyone was already gathered around him, but Ren Yufeng didn’t show any intention of moving on. Instead, he swept his gaze over everyone, looking extremely solemn. In the end, his gaze fell on Mo Tiange, but the one he spoke to was Jiang Shanghang. “Junior Martial Brother Jiang, have you told Junior Martial Sister Ye about the purpose of our trip?”

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