Stunned by the woman's sudden gaze, Chen Lan was even more bewildered, but he didn't shy away and instead looked into the woman's eyes and said, "My name is Chen Lan, what's yours?"

"I, I am called Bing Lan, the princess of the Ice Country." Bing Lan smiled, though her mind was recalling the name Chen Lan.

After a while, she spoke again, "You resemble a friend of mine, his name differs from yours by only one character, he's called Ye Lan."

"Ye Lan?" Chen Lan paused slightly; indeed, there was only a one-character difference.

"But, he's been gone for a long time, I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to see him again." Bing Lan smiled sadly, and the atmosphere turned somber.

"If you don't mind, I could be your friend." Chen Lan said with a smile.

His main goal was to recruit this woman, after all, he could see that she had no cultivation, possibly unable to cultivate, but inherently possessed the Ice Dao, which, if nurtured, might lead her to achieve Great Completion or Perfection in the Ice Dao, which would be comparable to the Celestial Emperor.

Any Dao reaching Perfection could rival the Celestial Emperor and perhaps even the Great Emperor.

The three thousand Daos each had their intricacies; once any Dao achieved Perfection, it would grant immense power.

"Really?!" Bing Lan suddenly became excited and smiled with delight, "Great, you are the second person to meet me without freezing, happy to be friends with you, Chen Lan."

Bing Lan extended her hand, wishing to shake hands with Chen Lan.

"I'm happy too." Chen Lan shook her hand, smiling slightly.

Great, another capable ally.

"By the way, where is this place?" Bing Lan looked around and asked in confusion.

"This is my sect, Xiao Yao Sect. You can stay here from now on, with me around, no one can bully you."

"Wow, so impressive. I heard those who can establish a sect are really amazing. I didn't expect you to have your own sect at such a young age."

Chen Lan chuckled and countered, "You said I'm the second person who can meet you without freezing, why say that? Is there something unusual with your constitution?"

Upon hearing this, Bing Lan's smile gradually froze, returning to her previous melancholic expression, she sighed and said, "I wasn't like this when I was young. Ever since that year, I accidentally left home, came to a frozen place, touched a peculiar stone, I changed. Anyone close to me feels cold, and anyone touching me would instantly freeze."

"People say this is a curse, an unremovable curse. Since then, no one dared to approach me, until one day, Ye Lan came. He happened to pass by during the Spring Festival Lantern Festival. I sneaked out secretly with the Magical Treasure my father gave me, which could temporarily disperse the cold within me, allowing me to move freely, but I couldn't touch anyone."

"That day, unexpectedly, a group of bandits arrived. To save a child, I exposed my identity, but those bandits were strong, all at Mahayana stage. They came for me, hearing I had secrets, intending to capture me for research. Ye Lan saved me, and on that day, he touched my hand, yet he didn't freeze.

After listening to Bing Lan's words, Chen Lan fell silent. He looked at his own hands. He didn't possess any special constitution. Why didn't he freeze?

"Do you know why?" Chen Lan asked.

"I don't know, but my family consulted a witch who foretold that there would always be someone who could ignore my curse, and that person is whom I'm meant to find." Bing Lan recalled, looking at Chen Lan: "Though I don't know why, your names differ by just one character, and both are immune to my curse. It's very strange."

Chen Lan shook his head; he also didn't know.

"Do you remember where that stone is?"

"I remember. I just came from there." Bing Lan nodded.

Upon hearing this, Chen Lan was slightly taken aback and said, "Where is it?"

If that stone cursed Bing Lan and granted her an unprecedented Ice Dao.

Then that stone must retain the remnants of Ice Dao resonance, which, if absorbed, could grant him another Dao.

"Alright, I'll take you there." Bing Lan nodded, and Chen Lan immediately led her back to that place.

...

Antarctica.

Luo Tao and others had already left after dealing with the giant beast's corpse.

Chen Lan and Bing Lan returned to this place. Under Bing Lan's guidance, he reached the entrance of a cracked ice mountain.

"I just came out of here; the stone is inside."

"Mm, why did you sleep with that stone until now?"

"It was Ye Lan. He spoke of a disastrous future, instructing me to come here early, saying the stone would grant me extraordinary power, enabling me to survive. So, I came in." Bing Lan said.

Once again, it's Ye Lan; Chen Lan fell into silence. It seemed Ye Lan was an important figure too.

If he knew that world reincarnation would occur, then he must also be alive; who could he be?

Thinking these thoughts, Chen Lan stepped inside and soon saw a massive blue ice crystal, its translucent exterior akin to the height of a small mountain, like a giant ice block emitting a cold temperature.

"This is the stone. Be careful not to touch it, lest it curses you," Bing Lan reminded.

Chen Lan nodded, "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

After saying this, he pressed a hand against the ice crystal, alarming Bing Lan: "Are you crazy?"

But nothing happened, Chen Lan frowned, removing his hand and pressing it back repeatedly, yet nothing occurred.

"Hmm?" Bing Lan expressed her confusion; did it actually have no effect?

Could it be that the stone was already useless?

Chen Lan released his hand, intending to say something, but noticed Bing Lan's sudden alarm, pointing at his feet in astonishment: "You... You're freezing!"

Chen Lan looked down and indeed found that his feet had turned into ice, and it was rapidly spreading upwards. He was startled and attempted to escape, but found himself unable to move.

His body was also freezing; in merely three seconds, it had spread to his neck!

"It's okay, I can handle it." Chen Lan said casually.

Just as he finished speaking, he was completely frozen.

"How could this happen!" Bing Lan was dumbfounded, reaching out to touch Chen Lan, unsure what to do.

Her hard-found friend was leaving just like that?

It was all her fault, she was the one to blame!

Tears flowed uncontrollably, dropping like crystals that shattered on the ground, but suddenly, she lifted her head, calmed down, and quietly pressed her ear against Chen Lan's chest, eyes widening.

It was the heartbeat; Chen Lan still had a heartbeat.

He wasn't dead!

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