The Iceberg Girl and the Warm Man

“Qingfeng, Yunzhu, you’re ranked second and third among this generation of disciples. Why are you both going to Beiju Luzhou to hunt demons and gather herbs?”

“Bai Yan from Tiangong Peak, Zhuang Yang from Shijian Peak, why are you two also heading to the Juezhang Treasure Forest? Is our sect really that stingy with its young disciples?”

“That blasted place is no paradise. No one even went the last two times… Hmm?”

In a corner of the Myriad Phantoms Hall, a female immortal in a pure white cloud robe tilted her head. She glared at Lu Qiancha, who was standing behind the four dazzling young disciples, and her expression gradually darkened.

“Tianquan Peak, Lu Qiancha! What’s your cultivation level? What are you doing going to the Juezhang Treasure Forest when you’ve just reached peak-Nascent Soul? Go, go, go! Go to the Eastern Sea and fight those shrimp soldiers and crab generals!”

This female immortal was blunt and merciless, but her words were reasonable, clearly spoken out of concern for Lu Qiancha’s safety.

Her Daoist name was Xuan Mo, a member of Tianshu Peak.

She appeared to be in her early twenties, but was in fact over eight hundred years old and had been an immortal for nearly six hundred years.

She was considered a prodigy among her peers and was now a formidable figure in her own right.

She was the sole immortal guardian for the trip to the Juezhang Treasure Forest in Beiju Luzhou, a testament to her considerable strength.

Lu Qiancha wore a solemn expression as he bowed to this renowned Xuan Immortal. “Martial Aunt Xuan, this disciple needs several medicinal herbs, one of which can only be found in Beiju Luzhou. I must trouble Martial Aunt this time.”

“What herbs?”

Xuan Mo pursed her lips, a look of disdain on her beautiful face. “I have some history with your master. Take this, and go find Elder Xuxuan of the Pill Cauldron Pavilion.”

As she spoke, Xuan Mo took a jade pendant from her storage ring and casually tossed it to Lu Qiancha.

“Put the expense on my monthly allowance and go get the herbs you need. Use that little brain of yours and think carefully. Is a place like Beiju Luzhou somewhere you can go? If you die there, I’ll have twenty years of my salary docked. And your crybaby master will definitely come bawling to me… Ugh, just thinking about it is annoying.”

The three men and one woman nearby looked slightly surprised, their gazes all falling on the jade pendant.

‘A sect elder’s identity token, given so easily to a peak-Nascent Soul disciple from a different peak?’

“Martial Aunt,” Lu Qiancha said with a bitter smile, holding the pendant and taking two steps forward to hand it back to the female immortal. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want to risk going to Beiju Luzhou either, but my circumstances leave me no other option. Besides, according to the sect rules, Martial Aunt cannot refuse a disciple’s request for training.”

Xuan Mo frowned slightly, staring at the junior bowing before her.

She snorted lightly and snatched the jade pendant back.

“Honestly… You there, Qingfeng, Yunzhu.”

The young woman in the bright red immortal dress and the gentle Daoist answered in unison, “Disciple is here.”

“If you two have the energy, help look after him.”

Xuan Mo said irritably.

“Disciple obeys.”

Yunzhu replied, her expression unchanged.

“Martial Aunt can rest assured.” Qingfeng cast a friendly glance at Lu Qiancha, a gentle smile on his lips. “I will certainly take good care of Junior Brother Qiancha.”

Hearing this, Xuan Mo couldn’t help but facepalm, launching into a tirade at Lu Qiancha. “He joined the sect earlier than both you and Yunzhu. Honestly… cultivating for over sixty years and still not at the Spirit Transformation realm… Sigh, forget it. Given the conditions on your Tianquan Peak, it’s impressive enough that you can keep up with most disciples.”

“Er…” Qingfeng looked embarrassed and bowed. “My apologies. Please don’t take offense, Senior Brother Qiancha.”

Lu Qiancha shook his head with a smile, feeling a little emotional inside.

‘An ice queen and a warm-hearted gentleman. Don’t these two look just like a couple…?’

‘But it has nothing to do with me.’

Afterward, Lu Qiancha thanked Xuan Mo, then retreated behind the other four and stood quietly.

He split off a wisp of his spiritual sense to check the contents of his storage ring.

Having learned his lesson from the last mission, this time Lu Qiancha had brought most of his wealth with him.

The other, smaller portion, he had left for his junior sister for her own protection.

…

Half a day later, a lone boat slowly ascended from the front of the hall.

Xuan Mo stood at the bow with her hands behind her back, her presence quite extraordinary.

The several young disciples stood or sat in various places on the boat, looking down at the vast Divine Continent.

Once the boat flew out of the great formation, Xuan Mo formed a hand seal and created a thin membrane, blocking out the sound of the wind.

Then, she pointed towards the northwest, and the boat beneath their feet began to accelerate.

“Everyone relax. Now that we’re outside the sect, there aren’t so many rules.”

Xuan Mo yawned and leaned against the side of the boat, her eyes slightly narrowed as she sized up the five young disciples behind her.

Farthest from her, sitting at the stern, was Lu Qiancha.

Lu Qiancha kept a small distance from the others, fiddling with a square-shaped magical artifact that had a nine-square grid on each face.

Bai Yan and Zhuang Yang were meditating in the middle of the boat.

Closest to her was Shangguan Yunzhu, who was meditating just a foot away from Xuan Mo.

Behind Shangguan Yunzhu, the suave Qingfeng was speaking in a gentle voice, “Junior Sister, I will surely help you find the Crimson Phoenix Grass this time.”

Hearing this, Shangguan Yunzhu frowned slightly and said coolly, “Senior Brother Qingfeng need not worry about me. This is a matter of my own cultivation and requires no one else’s interference.”

Qingfeng smiled gently. “One more person is always one more chance.”

Shangguan Yunzhu said nothing more and continued to meditate, the flames swirling around her growing more vivid.

“Tch.”

Xuan Mo, watching from the side, was rather amused.

She raised an eyebrow at Qingfeng.

Qingfeng made a helpless expression, then sat down behind Shangguan Yunzhu and continued to meditate.

“Another tale of unrequited love.”

Xuan Mo shook her head, leaned against the bow, and looked up at the clouds rolling across the sky, becoming slightly lost in thought.

Just then, Xuan Mo suddenly received a voice transmission from Lu Qiancha: “Martial Aunt, there seems to be someone in the clouds behind us.”

“Hmm?”

Xuan Mo glanced back at Lu Qiancha, then transmitted her voice back without changing her expression, “In all the vast five continents and four seas, there are countless cultivators who can fly. Don’t make a fuss over nothing. We’re not far from our Tianyuan Sect.”

Despite her words, Xuan Mo spread out her spiritual sense.

Before long, the boat’s speed gradually slowed, and after a moment, it hovered motionlessly in the air.

Xuan Mo glanced at the clouds behind them and called out, “I wonder what business the fellow Daoist in the clouds has, following us for so long?”

Instantly, the four meditating disciples on the boat opened their eyes.

At the stern, Lu Qiancha silently tightened his grip on the cube-like magical artifact in his hand, slowly infusing it with spiritual energy.

From the clouds behind them, a burly figure flew out.

He looked incredibly fierce, his aura heavy and oppressive, and a massive long saber was slung across his back.

‘The aura of principles… This person is at least in the Void Refining realm.’

Lu Qiancha observed the man silently, ready to act at any moment.

From a li away, the burly man clasped his fist towards Xuan Mo and said in a resonant voice, “I am a guard of the royal palace of the Aolai Nation in the Eastern Purvavideha Continent. I have come specifically to escort Her Highness, the Sixth Princess. If I have caused any offense, I hope the immortal elder will not blame me.”