Chapter 59: Extreme Cold Realm – They’ve Got Their Eyes on You

The people of Wunian Sect had no idea what had happened. Shen Wuxie refused to speak, keeping his mouth tightly shut and only saying he fell by accident.

Their team leader also stepped forward, saying it was just a mishap. Only then did the elders let the matter drop and proceed to the next segment, distributing Spirit Jade Tokens to each disciple.

Lian Mu stood in the second-seat position for Gui Xian Sect. Next to her was the second-seat disciple of Wunian Sect. As the senior brother distributing the jade tokens passed by, the Wunian Sect second-seat tilted his head, seemingly trying to see the name on her token.

“You’re called Lian Mu?”

Called out by name, Lian Mu turned in response. Baili Yu stared at her, teeth clenched. “You’re a second-seat too? Perfect. Once we’re inside, let’s have a match.”

Lian Mu didn’t recognize him at all. “…Who are you?”

Baili Yu hadn’t expected she wouldn’t remember. “I…”

His words were cut off by an elder’s voice from the stage. A senior alchemy cultivator manifested an icy-blue flower in his hand. “I trust you’re all familiar with the rules of the Immortal Gate Grand Tournament, so I won’t repeat them.”

The first realm would correspond to the Water Element. In addition to the previous rules, the formal Immortal Gate Tournament included an extra one: within the seven elemental illusion realms, cultivators whose spiritual roots matched the realm would receive a certain boost.

Upon hearing this new rule, Lian Mu quietly asked Xu Xianxing, “Do we have anyone with Water Spiritual Root?”

Xu Xianxing pointed at Wen Yun. “He does. This round gives our sect and Qingxuan Sect an advantage. Qingxuan’s chief sword cultivator is also Water Root. Chixiao Sect and Wunian Sect’s chiefs don’t have it. But be careful—there are quite a few second-seats and array team members with Water Root.”

Lian Mu nodded. She wasn’t too concerned about others. A boost from the illusion realm wasn’t likely to make someone invincible.

The alchemy elder finished showcasing the Ice Core Flower, then placed it into the mouth of a golden toad under the Celestial Sphere. The toad swallowed the flower and closed its eyes.

Before the trial began, each sect sent a representative to draw lots. As the most famous cultivator in northern Xuanwu had been Alchemy Master Feng Tianche, this round’s lot drawing was done by each sect’s chief alchemist.

Ji Mingyue went up to draw. Alchemists from other sects also stepped forward.

Lian Mu kept her eyes on Qingxuan Sect. She hadn’t seen their chief alchemist before—this was her chance.

As her gaze swept across the chief team, a white-robed youth with loose hair stepped out and headed toward the stage.

Her eyes followed him, but then she accidentally caught a glimpse of the sword cultivator beside him. He was looking at her.

“…”

Ying You met her gaze from afar, with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes. He didn’t hide it at all. Lian Mu, far from feeling guilty, stared right back.

They locked eyes for a long while. Ying You was the first to look away—and he didn’t look again.

Lian Mu thought for a moment before recalling the name. This was Qingxuan Sect’s chief sword cultivator. If she remembered right, his name was Ying You, and the Flying Swan Sword was in his possession.

Thinking back to their positions just now, Ying You had stood beside that Feng Yunyì. It was very likely he was her protector.

“…”

It looked like getting close to Feng Yunyì wouldn’t be easy.

As Lian Mu was considering some possible shortcuts in her mind, Ji Mingyue came back down after drawing lots. Luck was on their side—she drew the first entry slot into the illusion realm.

When Ji Mingyue returned, she saw Lian Mu staring dazedly toward Qingxuan Sect and gave her a pat. “What are you looking at?”

Following her gaze, Ji Mingyue understood. “You’re looking at Ying You? He’s not easy to deal with. All the chief sword cultivators from each sect are Heaven Spiritual Root, but he’s top-tier even among them. If you run into him in the illusion realm, you’d better steer clear.”

It wasn’t that she doubted Lian Mu’s strength—it was just that the gap between Heaven Root and Three Spiritual Roots was too great. If Lian Mu were Heaven Root too, Ji Mingyue would believe she could go toe-to-toe with the other chiefs. But unfortunately, she wasn’t.

Lian Mu said, “Feng Yunyì is in the same team as him.”

Ji Mingyue: “…It really is her?”

What terrible luck.

Wen Yun also overheard. “No matter how strong he is, he’ll make a mistake sooner or later. He can’t stick by Feng Yunyì’s side all the time.”

Three pairs of eyes turned toward Qingxuan Sect. Xu Xianxing and Baili Que noticed their movement—though they didn’t understand why, they looked over too.

On Qingxuan Sect’s side, Feng Yunyì had just finished drawing lots. Their sect was third to enter the illusion realm. Just as she finished speaking to her teammates, a chill suddenly ran down her spine.

She turned around—and met five pairs of eyes from Gui Xian Sect.

Feng Yunyì’s hand shook. She nearly dropped her lot: “…”

“Why are they all looking at you?” asked Yuan Hui, Qingxuan Sect’s chief artifact refiner.

Feng Yunyì shook her head. “No idea.”

She tugged her sleeve tighter, feeling colder and colder.

Chief body cultivator Gu Qingyu crossed her arms and chuckled. “Maybe they’re scared. Didn’t Gui Xian Sect come asking us for help earlier? The elders were far too kind to agree.”

Ying You’s tone was calm and faint: “They’ve got their eyes on you.”

Feng Yunyì blinked, paused, and asked, “…Why?”

“No idea.” He looked toward the high-ponytailed sword cultivator surrounded by Gui Xian Sect’s leaders. She had already walked over to the Celestial Sphere with the others, preparing to enter the illusion realm.

“Be more cautious once we’re inside,” Ying You said as he wiped his sword and sheathed it. “Stay close to me—don’t get separated. No matter what, we can’t give them an opening.”

Gu Qingyu said, “You’re overthinking it. It’s just Gui Xian Sect. They haven’t been our match for a long time.”

Ying You scanned the other sects. Every chief this year was exceptional—too many Heaven Roots wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

“Don’t underestimate anyone,” he said, and with that, headed toward the Celestial Sphere.

Gui Xian Sect was the first to enter the illusion realm, followed by Wu Nian Sect, Qing Xuan Sect, and Chi Xiao Sect.

…

…

In the Pangu Illusion Realm, it was a world of ice and snow.

The second-seat disciples were divided into three teams. Lian Mu and the second-seat talisman cultivator were teleported to a snowy plain, where everything in sight was blanketed in white.

Distant snow-capped mountains stretched endlessly, and beneath their feet was soft, powdery snow.

Thick snowflakes whipped about in the biting wind, making it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

“Where are we?” a dan cultivator asked.

The disciples from Gui Xian Sect clearly had an environmental advantage. After spending so long in Northern Xuanwu, they had grown used to such cold climates. From the moment they entered, not a single one of them complained of the cold. Even with red, frozen hands and feet, no one so much as trembled.

The second-seat team was grouped with the grand formation team. Luo Qianxue’s team wasn’t here, but they could stay in contact via the Fish-and-Goose Stones.

Before entering the illusion realm, no one had an accurate map. They didn’t even know how large the entire testing ground was. Everything had to be explored and figured out on their own.

Finding the Icecore Flower was the task of the chief disciples. Their mission was to scout the surrounding environment and slay magical beasts.

From the moment Gui Xian Sect’s first group entered the illusion realm, the Icecore Flower had already taken root somewhere and begun to sprout. During this process, the spiritual energy it released would be carried away by magical beasts, spreading to other areas.

But the immediate priority was to find a place to take shelter.

The snowy plain illusion realm not only had a frigid climate—it also cycled through three distinct phases: the Heavy Snow Phase, the Snow Withering Phase, and the Snowmelt Phase.

A defining feature of the Heavy Snow Phase was intense snowfall. During this period, snow tunnels would begin to form beneath the surface. As the tunnels grew larger, they would eventually collapse, making it easy to get buried alive.

Unfortunately, the time they entered happened to be the later part of the Heavy Snow Phase. Underground tunnels were already beginning to converge and collapse into sinkholes. One careless step could be fatal.

Right now, the safest place to stand was on the frozen surface of a river.

The second-seat talisman cultivator, Qu Ruotian, was the first to take out a talisman, attempting to detect the underground conditions and locate the river that way.

Lian Mu, holding Fortune, poked at the ground around her. No movement—seemed the collapse zones hadn’t reached here yet.

But before they encountered a collapsing tunnel, they ran into people from Wu Nian Sect.

A portion of Wu Nian Sect’s group had also been teleported nearby. Both teams were seeking the frozen river, and they’d ended up passing through this area due to the pull of spiritual energy.

Running into Gui Xian Sect was a stroke of luck to Wu Nian Sect—it was a perfect start to the round.

“Well, what a coincidence. So you’re here too,” said Wu Nian Sect’s second-seat sword cultivator with a grin. “Perfect. Let’s test our swords on you first.”

The first one he set his sights on was none other than his fellow second-seat sword cultivator—Lian Mu.