Chapter 45 Frozen Forest
Two and a half months passed quietly in focused Cultivate.
Early morning, Dragon City, Cedar Hotel.
On the bed, Jiang Bai sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed.
In his mental sea, the phantom of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda floated quietly, its three-story tower body shimmering with crimson, earthy yellow, and cyan-green light respectively.
Below the base of the tower, his Soul Power rotated slowly like a vortex, having reached a critical point of overflowing fullness.
Suddenly, Jiang Bai’s tightly closed eyes snapped open!
In the depths of his pupils, a flash of light seemed to pass by in an instant.
At the same time, the invisible barrier within his body shattered with a boom!
"Hmm—"
The aura around Jiang Bai climbed and solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally stabilizing at a brand-new height.
"Finally—Rank 40."
Jiang Bai whispered to himself, his tone carrying a trace of relief, but more than that, anticipation.
Two and a half months of hard Cultivate, combined with the transformation of his Physique by the ten-thousand-year whale glue, made his Cultivate speed far exceed expectations.
He got up from the bed and stretched his body, which had become stiff from sitting in meditation for so long.
His joints popped with crisp sounds, and every inch of his muscles was filled with explosive power.
He walked to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room; the youth in the mirror was a bit taller than two months ago, his figure more upright, and his face still handsome.
But the aura of calmness between his brows had deepened, and his eyes were sharper and brighter.
After a simple wash, Jiang Bai put on a dark blue fur coat and went downstairs to the hotel lobby.
There were already a few tables of guests in the lobby, mostly adventurers preparing to hunt in the mountains or head to the Far North, eating hot porridge and flatbread while whispering about their respective plans.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled, warming the entire lobby with a cozy heat.
Jiang Bai found a seat by the window and ordered a bowl of hot meat soup noodles, two roasted flatbreads, and a plate of pickled vegetables.
Northern food was hearty, with generous portions; the hot soup went down, dispelling the morning chill.
Jiang Bai finished his breakfast quietly, packed some durable dry rations, and left the hotel after paying the bill.
When he walked out of the Cedar Hotel, it was already broad daylight.
There were more pedestrians on the streets of Dragon City, but it was still not as lively as the southern cities.
Jiang Bai did not linger in the city and headed straight for the South City Gate.
He planned to try his luck in the Frozen Forest first; if he couldn’t find a suitable Spirit Beast, he would then head north to the Far North.
After leaving the city, he found a secluded spot and summoned the Wind Dragon.
"To the Frozen Forest."
The Wind Dragon spread its wings, carrying him as it soared into the sky and flew toward the south.
After flying for about an hour, a forest wrapped in silver appeared in his field of vision.
It was a scene completely different from the southern forests.
The trees were mostly cold-resistant conifers, their crowns covered in thick snow, and their branches wrapped in ice crystals.
The ground in the forest was also covered with a layer of white snow, with thin ice in some places, reflecting a cold light.
Frozen Forest.
The area of this forest was far less vast than the Star Dou Great Forest, but because of its cold and harsh environment, it had become a natural habitat for ice-attribute Spirit Beasts.
Also for the same reason, only a few Spirit Masters who possessed ice-attribute Spirits or needed ice-attribute spirit rings would risk entering here.
The Wind Dragon landed in a relatively open clearing in the forest.
Jiang Bai jumped off the dragon’s back and stepped onto the snow, making a "crunching" sound.
The chill instantly enveloped his whole body.
The temperature here was much lower than in Dragon City, his exhaled breath instantly turned into white mist, and a layer of fine frost quickly formed on his eyelashes and hair.
But Jiang Bai didn’t care.
After the tempering of the ten-thousand-year whale glue, his cold resistance had been greatly enhanced.
He looked around.
The forest was very quiet, with only the wailing of the wind passing through the treetops and the occasional cry of unknown birds from afar.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of ice, snow, and pine needles, but one could also faintly smell the weak aura left by some Spirit Beasts.
"Eldest, Second."
Jiang Bai called out softly.
Crimson and earthy yellow lights flew out from his body and landed on the ground.
"Master!" the two Dragons replied in unison.
"We will search separately," Jiang Bai said. "The target is a pure-blooded sub-Dragon ice-attribute Spirit Beast, preferably with a cultivation age between five thousand and ten thousand years. If you encounter a particularly suitable mixed-blood Dragon, take note of its location as well. Do not act rashly upon finding a target; return to rendezvous first."
"Understood!" The three Dragons nodded, then each chose a direction and disappeared silently into the depths of the dense forest.
Jiang Bai also chose a direction and began to search on foot.
The terrain of the Frozen Forest was more complex than he had imagined.
Hidden under the snow were gullies and ice caves; one would fall into danger if not careful.
He didn’t walk fast; while walking, he carefully sensed the surrounding aura.
There were indeed many Spirit Beasts in the forest.
Not long after walking, he discovered a herd of Icefield Elks foraging in the snow.
A type of herbivorous Spirit Beast ranging from ten to a hundred years old, their bodies were snow-white, and their antlers were as crystal clear as ice.
They sensed Jiang Bai’s aura and raised their heads vigilantly, but soon lowered them again to continue foraging.
As he continued deeper, the level of the Spirit Beasts he encountered gradually increased.
At the edge of an ice lake, Jiang Bai saw a giant Ice Python hunting.
Jiang Bai took a look from afar and judged that the giant python’s age was about two thousand years, not a Dragon species, so he quietly bypassed it.
The next afternoon, in an ice valley, he discovered the first Spirit Beast with the Dragon Clan Bloodline: a Frost Dragon Lizard.
It was a creature with an appearance between a lizard and a Dragon, about three meters long, with thick and short limbs, a row of ice-crystal-like bone spurs on its spine, and a hammer-shaped tail end.
Jiang Bai lurked behind a snowdrift a hundred meters away, observing carefully.
The Frost Dragon Lizard’s Bloodline was very thin, which could only be considered mixed-blood.
Moreover, this one’s age was only about two thousand years, which was still a gap from his ideal of over five thousand years.
He silently noted the location and continued moving forward.
Over the next two and a half days, Jiang Bai and the three Dragons launched a carpet-style search in the Frozen Forest.
They discovered more Spirit Beasts with the Dragon Clan Bloodline.
An Ice Soul Dragon Turtle, a type of turtle Spirit Beast, with a back shell as thick and heavy as ice rock, its limbs and head covered in fine Dragon scales, skilled in defense and ice breath.
The age was around three thousand years.
A group of Frost Wing Flying Bats, small flying Spirit Beasts with bat-like fleshy wings and Dragon-like heads, active in groups, whose sprayed frost breath could freeze prey.
A single one might only be a few decades old, but they were quite a threat when in a group.
They also encountered some non-Dragon, but good-quality ice-attribute Spirit Beasts, such as Snow Shadow Leopards and Aurora Foxes—
Even, one evening, Jiang Bai saw a Mirror Beast from afar.
It was an extremely rare and magical Spirit Beast capable of copying the abilities and appearance of its target.
In the original work, Oscar’s sixth spirit ring came from a ten-thousand-year Mirror Beast, granting him the "Mirror Sausage" ability to copy others’ Spirits and Spirit Abilities.
Jiang Bai stopped and watched for a long time.
The Mirror Beast’s spirit ring was indeed rare and powerful; if he could absorb it, he might gain some kind of copying or mimicry ability, which would be of extremely high value to a Spirit Master of the support system.
But in the end, he shook his head and left quietly.
His target was the Ice Dragon.