Chapter 1626, - Blustering
Bing Long nodded, stretched out her hand, and accepted the portrait. Looking at it, the person on the portrait seemed to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a stoic and resolute expression. His appearance was not particularly handsome or ugly, and there did not seem to be anything special about him that would make Brilliant Flame Sect try so hard to find him.
“All of you have a look,” Bing Long tossed the portrait casually to another Elder, “Remember what this person looks like. If you find him, be sure to bring him back to Pure Ice Island! Brilliant Flame Sect has been pressuring our Ice Heart Valley for some time now, yet suddenly pulled back because of this person. This person seems to be of great importance to them. Otherwise, Brilliant Flame Sect would not act this way. Perhaps the best way for Ice Heart Valley to weather our current crisis is to find him.”
“If that’s the case, should we also actively search for this person?” Ran Yun Ting asked.
Bing Long nodded and replied, “Naturally, but we don’t have to dedicate too much attention to it. After this meeting, be sure to pass this portrait to the disciples and have them keep their eyes open for him when they go out.”
“Yes, Valley Master is wise!” All the Elders responded in unison.
The portrait was passed from one Elder to the next then. All of them were Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, so their memories were naturally excellent, and they were able to remember this person’s appearance with just a glance.
Bing Long then continued, “A few years ago, the Supreme Elder suffered backlash from dissonance in her cultivation and has yet to recover. Do we have any clues regarding the herbs we require for the pill to heal her?”
Hearing this, the dozen women present all shook their heads sadly, one of them saying out loud, “The other herbs have been purchased at great expense, but the Profound Scarlet Ginseng is too rare. Perhaps the only place to find one is… Brilliant Flame Sect’s Extreme Thunder Mountain.”
“Extreme Thunder Mountain!” Bing Long’s face sank, “That is one of Brilliant Flame Sect’s Restricted Areas and only a few people from their Sect are allowed to enter. Keep searching, no matter what price we need to pay, we must find that Profound Scarlet Ginseng.”
“Yes!”
“Hateful!” Ran Yun Ting gritted her teeth, “If it were not for Supreme Elder’s cultivation dissonance, how could my Ice Heart Valley have been so badly suppressed by Brilliant Flame Sect! For thousands of years, the strength of the two Sects has always been equal, but now…”
Hearing what she said, all the Elders present wore resentful expression.
“Great Elder, enough nonsense. Are you trying to blame Supreme Elder for having a cultivation dissonance?” Bing Long glared at her and shouted.
Ran Yun Ting’s tender body trembled lightly as she hurriedly said, “Naturally not, I did not mean to imply so.”
Bing Long’s complexion cleared up as she nodded and said, “This Queen knows you don’t have such intentions; this is all of our Ice Heart Valley’s disaster, and although Supreme Elder cannot move easily now, it won’t be so easy for Brilliant Flame Sect to harm us either. En, enough about this matter, this Queen has something else of concern to discuss. Great Elder, how is your disciple now?”
Ran Yun Ting smiled lightly, “She is very good, she has recently reached the First-Order Origin Returning Realm.”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the room was moved.
“First-Order Origin Returning Realm, so soon?”
“Is her aptitude really that good? When Great Elder brought her to the Sect, she was only a Third-Order Saint, right? How many years have passed since then?”
“Even with abundant cultivation resources, isn’t her rate of advancement too fast?”
Bing Long seemed to be extremely pleased and said joyfully, “Great Elder, I heard that your disciple has an Ice Crystal Jade Body Special Constitution. Is that true?”
“Indeed!” Ran Yun Ting nodded, “She does possess an Ice Crystal Jade Body, but it is not an innate Special Constitution, it’s an acquired one. I do not know what kind of fortuitous encounter she had in the past, but she is now perfectly compatible with our Ice Heart Valley’s core Secret Art and her cultivation is now advancing extremely rapidly. In truth, Valley Master, my disciple is currently preparing to break through to the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm!”
Inside the ice palace, many Elder’s expressions became even more excited, their faces filled with astonishment and shock.
Bing Long was also extremely happy, “Innate or acquired, it makes no difference, her Ice Crystal Jade Body is the key to the future of Ice Heart Valley. It seems the Heavens have not abandoned our Valley! If there are no surprises, she is highly likely to reach the same level as Supreme Elder in the future. At that time, our Ice Heart Valley’s rise will depend on her.”
Ran Yun Ting said modestly, “Valley Master should not praise her too much, that little girl’s cultivation is still quite low and she still needs much guidance from Valley Master.”
“Do everything possible to satisfy her cultivation needs!” Bing Long declared.
“Yes!” Ran Yun Ting respectfully nodded.
“Great Elder, I heard that the reason Brilliant Flame Sect is targeting our Ice Heart Valley this time is because of your disciple?” Someone suddenly asked with a chuckle.
“En, I have heard about it. It is said that Wei Feng, the son of Brilliant Flame Sect’s Sect Master, met that girl while out for life experience and instantly lost his soul to her. After returning, he urged Wei Qing to come to my Ice Heart Valley to propose marriage!”
“I haven’t actually met her yet. After coming to Pure Ice Island, she rarely goes out and is often in secluded retreat.”
“I saw her once and she is indeed a stunning beauty. It is no wonder that little bastard Wei Feng was never able to forget her. If I were a man, I’m afraid I would also have become fascinated by her.”
All the Elders present laughed, and the atmosphere became more relaxed.
“It’s all nothing but a flimsy excuse,” Ran Yun Ting gave a wry smile.
Bing Long nodded, “All of you are Elders of my Ice Heart Valley, so how could you not understand the truth of this matter? Brilliant Flame Sect is just using this as an excuse to embarrass us while taking the opportunity to probe the condition the Supreme Elder is in! Once they are sure that Supreme Elder is injured, I am afraid they will begin moving far more aggressively.”
“We’ll see if Brilliant Flame Sect’s teeth or my Ice Heart Valley’s defences are stronger!”
“They won’t dare act too aggressively unless they’ve stopped caring about the lives of their disciples.”
“If they dare to come, we’ll make sure they never return!”
The group of women shouted as their anger flared.
An old woman on the left who looked like she was about sixty years old, suddenly frowned as some concern appeared between her brow. After the others had finished speaking, she said, “Reporting to Valley Master, I heard a disturbing bit of news a few days ago.”
“What news could make Elder Wu so concerned?” Bing Long turned her eyes to the old woman and asked as everyone else also looked towards her.
“I heard that Luo Hai has arrived at Brilliant Flame Sect!” Elder Wu quickly said.
“Luo Hai?” Inside the ice palace, everyone frowned. It was as if they didn’t remember who Luo Hai was immediately, but soon, someone exclaimed, “Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, Sir Luo Hai?”
“Him?”
“It can’t be, why would he leave Green Mountains Star suddenly to come to our Scarlet Wave Star?”
Luo Hai was the Star Master of Green Mountains Star and a Second-Order Origin King, a famous character across the entire Star Field. As such, even the Elders from Ice Heart Valley who normally secluded themselves on Pure Ice Island had heard his name long ago.
Now hearing that such a character had arrived on Scarlet Wave Star and was staying in Brilliant Flame Sect, their beautiful faces could not help darkening.
“Is this news reliable?” Bing Long tender body leaned forward slightly, and her jade white hands squeezed the armrest of her chair, causing them to creak under the strain, clearly showing that her mood was fluctuating greatly.
“It is!” Elder Wu nodded solemnly, “This old woman has spies placed in Brilliant Flame Sect and they reported seeing Sir Luo Hai with their own eyes.”
The ice palace immediately fell silent as everyone’s face seemed to be covered with a layer of fog, their expressions becoming gloomy.
“All of you may also know that although Sir Luo Hai is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, he has a close relationship with Chi Huo of Brilliant Flame Sect. His coming to Brilliant Flame Sect at this time…” Elder Wu did not finish her words, but everyone present could understand what she was implying.
“Impossible!” Bing Long shook her head, “While he may have some friendship with Chi Huo, it is only a casual acquaintance. There is no way he came all the way from Green Mountains Star to deal with us, Chi Huo doesn’t have such influence.”
“But Valley Master, our situation right now is quite sensitive, and we must guard against such a possibility no matter how remote. If Luo Hai and Chi Huo were to join forces, then the future of Ice Heart Valley would become dire.”
Bing Long’s pretty face paled at the thought!
If this was really the case, then Ice Heart Valley would truly be in danger. Just Luo Hai alone was more than Ice Heart Valley could possibly resist as he was a master a whole Minor Realm higher in cultivation than Chi Huo and their own Supreme Elder.
“I think that Sir Luo Hai’s arrival on Scarlet Wave Star at this time may have something to do with the person Brilliant Flame Sect is looking for,” One of the Elders suddenly guessed.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because of the timing. Brilliant Flame Sect began searching for this person only recently, and they even let up on the pressure they were exerting on us to do so. Sir Luo Hai’s arrival on Scarlet Wave Star is also a recent event and the place he is currently staying is Brilliant Flame Sect. If Sir Luo Hai was the one who asked Brilliant Flame Sect to help him find this person, doesn’t everything make sense?”
Everyone’s eyes lit up!
“The possibility is indeed great! If this is the case, then we must find this person before Brilliant Flame Sect!” Bing Long’s eyes flashed with a strange brilliance. “As long as we find him and hand him over to Sir Luo Hai, then the current crisis of my Ice Heart Valley can be resolved. After Supreme Elder has completely recovered, Brilliant Flame Sect definitely won’t cause any more trouble!”
“Valley Master is right,” Ran Yun Ting nodded in agreement.
“Order all the disciples that can be dispatched to go out and seek this person as soon as possible!” Bing Long said decisively, gritting her teeth as she shouted.
“Yes!” All the Elders nodded before leaving the ice palace together.
On that day, thousands of Ice Heart Valley disciples left from Pure Ice Island to traverse Scarlet Wave Star, each of them bringing with them a portrait of Yang Kai’s face.
That night, near the centre of Pure Ice Island, inside a certain ice room, Ran Yun Ting sat down cross-legged while cultivating.
The temperature in this ice room was extremely low and even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator would feel extremely uncomfortable inside and need to circulate their Saint Qi to resist the omnipresent chill, but for Ice Heart Valley’s Great Elder, this was the best kind of cultivation environment.
The pervasive chill in the air seemed to be drawn into her body and was resonating with her Saint Qi, strengthening her slowly.
A slight sound of footsteps appeared outside the door at a certain point and soon after a voice called out, “Disciple has come to see Honoured Master!”
“Come in!” Ran Yun Ting smiled slightly and opened her eyes.
The next moment, the door was opened, and a beautiful figure walked inside.
A young woman wearing spotless white robes walked in. She had long silky black hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, a pair of exceptionally bright phoenix eyes, a beautiful, delicate nose, crystal clear jade white skin, and a slender yet supple figure.
She was like an ice fairy carefully crafted by the Heavens, without a single flaw.
