Chapter 30: Persuaded by Many to Return, Testing the Cold Alone

It was recorded in the booklet her senior sister had given her that this was "Shadow-Seeking Grass." It thrived in shade and loathed sunlight, its leaf tips always pointing toward the place where the Yin energy was most potent.

Following the grass, she proceeded with every step taken cautiously.

However, after walking for a while, Jiang Youling suddenly felt a sharp pain at her temple, and the scenery before her eyes began to warp and fluctuate.

It turned out the medicinal power of the Miasma-Avoiding Pill was nearly exhausted, and the miasma was invading her body!

Jiang Youling hurriedly bit the tip of her tongue, using the intense pain to force her spirit to stay alert. She held her breath, focused her mind, and quickened her pace.

After walking at such a speed for about fifteen minutes, she finally saw the mist ahead thinning.

After another thirty yards, a cool breeze suddenly hit her face; she had actually broken through the miasma forest!

Jiang Youling let out a long sigh of relief. Amidst the vast twilight, a black stone archway stood majestically, inscribed with the three large characters: "Xuanming Valley."

On the stone pillars flanking the archway, a stone python with menacing scales was coiled on each side, with eerie phosphoric fires flickering in their eye sockets.

Strangely enough, as she approached these two stone pythons, the dizziness caused by inhaling too much miasma subsided significantly, and her consciousness gradually cleared.

Jiang Youling steadied herself and stepped forward. Following the method taught to her by Senior Sister Wang, she gently pressed her disciple token into a groove seven inches from the python's head.

The moment the token was embedded, a violent Yin wind erupted. The thick fog behind the archway dispersed, revealing a set of bluestone steps.

Jiang Youling put away her token, climbed the steps, and entered the valley.

The commotion outside the valley naturally did not escape the ears and eyes of the patrolling disciples within.

"There's movement! Someone has activated the bluestone steps!"

"Strange. Usually, those who come to Xuanming Valley arrive riding cranes upon the wind. It has been a long time since anyone has climbed the mountain and knocked on the door, hasn't it?"

"Let's go see which senior brother or sister has arrived."

The two walked toward the entrance, only to see a woman on the steps

Her black hair was disheveled like a waterfall, with several strands clinging to her forehead; her plain clothes were tattered like lint, stained with blood in several places.

Her slender hands were crimson and cracked, still bearing traces of rust from the cliffs; her calves were swollen and tinged with blue, still showing the bite marks of insects.

Seeing this, the two patrolling disciples could not help but look on in astonishment.

"To think she is a junior sister who has only just entered the Dao and hasn't even mastered the Taiyin Scripture! Heavens! How on earth did she cross that thousand-foot precipice and the miasma forest outside the valley?"

"Looking at her youthful face, is she perhaps a new disciple who just joined last month? What is a new disciple doing coming to our Xuanming Valley... *hiss*, she must have been deliberately targeted and made a difficult time of it, right?"

Their emotions fluctuated as they looked with complex gazes at this disheveled, exhausted junior sister whose eyes remained clear and bright, forgetting to even ask her purpose for coming.

Jiang Youling slowly stepped onto the final stair. From a pocket sewn into her inner garment, she pulled out the letter given to her by Master Hong and handed it to the two.

"By the order of Master Hong, I have come to deliver this letter."

The two took the letter, opened it, and exchanged a look, both wearing strange expressions.

One of them could not help but ask, "Junior sister, have you done something to offend Master Hong?"

Jiang Youling's heart sank slightly. She cupped her hands in a respectful salute. "Please, Senior Brother, enlighten me."

The man sighed and pointed at the letter.

"There is no important business in this letter. Master Hong specifically instructed that the messenger must go to the Heart-Reflecting Pool to reflect on their mistakes for three days before they may return to the mountain by the original route.

However, the Master also said that if you know your mistake, you need not suffer the cold of the Heart-Reflecting Pool; you may simply ride a crane back to the mountain."

At this point, he showed a look of reluctance and advised, "Junior sister, though I do not know why you offended Master Hong, as a disciple, you should respect your teacher and follow your instructions.

If you truly made a mistake, just bow your head to the Master and admit it, and the matter will pass. Why be so stubborn and seek out suffering?"

The other disciple nodded in agreement. "The cold in the Heart-Reflecting Pool erodes the bones. Even those in the late stages of Qi Refinement would find it hard to endure for three days and nights. With your meager cultivation, how can you withstand it?

It is better to yield. Don't let the cold of that pool damage your bones and tendons!"

Jiang Youling frowned, remaining silent for a long time.

She had thought that Master Hong ordering her to deliver this letter was harsh enough, but she hadn't expected even greater difficulties to be waiting for her.

She had merely offered her own perspective during his lecture.

As a Foundation Establishment Master, why would Master Hong be so harsh toward a disciple who had only just entered the sect?

"He uses thunder to suppress the tiny grass, and uses the pool water to reflect the Dao heart."

Jiang Youling raised her eyes coldly and cupped her hands toward the two patrolling senior brothers. "Please, could you two direct me? Where is the Heart-Reflecting Pool located?"

The two were dumbfounded, their faces full of disapproval. After a long pause, one said, "Junior sister, do you truly intend to soak in that freezing pool for three days?"

"Junior sister, why must you do this? To be so stubborn and inflexible, insisting on suffering in the cold pool—won't that only further infuriate the Master?"

Jiang Youling did not answer. The word "submission" was easy to say, but "bowing the head is easy, but picking up one's bones is hard"—since she held the truth on her side, how could she kneel to the unreasonable?

If she bent her spine an inch today, even if she mended her broken bones in the future, it would be difficult to repair the damage to her Dao heart.

It was just three days in a cold pool; she would go.

She wanted to see what other torturous methods Master Hong had waiting for her.

Jiang Youling gave them a bright smile. "There is no need to persuade me, I have already decided."

The two shook their heads and sighed, finally ceasing their persuasion. "Keep walking along this path, and you will arrive."

"If you change your mind, you can turn back at any time."

Jiang Youling thanked the two senior brothers and walked deep into the path.

The valley was tranquil, filled with things like Nether-Spirit Grass and Cold-Moon Vines—all things that harbored Yin and embraced cold.

Yet, being within it, she could not feel even a trace of Yin chill.

It was not until she approached the vicinity of the Heart-Reflecting Pool that Jiang Youling felt a hint of cold, like autumn dew touching her clothes, a piercing frost.

The closer she got to the pool, the thicker the frost-chill became.

By the time she reached the edge, the wind felt like knives, and her breath turned to frost.

To soak in this freezing, white-misted water for three days—could her small frame truly endure it?

Even though Jiang Youling was intelligent and had a plan, she could not help but hesitate, her steps faltering.

A sliver of cowardice even rose within her: perhaps if she yielded to Master Hong and bowed her head, she wouldn't have to suffer the cold pool.

The opponent was using power to pressure her; she was merely temporarily yielding to the situation, not to the person.

The form could be broken without the spirit being damaged; it was merely a tactical move.

As long as she kept in her heart that she was right, everything would be the same as before.

—But after yielding, would everything truly be the same as before?

She was right; why should she admit a mistake?

Were the truths and principles in the sacred books she had read all wrong?

With a trembling body, Jiang Youling stumbled into the cold pool.

In an instant, the cold seeped into her very marrow, making her shudder violently.

The chill followed her spiritual apertures, scrambling to enter her body. It was so cold!

Jiang Youling wanted to leap out and flee, but her body remained in a trembling posture, stepping bit by bit into the deep pool.

Until the profound ice pierced her back and the chill bit into her bones, her entire being was frozen stiff.

Cold, so cold.

In this extreme ice and pain, even Jiang Youling's consciousness began to freeze. No, if she kept freezing like this, she wouldn't make it through the three days!