Unorthodox Wuxia: While Others Practice Martial Arts, I Cultivate Immortality - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Ice Toad—Awakening (Part 2)

Yuan Zhao also cupped her hands toward the seven of them. “All of you take care as well. I wish you a smooth journey. We’ll meet again someday!”

With that, the two sides went their separate ways.

The seven siblings of the Wu family continued their search for the treasure, while Yuan Zhao, together with the old wolf and the pack, pressed on toward the Grand Peak.

With the wolves guiding the way, after more than half a day, Yuan Zhao finally arrived at the foot of the Grand Peak. True to its reputation as the highest peak in Yulian Mountain, from the base one couldn’t see the summit at all—only layers upon layers of clouds and mist.

“Time to climb!” Yuan Zhao let out a long breath.

“Awooo—!” The old wolf let out a long howl, then led the pack running ahead.

The terrain of the Grand Peak was extremely complex. Some sections were relatively gentle slopes, while others were sheer cliffs.

With no other choice, Yuan Zhao had the old wolf drive the pack away. If they continued to follow her, they would only be put in danger. Sure enough, before long, Yuan Zhao and the old wolf reached another cliff that looked as though it had been carved by blades and axes. Below it was a bottomless ravine—falling down there would mean certain death.

The only footholds available were the scattered protruding rocks embedded in the cliff face.

Yuan Zhao leapt forward, lightly stepping on a rock and landing on a small platform. She then waved to the old wolf and called out, “Old Wolf, your turn. Can you do it?”

The old wolf glanced at the deep abyss below and immediately started trembling.

Seeing how badly it was shaking, Yuan Zhao said, “How about you find somewhere to hide and wait? Once I find the Purity Grass., I’ll come back to get you.”

The old wolf hesitated.

It didn’t want to part from Yuan Zhao, so it raised a paw and tried to work up the courage. But the moment it lowered its head and saw the bottomless ravine again, it lost its nerve.

What to do? It was afraid of heights!

After several attempts, it still couldn’t overcome its fear, so it could only nod at its master.

“Alright then. Wait here for me to come back.”

And so Yuan Zhao temporarily parted with the old wolf and continued toward the summit alone.

This cliff face was far too steep, and it wasn’t just one short stretch—it went on for a long distance, not something that could be climbed in a short time.

To reduce her burden, she carried almost nothing except the Heaven Prison Blade and a small amount of food.

After climbing for some distance, Yuan Zhao looked up and saw that the cliff still had no end in sight. But suddenly, a hint of green caught her eye—the first patch of green she had seen since entering the snow mountains.

Curious, she used Swallow Shadow Skimming the Waves, stepping off several rocks in succession to reach that splash of green.

Taking a closer look, Yuan Zhao was overjoyed—it was actually a precious snow lotus!

The snow lotus was shaped like a lotus flower, its petals as if carved from ice crystals, yet its stamens were jade-green, beautiful beyond words.

The fact that Yuan Zhao recognized it was thanks to Ah Qing. While studying the medical texts left by Doctor Hu, Ah Qing often muttered the names and descriptions of various herbs and rare treasures into Yuan Zhao’s ear.

After hearing them so many times, Yuan Zhao had gradually memorized quite a few.

Though Yulian Mountain was harsh and dangerous at every turn, it was also a natural treasure trove!

Yuan Zhao thought to herself: Ah Qing is studying medicine—this snow lotus will be the perfect gift to bring back to her!

Just as she reached out to pick the snow lotus, an ice-blue tongue suddenly shot toward her like an arrow. Startled, Yuan Zhao immediately pulled her hand back.

She looked in the direction the tongue had come from and saw that beneath a chunk of rock nearby, clinging to an icicle, was a toad no bigger than a dumpling. Its entire body was pure white, like it had been sculpted from ice and snow.

The toad blinked its vermilion eyes and stared fixedly at Yuan Zhao. She froze.

A Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad?

She remembered that the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad was a miraculous creature that fed precisely on snow lotuses.

According to the medical texts, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad was snow-white all over, with vermilion eyes, and could neutralize all poisons under heaven—it was the nemesis of toxins.

While Yuan Zhao was still stunned, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad launched another attack, its long tongue lashing out again.

Yuan Zhao hurriedly stepped on the rocks to dodge.

With a pa sound, the rock struck by the ice toad’s tongue immediately gained a small hole more than a finger’s depth.

Yuan Zhao looked surprised—she hadn’t expected this tiny thing to be so formidable.

This creature was far rarer than a snow lotus!

With that thought, she suddenly reached out to grab the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad.

According to the medical texts, Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toads lived in icy, snowy regions and could not endure high temperatures. Once they came into contact with warmth, they would instantly turn into ice sculptures and be unable to move.

But the little thing was incredibly fast. The moment Yuan Zhao moved, it leapt away, vanished from its spot, clung to another cliff face, and launched another sneak attack.

And so, one person and one toad began a game of chase along the cliff. Yuan Zhao’s figure turned into afterimages as her Heaven-Sweeping Hand repeatedly reached for the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad, yet each attempt ended in failure.

The creature was simply too agile.

If she missed out on such a rare treasure, Yuan Zhao felt she would regret it to death.

So she moved faster and faster.

Faster!

Even faster!

Faster still!

As time passed, Yuan Zhao seemed to enter a state of sudden enlightenment. Both Swallow Shadow Skimming the Waves and Heaven-Sweeping Hand were improving at a terrifying rate. All her attention was focused on the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad; everything else around her vanished, as though the world contained only her and the toad.

After an unknown length of time, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad’s movements began to grow frantic, gradually failing to keep up with Yuan Zhao’s rhythm.

At that moment, Yuan Zhao suddenly reached out and grabbed it.

The instant her warm fingers touched it, the toad’s snow-white body turned translucent and rapidly transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture of a toad, its face still frozen in a look of panic.

Finally, she had caught it!

Yuan Zhao panted lightly and abruptly emerged from that enlightened state.

Only then did she realize that she had just entered some kind of special condition.

Staring at her palm, Yuan Zhao was momentarily dazed. Then she suddenly swung her hand and struck the rock wall not far away.

Boom!!!

With a thunderous explosion, a huge pit appeared in the rock wall, surrounded by cracks that spread like a spiderweb.

The power had increased by this much all at once? Yuan Zhao was astonished.

Then her figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared at the spot where the snow lotus had been.

So fast! Even she herself was startled by her speed.

Though she didn’t know exactly what had happened, Yuan Zhao felt overjoyed.

If only that state from earlier could last a little longer! she thought greedily.

She then carefully picked the snow lotus and used the power of heaven and earth to condense two palm-sized ice boxes, placing the snow lotus and the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad into them separately.

In such extreme cold, forming ice boxes was effortless for Yuan Zhao.

After placing the ice boxes into the pack on her back, she continued upward.

Because of the temperature, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad had fallen into a dormant state. According to the records, as long as water was poured over it, it would awaken again—and once touched, it would once more fall back into slumber.