Reunited with Zhao Tiezhu and traveling together, Tang Xiao Qi's mundane world wandering was no longer lonely. The two did not rush deep into the Western Desert, but based on information Zhao Tiezhu had gathered and Xiao Qi's vague Dao seed sensing, decided to turn north toward the endless ice-and-snow-covered Northern Plains Snow Region. Xiao Qi vaguely felt that there seemed to be karma related to his Dao path there, or rather, something needing his "purification" and "guarding."
Both had profound cultivation, their travel speed extremely fast. Within half a month, they had crossed tens of thousands of li, the scenery before them gradually transforming from desolate Gobi to a silver-wrapped ice and snow world. Cold wind like knives, rolling up snowy foam filling the sky, heaven and earth vast and hazy, the extreme cold enough to freeze ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators' spiritual power.
According to fragmentary information Zhao Tiezhu obtained from Western Desert cultivators, ancient tribes lived deep in the Northern Plains Snow Region, among which the "Snow Wolf Tribe" that believed in ice and snow spirits and could communicate with giant wolves was the most mysterious and powerful.
The two braved wind and snow, going deep into the Northern Plains. One day, just arriving at the entrance of a huge glacial canyon, they suddenly heard waves of mournful wolf howls and angry roars ahead, with strong energy fluctuations transmitting, obviously a battle occurring.
Xiao Qi and Zhao Tiezhu exchanged a glance, quickly approaching. In the canyon, dozens of giant wolves with bodies sturdy as oxen and snow-white fur were fighting fiercely with a group of strange creatures covered in ice-blue scales and emitting yin-cold death qi! Those creatures were lizard-shaped, yet their movements swift as ghosts, the cold qi they spat carrying strong corrosiveness and demonic qi. The giant wolves' sharp claws and ice-system spells had greatly reduced effect when landing on them, instead giant wolves were constantly being eroded by the demonic cold qi, wailing as they fell, their wounds rapidly blackening and ulcerating.
The leader was an especially massive giant wolf with a strand of silver fur on its forehead, its aura comparable to Golden Core middle stage, howling repeatedly, its ice-blue wolf eyes filled with anxiety and anger.
"They're the Snow Wolf Tribe's guardian wolf pack! What are those ghost things?" Zhao Tiezhu clenched his fists, his body cultivator's qi and blood instinctively boiling.
Xiao Qi's gaze focused. He clearly sensed that what those ice-scale monsters emitted was precisely pure demonic qi, from the same source as the black-robed cultivator in the Heavenly Dao Palace, only with an attribute leaning toward yin-cold! "They're demon creatures mutated from demonic qi erosion!"
Seeing the wolf pack's casualties increasing, about to have their defense line breached by the demon creatures, Xiao Qi no longer hesitated.
"Tiezhu, guard the wolf pack's rear!"
His words barely fell when his form transformed into a flowing light, cutting into the battlefield. He didn't use the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword—this extreme-cold environment suppressed fire-system flying swords too much. He just put his fingers together like a sword, flowing with chaotic pure radiance, his form like a ghost shuttling among the demon creature swarm.
Each time his fingertip pointed out, a demon creature's movements would freeze, that yin-cold demonic qi meeting its nemesis, rapidly melting and dissolving, the demon creature's body also transforming into ice crystal powder drifting away. His movements flowed like water, carrying a strange beauty, as if not killing but performing a purification ritual.
Zhao Tiezhu also roared, like a humanoid tyrannosaurus charging into the wolf pack's rear, both fists swinging, his qi and blood wolf smoke rushing to the sky, directly blasting several demon creatures trying to ambush from the flank into ice shards! His pure and vast yang qi and blood also had considerable restraint against this type of yin-cold demon creature.
With the two joining, the battle situation instantly reversed. In just a moment, those dozens of ice-scale demon creatures were completely purified by Xiao Qi.
The battle ended, the wolf pack had suffered no small losses, and most surviving giant wolves were injured, issuing painful whimpers from where they were eroded by demonic qi. That silver giant wolf walked to Xiao Qi, lowering its massive head, issuing a low, gratitude-filled whine, the hostility in its wolf eyes gone, replaced by pleading.
It used its claws to scratch several simple patterns on the ground, then pointed toward the canyon depths, issuing anxious low roars.
Xiao Qi's divine sense slightly contacted it, understanding its meaning. Deep in this canyon was the Snow Wolf Tribe's sacred ground guarded for generations, also the "Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow" spring eye the tribe depended on for survival. Several months ago, the spring eye was for some reason polluted by demonic qi, the cold marrow mutated, not only losing its divine effect of nourishing the tribe and enhancing the wolf pack's power, but starting to emit this demonic cold qi, birthing those ice-scale demon creatures that constantly attacked the tribe. They had come out this time to find a solution, but encountered the main force of demon creatures.
"Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow eroded by demonic qi?" Xiao Qi's brows furrowed. Cold marrow was the essence condensed from heaven and earth's utmost cold qi, itself pure beyond compare, yet it could be polluted by demonic qi—this demonic qi was no small matter.
"Lead the way, let's go see." Xiao Qi said to the silver giant wolf.
The silver giant wolf's eyes revealed joy, giving a low roar, signaling several less-injured giant wolves to stay and care for the wounded, then personally leading Xiao Qi and Zhao Tiezhu toward the glacial canyon's deepest part.
The deeper they went, the heavier the cold qi, the surrounding ice walls all presenting an ominous dark blue, the air filled with faint demonic qi and a heart-palpitating deathly stillness. Finally, at the canyon's end, a massive cave covered by ten-thousand-year mysterious ice appeared, the cave entrance constantly emitting dark blue cold fog, that was the polluted cold marrow's aura.
The cave entrance had powerful natural prohibitions, but for Xiao Qi who had touched a trace of spatial laws and chaotic true meaning, it was not difficult. He had Zhao Tiezhu and the silver giant wolf wait outside, while he circulated Dao seed power, his whole body rising with platinum purification light, taking one step like merging into the ice wall, passing through that layer of powerful prohibition.
Inside the cave was a huge ice crystal world. In the center was a not-large pool, inside was not liquid, but "Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow" condensed to substance like liquid sapphire. However, this cold marrow that should have been pure and flawless now transmitted an unsettling dark color from within, countless fine black demonic patterns like living things writhing in the cold marrow, emitting yin-cold, deathly, corrosive demonic qi. The ground around the pool had all congealed a layer of black ice frost.
It was this polluted cold marrow that was constantly creating demonic cold qi and those ice-scale demon creatures!
Xiao Qi could feel that the demonic qi at this cold marrow's core was extremely stubborn and pure, almost fused with the cold marrow itself, ordinary means difficult to separate, forcibly purifying would likely damage the cold marrow's origin.
He sat cross-legged by the cold marrow pool, not immediately acting. He closed his eyes, divine sense like the finest tendrils, carefully probing into that dark blue cold marrow, to feel, to understand that demonic qi's essence, and the way it combined with the cold marrow.
He discovered that this demonic qi wasn't simply attached, but like a parasite, rooted in the cold marrow's extreme "stillness" and "cold" laws, using them as a hotbed, twisting their essence, converting their "vitality" into "deathly stillness."
"Purification is not rejection, but guidance and sublimation..." Xiao Qi silently recited his newly realized Dao.
His hands pressed hollowly above the cold marrow pool, fully activating the Dao seed in his dantian. This time, he didn't release powerful purification light, but the unique Dao rhyme containing "understanding,""inclusion,""guidance," and "new life" meanings from the Dao seed, like the gentlest warm current, slowly injected into the cold marrow.
This warm current wasn't to fight against that extreme cold, but to "embrace" it, to understand the "cold" foundation that demonic qi relied on to exist, then, using his own higher-level, more origin-close "order" and "vitality" Dao rhyme, to gently "persuade," to "guide" that twisted cold marrow law, returning to its proper pure and harmonious state.
This was an extremely fine, extremely spirit-consuming process, far more difficult than violent destruction.
Platinum Dao rhyme like invisible brushes, bit by bit painting, modifying the demonic qi-twisted Dao patterns inside the cold marrow. Those writhing black demonic patterns initially resisted violently, but before that inclusive and firm Dao rhyme, their resistance like ice and snow meeting sunlight, gradually dissolved, melted. And that dark cold marrow color also began at a speed visible to the naked eye to become clear, deep blue again, emitting pure and vast extreme-cold vitality!
The demonic qi pervading the cave rapidly receded, that heart-palpitating deathly stillness also replaced by a sacred and serene coldness.
Who knows how long passed, when the last trace of black demonic pattern was purified and dissipated, the entire cold marrow pool had returned to its original purity, like a massive sapphire with star rivers flowing inside, emitting vast energy that nourished all things and refined souls.
Xiao Qi slowly withdrew his hand, his face slightly pale, divine sense consumption huge, but his eyes exceptionally bright. He had successfully done it! Without damaging the cold marrow's origin, completely purified the demonic qi!
He walked out of the cave, the silver giant wolf waiting outside immediately sensed that restored-pure, even-surpassing-before cold marrow aura, issuing an incomparably excited long wolf howl echoing throughout the canyon. It again deeply lowered its head toward Xiao Qi, this time representing the entire Snow Wolf Tribe's highest respect and gratitude.
Zhao Tiezhu also grinned wide, forcefully patting Xiao Qi's shoulder: "Brother Xiao Qi, awesome!"
The Snow Wolf Tribe's survival crisis was resolved because of Xiao Qi's arrival. This karma, this Dao rhyme feedback brought by guarding and purifying, made his Dao seed grow again, his application of "purification" Dao also reaching a completely new level. The Northern Plains trip was not in vain.