’Before I leave, I’ll take care of those people, then seal up this cave... That should be foolproof.’

Glancing at the cave entrance, a glint in his eye, Qin Fang hesitated no longer and entered the Cold Cave.

In the blink of an eye, he had reached the thirty-meter mark inside the Cold Cave. A Porcelain Bottle sat in a stone bowl...

He picked up the Porcelain Bottle and examined it, discovering that a small amount of the mysterious liquid had collected inside once more.

...When his master and the others left, they had not only taken over a hundred pounds of Bee Meat, but Qin Fang had also given them all of the mysterious liquid he had collected previously.

After all, the mysterious liquid wasn’t just miraculously effective for Body Refining; it was also incredibly useful for healing, especially internal injuries.

Old Ox Back was a very safe place, and it constantly produced the mysterious liquid.

So naturally, he had given all he had to his master and the others.

After all, you never knew what accidents might happen on their journey. At a critical moment, the mysterious liquid might just save their lives.

He transferred the mysterious liquid into another Porcelain Bottle, set it aside safely, and then turned his gaze toward the deep, dark cave.

...This time, standing in this spot, he could barely feel the cold anymore.

His Qi Blood only stirred faintly, a warmth spreading through his body. There wasn’t even a trace of white frost to be seen on his skin.

...To think that the last time he was here, frost had formed on his very eyelashes.

It was a clear sign of how immensely stronger his Physique had become.

So he began to walk deeper.

At the forty-meter mark, he began to feel the cold. It was like gusts of cool wind brushing against his skin.

At fifty meters, his skin began to sting... and the last time he was here, he had nearly been Frozen to Death!

White frost began to form on his body. He started circulating his Qi Blood, and his body instantly warmed up like a furnace as he continued forward.

Finally, sixty meters!

Just as he rounded a corner, the biting cold wind instantly grew several times more powerful. He felt a sharp, needle-like pain on his skin, his muscles began to stiffen, and large patches of blue frost appeared without warning.

Qin Fang’s eyes flashed. He pushed the circulation of his Qi Blood to its absolute limit, and the faint sound of a Qi and Blood Tide could be heard!

’This cold?’

Qin Fang was stunned.

Though he was resisting for now, he had a feeling that if he remained in this temperature for much longer, even he would end up Frozen to Death!

And at that same moment, Qin Fang saw the next light source...

It was just over ten meters away.

But when he saw that next source of light, Qin Fang couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath...

What appeared before Qin Fang was an expanse of eerie, viscous, deep-blue mist.

The deep-blue mist seemed to have substance, like layers of translucent silk veils hanging down. It swirled slowly, completely cutting off the path ahead.

Faint specks of blue light, like shattered Ice Crystals, floated within, shrouding the path ahead in a hazy, unfathomable expanse of deep blue.

Light was distorted and swallowed here. His gaze could penetrate only a few feet before being met with nothing but a rippling, deep, dark blue.

Yet, deep within this blue mist that seemed to isolate everything, a source of light glowed steadily.

It was about ten meters away—a distance that would be within reach under any normal circumstances.

Yet he just couldn’t make it out clearly.

The light wasn’t harsh. It was a cold, tranquil blue, with an almost moist quality to it, like a cold flame burning deep underwater.

It shone through the heavy barrier of mist, casting a hazy yet stable halo. Its edges blended softly into the surrounding darkness and blue fog, pulsing with a regular rhythm of light and shadow, as if it were a living, breathing thing...

And yet, despite the short distance, the blue mist made it completely impossible to see what the source of the light actually was!

...Qin Fang finally understood why his master hadn’t been very clear last time, saying only that he had seen the next light source.

Even after reaching Huajin, his master had no intention of re-entering the Cold Cave to try his luck...

...Faced with such a bizarre scene, even Qin Fang didn’t dare to advance in the slightest!

At his current distance, Qin Fang could already feel himself nearing his limit. If he stayed much longer, he might be Frozen to Death.

And that dense, impenetrable blue mist... One could only imagine that the temperature within was even more terrifying than his current position!

If he so much as poked a finger inside, it would probably be frozen into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye and immediately shatter!

"..."

He was silent for a long moment, then turned and walked away.

Entering the blue mist himself was impossible.

But...

’Perhaps there was a way to get that light source out?’

He left the cave, found the rope he used for catching bees, and returned to the sixty-meter mark.

He looked at the light source within the blue mist, estimated the distance, and tied a loop about ten centimeters wide at the end of the rope. Then, standing outside the mist, he swung his arm and cast the rope inside.

The rope instantly disappeared into the blue mist. The next moment, he heard a sharp SNAP...

It sounded like something shattering.

Qin Fang froze for a second, then subconsciously tugged on the rope.

But it was surprisingly light. When he pulled it out and looked... he discovered the rope had completely solidified into Ice Crystals. It was astonishingly brittle; the slightest contact with the ground caused it to shatter instantly!

Qin Fang sucked in a sharp breath.

The sight set his teeth on edge...

’The rope wasn’t very strong, but it shouldn’t just turn to ice the moment it’s tossed in, should it?’

’...Just how low was the temperature in there?’

He thought for a moment, then turned and went out again.

When he returned, he was holding a bamboo pole.

A knife was fixed to the forked tip of the pole... ’A soft object didn’t work, so this hard one should be fine.’

He carefully extended the bamboo pole into the mist.

But after only a moment, he heard a series of CRACKLING sounds. Looking down, he saw the bamboo pole in his hand begin to freeze, rapidly turning into blue crystals that spread quickly toward his hands.