Heaven Refining physique-Chapter 152: Hidden Village

And because it was bone-chillingly cold inside, his movement was getting affected, he felt a lot slower.

He could feel that if he hadn’t covered his soul with his spiritual qi, then it would have frozen too, but with physique residing there, he doubted if it was truth or not. He had to constantly supply a large amount of spiritual qi to offset this cold from his soul.

There was one more thing. Since it was bone-chilling coldness, it was painful to endure it. If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t have been able to hold back their screams.

"How does it feel, Junior Brother?"

"Restrictive."

That was the only word appropriate for this ability, for him at least, it was someone else of their cultivation realm than they might have died already.

It didn’t restrict anyone from using their abilities or attacking Ming Yue, but if they did, they would have to give up on their defense, which wouldn’t work in their favour.

"Now, Junior Brother, watch this."

After Ming Yue said that, she began controlling the floating Dark Ice Lotuses and started moving them instead of letting them stay still.

Along with the movement, they began to bloom slowly. Jiang Hao could feel the coldness increasing around him as they bloomed.

They avoided Jiang Hao, but they could have hit him too if she wanted.

"By the way, Junior Brother, these lotuses are dangerous to touch. They will explode, freezing anyone they touch in Dark Ice, and as usual, they target both the soul and the body."

Jiang Hao nodded. This skill was terrifying, no doubt.

Ming Yue dismissed the Dark Ice Lotus Bloom and said,

"So, shall we begin, Junior Brother?"

Jiang Hao nodded, and both of them began their battle.

They simply fought with their basic abilities, and since both of them possessed battle sense, they were perfect opponents for each other to hone their combat instincts further.

They kept at it for an hour before stopping. This was enough to get them accustomed to their new strength.

"Let’s go, Junior Brother. It’s time we check out the Soul Sea Realm region. But first, let me bid farewell to our new acquaintances. Join me, Junior Brother."

Although Jiang Hao found it unnecessary, since she wished for it, he wouldn’t deny her. He nodded and followed her.

They came to the spirit beasts who were still sitting nearby, watching their duel.

"Call them out, would you?"

Ming Yue asked them, and they nodded immediately.

It didn’t take long for Yu Yan and Jing Tian to arrive.

When Yu Yan saw Ming Yue, she spoke,

"Congratulations on your successful breakthrough to the Soul Sea Realm, Sister Ming. Are you leaving?"

Ming Yue nodded at her congratulations and said,

"Yes. It was nice to meet you all. Although we were together for only a short period of time, I will remember it.

By the way, I know how much influence those two vile sects can exert, so please be careful from now on. Also, don’t worry about us. If you have no other choice, you may reveal everything about us. You need not worry about betraying us.

We understand that it is not easy to be associated with us. The whole world might not yet be against us, but it won’t take long before it is. It won’t be a matter of us being traitors or most sects disbelieving those two behemoths.

It will all come down to one thing, if these two sects can provide enough benefits to the others, which they definitely can, then in the end, most, if not all, sects will join against us.

I don’t know what the future holds for us, nor do I want to predict it. Today we are friends, tomorrow we might be enemies. Who cares? It’s not something new for us anyway.

But don’t worry. Even if your sect stands against us, and we are capable enough to stand against you guys, we won’t harm at least you two. As for your sect, there is no suspense in that.

It might seem a little off-topic to discuss right now, but I doubt we will be able to meet again soon, so removing any kind of doubts would be better. That’s why I babbled too much. I hope you forgive me for my rudeness."

Ming Yue stated everything calmly.

Yu Yan sighed and bowed.

"Don’t, Sister Ming. My father is quite an intelligent man. He knows what is good and what is bad for the sect. No matter how many benefits those sects promise us, if it is poison that will lead to our doom, we won’t accept it. And I will make sure my father understands why those benefits are deadly poison.

As for the matter of rudeness, you don’t have to worry about that, Sister Ming. I prefer it this way.

It is far more relieving to hear it directly from you. And thank you for considering us as friends.

Goodbye. If destiny allows, we shall meet again. And I promise you, we won’t be enemies, because that part of the future is something I can influence."

Ming Yue gave a small nod.

"Very well, then. Goodbye. Let’s go, Junior Brother."

Just as Ming Yue said that, Yu Yan asked,

"Sister Ming, is it possible for you to remove your mask? I have never seen you."

Yu Yan didn’t say that she wanted to verify the claims of the world’s number one beauty.

It wasn’t jealousy, but seeing is a different matter than hearing rumours. She didn’t know if they would meet again or not, so this might be her only chance to see them. She wanted to ask Jiang Hao the same but lacked the courage, as she was sure he wouldn’t even reply.

"Ah... my bad. It had completely slipped my mind. I ask for your forgiveness. I should have done it earlier, as we are already friends and should have greeted you with our true faces.

Junior Brother, how about you remove your mask too? It’s not a big deal anyway."

Jiang Hao sighed. He never truly cared for wearing masks or not. He just wore it because he was forced to previously, but now it was of his own will.

He removed it the moment Ming Yue told him to. In fact, wearing it didn’t matters anyway . They were already well-known even with the masks anyway.

Yu Yan was surprised. She thought Jiang Hao might not remove it even if Ming Yue asked him to, but he didn’t even hesitate.

She was even more surprised upon seeing him. He looked far superior to his portrait. It seemed the paintings were made with the mindset that they were traitors.

If that was the case... she looked toward Ming Yue, who had just removed her mask. She was slightly shocked but didn’t show it outwardly.

The paintings could be altered, she was right, but it looked like they had been altered to downplay her beauty instead of exaggerating it. She finally understood why Ming Yue was termed as the most beautiful in the world right now.

She bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for granting my selfish request, Sister Ming. Your beauty is truly unparalleled, just as the rumours say."

"Hm? Really? I never knew there were such rumours in this world. Interesting.

Anyway, it’s time to say goodbye. Take care."

Jiang Hao didn’t wait for her to overly express anything to him and placed his hand on her shoulder to immediately teleport, as he wasn’t keen on wasting more time.

When they disappeared, Yu Yan finally sighed.

She felt completely at ease now. Ming Yue herself had given the most appropriate solution for her worries.

Just as she turned around, she saw that Jing Tian was still standing there, stunned.

She sighed inwardly and kicked him in the leg.

Thwack!

"Arghhh..."

"What are you gawking at, Senior Brother?"

"Ah... hehe, nothing, Junior Sister. I was lost in thought... wai—arghhh!"

Yu Yan didn’t let him finish and delivered one more kick to the exact same spot.

"You don’t sound believable, Senior Brother."

"Why are you only doing this to me? I definitely saw you sneaking glances at Brother Jian—wait, my bad, I must have seen wrongly... argh... stop!"

...

On a mountain just near a village, a woman was standing there calmly, looking toward the village. A fox was watching her warily but didn’t attack. It knew it would be futile.

Even if it didn’t know the strength of this woman, it could definitely feel that she was far above its league.

The fox was Jiang Hao’s contracted beast, and as for the woman, she was none other than Yao Ying.

After many years, she had visited here again, but not because she wanted to watch the village, she had come for a good reason.

With her level, she could read the ill omens of the world. Recently, the villages in this area had fallen under such an ill omen that it might become the end of them all.

She didn’t care what happened to the other villages, but this village was not something she could ignore. The reason was simple.

The house on the outskirts, where a woman was working, she could easily see her even from this distance.

When she felt the ill fate of this village, she had already figured out the reason quite easily.

The Thread of Fate was more than capable of providing every answer she was seeking. It was far superior to a mere branch known as the Truth Seeker.

The reason for this bad omen was none other than the sects targeting Jiang Hao. They had obtained information about Jiang Hao’s first appearance.