"Brother He, do you have any idea how vast the Northern Ice Fields are?" Ji Mo Fanshu asked abruptly.

He Yiming paused slightly. He shook his head. Although his relationship with the old assassin wasn't the best, he still held considerable admiration for the man's courage and knowledge, so he didn't show any displeasure.

Ji Mo Fanshu gazed into the distance, murmuring softly, "The sheer size of the Northern Frontier Ice Fields is nearly equal to that of the entire Eastern World."

He Yiming's eyebrows twitched. He had never imagined that the Northern Frontier encompassed such a massive territory.

"It's a pity, though, that there aren't many places truly habitable for humans within the Northern Frontier. Conversely, the number of ferocious beasts and spirit beasts residing here is considerable," Ji Mo Fanshu stated gravely. "Masters from both the Eastern World and the Northwest often enjoy making a circuit around the Northern Frontier when traveling the world. If they are lucky, they might encounter a Xiantian Spirit Beast here and obtain a Xiantian Inner Elixir."

He Yiming nodded slowly. The fact that even masters from outside the region frequented this place suggested the spirit beasts were indeed plentiful.

"Ever since humanity pressed its stride into the Northern Frontier, this place has been a battlefield between humans and the beasts and spirit beasts. For nearly ten thousand years, the struggle between the two sides has been ceaseless," Ji Mo Fanshu chuckled dryly. "This is a battle for living space; no race can surrender it."

He Yiming nodded in silence, yet for some unknown reason, a strange feeling stirred within him. What was the meaning behind the Ancestor of the Yellow Springs suddenly saying these things to him?

"Here, every day, human experts hunt spirit beasts and ferocious beasts, stripping their hides, draining their tendons, sucking their blood, and eating their flesh. Likewise, many people are killed by beasts and spirit beasts. This is especially true for weaker human settlements. Without a Xiantian expert guarding them, they are certainly subject to frequent attacks," Ji Mo Fanshu said blandly. "This is the law of the jungle—the strong prey on the weak, and only the fittest survive."

A sharp glint suddenly erupted in He Yiming's eyes; he finally understood the intent behind the Ancestor of the Yellow Springs' words.

He was, in this manner, signaling that he wished He Yiming would cease slaughtering spirit beasts.

With a soft huff, a chill crept into He Yiming's heart. Facing the slaughter of humans, this old assassin remained completely unmoved. For him, it would have been a mere gesture to help, yet he refused to lend a hand.

Shifting his gaze, Di Shitian stood as calmly as before, but the impassive expression on his face revealed that the Sect Master of the Tianchi lineage actually concurred with this view.

Taking a deep breath, He Yiming said coldly, "Ancestor of the Yellow Springs, if disciples of the Nine Nethers were threatened by spirit beasts, would you stand idly by?"

"Certainly not," Ji Mo Fanshu replied without hesitation. "But the people here are not my disciples."

He Yiming snorted, "On our journey to the Northern Frontier Ice Palace, wouldn't killing a few more spirit beasts along the way and saving some more humans be an excellent gift?"

A trace of a smile finally touched Ji Mo Fanshu's face. "Brother He, if you intervene to save people within the perimeter of the Ice Palace grounds, I will gladly assist you, but there is no need here."

He Yiming paused momentarily, then immediately understood his meaning.

The inhabitants residing within the Ice Palace perimeter must have close ties to the Northern Frontier Ice Palace.

Just as the disciples of the Yellow Springs Sect reside in the Nine Nethers, and the disciples of the Tianchi Sect inhabit the Tianchi Mountain Range—they are the backbone of their respective major sects.

However, the people residing here were insignificant small fry. According to Ji Mo Fanshu, even if they were all wiped out, the Ice Palace wouldn't care in the slightest. Saving them would be a waste of time and effort.

He Yiming's expression darkened. He chuckled wryly, "Ancestor of the Yellow Springs, I, He, have a stubborn streak: once I've made up my mind, I don't change it. If this causes any offense, I ask for your understanding."

Ji Mo Fanshu shook his head slightly and gave He Yiming a profound look, choosing not to persuade him further.

Di Shitian let out a hearty laugh, sweeping his voluminous sleeves, and strode forward first. He acted as if he hadn't heard their conversation, leaving them just like that.

However, his departure inadvertently dissolved the awkwardness in the air. He Yiming and Ji Mo Fanshu exchanged a glance, then both averted their heads, resuming their journey onward.

This time, the speed of Di Shitian and the other increased noticeably, but they were still far from the absolute limit speed of a Human Dao Peak expert. He Yiming repeatedly wanted to ask questions but managed to suppress the urge. Because he dimly sensed that the two were acting this way for a deeper, unspoken reason.

They traveled like this for three days. During this time, He Yiming intervened twice, saving two human settlements. Yet, he also observed that while spirit beasts and fierce beasts attacked humans, the humans of the Northern Frontier were also hunting them in return. The entire sky over the Northern Frontier seemed enveloped in a dense killing intent.

Three days later, Ji Mo Fanshu, who was walking, suddenly stopped. His figure flickered slightly, and he instantly appeared more than ten zhang away. Then, he reached down and swept his hand across the ground, seemingly inspecting something. A moment later, he stood up, his face betraying unconcealed joy.

Di Shitian immediately approached him and asked quietly, "Found it?"

Ji Mo Fanshu nodded deeply. "It should be correct."

He Yiming's curiosity peaked, and he glanced at the spot Ji Mo Fanshu had just been examining, his expression instantly turning exceedingly strange.

It was a pile of yellowish, dried, solid matter. Having grown up in the mountains and forests, He Yiming was no stranger to this; if he wasn't mistaken, this was the feces of some creature.

However, this scat looked several days old, judging by how shriveled it was.

After hearing their conversation, He Yiming finally understood why they had been traveling so slowly; they were actually trying to track down a specific type of spirit beast here.

Di Shitian sighed in relief and smiled. "Inviting you to travel this thousand li journey was indeed the right choice. Without your experience and tracking skills, I fear none of us would have found a trace of this thing."

Ji Mo Fanshu shook his head slightly. "Don't get your hopes too high. This creature is incredibly cunning. I only have a fifty percent chance of locating it."

"Fifty percent is quite substantial," Di Shitian stated solemnly. "But no matter what, we must find it, otherwise..." He glanced in He Yiming's direction, as if there were some unspoken difficulty.

He Yiming hesitated for a moment. "Brother Di, what exactly are you looking for?"

Di Shitian managed a wry smile. "We are searching for the Saint Beast King known as the Snow Fox."

"Saint Beast King?" He Yiming's eyes brightened. "How powerful is it?"

"Quite formidable. If it were just me alone, there would be no way to kill it," Di Shitian said seriously.

He Yiming was startled. "Is this thing more powerful than the Outer Sea Saint Beast King?"

Ji Mo Fanshu waved his hand. "In terms of sheer might, the Snow Fox is far inferior to the Outer Sea Saint Beast King. However, once the Snow Fox ascends to the rank of Saint Beast King, it possesses the fastest speed under heaven. Whether burrowing or running on the surface, its speed is unmatched. Even our divine weapon light cannot keep up in flight. Therefore, we must approach it while it is unprepared; once discovered, all our efforts will be for naught."

A soft hiss sounded from behind He Yiming. The White Horse Lightning regarded Ji Mo Fanshu with its beautiful eyes, clearly displeased. If He Yiming hadn't been positioned between them, this top-tier Saint Beast with divine beast bloodline would have surely lashed out.

He Yiming quickly turned and soothed the White Horse Lightning for a long time before finally calming its temper.

He turned back, facing the two top Human Dao Peak experts who looked utterly perplexed, and said with a wry smile, "Sect Master of the Yellow Springs, please refrain from mentioning 'fastest speed in the world' in front of Lightning."

Ji Mo Fanshu paused, then a sudden gleam of joy appeared in his eyes, and the way he looked at the White Horse Lightning became intensely bright. Di Shitian’s expression wasn't much better; the two exchanged a look and simultaneously nodded heavily.

He Yiming's brow furrowed. "Gentlemen, Lightning bears no ill will toward that Snow Fox, and we are unwilling to slaughter the innocent, so we will not intervene."

The two Human Dao Peak experts exchanged a look. Di Shitian let out a long sigh. "Brother He, there is actually something the old man forgot to mention."

He Yiming said gravely, "Brother Di, please speak."

In truth, He Yiming had already guessed that the two valued the Snow Fox Saint Beast King so highly because there must be a significant reason. And this reason was almost certainly connected to the thousand-year Ice Island that was about to appear; otherwise, given their stature, why would they care so much?

However, if they expected him to help, they needed to let him know the full context. Otherwise, he would not act lightly.

Di Shitian's expression became extremely serious. "Brother He, we are hunting the Snow Fox for Miss Yuan."

"Li Xun?" He Yiming's eyes snapped wide open. Although he regained his composure the next instant, that expression had already revealed Yuan Li Xun's status in his heart to the other two.

"Exactly, it is Miss Yuan," Di Shitian said calmly. "Once the Ice Island appears this time, Miss Yuan must use the imitation Divine Artifact, the Ice Mirror, to divert the light of the true Divine Artifact, the Ice Mirror. Only then will we have a chance to clear the path to the Ice Island and enter."

He Yiming's face darkened. "What does that have to do with the Snow Fox?"

Di Shitian pondered for a moment. "Miss Yuan possesses the Extreme Cold Body. Diverting the divine artifact's light using the imitation Ice Mirror is not difficult. However, doing so consumes an immense amount of vital energy; even a Five Qi Great Venerable can only sustain it for a quarter of an hour."

He Yiming's eyes immediately lit up. "Could it be that this Snow Fox can somehow help a person recover their vital energy?"

Di Shitian finally smiled. "Brother He, you have hit the nail on the head; truly intelligent..."

Ps: Heading out for class, so posting early ^_^