A great spray of water erupted, and Nie Kong’s body sank into the emerald river. He felt an unprecedented chill invade him from all directions, seeping into his body through every pore, thread by thread.

In an instant, Nie Kong felt as if all the bones in his body were frozen stiff.

Gritting his teeth and holding his breath, Nie Kong’s body descended rapidly. The spiritual power within him surged wildly, desperately trying to counteract the icy cold pressing down from the surroundings.

Soon, Nie Kong’s feet touched the bottom of the frigid current. Scattered there were many glittering white stones, illuminating the entire river so brightly that he could easily make out the scene within a radius of ten meters. Nie Kong slowly moved his somewhat stiff body and began walking deeper into the river. However, the spot where he stood was very close to a steep drop-off in the river, and the impulsive force carried by the swift current was extremely difficult to resist. After only a few steps forward, he was swept several meters down.

The further he advanced, the more intense the chill became.

Not long after, the Wood Spiritual Power swirling around Nie Kong grew increasingly thin, already nearing the brink of collapse at any moment.

His teeth began to chatter slightly. Nie Kong hurriedly reversed direction, moving toward the riverbank at top speed. A moment later, he burst out of the cold current and landed on the bank.

Gasping deeply several times, Nie Kong ignored the soaking wet drops on his body and quickly sat cross-legged, beginning to cultivate the “Spring and Autumn Life Genesis Art.” The cold that had permeated his marrow had left him numb and stiff all over; various parts of his body were almost devoid of sensation, and even his thoughts seemed frozen solid.

Wood Spiritual Power elements detached from the void and gathered around Nie Kong.

However, at the very center of this cold current, an even denser essence of life began to rise rapidly, churning toward him like a silk banner. In almost an instant, a green mist several feet in radius enveloped Nie Kong. The density was terrifyingly high, making it impossible for the eye to penetrate.

"Such dense vitality!"

Nie Kong was startled. The amount of Wood Spiritual Power elements in this "Senluo Ancient Cave" was merely ordinary, but the vitality far surpassed the second layer of the "Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm." Although it couldn't compare to the ethereal light pillars in the Huan Family’s space, it was absolutely comparable to the interior of the Huan Family’s space.

Vitality surged in, gradually driving out the chill that had permeated his body. Nie Kong could even feel his spiritual power approaching saturation.

This situation would have been impossible in the second layer of the Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm.

The wild churning vitality upstream of the cold current almost drew the gaze of the inner-city disciples waiting on the bank. Seeing the commotion, they immediately recognized the identity of the person within the mist. In the entire Lingyu City, who else could absorb Wood Spiritual Power elements besides Nie Kong?

"He actually came to the Senluo Ancient Cave?"

Although the crowd was puzzled why Nie Kong would come to this ancient cave to suffer when he could easily earn points, not a single person moved. In fact, they soon dismissed Nie Kong from their minds; at this moment, they were struggling just to resist the chill within the cave, leaving them little mental capacity to pay attention to others.

A few minutes later, that massive surge of vitality suddenly dissipated.

Immediately, a figure shimmering with green light was revealed. Nie Kong opened his eyes and looked toward the middle of the cold current, a slight look of confusion on his face.

Judging by his recent cultivation, the vast majority of the vitality had emerged from beneath the water in the center of the cold current. Compared to that, the vitality in other areas was quite sparse.

"Could there be some hidden secret there?" Nie Kong speculated internally, glancing around. Only then did he realize that where he was sitting cross-legged was already forty or fifty meters away from the spot where he had plunged into the cold current.

"Splash!" The river surface, which had been undulating violently, suddenly parted. Bai Yuqing’s captivating figure flashed out, enveloped by strings of crystalline emerald water droplets, landing gracefully on the riverbank like a water-born lotus. As her feet touched the ground, those two rounded, high mounds also swayed gently, dazzling the eye.

Nie Kong’s gaze swept over Bai Yuqing’s alluring figure before settling on her hands. In the short time he was cultivating, she had already found three Illusion Spirit Stones.

"This little girl is fast!"

Nie Kong marveled inwardly. He had just strained his eyes looking around, nearly freezing half to death, and hadn't even spotted a single feather, let alone an Illusion Spirit Stone.

Now, Nie Kong truly understood why those inner-city disciples feared the Senluo Ancient Cave like the plague. To find what the upstream currents washed down in such an icy cold river was extremely difficult. After all, perhaps only Bai Yuqing was an Ice Spirit Master among them, or maybe Miao Ge too, given her origin from the Ice and Snow Kingdom and royal background, suggesting she might possess secret arts to resist the cold here.

"Sister Bai, wait!"

Seeing Bai Yuqing preparing to dive back into the cold current, a thought struck Nie Kong, and he quickly shouted, jumping up and rushing toward her.

"Hm?"

Bai Yuqing paused, her face showing a hint of suspicion.

A moment later, Nie Kong reached Bai Yuqing and asked with some anticipation, "Sister Bai, can you swim to the center of the river?"

"Yes!"

Bai Yuqing nodded.

Nie Kong was overjoyed. "That’s wonderful! Then take me along."

It wasn't that Nie Kong was a poor swimmer; he simply detested water. Although the distance from the bank to the center was only fifty meters, in this environment, at his level, it was absolutely impossible for him to walk along the riverbed. But with the beautiful "crab" Bai Yuqing guiding him, things would be entirely different.

"No way!"

Bai Yuqing spoke two words cleanly and decisively.

"Why not?"

Nie Kong was dumbfounded. Although Bai Yuqing was generally aloof, he and she were at least acquaintances; she shouldn't refuse such a small favor.

Bai Yuqing frowned. "The closer to the center of the river, the colder it gets. It’s at least ten times colder there than on the bank. I dare not stay long; you definitely cannot."

Cough, cough!

Bai Yuqing’s directness was quite a blow to Nie Kong’s ego, but what she said was the truth. If he hadn't wanted to see and experience why the vitality was so exceptionally dense in the river's center, he wouldn't have been so foolish as to ask Bai Yuqing to take him.

Nodding his chin, Nie Kong forced a dry laugh. "Well then, Sister Bai, I’ll just take a quick look. If I can't stand it, you just bring me back immediately."

"No!"

Bai Yuqing shook her head and turned toward the cold current.

Nie Kong’s eyes darted around, a sly smile playing on his lips. Just as Bai Yuqing made a posture to leap, Nie Kong executed a "Flying Flower Flowing Shadow," flashing to her side and leaping almost simultaneously. Before the two plunged into the cold current, Nie Kong’s left arm had already encircled Bai Yuqing’s slender waist.

"Splash!"

The two bodies, pressed tightly together, plunged into the river.

Feeling Nie Kong's arm, Bai Yuqing’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her waist twisted somewhat uncomfortably, but she still moved one hand while encircling Nie Kong's shoulder with the other. Her two beautiful legs paddled with a rhythmic grace, and their figures shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

However, under these circumstances, forget merely touching Bai Yuqing’s body through layers of clothing—even if Bai Yuqing stripped completely naked, Nie Kong would have no improper thoughts. The overwhelming cold surging around them could extinguish any inappropriate impulse in its infancy.

Bai Yuqing’s swimming speed was astonishingly fast. After surfacing only once to take a breath, Nie Kong noticed that the white light scattered across the riverbed was being replaced by a faint, jade-like glow ahead.

"The center of the cold current is near!"

This thought drifted through Nie Kong’s mind leisurely. What Bai Yuqing had said back on the bank was absolutely correct. At this position, the counteracting effect generated by the spiritual power within his body was almost completely useless. The intensely extreme cold pressed in from all directions, making Nie Kong’s body gradually stiffen.

Bai Yuqing suddenly turned her head slightly toward Nie Kong, as if asking, "Shall we keep going?"

Nie Kong blinked a few times. Seeing they were only about ten meters from the river center, he thought that if he stopped here, wouldn't he just have endured the cold for nothing?

Bai Yuqing continued swimming forward, but her speed had slowed considerably. A cerulean, radiant glow burst from her delicate body; she was also utilizing the spiritual power within her.

"We're here!"

Finally plunging into that area of deep emerald, Nie Kong suddenly discovered that his previously frozen body was rapidly regaining sensation. In the blink of an eye, the parts that had been numb seemed to return to his body. Only then did Nie Kong realize he could no longer feel any chill at all.

Nie Kong released his hold on Bai Yuqing's waist and walked a few steps on the riverbed. His limbs were indeed exceptionally flexible. Looking at Bai Yuqing, he saw she was still using her spiritual power to resist the cold around her.

Bai Yuqing also noticed Nie Kong’s unusual condition, a strange light flashing in her watery, beautiful eyes.

"What is going on?"

Nie Kong was utterly astonished. In the same area, their sensations were completely different. Involuntarily, Nie Kong recalled the scene from a few days ago when he passed through the celestial ladder from the first layer of the Illusion Realm to the second.

When other inner-city disciples walked on the celestial ladder, overwhelming pressure bore down on them, but that pressure was nullified when facing him due to an escalated cancellation effect.

Perhaps the reason he couldn't feel the cold of the current now was due to a similar mechanism? After all, the center of this cold current contained an even denser vitality.

Nie Kong felt no fear of the cold in the river center, but Bai Yuqing was beginning to be unable to bear it.

She pointed to herself, then pointed back the way they came, gesturing to Nie Kong. Without further delay, Bai Yuqing darted back like a swift fish.

"Whoosh!"

With a sound of splashing water, Nie Kong surfaced to catch his breath a few times, then took a deep breath and sank back to the riverbed, slowly walking against the current. At this moment, Nie Kong even had the feeling that what was flowing in the center of this cold current was not water, but streams of solidified, liquid vitality.

Experiencing it firsthand, Nie Kong finally understood that the vitality here was even denser than he had initially felt; it was nearly comparable to the emerald light pillars in the Huan Family’s space.

"The Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm is the divine realm for cultivating spiritual power, but this cold current is a paradise for condensing vitality!"

Nie Kong mused internally. Just as he was about to find a spot to stabilize his body and immerse himself in the feeling, the ball of dark green blood within him suddenly undulated slightly…