A large spray of water erupted as his body sank into the verdant river. Nie Kong felt an unprecedented chill assail him from all directions, seeping into his core through every pore, strand by delicate strand. In an instant, he felt as though every bone in his body had been frozen solid.

Gritting his teeth and holding his breath, Nie Kong’s body descended rapidly. The spiritual energy within him surged wildly, striving desperately to counteract the biting cold pressing in from the surroundings.

Soon, Nie Kong's feet touched the riverbed.

At the bottom of the cold current lay scattered many glittering white stones, illuminating the entire river to a crystalline clarity, allowing him to easily make out the scenery within a radius of ten meters.

Nie Kong slowly moved his somewhat stiff body, walking deeper into the river. However, the spot where he stood was dangerously close to a steep slope in the river, and the sheer force of the swiftly moving current was incredibly difficult to resist. After only a few steps forward, he was swept several meters downriver.

The further he ventured, the more intense the cold became.

Before long, the Wood Spiritual Energy swirling around Nie Kong grew increasingly thin, hovering on the brink of dispersal at any moment.

"Ch-ch-ch!"

His teeth began to chatter slightly. Nie Kong urgently reversed direction, moving toward the riverbank with the utmost speed. Moments later, he burst out of the cold current and collapsed onto the shore.

Gasping great mouthfuls of air, Nie Kong paid no heed to the dripping water soaking him. He quickly sat down cross-legged and began cultivating the "Spring and Autumn Life Manifestation Art." The cold that had permeated his very marrow had left his body numb and almost devoid of sensation; even his thoughts felt frozen.

Wood Spiritual Energy elements detached from the void, gathering around Nie Kong.

However, right at the center of the cold current, an even richer green vitality began to surge upward, swirling like a cascade. Almost instantly, Nie Kong was enveloped in a mass of green mist several feet in diameter, its density alarmingly high, making it impossible to see through.

"Such potent vitality!"

Nie Kong was stunned. The concentration of Wood Spiritual Energy elements in this "Senluo Ancient Cave" was merely average, yet the vitality far surpassed that of the second layer of the "Spiritual Cultivation Illusionary Realm." While not quite comparable to the green pillars of light within the illusionary space, it was absolutely on par with the interior of the illusionary space itself.

The torrent of vitality poured into him, gradually driving out the cold that had pierced his bones. Nie Kong could even feel his own spiritual energy gradually approaching saturation. Such a state was impossible to achieve on the second layer of the Spiritual Cultivation Illusionary Realm.

The green turbulence wildly churning upstream of the cold current attracted the gazes of nearly all the inner city disciples gathered on the bank. Seeing this spectacle, they instantly knew the identity of the person within the green mist. In the entire Spirit Defense City, who else could absorb Wood Spiritual Energy elements besides Nie Kong?

"He actually came to the 'Senluo Ancient Cave'?"

Although everyone wondered why Nie Kong would subject himself to such suffering in the ancient cave when he could easily earn points elsewhere, not a single person moved. In fact, they soon dismissed Nie Kong from their minds; resisting the cold within the cave was demanding enough, leaving little mental capacity to concern themselves with others.

A few minutes later, the massive cloud of green energy abruptly dissipated.

Immediately, a figure glowing faintly green was revealed. Nie Kong opened his eyes and looked toward the middle of the cold current, a slight confusion etching itself onto his expression.

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

"Could there be some hidden secret there?"

Nie Kong mused to himself, quickly looking around. It was only then that he realized the spot where he had been sitting cross-legged was already forty or fifty meters away from where he first jumped into the cold current.

"Splash..."

The violently undulating river surface suddenly parted, and Bai Yuqing’s alluring figure shot out, cloaked in trails of crystal-clear, emerald-green droplets. She landed on the riverbank like a water lily emerging from the mud. As her feet touched down, the two perfectly rounded, firm mounds of her breasts trembled gently, a sight mesmerizing enough to steal one's gaze.

Nie Kong’s eyes slid over Bai Yuqing’s arresting figure, then focused on her hands. In just this short time, she had managed to find three more Illusionary Spirit Stones.

"This little girl is fast!"

Nie Kong marveled inwardly. He had strained his eyes searching and nearly frozen himself to death, yet hadn't spotted so much as a single feather, let alone an Illusionary Spirit Stone.

Now, Nie Kong truly understood why the inner city disciples dreaded the Senluo Ancient Cave like the plague. To locate the "Illusionary Spirit Stones" washed down from upstream in such an intensely cold river was imaginable difficult, especially since Bai Yuqing was the only Ice Spiritual Master present.

Perhaps Miao Ge was also one of them. She hailed from the Ice and Snow Kingdom and was of royal blood; she likely possessed secret techniques to resist the cold here.

"Sister Bai, wait!" Seeing Bai Yuqing preparing to plunge 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 expression carrying a hint of suspicion.

Soon, Nie Kong reached Bai Yuqing and asked with a degree of eager anticipation, "Sister Bai, can you swim to the center of the river?"

"I can!"

Bai Yuqing nodded.

Nie Kong was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! Then please take me with you."

It wasn't that Nie Kong's swimming skills were poor; they were utterly abysmal. Even though the distance from the bank to the center was only about fifty meters, in this environment, with his own ability, it was completely impossible for him to walk along the riverbed. But with a beauty like Bai Yuqing acting as his guide, things were vastly different.

"No!" Bai Yuqing stated concisely, spitting out two words.

"Why?"

Nie Kong was dumbfounded. Despite her cold demeanor, he and Bai Yuqing were at least friends; she shouldn't refuse such a small favor.

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

"Ahem!"

Bai Yuqing’s bluntness stung Nie Kong a little, but what she said was the truth. If he hadn't desperately wanted to see and feel why the vitality was so abnormally rich in the river's core, he wouldn't have been bored enough to ask Bai Yuqing to take him.

He rubbed his chin and chuckled artificially, "Well, Sister Bai, I just want to take a quick look. If I can't stand it, you can bring me back immediately."

"No!"

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

Nie Kong’s eyes darted about, a cunning smile flickering at the corner of his lips. Just as Bai Yuqing’s graceful body adopted a leaping posture, Nie Kong executed a "Flying Flower Shadow," flashing to her side, leaping almost simultaneously with her. Before the two plunged into the cold current, Nie Kong’s left arm was already looped around Bai Yuqing’s slender waist.

"Plop!"

Their two bodies, pressed tightly together, plunged into the water simultaneously.

Feeling Nie Kong’s arm, Bai Yuqing’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her waist shifted uncomfortably. Still, she propelled herself forward with one hand while the other wrapped around Nie Kong’s shoulder. Her two beautiful legs swayed with rhythmic grace, and their combined form shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Nie Kong’s arm instinctively tightened its hold, his fingers nearly sinking into the muscles of Bai Yuqing’s lower abdomen. A soft, firm sensation transmitted through his fingertips.

However, under the circumstances, let alone merely brushing against Bai Yuqing’s body through layers of clothing, even if she were completely nude, Nie Kong would have possessed no lascivious thoughts whatsoever. The surrounding overwhelming cold was capable of crushing any impulse unfit for young audiences in its very infancy.

Bai Yuqing’s swimming speed was astonishingly fast. After surfacing only once to catch her breath, Nie Kong noticed that the white glow covering the riverbed was being replaced by an emerald light ahead.

"We're almost at the center of the cold current!"

This thought slowly drifted through Nie Kong’s mind. What Bai Yuqing had said on the bank was correct; at this depth, the resistance generated by his internal spiritual energy was almost entirely nullified. The intensely piercing cold pressed in from all sides, causing Nie Kong’s body to grow progressively more rigid.

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

Nie Kong blinked a few times. Seeing they were only about ten meters from the center, turning back now would mean he had suffered this agonizing chill for nothing.

Bai Yuqing continued swimming forward, though her speed had noticeably decreased. A brilliant azure light burst forth from her delicate body, revealing that she was now using her own spiritual energy to resist the cold.

"We're here!"

Finally bursting into that zone of emerald light, Nie Kong suddenly realized that his body, previously frozen stiff, was rapidly regaining feeling. In the span of a breath, the numb parts of his body seemed to return to his command. Nie Kong then noticed that he could no longer feel any coldness at all.

Nie Kong released Bai Yuqing’s waist and walked a few steps on the riverbed; his limbs were indeed exceptionally agile. When he looked at Bai Yuqing, she was still using her spiritual energy to fight the surrounding cold.

Bai Yuqing also noticed Nie Kong’s unusual state, and a flicker of surprise crossed her beautiful, watery eyes.

"What is happening?"

Nie Kong was utterly bewildered. In the exact same area, their sensations were entirely different. Unconsciously, Nie Kong recalled the scene from a few days ago when he ascended from the first layer to the second layer of the Illusionary Realm via the Heavenly Ladder.

When other inner city disciples walked the Heavenly Ladder, immense pressure bore down on them, yet that pressure seemed to vanish into nothingness when directed at him, canceled out by the upgrade. Perhaps the current situation—not feeling the cold of the current—was due to a similar mechanism? After all, the center of this cold current contained far richer life energy.

Nie Kong feared nothing from the river's core, but Bai Yuqing was starting to falter.

She pointed to herself, then pointed back the way they came, gesturing toward Nie Kong. Without another moment’s delay, Bai Yuqing darted back like a fish, turning rapidly.

"Splash!"

With a sound of disturbed water, Nie Kong surfaced to gasp for air a few times, then took a deep breath and sank back down, slowly walking against the current. At this moment, Nie Kong had the strange sensation that what flowed in the center of the cold current was not water, but waves of solidified, liquid vitality.

Experiencing it firsthand, Nie Kong understood that the vitality here was even more concentrated than he had previously felt; it was almost comparable to the green pillars of light in the Illusionary Space.

"The Spiritual Cultivation Illusionary Realm is a divine ground for cultivating spiritual energy, while this cold current is a paradise for condensing vitality!" Nie Kong marveled inwardly. Just as he was about to find a secure spot to sit down and fully immerse himself in the sensation, the mass of inky green blood within his "Yaochi Acupoint" suddenly began to undulate slightly...

... PS: Second update is here. There will be one more update tonight, probably around eleven o'clock. Finally, I continue to ask for recommendation votes~~~O(∩_∩)O~... .. ..