After a moment of contemplation, Li Muzhan gave me a thoughtful look and murmured, "It's not impossible, though. It is formed of condensed spiritual energy, and in the Sacred Realm, absorbing Lingqi is instinctual. Outside, driven only by instinct, it can't draw in enough, but there is one method."

"Tell me quickly, stop holding out!" Li Yubing urged impatiently.

Li Muzhan said, "If it could learn the method for absorbing Lingqi, that should suffice."

"The method for absorbing Lingqi?" Li Yubing exclaimed, frowning. "There's such a mental technique? I didn't know! ...Wuji, you must have one?"

Li Muzhan nodded slowly. "I do have one."

Li Yubing hesitated. It went without saying that such a technique must be exceptionally precious. For a Grandmaster, it might mean little, but for anyone below that level, it was a miraculous art.

Li Muzhan said, "How about this: let me examine its meridians first, to see if it's suitable."

"Good, good," Li Yubing quickly agreed.

Li Muzhan approached the small deer. The deer backed away a step, glaring vigilantly at him. Li Yubing hurried forward to soothe it. When Li Muzhan advanced again, the deer retreated once more.

Li Yubing quickly held it, gently stroking its back to calm it, allowing Li Muzhan to slowly extend his hand while simultaneously emitting an aura of friendliness.

However, since Li Muzhan had intended to kill it earlier, the deer was frightened. Even now, releasing a friendly aura wasn't entirely convincing; it just watched him with curious vigilance.

Li Muzhan chuckled. "This little fellow certainly remembers things well. Perhaps it's newly formed, so it doesn't yet understand the treachery of the human heart."

They journeyed together. The combined strength of the two was certainly beyond that of an ordinary Grandmaster. Bold, they ventured deep inside.

Li Yubing chided him, "You were too fierce when you fought!"

Li Muzhan shook his head with a wry smile. "If I hadn't fought desperately, both of us would have been eaten by it by now!"

"Nonsense," Li Yubing shot him a look.

Li Muzhan sighed helplessly. He never expected things to turn out this way. He had intended to kill the spirit beast, only to end up raising one instead—like someone trying to trade stocks who ends up becoming a major shareholder.

Li Muzhan placed his palm against the deer's forehead. It tried to struggle, but Li Yubing gently stroked and coaxed it with a soft voice, as if it were a person who could understand language. Under the gentle coaxing, it finally allowed Li Muzhan to press against its brow. Li Muzhan connected with it, quietly observing its internal structure.

After a moment, Li Muzhan slowly withdrew his hand, frowning in thought.

"How is it?" Li Yubing asked.

Li Muzhan nodded thoughtfully. "Its meridians are simple, only two channels: one Yin and one Yang, corresponding to the Ren and Du vessels."

"Then it can learn the mental technique?" Li Yubing asked.

Li Muzhan replied, "I need to think carefully... This presents a bit of a challenge."

"Think it over carefully," Li Yubing urged.

Li Muzhan remained silent in thought. Li Yubing stared at him, and the small deer also tilted its head up to observe him, motionless.

After fifteen minutes, Li Muzhan slowly looked up. "It should be close enough."

"Did you create it yourself?" Li Yubing asked.

Li Muzhan nodded. "I modified my own technique."

"Will that work?" Li Yubing hesitated.

Li Muzhan raised an eyebrow. "Should we just give up then?"

"Okay, okay. Forget I said anything! Hurry and pass it on," Li Yubing quickly said with a smile.

Li Muzhan snorted. "Don't blame me if anything goes wrong!"

Li Yubing gave him an exasperated look. "Less talk, get on with it!"

Li Muzhan slowly placed his palm on the small deer's forehead. This time, it offered no resistance, allowing him to press down. Li Muzhan slightly lowered his eyelids. The deer shivered once, then suddenly solidified, slowly turning into an ice sculpture that immediately froze his hand in place.

Li Muzhan remained perfectly still. After a moment, the ice on his hand melted, and he released his grip. The ice sculpture of the deer also gradually melted, then suddenly transformed into a stream of vapor that drilled into the two antlers on its head.

Li Muzhan smiled. "It seems to have learned it."

"Wonderful!" Li Yubing beamed. The small deer let out a soft cry, then its four hooves scattered as it transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the distance.

Li Yubing called out, but the deer blinked and disappeared. She only managed one call; by the time she started the second, the deer was gone without a trace.

Li Muzhan chuckled, shaking his head.

Li Yubing stood stunned, staring blankly in the direction the deer had vanished. Li Muzhan laughed. "Palace Mistress, let's forget it and go."

Li Yubing frowned. "That shouldn't be the way..."

Li Muzhan laughed. "There's no 'should' or 'shouldn't' when dealing with beasts; they don't think like humans. Let's go."

Li Yubing shook her head. "I don't believe it. It will definitely come back!"

Li Muzhan pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, let's wait here for a bit."

The two sat cross-legged on a large, square block of ice. After meditating and adjusting their breathing for the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, a flash of light streaked by, resolving into the form of the small deer. A spiritual Lingzhi mushroom was clutched in its mouth, and it watched Li Yubing quietly.

Both woke up and stared at it in surprise. The deer tilted its head, looked at them, and gently placed the Lingzhi mushroom before Li Yubing, letting out a few soft cries.

Li Yubing’s face lit up with joy. She rushed forward and hugged its neck, showering it with affection. The joy of recovery was so great she wanted to hold it close and never let go.

Li Muzhan examined the Lingzhi. It looked like it had been carved from white jade; it had no fragrance but was exquisitely delicate, truly appearing to be the result of meticulous carving.

He remained still. The deer wriggled free from Li Yubing's embrace, picked up the mushroom, and placed it in Li Yubing's hand. Li Yubing smiled gently, then returned the Lingzhi to the deer, shaking her head.

The deer chirped twice, then offered the mushroom to Li Yubing again, nudging her lightly with its antler, clearly indicating she should consume it.

Li Muzhan smiled. "Palace Mistress, don't be polite; you should use it!"

Li Yubing gave him a look. "This must be the deer's prized possession. I can't bear to take it."

Li Muzhan said, "That's not necessarily true. Since it grew here, it might just consider this Lingzhi food—it might not be that precious. Don't stand on ceremony; just eat it!"

"No," Li Yubing refused firmly.

Watching the deer and the woman push the gift back and forth, Li Muzhan shook his head in resignation but said no more, standing aside to watch the spectacle. In the end, Li Yubing accepted it.

Li Muzhan said, "This Lingzhi is an immortal object. In a place where the Lingqi is this dense, it is even rarer. You should eat it quickly; it looks freshly picked."

"...Alright, we'll split it evenly!" Li Yubing suggested.

Li Muzhan shook his head. "This was given to you. If I eat some, it won't let it go. Palace Mistress, you taste it first."

Li Yubing looked at the deer. Its innocent eyes gazed at her unblinkingly, melting her heart. She relented. "Alright, I'll try a piece first."

She plucked off a sliver of the fungus and placed it in her mouth. Instantly, her complexion flushed, as if she were drunk, and she immediately sat cross-legged on the snow to circulate her energy and regulate her breathing.

Li Muzhan watched as her face turned red, then her aura surged higher and higher, growing stronger. After about half an hour, she let out a long breath and slowly opened her eyes, a sharp, cold light flashing in her clear gaze, like a bolt of lightning.

Li Muzhan smiled. "Palace Mistress, congratulations."

The sharp coldness in Li Yubing's eyes slowly receded, and she laughed. "What an incredibly potent Lingzhi!"

Li Muzhan asked, "How was it?"

Li Yubing slowly replied, "This truly is a marvelous object. Just this piece is almost more than I can handle! ...Wuji, you try a piece too!"

Li Muzhan nodded. Li Yubing pinched off a sliver and offered it to him. Li Muzhan smiled, took it, and placed it in his mouth, saying, "The Lingzhi here is certainly different from the ones outside."

"It must be very old," Li Yubing mused.

Li Muzhan chewed the piece of Lingzhi, glanced at the deer, which was watching him sideways, and couldn't help but smile. The piece dissolved immediately upon entering his mouth. In moments, it melted in his belly, transforming into a surge of heat that exploded internally.

Li Muzhan’s face flushed, and he quickly circulated his energy to integrate it into his body, then directed it into his Spirit Palace. Instantly, his spirits lifted, and his mind felt wonderfully clear.

He slowly opened his eyes and smiled. "What an incredibly potent Lingzhi." After this piece, he felt his spirit slightly enhanced; it was truly a miraculous elixir, far beyond ordinary spiritual medicines.

Li Yubing laughed. "I didn't realize this Lingzhi was so powerful!"

Li Muzhan said, "Palace Mistress, you've certainly stumbled upon a treasure this time!"

"I wonder if the technique you taught it will work," Li Yubing worried.

Li Muzhan shook his head helplessly. "You worry too much. Never mind, let's go outside the formation and take a look. If it really works, next time we'll bring it in to gather herbs. I believe consuming this is more effective than killing spirit beasts. But this must be kept a secret; no one else can know. Perhaps no one else knows this method."

"Alright, let's go out and see," Li Yubing agreed.

The two slowly walked out with the small deer. But after only a few miles, a ferocious tiger appeared before them again, about twice the length of a man, standing elegantly on a large block of ice. It was pure, flawless white, save for a pair of eyes like rubies that glittered with cold light.

Li Muzhan frowned. The small deer, however, shuddered and retreated behind Li Yubing. Li Yubing knitted her brow. "This creature carries an immense killing intent!"

Li Muzhan nodded. The tiger's killing intent was almost tangible, a coldness that seeped into the body, chilling the very heart, making one feel plunged into an ice cellar.

"It seems it has killed quite a few Grandmasters," Li Muzhan said slowly, his face darkening as he truly felt the power.

Li Yubing said, "You deal with it; I will protect the deer."

Li Muzhan nodded. "Be careful; this one isn't easy to handle."

He vanished from his spot in a flash and reappeared behind the white tiger. He thrust a palm out, striking the tiger's back. With a muffled thump, the tiger whipped its tail, connecting squarely with Li Muzhan's palm.

Li Muzhan stepped back, frowning. The baleful energy (Sha Qi) and the cold essence were intertwined, forming a unique force that drilled directly into his core, chilling him to the marrow.

Li Yubing quickly asked, "Wuji, how is it?"

Li Muzhan shook his head. "Be cautious; its power is strange. Don't engage it head-on! ...Good!"

The white tiger pounced, its approach a wind-like gust, swift as lightning, not giving Li Muzhan time to react. Li Muzhan flashed away and reappeared behind it.

Bang! Li Muzhan struck its flank with a palm.

The white tiger roared in fury, and the surrounding air seemed to grow colder. Li Muzhan frowned; his speed felt sluggish. With a mental shift, a crisp pop sounded, breaking an invisible force, and the air returned to normal.

Unintentionally, the man and the tiger had already exchanged a round. Li Muzhan frowned; this white tiger's spirit was powerful, only slightly inferior to his own.

"Wooo..." The white tiger roared and pounced again, instantly vanishing.

Li Muzhan frowned. After opening his Eye of the Void, he still couldn't see the tiger, so he carefully sensed the surroundings, but still couldn't locate it, his expression becoming solemn.

Thump! He suddenly turned and struck out, meeting a tiger paw. He was sent flying backward like he'd been hit by a massive log, sliding a hundred meters across the ice surface.

The white tiger reappeared abruptly, as if hidden in the void. Li Yubing frowned and picked up the small deer, afraid the tiger might suddenly leap at them.

Li Muzhan grunted, flashed away, and reappeared behind the white tiger. The tiger instantly vanished, and Li Muzhan sent a palm strike out. Thump! The white tiger reappeared, having taken a hit to its ribs.

Li Muzhan's palm strike contained the intent of the Void-Piercing Sword, directly crossing the void. Without spatial obstruction, the strike reached its target immediately, unimpeded. He had intended to strike the tiger's head, but the tiger's speed forced his blow onto its flank.

Thump-thump-thump-thump...

Wooo... wooo... wooo...

The muffled impacts and roars sounded incessantly. Li Muzhan and the white tiger were locked in brutal combat. Li Muzhan found it increasingly taxing. The combination of Sha Qi and cold energy, once inside his body, was proving difficult to dispel. He was adept at redirecting energy; even if ordinary internal force was profound, he could usually shunt it away. This time, however, it didn't work. This white tiger's internal energy was exceedingly bizarre; the union of cold energy and Sha Qi formed a thoroughly Yin and pure Gang Qi that seemed subtly counteractive to him.

While fighting, he pondered a solution. Suddenly, he recalled the Huahong Jing (Rainbow Transformation Scripture). He shifted his mental technique, and his entire demeanor changed from relaxed composure to fierce, overwhelming power, as if transforming from a slender sapling into a blazing sun, shining fiercely overhead, completely at odds with the surrounding ice and cold.

Li Muzhan drew a deep breath, his aura surging. White vapor steamed from him, churning violently. He took a step, instantly vanished, and reappeared next to the white tiger, slamming a palm down.

Thump! The tiger's tail met his right palm. He stepped back one pace, his feet sinking deep into the ice, white vapor billowing around him like boiling water.

"Wooo..." The white tiger roared. A clear, sooty black palm print was branded onto its flawless white tail, distinct as if seared there.

It became wildly enraged and vanished in a leap, reappearing behind Li Muzhan in a fierce, unstoppable pouncing posture, full of violent momentum.

Li Muzhan turned to meet it, shooting out both palms, one striking a claw.

Bang! Li Muzhan retreated a step, his legs sinking further into the ice, submerged up to his knees. He leaped out lightly, white vapor still churning around him.

Li Yubing, holding the small deer, watched in astonishment. Li Muzhan had transformed; it was as if he had changed into a different person with a different cultivation technique. The current Li Muzhan was completely different.

The churning white vapor around him was actually the evaporation of the cold energy. Any cold essence that neared him was immediately vaporized by his internal force. The Huahong Jing was the most utterly pure Yang mental technique in existence, and Li Muzhan had already cultivated it to its peak, merely lacking the final step of true "Rainbow Transformation."

Unleashing it now, with his status as a Grandmaster, multiplied its power. Although the surrounding cold energy was pervasive, it was vaporized the moment it approached him. The white tiger was formed from absolute cold essence, nourished by the flesh and blood of the Grandmasters it had killed, augmented by Sha Qi, giving it immense strength—but it could not withstand a blow from the Huahong Jing.

All things have a relationship of mutual creation and destruction. The Huahong Jing might not be as devastating in other applications, but deployed here, its power was extraordinary. Combined with Li Muzhan's formidable spirit, the Huahong Jing overpowered the white tiger's internal energy.

"Wooo... wooo... wooo..." The white tiger roared repeatedly. The small deer trembled violently in Li Yubing's arms; the majesty of the king of beasts was not to be underestimated.

The Huahong Jing was relentlessly fierce, and Li Muzhan appeared like a celestial deity, meeting the white tiger's charge with one hard palm strike after another, yielding no ground. With every palm strike, he branded a sooty black mark onto the tiger.

The white tiger suffered unbearable pain, but its fierce nature meant that the more it suffered, the more manic it became, losing all sense of fear and being utterly determined to kill Li Muzhan, pushing its potential to new limits, its speed increasing.

Li Yubing frowned, clutching the trembling deer tightly, worried for Li Muzhan. Although Li Muzhan seemed to have the upper hand, one misstep, one exposed weakness, and his life could be forfeit.

The enraged white tiger's Sha Qi grew fiercer. Li Yubing retreated a few steps while holding the shivering deer, instantly feeling a sense of relief. This palpable Sha Qi, once it penetrated the body, felt like being plunged into an ice cellar. Although she was now a Grandmaster immune to ordinary cold and heat, this sensation was like an ordinary, non-martial person falling into a freezer.

The moment she stepped out of the Sha Qi's range, it felt like moving from midwinter to late autumn—the difference was profound. As she let out a breath, she watched Li Muzhan with even greater tension.

Li Muzhan stood unmoving. The white tiger continually leaped and charged. He met every assault with both open palms, refusing to retreat. Previously, the tiger would vanish and reappear to confuse him, but Li Muzhan reacted with astonishing speed, always meeting the final blow with both palms.

Eventually, the tiger stopped playing tricks and charged head-on, only to be batted back by Li Muzhan’s twin palms. He used the recoil to twist, bringing his tail around to strike.

The snow-white tail whistled sharply in the air, seemingly shattering the void, yet Li Muzhan met it with both palms, fierce and overbearing.

Thump-thump-thump-thump... Amidst the dull thuds, Li Muzhan's palms clashed with the tiger's tail, generating explosions like muffled thunder. White vapor billowed around Li Muzhan, almost obscuring his face.

"Aoooo..." The white tiger suddenly vanished in a flash. A white light flickered in Li Muzhan's hand, and ten feet away, a heaven-shattering howl rang out.

Li Muzhan flashed away and reappeared beside the white tiger, striking its forehead with a heavy palm. The tiger's silhouette flickered, becoming ethereal, like the moon shimmering on water. After shaking twice, it abruptly disappeared.

Ding... A small throwing knife landed on the ice with a crisp sound.

Li Muzhan's body shuddered, his face instantly flushed, and he sat down to regulate his breathing. The white vapor around him gradually dissipated, and his blazing sun-like aura receded, restoring his original presence.

Li Yubing relaxed and gently set the small deer down. The deer happily circled her feet. She smiled and walked over to Li Muzhan.

Li Muzhan let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes. A cold light sparked within them before slowly receding, leaving his eyes clearer and deeper than before.

"Wuji, you are truly formidable!" Li Yubing praised.

She assessed that she would have had no chance of winning. She had initially thought she would need to help, but Li Muzhan had suddenly unleashed an unexpected strategy, switching his internal technique to one that perfectly countered the white tiger, securing victory.

Li Muzhan praised in return, "So it really is the same!" (To be continued)