After Tang Muxi and the fox made their agreement, she instructed it to protect itself with spiritual energy to prevent damage from the chains’ power during the attribute reversal.
Then, she began the process of dissolving the profound ice.
This was her first time transforming spiritual energy outside her body, so she was somewhat uncertain.
However, even if she failed, she could absorb the power of the profound ice, transform it within her body, and then re-inject it into the ice.
The second method would be much slower than the first, as her cultivation level was only at the Qi-training stage, and she could only transform a limited amount of spiritual power at a time.
If possible, she preferred the first method.
When her hands touched the profound ice, a domineering, chilling power immediately clung to her fingers.
The surrounding temperature dropped, and soon a thin layer of frost formed on her ten fingertips.
But before she could be frozen solid, that chilling power was suddenly absorbed into her body.
Tang Muxi was startled, feeling a trace of coolness pass through her dantian.
It was slight but very comfortable, and the frost on her fingers also dispersed.
She felt a bit regretful; if she wasn’t in a hurry to find her senior sister, she would have liked to slowly absorb the Xuanice for her own use.
But this thought was fleeting, and she began the transformation.
The profound ice was not the spiritual energy within her own body.
Although she could control and utilize it, it was very difficult.
Occasionally, it would trigger absorption, in turn devouring the power within Tang Muxi’s body.
Initially, everything went poorly, and the fire spiritual power she transformed was minimal.
After several attempts and operations, she gradually became proficient, and the fire spiritual power she transformed increased in both quantity and speed.
As Tang Muxi had thought, after the fire spiritual power was injected, the profound ice slowly began to change.
The originally indestructible sharp surface gradually became moist, slippery, and pliable as if it had been roasted by a hot fire.
At the same time, the binding runes engraved on the chains also began to fluctuate.
The little snow fox had been trapped here for years and was very familiar with the power of the profound ice.
Now sensing its gradual weakening, it was momentarily stunned, and a surge of joy arose.
Seeing the little snow fox’s uncontrollable joy, Tang Muxi’s expression softened, and she accelerated the transformation.
More and more fire spiritual power was generated, and the profound ice chains gradually became unable to withstand it.
The power became unstable, emitting bursts of cold light, flickering dimly and brightly, and occasionally, the crisp sound of ice crystals shattering could be heard.
After breaking through a certain threshold, the profound ice shook violently, the frequency of its flickering increased, and the changes in brightness became more pronounced.
Suddenly, with a ting sound, the runes engraved on it completely collapsed.
The ice and fire powers clashed against each other, erupting in a blinding light and vast fluctuations.
The indestructible profound ice shattered completely like a mountain collapsing.
With the bindings gone, the little snow fox gained its freedom.
Its first instinct was to protect Tang Muxi, to prevent her from being injured by the shattered ice, but it suddenly sensed a powerful aura capable of annihilating everything.
The snow fox’s fur bristled, and its survival instincts made it rapidly retreat, ready to defend against any enemy.
However, it never attacked, because the soul-stirring, eerie aura did not come from elsewhere; it was emanating from Tang Muxi.
In that moment, it seemed to see the weak human’s black hair turn snow white, exuding a powerful force that made everyone want to kneel in submission.
Her innocent, clear black eyes turned into a beautiful ice blue, cold and aloof, like a high and mighty deity, not allowing any desecration.
The snow fox trembled all over, and when it came to its senses, the shattered pieces of profound ice had turned into dust, and the human in front of it had returned to her original weak appearance, the terrifyingly powerful aura seeming like nothing but an illusion.
Tang Muxi shivered, her eyes looking around in confusion.
Just now, as the sharp ice was about to pierce her, someone suddenly called out to her…
The voice was incredibly beautiful, warm and soft, making one almost wish to succumb to it.
But before she could make out the words, it disappeared without a trace, elusive.
Tang Muxi was puzzled, only then noticing that the ice spikes coming towards her had all shattered.
She turned her head to see the little snow fox staring at her, its four legs still trembling with residual fear.
Tang Muxi: …?
Regardless, it was more important to hurry out.
“Did you break this ice?”
Tang Muxi, the cunning human trafficker, came back online, putting on her trademark naive and silly smile, “Thank you for saving my life again.”
Saying this, she crouched down to smooth the fox’s ruffled fur, very friendly and very kind.
The little snow fox slowly calmed down from its fright, raised its head to size her up, then lifted its little paw and circled around her twice, sniffing her closely, and only after not detecting anything unusual did it give up reluctantly.
Tang Muxi: …?
What was that about?
Could the Xuan ice have damaged the snow fox’s brain, making it seem so silly?
“Stop playing, let’s see if we can get out.”
The little snow fox wasn’t playing; it glared at Tang Muxi with wide eyes, then swept its tail and raised its head to cast a spell.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them moved from the cold cave to an ice field.
It seemed that winter had just passed here; the frozen land had melted quite a bit, revealing spots of green.
There were many fierce monsters on the ice field, large in size and profound in strength.
Some noticed the two of them, especially when they saw Tang Muxi’s cultivation was only at the Qi-training stage, and immediately became restless, eagerly wanting to pounce on them.
Tang Muxi was startled by the oncoming murderous intent and quickly hid behind the little snow fox, which wasn’t even as tall as her calf.
Little snow fox: …
But to avoid trouble, the little snow fox still mobilized its power, rapidly spreading a surge of chilling aura from their center.
Although the little snow fox’s strength wasn’t very strong, each time it released its own aura, those creatures would tuck their tails and flee.
This time was no different; as the icy aura spread, the monsters immediately shivered, bowed their heads in fear, and quickly retreated.
Tang Muxi watched in amazement, once again confirming that this little guy had an extraordinary background, and she was excited for a moment.
Seeing her eyes shining as she looked at it, the little snow fox proudly raised its head.
“Are you in a hurry to find your senior sister? If not, I’d like to go home first.”
Tang Muxi looked at the ice crystals forming words in front of her and nodded without thinking.
The little snow fox once again transported Tang Muxi, and this time they arrived in a dense jungle.
The trees towered into the clouds, and vines and flowers covered the ground.
Apart from the thick layer of snow covering the plants, this place was almost identical to an illusion.
Tang Muxi was surprised: “Is this your home?”
The little snow fox nodded: “I’ve lived here since I was conscious. Later, I strayed onto the ice field, was captured, and never came back. I don’t know how my mother is doing.”
The snow fox’s mother was not its birth mother, but the fox that had picked her up and raised her.
Before she was captured, her mother was already old, and now, after so many years, she probably couldn’t be seen anymore.
The little snow fox felt downhearted thinking about this.
Tang Muxi opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say, sighed softly, and slowly followed behind.
The home of the little snow fox was located in a tree hole in a thick layer of white snow.
The tree itself had been dead for many years, and the large, thick trunk was hollowed out, forming a shelter in the wind and snow.
When it returned, there had been no signs of life here for many years, and dust covered the ground.
The grass nest in the cave still had traces of long-term nesting, and the pile of wood in the middle had gone out, as if the owner had just temporarily left.
The long years of wind and snow had made the already decayed trunk unable to hold up, and a small hole had rotted near the top.
The little snow fox stood at the entrance for a long time, its tail motionless.
Tang Muxi watched with a heavy heart and crouched down to ask, “Do you want to clean up?”
She didn’t mention “mother,” because anyone with eyes could see that its mother was probably no longer around.
The little snow fox lowered its head, its tail slowly drooping to the ground.
Without a response, Tang Muxi took it as tacit approval and rolled up her sleeves to start cleaning the dust.
The trees here were very thick, and the inside of the cave was the size of a small room.
But her internal injuries had not yet healed, and her spiritual power circulated slowly, so the efficiency of dusting was not very high.
Fortunately, the little snow fox didn’t really leave all the work to her, and it also began to clean after a while.
The two of them worked together to clean, and in less than an hour, they had restored it to its original state.
The dry wood in the middle was replaced with a new batch, and Tang Muxi, while the little guy wasn’t looking, took out a flint from her storage bag, lit a fire, and then quickly put the flint away, pretending nothing had happened.
Fortunately, the little snow fox was busy looking for something in the corner and didn’t notice this side.
As the day slowly darkened, Tang Muxi was a bit tired today.
After hesitating for a moment, she decided without any psychological burden to find the big demon tomorrow and rest for today.
She took out beef, cut it into neat pieces with a knife, washed it clean, and hung it over the fire to roast.
While turning it over to heat it evenly, she picked up a small brush and brushed a layer of sauce on it, sprinkled some chili pepper, and soon it made a “sizzling” sound, steaming hot, and the aroma filled the air.
After a while, the little snow fox came over with a jade ring in its mouth and asked, “Is it cooked?”
Tang Muxi glanced at the tail sweeping back and forth and said, “Wait a bit longer.”
She saw the little snow fox put down the jade ring, treasuring it as it pressed it under its fluffy paws, and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What is this?”
The little snow fox proudly rubbed its head against the jade ring: “It’s a treasure left by my mother.”
Tang Muxi smiled, didn’t ask further, took out a red string from her storage bag, and asked, “Do you want me to help you wear it?”
The little snow fox looked up, thought for a moment, then pushed the jade ring towards her.
Tang Muxi understood, threaded the red string through it, and then hung it around the little snow fox’s neck.
The jade ring wasn’t big, and it wasn’t heavy when worn, but it made the snow fox look very delicate.
Tang Muxi looked it over from left to right and said, “It looks good.”
The little snow fox happily bounced around.
They ate meat, drank water, bathed, and spent a leisurely night in the cleaned tree hole.
When they got up the next day, it was already late morning, and it was about time to leave.
The little snow fox took one last look at the tree hole, used its spiritual power to completely freeze it, as if to give a farewell to the small home where it had lived for many years.
“Shall we go find your senior sister now?”
There was no longer sadness in its eyes.
Tang Muxi nodded, just thinking about how to find her senior sister when she suddenly saw a spiritual power-formed crane flying towards her from a distance, wrapped in her aura.
The crane-finding spell was originally a low-level spell, but somehow Jiang Yin had managed to make it cross the vast secret realm to find her.
Tang Muxi was delighted, reached out to catch it, and asked, “Little guy, can you find the caster of the crane?”
The little snow fox corrected unhappily, “I’m not little.”
It sniffed the crane, then closed its eyes and searched carefully for a while.
Suddenly, it opened its eyes, and a projected image appeared in front of Tang Muxi: Jiang Yin was using a speed talisman to flee rapidly, with a group of Tianji Gate disciples closely chasing her, and the leader was the fierce-looking Duan Yurong.
She was clearly full of demonic energy, but the disciples behind her ignored it and chased Jiang Yin together.
Seeing this, Tang Muxi immediately panicked: “Quick, take me there!”
The snow fox also knew the situation was urgent, said no more, and immediately transported her.
