1 Chapter 1 The Origin of Ice and Snow

The bone-piercing northern wind howled, rolling the heavy snow towards them.

On the extensive snowy plain that stretched for miles, a thin and frail teenager, donned in a fur coat, was trudging through this vast uncharted wilderness between Heaven and Earth.

Every step seemed to take an immense effort.

But he pressed on resolutely.

Facing into the biting wind, his footsteps uneven with each stride, he advanced ceaselessly.

It was July. It should have been the height of summer.

But here, it was a world blanketed in heavy snow, falling thick and fast.

The world was a sheet of white.

Whether looking east or west, north or south, it was impossible to discern any direction.

The fur coat he wore was originally black, but now it was difficult to make out its original color, covered as it was in snow. Even though he shivered from time to time, shaking the snow off, it quickly accumulated again in a thick layer.

The boy appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen, tall and handsome, his fair face still carrying traces of youth and naïveté.

Yet his gaze was determined, bright, and exceedingly pure.

This kind of gaze was a rarity, especially in such a hostile environment, it was almost unimaginable.

"As long as I find Longevity Heaven, I can use the token my grandfather gave me, and ask the Seventh Elder of Longevity Heaven to become my master."

"Once the Seventh Elder becomes my master, I can learn real skills, and then..."

The boy wiped away some snow from his now freezing face, muttering to himself, "Then, I can… go and search for my parents!"

"Once I find them, I must ask them myself why they've been so heartless, not bothering to seek any news about me all these years."

"If it weren't for my grandfather who picked me up and saved me..."

"Grandfather told me not to seek my parents, to only focus on learning skills. But I won't listen."

In his pure eyes, there shone a ray of determination.

"I will find them and ask them… If they gave birth to me, why didn't they take care of me!"

"They named me Chu Mo, declaring that I am their son; left a jade token to prove my identity, then suddenly vanished without a trace."

"Are they waiting until I grow up and achieve something before recognizing me based on this jade?"

"How could this be?"

"What kind of irresponsible parents are they?"

"I have to find out!"

Chu Mo retrieved his frozen hand from his robe sleeve and instinctively touched his chest; the jade his mother had left him was still pressed against it.

The crunching sound of boots on snow echoed eerily as his footprints were quickly covered by the falling snow.

The faint sound of his panting was drowned out by the howling wind.

The boy's solitary figure continued to progress obstinately, his pace slow but unyielding, refusing to break his journey.

Above the clouds where Chu Mo's vision couldn't reach, a figure was rapidly flying through the void.

From far to near, it passed by in a split second.

The figure also wore black clothing, flapping loudly in the high altitude winds.

His face was as angular as if it had been carved with a knife.

His eyes were like those of a hawk, emitting a chilling brightness.

His long hair, flowing like a waterfall, gave off an unruly, free-spirited vibe.

Although he looked to be in his thirties, there was an air of arrogant disdain for the world in his facial features.

However, his complexion was extremely pale, devoid of any color.

This man swiftly crossed the snowy plains, and in a flash, he flew above Chu Mo who was struggling along on the ground, appearing in a place dozens of miles away.

The man in black in the sky and the green youth Chu Mo on the ground, though under the same sky, lived in different worlds.

Normally, there wouldn't be any intersection between their lives.

But when this man in black glanced down unintentionally, he suddenly came to a halt.

Just like that, he hovered in the void, turning back to look at the snowy plain dozens of miles away.

Thick clouds and heavy snowfall did not obstruct his sharp eyes. His gaze fell directly on the boy.

"Hm?"

The man furrowed his eyebrows, issuing a soft exclamation.

Although it was rare to see traces of human activity over these snowy plains, occasionally spotting a few figures wasn't all that strange.

To the man in black, they were but ants and he had no interest in giving them a second glance.

But for some reason today, he impulsively took a look.

Fate works in mysterious ways, that glance led to a discovery akin to finding treasure.

His eyes suddenly brightened!

"Hey, all my life I've never trusted fate, but this time... has my luck finally turned?"

"Does fate understand that I'm about to die, and decided to send me a big gift?"

"A casual glance, and I spot a potential prodigy in cultivation?"

A faint smile emerged in the hawk-eyed man's eyes.

You could hardly see it if you didn't look closely.

Immediately after, he strode towards Chu Mo's direction.

In this void, every step covered a distance of dozens of feet, and in the blink of an eye, he was right above Chu Mo.

On the snowy plain.

Chu Mo continued his journey northward against the wind, stepping deep into the snow, but suddenly, he felt a surge of intense cold that attacked him, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

"Why did it suddenly get this cold?" Chu Mo murmured.

Then…

Chu Mo suddenly felt the air around his body become incredibly sticky.

A wave of ice-cold air, filled with a deadly aura, enveloped him directly.

Even though Chu Mo wasn't precisely sure what murderous intent was, he could directly feel the scent of impending death!

Just like the incident he had experienced before.

The heavy snow that had been swirling in the sky mysteriously halted at some unknown moment.

Chu Mo wide-eyed, abruptly lifted his head to gaze at the overcast sky.

Up there, a black figure was standing in midair, faintly looking down at him.

Chu Mo was instantly startled.

Forcefully blinking his eyes, he gazed there once again.

The figure remained.

It was not a hallucination!

What chilling eyes those were!

Chu Mo vowed he had never seen such a terrifying being.

Just catching a glimpse of this apparition made his heart pound incessantly, as if it would jump out through his throat!

He even suspected that in the next moment, he would die on the spot!

Such an oppressive sensation made him want to scream, but he found himself unable to utter a word.

Unable to open his mouth!

Upon seeing this man, for some reason, he had an impulse to kneel and worship.

Chu Mo fought it toughly, standing upright, staring at this character.

At this time, the silhouette in the sky flickered, appearing instantly before him.

The cold gaze fell upon his body, squinting, inspecting him up and down… taking an extremely detailed look at him.

Finally, he spoke, "Not bad, surprisingly, not only are your talents superb, but even your root bone... is remarkably outstanding!"

"Boy, come with me!"

With these words from the man in black, Chu Mo suddenly felt lighter, and the suffocating feeling vanished instantly.

However, faced with this black-clad man who had suddenly appeared, he still felt immense pressure, as if he weren't facing a person.

But... a mountain!

A massive mountain!

Chu Mo seemed a little at a loss as he watched this young man, exclaiming in astonishment, "Why should I go with you? Who are you?"

The black-clad man's pale face showed no emotion; he raised his eyebrows slightly, "Kneel and worship me as your master, become my disciple!"

For a moment, Chu Mo was shocked, staring blankly at this man for a while, confirming the man was not joking, then he shook his head, "No!"

"Hmm?" The face of the man in black slightly frowned, a snort escaped from his nose.

Chu Mo could visibly feel the aura of death… once again enveloping him.

Moreover, this time, it was distinctly more overwhelming than before!

He could clearly feel that if the man before him even had a thought, he would die immediately.

For a teenager who had encountered such an event all of a sudden, fear was unquestionable.

Now, Chu Mo found it quite hard to breathe. However, he still looked straight into the eyes of the man in black with his bright eyes. Firmly shaking his head, "No, I cannot... cannot… agree!"

"No?"

"Traveling the world for so many years... no one has ever dared to say 'no' in my presence!"

The man in black coldly looked at Chu Mo, "Try saying it again?"

Chu Mo, somewhat fearful, looked at him, shrank his neck, but still shook his head, "No..."

"You don't realize your wrongs until you're faced with death!" The man in black spoke coldly; without any visible movements, Chu Mo's body suddenly took off, floating tens of meters in mid-air.

"Will you comply?" The man in black coldly asked.

"No... No!" Chu Mo, though his face held an expression of sheer terror, his body involuntarily trembling, still shook his head.

Whoosh!

Chu Mo felt his body fiercely thrown towards the ground!

Not falling... but rather forcefully crashing down.

Like when a child plays with mud, grabs hold of a ball of it... and severely throws it on the ground.

Chu Mo was that ball of mud...

"Ahh!" Chu Mo was unable to resist crying out aloud.

Then… his body stopped only a few feet from the ground, headfirst.

Chu Mo felt like his heart was about to leap out, his eyes full of fear.

"Will you comply?" The black-clad man asked.

"No… No!" Despite being scared out of his wits, Chu Mo still refused.

"Then you shall die!"

The cold voice of the man in black resonated. Chu Mo suddenly let out a scream.

His entire body felt as if it were falling apart as if every bone in his body was being ripped out.

Next, he felt as though millions of ants were crawling all over his body, gnawing at him, tearing at his flesh.

That sensation was nothing short of unbearable pain.

The time might not have been long, but for Chu Mo, it felt unending.

Boom.

His body lost control, falling from a few feet above the ground. A faint sound of bone breaking resonated.

One arm was fractured.

Chu Mo lay limp in the snow, his entire body soaked with sweat.

The man in black regarded him coldly, "Still not agreeing?"

"No… won't agree, just kill me…" Chu Mo weakly wheezed.

"Still refusing?" The furrow in the man in black's eyes revealed a hint of killing intent, this time he genuinely seemed angry.

"Then I really want to see how tough your bones are!"