136 To the Ice

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"They are late," Bibi Dong frowned, feeling a little more irritated than usual as she waited alongside everyone. It was almost noon and they had yet to meet up with Ja Sun and Ah Yin.

"Did they get into some trouble?" Liu Erlong inquired.

"They're not dogs, you know," Jun'er chuckled and Oscar held his face with his hands.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bibi Dong gazed at her newest teammate sharply.

"Uh... dogs get stuck? I thought it was a common joke," Jun'er deflated instantly while everyone beside Oscar, too, fell speechless. It was clear that Jun'er hadn't made this comment for the first time or Oscar would not have reacted as such.

"Please don't speak about it... ever," Tang Yuehua sighed deeply, visibly hurt, something she felt impossible just a few seconds ago. After all, words brought everyone within the group a vivid imagination of Ja Sun being stuck to Ah Yin's rear and...

Xie Xan shuddered, shaking his head quickly.

*Krk*

The sound of footsteps on the dried leaves all around the campsite attracted the group's attention and wariness. Jun'er's nose twitched and she scowled. Mindful of the scout's reaction, Bibi Dong whispered, "Who is it?"

"Oh, it's them... probably. Either Ja Sun's scent has changed once again or Little Yin dumped him for a... better scent."

Jun'er mumbled and Bibi Dong rolled her eyes. Sometimes, just sometimes, her teammates were too unreliable.

Ja Sun and Ah Yin soon appeared near the campsite, quite openly holding each other's hands as they continued to whisper something in each other's ears, for the first time, not looking out to tear each other apart as they revealed pleasant smiles. But seeing them, the group fell in a daze. It was rare to see the two of them so much enchanted by each other, but there was another issue.

"Sister Lana," Erlong whispered.

"Uh-huh..." The older teammate responded dumbly.

"You said... intercourse is good for the skin. Is regrowing a limb a part of the deal?"

"If it is," Xie Xan stared in an equal state of daze, "Then we must be doing something terribly wrong."

"Fine," Ah Yin relented, "Once a week. But you have to ask permission from others to take a leave and also find a spot... that isn't just too dirty."

"Clearly you need to learn what quickies are," Ja Sun smiled, "I'm gonna teach you many things."

"Oh, you weren't that confident a few hours ago," Ah Yin smiled. The two of them felt strangely content and they also knew exactly why.

"Eh, just a human, Ah Yin, I'm just a human. But it wasn't so bad, right?"

"Ehm, I refuse to speak anything more on it," Ah Yin leaned her head against Ja Sun's shoulder while he chuckled, sighing, "It was awesome for me, too."

As they saw the group looking at him and Ah Yin in bewilderment, Ja Sun locked gazes with Bibi Dong and nodded, somberly stating his gratitude, "Teacher... thank you for that technique that you gifted Ah Yin."

"Never mind the stupid stuff. How did you regrow your left limb... and why is it entirely metallic?"

Bibi Dong's questions resonated with the rest of the group.

Ja Sun had thought for a moment and about this problem. Regrowing a limb was not an easy task and even Ja Sun had not expected such a yield. Of course, it wasn't comparable to the sensation of losing one's innocence, but having two arms is clearly better than a single arm in such an act. He got to grab more.

But any lie he may shed on this matter will be caught quite easily not because he's a terrible liar, but because the lies needed believable facts, and even he didn't have any fake facts this time. Speaking the truth would mean infringing on his and Ah Yin's benefits. If his and Ah Yin's relationship with the group remains as tight as ever after the couple's true identity is revealed, then good. The two wouldn't mind sharing land, in reality.

But even Ja Sun, after giving Ah Yin a rather rousing speech about trust in teammates to Ah Yin, remained clearheaded on this matter. Giving the benefit of doubt did not equate to giving long-term benefits such as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. That place is miraculous. Compared to that location, the value of Immortal Herbs are minimal because the couple can grow and harvest them in a great amount regularly.

If he couldn't lie, or tell the truth, the answer in Ja Sun's opinion was quite simple.

Taking a seat with Ah Yin, as they finally separated, Ja Sun shrugged, "I don't want to talk about this. It is personal."

Just don't speak about it.

Ah Yin and Ja Sun had gone through such a phase where they wouldn't lie but would choose to not speak about certain matters and now they knew almost everything about each other. Aside from his trait, Ah Yin knew everything about him. And Ja Sun, too, knew everything about Ah Yin. She may or may not have hidden a few facts but he didn't care. It would be quite hypocritical of him to feel offended if this turned out to be the case either.

"So... you're not going to talk about it?" Xie Xan questioned.

"Exactly," Ja Sun nodded with a smile, "I had a fortuitous encounter and grew my arm out. It's not necessarily normal for an arm, but it feels normal. The metallic texture actually feels like skin. But that's about it."

He replied quite openly and the group fell into a dilemma, something that Ja Sun had expected already.

They were curious, but how could they persuade Ja Sun to speak about it if he's not willing?

Bribe him?

The group knew that Ja Sun had the resources to bribe all of them together, including Bibi Dong.

Scare him? The guy who killed a Titled Douluo like a maniac?

He had already turned into the synonym for terror and mania in the group.

What else was left?

Stick and carrots will fail against Ja Sun. He also had the 'olive branch' from Ah Yin, whose beauty happened to be the greatest amongst the group at the face value.

Right now Ja Sun had the entire package.

For a moment, the group fell silent.

"So, what are you virgins up to today," Ja Sun cackled without remorse. His words made the three 'V's expression fall terribly while the remaining two couples' expression changed slightly, too. Even they felt a little smug after going through their coming of age ceremony even if the process wasn't that good in the first place. But openly mocking others...

They had indeed felt that Ja Sun might change for the better, sadly, their expectations were destroyed with a single sentence.

"What did you say?" Bibi Dong seethed in frustration and fury. She had secrets and that became the driving force to not pester Ja Sun about his and possibly driving a wedge between them but seeing him mock about such a sensitive thing, she glowered menacingly without any of her charm visible at this point. However, unlike the big 'V' the remaining two only blushed and looked away. Tang Yuehua was quite tolerant and stable so she didn't let words affect her mood too much but it couldn't be said the same about Erlong as she couldn't face those around her at the moment, hiding her face in her palms.

Ja Sun tilted his head, "No, I meant—"

"I know what you meant! Enough breaks for everyone!" Bibi Dong scowled, "Everyone, I have to temper your body with my enhanced poison now. For two hours and you," Bibi Dong eyed Ja Sun cruelly, "no training for you."

"Wait, that was just a joke!" Ja Sun hurriedly explained but things had already gone out of his control.

For the entire day, Ja Sun was made to sit and watch silently as everyone else trained till they were drenched in sweat and scratches. He wasn't allowed to even practice his array-refining skills, which indeed made him look as if he was being tortured. On the other hand, Ah Yin's sentiment for Ja Sun was all but lost for she had to go through a round of furious training with others when she felt that she should still enjoy last night's recollection.

'It was worth it though... I can keep acting like it hurts not to train and I might get an entire week off,' Ja Sun cackled internally. It felt good to lie... honestly. The rest of the training session was arduous but Ja Sun only enjoyed his breaks and hardships that finally turned Bibi Dong completely helpless.

---

A small group of five individuals entered the Sunset Forest. These men and women wore the same uniform which happened to be cool-looking biker's jackets or trenchcoats. All of them also displayed impressive physiques as spiritual fluctuations around them made their surroundings tremble.

It was an intentional act: to scare off the spirit beasts that weren't their match in the first place.

The leader of this group happened to be a middle-aged man with greying sideburns with thick black mustache covering his top lip but his chin remained cleanly shaven.

"Elder, Sister Tang may not be here," one of the two men inquired.

"Sigh, that's why it is necessary for all of you to enter the continent not only for Missions themselves. Exploring and understanding the world is one of the greatest blockades of a spirit master," the leader shook his head, "The reports from the Speed Clan states that Bibi Dong and her team were sighted in the Heaven Dou City. It has been a few weeks since that news but they aren't found in the nearby towns and cities and since this group is training for the upcoming competition.

Why they would want Tang Yuehua is still unknown but Bibi Dong doesn't do things that aren't profitable to her or the Spirit Hall and our Sect cannot afford to inadvertently fall under Spirit Hall's clutches."

The man then continued, "The best spot for training Yuehua would be the low-level forests controlled by Spirit Hall as an act of preserving the Spirit Beasts from slaughter for food and rare fur. I have accompanied low-level members into such forests but we haven't found Yuehua at all."

Ordinarily, only the Spirit Masters who have achieved their rank bottleneck could enter such forest after Spirit Hall's permission. However, the successor of the Pontiff could enter such a forest with her members without any repercussions.

"I hate the Spirit Hall... controlling the forests and spirit beasts like that," one of the thick accented women scowled and the Elder rebuked angrily, "Shut up if you know nothing! I specifically selected the four of you because of your lack of regard for the outside world and sensibility itself. With how the Spirit Masters acted before, many species of Spirit Beasts have been extinguished. Even the most compatible spirit beast of our martial soul: the Nine-headed Giant, is no more!

Spirit Hall is scummy, but their actions still profit the future generation of Spirit Masters!"

The four of them fell silent.

"Anyway, if Yuehua isn't in one of the nearby spirit environments controlled by the Spirit Hall, then she can only be inside the Sunset or Star Dou Great Forest that aren't controlled by the Spirit Hall or other factions.

Sunset forest being the nearest is our first destination."

The group nodded in understanding when suddenly the leader of the group stopped.

"Eighth Elder?" The remaining four came to a stop, too, as the Elder gestured the group to quieten down.

*Hiss*

A strange hissing sound suddenly filled their surroundings and their expressions stiffened.

"You looted my garden," a chilling whisper echoed with a burst of jade green gas surrounding them when the Elder of the four individuals materialized a deep-blue hammer that crackled with lightning and waved around, raising a large momentum, "Who dares attack the Clear Sky Sect?! I'm Tang Jinluo, the Eighth Elder of the sect. Show yourself!"

"Even if you're from Clear Sky Clan, I want answers. Is it you that stole from me?"

A grey-haired middle-aged man with a brooding mustache clasped in green armor walked out with his arms behind his back.

"I'm Dugu Bo, a poison-type Spirit Douluo. The area is surrounded by corrosive poisonous gas so answering me truthfully would be advisable, Tang Jinluo."

---

With their departure still not matching with the arrival of the current owner of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Ah Yin and Ja Sun had harvested all the immortal herbs of the first grade and above (10000 years and above). Feeling a little 'bad', Ah Yin had instead created a bed of blue silver variants to grow under the effects of the blessed land.

Right now, the couple controlled what could be considered one of the greatest fortunes any faction on the continent could hold to increase the quality of their foundation.

Presently, stopping in the middle of nowhere for the night, Bibi Dong handed out the information of their last training point.

Seeing the information, a frown appeared on Hu Lana's and Xie Xan's faces as everyone went through the scrolls.

"Our last destination is an area further ahead of the Icebound Forest. Spirit Hall took control of the Icebound Forest's perimeters five years ago but it still cannot venture into the Extreme North. Any danger inside the Icebound Forest will be almost twice or thrice its original intensity inside the Extreme North."

Bibi Dong spoke calmly and then looked at Xie Xan and Hu Lana, "You two have lived nearby... do you wish to return to your village?"

"Nope," Xie Xan replied with ease.

"Nothing to go back to," Hu Lana shrugged.

Bibi Dong nodded after hearing this. They didn't need a sob story because whatever had happened was already explained and as Hu Lana stated, the couple really had nothing to go back to in their origin.

"Um, teacher, isn't this location fatal for me?" Yuehua inquired as Bibi Dong smiled.

"Aren't you the lucky one, facing such exciting situations from early in your path of cultivation."

Bibi Dong's genuine smile made Yuehua feel a little bitter. She knew that everyone in the group was a little crazy... maybe she had to forsake some of her sanity, too.

"Ehm, Teacher, before going for another training session, I was hoping that Ah Yin and—"

"No," Bibi Dong cut Ja Sun off coldly as he fell silent. Ah Yin smirked seeing Ja Sun as such and kissed his cheek, "Aren't you a little too impatient?"

Looking at her face, Ja Sun pursed his lips before sighing, "Fine, I guess, the group wouldn't mind our noise later."

"We all will be in the same tent," Bibi Dong frowned.

"Well, you guys are in for a treat!"

"Alright, no," Ah Yin leaned away from Ja Sun with a cold expression herself and the rest shook their heads.

Ja Sun wouldn't mind it either way. With his body also forming a core now— and of the greater quality, he suspected— Ja Sun had to place even more effort for each breakthrough. Without the Myriad Step Refining Array, which increased the pace of his cultivation naturally, Ja Sun wouldn't even be close to reaching rank 55 at this point. Still, what Ja Sun truly wanted wasn't privacy with Ah Yin, but privacy with his Spirit Bones so that he can breakthrough two ranks at the very least.

And only after reaching rank 60 will he try and absorb the Immortal Herb that provides his martial soul with the greatest benefit, or at least, try. He didn't know if he was eligible for more Immortal herbs after accidentally absorbing the external core of Yin-Yang Petals.

The group soon raised a tent and rested inside while they would take turns to keep a watch while the others cultivated peacefully.

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