Right now, she had something else to worry about.
Sang Dai tilted her head to look at Su Xuan.
The little fox’s face was expressionless, but it was clear he was feeling jealous.
Sang Dai took his hand and asked, “Su Xuan, are you jealous?”
The little fox replied, “Hmph, no.”
Sang Dai smiled. “Then how about I make it up to you?”
She proactively held his hand.
The little fox turned his head away. “You’ve touched another spirit beast’s paw; I don’t want it.”
Sang Dai spread her hand out in front of him, blinking innocently. “Then you can cut it off.”
The little fox snorted twice in disdain.
He cast a cleansing spell over the sword cultivator’s hand, ensuring it carried only her natural fragrance.
Then, the little fox leaned down and hugged the sword cultivator, rubbing his chin against the crook of her neck.
The sword cultivator was wearing a cloak, its fluffy collar completely covering her neck, leaving Su Xuan’s chin nestled in the soft fur of the collar.
The cloak had absorbed the sword cultivator’s fresh scent, and Su Xuan closed his eyes to savor it.
He mumbled, “From now on, you can only touch me.”
Sang Dai found this amusing. That Snow Qilin was clearly just a cub, yet he still managed to feel jealous.
But calming down the little fox was more important at the moment.
She agreed decisively, “Alright, from now on, I’ll only touch you.”
“Mm, back at the Beast Palace, you can touch me as much as you want.”
“Can you turn into a full fox for me to touch?”
“…I can.”
Of course, he could.
He couldn’t wish for anything more.
The sword cultivator quickly managed to soothe the little fox.
The little fox nuzzled the sword cultivator’s ear and flicked out his tongue to lick it, delighted to see her face flush red and her body tremble.
So sensitive. And this was nothing—his thoughts of what he wanted to do to her went far beyond this. If a simple lick to her ear already made her lose composure, what would happen later?
But the little fox adored this side of the sword cultivator, especially after that night in the Beast Palace. She had softened in his embrace, allowing him to do as he pleased. She clung to him silently, her whole body turning a shy pink as she buried her face in his neck, too embarrassed to look at him. Even her usually cool body temperature had warmed up under his touch, leaving him wanting more. He thought about it every day, craving that same sweetness.
The fox licked her earlobe a few more times, leaving his faint, woodsy scent on her. Finally satisfied, he let the sword cultivator out of his arms and took her hand willingly.
Sang Dai’s face was beet red as she asked softly, “Can I hold it this time?”
Su Xuan: “Barely acceptable.”
Sang Dai met his gaze.
[Her ears are red. I kissed them!]
Her face flushed even deeper.
[Kissing Dai Dai feels so good. My body feels good, and my heart feels even better!]
Sang Dai stammered, “Um…”
[If just kissing her ear feels this amazing, what would kissing her lips feel like…? I need to work harder so I can kiss Dai Dai soon!]
His tone in his thoughts grew more determined, as if setting a clear goal for himself.
How did his mind drift to that again?
Sang Dai quickly averted her gaze, not daring to look at him again. She was afraid that if this continued, his inner thoughts would stray to imagining them consummating their relationship.
She tugged him forward. “Um… let’s keep moving. Ji Cang is missing.”
Su Xuan didn’t care in the slightest. “He’s been gone for a while. Let him be. As long as you’re with me, nothing else matters.”
The little fox loved being alone with the sword cultivator.
Sang Dai’s heart softened, and her lips curved into a gentle smile.
Though he said “barely acceptable,” Su Xuan was holding her hand tightly. The power of the ancient divine beast’s Hellfire flowed through their joined hands into Sang Dai’s meridians, shielding her from the cold.
It was still cold, though. The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was naturally resistant to extreme cold, so Su Xuan didn’t feel it. But Sang Dai was only a human cultivator—without the Hellfire, her body, naturally prone to cold, would’ve been unable to endure.
Yet, with Su Xuan by her side, the chill seemed to dissipate significantly.
The atmosphere was light and simple.
As they walked, Sang Dai asked, “Can you sense Tian Yuxue? We need to find her quickly; we can’t stay here long.”
“Not yet. Let’s keep moving.”
“Alright.”
The two walked hand in hand for a long time until Sang Dai’s body temperature dropped even further. Su Xuan cast several more fire-shielding techniques on her.
An hour had already passed.
Frost had formed on Sang Dai’s eyelashes, only to be melted away again by Su Xuan.
Seeing this, Su Xuan’s heart ached. “Why don’t you go back? I’ll search for her myself.”
Sang Dai shook her head firmly. “No way. I’m fine. I’m in the Grand Ascension stage now.”
She marched on without looking back, leaving Su Xuan no choice. Knowing she wouldn’t agree, he sighed and let it go.
Another half-hour passed. They didn’t know how far they had walked when they finally heard the fierce sound of the wind and snow. At last, they saw a hint of dark red in the distance.
It was a familiar figure.
A tall figure walked through the thick snow, his long robe trailing behind him, leaving a deep mark in the snow.
Sang Dai tugged on Su Xuan’s sleeve. “It’s Ji Cang.”
“Mm.”
They hadn’t seen Ji Cang for the past hour and a half, yet here he was.
But something seemed off. Ji Cang, who had previously been walking briskly and left them far behind, was now moving slowly, almost like an elderly man struggling with each step.
It was easy for Sang Dai to catch up to him.
However, even when she and Su Xuan were right behind him, Ji Cang didn’t react. He continued walking forward, his expression blank, as if he hadn’t noticed their presence at all.
Sang Dai frowned and said to Su Xuan, “Something’s wrong.”
Su Xuan pulled Sang Dai slightly behind him and reached out to grab Ji Cang’s shoulder. “Ji Cang.”
Finally, Ji Cang stopped.
He stood still for a long time, and neither Sang Dai nor Su Xuan moved.
Slowly, Ji Cang turned around, revealing a face that was—
So stunningly handsome, it was almost beautiful.
The appearance of Heaven-grade spiritual root awakeners was renowned across the Four Realms, and Ji Cang was no exception.
They had long known that Ji Cang’s true face must be extraordinary—not the plain, ordinary face he usually disguised himself with.
But on that flawless, impeccable face, there was a glaring mark—
The character “罪” (sin) was etched on his cheek.
The bluish-green mark stood out starkly against his pale, cold complexion, almost jarring in its intensity.
Ji Cang’s eyes were vacant, devoid of any light or awareness, as if he had lost all consciousness.
Su Xuan frowned, grabbing Ji Cang’s wrist to check his meridians.
Sang Dai furrowed her brow and asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
Su Xuan said evenly, “The power of bewilderment.”
His sea of consciousness was in turmoil, as though he had fallen into inner demons, unable to distinguish reality from illusion. At this moment, he was likely lost in some memory, unable to tell truth from fiction.
Sang Dai said, “But it’s only been a short time. Ji Cang is a Nascent Soul stage cultivator—how could he be affected by the Snow Owl’s innate ability so quickly?”
Before Su Xuan could answer, she figured it out herself.
“Ji Cang came here to find Tian Yuxue. He’s always valued his life, yet this time, he’s risking it to come here. It’s impossible that he’s here as the Demon Lord to suppress her—after all, Tian Yuxue hasn’t left the Snow Realm yet. So… he must have come here for personal reasons.”
This personal matter was undoubtedly tied to the mark on his face.
That mark, which could have been removed with spiritual energy, had remained on Ji Cang’s face for years. The fact that he allowed it to stay, while concealing his true appearance behind a false facade, suggested he had no intention of erasing it.
This matter had clearly left a profound impact on him and was likely the root cause of why he was so easily affected by the power of bewilderment now.
His decision to seek out Tian Yuxue indicated that she was likely connected to this matter as well.
There was no way Ji Cang would have let his guard down so quickly before encountering Tian Yuxue. The only explanation was—
Sang Dai’s expression suddenly turned cold. “He’s already seen Tian Yuxue.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a sharp shout rang out by her ear:
“Dai Dai, get down!”
Before Su Xuan could finish, Sang Dai reacted instinctively, stepping forward and tackling Ji Cang to the ground. A deadly blade light slashed through the air above their heads, narrowly missing them and crashing into the distance.
The blade’s passage through the void emitted a chilling, murderous hum that made one’s heart tremble. It came perilously close to severing both her and Ji Cang’s heads.
Su Xuan drew the Qingwu Sword from Sang Dai’s waist, swinging it in a wide arc to counterattack.
The sword light struck a distant mountainside, sending rocks flying and snow scattering in all directions.
The figure that had been standing atop the mountain moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
Ji Cang remained unresponsive, lying on the ground with vacant eyes.
Sang Dai quickly got to her feet.
Su Xuan handed her the Qingwu Sword. “Take this for protection.”
Sang Dai grasped the Qingwu Sword in one hand as Su Xuan ignited a Hellfire array beside her with a flick of his wrist.
In the void, snow and ice coalesced into a long blade. On that crystalline blade stood a figure.
She appeared as if she were crafted from snow, her translucent skin faintly revealing delicate blood vessels beneath. Her loose, frost-white hair fell down her back, and her willow-like brows and lashes were the same icy white. She wore a white gown that nearly blended into her skin tone.
Her features were youthful, resembling a girl in her early teens, with large eyes whose irises were a pale, silvery hue. Within them, faint snowflakes seemed to swirl and glimmer.
Despite her youthful and delicate appearance, her expression was devoid of emotion, even carrying a faint chill.
She didn’t spare a glance at Su Xuan or Ji Cang. From the beginning, her gaze was fixed solely on Sang Dai.
Sang Dai tightened her grip on the Qingwu Sword.
“Tian Yuxue.”