Maiden Galaxy

Chapter 19: Ice And Snow Fox Hunt

The blizzard was even more intense than the ones before. The temperature plummeted to the freezing point, and the water droplets outside the house became ice. The frigid north wind was biting cold, directly seeping into one's bones. Warriors unable to refine their qi and blood into their bones would feel a deep cold cover their whole bodies. In Azure Dragon Town, this kind of poor weather was commonly referred to as "Ice Knife,"¹ a once in a century sight.

Azure Dragon Town's early riser warriors were unable to bear this kind of cold temperature and hid in their homes one after another, stoking their fireplaces, warming themselves as they trained.

"Oh, heavens, how is it so cold."

Little Tao pushed open Chen Mo's bedroom door and was met with a chilling gust, freezing her whole body solid. The basin of water she carried in her hands nearly slipped to the ground. She saw that the window in Chen Mo's room was completely open, the wind howling inside. A layer of frost had gathered inside the entire room.

Yet Chen Mo unexpectedly was bare chested standing by the window, completely unafraid of the Ice Dagger's weather. Chen Mo's build was quite slender, his flesh and muscles soft and full. Little Tao's face briefly felt hot. She had never noticed that her young master's physique had such great allure all along.

"Young Master, on such a cold day, even those warriors were unable to bear it. Young Master, you cannot be like this. You will hurt your body." Little Tao's basin of hot water had frozen in the blink of an eye. It was plainly obvious the severity of the cold weather.

Little Tao promptly called her sisters to go change for a new basin of hot water. She also lit the fireplace and found warm fur coat, not breaking a sweat.

Seeing Little Tao so busy, Chen Mo's heart felt warm.

However, Little Tao did not realize at all that Chen Mo was actually borrowing this weather to finally refine his qi and blood into his bones. Among the Qi And Blood Nine Turns, refinement into the bones was the most challenging. A so-called thorough change changed a person starting from their very foundations, similar in nature to how an Earthly Star metamorphosed.

Many warriors could train their qi and blood until they reached the end of their lives and not necessarily advance a single step. Not only did this single step need talent, it also required strong willpower and determination. Because qi and blood cultivation into bones was not only exceptionally difficult, it was even more painful. Chen Mo was seizing his chance.

The Ice Knife's cold weather directly blew into his bones, feeling a deep chill. Even all the warriors who had refined their organs to perfection would feel bitterly cold. Chen Mo took advantage of the north wind penetrating his bones to incite all of his bones, cultivating his qi and blood into them at the same time.

Needless to say, Chen Mo's thinking was simply universally shocking. Perhaps no one would have ever thought to take advantage of such a method. This process was nevertheless very painful and difficult, but Chen Mo had the Nose Locking Art. Retaining his breath sped up his cultivation by several factors, and the Yin Yang Qi Concentrating Needles were also useful. Under Chen Mo's unflagging efforts, it took only one night to finally succeed in making his qi and blood temper the depths of his bones, reaching the level of Qi And Blood Seven Turns Early Stage.

Once he succeeded in Qi And Blood Seven Turns, he repeated the Nose Locking Art day and night. Before a week had passed, his Qi And Blood Seven Turns had reached a state of maturation. It appeared that he perhaps could reach Qi And Blood Eight Turns before the provincial examinations. The advancement of his cultivation exceeded Chen Mo's expectations, making him somewhat delighted.

"Li Xiaxi, the Wuyang Princess, and Qing Wan have gone to Azure Dragon Mountain to hunt foxes?"

In his study, Chen Mo fixed his attire, looking through Azure Dragon Town's scrolls as he listened to Iron Blade's news. He was a bit mindful of the Azure Dragon Footpath and its treasure chest, so he dispatched people to monitor the Qing Family's activities. Learning that Li Xiaxi's party was entering Azure Dragon Mountain in such inclement weather on a fox hunt made him raise his brows.

Iron Blade felt this was logical. Azure Dragon Mountain's pure white Snow Foxes were priceless. In Chang'an, it was a symbol of wealth that could even be exchanged for a first rate cultivation method. But Snow Foxes were rarely seen. It was said they would only appear on days with a blizzard. The current climate was a perfect opportunity for a fox hunt.

From Iron Blade's perspective, perhaps the young lord of the Duke of Wei had been waiting for this opportunity to hunt a Snow Fox.

Chen Mo was silent. He was very worried for Feng Xue's family.

"Go to the blacksmith shop and seek out Shi Cheng to upgrade Fish Scale. I'm going into secluded cultivation. For the next few days, do not let anyone disturb me." Chen Mo said.

"As you command…"

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Except Chen Mo did not enter secluded cultivation. He found a chance to quietly leave the residence, hurrying towards Azure Dragon Mountain. No matter what, he could not allow them to hurt Feng Xue.²

Azure Dragon Mountain, northern mountain.

The whooshing blizzard blanketed the mountaintop, instantly freezing the brush and trees. In the bitter cold, a group of men and women on horseback bringing hunting dogs, carrying bows, and wearing brocaded fur coats entered the mountain.

These riders mounted massive horses seven to eight chi tall. Among them, two were especially eye-catching, with fire-red skins, sturdy and powerful builds, uniform in color from head to toe. Their manes were like flames, and their slender legs seemed to tread upon fire as well. The snowcover that was several chi  thick melted. They breathed intensely in the blizzard, wide-eyed even in the storm, completely unafraid of the cold. 

Divine Fire Colts.

They were practically psychic Star Beasts.

Divine Fire Colts were classified as Fire in the Five Elements and were naturally very resistant to cold temperatures. They could even stroll around the extremely cold northern lands like a normal day.

Riding on the Divine Fire Colts were a man and woman, none other than Li Xiaxi and Wuyang Princess Ting Nanyuan. Accompanying them were Qing Wan and a Qi And Blood Nine Turns man riding upon two jujube-red horses that were also of a famous species. Although they appeared extraordinary, they were still lacking compared to a Spirit Beast like the Divine Fire Colt.

These four people ventured into the mountain, not bringing their bodyguards.

"Princess, it seems you are well-versed about Snow Foxes, to have found their tracks so quickly." Qing Wan said.

"Do not let that little Snow Fox escape. I want to present it to Her Highness Bing.³ Elder Sister Bing will definitely love it." Ting Nanyuan shook her red cloak. Like lotus leaves that could not be stained by water, snowflakes automatically slid off of it.

This cloak was clearly an exceptional Star Tool.

As the princess of Prince Yang, Ting Nanyuan's attire was the stuff of envy. "Her Highness the Princess is supposedly stricken with a type of illness. Is she alright?" The man accompanying Qing Wan said.

This man was handsome, his body neat and clean, untouched by the blizzard. He was Qing Wan's second brother, Qing Yu.⁴

Upon mentioning the princess' illness, Ting Nanyuan took on a worried expression.

"This disease is strange. Perhaps only the legendary Heavenly Doctor Star Hua Tuo⁵ can cure her."

The group was silent.

"Heaven helps the worthy, including the Princess. There is no need to worry." Li Xiaxi consoled her.

Ting Nanyuan grunted.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

At this time, the dozen hounds in front of them barked fiercely. These hounds all were the size of calves, their teeth sharp, their expressions ferocious. They were like ruthless lions, their entire bodies stretched taut in a savage posture.

These mastiff hunting dogs were very violent and unafraid of the cold weather, the treasured breed raised by the Qing Family.

"They have caught the Snow Fox's scent."

Li Xiaxi was delighted.

"Let us quickly catch up. Several other warriors have also entered the mountain on a fox hunt." Qing Yu was stern.

The northern wind howled, brandishing claw and fang, pouring into their whole bodies. At Azure Dragon Mountain's midway point, there were three warriors currently stalled in their progress forwards. The leading man was draped in a tiger stripe overcoat, each and every step leaving deep prints in the snow. His qi and blood boiled, vigorous as a flame, an extraordinary cultivation.

Yet the two warriors behind him were suffering unspeakable misery, barely withstanding the cold wind, ice, and snow. The further up the mountain they went, the more biting the cold. Even their bones were about to freeze over. Under such poor conditions, even Qi And Blood warriors could hardly budge an inch.

Just when the two warriors were cursing nonstop, all of a sudden, an extremely fast figure passed from behind them, shooting forth like an arrow, carrying a powerful roar. By the time they got a good look, that figure was long gone.

"What the hell was that just now?"

"A warrior?"

"Impossible. What warrior could move that fast under this kind of weather? And bare chested, too."

The two warriors were scared stiff, looking to their counterpart in shock. To still be able to move as like they were flying even in such vile weather, that was simply inconceivable. Perhaps that was one of Azure Dragon Mountain's monsters.

"Brother Zhang, what was that just now? Could it be a Demon Beast."

The two of them were frightened out of their minds as they looked to the man in the overcoat before them, their bodies quivering.

Star World had Demonkin. They specifically cultivated Demon Qi and wielded vast powers. Compared to a Qi And Blood Nine Turns warrior, they were far more terrifying. However, the Demonkin dwelled at the Eight Desolates. At a place like Azure Dragon Mountain that had verdant hills and limpid water, a place lacking demonic qi, it was very hard for a Demon Beast to cultivate.

The man in the overcoat was similarly astonished. Then, he turned around to scold at them: "Don't panic. How could there possibly be Demons here. Open those dog eyes of yours, that was a person, a warrior."

"Person? Warrior?"

Azure Dragon Town even had such a powerful warrior capable of swift speed, instant passage, in this kind of Ice Knife weather?

The man in the overcoat looked at the snowy ground, his expression very grim. Upon this snow, a trail of shallow footprints was left behind. These footprints were distributed regularly, five zhang a pace. Each step was very shallow. Such a nimble body technique was shocking.

"What incredible body technique. Perhaps he has already condensed an ‘Essence Flower.'⁶ With such a formidable warrior, it appears we will not be able to hunt a Snow Fox." The man in the overcoat said, saddened.

The figure on the mountain swirled about, sticking close to the snowy ground and flitting over it, soft to the point of weightlessness, as if carried by the wind. All of a sudden, the mountain let out a hoarse fox cry. Then, the gales filling the sky echoed every kind of sound.

There was the vague echo of dogs barking, people shouting, and curses.

In the middle of that, there were the air-splitting whistles of arrows.

The figure stopped. He only wore a pair of loose-fitting trousers and a pair of lightweight straw sandals. A bandana covered half of his face. This man was considerably slender, his muscles not fitting the robust sort, but he appeared to be brimming with strength. Under such intensely cold weather, even warriors that refined qi and blood into their meridians would need to wear cold weather clothing to avoid too much qi and blood outflow. Such a thing would wear down their qi and blood, bringing great harm to a warrior. In contrast, this man did not care in the slightest. The bone-chilling wind blew against his body without him feeling it at all.

The man carefully distinguished the voices. He pulled down the bandana.

Shockingly, he was Chen Mo.

"Hurry and pursue, maybe it's a Pure White Snow Fox."

Woof, woof, woof.

Aaah!

Sounds floated through the cold wind, and Chen Mo's complexion turned grim.

This is bad.

One of Feng Xue's dens had been discovered by Li Xiaxi and the others.

Chen Mo promptly pulled up his bandana, urgently circulated his qi and blood, and dashed over following the sound of the voices. This was the Northern Dipper Great Overflow's "Bowl" body technique that placed the entire body's center of balance and power completely into his lower body. Within a brief time period, he could quickly advance through any terrain unimpeded.

Running for a time through the forest, Chen Mo very quickly caught sight of four people in the blizzard.

The two Divine Fire Colts were particularly eye-catching on the mountain.

Several mastiffs were currently giving chase. A white figure bounded quickly through the storm, but it was locked on to by Qi And Blood warriors with Divine Fire Colts and mastiffs. Against these mounts and hunting dogs, even with wings it would be difficult to escape.

Chen Mo's eyes shifted. He moved close along the ground, like a snake.

1. 冰刀子 ↩
2. The fox he befriended during his first training session in the mountains. ↩
3. 冰, lit. "ice" ↩
4. 青宇 ↩
5. 天醫星華佗 ↩
6. He thinks Chen Mo has cultivated to Three Flowers Overhead. ↩