CHAPTER 484: VALLEY OF FROZEN WHISPERS

It didn’t take long for Yu Qingyan to catch sight of the closed-off valley. Although the chilling blizzard was still ongoing, she could see the flying foreign creatures already nearing the edge of it.

Below, cultivators donning the Arctic Sea Palace garb were maintaining a formation that sealed the valley.

She couldn’t help but frown at that. They said they were in the process of investigating it but looking at that sight, they’re doing nothing but concealing it.

Perhaps, if Lin Mo didn’t manage to catch that on a scan, they’d only hear about it after the Tower Break occurs.

There it is, Emissary Yu." Shang Shuiyin pointed ahead, her voice tinged with a mix of awe and apprehension.

The Valley of Frozen Whispers lived up to its name. And as she had guessed, it was fairly hidden despite being close to the Glacial Tide City. Looking like a paradise in a pristine white landscape, the valley was shrouded in a perpetual, swirling mist that seemed to whisper with the voices of a thousand lost souls.

However, today, the whispers were drowned out by the harsh, alien screeching of the creatures circling above.

Yu Qingyan frowned as they resembled the creatures she also encountered when the Jade Hollow Conduit Tower first appeared. But this time, it was gargoyles of ice and bone. They circled the valley like vultures, testing the shimmering, translucent dome that sealed the area.

Below, a ring of Arctic Sea Palace disciples maintained the sealing formation. They looked orderly but somewhat exhausted. Their spiritual energy was visibly waning as they poured it into the formation pillars. They had been maintaining the formation for days, most likely awaiting the Palace Master’s order to venture inside.

As if reading her thoughts, Elder Frost, standing at the helm, grunted. "The Palace Master ordered containment. We do not let anomalies spread. It is our way. We could’ve handled it without the threat."

Yu Qingyan’s lips twitched but she decided not to retort. She simply waved her hand, flashing her Celestial Duel Gear and pulling out her jade flute.

"Emissary Yu, what are you planning to do?!" Elder Frost called out as he saw Yu Qingyan ready to jump out of the ship construct without waiting for it to land.

"Convenience isn’t about waiting for permission, Elder. It’s about solving the problem before it becomes a disaster," She replied calmly, her voice carried by the wind.

Without another word, she leaped.

She plummeted from the ship, her verdant green robes snapping in the biting wind.

Yu Qingyan landed gracefully in the center of the valley entrance, right in the middle of the exhausted Arctic Sea Palace formation. The impact of her landing cleared a circle in the snow.

The elder who was supervising the Arctic Sea Palace disciples was startled and he immediately went to a defensive stance, "Who?!"

Yu Qingyan only gave a shallow bow before saying, "Yu Qingyan of the Verdant Sky Pavilion, Official Distributor of the Divine Convenience Store."

She then turned to the disciples, maintaining the formation, "Open a hole for me."

Confused, they glanced at their elder. Following that, the ship construct that Elder Frost steered slowly landed not far away from them. He leapt from the construct followed by the elite disciples and Shang Shuiyin.

Instead of continuing to question Yu Qingyan, the elder turned to him, "Elder Frost, what is the meaning of this?!"

"The Palace Master has authorized this," Elder Frost spat, though his glare was directed at the swarming gargoyles above rather than his colleague. "We are to open a path. Emissary Yu claims she can stabilize the tower."

The supervising elder’s eyes widened in disbelief, but the seal of the Palace Master on Elder Frost’s token was unmistakable. He gritted his teeth and barked a command. "Drop the southern sector! Prepare for engagement!"

The shimmering dome flickered and dissolved a section of its barrier.

Instantly, the screeching of the ice-bone gargoyles intensified. Sensing the weakness, a dozen of them folded their wings and dove, their bodies becoming jagged missiles of frozen death aimed straight at Yu Qingyan.

"Formation!" Elder Frost roared, his own ice-attribute qi flaring to life.

"Help me make clear all these foreign creatures. They may be numerous now but the tower won’t spew out more of them unless a Tower Break occurs. And I need to be in range to deploy the Store Beacon." Yu Qingyan said as she took a step forward.

Shang Shuiyin came to her side in support, "She’s right, Master, Elder Xue. Here. A Conduit Tower also appeared recently in the Abyssal Forest. They also spilled out similar creatures."

From her Viewing Jade, she played the recording taken by one of the Shadowveil Clan disciples when the Conduit Tower suddenly appeared. It was a little chaotic but it clearly showed the enemy they were fighting.

However, the screech of the descending gargoyles cut the viewing short. The reality of the threat was far more pressing than a recording.

"Watch out!" Elder Frost roared, his hands forming a seal. A wall of ice erupted from the ground, intercepting the first wave of diving creatures.

The ice-bone gargoyles crashed into the barrier, their jagged claws gouging deep furrows into the frozen surface. They didn’t stop. With mindless ferocity, they began to hammer at the ice, their screeches piercing the ears of the disciples below.

"They are relentless!" Elder Xue shouted, drawing a crystalline sword. "Disciples, formation! Ice Rain Volley!"

The fifty elite disciples and those who were just maintaining the formation earlier moved in sync, channeling their spiritual energy. But before they could unleash their technique, a figure blurred past them.

It was Yu Qingyan.

She waved a hand and pulled out a thick stack of yellowish paper slips.

"Elder Frost, Elder Xue," She called out, her voice calm amidst the chaos. "Your ice arts are profound, but against creatures of ice and bone, they can be a little inefficient. Convenience dictates we use the right tool for the job."

She threw the stack of papers into the air.

"[Flame-Burst Talismans], activate!"

With a pulse of her spiritual energy, the paper slips ignited.

Fire bloomed as they exploded into roaring, crimson flames that spread outward, swallowing an entire area.

It was a talisman at the same level as the [Windstrike Talisman], only the element used on it was different. And against ice-clad creatures, it was more than effective.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sky above the valley entrance turned into a sea of fire. The heat was too intense, it instantly sublimated the swirling snow and mist.

The gargoyles, creatures born of frozen magic, shrieked in agony as the fire tore through their defenses. Their ice-encrusted wings melted, their bone armor cracked from the thermal shock.

Dozens of them plummeted from the sky, reduced to smoking heaps of charred bone before they even hit the ground.

The Arctic Sea Palace disciples stared, their mouths agape.

"Those were... high-grade talismans?" Elder Xue stammered as he recognized the value of those talismans. It’s something a talisman master of their sect would find hard to produce in bulk. "Dozens of them? That’s... that’s wasteful!"

"It’s effective," Yu Qingyan corrected, landing lightly on the snow, not a speck of ash on her verdant robes. "And in the Divine Convenience Store, such things are sold in bundles. Now, we move. We must reach the tower’s base. Shuiyin, distribute these to everyone. Take yours too."

Upon saying that, packets of [Energy Replenishing Candies], [Basic Card Talismans], [Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seal] and other consumable items floated to the young disciple. Since she had the Distributor Token with her, accessing her [Distributor Inventory] and pulling out items stored within was easy.

Although she didn’t find it necessary to arm the Arctic Sea Palace, letting them have a free taste of what convenience can bring them is a business decision. That’s also what she did before, after all. She demonstrated the power of the store products.

Without looking back, Yu Qingyan raised her jade flute to her lips.

A sharp, piercing note cut through the howling wind.

Severing Note!

The soundwave expanded outward, shimmering with a deadly green light. The nearest gargoyle, a beast of jagged ice and hate, screeched as the sonic blade sliced clean through its wing. It tumbled from the sky, shattering on the formation barrier below.

But she wasn’t done, the [Celestial Duel Gear] on her wrist flared to life.

"Celestial Field, Open!"

A sphere of golden light erupted around her, pushing back the biting cold and the oppressive aura of the foreign creatures.

"I summon... [Sapphire Melody]!"

From the light, a spiritual projection materialized. A celestial idol clad in shimmering blue robes, holding a crystalline microphone.

It was a Level 3 Unit, known for its powerful sonic buffs and debuffs.

The Sapphire Melody floated beside Yu Qingyan, and as Yu Qingyan played her flute, the idol began to sing.

Their energies harmonized perfectly. The flute’s sharp, offensive notes were amplified and carried by the idol’s resonant voice.

A visible shockwave of sound and light blasted outwards.

BOOM!

The swarm of gargoyles that replaced the ones that melted from the talismans was thrown into disarray. Their ice-hard skin cracked under the sonic assault. Their flight patterns were disrupted, sending them crashing into each other.