The Golden Jade Tower settled back into its peaceful spot beneath the wisteria trees, swaying gently as if the recent chaos had been nothing more than an exciting dream for the gathered cultivators.

But the appearance of the Stone Giants had sparked something new in everyone’s hearts—especially those who considered themselves skilled but lacked the fragment count to show for it.

If heaven smiled upon them just once, if they could slay a Stone Giant and claim its bounty, wouldn’t all their previous misfortune become meaningless?

This mindset wasn’t uncommon. Even those already rich in fragments felt the pressure mounting.

Under these circumstances, many cultivators’ first instinct was to head straight to the Golden Jade Tower for information.

Beneath the wisteria tree, Tower Master Zhao Hangyi fanned himself with a melancholy expression, stealing glances at the silver-haired cultivator across from him.

An unsheathed silver sword lay across the table, radiating waves of bone-chilling cold despite remaining in its scabbard.

Behind the woman stood none other than the infamous Palace Lord of Luanyang Palace, her face impassive as she rested a hand on the silver-haired woman’s shoulder in a clear display of solidarity.

“Hurry up,” Seraphine said impatiently. “Stop dawdling.”

Echo gestured toward Zhao Hangyi. “Please proceed.”

“Whoosh.” Zhao Hangyi snapped his fan shut with a smile. “Okay, let me begin. This Stone Giant dropped exactly five hundred fragments total—not one more, not one less.”

“Young Master Xue discovered the Stone Giant first, so he gets one hundred fragments.” Zhao Hangyi began separating fragments from the pile on the table. “When I fought the Stone Giant alongside Brother Xue but couldn’t defeat it, I helped him escape. For this, Brother Xue graciously gave me fifty fragments……”

As Zhao Hangyi droned on about fair distribution while clicking his abacus, Seraphine made a sound of disgust.

“Even blood brothers must keep clear accounts if they want harmony in the future.” Zhao Hangyi declared cheerfully.

Xue Bufan nodded. “I defer entirely to Brother Zhao’s wisdom.”

Echo listened seriously as Zhao Hangyi explained the fees for using the Golden Jade Tower to kill Stone Giants, the refund policy for unsuccessful attempts, and the rescue surcharge for when Fellow Daoist Xi saved them—finally, it was her turn!

Echo straightened in her seat. “Human life is priceless, worth more than a thousand gold pieces. I believe all five hundred fragments should go to me.”

Zhao Hangyi’s hand trembled over his abacus, his voice shaking slightly. “Fellow Daoist Xi speaks wisely……” But he still wanted to argue for keeping some fragments. After all, his Golden Jade Tower had played a role, hadn’t it? Surely that warranted some compensation?

Echo then said: “However, since you did discover and bring the Stone Giant here, you deserve some fragments for your efforts.”

She took control of the situation, using Nine Heavens to sweep all the fragments toward her.

Echo continued: “I need to split my fragments with Seraphine. So I’ll take four hundred, and you can distribute the remaining hundred among yourselves.”

Zhao Hangyi’s face lit up with joy. “Excellent!”

“No need for you to handle it—I’ll count them myself!” He rolled up his sleeves and carefully counted out exactly one hundred fragments.

Echo supervised the process, nodded approvingly at their successful cooperation, then stored the fragments in her storage ring before standing.

As she turned to leave, she caught sight of Seraphine’s curved smile and felt a flicker of confusion.

Seraphine suppressed her grin and said slowly, “Very good. Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, they leaped onto Fire Rock Dragon’s back. Error carried them toward the Northern Glacier while behind them, Zhao Hangyi and Xue Bufan resumed their meticulous fragment-by-fragment distribution……

⁂

Twin Dragon Secret Realm, Western Yang Forest.

A sword cleaved through the towering ancient tree blocking the path. Sunlight filtered down through the gap, illuminating the dense vines carpeting the forest floor.

Nie Xiu’s eyes flashed coldly as he struck at a venomous snake hiding among the vines, then released a burst of flames to burn both the vines and the tree that had nearly claimed his life.

Black smoke billowed upward. Nie Xiu’s battle with the ancient tree had long since frightened away the local wildlife. He retreated into a protective barrier to meditate while the fire consumed the entire grove.

After a day and night of recovery, Nie Xiu emerged from his barrier. He kicked aside some charred snake bones with disgust and walked unhurriedly to where the ancient tree had been rooted. Ten fragments lay scattered on the scorched earth.

Nie Xiu’s irritation flared.

This ancient tree had matched his cultivation level and proved incredibly troublesome to defeat. Its vines had hidden countless green serpents that nearly poisoned him multiple times. After such a difficult battle, only ten fragments?

“Useless!” he snarled, pulling out a water mirror from his storage ring and channeling spiritual energy into it. Soon, his disciple’s face appeared in the reflection.

“Greetings, Master,” she said quickly. “What are your instructions?”

“How many fragments have you collected since entering the secret realm?” Nie Xiu asked bluntly.

His disciple lowered her head. “Reporting to Master, I have only collected fifty-six Golden Dragon fragments thus far.”

Only fifty-six!

Nie Xiu glared at her with disappointment. “How is this possible?” His disciple thought bitterly about how she’d initially given all her fragments to Nie Xiu when they adventured together, and how after they separated, most areas had already been picked clean by other cultivators. As a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could she easily collect fragments?

“Master, do you remember what the Golden Dragon said about Stone Giants when it appeared?” Nie Xiu’s disciple asked.

Nie Xiu nodded. “Yes, but I haven’t encountered any Stone Giants in these past two months.”

His disciple hurried to explain: “Master, I made inquiries at the Golden Jade Tower. Stone Giant appearances aren’t entirely random—they emerge in cycles of five, appearing in the eastern, southern, western, northern, and central regions according to a five-element pattern.” “I heard about an early Foundation Establishment cultivator who had incredible luck in the southeastern region. She encountered a Stone Giant that was barely at Foundation Establishment level when she was completely alone, killed it easily, and gained two hundred fragments directly!”

“Two hundred!” Nie Xiu exclaimed.

“What tremendous fortune!”

His disciple felt equally envious. “Apparently, some Golden Core cultivators have killed Stone Giants that only dropped fifty fragments. Master, since the secret realm’s beginning, we estimate the Twin Dragons dropped thirty to fifty thousand fragments, and the secret realm itself contains roughly the same amount. But divided among three thousand cultivators, it’s hardly impressive. These Stone Giants are clearly the real prizes!”

“Correct.” Nie Xiu spoke in a low voice. “Continue searching the Twin Dragon Secret Realm. If you spot any Stone Giants, contact me immediately.”

“Yes!”

Nie Xiu stared at his reflection in the water mirror, his narrow eyes narrowing further as he muttered to himself: “I cannot sit idle any longer. But in this vast secret realm, where haven’t I been……”

He flew high into the air, surveying the enormous secret realm below. His gaze slowly settled on the north.

⁂

Northern Glacier.

Brutal winds that could strip flesh from bone howled across the landscape, crashing against massive icebergs. Ice shards caught in the gales scattered toward distant horizons.

This was a desolate wasteland. As far as the eye could see, not a single plant grew, nor did any spirit beasts leave tracks. Only endless ice-blue expanses stretched beneath the sky.

Normally, today would be no different from any other day here. But a Stone Giant encased in ice had suddenly risen, moving slowly across the glacier.

Its body was immense, but the cold here was so intense that seawater had frozen into hundreds of meters of solid ice, easily supporting its weight as it walked. Each footstep’s vibration made it effortless for hunters to track its location and respond accordingly.

“Phew.” Echo exhaled a puff of white vapor, raising two round ice pops and waving them in the air.

“Go for it!”

Seraphine glanced at her. “Aren’t you cold?”

Not at all, because she was a powerful Soul Transformation stage cultivator!

Echo grinned and lowered one hand, taking a bite of her ice pop. Crunch crunch.

Delicious! Peach-flavored!

This really was an excellent place for making ice pops!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Echo had taken advantage of the natural conditions to cut up fruits from her storage ring, mix them with various flavored syrups Seraphine had bought her previously, and leave them outside briefly to freeze into perfect little ice pops!

Already a qualified ice pop manufacturer, Echo quickly offered the other ice pop to Seraphine.

She was inviting Seraphine to eat an ice pop, and after they finished their treats, they would beat up an ice man.

Seraphine shot her an exasperated look but lowered her head to bite the ice pop. Without palace servants around, her hair was in a simple style and she hadn’t painted flower decorations on her forehead in ages. She only applied lip rouge, making her red lips bloom like flowers—delicate yet vivid.

Echo held up the ice pop Seraphine had bitten, staring at the red mark left behind, and smiled. Seraphine was truly a beautiful Seraphine.

Red-robed Seraphine burned like fire against the glacier. Standing atop Fire Rock Dragon, she cracked her whip to release thousand-fold flame waves. The ice encasing the Stone Giant melted as ice met fire, sending steam billowing in all directions.

Stone Giants weren’t ordinary creatures—they had no life, no spiritual intelligence. They seemed like puppets crafted by master artificers, mechanically destroying any living beings they encountered, including spirit beasts.

Some clever individuals had learned to lure spirit beasts into fighting Stone Giants, then profit from their mutual destruction.

But Seraphine preferred direct combat. She never shrank from battle—if anything, she relished this knife-edge dance between life and death.

Of course, she wasn’t suicidal.

Seraphine’s lips curved in an arrogant smile, her dark eyes seeming to hold flames while her gaze remained colder than ice. Without an ounce of mercy, she brought down her whip through the billowing steam.

“CRASH!”

The crimson whip shattered an incoming boulder. The massive Stone Giant was now reduced to an irregular torso. It launched itself into the air before crashing down, splitting the surrounding ice and sending countless ice chunks flying toward Seraphine.

Echo nervously bit her ice pop and waved at the fiery figure in the sky. She was silently urging Seraphine on!

“CLANG!”

From within the impenetrable barrage of ice, a golden-red phoenix burst forth, spreading wings of flame. Wherever it passed, ice melted and instantly vaporized. Fearless and undaunted, it crashed into the Stone Giant making its last stand on the ice. With a thunderous “BOOM,” the glacier shook as countless cracks spread outward from the impact point.

“Hmm?” Echo paused mid-chew, question marks practically floating above her head as she stared at the cracks beneath her feet.

When the ice layer had split, she seemed to have sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy.

“Master,” a golden bird materialized on her shoulder, whispering, “The spirit heart you require lies within a spirit ore nearby.”

Perfect, perfect.

Echo nodded and headed toward Seraphine with her half-eaten ice pop.

The battlefield around them had transformed. Where the fire phoenix struck, the impact had created a massive crater dozens of meters deep. Stone fragments and ice shards mixed together, instantly freezing into intimate formations in the bitter wind.

“Seraphine!” Echo called down to the figure in the crater. “How many fragments did you get?”

Seraphine’s voice echoed from the vast pit: “A mere three hundred. But I found something else interesting—come down here.” Echo quickly descended. At the bottom, Error’s long tail poked out, wagging at her.

This way.

Echo followed along Error’s body. The ice walls stretched her shadow into elongated shapes, and shelaughed when she spotted a long fish frozen solid in one section of ice.

“What are you laughing about? Hurry up.” Seraphine’s urging voice called ahead. Echo used hermovement technique to catch up quickly.

In the ice tunnel, Seraphine sat casually on Fire Rock Dragon’s back, legs dangling freely. Meanwhile, Error not only guided their path but continuously breathed flames to melt their route forward.

Seraphine waved Echo over, and once she approached, Seraphine said with obvious satisfaction: “The spiritual energy here is abundant. There should be a spirit veins below. If my guess is correct, the Northern Glacier’s spirit heart lies here.”

Echo clapped her hands together with bright eyes. “Seraphine is so clever!”

“Hmph.” Seraphine lifted her chin proudly.

Both of them followed the tunnel Error had melted downward, passing through a layer of empty ice caverns into the rocky mountain core. Seraphine lounged lazily on the dragon’s back and said, “Your turn.”

Echo drew Nine Heavens.