Chapter 5 – Nine Holes
It was an unexpected stroke of good fortune that he could have Jin Daya as one of his guards. Such powerful expects were uncommon even in secret sects. The bodyguards he was assigned at first were only Eighth Ring Sages; the rest were far below, and must be strengthened over time.
Back then when Miaolin first joined, the most powerful of her guards was Hongjie, an Eighth Ring Sage. Then with the Yin Rings that Miaolin obtain, she finally ascended to Ninth Ring. Of all the disciple’s bodyguards, as long as they were Ninth Ring Sages, there was a good chance that the disciple strengthened them themselves with the help of the master. As long as they had enough Yin Rings, they could produce Ninth Ring experts.
Chuizi and Futou both rushed into the room, shivering. They saw the pot on the brazier and their eyes lit up.
“Food, haha…there, there’s good food to eat,” Chuizi said, stuttering, his teeth clattering nonstop.
“Futou, you also shiver when it’s cold?” Lei Xinfeng asked.
“Fool! Although we’re most resistant to the cold than you are, but, but we still shiver…” said Futou.
“Ye, yeah. Quickly, give me a bowl… some soup, it, it’s too cold!” Chuizi said.
Lei Xinfeng brought out two large bowls, picking up the entire pot, and emptied the contents into the bowls. “Here, have some of these first,” he said.
The two of them picked up the large bowls, soup still boiling, and began gulping the liquid down.
After a while, Chuizi spoke up. “The frame is completely. All that’s left is to add water to it.”
Futou said, “There’s already ice chunks packed on it. The structure will freeze as soon as you add the water.”
Lei Xinfeng knew that building things here was easy as building a metal frame, packing in loose ice, then add water. Everything will freeze, filling in the gaps. After a bit of light touches here and there, the entire thing became a solid wall. It was a trick unique to this place.
After Chuizi and Futou finished eating, Xin Zhaolun said, “Alright, let’s go add the water now. There’s a trick to it. Does everyone have water in their Hidden Lun space?”
Lei Xinfeng had a lot of water because he understood one thing: although water looked abundant, being everywhere, as soon as it runs out, then lives were at risk. As a result, he alway made sure that he had a large amount of fresh water in his Hidden Lun space.
It was basic knowledge for a practitioner. No matter who it was, all practitioners, especially those above Sage, had a large amount of fresh water in their Hidden Lun space.
“Yes, I have a lot of water,” Lei Xinfeng said.
Xin Zhaolun nodded. “Let’s go. Pour the water directly from your space, and the corridor will be finished.”
Lei Xinfeng began to put on his thick coat, covering his entire body. He wasn’t stupid. He’d seen how Chuizi and Futou shivered; the outside must be colder than anything he’d ever experienced.
“If you feel that it’s too cold, go warm up inside; don’t try too hard. We’ll go in turns. First me, then Daya, Old Ying, Old Hu, then Ah Feng. By then, it should be pretty much finished, so you’ll only have to fix things a little.”
Everyone agreed and Xin Zhaolun left the room.
Around twenty minutes later, Xin Zhaolun came back shivering. Jin Daya walked out, but the time he lasted was much less than Xin Zhaolun: only ten minutes. Then came Fengying and Shihu. After Shihu came back, he said, “It’s basically finished. I filled in most of the holes already, so Ah Feng just needs to do a little inspection.”
“After I get a little warmer, I’ll go with Ah Feng,” Xin Zhaolun said.
Chuizi and Futou followed them out as well.
As soon as Lei Xinfeng stepped out of the room, he saw a wall of ice in front of him, along with a two meter wide walkway. The walkway went a full circle around the house, connecting all the rooms together, sealed almost completely. Because there wasn’t much wind, it wasn’t that cold inside.
Lei Xinfeng just had to find the spots where he could feel the wind, and then seal it completely by putting water in the hole. It was easy, and after a few rounds, he finished fixing all the holes in the corridor. Though the ice wall, he could see the blizzard raging outside. Yet, there was no snow on the ground. Before any flakes could settle on the ground, they were swept up by the wind and carried away into the sky.
There was no door in the corridor. In other words, they were completely sealed in.
Xin Zhaolun went to Miaolin’s room to let her know.
Lei Xinfeng also went to her room, and it only took one glance to fill him with amusement.
There was four braziers burning in the four cardinal directions. Miaolin was huddled in the center under a big pile of pelts. She only had a head poking out, and even that was covered by a big fur hat. Even so, she was coughing non stop. When she saw Xin Zhaolun and Lei Xinfeng come in, she managed to get out, “Cold… it’s cold, elder brother.”
“elder sister, there’s a corridor outside sealing this whole place in. It shouldn’t be too cold,” Lei Xinfeng said.
“It’s still cold…I’m regretting this so much; I shouldn’t have come,” she said.
“Just endure it for a while. Hanya Castle is only this cold for a short while, it will be better in a while,” Xin Zhaolun reassured.
“It’s a lot warmer here after we made the corridor. We should make it even during the coldest days. If not, maybe we can send elder sister underground,” Lei Xinfeng said.
“We can’t. Someone already reserved the spot long before we got here,” Xin Zhaolun said.
“It’s fine, after Hongjie come back, she’ll help me light two more braziers.”
“Be careful you don’t block the breathing holes. You’re burning too much,” Xin Zhaolun said.
“Hongjie opened up two more chimneys,” Miaolin said. “There shouldn’t be any problems.”
Xin Zhaolun nodded. “After Hongjie comes back, have her accompany you until it gets warmer. If there’s any danger, don’t hesitate to come over to our rooms, since there’s a corridor.” He was the elder brother. Since he brought the younger ones with him, he had responsibility for their safety.
“I know, elder brother. Don’t worry, I’ll have Hongjie with me, always.”
Xin Zhaolun stood up. “Alright. Also, during the coldest days, we’ll all gather and tide it over together. It’s the most dangerous period, but also the best days for cultivation.”
Xin Zhaolun brought Lei Xinfeng back to his room. “Ah Feng, although you can’t go out right now, and it’s so bloody cold, but this time is the golden opportunity for cultivating. It is also why so many experts don’t want to leave his place. You must take this chance and train, aiming for Sixth Ring. With your potential, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Lei Xinfeng sat down next to his brazier and sighed. “Elder brother, these past few days, I’ve felt my power increase much quicker than normal. However, I still can’t ascend. It’s not that I can’t, but that I shouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Do you remember that Star Python Record I obtained at the auction? There’s an ancient method of Stamp condensation written on it. But I need many materials. I haven’t found some of them, and of those, there are three that I don’t even recognize that is giving me a headache.”
“Really? Then the power of this Lightning Stamp is abnormal?” Xin Zhaolun caught on quick, understanding Lei Xinfeng immediately, about why he wouldn’t ascend.
Lei Xinfeng nodded. “If I wanted to ascend normally, I could have when I returned from the auction. However, I forcefully suppressed it. If I ascend now, I don’t know how much I’ll lose.”
“Then…what are you lacking?” Xin Zhaolun asked.
Lei Xinfeng took out a slip of paper and passed it in Xin Zhaolun. “Elder brother, take a look.” He stared at him expectantly. If he could help him, then he would save him a lot of time and effort.
Xin Zhaolun accepted the paper and took a look. There was a total of eight items. He smiled after looking through the list. “I have all of them! However, there’s two of them that are too valuable to waste. How much do you need exactly?”
Lei Xinfeng eyed the item that Xin Zhaolun indicated and let out a sigh of relief. “Not much. Neither of them exceeds two jins. That one…maybe one and a half jin.”
“Ah, okay. Then, I’ll lend these to you to use for now, but you must find a way to return them to me.” He knew that Lei Xinfeng needed those urgently, so he can spare it for now. Since he didn’t need it until he ascended, he could let Lin Xinfeng have it.
Lei Xinfeng was overjoyed. “Thank you, elder brother! I owe you this time!”
Xin Zhaolun carefully took out the eight materials based on the amounts Lei Xinfeng needed.
Lei Xinfeng hadn’t imaged that Xin Zhaolun would have so many kinds of materials stored. Curious, he asked, “Elder brother, how much materials did you gather?”
Xin Zhaolun smiled. “I spent some thirty years collecting these. Even if I don’t have a thousand kind, then I at least have a few hundred. Ah Feng, when we’re still Sages, we won’t need much materials, but after ascending to Monarch, you’ll use them so fast you won’t believe it.
“You’ve only just joined, so Master haven’t given you any gathering missions. When you’ve attained Seventh or Eighth Ring, Master will have missions for you. At that time, gather some materials while you’re completing them.”
“Master will send us on missions?”
Xin Zhaolun laughed. “Ah Feng, Master has no obligations to give and not take back. The master was willing to take you in and train you, so naturally, you must repay him; this is beneficial both ways.”
“Even though Master is so powerful, he still can’t gather enough materials?” Lei Xinfeng asked.