Chapter 545

Chapter 545: The Ice Bear

Three months flew by in the blink of an eye. The classic Star Ship was fully repaired; all that remained was connecting the formations at the gaps before they could set off.

At this moment, Master Qianling and the Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect were sitting on the Star Ship, chatting.

“Third Brother, why do I feel like the Grand Elder has been giving me strange looks lately?” Master Qianling said, a bit nervously.

“Maybe he regrets not adding those five hundred punishment thunder whips and is trying to think of a way to include them now.”

“Once, I saw the Grand Elder sighing while looking at the classic Star Ship, so you’d better behave yourself these days,” the Third Grand Elder said with a hint of amusement.

For Master Qianling, five hundred punishment thunder whips weren’t a big deal—just painful.

“What do you mean by behaving myself?” Master Qianling asked.

“You’re still a ways off from reaching the invincible respected elder realm. You should tell the Grand Elder that once we return, you’ll enter seclusion to break through to that level.”

“If the Grand Elder is pleased, he might even let you off the hook,” the Third Grand Elder said, glancing at the dragons formed from the five elemental origins of spiritual energy swirling in the sky.

He was silently calculating the value of those elemental origin dragons.

“Stop joking. Just go easy on me with the whip. That’s all I ask,” Master Qianling replied.

As the day to return to Qianling Sect drew closer, Master Qianling grew more and more uneasy.

Especially whenever he saw the Grand Elder’s meaningful smile, he felt like he was doomed.

Just then, the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect appeared behind them.

“The Grand Elder says the Star Ship is ready. If there’s nothing else, let’s head home early,” he said lightly.

“I have some cultivation matters I’d like to discuss with the Grand Elder for a bit longer. Can we delay for another half month?” Master Qianling felt a dark premonition stirring within him.

“Can’t you discuss cultivation matters with me?”

“Am I not capable of teaching you about the invincible realm?”

“Gather all the disciples on the Star Ship; we’ll set off immediately.”

Xu Fan, who was busy crafting the railgun, took a moment to see them off.

As he watched Master Qianling leave with a reluctant look in his eyes, Xu Fan felt that the divine ability he had deduced might not be very effective after all.

After sending Qianling Sect’s group away, Xu Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now that they’re gone, I can focus on artifact crafting. Having outsiders around makes me uneasy,” he said, before returning to continue crafting the railgun.

The classic Star Ship of Qianling Sect was so fast it made Master Qianling feel a bit anxious.

The journey back to Qianling Sect from the Hidden Spirit Sect took only one month, thanks to the human race navigation route.

When the classic Star Ship landed at Qianling Sect, Master Qianling’s heart sank even further.

“Everything is ready, so why am I still so afraid?” he thought, feeling a sudden wave of that ominous premonition.

“Second Brother, as the Second Grand Elder, you shouldn’t carry out punishments in front of the other disciples.”

The Grand Elder of Qianling Sect led the two into a hidden small world.

Then, the Grand Elder summoned the punishment thunder whip in one hand and began forming seals with the other.

An unstoppable force instantly drained Master Qianling of all his spiritual energy and shattered the thick armor protecting his soul.

“Grand Elder, hitting me with the whip is one thing, but destroying my armor is unfair!”

“I won’t accept this!!”

The Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect watched nearby, barely able to contain his laughter, feeling this was the most amusing thing he’d witnessed in centuries.

“Your attitude in admitting your mistakes must be proper, and your posture for receiving punishment must be correct. Otherwise, how will you learn your lesson?”

As the Grand Elder spoke, he swung the punishment thunder whip with force.

The whip activated, flashing with brilliant lightning. Even before it struck Master Qianling, he felt a sharp pain in his soul.

“Grand Elder, could you go a little easier on me?” the restrained Master Qianling pleaded.

“Crack!”

The whip landed heavily on Master Qianling’s back, leaving a deep, bloody mark.

“Ah~~”

The strike inflicted three types of damage: physical, spiritual, and mental.

The mental damage was somewhat tied to the artifact Xu Fan had traded him.

…………

In the extreme north, on a vast and barren icefield, several puppet horses pulled a sled at high speed.

On the sled sat two men and one woman, intently studying a holographic map.

“Sigh, I wonder if we’ll ever find the fairy city Brother Han mentioned,” Iron Tower said.

“Big Brother, don’t worry. As long as we keep moving in that direction, we’ll eventually pick up the signal from the teleportation formation in the ice realm,” Han Feiyu reassured him.

“Big Brother, our lives now aren’t much different from before; we’re just traveling,” Iron Blue added with a smile.

“That’s true. After all the chaos of these years, at least this journey has been relatively peaceful,” Iron Tower agreed.

“Big Brother, Little Sister, don’t be impatient. I have a feeling we’ll detect the signal from the teleportation formation soon,” Han Feiyu said with a grin.

In his hand, he held a compass, on which he could faintly detect a point of light—the signal from the teleportation formation of the fairy city.

Just then, a device on Han Feiyu suddenly emitted an alarm.

“Take cover!”

The sled and puppet horses came to an abrupt halt.

Han Feiyu quickly stored the sled and puppet horses and pulled out an ice-breaking artifact, leading his siblings to burrow beneath the ice.

Han Feiyu led the way down, while Iron Tower sealed the ice hole above.

Soon, the three of them were over 100 meters below the ice surface.

“It’s rare to encounter beasts on this desolate icefield,” Iron Tower remarked with a smile.

“Let’s rest for a while and wait for the beast to leave before we continue,” Han Feiyu suggested, using the ice-breaking artifact to carve out a living space for the three of them.

One living room, three bedrooms, and a kitchen.

A pot of lush green spirit plants was placed in each room and the living room.

“Every time I see these plants, I’m amazed at how they produce the air we breathe. Even in a sealed environment for a long time, they work perfectly,” Iron Tower said, admiring the spirit plants.

“My sect’s field guide mentioned them, so I made sure to collect a few. I didn’t expect they’d be so useful now,” Han Feiyu explained.

A light curtain appeared before the three of them.

It displayed the image of a beast from the icefield.

“The most common ice bear. Judging by its size, it’s likely at the Void Refinement stage. Having caught our scent, it’ll probably linger here for ten days or half a month,” Han Feiyu analyzed, watching the light curtain.

“Let’s each return to our cultivation. We’ll continue once the ice bear leaves,” Iron Tower said.

“I’ve had some insights during our travels, so I’ll use this time to practice,” Han Feiyu replied.

“Then I’ll prepare some food; I still haven’t finished making all the recipes Brother Han gave us,” Iron Blue said with a smile.

Hearing Little Sister’s words, Iron Tower glanced at Han Feiyu and then at his sister, letting out a resigned sigh.