A Sinister Bloom Unfolds

As Lin Xi donned the copper-studded light armor and took his first step out of the small armory-like wooden cabin, an icy chill immediately swept across his face. 

Gazing at the lightly snow-covered desolate mountains, he realized that without the academy's cloak to ward off the cold, the upcoming nights would undoubtedly be more arduous than those spent in the half-snowy wasteland. 

After traversing a few steps in the snow, he paused to observe for a moment, then couldn't help but shake his head. 

For the snow falling from the sky was, in strict terms, icy granules, more delicate than genuine snowfall but far denser and more compact. Thus, while the snow cover was not particularly thick, it was remarkably firm, leaving only faint footprints. Given the mountain winds, it seemed that after more than two hours, any signs of passage would be completely erased. 

Lin Xi sensed the wind direction and glanced up to gauge his surroundings, simultaneously checking the sky. 

The expanse above was clear and bright, indicating that the weather would likely remain splendid for the next two days. 

While Lin Xi engaged in these observations, Bian Linghan had already emerged from another wooden cabin. 

The two simultaneously broke off several branches laden with dense pine needles and bound them to their feet, a method that would lighten their tracks in the snow and hasten their disappearance. 

Then, the two swiftly plunged into the thicket, striving to remain silent as they advanced toward the location marked as Peak Five on the map, while hastily removing several large copper plates embedded in their light armor and binding additional pine branches onto their bodies. 

No practitioner would consider these thin copper plates useful in battle; moreover, in such clear snowy weather, the copper would easily reflect light, making it simple for distant foes on elevated ground to detect their presence. 

However, these thin copper plates held significant utility for Lin Xi, particularly the palm-sized ones on his chest, which could be easily fashioned into vessels for boiling in the wilderness. 

... 

After more than an hour, Lin Xi had kindled a fire in a mountain hollow, while Bian Linghan had climbed a nearby pine tree with the best vantage point to keep watch. 

The fire was ignited before a fissure in the mountainside, and the wind direction caused the smoke to be drawn entirely into that crevice. 

This was a lesson learned from their survival course at Qingluan Academy. 

By accurately assessing the wind direction and selecting an appropriate mountain crevice, the moisture in the smoke would quickly condense within the mountain, and due to the filtering of the folded fissure, almost no noticeable smoke would escape to be detected. 

At this moment, several copper plates removed from the light armor had been fashioned by Lin Xi into bowl-like vessels, in which he was melting some amber-like pine resin. 

In this frigid highland region, the resin melted very slowly; however, Lin Xi exhibited remarkable patience and meticulousness. 

Once all the resin had melted into a pale yellow liquid, he swiftly sprinkled in a certain type of ash derived from burning plant roots, causing the resin to transform into a milky white substance. Some impurities and ashes combined and settled, while the top layer of viscous resin became clear and transparent, shifting from pale yellow to a hue of white tinged with light blue. 

Lin Xi collected this layer of resin entirely and placed it into a vessel crafted from a copper plate, ensuring that the resin remained in a melted state. 

Next, he fashioned a blowing tube from a hollowed-out dry branch and fervently stoked the fire, causing the flames to boil the resin, which began to vaporize. 

One black arrow after another was suspended above the smoke, reminiscent of strips of cured meat… Under Lin Xi's continuous adjustments, nearly half an hour passed, and the surfaces of these black arrows were coated with a layer of white resin, gleaming with a lustrous sheen and exuding a distinctive fragrance of resin. 

Observing these arrows, now transformed in appearance, Lin Xi couldn't help but marvel at the academy's ingenious methods; using merely the most common pine resin found in the Tengtian Mountain range along with some unique root ashes could yield such remarkable results. 

Moreover, Lin Xi was acutely aware that he had only employed one of the formulas taught by Tong Wei. 

The other two formulas could coat the arrows in a green hue or retain their black color, each suited for denser foliage in verdant rainforests or for nocturnal ambushes. 

The current white coating was undoubtedly more fitting for this icy, snowy terrain. 

Lin Xi began to carefully test the arrows that had thoroughly cooled, ultimately collecting forty-seven that had turned white, incinerating the remaining arrows and burying their tips. 

Not a single drop of the boiled resin was wasted; he and Bian Linghan applied a thin layer onto their light armor, transforming the originally black Yunqin standard armor into a nearly white hue. As they traversed the snowy wilderness, it would be difficult to discern them from a distance. 

... 

Just as Lin Xi and Bian Linghan were finally prepared to commence their search with full vigor, Yu Huatianji was traversing the shaded side of a ridge. 

Due to years of being in the shade, the ice and snow here were even more slippery, and the air felt particularly frigid. 

The food he had carried with him had been consumed during the trek to the two wooden cabins, and according to the competition rules, he was not permitted to bring any items from the academy. From the previous night until now, Yu Huatianji had not eaten anything; however, the Yu family's enduring hardships and their self-imposed rigorous training had rendered his appetite significantly smaller than that of an average practitioner, allowing him to consume things that would make most ordinary cultivators retch. 

Additionally, he could endure hunger far better, dismissing the panic induced by it from his mind. 

The priests of Yunqin and the ascetics of Tang Zang were, after all, among the most resilient beings in existence. 

Thus, Yu Huatianji had no intention of hunting; his remarkable self-control meant he would not suffer lapses in judgment due to hunger for three days. 

He simply observed his surroundings quietly, moving forward at a steady pace. 

A strong gust of wind swept through, causing a patch of underbrush in the shadows to bend in one direction before standing upright again. 

This was a common sight in these woods, yet Yu Huatianji immediately approached the thicket, crouching down to examine everything closely. 

Among the seemingly ordinary bushes, a few tender branches were missing, prompting him to snap off a young twig, from which some sap immediately oozed. He placed the twig in his mouth, slowly chewing; the taste was quite sour, yet he discerned the fibers were tender, and the sap caused no immediate discomfort… Thus, despite not knowing the name of this bush, Yu Huatianji quickly concluded it was edible. 

After swallowing the not unpleasantly chewy fibers, he began to inspect the area more closely. However, aside from discovering that someone had likely broken off some tender branches for consumption, he found nothing else of note. 

Without much hesitation, Yu Huatianji began to stride northward. 

From his current position, northward lay the snow-capped peaks of the main Tengtian Mountain range. Generally, one would not venture toward higher altitudes in such cold conditions, but as a member of the Yu family, he understood well the nature of most prisoners; driven by fear, they often fled toward harsher environments that were harder to reach. 

In less than two hours, during the brightest part of the day in this desolate expanse, Yu Huatianji suddenly halted before a low-lying area, calling out warily toward a few withered trees bent under the weight of snow, "Come out." 

After five or six breaths of silence, seeing no response, he made as if to throw his spear forcefully, and in that instant, a figure burst forth from the thicket of dead trees, fleeing in a panic away from Yu Huatianji. However, the figure was clearly too stiff, stumbling twice within a mere ten steps. 

Yu Huatianji remained still, his voice resonating with an otherworldly calm, "I am a member of the Yu family and a student of Qingluan Academy. In the name of the Yu family and Qingluan Academy, I offer you redemption; follow me out of the mountain, and you shall receive a full pardon." 

The fleeing figure abruptly froze, losing balance and collapsing heavily to the ground. 

Yu Huatianji approached the figure, who was cloaked in tattered gray rags, his golden hair shining brighter than the sun. 

The fallen figure trembled with fear and doubt, her body on the brink of collapse. To Yu Huatianji's surprise, the figure turned out to be a strikingly beautiful girl. 

Her hair was matted together, and her face bore the marks of cruel lashes. 

"It is over… You will receive a full pardon; the sins and darkness shall depart from you." Yu Huatianji felt a surge of compassion in his heart as he approached the girl, whose fear and misfortune were deeply intertwined, intending to help her up. However, at that moment, a strange flush suddenly appeared on his previously pale face. 

For in that instant, the trembling girl, nearly convulsing, suddenly revealed a radiant smile, and at the same time, her hand, glinting with a cold light, shot forth from her sleeve, aiming straight for his heart! 

In that fleeting moment, he barely managed to recoil, as the girl's bloodied face, alight with a fierce smile, resembled a strangely enchanting flower, her black dagger plunging sharply downward into his left shoulder! Hot blood splattered from Yu Huatianji's shoulder, and simultaneously, her powerful, long legs forcefully kicked against him.