Glacier Palace (II)

Chen Wentian followed Long Yifei through the sect. He got to see firsthand what Xu Lanyi and his other disciples had experienced growing up. The palace was massive but it was empty and quiet. The walls were ice, the floors were ice, everything was made of ice. There were no decorations anywhere and even the furniture was made of ice. He felt sorry for the way they had to live and cultivate. Even though Glacier Palace had many more disciples than Divine Blazing Mountain, the men had scores of wives and children and servants to keep them company. The women were alone in what felt like a desolate icy prison.

They walked in silence for a while until finally reaching their destination. Long Yifei gave him a tour of the sect master's quarters and the private library, pointing out which records were the best to get started with. Afterward, she gave him a bow and was about to leave when he spoke up.

"Miss Long, please wait a moment."

"Yes?"

"I… I just wanted to ask how you were doing after the events?" He asked lamely.

Long Yifei gave him a curious stare before answering simply, "I am fine."

Her face was a mask and he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Feeling a little frustrated, he asked again, "How are the other women I rescued doing?"

"They are slowly recovering. Those that received the worst abuse are still in a bad state but they are getting better."

"That is good… Make sure they mingle with women that returned from Divine Blazing Mountain." He said, "Perhaps they can help each other."

"Yes sir."

"Also, three days from now, can you gather all the women who are no longer virgins in the stadium. I just want them, not the whole sect. Also make sure my disciples are there, too."

Long Yifei's passive look turned into one of surprise, "May I ask why?"

He explained, "I have made some discoveries about the so-called true Eternal Winter Sutra that Murong Aiyin went crazy over. I found something interesting at Divine Blazing Mountain and I'm here to look through your records to hopefully confirm some things. For now, I will just say that Murong Aiyin did not have the complete version of the secret art and that's why she went crazy."

"I understand, I will make it so." She bowed once more.

Chen Wentain nodded and dismissed her.

When her silky rear finally disappeared, he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know why but being in her presence made his heart thump in his chest and his little dragon strain and struggle to be let free. Jasmine's beauty was comparable to Long Yifei but Jasmine's body was immature and lacked the raw and unstoppable sex appeal of a woman in full bloom.

He had to admit Long Yifei appearance was absolutely perfect in every way. She was slim and tall like Xu Lanyi yet she had the assets to match Wu Qianyu or Song Wushuang. She was simply impossibly beautiful, like something out of an erotic dream. He wanted to obtain her; this was his natural instinct as a man.

Still, he shouldn't be too eager or else he might come across like a pervert. He shook his head and returned his body to its normal state before getting to work searching the records…

Chen Wentian stayed away from the Glacier Palace women for the next few days and studied the mountains of historical records. He only briefly showed his face for the celebration but otherwise kept to himself. He checked on his disciples occasionally but it seemed they were having a great time being the center of attention of the women they helped save.

He was hoping to find any other secrets about Summer and Winter's Eternal Sutra and the stone tablet. There were still a lot of questions such as why the two tablets were split and how the secret art was created in the first place.

The books in the library were ordinary and mundane, describing various methods to cultivate yin energy. There was nothing special about the items in the sect's treasury either. There were plenty of diaries from previous sect masters detailing their battles with Divine Blazing Mountain but they made no mention of the stone tablet. He was disappointed as it seemed like it was something passed down through oral tradition.

The only interesting object was a large and detailed painting in the sect master's private library that was covered up by cloth and stashed away in a corner. It depicted a terrifying scene like something out of a nightmare. It showed a large battle between human warriors and what looked like giant flaming demons. The grotesque fiends were cleaving through the human ranks, lighting people aflame or simply gobbling them up. From the fear depicted in the men's faces, they were obviously losing and badly.

The painting also depicted a ray of hope. From the corner behind the men, four female cultivators were flying in to join the battle. The painting wasn't very clear but it seemed like each of them wielded a different kind of immortal art.

One of the women wore white and had white rays of ice shooting out of her hands. He assumed this woman was meant to be Glacier Palace but he had no idea about the other women. The one behind the ice woman seemed to be using water since her attacks were blue colored. Another one had black colored attacks while the last one was green.

This was an interesting find and hinted at a larger secret to the origin of Glacier Palace. There were no other records or references to the painting and he could only speculate. He stashed the painting away in his spatial bag, hoping he would be able to solve the mystery in the future.

The third day arrived and there was a knock at the door at the scheduled time. Chen Wentian stopped his meditation and was greeted by a sight of stunning beauty.

"Sir Chen, it is time for the meeting." Long Yifei bowed.

"Good, lead the way."

They walked in silence for a while until Long Yifei spoke up, "Sir Chen, can I also attend the meeting?"

"Why?" He asked.

"I am curious about what you have to say." She said lightly.

"Well… the subject may be uncomfortable for you but sure, if you want." He said, trying to keep a calm face. If she was curious, he thought, perhaps it will be much easier to have her as his disciple.

They eventually arrived at the stadium and Chen Wentian saw that everyone he had requested were here. He walked to the front and beckoned to his disciples who got up and joined him. He then addressed the crowd.

"Disciples of Glacier Palace, I wanted to talk to all of you today about a very uncomfortable topic. I hope you all will be patient and resilient as I explain the truth behind Murong Aiyin's descent into madness. In the end, I will also present several choices, different paths to your life as a cultivator. You are each free to make your own choices, I promise this. Now, let's begin…"