When Yun Che emerged from the Cold Abyss once more, the sky was already nearing dusk.

  From the direction of the Ice Soul Hall came waves of noisy commotion—clearly, the assembly had yet to conclude.

  Yun Che did not head there. Instead, he returned directly to the old residence. Swiftly, he organized his belongings: all pills, talismans, and materials were sorted and stored; the miscellaneous contents of the seven scavenged storage pouches were transferred into his own, while the empty pouches were carefully concealed; the Li Fire Art scroll and the bone shard recording the Breath-Concealing Art were kept close to his body; and the three bottles of Ice Marrow and the remaining Cold Marrow Water were placed separately for easy access.

  At last, his gaze fell upon the ruined splendor of the Frosted Prosperity sword. After a moment of contemplation, he still chose to keep it—though the sword itself was废, the gold shell infused with exorcising gold powder might yet serve another purpose.

  By the time everything was prepared, night had already fallen.

  Yun Che sat cross-legged on the ice bed, took a Condensing Ice Pill, and began regulating his breath to recover.

  This single meditation lasted three full hours.

  At midnight, he opened his eyes. The light in them was restrained yet sharp, and his spiritual power had recovered to nearly eighty percent.

  Stolen story; please report.

  He pushed open the door. Wind and snow roared past. The Xuanshuang Sect lay in utter silence—not even patrol disciples were to be seen.

  Clearly, the sect was already too overwhelmed to tend to such matters.

  Yun Che cast one final glance at the icy peaks and snowy valleys where he had lived for years. Then he turned and vanished into the boundless night.

  He did not take the main mountain gate—guards would surely remain there, perhaps lax, but still a risk.

  Instead, he circled to the rear mountain cliff, found a relatively gentle ice wall, and used the Minor Luring Art to control his descent, drifting downward like a falling leaf.

  A hundred-zhang ice cliff—he reached the bottom in the time it took half a cup of tea to cool.

  Looking back up, the mountain ranges of the Xuanshuang Sect were reduced to vague silhouettes beneath the night snow, like a slumbering colossal beast.

  Yun Che did not look back again. Fixing his direction northward, he began to walk.

  Li Han’s voice echoed in his mind.

  “Boy, what are your plans from here on out?”

  “To seek wood-aspected materials and complete the wood element of the Heaven-Defying Pearl,” Yun Che replied without slowing his steps. “At the same time, I’ll cultivate the Li Fire Art to prepare for Foundation Establishment.”

  “The direction is sound. But the Northern Domain is vast—where do you intend to search for wood?”

  Yun Che retrieved an item from his robes—the rough Northern Domain map he had purchased at the Frostshadow Gathering.

  The map, drawn on some kind of beast hide, was crude but marked several renowned dangerous regions, sect distributions, and major marketplaces of the Northern Domain.

  His finger came to rest on a mark in the northeast.

  Beside it were written three small characters:

  Wanmu Ridge.

  ?? At this moment of truly leaving the sect, what do you think is Yun Che’s greatest inner change?

  A complete severing from the Xuanshuang Sect?

  Or a transformation from “sect disciple” to “lone cultivator”?