The night on the Northern Domain’s wastelands was even colder than that of the Xuanshuang Mountains.

  The freezing wind cut like blades, carrying shards of snow that lashed against the face, biting to the bone. The snow beneath his feet was knee-deep; every step demanded a considerable effort.

  Yun Che pulled the collar of his gray robe higher, leaving only his eyes exposed. Spiritual power circulated steadily within him, warding off the cold. The strength fused with the void light motes seemed to possess a natural adaptability to extreme environments, allowing him to endure this brutal chill far better than ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators.

  After traveling for about an hour, the silhouettes of the Xuanshuang Sect’s mountains had long vanished behind him.

  All around was boundless desolation—nothing but the howl of wind and snow.

  Li Han suddenly spoke, “Three li to the left-front, there’s a fluctuation of spiritual power—very faint, but more than one.”

  Yun Che quietly expanded his divine sense. Sure enough, beneath the cover of wind and snow, several auras could be vaguely detected ahead, moving slowly.

  After a brief pause, he altered his course and approached that direction.

  Three lives passed in the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

  Hiding behind a snow mound, Yun Che focused his gaze.

  In the snowfield, seven or eight figures were trudging forward with great difficulty, stumbling every few steps. Judging by their clothing, they were all outer disciples of the Xuanshuang Sect, most at the first or second level of Qi Condensation. Their faces were pale, lips tinged purple from the cold—clearly at the brink of exhaustion.

  “Senior Brother Wang… Do you really think we can make it to Icewind Valley?” a young disciple asked, his voice trembling.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  The one called Senior Brother Wang was a burly youth in his early twenties. Gritting his teeth, he replied, “Hold on! Icewind Valley has a secret sect outpost. Once we get there, we’ll be safe!”

  “But… didn’t Uncle-Master Sun and the others head south? Why are we going north?”

  “The Snowbound Alliance is coming from the south. Going that way is walking into a trap! The north is dangerous, but there’s still a slim chance of survival!”

  The disciples fell silent, burying their heads and pressing on.

  Yun Che watched for a moment, then quietly withdrew.

  These people had no ties to him, and with his own safety uncertain, it was best not to invite complications.

  Just as he was about to leave, Senior Brother Wang suddenly slipped and fell. A small cloth bundle rolled from his chest, spilling open to reveal several pieces of dried rations and two bottles of low-grade pills.

  A skinny disciple’s eyes flashed with greed as he suddenly lunged forward to snatch them.

  “Zhao San! What are you doing?!” Senior Brother Wang cried out in shock and anger.

  “Sorry, Senior Brother Wang!” Zhao San snarled, his face twisted. “Share the food and pills with me, or we’ll all die anyway!”

  The other disciples exchanged uneasy glances; some began to waver.

  Yun Che halted.

  He remembered four years ago, when he had first entered the Xuanshuang Sect, struggling just for a single meal or a scrap of resources.

  After several breaths of silence, he took a bottle of ordinary Qi Condensation Pills from his storage pouch—loot taken from Zhang Mingyuan’s belongings. With a flick of his finger, the bottle traced an arc through the air and 啪 landed in the snow among them.

  Everyone froze, then turned toward the direction from which the bottle had come.

  Behind the snow mound, there was no one—only the ceaseless wind and snow.

  Senior Brother Wang was the first to react. He grabbed the bottle, opened it, and exclaimed in disbelief, “Qi Condensation Pills… ten of them!”

  The group erupted in astonishment.

  “Just now… Which senior passed by?” someone asked shakily.

  Senior Brother Wang looked toward the snow mound and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Senior, for your gift of pills!”

  There was no reply.

  Without hesitation, he poured out two pills and swallowed them, then distributed the remaining eight to the two disciples in the worst condition. “Take them—recover your strength!”

  The disciples’ spirits lifted at once. Even Zhao San showed a trace of shame and silently retreated to the side.

  By then, Yun Che was already several li away.

  Li Han scoffed, “Soft-hearted.”

  Yun Che said nothing—he simply quickened his pace.

  Another hour passed, and a pale light spread across the horizon.

  The wind and snow gradually subsided.

  Ahead, on the edge of the land, a stretch of continuous dark shadows emerged—

  A forest.

  The Northern Domain’s rare Ironwood Forest.

  ?? How do you interpret Yun Che’s intervention in this chapter?

  A sign that his compassion remains unchanged,

  or a choice made only because he now has the strength to spare?