Mortal Alchemy

The Cloud Ice Mountains are located southwest of the Eastern Xuan Sect.

This place has a specialty, which is Ice Silk.

This material can be used to refine clothes, shoes, socks, and even magical artifacts.

For example, Chen Ping's robes used Ice Silk, as did Zhou Ying's silk artifact.

Chen Ping first encountered Ice Silk when he saw the Ice Silk stockings worn on Mu Luofei's jade feet.

Although the Cloud Ice Mountains have specialties, there are not many immortal cultivation families rooted in this area, and the Cloud Ice Market only has a small street.

The cold and bitter land is not suitable for cultivation, and the spiritual energy here is mixed and violent, making it unsuitable for an immortal cultivation family to live here for a long time.

Chen Ping once again transformed into Tang Sheng and rented a small courtyard at the end of the market street.

This time, he did not act rashly, but first inquired about information to see if there were any major forces doing things nearby, or if there were any strange events.

Chen Ping was only able to survive the Ten Thousand Islands Lake Market because he had the Gold-seeking Mink.

The Gold-seeking Mink seemed even happier near the Cloud Ice Mountains, feeling more comfortable in this icy and snowy environment.

It even slept directly on the snow and ice, lazily rubbing its back against the snow, twisting its body.

Chen Ping also brought it along this time to explore and collect the second-order spiritual fire. This little guy has a keen nose, and if it discovers any treasures, wouldn't he be able to earn more money?

"Mink Brother, if you find a treasure when we enter the mountains, I will exchange it with you for three hundred pounds of spirit beast meat, how about that?"

"Squeak."

The Gold-seeking Mink happily agreed.

Its silver-white fur is more suitable for camouflage in this icy and snowy environment, making it difficult to detect with the naked eye, not to mention its speed is also very fast.

While Chen Ping inquired about information, he also cultivated and refined pills.

There were not many tenants in this small market, mostly local hunters and weavers.

In the month that Chen Ping was here, he did not even see a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining.

However, this also relieved him. Without anyone causing trouble, his journey to subdue the second-order spiritual fire might be smoother.

"Perhaps the second-order spiritual fire is not very important to the cultivators of large clans, so no one is watching..."

After observing for a month, Chen Ping prepared to enter the mountains.

"Mink Brother."

Chen Ping called out, and the Gold-seeking Mink, who was playing in the snow, ran over and entered Chen Ping's sleeve.

Chen Ping walked out the door, and the neighbors greeted him:

"Little Tang, are you going out?"

"Yes, I'm going into the mountains to try my luck and see if I can dig up something good. I can't just sit around and do nothing."

Entering the mountains to find Ice Silk and other spiritual objects is called 'mountain hunting' in this area.

"That's good, but you must be careful. The mountains have been uneasy recently, and many monsters are running around. I don't know what's going on."

"We haven't dared to enter the mountains for some time."

"Thank you for the reminder, I will be careful."

Chen Ping responded with a smile.

Perhaps this place is too remote and there are few benefits, so the folk customs of the entire Cloud Ice Market are relatively simple and peaceful.

It is also possible that there is a trick to it. Chen Ping can only take what others say as a reference and will not trust it too much.

Cloud Ice Mountain is located in the deepest part of the mountain range.

The ice fog is thick, and it seems that there are monsters hidden inside, with roars heard from time to time.

Therefore, using flying artifacts to enter the mountains is more dangerous than walking.

Chen Ping walked into the mountains on foot, and the Gold-seeking Mink couldn't help but come out of his sleeve to frolic.

This guy seemed to be back home, and Chen Ping didn't stop it, letting it go.

With Chen Ping's late-stage first-level body cultivator physique, he was not afraid of the cold when entering the Cloud Ice Mountains.

Five days later, Chen Ping walked eight hundred miles and arrived at the foot of Cloud Ice Mountain.

Here, ice and snow are constantly melting, turning into mist and rising into the sky, so that the mountain's clouds and mist never dissipate.

A look of joy appeared on Chen Ping's face: "This must be caused by the second-order earth vein spiritual fire."

Chen Ping found a safe place and took out the spiritual fire attracting stone from his storage bag.

This was obtained at a black market auction several years ago, and today it finally came in handy.

Chen Ping injected spiritual power into it.

"Swish!!!"

The palm-sized stone suddenly emitted light and heat.

After a while, the surrounding ice and snow began to melt rapidly, and Chen Ping saw a wisp of dark blue spiritual fire emerging from the ground.

This wisp of spiritual fire was as thick as a finger, but as soon as it appeared, it brought Chen Ping a huge amount of pressure and threat.

Although he was at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, this second-order spiritual fire was the real deal.

That wisp of spiritual fire floated towards the spiritual fire attracting stone, and Chen Ping faced a formidable enemy, taking out the small bead of bloodline inheritance hanging around his neck.

To bring this spiritual fire under his control, he had to introduce it into the inheritance hall and refine it with the power of his bloodline, otherwise, Chen Ping's physical body alone would not be able to refine this wisp of second-order spiritual fire.

This spiritual fire was enough to burn his body to ashes.

Chen Ping treated it with caution, placing the small bead next to the spiritual fire attracting stone.

The spiritual fire revolved around the spiritual fire attracting stone, and the attracting stone began to shrink imperceptibly, while the spiritual fire became correspondingly stronger.

Chen Ping released his magic power to drive this wisp of spiritual fire into the small bead.

At first, it went smoothly, and that wisp of spiritual fire began to enter the small bead.

Before long, a strange scene appeared. That wisp of spiritual fire stopped entering the small bead. Not only that, but it also began to dissipate and retreat, no longer revolving around the attracting stone.

Chen Ping was dumbfounded and couldn't help but scratch his head: "What's going on?"

"Is this spiritual fire attracting stone ineffective?"

The spiritual fire drilled back into the ground and disappeared, which made Chen Ping start to worry.

There was only half a wisp of spiritual fire in the small bead, which was too little.

At the very least, he had to condense a spiritual fire and obtain a bit of its origin so that the spiritual fire would not dissipate.

Chen Ping once again urged the spiritual fire attracting stone, but the cold ice ghost fire no longer appeared.

"...Could it be that this spiritual fire has developed intelligence? It doesn't want to be abducted by me?"

"No, if the spiritual fire had developed intelligence, just now that action would have been enough to anger it, and I would have been burned to ashes directly."

"There should be other tricks in this."

Just as Chen Ping was racking his brains to think of a countermeasure, a girl wearing a green dress and carrying a bamboo basket appeared before Chen Ping.

The girl was fifteen or sixteen years old, with a slender and exquisite figure and a charming and alluring appearance.

The two looked at each other, and the other party was not afraid or ran away when she saw Chen Ping, but instead asked in a delicate voice:

"This mountain hunting fellow Daoist, have you encountered any trouble?"

Chen Ping was a little wary. He scanned her with the Aura Observation Technique and saw that she was a little female cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

He said, "I have encountered some trouble."

The girl said, "If the fellow Daoist doesn't mind, you can come to my house to avoid the cold. There are many monsters in these mountains, and it is not particularly safe outside at night."

Faced with the girl's invitation, Chen Ping did not refuse and went happily.

The atmosphere of the Cloud Ice Market was so simple and hospitable.

When Chen Ping lived in the market for a month, the neighbors and folks would ask after him with concern and were extremely enthusiastic.

Therefore, it was also a local custom for this girl to invite Chen Ping to sit at home, which would not make people suspicious.

Moreover, a girl at the fifth level of Qi Refining posed no threat to him.

Chen Ping didn't know the strangeness of this spiritual fire, maybe he could learn some useful information from her.