Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 246 - The Budding of Qinchong (2)

The Abyss of Extreme Ice was deathly silent. By the ice wall, even the figure of the statue was barely visible. Zanxing’s shadow had completely vanished, the ice cave had fully encased her, standing silently amidst the vast sea of snow.

Her name was now vividly clear, as though an invisible hand was meticulously tracing it layer by layer. The inscriptions on the stone wall were deeply engraved, hidden among countless names in the ice wall, buried by the snow.

In this desolate place, the final trace of warmth had dissipated, turning it into a lifeless tomb, devoid of any vitality.

The glowing fireflies had also extinguished, the petals had closed, and the surroundings had darkened.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, time passed without notice.

Buried beneath thousands of feet of snow and ice, something suddenly stirred.

In this realm of deathly stillness, the object hidden in the snow became the only sign of life. Even the slightest movement stood out. At first, it merely struggled faintly, then gradually began to awaken, making an effort to move. Soon, the small entity was eagerly trying to break free from its constraints, persistently attempting to burst through. Finally, the last of its bonds were broken, and the small thing charged through the obstacles, emerging into the world.

A greenish light suddenly appeared in the Abyss of Extreme Ice.

This light emerged from one of the ice sculptures, melting some of the accumulated snow around it. The once dormant blue flowers seemed to have been awakened by something, as they opened their petals and began to glow brightly, flourishing in a lively display.

The green light then swept across the red-dressed woman in chains, large chunks of ice and snow falling away from her. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, as if sensing the changes in the abyss, and her eyes gradually opened to take in the scene before her.

“What is this…” Bu Jiang’s eyes widened in astonishment.

In this Abyss of Extreme Ice, for two years, Bu Jiang had seen nothing but the cold, lifeless hues of the abyss and the frozen figure within. Now, a vibrant green light, brimming with vitality, appeared for the first time in this dead silence. It was as if the ice and snow might soon melt away, giving way to blooming flowers and verdant greens.

Bu Jiang looked up at Zanxing. The green light seemed to be emanating from her.

“What is that…” she murmured.

Bu Jiang had never encountered such a phenomenon before. In the demon realm, ‘life’ was a rare and precious commodity. Since the death of the Gu Diaotang, the spiritual veins of the demon world had withered, and the concept of ‘life’ had been almost forgotten.

But if Men Dong were here, he would immediately recognize this green light. It was the green seed of the Qinchong, hidden within Zanxing for so long, that had finally begun to sprout.

The tiny green seed, which had been unwittingly swallowed by Zanxing, had lain dormant until now. In the midst of the lifeless Abyss of Extreme Ice, the Qinchong seed had suddenly germinated. It rapidly absorbed the surrounding desolation, deeply rooted itself in Zanxing’s spiritual roots, sprouted, and began to grow, eventually transforming into a vibrant green tree, infusing her spiritual roots with a burst of life.

Bu Jiang noticed the changes in the Abyss of Extreme Ice.

This place was not merely a growing abyss; it seemed to possess a form of consciousness, understanding human weaknesses and setting traps. On the night Zanxing fell into a deep sleep, the Abyss of Extreme Ice had indeed become colder than ever before, to the extent that even the fire essence could not resist the chill and extinguished during the night. The snow and ice falling upon her, more accurately, infiltrated her spiritual consciousness, attempting to erode her will.

She saw many people.

They appeared to be demon cultivators who had been trapped here. Like her, these cultivators initially tried to climb out of the abyss, unwilling to accept their fate. However, none of them succeeded in escaping. Even the most talented individuals faced the same end.

This was a severe blow to one’s willpower—pushing oneself toward something destined to fail was the height of folly.

Those demons with strong spiritual power all eventually succumbed, let alone an ordinary person like Zanxing.

Many times, Zanxing had also thought about giving up, but it seemed as though someone was whispering to her in the void, urging her to hold on just a little longer.

So, at countless critical moments, she persisted.

This perseverance was incredibly challenging because the cold of the Abyss of Extreme Ice inflicted more damage on the spirit than on the body. Several times, she felt her spiritual consciousness was on the brink of shattering, almost dissolving into nothingness. Yet, at the final moments, a stream of green light would warm her, allowing her to breathe again.

Zanxing did not understand what it was until the moment the green seed sprouted, when everything became clear.

The Qinchong was a celestial herb seed obtained by the sect leader, Shaoyang Zhenren, from a secret realm ten years ago. Legend had it that thousands of years ago, a celestial being who ascended left behind a divine instrument, a guqin, on which a spiritual herb grew. This herb looked like a tiny worm but was indeed a spiritual plant. When ingested, it would sprout in the spiritual roots and gradually repair any deficiencies in the spiritual veins.

When Zanxing fell into the black marsh, she had accidentally swallowed the Qinchong nurtured by Gu Baiying. Perhaps due to the suppression by the Xiao Yuan Pearl or because her spiritual veins were intact, the Qinchong seed remained dormant and silently slumbered within her spiritual roots.

But now, the situation was different.

The initial green light was small, but it gradually expanded, casting its glow across the entire abyss. As the light moved, Bu Jiang couldn’t shake the feeling—perhaps it was just an illusion—that the Abyss of Extreme Ice seemed less cold than before.

“Zanxing…” she looked anxiously at the still figure of Zanxing, uncertain whether this change was beneficial or detrimental to her.

In her spiritual realm, Zanxing saw the little green tree.

In reality, since the night the Heavenly Fire Basket was extinguished, she had never truly fallen into a deep sleep. During her transformation into a statue, Zanxing had discovered a secret.

The Abyss of Extreme Ice was alive.

The cold of the Abyss of Extreme Ice wreaked havoc within her body and spiritual force, and Zanxing’s spiritual roots had been severely damaged from her time in the Ten Thousand Killing Formation. Such a broken body, however, was the most suitable for the Qinchong to thrive in. The Qinchong inherently contained healing power, and the more severe the damage to the spiritual veins and body, the better the nourishment for it.

The capacity of the Qinchong depended on the host’s innate potential. Typically, a Qinchong would only grow to a tender sprout, and those with severe spiritual ailments, like Gu Baiying, might only see it develop into a few branches. However, this Qinchong had grown into a small tree within Zanxing’s spiritual roots, swaying with vitality—its growth was truly extraordinary.

The green tree’s branches and leaves began to exude a vibrant emerald glow, creating waves of light that radiated outward from Zanxing, cleansing the surroundings.

Crack—

In the desolate abyss, a piece of ice fell.

One chunk of ice shattered.

In the ice cavern, Zanxing’s fingertip moved slightly.