Seeking Fire
The blizzard has stopped, but the weather is gloomy and it looks like it could snow at any moment.
This is the far north, where it snows for at least half the year, and the rest of the time it's sunny but colder than when it's snowing.
The creatures that can live here can at least withstand the severe cold, so today Ren Xiangxiang continues to be carried by Mo You.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Mo You suddenly stopped, and Ren Xiangxiang subconsciously raised her head.
"Xiangxiang, look ahead, isn't that the Snowdew Mountain you mentioned?"
Ren Xiangxiang looked in the direction he was looking, and a mottled snow-capped mountain appeared before her. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Yes! That's it!"
Upon hearing this, Mo You's spirits lifted considerably. "You'll be fine in half a day at most."
After saying that, he leaped over the rocks exposed in the snow and swept across the mountainside.
Perhaps because she was about to arrive at Xuewu Mountain, Ren Xiangxiang was excited and stared nervously at the mottled mountain in front of her, braving the wind and snow.
In my memory, the snow melting from the mountaintop formed a small river that flowed slowly down the mountainside, with some short plants growing sparsely along its banks.
Ren Xiangxiang braved the howling wind and endured until the afternoon, her face turning red from the cold. In the end, Xuewushan was still a mountain away from them, just like before.
"Wait a minute," Ren Xiangxiang called out to Mo You, "Why do I feel..."
She sensed it all, and Mo You naturally noticed it long ago, but he thought that as long as he sped up, he could catch up with her.
"It's running," Mo You said with absolute certainty.
“But it wasn’t like this last time I came,” Ren Xiangxiang recalled. “Mo You, you, you put me down.”
"you--"
“I walked there by myself last time, and I’m wondering if that’s the reason.”
Ren Xiangxiang made a decisive decision, and Mo You couldn't stop her.
"Be careful, the snow is very deep here."
As soon as Ren Xiangxiang landed, the snow was already above her knees, but surprisingly she didn't feel very cold.
"I'll hold you." Mo You held her hand, which was broad and warm. Ren Xiangxiang struggled to pull her leg out with Mo You's help. Looking at him, the snow was only up to his calves.
Ren Xiangxiang sighed for no reason, but persevered and began climbing the mountain step by step from the foot of the mountain. When she was almost at the top, the snow only reached her calves.
"Just as I thought." Ren Xiangxiang muttered to herself. Looking at Xuewu Mountain again, she saw that it hadn't changed, and breathed a sigh of relief before continuing forward with Mo You.
Soon, as darkness fell, they had crossed the snow-covered mountain blocking their path and arrived at the foot of Xuewu Mountain.
By this time, a thin layer of snow had formed, and streams formed by the melting snow flowed down from the mountain peaks, making the mountain path muddy and difficult to traverse.
"Is this the place?" Mo You asked.
Ren Xiangxiang nodded. "I wonder if we'll encounter a giant snow ghost or something else this time."
Mo You chuckled, unconvinced.
However, the two of them had already been spotted by another pair of eyes, eyes filled with undisguised disgust, fixed on the woman in the light blue dress.
"That annoying guy, why is he here again?"
As soon as the words were spoken, a gust of wind suddenly swept across the mottled snow, blowing towards the two of them.
At the same time, the red-faced child who was dozing in the treehouse suddenly opened his eyes and looked around strangely.
call--
A gust of wind blew, and just as the two had reached the halfway point of the mountain, darkness suddenly fell overhead. Ren Xiangxiang looked up and saw a pitch-black monster rushing towards her.
"Snow Ghost!" Ren Xiangxiang's vision blurred, and she rolled on the ground. Mo You had already rushed past her. The snow ghost missed its target with a slap and turned to grab Ren Xiangxiang again.
This snow demon was two zhang tall, looked like a bear, and opened its blood-red maw, howling wildly in Ren Xiangxiang's direction.
The heavy aura of blood made Ren Xiangxiang's chest tighten, and a sword shadow pierced towards the ferocious face of the snow demon.
"Awooo—"
Mo You stabbed Xue Gui in the face with his sword, but his wrist went numb and the sword trembled slightly. Xue Gui paused and forcefully pushed Mo You back. Mo You used the force to his advantage and quickly retreated to a distance of 10 feet with Ren Xiangxiang.
"The Ice Nightmare can't hurt it!"
Is its skin really that tough?
Ren Xiangxiang was still shaken. As the snow demon howled and pounced on her again, Mo You acted decisively. His sword flashed like a ghost, each strike aimed at the opponent's vital points. However, all that could be heard were clanging and banging sounds. The huge snow demon kept flailing about, as if swatting away flies, but its thick, hard fur didn't leave a single scratch.
Mo You had never encountered such an opponent before. As he watched the Snow Demon's slap fall, he stepped back and slashed at the opponent's throat with his sword.
Clang!
His wrist went numb, the shock made his tiger's mouth ache slightly, and his demonic blood surged within him. He lost his footing and was suddenly grabbed by the snow ghost and thrown away forcefully.
"Moyou!"
Ren Xiangxiang leaped lightly and caught up with Mo You, but unexpectedly, the snow ghost took the opportunity to pounce on her.
"Xiangxiang!"
"stop!"
The moment Mo You landed, he caught Ren Xiangxiang who was coming towards him, and with a backhand slash, the huge impact swept out, causing the demonic blood in Mo You's body to boil, and the long sword in his hand creaked.
boom--
The snow demon took a step back, but was actually knocked away by Mo You. Then, its huge body burst out with red light and transformed into a crimson spear in the blink of an eye, flying towards the mountaintop with a whoosh.
"It... flew away?"
The last time she came, she was knocked unconscious by a snow ghost, and then she met a strange little boy. This time, because Mo You was there, the snow ghost was beaten back to its original form.
So, the Snow Demon's original form is a gun?
On the mountaintop, the crimson spear jumped up and down in anger, cursing, "Thunder God, you bastard! Weren't you sleeping? Why are you out again? Change me back to normal! Who wants to be transformed into this!"
"You were originally a piece of red iron, and you look quite good like this!"
"Looks good my foot! Let go of me right now!"
The crimson spear circled the red-faced child, making him dizzy, so he could only wave his hand.
A flash of red light appeared, and the crimson spear twisted and slowly transformed into a violent, red-haired youth.
At that moment, Ren Xiangxiang and Mo You appeared in front of the two.
Ren Xiangxiang stared in surprise at the red-faced child not far away, then asked uncertainly, "Are you... Lei Gong?"
Time had passed, and Lei Gong finally turned his attention to Ren Xiangxiang. The woman in the light blue dress in front of him looked exactly the same as before, except that her complexion was not very good. She had an almond-shaped face and peach-blossom cheeks, and was very lively and cute. This made him recall the scene a few years ago when the ice lotus flowers were in full bloom by the stream.
“Ren Xiangxiang?” After Lei Gong finished speaking, the redness on his face faded, and he turned back into the pale-faced little boy. “You’ve come to pick lotus flowers again? But you’ve come at the wrong time. Someone with a careless hand has already crushed them.”
"Who are you calling a troublemaker?!" The red-haired youth immediately jumped up and down.
As night fell and all was quiet, there were hardly any living creatures to be seen in this far north. Snow-covered Mountain was slightly better, as it was home to some snow deer, snow foxes, and other creatures.
Snow deer are particularly large, with imposing antlers that seem capable of knocking people over at any moment, but they are also the most timid, scattering and fleeing at the slightest disturbance.
Lei Gong, now in a different form, led the two to his dwelling, a simple treehouse built in a grove of low trees on the mountain. It was drafty and well-ventilated, and if he hadn't hastily added a roof, it wouldn't have been a proper house.
"What do I say? You have the nerve to use this place as a place to live?" The red-haired youth was named Blood Soul, Lei Gong's nominal servant.
Lei Gong glanced at Xue Hun, who rolled his eyes at him. "Fine, fine, I'll go play by myself."
Although the house was a bit simple, it was fully equipped with tables, chairs and benches. On the table was a plate of palm-shaped red fruits, and Lei Gong picked one up and handed it to Ren Xiangxiang.
"You've come at just the right time. The red palm fruit is just ripe, and I'm the only place that has it. It's quite sweet."
Ren Xiangxiang looked at the red fruit, about the size of a walnut and shaped like a palm, took a small bite, and the sweet and sour juice immediately filled her mouth. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately handed one to Mo You.
"You said you don't want the Ice Lotus, so what are you doing here?" Lei Gong also took a fruit, eating it while sizing up the two of them.
"I'm looking for something," Ren Xiangxiang blurted out without thinking. "Do you know what Snowfire and Shadow are?"
Lei Gong paused, his face expressionless, but his tone became hesitant, "I know about Snowfire, what do you need it for?"
Upon hearing that Lei Gong knew about Xue Gong Huo, Ren Xiangxiang's spirits lifted, and she hurriedly asked, "You really know? Where is it? How can I get it?"
Lei Gong blinked at Ren Xiangxiang and asked, "If you don't know what it is, why did you take it?"
"This..." Ren Xiangxiang's gaze gradually dimmed, and she unconsciously began to talk about everything that had happened at Qiling Mountain.
“…So that’s it. I need Snow God Fire to make the Gu-Exterminating Needle.” Ren Xiangxiang looked at Lei Gong with a pleading expression. Lei Gong lowered his head, unconsciously crushing a pile of red palm fruits, making his hands red. He looked at his hands and replied thoughtfully, “What you want is here with me, but I can’t give it to you right now.”
"Then..." Ren Xiangxiang's first thought was what she could offer him in exchange, since this thing sounded very important. However, Mo You was thinking about how to snatch it, and his hand had already subconsciously been placed on the hilt of the sword.
"Don't even think about fighting me on my turf." Lei Gong shook the remains of the red fruit from his hands. A flurry of snowflakes swept by, instantly washing his hands clean. "If I don't want to give it to you, you can kill me or turn this place upside down and still not get the Snow Fire."
Ren Xiangxiang grabbed Mo You's hand, her face beaming with a smile, "How could that be? Then tell me, how can you give it to us?"
"I want the sword in his hand." Lei Gong glanced at the two of them nonchalantly.
Mo You's face darkened, clearly showing murderous intent. Ren Xiangxiang immediately stepped in front of him and negotiated directly with Lei Gong, "This won't do, let's find another one, or how about we agree to do something for you?"
"Are you looking down on Snowfire or on me?" Lei Gong was slightly angered. He shifted his gaze to the window, looking at the dark mountains in the distance, and asked, "Do you even know what Snowfire is?"
Ren Xiangxiang blinked, genuinely unaware.
"Snow God Fire is the fire of the earth's core. It is because of it that this place can always be in early spring, and that there is Snow-covered Mountain. You have come all this way to demolish my home. Tell me, what will you give in exchange?" Lei Gong looked furious, his young face showing helplessness and disdain beyond his years.
Ren Xiangxiang was speechless. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, "Then... then shall I take you away from here? Anyway, it's so cold here. Qiling Mountain is not an option for now. How about we go to Bieyao Valley? I'm sure you'll like it there!"
"What is that place?" Lei Gong's eyes lit up, as if he was attracted.
"A valley with towering trees reaching into the clouds, babbling brooks, and flowers blooming in all their glory. The sun is warm, birds sing, and there are many small animals. It's a beautiful place where my friends live. They are all very kind people, like Sister Fei, Caowa, and..." Ren Xiangxiang vividly described her days in Bieyao Valley, and it was clear that she really loved the place.
Lei Gong was also unconsciously drawn to her, and the cold, aloof aura around him gradually dissipated. His dark pupils looked at Ren Xiangxiang, and a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.
Outside, snowflakes began to fall again, swirling and swirling. The dark, snow-covered mountain was illuminated only by a single, warm ray of light.
"Agh—" The ice spirit let out a miserable cry, and the snow valley trembled violently. With a loud rumble, a red figure rushed out of the snow valley in a disheveled state.
His eyes were wide open and he was gritting his teeth.
"Damn fox demon! I will tear you to pieces!"
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