บท 87: The Long Journey Home

By the time Yun and Wuying woke from their rest they had discovered that the entrance to their cave had become a large block of ice. While they slept the heat of the fire drove moisture out of the surroundings and into the air, while the absolute cold outside blew past in a raging wind. This moisture deposited on the rim of the cave entrance and instantly froze in contact with the exterior cold. This cycle repeated over and over for the hours they slept as some of the permafrost inside the cave was melted and evaporated by the large fire Yun had lit. By the time they both woke it was nearly a foot thick and completely opaque, preventing any outside light from coming in.

They were both astounded. This was a completely unexpected occurrence, but Yun believed it may be a very good one.

She looked at Wuying, who seemed frustrated by this turn of events, and smiled.

"Why are you smiling like that, Yun? It's a little creepy given the circumstances."

"Because, Wuying, this accident may have saved our lives."

Wuying looked puzzled.

"What do you mean, saved our lives? How could being trapped in a sealed cave have saved our lives?"

Yun smiled again, a little teasingly.

"Because, silly Wuying, if those insane Fire-Eaters were to pursue us this high they would be significantly slower than us as they maintain their body heat with their Qi. By the time they reached this height there would be an ice wall and no cave."

Long Wuying was stunned yet again, realizing that he had yet again forgotten just how sharp this young girl's mind was. Something he never would have thought of in this situation was obvious in front of her.

He felt a tinge of jealousy before he remembered that he was looking at a monstrous genius who had surpassed his current cultivation at around the same age as he was just beginning to cultivate. In order to have that level of talent and comprehension she must also have a powerful intelligence to go with it. Her brother was also a young cultivator in the Bone Tool Sect, so he must also have a good level of intelligence and likely a very strong talent.

While Wuying was staring at the ice wall lost in thought, Yun began to explore the rear end of the cave, looking at what space there was and how far it went. Unfortunately, she discovered, this cave really didn't go anywhere. It must have once belonged to a high level beast who had long since vacated for a larger home. No treasures were left, nothing of value whatsoever.

After searching the cave twice Yun finally came back to the ice wall and spoke with Wuying again.

"Wuying, are you rested enough to go back out and continue our journey? This Yun doesn't think we can go back to the little port from before."

Long Wuying nodded, agreeing with her assessment of their options.

"We'll have to go north through the mountains before we travel the open hills to the river-side. But when we get there how will we cross? The river is known to be extremely dangerous for individuals to swim across due to small vicious beasts, but they can't harm the boats."

Yun was thoughtful for a few moments before she shrugged, "That's an issue we'll have to deal with when we get to it, Wuying. There's not much other choice left to us."

"You're right. How do you plan to leave here, Yun? This ice is thick enough that even with a martial technique I wouldn't be able to break it."

Yun smiled as she began to activate her Dragon Aura, raising the temperature of the air surrounding her rapidly to an incredible level in just moments. Within seconds the ice in front of her began to release loud cracking noises and fissures developed in its surface. On the inside face the ice quickly began to melt and the runoff began to pool on the floor, running past their feet and dousing the fire they had behind them.

Within a few moments the meter-thick ice had fractured so badly that the wind could be felt whistling through the gaps. Water continued to rapidly run off the surface of the ice and pool in the low lying areas of the cave behind them, but some of the water made contact with the fell wind driving through the cracks and tried to freeze again.

The wind began to fight with Yun's Dragon Aura, trying to deform the absolute heat zone, but with a little effort Yun resisted it and continued melting the ice.

"Wuying you might want to avoid being in my Aura. When this Yun deactivates it the temperature change would be quite harmful to your body. I'll be able to maintain a thin layer and slowly adjust the heat levels until my body has acclimated back to the outside temperature, but in this driving wind this Yun won't be able to shield you."

Long Wuying smiled bitterly as his hopes were dashed instantly by Yun's statement. He dejectedly walked towards the rear of the cave where the permafrost was beginning to retake the near-boiling runoff from Yun's efforts to melt the entrance.

Soon there was a hole through the ice that was big enough for Wuying to walk through and the intense wind began howling through the entrance and swirling just inside the ice wall, instantly beginning to drop the temperature of the remainder of the cave precipitously.

"Wuying, it's time to go. We don't know where the Fire-Eaters are, or what sort of ability to track us they have. The sooner we leave the sooner we escape."

"Yes Commander, let us be off." Wuying responded automatically to her commanding voice, realizing afterward that he must have already fallen into the military mindset and shaking his head.

As a cultivator the belief in your own strength was paramount to growth, and losing that belief would negatively impact a cultivator's dao heart—the core of their belief in their ability to overcome all obstacles that the heavens might throw at them, the belief they could overcome the Heavenly Dao all together and become greater than the Laws.

Reminding himself that this military life was only temporary, Wuying worked to correct his mindset as they walked out of the cave and onto a narrow and icy ledge.