Chapter 158 - 153: In the Grotto

’This cavern is dark and damp. The air is completely still, so there probably aren’t any other exits...’

Xiang Shaofeng entered the cave and searched for a while to no avail, then quickly came back out.

’It’s a labyrinth of interconnected caves in there, large and small. It would be easy to get lost. Better to just guard the entrance and wait for my brother, Xiang Bao, to arrive.’

’Once the Silver-spotted Fox is here, Zhao Lin will have nowhere to hide.’

Deep within the cave tunnels, Zhao Lin saw no one pursuing him and relaxed slightly.

’Too bad I didn’t bring any pepper or chili powder. I could’ve used it to incapacitate that fox and maybe made a run for it.’

Zhao Lin sighed. He knew that if he couldn’t find an exit, it was only a matter of time before Xiang Shaofeng caught him.

Although they hadn’t fought directly, Zhao Lin could sense the powerful energy of the Blood Realm warrior. He was no match for it.

The cave had many passages, but he had yet to find one that led outside.

’All I can do is take it one step at a time.’

The cave was deep, but it wasn’t dark. The natural rock walls were a milky white, pockmarked with hollows and embedded with glittering stones that emitted a faint, fluorescent blue glow.

Zhao Lin marveled inwardly. ’Who would have thought there’d be a whole other world inside this mountain peak?’

ACHOO!

After walking for a while, he sneezed. It was only then that he realized how unusually cold the cave was—even colder than outside. It was so cold his hands were starting to go numb.

’No wonder Index Finger Peak is so cold. This chill must be seeping up from deep underground.’

Zhao Lin pulled his clothes tighter around himself and continued to feel his way through the tunnels.

A short while later, he came to a grotto.

The grotto was about the size of a small room, and its interior spiraled upward like the inside of a conch shell.

There were many such grottos in the tunnels, and Zhao Lin hadn’t been paying them much mind. He gave this one a passing glance, but then his eyes caught on something in the farthest corner: a plant that looked like a cross between a lotus and a fungus.

Its white petals unfurled in overlapping layers, all connected to form the shape of an exquisite white porcelain bowl.

’The Yin Candle Lotus!’

Zhao Lin’s heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks.

He had been so focused on finding an exit that he hadn’t noticed the scent in the air. Now, as he took a deliberate sniff, he caught a faint, milky fragrance—the exact scent the Yin Candle Lotus was said to have in legends.

The Yin Candle Lotus was a Top Grade medicinal herb that grew in places of extreme yin energy. It was a full grade higher than even Lonely Immortal Grass or the Earth Luo Fruit.

It was so rare that only formulas for Primordial Realm cultivators included it; you would never find it in formulas for those at or below the Blood Realm.

Zhao Lin started forward to pluck it but immediately quashed the thought.

He could barely protect himself as it was. If he picked it now, it would likely just end up in the hands of the Xiang brothers.

’I’ll leave it here for now. I can come back for it once I know I’m safe.’

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Lin took out his herb box from his pack and pulled out a stalk of Sinking Yuan Grass.

He had taken this stalk of Sinking Yuan Grass from that tall, thin disciple of the Fire Jade Department. Its leaves had a distinctive scent that he could use as a marker. Otherwise, with his own scent all over the tunnels, finding this exact spot again would be a hassle.

Zhao Lin pinched off a small piece of a leaf from the Sinking Yuan Grass. He planned to place it nearby—close enough for him to find his way back, but not so close that someone else might follow the scent and discover the Yin Candle Lotus.

Just then, a sinister gust of wind swept through the tunnel.

The temperature plummeted to freezing, and a layer of white frost visibly formed on the ground both inside and outside the grotto.

Zhao Lin shuddered. Realizing something was wrong, he instantly looked up.

At some point, a crack had opened in the ground beside the Yin Candle Lotus. From it emerged an enormous white creature that looked like a silkworm.

The silkworm’s body was plump and the color of pure white jade, without a single blemish. It had a perfectly round head and was a good six inches long, resembling a jade pestle used for grinding herbs.

’A guardian beast! No, a guardian insect!’

Zhao Lin’s heart lurched. In all his time picking herbs over the past couple of days, he hadn’t seen a single noteworthy beast. To think he’d run into one now, deep inside the mountain.

The silkworm crawled out onto the ground and headed straight for the grotto’s entrance.

Despite its deceptively cute appearance, the creature was incredibly fast. A white mist billowed in its wake, leaving a thick ridge of ice on the ground.

’A Cold Ice Silkworm?’

In truth, Zhao Lin had no idea what this insect was called. However, he had read a description of the Fire Cloud Silkworm in some notes from the Celestial Water Pavilion.

Aside from its elemental affinity, which was the opposite of the Fire Cloud Silkworm’s, this creature’s appearance was nearly identical. So, he had spontaneously dubbed it the "Cold Ice Silkworm."

Zhao Lin subconsciously reached for his waist—a habit he’d developed during his year-plus as a constable. It was a motion he only made when facing danger or preparing to strike.

An instant later, he turned and bolted.

He was interested in the Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul, but he had no idea how strong it was. Judging by its dramatic entrance, it would not be an easy opponent.

The Fire Cloud Silkworm had a virulent fire poison, so this Cold Ice Silkworm most likely possessed a cold poison.

’Better get some distance and observe it for a while!’

As he ran, Zhao Lin emitted his ultrasound to keep track of the commotion behind him.

The Cold Ice Silkworm seemed to realize Zhao Lin was fleeing. Its body suddenly arched, and it launched itself from the ground, becoming a streak of white light several times faster than him!

The feedback from his echolocation told Zhao Lin the Cold Ice Silkworm was right behind him. His heart clenched.

He clenched his fist, spun around, and threw a Stone Roar Fist.

’No matter how tough this little thing is, there’s no way it can take this hit.’

But his confident punch only made it halfway before...

An extreme chill emanated from the Cold Ice Silkworm, coalescing into a swirling mass of frost and icy mist within a five-foot radius.

Zhao Lin felt an overwhelming wave of frigid yin energy invade his body. The blood in his veins seemed to freeze solid. It was as if he’d been hit by an immobilization skill; he couldn’t even move a finger.

A layer of frost rapidly formed on his eyebrows and hair.

’Is this the cold poison?’

The only things Zhao Lin could move were his eyes. He glanced down to see the Cold Ice Silkworm land on his fist, extend its mouthparts, and pierce his wrist.

As his blood flowed into the Cold Ice Silkworm’s nearly transparent body, the creature gradually turned a deep crimson and began to swell.

Paralyzed and numb, he could only watch helplessly as his blood streamed into the silkworm’s body.

Perhaps because the cold had numbed him, Zhao Lin felt no pain. In fact, his mind was perfectly clear.

Now certain that he was afflicted with cold poison, his panic subsided. He calmed himself and focused his attention on the Spirit Beast Scroll in his mind’s eye.

Just as he’d expected, the Spirit Beast Scroll began to shimmer, and all five of its cells lit up simultaneously.

The five Essence Souls—the bear, the Golden Leopard, the Horseshoe Bat, the White-throated Needletail, and the Fragrant Mink—began to flicker. They released a white mist that relentlessly devoured the cold poison invading his body.

Compared to the poison from the Drilling Mountain Leopard’s Hundred Poison Needle, this cold poison was far more stubborn. It took the time it takes to drink a cup of tea for the mist to devour it completely.

The white frost on Zhao Lin’s eyebrows and hair vanished, and blood began to flow through his veins once more...

And at that very moment, with a soft PLOP, the Cold Ice Silkworm fell from Zhao Lin’s fist and landed on the ground.