The Little Jade Capital in the heavens?
The State Preceptor's wife looked up at the sky. A beautiful name indeed.
Jade Capital—a capital carved from jade, a city where immortals dwelled. It was free of worldly smoke and fire, untouched by the mortal realm's atmosphere.
"Once, a certain Zhen Sanren emerged from this mysterious holy ground, the Little Jade Capital. He came to stop me, but unfortunately, he failed."
A hint of confusion flickered in the State Preceptor of Yankang's gaze as he murmured, "Before he died, he told me I must visit the Little Jade Capital. He said there were things there that might change my mind. And now, I have come."
Before them, a realm of mythic beauty appeared amidst the drifting clouds—a celestial paradise.
Qin Mu's towered boat had stopped at Fenzhou. Qin Mu took Hu Ling'er ashore and purchased some New Year supplies, filling the cargo hold to the brim. Fenzhou was still relatively peaceful. The local prefect was gathering cultivators within his jurisdiction to forge various spirit weapons, riding towered boats into the sky to harvest clouds.
In some places, sunlight had already broken through, and the ice and snow were beginning to melt—yet it only seemed to grow colder.
Fenzhou was known for its potent spirits. The people here often drank strong liquor to ward off the cold, but the chill was so severe that many villagers still went into the mountains to chop wood and fell trees for warmth.
Moreover, prices had skyrocketed—things cost far more than before. Qin Mu, flush with wealth, barely noticed, but Hu Ling'er tallied the expenses carefully and said, "Young Master, prices have doubled."
Qin Mu was slightly taken aback. "Earlier than I expected. Stabilizing prices is the Minister of Revenue's responsibility, not ours. As long as the clouds disperse and the court provides disaster relief, the north shouldn't descend into chaos. The real worry is someone deliberately stirring trouble."
Fenzhou didn't have enough supplies, so the towered boat stopped again at Liezhou. Prices here had surged even higher. Many merchants hoarded goods, waiting to sell at even steeper prices for a massive profit.
Liezhou's vice prefect moved swiftly to bring merchants to order. In turbulent times, harsh measures were applied—quite a few hoarders were dragged out and beheaded.
Two or three days later, Qin Mu's towered boat arrived at Jingzhou, not far from the Great Ruins—only ten thousand li away. The dark clouds were still thick, but they looked like a white sheet of paper with countless holes punched through, sunlight streaming down through the gaps.
This region was remote and sparsely populated, already showing signs of disorder. Bands of mountain bandits emerged to raid wealthy households. Along the road, one could see many freezing poor leaning against extinguished fires, their bodies stiffened into rigid shapes.
There were also refugees trudging southward across the frozen landscape, families huddled tightly together, wrapped in layers, walking on rivers frozen hard as iron, hoping to find somewhere warm.
Not a word among them. Occasionally, stragglers would crouch down to warm themselves—but once they sat, they never rose again.
Where the river water had pooled, vast icebergs and glaciers had formed, occasionally letting out groaning, cracking sounds before massive slabs of ice sheared off the mountainside—a terrifying sight.
Qin Mu noticed that among the refugee columns, there were young people skilled in magic who were guiding these people in their migration. He anchored the boat on the ice and inquired. These young people turned out to be disciples of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
"Tell them not to go anywhere else. Everything is frozen," Qin Mu said.
"They won't listen."
A disciple of the Heavenly Demon Cult lifted the mask covering their face against the biting wind, revealing a dark red, frost-bitten complexion. In the howling gale, they shouted to their young Holy Teacher and Cult Master: "These people—if they stop walking, they lose all hope. As long as they keep moving, there's still hope. Maybe they can find somewhere warm."
Qin Mu paused, stunned. He ordered some of the warming supplies brought from the capital unloaded and handed them to the Heavenly Demon Cult disciples, telling them to distribute them among the refugees. "It's bitterly cold, and demons and monsters will be out hunting. Watch yourselves."
He didn't linger long in Jingzhou. The towered boat rose into the sky and headed toward the Great Ruins.
Yankang's winter was bitterly, absurdly cold—and it grew worse with each passing day. Qin Mu's towered boat was draped in icicles, its speed greatly reduced and its spirit stone consumption rising. Every few thousand li, they had to stop to hack off the ice before speed could be restored.
Hu Ling'er stayed by the furnace, periodically feeding spirit stones into it while Qin Mu maintained the boat's course. The towered boat flew low. Qin Mu converted his own qi into Vermilion Bird qi, wreathing his body in blazing fire to keep himself from freezing solid.
The further west they traveled, the more desolate it became. More refugees appeared along the road, and more frozen corpses lined the wayside.
In the remote areas, cultivators were few. In most places, the sun never appeared—still shrouded beneath thick clouds, the weather even colder.
The devastation of this snow disaster was far greater than he had anticipated. The death toll exceeded his estimates, and the cold waves only grew stronger.
Suddenly, flames roiled across the sky. A colossal serpent head thrust through the clouds, breathing fire in every direction, driving back the surrounding cold.
The great snake surged forward, its demonic energy billowing as it undulated through the cloud layer.
Qin Mu's heart lurched. He urgently steered the towered boat upward and plunged into the clouds.
The great serpent glanced around. Atop its head stood a strikingly handsome man, who frowned in puzzlement. "I just saw that kid's boat—how did it vanish? Sister Qiu, release the bugs!"
From within the clouds, swarms of insects poured forth. A woman stood amidst the insect cloud, extending her finger. The swarm scattered in all directions, burrowing into the clouds.
Qin Mu's towered boat weaved through the clouds when a golden insect suddenly flew headlong toward them. The insect spotted the boat, startled, and jerked to a halt.
Qin Mu thrust out a sword finger, his qi transforming into sword energy that pierced the insect with a sharp *ding*.
But the insect didn't die. Instead, it swelled to over ten feet in length with a shriek, squealing madly as it lunged at him!
Qin Mu's qi surged into his storage pouch. The Shao Bao Sword sang as it flew forth, cleaving the massive insect in two with a single stroke. Just then, a voice cackled: "The Heavenly Demon Cult's Demon Lord—I've found you here!"
Qin Mu turned toward the voice and saw the clouds behind them suddenly turn red. He knew trouble was imminent and shouted, "Linger, full power on all three furnaces!"
*BOOM—*
A colossal burst of fire erupted through the clouds, slamming into the towered boat's stern. Qin Mu seized the tiller to keep from being hurled overboard.
The towered boat rocked violently, nearly crashing downward from the blow, before the bronze beast beneath its hull spewed fire. The twin bronze beasts at the stern roared at full power, sending the towered boat surging forward. In mere breaths, it burst from the clouds, soaring through the sky and breaking away.
"So cold!"
The frigid wind hit Qin Mu full in the face. He shivered as the Vermilion Bird qi was blown cold, and frost quickly coated his hands and face.
A deafening boom— the towered boat broke the sound barrier and streaked through the sky.
Hu Ling'er shut down the hull furnace, and the bronze beast at the stern dimmed its flames. "Young Master, we're running low on the spirit stones we brought from the capital!"
Qin Mu looked back. From within the clouds behind them, fire blazed as a colossal serpent burst skyward, followed by a golden tide of insects pouring out of the clouds and racing toward them—though far slower than their towered boat.
Now that the towered boat had slowed, they still couldn't hope to catch up.
Qin Mu relaxed. He wrapped a qi thread around the tiller and entered the cabin. "How many spirit stones are left?"
Hu Ling'er was busy feeding stones into the furnace and pouted toward the corner.
Qin Mu looked and frowned slightly. Every basket was empty—only a carton and a half of spirit stones remained. Towered boats in the State of Yankang were stocked with pre-packaged spirit stones wrapped in ox hide paper; one simply tossed them into the furnace to keep the boat flying.
They had purchased over ten baskets in the capital—enough to reach the Great Ruins—but the constant stops along the way, hacking ice from the boat's hull, had consumed a great deal.
Hu Ling'er said, "If it's this cold and the furnaces are on full power, we probably won't make it to the Great Ruins."
At that moment, the towered boat suddenly shuddered violently. Qin Mu rushed out of the cabin, but the instant he poked his head out, he slammed the hatch shut. *Ding ding ding*—a rapid series of impacts rang out as over a dozen flying swords embedded themselves in the hatch door.
Qin Mu pushed the door open. A sword orb was spinning in the air directly above the towered boat—its deck and cabin walls bristling with flying swords. As the orb rotated, the swords buzzed and trembled, wrenching free from the wood and stone one by one, returning to the orb.
Splitting Sword Style!
Qin Mu raised his hand and brought it down. The Shao Bao Sword *zheng*ed as it slashed through, splitting the sword orb apart. The orb exploded, and hundreds of flying swords shattered and rained down from the sky.
"Fine sword!"
A voice came from above. Qin Mu looked up to see a young scholar sprinting across the cloud tops toward them from a distance of several hundred zhang, moving with staggering speed.
"The Heavenly Demon Cult's Lord Qin, your identity has been exposed. The road ahead is going to be full of obstacles!"
The young scholar bounded across the clouds with supernatural agility, his momentum boosted by bursts of mana exploding at his back. His voice carried clearly as he laughed, "Many fellow cultivators are already waiting for you up ahead!"
Qin Mu's eyes narrowed. He pointed, and the Shao Bao Sword traced a streak of cold light toward the scholar. The young scholar's wide robes and flowing sleeves fluttered as he moved to intercept, only for both sleeves to be pierced by the sword light. Startled, he quickly flicked his fingers in rapid succession, each tap unleashing a burst of mana that transformed into a volley of flame-wreathed sparrows, striking the Shao Bao Sword with *ding ding ding* impacts.
Qin Mu's sword finger rotated, shifting into Circling Sword Style, shredding every sparrow. The Shao Bao Sword glowed red-hot from the flames, but it whirled around the scholar in a dizzying dance. In moments, the young scholar was stripped completely bare, not a stitch of clothing remaining.
"What superb swordsmanship!"
The young scholar hastily halted and put distance between himself and the towered boat. Qin Mu felt his qi thread reach its maximum extension and drew the scyabbard. He shook it in the wind, and the scyabbard transformed into a fish-dragon. The Shao Bao Sword streaked back as a beam of light and was swallowed by the fish-dragon's maw.
"Namo Amitabha!"
A Buddhist chant rang down from above. Qin Mu looked up just as sunlight hit his eyes—blindingly brilliant, the sun's radiance almost unbearable. Through the glare, he seemed to see a colossal golden Buddha descending from the heavens, crashing toward the towered boat!
Qin Mu's qi erupted. The Shao Bao Sword flew from the scyabbard once more, transforming into Drilling Sword Style as it shot upward toward the descending giant Buddha.
"The Diamond is invincible!"
A thunderous shout cracked through midair. Instantly, Qin Mu felt the Drilling Sword Style seize up with terrible resistance. An immense pressure bore down, transmitting through his body into the towered boat. Inside him, bones groaned under the strain, and the towered boat itself let out creaking protests as it was driven back down into the clouds.