Watching the iceberg before me continuously grow, I felt as if an immensely powerful beast was brewing within. As the ice expanded outwards, the surrounding temperature plummeted. Although I could no longer feel the cold, the frost on the surrounding plants indicated the worsening situation.
I tried various methods to stop the ice from expanding and to reclaim my physical body, but all attempts were in vain, yielding no effect whatsoever. My physical body, trapped within the iceberg, had no connection to me.
I attempted to push through with my internal energy, but the result was a dizzying impact. That invisible membrane had created a chasm between my spirit and my physical body, making it harder to cross than to ascend to heaven.
Everywhere I looked had turned into pure white ice crystals. The vibrant spring had transformed into a world of ice and snow. The lush green plants were covered in frost, and a gust of wind caused branches to snap off and shatter, beyond any hope of repair.
As the first hint of dawn broke in the east, I was utterly despairing. I unleashed all my decade-long cultivation and lifelong knowledge, but to what end? It was useless. My physical body remained frozen within the iceberg, and my spirit could not enter it.
As the sun began to rise, a sense of panic washed over me. Spirits could not bear sunlight. To be directly exposed to the sun would be akin to ice melting under a scorching blaze, a pain indescribable in words.
Watching the rising sun, my first thought was to flee, to find a place where the sun could not reach and hide myself. Even as a ghost, I had to repay the debt my master owed to the Ox-Head and Horse-Face guards, otherwise, my afterlife would be anything but peaceful.
Just as I spotted the place where the old monk had hidden my physical body and prepared to head there, I discovered I couldn't escape the vicinity of my physical form. A quick assessment of the surroundings and an estimation of the radius revealed that I was confined within a ten-meter radius around my physical body, unable to leave.
This left me completely dumbfounded. Living beings loved sunlight, but how could the dead also love it? Especially a nascent spirit like mine, which would be instantly reduced to dust by the sun, with no possibility of escape.
"Am I going to die here like this? This is just too unlucky!"
Like a trapped ant, I wandered around within an invisible boundary, searching for any opening. I scoured every inch of this small territory the old monk had claimed, but found no glimmer of hope.
The sunlight caused the surrounding temperature to rise. Helpless, I could only hide beneath the iceberg, in the shadows where the sun couldn't reach. However, the problem of light still caused black smoke to rise from my body.
It felt as if countless branding irons were scorching my entire being. Visible black smoke emanated from every inch of my skin. If I were still in my physical form, I would probably be able to smell my own flesh cooking.
As the sun climbed higher, my will to live began to fade. I called out for Wu Gege, but received no response. I shouted for the hidden master within my body, but it was as if my voice had fallen into the sea. Had they all vanished?
With the sun rising higher, the surrounding temperature continued to increase. The frost began to dissipate at a visible rate, and I, scorched by the sun, continued to emit black smoke, as if an iron brand was directly pressed against me.
Pain. Intense pain. The agony wasn't just on my body; it reached the deepest core of my soul. Watching smoke rise from every part of me, my consciousness gradually blurred. With a heart full of regret, I bid a final farewell to this world I had inhabited for only eighteen years.
Waiting is the most agonizing punishment, the most tormenting experience. Yet, as I resigned myself to death, my spirit did not dissipate, nor did my soul vanish.
The scorching pain, at some point, receded, replaced by a chilling sensation, like suddenly plunging into ice-cold water on a hot summer day, causing me to shiver involuntarily.
"Sunlight, what is happening? Is this what it feels like for a soul to dissipate?"
I instinctively opened my eyes and found myself within the ice layer. The surroundings were a blur of white, with strong light shining, as if I were trapped in time and space.
What was going on now? Had I returned to my physical body? With this thought, I tried to look at my condition, but found that I couldn't move my head, nor my limbs. Only a needle-like pain coursed through my body, seemingly telling me that I was alive and not dead.
The Xuan Yang True Qi, previously sealed by Hu Sixi, began to circulate slowly within my body. It seemed sluggish, affected by the freezing temperatures. With great effort, I managed to mobilize it again, and it surged rapidly through my meridians.
This surge, however, startled me. I discovered that it was now more than twice as thick as before. If the Xuan Yang True Qi had been as thick as chopsticks previously, it now flowed like a mighty river through my meridians. My narrow meridians couldn't even feel its limits. If I hadn't felt that it was still my body, I would have suspected I had entered someone else's.
A single circulation of the vast and powerful Xuan Yang True Qi throughout my body made me feel warm all over, even hot. I instinctively wanted to shout out loud.
Now I was certain I had returned to my physical body. As for what happened in between, why my spirit had left my body and then returned, I would likely only know by asking Wu Gege when the opportunity arose.
As the hot Xuan Yang True Qi warmed my entire body, I let out a fierce cry, shattering all the ice surrounding me.
Roars like thunder emanated from my mouth. The frozen grass and trees around me turned into ice crystals with my shouts. The surging Xuan Yang True Qi within me prevented me from stopping this outburst until my blood and qi stabilized.
"What kind of incantation did Wu Gege teach me? Why has my body become so strange?"
I clenched my fist lightly, producing a sound not of bone friction, but as if I were crushing the air. I looked at my hands in confusion. Was this still me?
"What? Are you not satisfied with the significant improvement in your strength?"
Wu Gege's voice echoed in my mind again, though it sounded weak, as if from a severe illness.
"Wu Gege, you can speak to me freely now?"