A Chaotic World

The current Lu Tianzi was no longer that oblivious individual who had just arrived at the central regions of the continent.

Having spent enough time with Young Master Xuan Hao and reading on his own, Lu Tianzi had gained a rather good understanding of the prominent actors of the region. Furthermore, since he was intending to head towards Frostguard Mountain, he naturally researched a little on it beforehand as well.

Frostguard Mountain had been the territory of the Frost Guards for generations. In fact, it had been so long that no one could say for sure if Frostguard Mountain was named after the Frost Guards, or if the Frost Guards named themselves after the mountain.

However, one thing was certain – the Frost Guards' ironclad rule over Frostguard Mountain had never faltered.

While the Frost Guards regularly allowed cultivators in to enjoy the benefits of the sacred cultivation land, all malicious guests were mercilessly repelled.

Over the past thousands of years, many had tried to wrestle the control of the mountain away from the Frost Guards, but none had succeeded.

Many said that the Frost Guards possessed the mandate of the mountain. While they fought for the integrity of the mountain, the mountain itself would also come to their aid.

That gave birth to the famous saying – challenging the Frost Guards on Frostguard Mountain was akin to fighting a tiger with a broken stick.

And this saying became even more famous in the current generation, all thanks to the famed Piercing Wind Overlord.

Under his command, the Frost Guards prospered and raised powerful characters one after another. Many people even started comparing him to the leaders of the ancient sects, claiming that if one only looked at them in terms of their insight, the Piercing Wind Overlord could definitely stand toe to toe with those lofty characters!

Lu Tianzi glanced at the old bearded Piercing Wind Overlord as they moved along.

For an individual who enjoyed such great prestige, just what could have happened for him to end up in such a tragic state?

"We have arrived," the Piercing Wind Overlord said.

Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue looked ahead.

They were now standing at the entrance of a cave, tens of kilometres away from where they parted ways with Old Qiao's group. In the Shimmering Plains where strong winds and snow was everywhere, this distance felt multiples times longer than it really was.

As they followed the Piercing Wind Overlord in, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue took a good look around them.

It was a gigantic snow dune that was at least a hundred metres tall.

The entrance of the cave that led into its depth was not huge, only around two metres high and three metres wide. A thick wall of ice stood in front of the entrance as well, conveniently blocking out the strong winds and preventing them from carrying excess snow into the cave.

This seemed like a simple setup in the wilderness, but once they stepped in, a vast space stretched out before their eyes, like a secret realm hidden beneath the guise of a snow dune. The icy walls and ceiling reflected the light off of the numerous sky crystals that had been installed at regular intervals, creating beautiful arrays of multi-coloured lights.

It was an impressive sight, but Lu Tianzi could not help but frown.

The ice structures coupled with the multi-coloured lights made this sight look like a beautiful painting, but that was all there was to it. If one looked past the serene beauty, it was nothing but a barren location.

There were no springs of water, and no abundant crops.

Almost everything here was made of ice, including the many huts and fences. The rocky ground was ice cold, and there was a deep chill in the air. It was a reminder that despite being under shelter, they still could not escape from the frozen climate of the treacherous Shimmering Plains.

No matter how he looked at it, this was definitely not the kind of living conditions that he would expect the famed Piercing Wind Overlord to be putting up with.

"Everyone can go take a rest," the Piercing Wind Overlord said to the group before turning towards Lu Tianzi. "Please follow me."

With that, the Piercing Wind Overlord entered the biggest ice hut in the cave.

Lu Tianzi was about to follow him in when the haughty muscular man from before stepped forward to block his path.

"What do you want?" Lu Tianzi asked coldly.

"I don't know why Master trusts you so much, but I am watching you," the haughty muscular man warned.

"Stay back and keep watching then," Lu Tianzi answered defiantly before stepping past him to enter the ice hut. Nanlan Qianxue followed closely behind.

"Tch!" the haughty muscular man could only click his tongue in irritation before walking away.

No matter how unhappy he was about the current situation, he would still obey the words of his master. Otherwise, he would never have made the Heaven's Oath earlier.

***

"Please pardon us for not being able to give you a comfortable welcome," the Piercing Wind Overlord apologised.

Lu Tianzi looked around him. The interior of the ice hut was no better than the outside.

There were no separate rooms. Everything was well in sight the moment they entered, and there was nothing but a few furniture crafted out of ice, the bed included.

However, the Piercing Wind Overlord seemed to be used to it as he casually took a seat at the table.

"Let me know what medicinal ingredients you need. If we don't have it, I will send somebody to go get it," the Piercing Wind Overlord said.

"How? By robbing other travellers?" Lu Tianzi answered nonchalantly while taking a seat opposite to the bearded Overlord. He nodded towards Nanlan Qianxue, and she naturally took a seat beside him.

"If we have to," the Piercing Wind Overlord admitted. "Are you concerned about that?"

"Don't worry, I am not that righteous," Lu Tianzi shrugged. "However, there is no need for that. I already have everything I need."

The Piercing Wind Overlord revealed a look of surprise. "In that case, will we be able to start the treatment immediately? How long will it take for me to recover?"

"Senior shouldn't get your hopes up so soon," Lu Tianzi replied. "The poison has permeated deep into your inner world, and it is not going to be an easy task to remove it completely. Even after that, you will still need time to recuperate. There is a long way to go before we can even start talking about the probability of a full recovery."

"...I understand," the Piercing Wind Overlord's excitement dimmed significantly. "I can only leave the matter partly to you, and the rest of it to fate."

"I'm glad Senior understands," Lu Tianzi nodded. "Well then, I guess it is about time that I start doing something. Otherwise, that disciple of yours is going to start staring at me again."

"Please don't be offended. Qin'er is only worried about me," the Piercing Wind Overlord smiled wryly.

"I am not worried. He is bound by the Heaven's Oath anyway," Lu Tianzi replied. "More importantly, do you have anywhere that I can work without any disturbances?"

"As you can see, this place doesn't have the best facilities," the Piercing Wind Overlord shook his head apologetically. "All I can do is tell the men not to bother you while you work."

"Now that you mention it, this is something that I am really curious about," Lu Tianzi said. "What exactly happened to Senior and the Frost Guards?"

The Frost Guards were supposed to be the proud protectors of Frostguard Mountain, and the Piercing Wind Overlord their great leader.

Just what could have happened to reduce them to such a pitiful state, such that they had resorted to banditry in the Shimmering Plains?

And for such a big matter, how could he not have heard about it back at Eternal Flame City?

Was it because the entire city had been focused solely on the Inscription Meet?

The Piercing Wind Overlord fell silent for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh.

"Pardon me, young man. This is a matter that I do not wish to share."

"...I understand," Lu Tianzi nodded. "If Senior does not wish to say, then I shall not probe further either. Just show me where I can work then."

Everyone had their own secrets, and Lu Tianzi definitely did not expect someone whom he just met to spill their hearts to him.

They might have started off on rather awkward terms, but the people he was dealing with were still the famed Frost Guards. Despite the Piercing Wind Overlord's current state, Lu Tianzi still decided to treat them with the respect they deserved.

At least until they proved undeserving of his respect.

***

A crowd formed as members of the Frost Guards gathered behind a shabby ice fence. Even though the fence was barely strong enough to keep out common poultry, none of them dared to cross it.

The fence was just a marker, while the true restriction was in the words.

The Piercing Wind Overlord stood nearest to the fence, and the haughty muscular man he called Qin'er stood beside him. Everyone else could only gather behind them, their voices reduced to whispers in adherence to the words of their leader – feel free to watch, but do not be a disturbance.

Then again, they were not stupid. All of them knew what to do even without being told.

This was a matter that had resulted in every single one of them making a Heaven's Oath with a complete stranger, so how could they not know the importance of it?

Unless they wanted to make enemies out of everyone else, nobody would create a scene at this juncture.

Lu Tianzi walked around in a circular area marked out by the ice fence, while Nanlan Qianxue sat against the wall at the other end.

Every few steps he took, Lu Tianzi would put down a flag, securing it by piercing it into the rocky ground with his Origin Force. His expression was serious, and each flag he placed seemed to be a result of meticulous calculations.

Eventually, he ended up standing in the centre of the circular area with numerous flags around him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he slowly opened his eyes again, they were shining with a silvery light.

Weng-!

With a light stomp of his foot, an emblem of light emerged from the ground beneath him.

"This is not a simple energy gathering formation... he is also sapping energy from our defensive formation!" Qin'er quickly realised.

The Piercing Wind Overlord had mixed feelings as he nodded in acknowledgement.

To be able to do something as complex as this proved that Lu Tianzi was definitely an excellent formation master. It was even more impressive when one considered his age.

However, there was only so much one could do.

Would an excellent formation master really be able to master the field of medicine as well?

Then again, it was too late to doubt. The Piercing Wind Overlord could only suppress his concerns as medicinal ingredients started appearing from Lu Tianzi's spatial ring.

It was like there was an invisible globe of water surrounding Lu Tianzi, and these medicinal ingredients were like bubbles that slowly floated to the surface of the water.

One by one, they appeared. Without realising it, over a hundred different medicinal ingredients were already floating around him like the shell of a globe, each one perfectly distanced from the others such that there would be no contamination.

The last to appear was the mortar and pestle, and that was what sparked off the entire process.

It was like the tranquil bubble around him suddenly imploded, forming a whirlpool that rapidly sucked in everything.

Not only were medicinal ingredients entering the mortar and pestle to be grinded into a pulp, numerous medicinal ingredients had started smashing against each other all around him, drawing out herbal juices and dregs that were being mixed around in a seemingly random manner.

A complete mess.

That was the thought in everyone's head as they watched.

Yet despite that, they could not help but sense the unwavering confidence in Lu Tianzi's silvery eyes.

He stood there unmovingly with his two hands stretched out like he was grasping handles in the air. At the same time, his Origin Force was hard at work, using the numerous medicinal ingredients to create what seemed to be an ignorant child's first attempt at painting.

His current disposition did not match what was happening around him, yet it was still strangely convincing.

As though infected by his confidence aura, the ones watching could not help but question themselves in a corner of their minds.

Could it be that they were the children who were unable to understand the abstract work of a famous painter?

While they were still lost in thoughts, Lu Tianzi's work finally came to an end.

It was a process that took hours to complete, but it felt like mere minutes to the audience who had fallen into deep contemplation.

The Piercing Wind Overlord was the first to break out of his daze.

He took a look at the mixture remaining in Lu Tianzi's mortar, and could not help but frown. "Am I supposed to drink this?"

No matter how he looked at it... no, he did not even have to look at it. It was even emitting a dark vapour caused his very senses to scream at him, as though telling him to never ingest this bowl of dark liquid.

There was no doubt in his mind.

This was definitely a bowl of lethal poison!