Chapter 1536 — Xiaoxiao Awakens: A Sect That Boasts Seven Heaven-tier Masters, Two of Them at the Peak of Late Heaven-tier — Such Is the Ice Palace's Foundation of Strength

"Grand Elder, take a look at this girl." The Ice Palace Master nodded to the Grand Elder and lifted Feng Xiaoxiao from her arms.

"Oh?" The Grand Elder did not know what the Ice Palace Master intended, but she complied and studied Feng Xiaoxiao closely all the same, yet found nothing at all amiss. "Palace Master, what do you mean?"

"Examine her constitution." Seeing that the Grand Elder had not grasped her meaning, the Ice Palace Master could not help but smile wryly.

At her words the Grand Elder hastily stretched out a hand and pressed her fingers to the meridians of Feng Xiaoxiao's arm. In but a moment she cried out in loud astonishment: "Eh? A yin-cold constitution? Truly a yin-cold constitution? The legendary yin-cold constitution, identical to the records our ancestral master left behind!"

"What yin-cold constitution?" At the Grand Elder's words, the other elders all widened their eyes, itching to come forward and examine Feng Xiaoxiao's constitution for themselves.

"There is no mistake, it is a yin-cold body," the Ice Palace Master nodded. "Grand Elder, what do you make of it?"

"Palace Master, this is the ancestral master's spirit made manifest, a blessing upon our Ice Palace! A yin-cold body is even better suited to cultivating our Ice Palace's art than one of Ice Heart Jade Bones. Our Ice Palace's ancestral master was not the same as Snow Valley's; Snow Valley's ancestral master was herself of Ice Heart Jade Bones, and so their art was created expressly for that constitution." The Grand Elder said, "But our Ice Palace's ancestral master was of a yin-cold body, and the Ice Palace's art is likewise best suited to the yin-cold body. Only, no yin-cold body ever appeared again, and so no one has ever cultivated the Ice Palace's art to its utmost..."

"This girl cannot yet guide the yin-cold qi within her, so it has seeped into her heart and spleen and left her unconscious," the Palace Master said. "Grand Elder, you and I shall first join hands to suppress the yin-cold qi inside her. When she wakes, I mean to formally take a disciple in my master's stead and accept her as my junior sister."

"Very well." The Grand Elder nodded gravely. She understood full well Feng Xiaoxiao's importance to the Ice Palace, and agreed without a moment's hesitation -- though suppressing the yin-cold qi within her would consume no small amount of true qi, and even one of her strength, a master at the peak of late Heaven-tier, would need some time to recover completely.

Still, it was fortunate that she would be working alongside the Ice Palace Master; two masters at the peak of late Heaven-tier would not find the task too taxing.

"Let the other elders stand guard for the Grand Elder and me." With that, the Ice Palace Master laid Feng Xiaoxiao flat upon the ground.

"Everyone, spread out in order," Xiao Qing instructed the rest.

The Ice Palace Master and the Grand Elder then took their places, one to each side, seizing the meridians of Feng Xiaoxiao's arms and setting the Ice Palace's cultivation art into motion. In an instant, a blast of cold air erupted violently between the two of them.

"First we shall drive the yin-cold qi out of her heart and spleen, and then we shall suppress the yin-cold qi throughout her body," the Ice Palace Master said.

The Grand Elder nodded, and with perfect tacit understanding the two of them began this far-from-easy work.

In that instant, a dense chill rose suddenly from Feng Xiaoxiao's body upon the ground, and before long a layer of ice crystals began to form swiftly over her skin. As time passed the crystals multiplied, thickening into a heavy mantle.

"That will do," the Grand Elder said to the Ice Palace Master. "Now let us join hands and suppress the yin-cold qi within her."

The Ice Palace Master nodded, and a film of mist abruptly appeared over their palms, shrouding Feng Xiaoxiao's meridians. Though the place was bitterly cold, beads of sweat soon seeped from the brows of both the Ice Palace Master and the Grand Elder -- proof enough that the task was no easy one.

The process lasted roughly half an hour, and then the Ice Palace Master and the Grand Elder heaved a long breath in unison. By the look of it, the yin-cold qi within Feng Xiaoxiao had been temporarily suppressed.

"Aunt Qing, carry her into a room to rest. I must rest as well." The Ice Palace Master wiped the sweat from her brow and spoke to Xiao Qing.

"Yes, Palace Master." Xiao Qing lifted Feng Xiaoxiao and made her way toward the guest rooms.

At that moment, Wei Zhao was pacing anxiously before the gates of the Ice Palace. The high walls before him shut out everything; what went on within, Wei Zhao had no way of knowing. Even during the fifteen days he had waited at the Ice Palace gates before, he had never been as nervous as this.

Xiao Qing carried Feng Xiaoxiao to the bed in the guest room and stayed by her side without ever leaving. After a while, the ice crystals on Feng Xiaoxiao's body slowly melted at room temperature, and once they had all turned to water, Feng Xiaoxiao drifted slowly back to wakefulness.

"Wei Zhao, my husband? Did you bring me back to life again?" Those were the first words Feng Xiaoxiao spoke upon waking, asked on pure instinct.

But when she took in the scene before her clearly, she was struck dumb. This was a place she had never seen in her life, and the woman before her was a stranger.

Feng Xiaoxiao's heart turned wary at once. Looking at the unfamiliar woman, she tried to rise, only to find that there was not a shred of strength left in her body.

"You are awake?" Seeing that Feng Xiaoxiao's very first act upon waking was to look for Wei Zhao, Xiao Qing could not help but smile. It seemed this young couple's affection for one another was truly deep.

"Where... where am I? Who... who are you?" Feng Xiaoxiao looked at Xiao Qing and asked.

"This is the Ice Palace. Your boyfriend Wei Zhao brought you here to seek the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit, and the Palace Master and the Grand Elder saved you," Xiao Qing explained.

"The Ice Palace? Then... where is Wei Zhao? Did you feed me the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit?" Feng Xiaoxiao looked around and, seeing no sign of Wei Zhao, felt that something was wrong.

"No. It was the Palace Master and the Grand Elder who temporarily suppressed the yin-cold qi within you," Xiao Qing said.

Feng Xiaoxiao was just about to speak when a voice sounded from the doorway: "Aunt Qing, has she awakened?"

"Palace Master, she has awakened." Xiao Qing rose quickly to answer.

"Aunt Qing, there are no outsiders here; there is no need for such formality," the Ice Palace Master said hurriedly. Then she turned to Feng Xiaoxiao and asked, "What is your name?"

"Who are you?" Feng Xiaoxiao eyed the Ice Palace Master warily. The girl was very beautiful and possessed of a rare grace, but Feng Xiaoxiao cared nothing for her beauty; she wished only to see Wei Zhao as soon as possible. "Where is my husband Wei Zhao?"

"He is fine, he is right now in the reception room outside the Ice Palace," the Ice Palace Master said. "I am the Master of the Ice Palace. You may call me the Ice Palace Master, or Sister Ice."