In the frigid lands, after my exile, I began to slay demons and monsters.

Chapter 92 The Battle of Breaking the Snow

The Cursed Cage was, after all, an intermediate-level spell, and it was still somewhat difficult to seal off a high-level monster. Ning Xiaoxi's face began to turn pale, as if she was exerting all her strength to maintain the spiritual energy output to the cage bars.

After the icy domain disappeared, Lin Yitian put his hand on Ning Xiaoxi's shoulder and continuously poured spiritual energy into Ning Xiaoxi's body, channeling it into the cage to suppress the Snow Maiden's resistance. However, his body began to tremble due to excessive consumption of spiritual energy, and his lips turned bluish-purple.

With Lin Yitian's spiritual power support, Ning Xiaoxi released the Spirit Crystal Heart. As soon as the Spirit Crystal Heart appeared, it emitted a blazing flame aura, transforming into a burning fireball. The high temperature caused the surrounding ice and snow to gradually melt into water.

The Snow Woman sensed the heat of the fireball, and a slight surprise appeared in her icy blue eyes. She gathered all her demonic energy and attacked the cage with all her might, causing the golden light to scatter for a moment.

Ning Xiaoxi glanced back at Lin Yitian, took a deep breath, and guided the fireball formed from the Spirit Crystal Heart to her palm. The flames leaped and burned brighter, directly impacting the Snow Woman inside the cage. Upon seeing this, the Snow Woman gathered her icy power into an ice curtain, attempting to resist the flames' onslaught.

Ning Xiaoxi's eyes were resolute. She pushed out a fireball with both hands, and the rolling fireball collided violently with the ice curtain. In an instant, ice and fire intertwined, steam filled the air, and the sizzling sound was deafening.

Lin Yitian poured all his spiritual energy into Ning Xiaoxi, and looking at her slender yet resolute back, he couldn't help but admire her abundant spiritual energy.

The flames gradually gained the upper hand, cracks appeared in the ice curtain, and the Snow Maiden's struggles became increasingly futile. Ning Xiaoxi gritted her teeth and poured her last bit of spiritual power into the flames. With a loud bang, the ice curtain shattered, and the flames of the Spirit Crystal Heart devoured the Snow Maiden like a ferocious beast.

"Bang!" The snow mist gradually dissipated. Unable to disperse and dodge due to the restriction of the cursed cage, the snow woman began to dissipate layer by layer in the golden cage, surrounded by intense flames.

"Born in confusion amidst the snow, a solitary figure walks under the moon. A chilled heart accompanies a frosty soul, yet warmth lingers in the embrace."

The clear, cold voice drifted away into the snow and ice, faint and without a trace.

Ling Jingxin secretly absorbed all the demonic energy scattered in the cage before it dissipated, eating with a beaming smile, and was vividly alive in the blue light.

After the Snow Woman dispersed, the cursed cage transformed into specks of gold that drifted into the air.

Having eaten its fill, the Spirit Crystal Heart drifted back to Ning Xiaoxi's cave like a wisp of smoke, exhaling several breaths of spiritual energy around the heart-shaped fountain. Unbeknownst to it, a chilling blue aura crept into Ning Xiaoxi's wrist.

After all the snow and ice had fallen and everything had calmed down, Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground. Lin Yitian, ignoring the tightness in his chest, quickly reached out and pulled her up, asking, "Xiaoxi, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I'll just cough up the blood and feel better once I'm out of breath." Ning Xiaoxi suppressed the action of exhaling blue qi from her heart, thinking, "Even a mid-level ninth-grade cultivator like me is injured, you'd be lying if I were fine!"

“This Snow Maiden has neither a pill nor a soul. Although she has completely dissipated, we still need to report to the Pavilion.” Lin Yitian helped Ning Xiaoxi up, helped her onto her horse, and then led the horse back slowly. “Don’t worry, this time you were the one who first discovered the Snow Maiden’s whereabouts, and it was your magic that finally defeated her. All of this will be recorded.”

"It's really nothing, Lin Shuguan. Lord Tianji told me before that my abilities are still limited, and I'm in exile, so it's not advisable to be too high-profile." Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She wanted to keep a low profile, and she always felt so embarrassed when she said this to people.

Lin Yitian gave Ning Xiaoxi a strange look. Something about what she said seemed off.

"Cough cough!" Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but cough, and a small mouthful of blood came out again.

Lin Yitian glanced back at Ning Xiaoxi, then quickly took out a box from his pocket, poured out a pill, and handed it to Ning Xiaoxi, saying, "Here, this will replenish your blood and energy."

Ning Xiaoxi looked at the dark pill, which had no medicinal fragrance at all. Would this medicine work? But she couldn't refuse the other person's kindness, so she reached out and took it. "Thank you, Officer Lin." Thinking about it, she took out a small bottle of Spirit Gathering Grass juice. "Officer Lin, this is what I use to replenish my spiritual power. You overused your spiritual power just now, so you can use this to replenish it."

Lin Yitian took it, smelled a faint scent of fresh grass, and drank it down in one gulp. A surge of pure spiritual energy spread through him, instantly nourishing and replenishing his recently depleted spiritual veins, making the flow of spiritual energy much smoother. Although it didn't immediately replenish his spiritual energy, it significantly improved the agility of his circulation. "Good stuff!"

Ning Xiaoxi also noticed that Lin Yitian's complexion had improved a lot. She threw the black pill into a corner of the cave hall and took out a small bottle of Spirit Gathering Grass juice, handing it to Lin Yitian. "Subordinate Lin, since this juice is useful to you, I have another bottle here."

Lin Yitian shook his head, "It's already rare to get even one bottle of such potent spiritual juice, how dare I ask for more?"

"Does that mean you look down on me, Officer Lin?" Ning Xiaoxi was only a thirteen-year-old girl, and she looked at Lin Yitian with some grievance, making him feel as if he were bullying a little girl. He reached out and took the bottle of Spirit Gathering Grass juice. "Alright, I'll take advantage of you this once."

Ning Xiaoxi smiled happily, "Officer Lin, I have always had a more outstanding sense of perception and am sensitive to the aura of demons. This time, it was only because the Snow Maiden had just advanced to a high level and hadn't had time to hide her aura, and was attracted by the vitality of our large group of people, that I was able to detect her presence."

Lin Yitian didn't respond. He had felt from the beginning that Ning Xiaoxi was trying to absolve him of any credit for this achievement, but he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

"I was worried that our team was outnumbered and would suffer heavy losses against the Snow Woman, but we ran into the grain transport team and the forest officer was in the team." Despite feeling embarrassed, Ning Xiaoxi had to try to minimize her presence. "Thanks to the forest officer's all-out efforts to fight the enemy, we were able to eliminate the Snow Woman and ensure the safety of the grain transport team and our exile team."

Lin Yitian led the horse forward, saying, "It's all thanks to Xiaoxi's good cooperation that we were able to succeed in one fell swoop."

"Not at all! It's all thanks to the forest rangers. I was just good at giving a warning."

Lin Yitian turned to look at Ning Xiaoxi, who had a sincere expression on her face, and smiled helplessly, "As far as I know, Lord Tianji is a fair person. How could he let his subordinates suffer losses?"

"I'm still too young! My parents and brothers are criminals. If they stand out too much, it will be difficult for me to follow the group." Ning Xiaoxi's face showed a hint of sadness. "I don't want to be separated from my family. What does it matter if I come to this harsh and cold place, Youzhou? As long as I can be with my family, that's enough."

Lin Yitian wasn't sure if Ning Xiaoxi was telling the truth, but it seemed she really didn't want credit. "Okay, I understand."

Seeing that Lin Yitian had finally agreed, Ning Xiaoxi smiled happily, "Thank you, Officer Lin."