Translator: Truth Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Snowballs flew everywhere as a cacophony of surprised yelps, tiger roars, and playful cries resounded across the hill. The situation had immediately spiraled out of control after Lu Ye had dropped a snowball into Yi Yi’s back. Lu Ye had forgotten most things from his previous life, but thankfully, his snowball fighting skill wasn’t one of them. This was especially true since he was a Cloud River Realm cultivator. A bit of Spiritual Power was all he needed to create a massive snowball. The snowballs flew across the air so frequently that it was like a scene straight out of a battlefield. Of course, this battlefield was far more harmless. As Amber and Yi Yi were literally connected in mind and soul, their teamwork was literally flawless. Amber was responsible for blocking Lu Ye’s attack, and Yi Yi was responsible for retaliating. For a time, it seemed like the snow fight would end with a stalemate when Amber found an opportunity to pounce on top of Lu Ye and pinned him to the ground. The next second, a snowball the size of a bathtub struck both man and tiger from above and buried them completely. Yi Yi leaped into the air while cheering, “I won! I won!” The heap of snow trembled unnaturally for a second before Amber’s magnificent head popped into view. It then climbed out into the open and shook off the snow clinging to its body. Lu Ye was lying on his back when Yi Yi walked up to him and grinned at him from above, “This is my win!” However, Lu Ye did not respond to her. His entire body except his face was buried in snow. For some reason, he was staring at the falling snow with a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly, he leaped onto his feet and dropped into a half-crouch. Then, he gripped the Inviolable with his right hand and slowly let out a mouthful of hot air. All around him, the falling snow melted before it even made contact with his body. At the same time, his aura sharpened until he felt more like a saber than a man. Both Yi Yi and Amber immediately leaped away from Lu Ye before watching him closely. For a long time, Lu Ye did not do anything at all. He simply closed his eyes and maintained his posture. Then, he abruptly unsheathed his saber and swung at the air in front of him. A crescent-like energy immediately flew out of his blade—cutting through space itself—and sank deep into the wall at least thirty meters away from his position. It was only after he unleashed the technique that Lu Ye sucked in a deep breath and slowly returned his saber to his sheath. All the blade insights he had memorized began taking on new meanings in his mind. He had achieved his breakthrough. Who said that hard work and seclusion were the only ways to make a breakthrough? As it turned out, a snow fight could do the same thing. Of course, he could not have achieved a breakthrough if he hadn’t already reached his limits or met the necessary requirements so to speak. All he needed after that was a eureka moment, one that had unfortunately eluded him despite his continuous efforts. That was until he threw himself completely into the snow fight, and suddenly, the eureka moment appeared to him on its own. This was why people said that it was important to switch off once in a while even in cultivation. “Lu Ye, we don’t have a house anymore,” Yi Yi suddenly said in a sad voice. Lu Ye turned and saw both his and Kitty Shen’s house were in ruins. It was because of the snowball fight, of course. In fact, all the houses in the area had been destroyed to a certain extent, causing the hill to look even more decrepit than it was before. “Where will we stay now?” “Nowhere. We’re going to find Ju Jia!” The Wisp of Sanctification of their Arcane Glade was stolen. Even Kitty Shen had left for greener pastures. There was simply no reason to stay here any longer. It had always been Lu Ye’s plan to leave after Amber had completed its ascension. Amber immediately perked up when it heard this. The two were practically inseparable when they were still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Unfortunately, Amber had not seen the body-tempering cultivator again after he ascended to the Cloud River Realm. Mutant energy rolled off Amber as it shrank into the size of a cat before leaping onto Lu Ye’s shoulder. After Lu Ye brought out his Spirit Boat and waited for Yi Yi to sit down in front of him, they took off into the snow filled sky. The Spirit Boat they were currently riding was a Middle Grade Spirit Artifact, and it was much more comfortable than their previous Spirit Boat. Moreover, it was protected by a Spiritual Power Shield, so even the bad weather could not affect them in the slightest. While blitzing down a certain direction, Yi Yi sang in a cheerful voice the song Lu Ye had sung for her before. On the way, Lu Ye removed Amber from his shoulder and checked its body for changes. There were many. For starters, Amber’s fur was softer, smoother and brighter than before. Its aura was also stronger as a Champion-class Spirit Beast. A Spirit Beast’s ascension to Champion-class was like a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator’s ascension to the Cloud River Realm. Their strength would undergo a qualitative leap. Of course, Lu Ye would not know exactly how strong Amber had become until it fought a battle. “Growl!” Amber let out a low growl that Lu Ye understood instantly. He produced a Mutant Core from his storage space and fed it to the hungry tiger. Crunching noises entered one ear and exited the other as it chewed. Amber possessed a great appetite in the sense that it could eat Spirit Pills and even Spirit Stones. However, there was nothing it liked more than a Spirit Beast’s Mutant Core. It had become its favorite food since entering the Cloud River Battlefield and tasting its first Mutant Core. Unfortunately, Lu Ye did not have that many Mutant Core to feed Amber. He had only obtained a dozen or so Mutant Cores from the Myriad Beasts Domain. Sunlight began shining down from above. The thick clouds in the sky eventually thinned into nothing. The snow had stopped. “Yi Yi, take control,” Lu Ye said while pointing out where they were headed. After that, he took out the raw materials he had purchased from the Divine Trade Association and began forging his ward flags. He had picked up ward flag forging a long time ago, but he wasn’t strong enough to forge it completely via his own power until recently. In fact, he had spent some of his time forging ward flags while Amber was asleep. A ward cultivator like him could never have enough ward flags, especially since there were many cases where he had to use them like consumables. When night came, Yi Yi landed the Spirit Boat on a suitable location so they might catch some rest. While sitting next to a crackling bonfire, Lu Ye produced a palm-sized copper plate from his storage space and inspected it with his Spiritual Power. “Is it that plate you got from the guy from the Divine Freedom Sect?” Yi Yi asked curiously while moving closer. “Mm.” A few months ago, on his way back to the Arcane Glade, he had encountered a grievously wounded Divine Freedom Sect cultivator who requested him to return his sword to the sect. As compensation, he gave up everything he had to Lu Ye including this copper plate. Lu Ye had tried injecting his Spiritual Power into the copper plate once. He had sensed a certain connection from it. He felt like he might find something if he followed the connection. At the time, Lu Ye hadn’t followed the connection because he was occupied with something else. The reason he was checking it now was because he realized that the direction he was heading happened to coincide with wherever this copper plate was leading him to. “What is this thing?” “I’m not sure.” He wouldn’t mind indulging in his curiosity if he ran into wherever this copper plate was leading him to before he met up with Ju Jia. Otherwise, Ju Jia was still the higher priority. After that, Lu Ye put away the copper plate and continued forging his ward flags. It wasn’t until late midnight that he finally caught some rest. For the next few days, they would resume their journey during the day and rest during the night. Thankfully, they did not encounter any troubles along the way. Three days later, Lu Ye flew circles around a certain mountain range while holding the copper plate in hand. Unless he was gravely mistaken, the thing or location the copper plate was leading him to was somewhere in this mountain range. He just needed to find it. Unfortunately, his 10-point map did not mention anything special about this mountain range. It was probably because there were countless mountain ranges in the Cloud River Battlefield. Lu Ye himself did not notice anything special about this place, though he was sure it was hiding something because the copper plate was reacting to it. An entire hour later, Lu Ye finally confirmed the exact direction the copper plate was pointing him to and landed in front of a stone wall. As if on cue, the copper plate abruptly shone and grew hotter in his hand. “Lu Ye! Over here!” Yi Yi called out while waving at him. It was clear that she had noticed something. Lu Ye walked over to her and saw a recess on the wall. The shape of the recess matched the copper plate in his hand perfectly. Lu Ye inserted the copper plate into the recess while keeping a hand on his saber. He had no idea what he might find in this place after all. It could be treasure, or it could be a horde of bloodthirsty Spirit Beasts. In any case, there was no harm in being careful. Thankfully, the insertion of the copper plate did not trigger anything dangerous. The solid wall in front of them simply flashed once before transforming into a screen of light. Lu Ye hesitated for a second before instructing Yi Yi to return to Amber’s body. Only then did he walk toward the light screen. He felt nothing as he passed through the light screen. At the same time, the copper plate flashed golden before enveloping him in a beam of golden light. Behind him, the light screen had transformed back into a solid wall. Even the copper plate Lu Ye had inserted in the wall earlier had suddenly disappeared without a trace. The space behind the wall was pitch black, so Lu Ye raised the Inviolable and constructed Radiance. The small but blinding sun immediately illuminated everything around him. He saw and felt no one, but his surroundings looked extremely familiar to him. Once upon a time, he had lived in a place like this. It was a mining tunnel. The walls glittered like stars as the light of Radiance reflected off the surface. Lu Ye stepped closer to inspect the walls. He raised a surprised eyebrow when he realized what it was. Yi Yi had also appeared from Amber’s body to cry out, “Oh my Heavens! They’re all Spirit Stones! We’re rich, Lu Ye!” The shiny objects embedded in the walls were none other than Spirit Stones. This was an ore vein! A Spirit Stone was an indispensable resource to all cultivators. Consuming Spirit Pills would leave behind Pill Poison in one’s body and affect their ability to inhale World Spiritual Qi. It was why cultivators usually recovered their Spiritual Power by holding Spirit Stones in their hands and absorbing the Spiritual Power within. Spirit Creek Realm cultivators generally used Low Grade Spirit Stones, and Cloud River Realm cultivators generally used Middle Grade Spirit Stones. The reason Cloud River Realm cultivators did not use Low Grade Spirit Stones was because it wasn’t quite enough to sustain their recovery or cultivation anymore.