Chapter 3330 — Return to the Ice Palace

"Sponge constitution? What does that mean?" Wei Zhao was somewhat puzzled. "Is it another kind of cultivator's physique?"

"You could say that. Calling it a sponge constitution is really just a figure of speech!" Old Man Wei explained. "A sponge is highly absorbent, but it is also riddled with countless hollows, so it leaks just as readily. In other words, a person with this kind of constitution is like a sponge: they can draw in vast quantities of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, but they can also expel it, squeeze it out like water from a sponge. The process is reversible."

"You mean Wang Xinyan has this constitution?" Wei Zhao thought it over carefully, and it really did fit. There seemed to be some energy inside Wang Xinyan's body that he could draw out for himself, and Wang Xinyan herself could absorb heaven-and-earth spiritual energy from her jade pendant and store it within her body...

"That should be it!" Lin Dongfang nodded. "Because once, the elder sister of a friend of mine also had this constitution. A cultivator with this constitution, given the right cultivation manual and chants, and an abundance of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, can advance with astonishing speed. Going from an ordinary person to the peak of the late Heaven rank might take only a few short months! Of course, depending on the spiritual energy available, the time may vary..."

"Then Xinyan right now..." Though Wei Zhao was stunned by how fast such people could cultivate, what worried him far more was Wang Xinyan's condition. She had already collapsed—what good was cultivation now?

"Wang Xinyan's constitution... was triggered by taking the orchid-jade spirit herb, just like that person back then," Lin Dongfang said. "And it was precisely because of that orchid-jade spirit herb that all of this came to mind."

"Old man, whether I understand all this or not doesn't matter. What I want to know is—what should Xinyan do now?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Shall I be honest?" Lin Dongfang gave a bitter smile. "I don't know either!"

"What? You don't know either?" Wei Zhao was taken aback, then caught between laughter and tears. "Then where can I find the elder sister of your friend?"

"She has already left... for the time being, you won't be able to find her," Lin Dongfang said. "All I know, all I can tell you, is this: without a matching cultivation manual and chants, a person with this constitution can still absorb spiritual energy on their own in a place where heaven-and-earth spiritual energy is abundant, and wake and recover. Within a year, there won't be any great danger to her life! It's just that without the manual and chants, she cannot become a cultivator."

"That's not important. Staying alive is what matters!" Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. "So you did know something after all? You scared me to death!"

"That's only what I've heard. Whether it truly works, I don't know," Lin Dongfang said helplessly. "And besides—a place abundant in heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, do you think one is so easy to find?"

"A place abundant in heaven-and-earth spiritual energy... what about those ancient sects?" Wei Zhao thought for a moment and asked.

"It used to work. Now I'm afraid it won't," Lin Dongfang said. "The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy grows thinner by the day. It is no longer enough to sustain her absorption."

"I see..." Wei Zhao felt rather helpless. The old man was right—places abundant in heaven-and-earth spiritual energy were truly hard to find nowadays! Though Wei Zhao had one such place ready at hand, only he himself could enter it; Wang Xinyan could not. The jade pendant's space could store objects, but it had no effect on living things. Surely he couldn't beat Wang Xinyan to death and then put her inside? If she were dead, what use would putting her in there be?

"Still, don't lose heart. That person may have left, but her younger sister—my friend—is still here. Go and consult her, and you should get some of the answers you're looking for!" Here Lin Dongfang suddenly sighed. "Originally, I had planned never to contact her again in this lifetime... but for your sake, it seems some things still must be faced!"

"Old man, what are you talking about?" Wei Zhao was baffled by Lin Dongfang's words, unable to make sense of what he meant.

"Nothing." Old Man Wei shook his head. "Go. When you see her, tell her you are my descendant. I believe she won't make things difficult for you, and will help you resolve your doubts!"

"Who exactly is she? Where am I supposed to go?" Wei Zhao was completely thrown by the old man's words. After all this talk, he still had no idea whom Lin Dongfang meant.

"The Ice Palace. Her name is Xiaoqing," Lin Dongfang said slowly.

"The Ice Palace? Aunt Qing?" Wei Zhao froze, the name slipping out before he could stop it. The Ice Palace had someone named Xiaoqing—if not Aunt Qing, then who else could it be?

"Yes. Though by rights, she belongs to your grandmother's generation," Lin Dongfang said. "But do not let anyone else know of my affairs. Speak with her in private, and do not tell her where I am now—say only that you don't know, that I must have left with your master."

"Understood, I know." Wei Zhao did not press for the reason. Since Lin Dongfang said to speak in private, he would speak in private. As for Lin Dongfang's current whereabouts, it was likely that his circumstances were special and he could not leave West Star Mountain Village, and did not want others to know too much.

So Wei Zhao agreed without hesitation.

"Good luck to you!" With that, Lin Dongfang hung up.

For his part, Wei Zhao did not hesitate in the slightest. Since Lin Dongfang had said there might be a solution with Aunt Qing at the Ice Palace, he would naturally set off for the Ice Palace at once.

His plan had been to first go to the Hakunamata Desert to seek out the Paoli clan, but plans never keep pace with change. Lin Dongfang had said there was no danger to Wang Xinyan's life within a year, but how could Wei Zhao take such a risk?

If, by any chance, there was no solution with Aunt Qing at the Ice Palace, Wei Zhao would naturally have to think of other ways. So everything would have to wait until he returned from the Ice Palace!

With that in mind, Wei Zhao recounted Old Man Wei's words to Shen Yushu. Shen Yushu raised no objection at all, only urging him to be careful on the road.

"It'll be fine. This isn't my first trip to the Ice Palace—I know the way well," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

That night, Wei Zhao bound Wang Xinyan to his own body with rope, then mounted the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast and raced off in the direction of the Ice Palace...