Before leaving, Yang Qing left the sect master of the Spring Rain Sword Sect with a couple of hundred pearls that he had imbued with pure yang qi which sect master Mu Gen could use to help some of his members endure the frigid cold qi surrounding them better. The pearls could benefit even the sect master himself.

The purity of the yang qi was in respect to Yang Qing's present state. Even before the slight developments made to his physique, both his yin and yang qi were pure enough to rival naturally formed treasures based on those energies, and with the recent developments, that purity had grown.

As long as the sect kept those pearls on them, they could forget about being frozen by the frigid qi and could focus on extracting its benefits without fear of dying in the process. The Order had likely already provided Mu Gen with means to survive and exploit the frigid qi, but it couldn't hurt to have more means, especially considering how deep in the wilderness they were, away from any civilization.

Considering the environmental constraints of the area with the dangers from the frigid qi and the spirit beasts lurking in the tundra forest that neighbored them, the sparse human habitation, for safety, the sect likely limited themselves in the number of times they left.

Unless absolutely necessary, they likely never left, and those who could leave were likely to be the elders with powerful cultivation bases to survive the dangers that surrounded the place. Most sects usually left errands running to the disciples for merit points or had station points within their territory where they dealt with merchant organizations, but such luxuries were absent where the Spring Rain Sword Sect was located.

The horrible weather and the dangers all around made the area sparsely populated. If the sect wanted anything, they had to move to the central city located at the center of the province which was 100,000 kilometers away from where the sect was located. They had few members and the dangers presented limited those who could make the trip. Yang Qing's pearls would likely save them the trip for a few years, as each pearl could protect the user for at least 10 years because of the purity of the yang qi. Rather than run errands, the elders could use that time to cultivate and grow their strength, which the Spring Rain Sword Sect desperately needed if they were going to survive in the area.

While Yang Qing wasn't completely sure, he felt the tundra forest that neighbored them likely had spirit beasts that had reached the domain realm otherwise the Great Chen Empire would have already subjugated the entire forest and placed it under their control. When he left, out of curiosity Yang Qing sneaked to the outskirts of the forest, and at that distance, he could feel the richness and profundities contained within the qi.

Because of his physique, he had no fear of the cold frigid qi; he was like a fish in water there. Just from that brief interaction, he knew if he cultivated in the deeper parts of the forest where the frigid qi was likely richer and denser, the gains he would make would be monumental both in terms of his physique and even mastery of certain arts related to the water element. And from the quality, having experienced the spiritual qi produced by a mature dragon vein he could feel the qi from within the tundra and that of a mature dragon vein was not different. The reason it caused fatalities was likely because of the overwhelming purity of that qi.

There was no way an entity like the Great Chen Empire would leave a place like that alone not unless there was something in there that deterred them from occupying it. As a rank two Empire, only a domain-level existence could deter them.As Yang Qing was leaving, he couldn't help but wonder why the founder of the Spring Rain Sword Sect decided to build her sect so close to the tundra if it indeed did have a domain-level spirit beast. That was no different than throwing one's self into the mouth of a dragon not unless...

...

"Did I keep you waiting long?" asked Yang Qing as he made his way into the ferry where he found Bai Chen sipping some boiling wine by the deck with some of the staff members.

By the time they reached the Snow Dawn Province, the ferry was empty of passengers save for Yang Qing. For once he didn't have the weight of delaying others on him as he made his visit.

"Not long, are you done?"Bai Chen asked as he handed Yang Qing a cup.

Yang Qing taking a sit and helping himself to the wine answered,

"I am. We can now head back to Gold Eagle Town.."

"Any place you want to stop over as we head over there?"

"Not really, but if you have suggestions of places with good scenery and food, feel free to pass through those places on the route over.."

"I just happen to know a few.." Bai Chen said with a smile.

The trip back was leisurely with Bai Chen leaving the steering to one of the staff members as he and Yang Qing exchanged tales of their experiences which were mostly centered on embarrassing tales which was a lifesaver for Yang Qing. He might not have adventurous or heroic tales owing to his cowardly nature, but when it came to embarrassing tales, he had that in plenty.

On the way back, they picked up more passengers as they made stopovers in cities bustling with activity where Yang Qing took the brief pauses provided by those stopovers to sample dishes and other specialties from those cities. He was even lucky enough to find a cultivation air market where he splurged a little to buy bizarre-looking trinkets and mundane ones here and there in the hopes that they hid some mysteries beneath their rough exteriors.

Time quickly passed by and it wasn't long before they arrived at Gold Eagle Town, which remained the same as they had left it, except it was nighttime by the time they arrived, but it was still as active as daytime. To cultivators who didn't need to sleep, and could see in perfect clarity whether night or day, the concept of night and day was lost on them.

"Thank you for the trip, Bai Chen.." Yang Qing said as he alighted from the ferry.

"Thank you for your patronage, Yang Qing, and should you need our services again, please don't hesitate to reach out, and should you hear of people needing escort services, please don't hesitate to send them our way. We would appreciate the business and we would also give you a nice discount for the referral.." Bai Chen said as he rubbed his hands together with a mercantile smile on his face.

Yang Qing dryly laughed as he said,

"If i come across any, I will make sure to send them your way. Take care, Bai Chen.."

"Take care, Yang Qing."

As Yang Qing was leaving he paused slightly which prompted a curious glance from Bai Chen.

"I have a friend who told me that the Ice Emerald Sect over the years had been hunting down organizations that had arts related to the Frozen Serenity Scripture and were likely doing so at the behest of someone.

A few rank-three organizations were destroyed in the process. While the sect itself may be gone, who knows why they were looking for those arts. Be careful Bai Chen, In case of anything feel free to reach me..." Yang Qing solemnly said.

"Many thanks, fellow daoist. As someone who has survived as a rogue cultivator for this long, prudency has been my greatest and constant companion.." said Bai Chen as he cupped his fists in gratitude to Yang Qing.

"That's good.." Yang Qing said as he waved his hands as he disappeared to the skies.

After he left, Bai Chen's eyes flashed with killing intent slightly as he clenched his fists before his look turned calm as he made his way back to the Bluefin Courtyard.