Chapter 84: The Great Lake

It seems the Moon Howl Wolf Tribe truly remains undeterred in their ambitions.

High above, Red Cloud stood upon a drifting cloud, looking down upon the two wolf demons below. After taking Zhao Mieyou away, he had returned once more to observe how the Moon Howl Wolf Tribe would handle the aftermath. Seeing that the ones dispatched were two demon cultivators at the peak of Nirvana, he had considered erasing them as well. Yet, fearing that further action might alert deeper threats, he suppressed his urge to strike and watched in silence.

Hearing the furious, unwilling howl from below, Red Cloud’s lips curled into a faint smile. Then he turned and departed. Best to wait and see. There was no need to rush.

Now, although his strength far outstripped the ordinary peak Nirvana cultivator, and his physical body was extraordinary, he still intended to refine all the tribulation qi within himself before making further moves.

With this in mind, he opened his eyes and gazed toward the distant Snow Mountain in the far northern Demon Plains. It had been a long time since he had sensed such a concentration of tribulation qi. In this Treasure Vase World, he had never before encountered tribulation qi of this density.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, pondering in silence.

The ability to perceive tribulation qi came from the Eyes of Tribulation, Red Cloud’s own eyes. Yet, to see so far and so clearly—he had only become aware of this after drawing tribulation into his body. At the time, he hadn’t paid it much mind. Though he saw many beings, great and small, shrouded in tribulation qi, his attention was elsewhere.

In Mirror City, the Mirror Clan bore tribulation qi as well. It stood to reason that in this world, both demon cultivators and humans carried such marks. Still, there had to be some limit, some level to which Red Cloud would grow accustomed.

This time, however, things felt different.

He journeyed toward that place for more than ten days. With each beat of his wings, he could soar over ten miles, and though he hadn’t measured the exact distance, it could scarcely be less than fifty thousand miles.

The closer he drew, the more palpable the tribulation qi became. Nearing the great Snow Mountain, he finally discerned a crucial detail:

There was no sign of life here.

Not only here, but for hundreds of miles around, life had been extinguished. No snow eagles, no mountain bears—beasts common to the far northern Demon Plains—nor winter cypress or cloud pine, plants easily found elsewhere. All had perished.

Red Cloud did not venture in recklessly. Instead, he captured various animals and plants, both living and dead, and cast them inside from afar.

Living creatures lasted but three breaths before all vitality faded, their forms dissolving into snow. As for dead things, though they changed little to the eye, with a single blink they too became a layer of glittering white snow.

After three days of study, he reached his first conclusion: this place was a special secret realm. No matter what was thrown within, all would become snow. Moreover, the effect was contagious. When he placed a snow fox’s tail inside, even those parts left outside the barrier were swiftly assimilated.

Yet the rule seemed not to apply to him. He once thrust his Cloud-Stepping Wing inside, and upon withdrawal, found it unchanged.

When he finally set foot within, his expression shifted ever so slightly. Not because of assimilation, but because the world inside differed from what he’d seen outside.

From a distance, the place appeared as a towering snow mountain—not much different save for its unusual height. Within, as he raised his gaze, his heart was shaken.

There was no mountain peak at all. Before him, the summit was perfectly flat.

He thought to summon his Calamity Clouds to ascend and investigate, but here, the clouds would not condense at all.

Flight through tribulation qi was forbidden in this place!

Red Cloud was surprised. He gathered all the tribulation qi into the dragon along his spine, then unfurled his wings and soared toward the summit.

The higher he flew, the heavier the mists became. At a certain altitude, the sky was densely shrouded in vapor.

Because of the intense cold, this vapor began to condense midway up the mountain, forming a giant, arched ring of icy mist.

Red Cloud plucked off a shard of ice, crumbling it between his fingers until it scattered like fine sand. He spared it no further glance, folding his wings like blades and charging straight through the vaporous ice ring.

Breaking through in one breath, he looked up—and his pupils contracted at the sight before him.

Where the mountain peak should have been, it was gone. In its place stretched a vast lake, hundreds of miles across.

The water was crystal clear, appearing pale blue at first glance, but the longer one stared, the deeper the color grew, until it became a fathomless black.

Only then did the tribulation qi begin to reveal itself, dancing within the water as if at play.

The lake’s shape was unnaturally regular, but Red Cloud was not deceived. Examining the marks along the shore, he grew vigilant.

This lake was no natural formation. Some unknown being had carved it out by hand.

He had tested the hardness of the bedrock here—a blow at ninety percent of his strength could only dislodge a few small stones. If even a fragment of this material were found elsewhere, it would be top-tier for forging weapons.

To dig a lake hundreds of miles across in such rock, not to mention its depth, only an immensely powerful demon king could achieve it.

But that was not his concern now. His only aim was to grow stronger, to fulfill his host’s wishes and tasks, and return to his primordial world.

He sensed that his time in this world would not be long. Not due to the span of his life, but because of an indescribable premonition rising in his heart.

After a moment’s thought, he reached down to touch the lake water.

At the instant his hand made contact, his body shuddered and his eyes flashed with sudden light.

Cold—an icy chill that pierced to the very bone!

Not only that; within his perception, every drop of water here contained a faint trace of tribulation qi.

With this, he reached another conclusion: the water of this lake could dilute the tribulation qi of this world!