Jian Chou stood in place, not answering for a long time.

The mist floating in the void seemed about to condense into ice crystals at this moment.

Xie Buchen didn’t react further either, merely gripping the neck of the monk beneath his hand, gazing at her calmly, waiting for her to give him an answer.

In truth, with such obvious killing intent that she made no attempt to conceal, it was impossible for him not to notice.

But neither of them displayed any more emotion about it.

Everything intensified in silence and dissipated in silence, finally gradually dispersing. The cold mountain wind blew back into this river valley, thin mist swirling, coolness arising instantly.

Jian Chou slowly let out a laugh, still stepping forward as if the previous killing intent toward Xie Buchen had never appeared at all, looking extremely naturally at the monk restrained by Xie Buchen.

“Soul searching—I know a little. Only this technique is domineering and dangerous. One careless move, and either this person becomes an idiot, or I become an idiot. Friend Xie must be careful. If there’s a mishap and I accidentally search your head instead, that would truly be regrettable.”

An undisguised threat.

Even though she had chosen to suppress her killing intent and not strike at this moment, the churning emotions in her heart made her unwilling to continue playing games with him, hence these words.

But having already suppressed even her killing intent, this little threat naturally didn’t concern Xie Buchen at all.

From the moment he began traveling alongside Jian Chou, he clearly understood that before she figured out exactly what he had come to the snow region for, even if she hated him to the bone, she wouldn’t strike at him.

Simply because in her heart, Yashan was more important than he, Xie Buchen.

In a sense, he should feel fortunate about this. But regrettably and terrifyingly, he felt no such fortune.

—Once, her eyes held only him, but now, he was no longer the most important one.

Moreover…

This restraint from striking was only temporary.

Once he showed the slightest flaw, revealing his true intentions for this journey, he believed Jian Chou would not hesitate to strike ruthlessly, putting him to death.

The so-called “life-and-death friendship,” the so-called “bond of Yashan and Kunwu,” would at that time be nothing but empty words unable to prevent anything.

Unless by then he already possessed sufficient strength to match her and could fight freely. Otherwise, the outcome of this snow region journey would likely not be optimistic.

For Jian Chou, being unable to kill freely at this moment was quite frustrating.

For Xie Buchen, knowing that one wrong step would bring fatal disaster was even more frustrating.

Nominally “traveling together for mutual care,” but actually they were probing each other, suppressing murderous intent, both waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Either to kill or to counter-kill.

Yet at this moment, the snow region concealed too many crises, forcing them to cooperate in certain matters whether they liked it or not.

Just like right now.

Xie Buchen acted as if he hadn’t heard Jian Chou’s threatening words, directly throwing the monk to her.

All the major meridians in his body had been locked, spiritual power unable to flow even half an inch within his body—it was extremely uncomfortable. But what terrified this monk more at this moment wasn’t his cultivation being sealed, but the conversation between Xie Buchen and Jian Chou.

The moment Xie Buchen released him, he had already begun shouting with false bravado: “You—who are you people! You’ve eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, actually daring to lay hands on me! You—do you know who I am?!”

Though Jian Chou wasn’t one to judge by appearances, cultivators had their own methods for discerning people.

This monk’s eyes showed a hollow divine light. Clearly in his prime years with Golden Core mid-stage cultivation, yet he gave off a sense of excessive indulgence that was truly disgusting.

He didn’t seem like someone who cultivated proper techniques.

Had he not asked such questions, it would have been fine, but once he did, Jian Chou became truly interested. She raised an eyebrow with a curious expression: “Oh? Who are you then?”

Suddenly appearing so reasonable, this monk couldn’t help but think Jian Chou was afraid of him, his confidence immediately boosting considerably.

Though his body couldn’t move even a fraction due to Xie Buchen’s seamless restrictions, the expression on his face had already turned arrogant, directly snorting coldly.

“I am the sole disciple of Master Diyi, his direct heir! I’m about to go to the Holy Temple to inherit his robes and bowl. You two, if you’re sensible, quickly release me and I can spare your lives. Otherwise, hmph—”

“Otherwise?”

Jian Chou still maintained her interested expression, showing no hint of danger.

“Otherwise, what would you do to us two?”

“Otherwise, when people from the Holy Temple come to receive me, they will surely cast you both into the Avici Hell to suffer all manner of torments. After death, your souls will be bound and spirits imprisoned, never to be reborn!”

Vicious words spilled from his mouth without a second thought.

This monk was completely unaware of what kind of danger he faced, fully expecting Jian Chou and Xie Buchen to turn pale with fright after hearing this.

But to his disappointment…

None of what he expected or anticipated happened.

Jian Chou merely murmured: “Avici Hell?”

Then as she gazed at this monk’s eyes, they became somewhat deeper, with vaguely obscure dark light flashing from the depths of her eyes, leaving behind a strange, eerie brilliance.

“Have you been to hell? Do you know what the various torments there are like?”

“You—what do you mean?”

This monk finally sensed something was wrong, feeling cold sweat breaking out on the back of his head.

Jian Chou shook her head, seemingly lamenting his dullness and ignorance.

Clearly a kind face and expression, yet when saying these words, it was eerily terrifying!

“Nothing much. Just thinking that since you haven’t seen real hell, I’ll let you experience it. How about that?”

“Ah—”

The next instant, a scream immediately pierced the dawn.

But both Jian Chou and Xie Buchen were very clear that this scream wouldn’t actually travel beyond thirty feet around them—it had been firmly locked by Jian Chou within this small nearby area and would never be discovered by anyone.

Her pale, slender five fingers had already formed claws, mercilessly falling upon this monk’s head.

Five streams of blood-red ghostly light emanated from Jian Chou’s fingertips, like hard blades, instantly penetrating through the crown of his head, directly reaching the ancestral aperture between his brows, piercing into his spiritual platform and soul!

Under the overwhelming pressure of powerful spiritual consciousness, all of this person’s memories were completely exposed in her mind without reservation.

At the same time, this monk’s expression instantly became vacant.

Then, as if seeing some terrifying scene, his eyes, which had almost stopped moving, were filled with endless fear. His bluish-purple mouth gaped open, yet he could no longer emit even a hoarse cry.

He had neither anticipated this nor possessed any power to resist!

How could he have imagined that in the territory of the snow region, after announcing the names of “Master Diyi” and the Holy Temple, these two before him would still dare to strike at him!

Such brazen audacity!

But realizing this was already too late.

As Jian Chou withdrew her five fingers, his entire body lost support, immediately collapsing to the ground like a puddle of mud. His eyes, though previously hollow, had still retained some divine light, but now immediately became completely turbid. Even his facial expression became dazed and foolish, as if he had lost all intelligence.

Xie Buchen could see at a glance that this person was finished.

When Jian Chou performed the soul search, she showed not a trace of mercy, having no courtesy whatsoever toward this monk—she had directly turned him into an idiot.

In this state, even if he could survive, all his future prospects were severed.

Her methods could be called ruthless.

But Xie Buchen still showed no emotional fluctuation, nor did he express any objection, merely indifferently averting his gaze and looking back at Jian Chou.

“How was it?”

Jian Chou’s expression could no longer be described as merely ugly.

Although she had already gained some understanding of the Tibetan esoteric sect and had heard of various unthinkable deeds in the eighteen levels of hell in the Extreme Domain, when she truly “saw” them so vividly in this monk’s memories, she felt them to be ten times, a hundred times more shocking!

Disgust, even nausea.

This person’s original name was Chamudar. Later, because of his decent bones and aptitude, he was fortunate enough to be accepted as a heart-transmission disciple by the “Master Diyi” he spoke of, given the dharma name “Huaijie.”

Generally speaking, masters usually have several heart-transmission disciples, but there is only one direct heir to inherit the robes and bowl. Master Diyi had accepted disciples quite late, and until he passed away and achieved nirvana in last month’s internal struggles within the esoteric sect, he had only taken this one disciple.

Therefore, Huaijie naturally became the disciple who could inherit Master Diyi’s robes and bowl.

In the snow region, those who reach the fourth level of Nascent Soul and above, having paid respects at the Holy Temple, can be called “Master.” Those who reach the seventh level of Void Returning and above, having paid respects at the Holy Temple, can be called “Dharma King.”

All monks above the master level basically have their own temples.

After their passing, their robes, bowl, and position can theoretically be left to their disciples to inherit.

However, this kind of “inheritance” must also be conducted under the witness of the Buddha in the Holy Temple. The monk who is to inherit must go to the Holy Temple to kowtow and worship before officially gaining this qualification.

This was why Huaijie had previously said that people from the Holy Temple would come to receive him.

But all of this, though quite different from the rules of many sects in the Central Region, was not enough to make Jian Chou feel disgusted and nauseous. What made her deeply uncomfortable were the various details related to Buddha mothers and consorts in Huaijie’s memories…

Undoubtedly, both Huaijie and his master belonged to the New Esoteric faction within the esoteric sect. They followed the so-called “dual cultivation” practices of the Highest Yoga Tantra, cultivated the Vajrayana, and contemplated the Bliss Chan.

She briefly explained the situation to Xie Buchen.

Having come to the snow region, Xie Buchen had naturally already learned quite a bit about esoteric Buddhism beforehand. Hearing her rough explanation, he understood in his heart what kind of people this Huaijie and his “Master Diyi” were.

“The esoteric sect is already heretical, and the New Esoteric faction has reached the pinnacle of this ‘heresy.'”

“This person is also one who has committed many evils. Keeping him alive would be pointless…”

Jian Chou didn’t respond to Xie Buchen’s words, merely glancing down at Huaijie lying on the ground, directly channeling power and striking down with one palm. Without even hearing any sound, a ball of spiritual fire emerged from her hand, falling onto Huaijie’s body.

In an instant, he was reduced to ashes.

Vaguely, Xie Buchen heard a “patta” sound.

It seemed something hadn’t been burned completely and had dropped to the ground mixed in with the ashes.

He casually bent down, lightly brushing with his fingertip, and picked up a deep black Buddha lotus iron plaque from the ashes. The lotus heart was adorned with white jade, and below it were the two characters “Diyi” carved in Sanskrit.

Seeing this, Jian Chou said: “This is Master Diyi’s token, and also the credential for the Holy Temple to come receive him to inherit the robes and bowl. This Huaijie was originally just a heart-transmission disciple and had no life-binding object registered at the Holy Temple, so others wouldn’t recognize him. Made of Nine-Turn Lotus Heart Jade, it’s impervious to water and fire—it can be considered a treasure.”

After all, there weren’t many things that could remain completely undamaged under the Azure Lotus Spiritual Fire.

But Xie Buchen’s vision was obviously not limited to just this.

He had no covetous thoughts about treasures or anything like that, but hearing Jian Chou’s description, he had some ideas. With a flip of his hand, he put the item away.

“Perhaps it might be useful soon.”

Jian Chou was noncommittal.

She didn’t believe that just the two of them, with their methods of concealing their auras, could easily infiltrate the Holy Temple and access the core of the entire esoteric sect.

But keeping it wouldn’t hurt.

If it were Jian Chou herself, she would probably make the same choice as Xie Buchen: better to be prepared—who knows about the future?

“This Huaijie didn’t know much. But there is one thing that can corroborate what we knew before.”

Jian Chou paused, a few traces of contemplation flashing in her eyes.

“Previously, those few monks from the Old Esoteric faction we met at the tea house said that the New Esoteric faction’s strength had suddenly increased within the esoteric sect. Before Master Diyi passed away, his cultivation had indeed increased significantly. But at that time, Huaijie was just a heart-transmission disciple and didn’t know the details.”

In other words, what they wanted to know hadn’t gained any essential depth.

The only thing worth celebrating was probably that after this soul searching ordeal, Jian Chou had gained a very intuitive understanding of the snow region and wouldn’t be completely at a loss.

But for Xie Buchen, nothing had changed.

Even though he could teleport, his actual realm still remained at Golden Core peak—he wasn’t strong enough to perform “soul searching” techniques on a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator.

Or rather, even if he had this ability, he wouldn’t display it in front of Jian Chou.

So at this moment, he took one final look at this pile of ashes on the ground, then walked back toward the other end of the canyon, using special storage rings to collect the corpses lying on the ground one by one.

This time, of course, he didn’t touch the black qi clinging to the bodies.

Soon, not a single corpse could be seen on the canyon riverbank, and the traces left by blades and blood would be buried by the coming snow season.

After collecting his fallen sect members with an expressionless face, Xie Buchen returned to Jian Chou’s side as if nothing had happened.

Jian Chou couldn’t help but mock him half-seriously: “Cold face, evil heart.”

But Xie Buchen didn’t explain or argue, as if accepting this assessment by default, instead asking her: “Continue deeper?”

“Naturally.”

Although she had no intention of exploring the Holy Temple, Jian Chou was still very interested in the current situation of the snow region and whether the sudden increase in the New Esoteric faction’s strength was related to the “Young Thorn Great Venerable” who had appeared in the Star Sea.

Moreover, there was still Xie Buchen beside her.

She said nothing more, using her knowledge of the snow region gained from the previous soul search, she quickly established their next route with Xie Buchen in just a few words.

At this time, the entire Old Esoteric system was on the verge of collapse, with almost all of the snow region under New Esoteric control.

So they were even more careful than when they first entered the snow region. Only in uninhabited areas would they travel by sword, and whenever there were any temples or settlements, they would disguise themselves as ordinary people and travel on foot.

Being so cautious, after two days had passed, no one had discovered their identities.

By the third day, both had changed into robes similar in style to most snow region residents—rougher and thicker, with more vivid colors.

Xie Buchen still wore his usual deep azure, but compared to the simple and plain style he favored, this robe had many colorful, high-contrast precious lotus flower patterns in various places.

Looking at it, it was somewhat similar to the patterns on the Burning Lamp Sword.

As for Jian Chou, she wore lake blue with half a silver-blue peacock embroidered on the hem, which, complementing her features, added a few traces of stern beauty.

If one ignored their overly refined and perfect facial features, they really did look quite similar to most people in the snow region.

But neither Xie Buchen nor Jian Chou had any intention of changing their appearance for now.

At this moment, both had put away their swords, walking empty-handed along the road, seemingly casual but actually cautious and thorough in observing their surroundings—

This was the first small town they had entered since arriving in the snow region.

It was indeed a “small” town.

Standing at one end of the street, you could see the other end at a glance.

The buildings on both sides were quite sparse, all constructed from stones of various sizes and clay, mostly residences of local inhabitants.

The people walking along the road looked no different from those in the Central Region.

Most of them had no cultivation whatsoever, or their cultivation was so minimal as to be negligible. Only a very small portion possessed Foundation Establishment level or so.

Clearly, this was still at the edge of the snow region, where even cultivators were rare.

But Jian Chou didn’t let her guard down.

She had searched the soul of that monk Huaijie and knew the pattern of how these small towns were distributed throughout the snow region—only where there were temples would such settlements form.

Because the entire snow region was devoutly faithful to esoteric Buddhism, there was a tradition of “pilgrimage.”

Every year, regardless of the season, believers scattered throughout the snow region would trek through mountains and rivers, some to nearby temples, others traveling far to worship at the holy mountain and Holy Temple.

With people coming and going, towns and villages would naturally form around the temples.

This small town where they currently found themselves was undoubtedly one of these.

Moreover, the temple located in this small town was the “Zhaohua Temple” presided over by Huaijie’s master, Master Diyi. Although Master Diyi had already passed away, there were still several formidable cultivators in the temple.

Though Jian Chou didn’t think they could pose a threat to her, on someone else’s territory, having fewer troubles was always better.

The two walked while observing.

Along the road were raggedly dressed elderly pilgrims passing through, children running in the muddy streets with prayer wheels in their hands, and a few monks in red robes walking by, but mostly ordinary people.

Their faces showed joy or sorrow—all the most natural expressions of the mundane world.

The cold wind of the snow region blew from the ice fields thousands of zhang high, swaying the prayer flags hanging above.

Not far ahead, the shutters of the only small inn’s aged windows were blown by the wind, creaking noisily as if they might fall off at any moment.

A round-faced little girl stood behind the counter, her pair of lively and pure eyes focused on watching the pedestrians passing by outside the door.

Then she saw Jian Chou.

Jian Chou also keenly noticed her gaze, turned her head to look up, and only then realized this was a very simple inn.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing her suddenly stop, Xie Buchen also stopped, following her gaze to look inside. He only saw that this little girl was just an ordinary person—though her eyes were lively, she had no cultivation whatsoever.

Actually, Jian Chou couldn’t explain clearly why she had stopped.

She just felt that this pair of eyes watching her was exceptionally beautiful, transparent with a kind of utterly pure innocence, containing not a trace of impurity. Even this entire person gave off a comfortable feeling like basking in spring breeze.

So she asked Xie Buchen a question she would never have asked before: “Do you want to stay at an inn?”