Inside the protective barrier, Mu Rou remained oblivious to the world. She was adrift in a sea of blissful, cool energy. The essence of the Frost Seed Lotus did not feel foreign or invasive; it felt like a lost part of her soul returning home. This river of power forked, one stream surging into her newly formed dantian, the other sinking deep into the bedrock of her being, merging with every cell. A delicate, ethereal blue hue, like the faintest tint on glacial ice, began to color her skin from within, a subtle glow that strengthened with each passing moment.
The energy that flooded her Qi Sea was a voracious tide, not content to merely pool. It actively sought out the unawakened pathways of her body, the dormant meridians that lay untouched in a mortal frame. With a force that was overwhelming yet perfectly natural, it smashed through the first blockage. A tremor ran through her, a profound shift in her very existence, and she stepped across the threshold from mortal to cultivator, landing squarely in the first stage of Foundation Establishment.
Hours melted away like snow in the spring sun. Qin Ying and Mu Yan watched in silent vigil as the process continued unabated. The energy contained within just a few of the lotus petals, while perhaps a trifle to a powerhouse like Qin Ying, was a vast, bottomless ocean for someone like Mu Rou. The tide of power kept rising. With another internal rumble that resonated deep in her bones, a second major meridian gave way. Then a third. Her cultivation soared, climbing past the second stage and stabilizing solidly in the third stage of Foundation Establishment. It seemed she would breach the fourth stage, but the last vestiges of the petal's essence finally dissipated, the immense power exhausted.
The torrent became a gentle stream, but the transformation was far from over. Her body, now saturated with the refined, icy Qi, had begun a metamorphosis of its own.
Qin Ying's eyes fluttered open, serene as a calm lake. She rose with practiced grace, her robes rustling softly, and stepped through the shimmering energy of the barrier she had erected.
"I have done all I could," she said, her voice a low murmur that barely disturbed the charged air. "Now we just have to wait for the process to complete."
They waited. The sun arced across the sky, its golden light fading to the bruised purple of twilight outside the inn window. Several more hours passed. Suddenly, the temperature in the room, already cool, plummeted. A visible frost crawled across the wooden floorboards, tracing intricate, feathery patterns that spread from the array. The pale blue luminescence emanating from Mu Rou's body flared, becoming so intense it cast sharp, dancing shadows on the walls.
Then, a sound cut through the stillness. It was a low-pitched, yet achingly melodious cry.
Screee.
Mu Yan's head snapped up, his gaze darting around the room. "Did you hear that?"
Qin Ying's brow furrowed, her attention fixed on Mu Rou. "It came from…"
Screee!
This time, the cry was louder, sharper, imbued with an ancient and undeniable majesty. There was no mistaking its origin. It resonated directly from Mu Rou's core. While Mu Yan's face was a mask of pure confusion, a look of profound shock, followed by dawning comprehension, mirrored on Qin Ying's features. The realization hit her like a shock.
"It can't be," she breathed, still in disbelief, her composure finally cracking.
Quickly shaking herself from her daze, she moved with urgency. Her hand blurred as she reached into her obsidian storage ring. She produced an amulet, a palm-sized talisman carved from a material that seemed to absorb all light, etched with silvery runes that pulsed with contained power. With a flick of her wrist, she cast it into the air above the barrier. The amulet flared to life, projecting a second, more powerful dome of energy over the first. This new barrier felt different—denser, more absolute, woven with an authority that seemed capable of sealing away heavens and earth.
Mu Yan stared, perplexed by her frantic behavior. "What is it? What's happening to her?"
Qin Ying didn't look at him, her eyes glued to the phenomenon within the twin barriers. "Let's wait and watch," she said, her voice taut with anticipation. "Maybe I am wrong. But in case my guess is correct, you have found someone rare. This amulet will contain her aura and stop anything from leaking outside. We cannot afford to let the city, or anything more powerful, sense what is about to happen here."
Though still baffled, Mu Yan trusted her judgment and waited, his fists clenched at his sides. The melodious cry became more frequent, each utterance more powerful than the last, echoing not just in the room but within their very souls. It built to a feverish pitch, the high, clear notes vibrating until the very air seemed on the verge of shattering.
Then, with one final, triumphant and deafening cry that sounded like a thousand glaciers calving at once—SCREEE!—the aura around Mu Rou exploded. The vibrant blue light did not simply glow; it morphed, coalesced, and took shape. Before their astonished eyes, the light twisted into the form of a magnificent bird, its wingspan filling the entire barrier. It was an avian creature of impossible beauty, crafted from pure, living ice, with feathers that shimmered with the light of a distant star. Its form resembled the legends of a phoenix, but one born from a realm of eternal frost.
The icy blue phoenix soared within its cage, its sapphire eyes burning with an intelligent, ancient disdain as it surveyed its confinement. It banked, then slammed against the inner barrier. The protective field, strong enough to resist a Nascent realm cultivator, fractured instantly, dissolving into motes of glittering light. The phoenix let out a triumphant screech, preparing to break free into the world.