Chapter 63: Snowy Night, Heavenly Snow

Xiao Chen's condition was extremely dire. When Lin Yin saw the Prince of Beiju once more, it was deep within the underground crystal palace.

The crystal palace was not very spacious, roughly the size of a single bedroom, yet it served as the final resting place for all the fallen heroes of Beiju City.

Crystal coffins were neatly arranged one after another, and resting within the innermost coffin was Xiao Chen.

Through the nearly transparent lid of the crystal coffin, Lin Yin saw that Xiao Chen's eyes were tightly shut, his complexion as pale as paper, showing not the slightest sign of movement.

"Is there truly no other way for Beiju City?" Lin Yin turned his head to ask Xiao Ruoyu, only to catch a profound flash of despondency and sorrow across her face.

"I have already reached out to all of my father's old friends, but every single one of them is completely helpless." Xiao Ruoyu gazed down at Xiao Chen inside the crystal coffin, her delicate hands clenched into tight fists as they trembled slightly. "Back in the old era, there was a term called vegetative state—that is precisely my father's current condition. They all say we can only pin our hopes on my father's willpower to pull himself out of this endless, bottomless slumber. Apart from that, there is nothing else we can do."

Xiao Ruoyu's exceptionally beautiful face had grown noticeably haggard. This eighteen-year-old tender maiden had prematurely shouldered the myriad affairs of Beiju City.

Lin Yin could sense a profound sense of despair hidden deep within her eyes.

"Since that is the case, let us try the final method." Lin Yin suddenly said.

In an instant, a spark of light ignited in Xiao Ruoyu's eyes. "What method?"

A snowy night.

It was about to descend upon the mortal realm, and Beiju City was the place closest to where the snowy night first touched.

Leaving the crystal palace, Lin Yin was accommodated by Xiao Ruoyu in a standalone military barrack. He began to come and go like a mythical dragon, frequently disappearing for entire nights on end.

Xiao Ruoyu had also warned Lin Yin that right outside Beiju City lay the Heavenly Emperor Mountain of the demon race, home to hundreds of thousands of demons, and that he should not wander outside casually.

Seven days later, the snowy night arrived right on schedule according to the lunar calendar.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Xiao Ruoyu finished processing the final batch of military documents, stretched her fatigued body, and looked out the window. Her eyes brightened.

She saw that the night sky outside was as pristine white as a celestial realm; the stars were white, the night veil was pale white, and even the mountain ranges and rivers presented a pristine white hue.

"The snow season and the snowy night have arrived right on time."

Clad in armor, Xiao Ruoyu stood by the window, quietly admiring the view for a moment before preparing to return to her quarters to rest.

Suddenly, however, the door was pushed open, and a young man appeared at the threshold with a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Have you forgotten what I promised you?"

"The snowy night has arrived."

Xiao Ruoyu gave a start, completely caught off guard by her own exhaustion, which had caused her to forget the snowy night Lin Yin had mentioned.

"Is it true? Can it really save my father?" Xiao Ruoyu felt a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. Although she occasionally received intelligence reports during this period, news concerning Lin Yin's whereabouts and activities had been exceedingly scarce. The few meager reports she did receive—such as him purchasing massive quantities of snow-burning timber and laying down strange formations outside the city—had left her utterly bewildered, and she still had no idea what Lin Yin was actually planning to do.

"Just come with me!"

Lin Yin grabbed Xiao Ruoyu by the arm, righted the motorcycle, and urged, "Get on!"

Looking at the black motorcycle before her, Xiao Ruoyu hesitated for a moment, but nonetheless gathered the hem of her armored skirt and seated herself behind Lin Yin.

"I have never ridden such a vehicle before," Xiao Ruoyu said.

"Hold onto the fuel tank cap, or grab my clothes," Lin Yin reminded her.

Hesitating slightly, Xiao Ruoyu opted for the second, somewhat more elegant method, gently grasping the fabric of Lin Yin's clothes.

With a sudden roar, the motorcycle surged forward like a streak of lightning, hurtling straight toward the outskirts of Beiju City.

Along the way, all the armored cavalry of Beiju stared in utter astonishment, but recognizing the motorcycle, they quickly cleared a path.

Shortly afterward, upon receiving the news and out of deep concern, the squad leaders of the Beiju cavalry also galloped toward the city's exterior.

The snowy night.

Heavy snowflakes drifted in a chaotic dance across the sky, blanketing the mountains and causing the wild pine trees to bloom with white blossoms.

Beneath the snowy night, Lin Yin finally reached his destination.

Xiao Ruoyu paused slightly as she looked around. She saw a towering structure built from snow-burning timber standing amidst the heavy snow. Even from a purely visual standpoint, it was obvious that the logs had not been placed at random; they were arranged in strict accordance with a specific pattern. It seemed the intelligence reports regarding the bizarre formation were far from groundless.

"Lin Yin, what on earth are you trying to do?!" Amidst the howling snow, Xiao Ruoyu shouted at the top of her lungs.

Lin Yin shouted back in kind.

"Do you know when the most miraculous moment of the snowy night is?!"

The most miraculous moment? Xiao Ruoyu paused briefly before calling back, "When the stars in the sky shine their brightest, a streak of white glowing radiance will emerge in the snowy night, descending vertically and plunging straight into the very center of the snowstorm! It looks as if a colossal white sword has fallen from the heavens, piercing through heaven and earth! Everyone in Beiju City calls that spectacle Heavenly Snow."

"A white blade? If I told you that you guessed correctly and that it truly is a white blade, would you believe me?!" Lin Yin asked in a half-joking tone.

"Ha?" Xiao Ruoyu laughed. "How is that possible?"

"Although Heavenly Snow seems to carry some sort of substance or energy that makes it impossible for humans to touch, and no one has ever survived touching it, how could it possibly be a real sword?"

"It's not that those who touched it didn't survive, but rather that those who touched it all..." Lin Yin smiled and left the sentence unfinished, knowing that such matters would not manifest at this current stage.

The Heavenly Snow phenomenon was indeed a sword—a sword leading to a mysterious world.

"Don't you feel that this year's snowy night is even more miraculous than usual?" Lin Yin looked up at the night sky, where patches and layers of white radiance were already converging, resembling a celestial court in the heavens.

Xiao Ruoyu looked at Lin Yin with astonishment. "Why do you make it sound as though you've witnessed this countless times before?"

Whoosh! Suddenly, countless strands of white light converged into a towering pillar of radiance that pierced the heavens, plunging straight down from the sky to strike the mortal realm with immense force.

And its precise location was none other than the strange formation Lin Yin had constructed using the snow-burning timber.

The Heaven-Summoning Array used specific materials to create resonance with particular substances, functioning much like a lightning rod.

"The Heavenly Snow is heading right for us!"

As the white radiance pierced into the ground, the only sounds left were the roaring flames of the burning snow-burning timber and Xiao Ruoyu's frantic, panicked shouts.

At the exact same moment.

All the approaching cavalry squad leaders of Beiju reined in their horses, gritting their teeth as they forced themselves to halt their advance.

"Damn it! It's the Heavenly Snow!"

"Squad leader, what do we do? Both lords are right over there!"

"I'm going! Even if the Heavenly Snow kills me, I have to bring the two lords back!"

"Do not act rashly! Everyone advance slowly, and the moment you find yourselves affected by the energy of the Heavenly Snow, retreat immediately!"

"Understood!!"

With fluttering hearts and profound unease, the Beiju cavalrymen inched cautiously forward step by step.

Although breathtakingly beautiful within Beiju City, the Heavenly Snow was equally synonymous with death; since ancient times, an untold number of Beiju citizens had vanished into the Heavenly Snow.

The Heavenly Snow was like a breathtaking yet man-eating abyss.