Under the blue sky, Zhou Chun, who had just climbed out from beneath the thick ice, looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh of relief.
It was now the third month since he had fallen into the lake from the collapsing ground.
After seizing the Snow Crystal Worm King, he began to seek a way to the surface.
But the process was far from smooth.
It had taken him almost a month to dig out this passage to the surface, during which he had damaged a second-tier Magic Artifact, and even his often-used Sun Glare Wheel had suffered considerable wear.
But now all that was in the past.
Regardless, he was now out, and the road ahead was clear.
Zhou Chun then rested briefly on the snowy plains, and after his mana was fully restored, he rode away on the Golden Winged Tiger.
That's right, Zhou Chun did not plan to bring the Snow Crystal Worm King directly for an exchange for the Snow Soul Pill, as he had previously done with the Foundation Establishment Pill.
As a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, having a single Foundation Establishment Pill on him wouldn't prompt many to foolishly attack him.
But if he brought the Snow Crystal Worm King to exchange for a Snow Soul Pill, then the situation could drastically change.
This wasn't Zhou Chun being unnecessarily suspicious, but a matter he had to guard against.
Just like how Lin Hongyu, despite having purchased Nascent Soul Spirit Material with money, still didn't dare to leave Xiandu Marketplace with those treasures.
Zhou Chun was not a local cultivator of Yang Kingdom, nor did he have any notable background there; if the cultivators from Snow Essence Palace sold him out, they wouldn't feel the slightest bit of guilt.
Hence, Zhou Chun could only leave the snowy plains and depart from Yang Kingdom to find another location to trade with Snow Essence Palace.
Several days later, Zhou Chun returned to the Hongyu Peak Stronghold, where he had been away for over a year.
By that time, most of the Loose Cultivators who had gone to the snowy plains to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill—if they were still alive—had returned to the stronghold.
However, many found that upon their return, there was no place for them in the stronghold anymore.
That's just reality: sometimes one wrong decision can lead to irreversible losses.
Everyone has to pay for their choices.
Of course, for skilled late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators like Fu Changqing, if he wanted to return, Lin Wan'er would certainly continue to welcome him.
When Zhou Chun returned to the stronghold this time and had a discussion with Lin Wan'er, he left her a letter and then departed alone.
This time, Zhou Chun took with him the Earth Origin Crystal Jade ores accumulated at the stronghold and returned to the Zhou Family.
Twenty days after Zhou Chun's departure, the person arranged by Lin Wan'er delivered the letter he left to Snow Essence Palace.
Without speculating how Snow Essence Palace would deal with the letter from Zhou Chun,
let's say that Zhou Chun's journey back to Jingguo Country from Yang Kingdom went very smoothly, taking him just over a dozen days to successfully return to his family's mountain gate.
Zhou Mingde was somewhat surprised by Zhou Chun's return.
However, once he knew the purpose of Zhou Chun's visit, he was overjoyed.
Especially upon learning that Zhou Chun had even captured a Wood Charm in Shen Country and tamed it into a Spirit Pet, his pleasure was beyond measure.
"Wonderful, wonderful, my boy, you've indeed given your old man a huge surprise!"
Zhou Mingde, with a beaming smile, looked at Zhou Chun and immediately asked him to summon the Wood Charm for him to see.
When he saw the Azure Deer incarnation of the Wood Charm and witnessed its incredible Wood Escape Technique, Zhou Mingde was so astonished that he stood agape, speechless for a long time.
"Truly worthy of a Spirit Monster birthed from the essence of heaven and earth!"
"Such Divine Skills, how could ordinary Demon Beasts compare?"
"Having such a Spirit Monster as a pet is even better than having a Flood Dragon!"
He lavished praise on the Azure Deer, his admiration for Zhou Chun's fortune unconcealed.
Which is better, a Flood Dragon or a Spirit Monster, might be a matter of personal opinion among cultivators.
But in terms of rarity, Spirit Monsters are undeniably much more scarce than Flood Dragons.
In that regard, saying that acquiring a Spirit Monster is more valuable than a Flood Dragon is not incorrect.
After all, rarity carries value!
However, if Zhou Chun had to choose, he would of course want both.
Flood Dragons are powerful in combat, can reproduce offspring, and produce Dragon Blood Spirit Items, which are incredibly useful.
Spirit Monsters, with their mystical Divine Skills and peerless abilities in locating herbs and ores, have almost unlimited potential for growth, and are immensely valuable as well.
"There's another matter I need to discuss with you, concerning the Jade Bead within my Dantian. I might have discovered its purpose!"
Zhou Chun, seeing the envious look on Zhou Mingde's face, also shared how the Dharma Treasure had automatically protected him when he was attacked by the White Toad Demon Beast.
As expected, upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde was profoundly shocked, just as Zhou Chun had anticipated, and immediately inquired about the specifics.
Zhou Chun didn't hold back in the least, sharing all his related speculations.
"Zhengchun, your guess is not wrong, as you said, since the Jade Bead could automatically protect its master in a life and death crisis, it's certainly not a common Magic Artifact; it must be a Spiritual Treasure with a high level of sentience!"
"So it seems, that White Toad we saw back then must indeed be the Artifact Spirit of this Spiritual Treasure!"
Zhou Mingde said this, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the area of Zhou Chun's lower abdomen where his Dantian was located.