The winds of the north howled like an endless dirge, carrying shards of ice that cut the skin like blades. The deeper Haotian flew, the colder the world became, until even the clouds themselves turned to brittle frost suspended in the sky.
He descended after half a day's flight, landing on the jagged plains where the beast tide had once gathered. His boots crunched against ice that still bore the scars of his past battle — cracks running like spiderwebs across the land, craters frozen mid-collapse, mountains gouged where his strikes had shattered them.
Haotian stood in silence, his golden eyes reflecting the ruined expanse. Memories stirred. Twenty-five thousand beasts, surging like a tide. The frost wolf's roar echoing across the sky. His qi burning to its last dregs as he fought alone.
Now, the battlefield lay silent, a frozen grave.
He closed his eyes. The Eyes of the Universe opened. Threads of chi, countless and radiant, wove through the world around him. Elemental traces of frost lingered heavily in the land, forming dense knots of energy. Symbols floated faintly in his vision — ancient runes of ice, memory, and time itself.
"The heavenly treasure should be here," he murmured. His voice vanished into the howling wind.
He stepped forward, the air crystallizing with each breath. The threads shifted, pointing him deeper into the tundra.
Hours passed as he traversed canyons of frozen rivers and forests turned to statues of glass. In one place, he stopped before a wall of ice that shimmered faintly with its own inner light. Reaching out, he traced a rune upon its surface. His Eyes of the Universe revealed more — faint echoes of history bleeding from the frozen wall. He saw flashes: the frost wolf leaping, the clash of his strikes, the moment the land itself froze.
The vision faded. The wall crumbled into mist under his touch.
At last, he came upon a valley hidden beneath a jagged ridge. The wind here was still, unnaturally so. Ice spires rose like thrones, surrounding a frozen lake whose surface was smooth as glass.
At the center of the lake, buried within the ice, something pulsed. A shard of crystalline light — blue and silver — beating faintly like a heart. The chi radiating from it was overwhelming, its resonance both sharp and pure.
Haotian's eyes narrowed. "A Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal."
The treasure he sought.
But even as he stepped onto the frozen lake, the ice shuddered beneath him. Fissures spidered outward, and the spires of ice trembled as if awakened. A distant roar echoed across the valley — guttural, ancient, hungry.
From the ice below, a shadow stirred.
The beast tide had left scars on the land, but not all of its remnants had been slain. The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal was guarded.
The lake was silent again, but the pulse at its center beat brighter — steady, resonant, alive. The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal was no mere object; it carried its own will, the condensed essence of countless eras of frost.
As Haotian stepped forward, the ice beneath his feet lit with runes, spreading outward in concentric rings. Each circle pulsed with cold light, layering into a vast formation that sealed the valley.
His golden eyes narrowed. "So you mean to test me."
The Eyes of the Universe flared, and at once, the world blurred.
The valley dissolved into an endless tundra of white. Snow fell heavily, erasing the horizon. Haotian stood alone in a vast wasteland where no sound existed but the hiss of wind.
Then the illusions began.
Figures formed in the snow — his past battles, his triumphs, his failures. The frost wolf's roar echoed again, followed by the thunder of the beast tide. Then came phantoms of enemies he had slain, their eyes burning with accusation.
"You fight… but what do you fight for?" The voice was not spoken, but resounded in the marrow of his bones, the will of the treasure itself.
Haotian smiled faintly. "For everything. For myself. For the ones I cherish. For the path of the universe."
The illusions shifted. Now he saw Yinxue and Ziyue, their figures bound in chains of ice, eyes turned away from him. Behind them stood Shuyue, her heart-seal glowing like a brand, her back to him as she walked into endless snow.
"If your Dao is the universe… then can you bear its weight? Can you accept that all threads may fray, that even those you hold may slip away?"
The chains of ice coiled tighter, their frost creeping toward the women's hearts.
Haotian exhaled slowly. His hand lifted.
Threads of chi, infinite and luminous, unraveled before his gaze. Time, space, memory, frost — all wove into patterns around the phantoms. His golden eyes traced them, and with a single gesture, he pulled.
The illusions cracked. The chains shattered into starlight. Yinxue, Ziyue, Shuyue — their figures faded into light, smiling faintly as they dissolved.
The snowstorm stilled.
The frozen wasteland folded in on itself, the endless tundra collapsing until Haotian once again stood on the surface of the lake. The runic formation beneath his feet dimmed, then shifted into a stairway of frost leading to the crystal.
The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal pulsed like a beating heart. Its will pressed against his, not hostile now, but weighing, measuring.
Haotian placed his hand upon it. Frost surged into his veins, ancient cold testing every inch of his body. His three cores resonated at once, flaring to meet it.
Moments stretched. Then the crystal's resistance broke.
The treasure yielded.
Ice and light dissolved into his hand, flowing into his cores, merging with the infinite threads of his Dao of the Universe. His breath exhaled in a mist that shimmered with runes, his aura expanding with a new depth of frost affinity.
When he opened his eyes again, the lake was silent, the valley whole. Only the faint echo of the trial remained.
He straightened, his grin easy as always. "So you recognize me, then. Good."
The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal was his.
The moment Haotian set foot upon the frozen lake, the crystal at its heart pulsed — brighter, sharper, like an eye snapping open. The runes spread across the ice, layer upon layer of frost formation locking into place until the entire valley shuddered with cold authority.
A voice resounded, deep and imperious, not from the air but from within the marrow of the world itself:
"Mortal… you dare approach me? I was born before your ancestors walked these lands. I froze mountains when your sects were still dust. I am the Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal, forged by the heavens across ten thousand winters. You seek to claim me?"
The cold was suffocating. The runes burned like frozen suns, and the illusion realm snapped into being, engulfing Haotian.
He stood now in a wasteland of endless blizzards. Above him loomed titanic figures sculpted from frost — warriors, beasts, even gods of old, all kneeling beneath the crystal's light. Their eyes burned with contempt, their auras pressing upon him like glaciers falling from the sky.
The crystal's will thundered: "You are but a child, reaching for the heavens. Break here, and perhaps your corpse will last a century in my frost."
Haotian only smiled, golden eyes flashing. "Ten thousand winters? Then you've been arrogant for too long."
He stepped forward. The storm shrieked, illusions of titans striking at him, blades of ice large enough to cleave mountains. Haotian's Eyes of the Universe lit — threads unraveled, runes of frost revealed themselves, each strike collapsing into harmless snow before it touched him.
The crystal snarled, its voice shaking the tundra. "Illusions cannot sway you… but your heart will. Look, then — at those you cannot save."
The blizzard shifted. Before him appeared Yinxue, bound in chains of ice, her frost veil cracked. Ziyue stood beside her, struggling in vain. And Shuyue walked away into the endless snow, her back turned, the brand of her heart-seal glowing like a wound.
The voice dripped with disdain. "You cannot hold them all. Love is weakness. Attachment is the path to ruin. To carry the universe, you must abandon the heart."
Haotian's grin softened, but his eyes sharpened, golden light burning brighter. "Wrong. The universe is everything. If my Dao cannot carry them… then it is worthless."
He lifted his hand. Threads of chi, infinite and radiant, spread across the sky. He touched the chains of frost — and they shattered. Yinxue and Ziyue dissolved into starlight, smiling faintly. Shuyue's fading figure turned, her eyes softening before vanishing into light.
The illusion broke like glass.
The tundra collapsed. Haotian stood once more on the frozen lake, his aura flaring, the Dao of the Universe pressing outward until even the spires of ice bent away from him.
The crystal's pulse trembled. For the first time, the arrogant voice faltered. "…You… bend frost, space, time itself… with ease."
Haotian stepped closer, his presence filling the valley. "I don't bend them. I walk with them. That is my Dao. Do you still think I'm unworthy?"
The crystal's light flared in fury. "Arrogant mortal! Even if you see threads, even if you hold laws, I will not kneel to one so young!"
Runes exploded outward — the formation surging into a storm of spears, endless frost blades spiraling toward him.
Haotian raised his palm. Space folded. The blades bent harmlessly, their threads untied by his gaze. He walked forward, step by step, the golden light of his Dao consuming the runes. Each step crushed the crystal's pride, until its power dimmed beneath his.
At last, he stood before it. The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal pulsed weakly, its voice no longer thunderous but shaking, uncertain. "…Impossible… no mortal should… no…"
Haotian placed his hand upon it. His voice was calm, cheerful, but carrying an authority deeper than the storm. "Submit."
The crystal shuddered. For long moments, it resisted. Then the frost light broke, collapsing inward, flowing into him in streams of cold brilliance. Its will trembled, its arrogance crushed beneath his Dao of the Universe.
The voice whispered, subdued at last: "…I… submit."
The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal merged into his cores, its frost power harmonizing with the infinite threads of his Dao. His aura deepened, frost affinity intertwining with the universal resonance, expanding his dominion even further.
Haotian opened his eyes, golden light sparkling with icy runes. His grin returned. "That's better."
The valley was silent once more. The treasure had bent its pride to him.
The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal pulsed within his core, its once-arrogant will now subdued, its power coiling like a river of frost around his golden qi. Haotian sat cross-legged upon the shattered lake, his breath steady, his Eyes of the Universe open.
Threads of frost chi interwove with the universal web around him. Each strand he touched bent willingly, harmonizing with his Dao of the Universe. Slowly, the crystal's essence melted into his three cores, fusing not as an outside tool but as a natural extension of his being.
Cold and heat balanced, order and chaos entwined. The endless frost became another thread in the tapestry of the universe he carried.
When his eyes opened again, they gleamed gold streaked with pale-blue runes. His voice carried a note of amusement. "So even ten thousand years of arrogance can become useful in the end."
The Heavenly Ice Soul Crystal was no longer a master — it was his servant.
But the crystal's submission revealed more. Through its resonance, his sight stretched outward. The threads of the land unfurled before him, glowing with hidden light. He rose from the lake, scanning the tundra with sharpened perception.
And there they were — treasures hidden beneath frost and stone, unseen for centuries.
To the west, he saw the faint glow of a frost vein mine, veins of ore running deep beneath the mountain ridges, pulsing with cold qi. To the north, valleys where rare herbs glimmered with frost dew — not dozens, but thousands, their medicinal potency preserved by ice. His count reached nearly six thousand mature stalks.
Further still, beneath jagged cliffs, he traced the faint threads of yun-frost ores, their resonance sharp and pure. Enough to forge weapons, armor, or formations for every disciple of the sect.
Haotian chuckled, stepping across the frozen expanse. "It seems you weren't guarding just yourself, Crystal. You were hiding a vault for me."
One by one, he moved across the tundra. His fingers traced runes in the air, collecting herbs and ores into storage treasures, each acquisition shimmering into his spatial ring. The frost vein mine he marked with formations, to be returned to later with the sect's artisans.
By the time he finished, the barren wasteland looked no different — but his ring was heavy with heavenly herbs, ore, and treasures that could transform the Moon Lotus Sect's foundation for generations.
At last, he rose into the air again, turning south. The wind roared at his back, the cold howling its farewell.
Three days after leaving, Haotian descended once more toward the mountains of the Moon Lotus Sect, his aura subtly sharper, the weight of new treasures resting at his side.
The southern skies parted as Haotian descended, golden qi rippling in waves behind him. Three days had passed since he left, and already the mountains of the Moon Lotus Sect rose into view, wreathed in morning mist.
But as he drew closer, his brows lifted. The air was thick with chi, a current so dense it pressed against his skin. Threads of frost-blue and silver qi rose like pillars from the sect, swirling together into a massive tide.
"That's quite an accumulation," he murmured, his eyes glinting.
Then it happened.
Figures burst from the sect in streaks of light — one after another, rising into the sky like stars breaking free from earth. Haotian slowed, watching with growing amusement as their numbers climbed.
Ten… twenty… fifty…
Ninety-one.
Ninety-one disciples had broken through. Their fresh Dao auras blazed bright, painting the skies with their resonance.
Haotian's grin widened. "Good. Very good."
But as his Eyes of the Universe swept outward, his smile cooled. Beyond the sect's borders, faint signatures hid in the forests and mountain ridges — cultivators concealing their presence, eyes fixed toward the sect. Spies. Other sects had already begun to move.
His gaze lingered on them only briefly. They would be dealt with soon enough.
Instead, he turned back toward the approaching lights.
At their head was Yinxue, her frost veil cast aside, her aura steadied at a new height. She flew forward with poise, her robes streaming behind her, but her eyes betrayed what her calm voice could not — warmth, relief, joy.
"Haotian."
She smiled at him, radiant beneath the morning sun.
The courtyard of the Moon Lotus Sect filled with brilliance. Ninety disciples descended together, their new Dao auras still blazing, each one a pillar of light against the frost-blue sky. The sect grounds trembled faintly beneath the weight of so many fresh truths.
At their head stood Yinxue, her aura already steady and refined. She had long since stepped into Dao Comprehension, and now she guided her disciples into the same realm.
Haotian landed lightly before them, his golden eyes sweeping across the gathered women. His grin widened.
"Ninety breakthroughs in three days," he said with a laugh. "It seems you all couldn't wait for me to return."
The disciples bowed deeply, their voices ringing as one: "Welcome back, Senior Brother Haotian!"
Ziyue approached, her violet gaze bright with pride. "While you were gone, everything you taught bore fruit. Ninety have taken their step into Dao Comprehension."
Haotian chuckled. "No wonder the heavens stirred. And no wonder I sensed eyes outside our borders. The spies must be frothing after seeing a sect rise like this."
Yinxue's expression cooled, frost gathering faintly at her sleeve. "Should we remove them?"
Ziyue tilted her head, her lips curved faintly. "A sweep would silence their schemes."
Haotian waved his hand, smiling easily. "Let them stay. They won't dare act. From this point forward, the Moon Lotus Sect's rise is unstoppable. All they can do is watch."
He turned back to the disciples, his voice calm but carrying weight. "Breaking through is only the beginning. Choosing a Dao is one thing. Walking it is another. Your Daos are varied — frost, water, moonlight, desire, love, flame. Each path has potential, but each path also carries pitfalls. For the next few days, I'll sit with you again. I'll share what I've seen, what I know — so that your steps are not wasted."
The disciples' eyes lit up, their voices rising in gratitude. "Thank you, Senior Brother Haotian!"
Haotian laughed, the sound warm and unshakable. "Good. Then let's begin."
For three days the Moon Lotus Sect remained abuzz with light, as ninety disciples stabilized their new Dao auras. On the fourth day, they assembled again in the courtyard, seated before Haotian. Yinxue stood at his side, Ziyue just behind him, both watching in silence as he reviewed the new paths chosen.
Haotian held a scroll of names and Daos, written neatly by the elders. His golden eyes traced the list slowly, then narrowed.
"…The Dao of the Sword," he read aloud. "So many of you have chosen this. The next most common… frost and ice. Then moonlight, water, and mist. Only two among you chose otherwise — one the Dao of Lightning, the other the Dao of Wind."
He rolled the scroll back up, smiling. "All of these are strong choices. Each carries the weight to carve your path. To those two who chose wind and lightning, you have my praise — it is never easy to break away from tradition."
The disciples bowed lightly, pride showing in their eyes.
But then, Haotian grew quiet. His gaze lifted, not to them, but to the sky. His thoughts circled inward.
Sword. Ice. Frost. Water. Moonlight. Each pure, each whole… but are they truly whole? If my Dao of the Universe encompasses all, why should Daos remain so narrowly divided? Can they not overlap?
He thought of Yinxue. To most, her Dao was spoken as "Frost and Ice," as if one. But Haotian's Eyes of the Universe saw deeper — frost was not ice. They were two distinct truths. Two concepts that harmonized, overlapping but never identical.
His chest rose with a long sigh.
The disciples stirred uneasily. Even Yinxue turned her head slightly, sensing the change.
"Haotian?" she asked softly.
Ziyue leaned forward, concern flickering across her face. "What's wrong?"
Haotian blinked, then smiled faintly. "Nothing wrong. Only… I realized I have overlooked something. And I owe all of you an apology."
The courtyard went still.
He folded his hands behind his back, his voice calm but firm. "I should have told you sooner. It is not only possible to choose a single Dao — but to combine two, to overlap them, to create a Dao that is sharper and more specific."
Gasps rippled through the disciples.
Haotian gestured toward Yinxue. "Take your Sect Master as an example. To many, frost and ice are the same. But in truth, they are separate Daos. Frost is the chill that clings and slows. Ice is solidity, endurance, and cutting edge. Together, they overlap. That overlap is why her Dao feels unique."
Yinxue's eyes flickered, a quiet acknowledgment, though her composure remained smooth.
Haotian continued. "You may all do the same. If one of you has chosen the Dao of the Sword, and your heart resonates with ice, you may refine it further into the Dao of Ice Swords. Or perhaps lightning and speed, water and mist, flame and destruction. The combinations are endless."
He raised a finger, his tone sharpening. "But understand this: to combine Daos is to bind yourself. Your expansion will narrow. If you choose the Dao of Ice Swords, your growth is tied to both ice and sword. You may expand the element, or you may expand the weapon, but unless you discover another Dao concept that bridges the two, you may find walls in your path."
Silence hung heavy, every disciple clinging to his words.
Haotian softened his smile again. "Do not fear. Your single Dao is not a mistake. Its road may be longer, but it remains strong and pure. This is only another path, another possibility — one most sects never even consider. But you… you are my juniors. You deserve to know the truth."
The disciples bowed deeply, their voices steady but moved. "Thank you, Senior Brother Haotian."
Yinxue and Ziyue exchanged a glance — both shaken, both proud. Only Haotian, with his Dao of the Universe, could peel back the veil and show them what even great sects missed.