"Junior Martial Brother Zhong! Wake up!" Leng Jin Yu frowned at Jing Yi's motionless figure and shook his shoulder. "Jing Yi! Wake up!"
There was nothing he could do about the effect of the herb but Jing Yi seemed to be going through something he couldn't take right now. He had to at least wake him up. If he knew what was going on, he might be able to make it more bearable.
Leng Jin Yu once again shook his shoulder but Jing Yi didn't show any signs of waking up. The pain seemed to slowly subside though and his breathing evened out. Leng Jin Yu sighed in relief. It seemed Jing Yi would get through this all on his own. That was still for the best. The less he had to intervene the better.
After all, who knew what the Fate's Scribe was doing right now? Maybe this too was part of a trial the crown prince had to undertake. In that case, he couldn't arbitrarily interfere. Maybe what he thought of as help would end up like the so-called help the dragon king had offered that had ultimately endangered even the crown prince's life.
No, it was indeed better if he held back.
Leng Jin Yu sat down to the side and waited. Half an hour went by. The sky was already turning dark and the temperature had fallen even further. Jing Yi still hadn't come to and Leng Jin Yu was starting to grow worried.
Jing Yi had cultivated until the root stage so he was more resilient to the impact of the environment but lying the whole night here at the lakeside wouldn't be good either. Now, what should he do?
Leng Jin Yu sighed and rubbed his brow. Not getting involved … was certainly the right thing to do. But he didn't feel good just watching him lie there. This person might be the reincarnation of the crown prince but he was also just a boy of not even twenty years.
"Ah, now I really wished the dragon king was here. This shouldn't be something I have to care about." He still stood up and went over to Jing Yi's side again.
With his brow furrowed, he crouched down next to him and picked him up. At the same time, he started to circulate the spiritual energy he had accumulated over the years and his body soared into the air. He took a last look at the lake below them and the way they had covered today before he sped in the direction of the mountains.
He reached out with his spiritual sense and looked for a place where the elements were denser. If his guess wasn't wrong, then this realm contained a spiritual ice vein. At least that was the most likely explanation of the temperature that fell lower and lower the closer they got to the mountain chain.
Most likely the one who had created this realm had done so because of the vein he discovered. It should have been something that was extremely beneficial to him so he would have set up his dwelling as close to it as possible. Thus, the place where his palace was should be the spot where the ice spiritual energy was the densest.
Leng Jin Yu didn't take long to detect that spot. Just like Jing Yi he also had full spirit veins and the ice spirit vein was just a mutation of the water spirit vein. In connection with the fact that he had already ascended, it didn't take more than a moment to find what he was looking for.
Leng Jin Yu gazed at Jing Yi's face that had recovered a bit of its color although it was still pale. Most likely, he would need more time to wake up. Well, that was also a good thing. Now he could bring him to the palace and make sure that the environment was suitable for him.
The only downside was that they had saved a lot of time. Now he wouldn't be able to delay talking about the heart of the secret realm for long. Well, it wouldn't be a problem to tamper with it before Jing Yi woke up and make sure that the secret realm wouldn't open before he wanted it to.
Leng Jin Yu hurriedly flew toward the palace and only stopped when he was directly in front of it. What he saw was a little disconcerting. The whole building was covered in a layer of ice that sparkled in the last rays of the sun.
Leng Jin Yu furrowed his brow and once again took a look at Jing Yi. The boy had unwittingly curled up in his arms. He obviously felt the cold and had thus searched for a source of heat.
"Well, it's good that I brought you here while you're unconscious. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to explain this."
He lifted his hand and his spiritual energy swirled and rushed out. The ice cracked before bursting apart and raining down in hundreds of sparkling shards. Leng Jin Yu watched them fall until silence reigned over the palace again. He turned his hand, the spiritual energy surged forth once again and the remaining ice melted and rushed down the mountainside until it finally formed a small lake in one of the valleys.
Leng Jin Yu looked at the palace again before slowly descending. This kind of place ought to be tightly guarded. The layer of ice might be troublesome for someone like Jing Yi but those who had attained a higher stage wouldn't have any problems entering. This certainly couldn't be the extent of protection the secret realm's master had set up. He had to be careful.
Leng Jin Yu reached the ground and looked around. There wasn't any obvious trap or at least he couldn't see any. He didn't want to risk anything though. After all, there wasn't only him right now. As an ascended deity he would be able to withstand whatever could happen here but Jing Yi was different. And even though it might have been for the best for the trial of the crown prince if he died here in this secret realm Leng Jin Yi still couldn't bring himself to endanger his life just like that.
Being a reincarnation or not he was still a living, breathing person. What right did he have to dictate his life or death?
Furthermore … weren't they all someone's reincarnation? If they were all haunted by the things that happened in their past lives, then there was no reason to go on living at all. They might just lay down and die again and never enter the cycle of reincarnation ever again.