"Fatty, what are you hiding from?"
Being caught off guard from behind, the little hamster jumped up in shock. After it turned around and saw Chu Chen's interested expression, it finally patted its chest to calm itself down.
"Boss, don't you know that you can give someone a heart attack like that? Can you please not make such a sudden appearance in the future?!"
"What are you doing hiding here so sneakily?"
"Sneaky? Why would I need to be sneaky?!" The little hamster's face flushed red. "I've already recognized you as my master. You're taking care of this herb field, and by extension, I'm also in charge of it. How can that be considered as sneaky? I'm hiding from someone."
"Hiding from someone? Who?" Chu Chen had been surprised and curious.
"To be exact, it's not a human, but a rat. Shhh...lower your voice. Don't let that sl*tty female hamster get in here!"
"What? There are other rodents here?" Chu Chen had been shocked. That was the herb garden, an important location within the sect. If there had been a nest of rodents in here, the spiritual herbs in the garden would have been in danger!
"Sigh...don't remind me." The little hamster waved its paw. "I'm such a magnificent mythical beast, yet I never expected that my handsomeness would bring me bad luck."
"Bad luck?"
"That's right. I just secretly went out for a stroll. I never expected a fat female hamster to come across my unrivaled looks and tried to force itself on me. Luckily I was quick enough to escape. Otherwise, my body that reigned supreme among beasts would be tainted by a female hamster in heat." The little hamster shook its head repeatedly, seemingly frustrated.
"Tainted in what way?"
"S-s-she touched my buttocks. Fortunately, I was able to run off quickly and managed to protect my precious body." The little hamster squeezed out a few drops of tears. "Although they say that men should not cry easily, she was too much of a delinquent."
Chu Chen's mouth twitched. He grabbed the hamster that hid behind the spiritual herbs. "You can't go on one day without bragging, can you?"
The little hamster harrumphed and climbed onto Chu Chen's shoulder, having found a comfortable spot to lie on.
After a short banter with the hamster, Chu Chen took the watering equipment and started tending to the herb field. The little hamster sat on his shoulder and noticed his troubled face. It could not help but pout. "Kid, what's on your mind? You can share it with this great one and let me offer you some advice."
Chu Chen shot a look at it. "Didn't you claim to be the ruler of beasts? Do tell me how one could get some black frost soul."
"Tch, I thought it's something serious." The hamster huffed through its nose and pouted. "It can't be helped. You're now at the critical period of attempting to reach the Spiritual Droplet Stage. It's no wonder you're worried about this matter. Black frost soul isn't such a rare thing. Normally, in extremely cold places, the frost nether fruit would grow. Black frost soul is nurtured in those fruits. Also, the frost nether fruit is the favorite food of the giant snow mountain python. Some snow python would have some frost black soul lingering within their body after eating the frost nether fruit. You'll naturally run into them if you stroll about the cold snowy mountains."
"Oh? You seem quite knowledgeable." Chu Chen smiled. After having learned that information, he felt a lot more relaxed.
Early next morning, Chu Chen arrived at Hidden Frost Valley and explained the situation to Elder Ling Xin. Having sensed that Chu Chen had really been at the critical stage of breaking through a major cultivation stage, Elder Ling Xin had surprisingly understood and gave Chu Chen a generous 10-days period for him to have searched for the black frost soul.
After having obtained Elder Ling Xin's permission, Chu Chen went to the sect's Mission Hall to see if there had been any missions that required him to have headed to Taihan Snowy Mountain. He hardly left the mountain and hardly had any idea on the traveling directions. If there had been other disciples that needed to head to Taihan Snowy Mountain, Chu Chen planned to form a small party with them, having allowed them to have looked out for each other.
Between the sects, it had been a common occurrence for disciples from multiple sects to have formed small parties to have gone on adventures together. After all, as the saying went, one depended on parents at home and friends outside. As disciples of a sect, they would have naturally felt a kinship bond. In some cases, the extra networking gave them better chances.
Having arrived at the Mission Hall, he had seen the huge spirit stone monument specifically used to issue missions. After having checked around carefully, he found a notice for an expedition to Taihan Snowy Mountain in a short time.
Moreover, the person that issued the mission was—Senior Sister Qing Yue!
What a coincidence. He had never expected someone close would have been heading to the snowy mountain as well. Seeing that, Chu Chen's mouth twitched as he turned around, having headed toward the direction of Hidden Frost Valley.
Senior Sister Qing Yue stayed at the other side of Hidden Frost Valley, the opposite direction of the ancient elixir refining temple. There had been a few small courtyards in the midst of a field of green over there, a pleasant sight to have beholden.
Chu Chen's arrival gave Senior Sister Qing Yue quite the surprise. She had not expected him to visit her house. Just some time ago, Chu Chen saved the blood orchid and made her like this junior brother quite a bit. Of course, that had just been liking him as a sibling.
Hearing Chu Chen's explanation of his visit, Senior Sister Qing Yue could not have helped but felt surprised. "Junior Brother Chu, you're almost breaking through the Spiritual Mist Stage?"
To be honest, Chu Chen's infamy as the trash in the outer circle had been something Qing Yue had heard of. After all, a person that cultivated for three full years in the sect without having had any improvement had been extremely rare. When she heard that Chu Chen had been proving the rumor of him being useless wrong, she felt surprised and rather happy for him at the same time.
"Black frost soul is not some rare herb. However, that thing is just like a piece of ice and can't be stored for long. Once collected, it needs to be used as soon as possible to maintain its medicinal properties or it would turn into vapor and disappear just like that. That is why you won't find it in regular markets. Since Junior Brother Chu needs it, you can come along with us since it's on the way. Rest well for the next two days as I gather more disciple brothers and sisters for the mission. With more people, we can have each other's back even in danger."
"Thank you, Senior Sister Qing Yue," Chu Chen expressed his sincere gratitude.
In fact, Senior Sister Qing Yue had not made him wait long. Early next morning, she notified Chu Chen that the team had been ready. When Chu Chen arrived at the meeting spot, he had noticed that there had been quite a few people waiting there for him.
"Yo. Here I was wondering who it might be to have us wait here all the while. It turns out to be the famous Junior Brother Chu Chen!"
Just as he walked through the door, he heard the mean and floaty voice that made him frown. Having looked over, he saw four people sitting in the room.