Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

The suspicious spot that Senior Liao mentioned was somewhere nearby. However, after spending half a day fishing at the Ice Lake, Lin Xiao found nothing unusual besides the fact that no spells could be used in the lake. He decided to take a stroll around the area to see if he could find anything else.

Seeing a group of cultivators preparing to leave, Lin Xiao got up and decided to follow them. When he reached the ice stone platform where fish were being cleaned, he mimicked the others, skillfully killing a few silver-tailed fish, then discreetly stored the remaining fish in his private stash's live storage area.

Despite wandering around with the crowd for half a day, Lin Xiao still found nothing out of the ordinary. By now, six days had passed since they first entered the secret realm, leaving them with only nine days remaining.

Reflecting on the places he had visited over the past few days, everything seemed quite normal—just typical parts of a secret realm. Even Senior Liao mentioned there was nothing wrong. The only slightly unusual place was the Ice Lake, where spells couldn't be used to catch fish. So, Lin Xiao decided to return and take another look.

However, just as he broke away from the group and turned to head back, he suddenly noticed something darting toward him through the snow. The speed of the creature was so fast that his spiritual sense couldn't even capture it before it was right in front of him!

With just one glance, Lin Xiao got a clear look at the creature leaping toward him. It was an odd-looking thing, translucent white all over, about fifty centimeters long, with a large head and slender limbs. Its appearance didn't match any creature Lin Xiao had ever seen. If he had to describe it, the word "spirit" came to mind.

In that instant, Lin Xiao remembered what Yuan Zhiyun had mentioned on Seven Star Street in Yuanling City—she was looking for people to form a team to capture the Icefield Spirit in this secret realm. Could this be it?

But all these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. The next moment, Lin Xiao saw something seem to stretch out from his chest and, with a swift motion, snatch up the creature that looked like the Icefield Spirit.

Lin Xiao blinked in surprise, then quickly realized it was Senior Liao who had acted.

"Senior, what was that thing just now?" Lin Xiao asked.

From within the Soul Nurturing Pendant, Liao Pantuo's voice transmitted into his mind, "You've got some incredible luck, kid. First time in an icefield secret realm, and you managed to encounter an Icefield Spirit! These spirits roam in extremely cold places, but they're incredibly rare and very skittish. Back in the day, I traveled tens of thousands of miles to a frigid land and spent months waiting to catch one. Who would've thought you'd run into one that just came right to you… If I weren't a spirit hidden in your pendant, surprising it, you'd have had a hard time catching it in this snowy land."

"So that little thing really was an Icefield Spirit?" Lin Xiao was astonished. "What use does this Icefield Spirit have?"

A semi-transparent hand reached out from Lin Xiao's chest and handed him a small box. "One of my other soul fragments suddenly encountered a situation. You take this and see for yourself." After saying that, this fragment of Liao Pantuo's soul fell into slumber.

Lin Xiao took the small box and, hearing that something had happened with one of Senior Liao's other soul fragments, quickly asked, "What happened?"

But there was no reply from the senior. With no choice, Lin Xiao stored the small box in his private stash, intending to use the identification function to examine it later.

Using the identification function on the box within his stash, the first line of text that appeared was:

[A spirit rhinoceros seal box containing an Icefield Spirit. This seal box can seal various spirits.]

As for the Icefield Spirit itself, there was no further explanation. Presumably, this was because it was sealed inside the box. He would probably need to release the spirit and capture it directly in his stash to learn more.

However, Lin Xiao didn't feel confident that he could recapture the lightning-fast Icefield Spirit once released, so he decided against it. Instead, he turned his focus back to heading toward the Ice Lake.

When he returned to the lake, the shore was still crowded with people fishing. However, Lin Xiao didn't plan to join them this time. Instead, he decided to climb the large snow-covered mountain behind the lake.

It was only now that he noticed something peculiar—the cultivators fishing by the lakeside, though crowded, didn't venture to the other end of the lake, where the snow-covered mountain loomed. Even though there were some spots on the mountain where they could have set up for fishing, not a single person had gone there.

The area around the Ice Lake was bustling with activity—people cleaning fish, newcomers arriving, others packing up to leave, and some setting up tents, preparing for a long fishing session. Using his stealth techniques, Lin Xiao easily slipped past the crowd and made his way to the other side of the snow-covered mountain.

The map marked this area as an empty snow-covered mountain, with nothing notable on it. However, after zooming in on the map, Lin Xiao discovered that one corner of the mountain was labeled with the word "Danger."

Yes, the map could zoom in, revealing intricate details and marking many features. Lin Xiao felt that the map had been worth every spirit stone.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to check it out. But before that, he placed a tracking talisman as a backup in case he needed to make a quick escape. Better safe than sorry!

As he approached the area marked as "Danger" on the map, Lin Xiao found himself facing a dense forest of white trees. The trees were entirely white, their branches and leaves as pale as snow. At first glance, Lin Xiao had mistaken them for barren trees covered in snow.

A cold wind howled through the trees, sending shivers down Lin Xiao's spine. For a brief moment, he felt as if countless blood-red eyes were staring at him from within the forest.