It was a dark and windy day, and there was a narrow path in the dense forest, with no end in sight.

This place had obviously been deserted for a long time, and the heavy rain made it even more muddy and difficult to walk on.

A boy of about sixteen or seventeen was supporting an old man as they walked with difficulty. The two men were wearing straw raincoats, which were better than nothing. After walking for most of the night, all the wet parts were wet. The old man probably had some problems with his legs and feet and caught a cold, so he had to stop from time to time to rub his sore knees.

He squinted his dim old eyes, tried to look into the distance, and couldn't help but sigh.

The young man at the side said in dissatisfaction: "What a bullshit immortal, he eats our offerings on weekdays, but he makes things difficult for us when we ask to see him. What's the point of the villagers saving money to offer him?"

The old man was shocked when he heard this and said hurriedly: "Don't dare to talk nonsense!"

The young man's eyes widened like a little tiger, and he spoke in a rush, "Am I wrong? They claim to be guarding here, have they ever blessed us with good weather and good harvests? When there was a severe drought or flood, have they ever asked for less offerings? The year when King Anping started his rebellion, three counties and fifteen cities all suffered a disaster, thieves were rampant everywhere, and the people were homeless, but have they ever shown up? Well, even if these are human affairs and the immortals don't care, then now that evil spirits are rampant in the countryside, eating people and bleeding, do they pretend not to know anything and want us to come and ask for help?"

The old man's legs hurt so much that he couldn't straighten his back. He said, "The immortals are in seclusion and don't care about worldly affairs. If we have a request, we will come and report it ourselves. What are you talking about!"

The young man said angrily: "That's right. There is only one road leading to Mingming Valley. It is full of difficulties and obstacles, and only those with a sincere heart can overcome it! Why didn't they send people to take the offerings step by step like this? Now they require sincerity..."

"Shut up, Liu Lang!" The old man stabbed his cane into the ground. "If you keep talking nonsense, just go back! Don't bring trouble to the folks of the fifteen cities in front of the immortal!"

Seeing that he was angry, the young man's face darkened and he dared not say anything. When his grandfather turned his back, he just curled his lips with disdain and muttered, "Is the immortal so great?"

At this moment, a violent thunderclap suddenly fell from the sky, as if it was very close. The young man was caught off guard and was so frightened that his face turned pale. He immediately put aside his previous cautiousness and waited for the roar to weaken. He hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, why is the thunder so weird today?"

Before the old man could answer, thunders started to fall one after another, turning the night sky pale. The old man was terrified, and he hurriedly pulled the young man beside him to kneel on the ground, prostrating himself under the might of the heaven, mumbling prayers, not daring to move. All the birds and beasts in the forest were so scared that they dared not show their heads, and even the grass and trees were trembling.

I don't know how long it took before the thunder subsided, but the aftereffects were still faint and the ground seemed to be still shaking.

The young man couldn't hear any sound for a long time. He was so shocked that he dared not say anything rude anymore.

It was not until the sudden rain stopped, the thick clouds dispersed slightly, and a hazy and dim moonlight appeared in the sky that the young man tremblingly helped the old man up and continued on his way.

The young man Liu Lang asked, "Grandpa, there were probably dozens of thunders just now. This... this Mingming Valley will not be blown flat, right?"

"Stop talking so much," the old man scolded him in a low voice, trudging along the muddy and watery path, lowering his voice and saying, "I'm afraid there is an immortal who is going through a tribulation."

"To survive the tribulation?"

"It's not easy to cultivate as an immortal. One has to go through numerous tribulations. I heard that the most dangerous one is the heavenly tribulation. Countless immortals have perished in the heavenly tribulation, but those who survived it can greatly increase their cultivation and get one step closer to truly living as long as the heaven and earth." When the old man said this, a look of doubt flashed across his face. "In the past, I heard my grandfather say that he saw an immortal go through a tribulation with his own eyes. At that time, there were only nine heavenly thunderbolts. How could this one be so dangerous... Could it be that the person going through the tribulation is a powerful person like the Valley Master?"

As they were talking, the narrow path suddenly turned, and the front suddenly opened up, revealing the entire view of Mingming Valley.

The valley is clear and distant, and mountain flowers washed by rain are blooming all over the mountains. The moonlight is like smoke and gauze, and the valley is like a fairyland on earth.

The boy said in surprise: "Grandpa, look, we are here..."

Before he could finish his words, he was stunned.

I saw a large flat land next to the flower slope, with a circle of talismans carved around it that ordinary people could not understand. At this time, the large flat land had been struck by lightning and turned into a charred piece. The contrast between the inside of the talisman circle and the outside was sharp - outside, flowers were blooming, but inside, no grass grew.

On the scorched earth, there stood a man.

The man's long robe had turned into rags, and one of the sleeves was burnt to ashes. From the back, he looked tall and slender, probably a man.

Although the man was hundreds of feet away, he seemed to have heard Liu Lang's words. He turned around and glanced at the grandfather and grandson. Although the man was dressed in rags, he was very handsome, like a jade beauty under the moonlight. Only his eyes seemed to contain a handful of white frost from years. When Liu Lang's eyes met, he felt cold from head to toe and was so scared that he dared not move.

The next moment, Liu Lang was pulled by his grandfather, and the two knelt on the ground together. The old man kowtowed to the man and said, "Greetings, Immortal. I am from the fifteen cities outside the valley. I came here to ask you for something, not to intrude on purpose. Please don't be offended by my request, Immortal."

The man was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand casually. Liu Lang felt a chill as if from late autumn spreading around him. It was a bit cold, but not freezing. Then his whole body felt lighter, and he and his grandfather were lifted up by the chill.

The immortal was surprisingly easy to talk to. Not only did he not embarrass them, he also said politely, "It's okay. There's no need to be like this. Things outside the valley are not my responsibility. Wait for me to call someone over for you."

After saying that, he snapped his fingers and shot out a beam of white light, which shot straight into the sky. A moment later, a small light like a firefly flew rapidly towards them from a distance. When it was close in front of him, Liu Lang realized that it was a Taoist boy riding a sword.

The Taoist boy put away his sword and dropped it to the ground. He respectfully saluted the ragged man and said, "Elder Cheng, congratulations on surviving the great calamity and reaching a higher level of cultivation."

"Nothing to be happy about. I almost got burnt," the man said indifferently. He pointed at the grandfather and grandson who were in a state of disgrace behind him and said, "They are from outside. Maybe they have something to do. You handle it."

After briefly explaining these things, he nodded to Liu Lang and his grandson, then his figure flashed and disappeared.

Liu Lang was stunned by the ability to fly and hide. Until the Taoist boy came forward to invite them into the valley, his mind was still filled with the image of the man standing in the charred ground and casually glancing back.

Liu Lang thought absentmindedly, that man seemed to be only a few years older than himself, how could he be the "elder" of Mingming Valley? He couldn't help but feel a little envious, but then he remembered the man's frosty eyes, and quickly suppressed the envy, and felt awe, and no longer dared to criticize him.

The Taoist child took out a leaf from his bosom, held it to his lips, and blew a little tune in varying lengths. Then, a horse neighing was heard in the air, and then a white horse pulling a carriage descended from the sky, snorted majestically, and landed steadily on the ground.

The Taoist boy said with a pleasant face, "If it weren't for the two of you today, I might not be able to talk to him. Please go ahead."

The two mortals got on the Pegasus carriage nervously. Liu Lang was young and spoke quickly, "Brother Immortal, is that the elder of the valley?"

The old man was afraid that he would say something wrong, so he quickly pulled him and said in fear and trepidation: "Fairy, please forgive me, this child..."

"It's okay, old man," the Taoist boy said lively, holding up a flying horse. "There is an icy pond in our valley. It's so cold that I dare not go there. I heard that ordinary water will freeze if it is suspended ten feet above the pond, but the magical icy water in the pond keeps flowing. I don't know when that person moved in. He opened a cave beside the pond and suppressed the coldness of the entire icy pond in the cave. He practiced in the extremely cold place day after day. You see, this valley is so full of vitality now, thanks to him suppressing the icy pond. He rarely shows up on weekdays, and we secretly call him 'Elder Youtan' in private."

Liu Lang was stunned when he heard this and couldn't help but ask, "How cold is that? Isn't he afraid?"

The Taoist boy laughed and said, "People who practice cultivation should cultivate their spirit and endure their nature. How can they achieve the Great Dao without a clear mind?"

As they were talking, the carriage had risen and fallen several times, and finally reached the heart of the valley and landed slowly.

When Liu Lang got off the car, he saw pavilions, flowing wine and winding water. There was no one coming and going, only a few cranes flying in and out. When he walked into the place, Liu Lang felt his whole body lighten. He looked down in shock and saw that the mud and water on his body from the whole night of traveling had disappeared, and his whole body was warm.

The Taoist boy led the two men into a small pavilion, poured them a cup of hot tea as they thanked him profusely, and then asked them what they came for.

The old man sighed, "This... well, it's a long story. I shouldn't bother you with trivial matters. But recently, some evil spirit has come from outside the valley and has been wreaking havoc in the village, specifically targeting children. In just over ten days, four or five boys have disappeared from the surrounding cities and villages. Their bodies are found in the wilderness within a few days, mostly eaten by wild beasts. The matter has been reported to the authorities, who have sent in several coroners. The coroners said that the children died after their bodies were drained of blood."

When the Taoist boy heard this, his playful expression froze: "What? Drained all the blood? How old are those boys?"

The old man said "It's a sin", and replied, "We were less than ten years old. When this happened, we all stayed together in the wild for several nights, and then... Then that day, we all saw a white shadow. From a distance, it looked like a white silk hanging in the wind, but it was close in the blink of an eye. No one reacted at the time, and then we heard someone scream. When we looked again, there was a hole in someone's chest. In the blink of an eye, the heart was taken out by that thing. The officials were also scared and said it was an evil ghost. The government couldn't do anything, so they sent me into the valley to ask for help from the immortals."

After hearing this, the Taoist child asked a few more questions in detail, and then said, "I have a rough idea in my mind. Don't worry, old man. Take me to the valley to rest for a night. Let me report to the seniors in the valley, and I will give you an answer tomorrow."

That night, the old man and his grandson Liu Lang stayed in Mingming Valley anxiously. The valley was clear and fresh, with a faint scent of flowers everywhere. It was a perfect place, but Liu Lang couldn't fall asleep. All he could think about was the young elder who had experienced the thunder tribulation. He was in a daze until the second half of the night. Suddenly, he heard someone talking outside. It was very far away, and Liu Lang could only hear a vague and intermittent voice.

Only a male voice was heard saying, "Yes, I heard about it on the way here. However, since he is causing trouble in a mortal village, he may not be a difficult character... Well, why not ask Cheng Qian to stop by."

Another older male voice said, "That's good. He has passed seven heavenly tribulations. Now he is considered to have survived the tribulations. It is time for him to leave."

Liu Lang had been unable to fall asleep at first, but after hearing these few words, he suddenly felt inexplicably sleepy. He passed out in a blink of an eye and could not hear anything.

Two people passed by his window, one in front and one behind, and walked towards the ice pond in the valley. The one in the lead was an old man with white hair and a childish face. He was as fat as a ball, and when he smiled, his teeth were visible instead of his eyes. He was wearing a satin robe that looked very rich, and a row of purses, jade pendants and other miscellaneous items hung on his belt. He was dressed in a very rich and luxurious manner, just like an ordinary person - it was the owner of Mingming Valley, Nian Mingming.

Nian Mingming was followed by a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar. The man had very gentle features. Upon closer inspection, he resembled the spirit of Tang Zhen who escaped from the Soul-Eating Lamp that year.

Tang Zhen didn't know what method he used, but he had a physical body again. However, this body didn't look very good, and it looked vaguely sick and lifeless. He didn't know whether it was through possession of another's body or some unconventional magic.

Tang Zhen was holding a white lantern in his hand. There was no candle in the lantern. The paper inside was wrapped with a warm halo. He didn't know what kind of magic weapon it was. He said, "This was originally my fantasy. I have never heard of it. I myself did not expect it to be successful."

Nian Mingming smiled and said, "His physical body died young because he experienced human tribulations. Before he died, he suddenly realized something, which allowed his soul to enter the Soul Gathering Jade. It just so happened that the Soul Gathering Jade is an innate spiritual object that can gather the essence of mountains and rivers. Souls should not enter it at will, but this kid was so young, but he was able to maintain his three souls and seven spirits, and his mind was not extinguished. He endured in the Soul Gathering Jade for 49 years without a physical body, and he actually made the jade grind out his primordial spirit. This is considered to have survived the earth tribulation. Forty-nine years ago, you sent the Soul Gathering Jade he lived in to my Mingming Valley. With the Soul Gathering Jade as the foundation, he was forged in the ice pond for another 49 years. Not only did he endure the extreme cold, he also survived seven heavenly tribulations - alas, he is only a hundred years old, but he has already experienced the three tribulations of heaven, earth and man... This kid has such a strong will, and I have never seen it in all my years."

As he spoke, Nian Mingming patted his belly and said with a complicated expression: "If I were half as strong as him, I would be an old man with a waist by now."

Tang Zhen: “…”

A great man of his level had already practiced fasting, but he was greedy, so his fat body was built up over the years.

Master Tang choked for a moment, then said seriously, "I haven't thanked the Valley Master for lending me the ice pond yet."

Nian Mingming waved his hand and said, "Why bother to lend it to me? He calmed the ice pond, and my useless disciples were protected from the cold, which was considered a blessing. Moreover, a person like him could be called an 'elder' in a small Mingming Valley. We can't wait to benefit from his kindness."

"This little brother has done me a favor. When Fellow Daoist Wen brought the Soul Gathering Jade to me, I had to find a way to help him no matter what," Tang Zhen said, "Although he achieved his primordial spirit in the Soul Gathering Jade by chance, there is really no precedent for forging jade into a physical body. I don't know if it will succeed. I'm afraid that if it takes too long, he will be too impatient and will pull out his past memories. Now that the seven heavenly tribulations have passed, the body he trained from the Soul Gathering Jade has matured, and I should return it to its original owner."

As they were talking, the two arrived at the ice pond. When they got close, Tang Zhen couldn't stand the coldness. He hurriedly made a hand gesture, and the deathly look on his face became heavier.

Walking further, one could hear the sound of water splashing. The owner of the room had just finished bathing and was coming out of the icy water. Nian Mingming asked in a clear voice, "My friend Cheng Qian, am I disturbing your peace?"

This fat guy has disturbed people's peace more than once or twice. It's no secret that the people in the valley have some tradition, and everyone from top to bottom is always chattering. Cheng Qian has gotten used to it.

He did not feel uncomfortable at all. He came out from the white mist above the icy pond, picked up a frozen robe by the pond and put it on. After walking only three or two steps, his hair, which was covered with icy particles, was completely dry and his robe fell down naturally again. His cultivation, which had been honed through thousands of years, was almost melted into the state of moistening everything silently.

Cheng Qian nodded to the two of them and said, "Valley Master - Brother Tang, I was just about to look for you. Would you like to come in and sit down? It's a bit cold here."

It was midsummer at this time, and there was no heat in the cave beside the ice pond. When they walked in, they saw a scorching world of ice and snow. The chairs were frozen to the ground, covered with a layer of frost. Cheng Qian pinched his fingers slightly, and a ball of warm fire came out from his fingertips and fell under one of the chairs, instantly melting the frost on the surface and burning it dry, but the chair was not burned at all.

Cheng Qian said, "Brother Tang is not feeling well, please find a warm place to sit."

As for the Valley Master Nian Mingming, he didn't care. Anyway, the old fat man had thick skin and flesh and could withstand the cold very well.

The water in the teapot on the table had long been frozen into a hard block of ice. Cheng Qian shook it in his hand for a few times, and the big ice cube finally melted under the stimulation of his true energy. After a few moments, a trace of hot steam came out. He poured a cup of hot water for each of them.

Tang Zhen took it and warmed his hands, then placed the lantern in front of Cheng Qian and said, "I will return this to you, my friend. You have come this far, and it is not easy. You must take good care of yourself in the future."

Cheng Qian was not surprised. He obviously knew that Tang Zhen had taken away his past memories. He nodded, waved his hand to put the small ball of light in the lantern into his sleeve, and said seriously: "Brother Tang has been kind to me for life and death. If there is any need for me in the future, Cheng Qian will definitely not refuse even if his life is too great."