Chapter 438 - 436: Veridia’s Predecessors Sure Loved to Bury Treasure

That’s right. They had seen all kinds of Frost Beasts on their journey. At first, Faye Yardley and the others assumed they were just mutated from the animals that had been left behind, because every Frost Beast looked exactly like some kind of animal.

But the vivid, life-like bird on the roof ridge completely overturned their previous assumption.

So, what *were* Frost Beasts?

Were they truly a new species, one that spontaneously came into existence after the world froze over?

’If so, that’s a terrifying thought.’

’Would they eventually develop intelligence, form societies, and become a new race of Otherkin?’

With a light push of her feet, Faye Yardley leaped into the air, landing on the roof ridge and snatching the frozen bird.

Through the ice, the terror in its eyes was still clearly visible.

Master Veridian looked at the bird in her hand and heaved a long sigh. "Alas... Let’s go. We’ll take a look inside. If it’s possible, I want to take the whole monastery with me."

Faye Yardley said, "Then let’s take it. Before our time here is up, just dig up the entire foundation, store it in your backpack, and take it home. I could do it when I was much weaker; you and Mr. Zephyr Sterling can definitely do it now. Lucy White and Cole Kensington can help, too. I’m going to check out the mountains."

Although Lucy White wasn’t happy about being assigned to excavate a building, she just pouted, drew her large blade, and got ready to start hacking at the ice.

"Alright Master, Zephyr, you two get busy. I’m going with my sister to check out the mountains."

With that, Ethan and his sister didn’t linger. They picked a random direction and headed for the deep mountains behind the monastery.

Faye Yardley moved quickly, each footfall a launchpad for her next leap.

She generally avoided getting bogged down in fights with the Frost Beasts they encountered.

If a kill was easy, she took it; if not, she didn’t bother chasing those that fled.

She moved forward on pure instinct, adjusting her course from time to time. Eventually, the mountain path vanished completely, and she began traversing the treetops.

Without a word, Ethan Yardley struggled to keep up with his sister. While she leaped gracefully from treetop to treetop, he was scrambling through the undergrowth below. Not only did various Frost Beasts block his path, but the tangled branches also severely obstructed his vision.

After more than half an hour of rapid travel, Faye Yardley finally stopped atop the crystalline crown of a large tree.

Having just killed a frostbird beast and with a red, diamond-shaped Ice Crystal in hand, Ethan Yardley suddenly lost his footing. SLIP! He went sprawling face-first into a patch of weeds by the large tree.

The ice encasing the weeds instantly cracked from the impact, shattering and falling away.

Faye Yardley drifted down lightly from the treetop. She looked quizzically at her brother, whose head was buried in the weeds. "Bro, what are you doing? Did you find some treasure in there?"

Pulling the top half of his body out of the patch, Ethan Yardley brushed the ice fragments from his hair and spat a couple of times. "It’s nothing. Is this the place you were looking for?"

"I don’t know. I just have a feeling about this place..." Before Faye Yardley could finish, her Shallow Wound Blade Shadow instantly shot past Ethan Yardley’s side.

An Iceswine was cleaved in two by the Sword Energy, leaving behind a pale yellow Ice Crystal. Faye Yardley ran over to grab it. "Let’s go, Bro. It seems like Ice Crystals are dropping more frequently than our last visit."

Not far from where she had killed the Iceswine, the entrance to a cave, sealed in ice, was revealed.

Ethan Yardley watched as his sister excitedly punched the ice sealing the cave entrance. Spiderweb cracks instantly spread across its surface and, with a series of CRACKS, it crumbled into a pile of icy shards on the ground.

The cave wasn’t large or deep; it was a bit of a tight squeeze for both of them to enter at once.

As Faye tapped here and there with the Dragon Coiling Stick, Ethan couldn’t help but back toward the entrance. "Be careful, you’ll bring the whole thing down."

"No way, this ice is super tough." As she spoke, Faye Yardley slammed the Dragon Coiling Stick hard into the ground. The icy floor began to splinter and crack.

Ethan stomped on the ground, then looked at his sister with a puzzled expression. ’Has the gap between us really grown this wide again?’

To his surprise, the ground beneath the ice had cracked open, revealing something of a different color than the surrounding rock.

Faye Yardley’s face lit up with surprise. "Bro, there really is something here! Just as I thought, the people of old Veridia loved hiding treasure deep in the mountains and forests."

With some huffing and puffing, she dug them out: two locked sandalwood boxes, one large and one small. She immediately stored them in her backpack.

Beneath the boxes lay a sheepskin scroll. Faye Yardley picked it up and examined it, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. "Bro, you take a look."

Ethan couldn’t figure it out either and handed it back. "You should put it away for now. You can ask the Master about it when we get back."

"Okay."

As they reached the mouth of the cave, Ethan’s right foot twisted, and he fell to the ground with a THUD.

Faye Yardley found her brother truly incredible. ’How does he have Jennifer’s signature "trip on flat ground" Skill?’

His face flushed red. Ethan wanted to protest that it wasn’t his fault; it felt like something had tripped him both times.

Before he could speak, his sister’s Sword Energy slashed down, striking less than a centimeter from his foot.

The ice at his feet cracked apart, and a piercing shriek echoed out.

He channeled his energy and slammed a palm onto the ground. Scorching Inner Strength instantly melted all the ice beneath him, and the shriek rang out again.

He kipped up to his feet and, with a reverse-hand strike, slammed his palm down again.

The screaming stopped abruptly. He felt an Ice Crystal beneath his palm and instantly withdrew his Inner Strength. He snatched it up, revealing a colorless Ice Crystal, much larger than the others, in his hand.

Faye Yardley smiled. "That must be a very special Ice Crystal. Quick, Bro, put it in your backpack. Before we leave, we’ll put a couple of ordinary ones in our storage rings."

"Okay, you got it. Here, you take it."

"You should keep it. It came to you, so it’s your destined opportunity."

As she spoke, Faye Yardley glanced at her watch, her brow furrowing slightly. "Looks like our exploration time is almost up. Let’s hurry and kill some more Frost Beasts."

After that, they killed every Frost Beast they saw, showing no mercy and no pickiness.

Sure enough, right when they were in the thick of the hunt, they were suddenly teleported back to a spot not far from their drop-off point.

They had just regrouped with Cole Kensington and the others when a Smoke Person approached to collect its fee.

The main point was that you weren’t allowed to hoard Ice Crystals.

To enforce this, they had special instruments that could scan your entire body. Even if an item was in a storage artifact, the scanner would emit a BEEP BEEP BEEP if it detected one.

The backpack was probably shielded by the system, so only the crystals Faye and the others had deliberately placed in their storage rings could be detected.

Looking thoroughly displeased, Lucy White produced one Ice Crystal from her storage ring. The scanner was still beeping. She reluctantly pulled out two more, and the beeping finally stopped. The Smoke Person, in a good mood, collected two and left her with one.

"I only had three! Come on, have a heart. Let me keep one more."

The Smoke Person snorted. "That’s your punishment for being dishonest. You should have presented them all at once."

Lucy White was clearly unconvinced, but Faye Yardley pulled her back. "My sister is just being childish, sorry to waste your time. Please, continue. I’m next. I have a few more—four in total."

As expected, politeness earned preferential treatment. The Smoke Person only took a single Ice Crystal from Faye Yardley.