Han Yu was certain that ordinary cultivators would never manage this. Even normal ice cultivators would fail. Only soone whose mastery surpassed the frost itself could inspect them.
No wonder Lady Rot Rose specifically wanted him.
The guards were still chasing rats.
Han Yu silently withdrew.
He left the estate through the hidden gate while the rats scattered underground.
Within monts, the forest beca quiet again.
Half an hour later, he stopped deep within the jungle.
He raised a hand as an ice vial ford.
Inside floated the extracted substance.
The Pale powder with brown and black specks.
Han Yu inspected it with spirit sense.
Nothing obvious.
Only a complex mixture.
Thankfully, his alchemy skills had not weakened over the years. If anything, the techniques he obtained from the Inheritance Stelae had improved them further. He sat beneath a large tree and took out a small cauldron.
Blood flas rose beneath it as the red fire illuminated the forest.
Han Yu added spirit water and the powder dissolved.
He began refining.
The process lasted only minutes.
The mixture slowly separated.
One layer.
Then another.
Finally, four distinct layers appeared.
Han Yu observed the bottom one first.
It crystallized into white grains.
He picked so up and tasted them before pausing.
"Sugar?"
He frowned.
The next layer floated above it.
White.
Thicker.
Sticky.
Han Yu tested it with spirit energy.
Its effects revealed themselves imdiately.
"A Qi binding poison."
Weak.
Very weak.
Enough for mortals.
Limited effect on cultivators.
It could numb movent and paralyze.
The third layer floated near the top.
Transparent.
Light.
Han Yu recognized it after only a brief inspection.
Hallucinogen.
It affected perception.
Illusions.
Dreams.
Confusion.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he looked at the final layer.
The smallest.
Dark.
Almost invisible.
He inspected it carefully.
Silence followed.
Han Yu froze.
The particles were alive.
Tiny structures.
Organic.
Natural.
"Spores?"
His expression finally changed.
He enlarged one using frost to create a lens.
The structure beca visible.
Tiny branching filants.
Dormant growth cells.
Han Yu imdiately thought of fungi. But the more he examined them, the stranger they beca. These spores were mixed with Frost Qi.
No.
They were feeding on it.
Han Yu’s eyes slowly narrowed.
Sugar.
Hallucinogen.
Paralytic.
Spores.
The combination suddenly felt deliberate.
The sugar attracted.
The poison weakened.
The hallucinogen altered perception.
And the spores...
His expression turned serious.
"Soone fed them."
The forest beca silent.
Far away, Chitterfang’s descendants moved beneath the earth.
Han Yu stared at the vial.
The smiling corpses suddenly seed far more disturbing.
Because this no longer looked like simple murder.
It looked like preparation.
Han Yu stored away the vial containing the refined materials and closed the cauldron.
The fire beneath it died out imdiately.
He sat beneath the tree for another minute while thinking over everything he had learned. The corpses had given him more clues than he had expected. The smiling expressions were no coincidence. Neither were the hallucinogens. Whoever had done this had deliberately prepared the victims before killing them.
And now there were spores involved.
Han Yu had initially thought this was simply another trail leading toward Madam Cold Fang, but the more he investigated the stranger it beca. The frost thod still resembled her style, yet fungal spores and euphoric agents felt entirely different.
He lifted his hand.
"Continue observing Palm Hand Lu’s estate," Han Yu ordered through the connection. "Watch everyone entering and leaving. I want nas, routes, schedules, habits, and anything unusual."
The rat legion imdiately responded.
Thousands of faint acknowledgents arrived one after another.
"Understood master!"
"Third Battalion entering tunnels!"
"Fifth Group observing kitchens!"
"Little Fang requesting dried fish compensation!"
Han Yu ignored the last one.
The rats dispersed again beneath the forest floor while Han Yu turned toward Tropic Snow Town.
Since the spores could survive and even feed on Frost Qi, they were clearly unusual. They had not frozen inside the corpses and had remained active despite the overwhelming cold. That alone made them worth investigating.
Han Yu knew this frontier region was special.
Snow in the north.
Tropical forests in the south.
A eting point of two completely different climates.
If such a fungus existed anywhere naturally, this would be one of the few places it could happen.
He returned to the town near dusk.
The streets remained lively.
Cultivators moved everywhere carrying beast parts, herbs, frozen fish, tropical fruits and materials gathered from the surrounding wilderness. Vendors shouted from both sides while spirit lamps began lighting one after another.
Han Yu maintained his rogue cultivator appearance.
The slightly softer features and casual expression blended perfectly into the crowd.
His first stop was the herbal district.
The alchemical section of Tropic Snow Town occupied nearly three streets and contained everything from ordinary herb sellers to specialized poison dealers. Han Yu visited them one by one.
He asked about fungi.
Snow herbs.
Frost resistant plants.
Underground species.
But he got nothing.
Several shopkeepers simply shook their heads.
Others showed ordinary frost fungi.
None matched.
The rats helping him proved nearly useless here.
One even proudly brought him a mushroom larger than its own body before squeaking proudly.
Han Yu stared at it.
"That is food."
The rat lowered its head sadly.
Six hours passed.
The sun had long disappeared.
Han Yu finally entered a smaller store at the edge of the market district.
Unlike others, this place looked old.
Dry herbs hung from the ceiling.
Shelves contained strange roots and preserved plants while several fungi specins sat inside glass jars.
Han Yu’s eyes imdiately paused on one of them.
White body.
Thin black threads.
Brown speckles.
Very similar.
He walked over casually.
"What is this?"
The old shopkeeper imdiately brightened.
"A custor with good eyes!" he said proudly. "Young master found one of the rare local specialties."
He carefully lifted the jar.
"This is Snow Biter Fungus."
Han Yu remained calm.
"Snow Biter?"
The man nodded.
"It grows underground where the frozen land ets the tropical side. Hard to gather. Roots deep. Eats frost rich earth."
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