Chapter 5860

“That frostborne poison is brutal.” Jared’s voice slipped out in a hushed rasp, words fogging the frigid air.

Hold your breath, draw it inward, cut the lungs from the wind. Jared clamped down on his breathing, switching to an inner cycle that starved the toxin of entry.

The small fire unicorn faltered, clearly uncomfortable; fire-aligned beasts were always throttled by such cold. Even so, the proud little creature lifted its head and pressed close to Jared’s flank, a corona of gold flame roaring along its scales, pushing a clear pocket of warmth around them both.

The basin was not vast-no more than a few hundred yards from rim to the frigid pool at its heart-yet each step felt like crossing an endless tundra.

Jared advanced with painstaking care, spiritual sense fanned wide, every flicker of movement, every shift of air, passing through his mind like signals across taut wire.

The nearer he drew, the clearer the Thousand-Year Frostblood Lotus appeared. Nine crystal leaves, red as faceted rubies, stretched around the stem, their veins pulsing as if true blood pulsed within. At the center, the bud had already cracked, a shy slit revealing petals the color of fresh wine. A heady perfume-sweet, metallic, strangely inviting-floated on the cold, making his spirit quiver with exhilaration even as instinct whispered of lurking danger.

“It’s almost in bloom.” Jared’s heart kicked with tight, bright urgency.