Twin Martial Souls, Demon Pagoda Ice Soul

Dawn broke faintly, and golden-red light pierced the mist above the Star Dou Great Forest, glazing the hidden valley where the Myriad Manifestations Sect stood with a warm sheen. The sect's disciples had already begun their morning training, their shouts and Soul Power fluctuations faintly carrying through the air, full of life and vigor.

Yet within Ink Rhyme Pavilion, where Young Sect Master Qin Mo resided, there was an unusual stillness. It was not that no one was present, but that every sound had been absorbed and dissolved by an invisible focus.

Qin Mo sat cross-legged on a cushion in the center of the hall, his eyes closed and his breathing long and rhythmic. He was not engaging in ordinary Soul Power cultivation. Instead, he had immersed his full consciousness within himself, carefully sensing the two Martial Souls he had awakened yesterday and attempting to establish a deeper connection with them.

Bing'er and Yan'er stood quietly to either side of the pavilion entrance, like two silent and loyal jade-carved maidens. Their gazes occasionally fell upon Qin Mo, their expressions complex. There was their usual respect for the Young Sect Master, but now it was mixed with unconcealed shock and curiosity. The earth-shaking scene in Myriad Manifestations Hall yesterday still replayed in their minds, impossible to dispel. In particular, that extreme chill that seemed capable of freezing one's soul had struck Bing'er deeply, as the wielder of the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul. It was an absolute suppression from a higher existence, originating from the Martial Soul Origin itself. Though it made her heart tremble, it also stirred within her a faint, hazy yearning.

Time slipped quietly by. When the sun rose a little higher and a bright beam of light shone through the carved wooden window, enveloping Qin Mo, he slowly opened his eyes.

Deep within them, Nine-Colored Flowing Light alternated with a faint trace of icy blue chill before finally settling into the calm of a deep pool. He raised his hands and stared at his palms, as though he could see through flesh and blood to gaze directly upon the astonishing power slumbering within.

With a thought—

In an instant, light flowed above his left palm, and space seemed to twist ever so slightly. The foot-tall, nine-story glazed pagoda appeared out of thin air once more.

It floated quietly, slowly rotating. Crystal-clear throughout, it was neither gold nor jade, its material impossible to identify. Its nine distinct floors each seemed to contain a miniature world of their own. Its eaves curled upward in profound arcs, and mysterious runes faintly flickered within its glazed walls, though they were too tiny to discern clearly. Gentle yet magnificent nine-colored radiance naturally emanated from the pagoda. It was not dazzling, yet it filled the entire hall with shimmering light, carrying a sacred and unfathomable aura.

Most peculiar of all, the light around the pagoda showed a faint, unnatural distortion, as if the little tower itself carried an independent pocket of space, connected to yet detached from the outside world.

"So this is... the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda." Qin Mo murmured softly. He could clearly sense the blood-linked, limb-like connection between himself and this little tower. A sudden realization welled up in his heart—the tower seemed to be an extension of his body, even of his soul.

He cautiously guided a thread of the immense Soul Power within him, far surpassing that of others his age, into the tower.

Buzz...

The Nine-Story Demon Pagoda trembled lightly, and its glow brightened noticeably for an instant, especially on the lowest floor, where the light was strongest. An invisible, intangible yet undeniably real suction force quietly arose from the seemingly ethereal base of the tower.

Qin Mo's heart stirred. His gaze swept over a silver-edged orchid leaf used as decoration on the tea table beside him. He focused his will, and that invisible suction force seemed to find its target, precisely enveloping the thin leaf.

The next moment, under Bing'er and Yan'er's slightly widened eyes, the orchid leaf silently lifted from the tea table's surface, wavering as it floated upward. The instant it neared the tower's base, it seemed to be crushed and compressed by an invisible hand. At last, it became an almost imperceptible streak of light and vanished into the bottom of the tower with a soft whoosh!

The entire process was soundless and exceedingly strange.

"Power of Space... the ability to store things?" Understanding and delight flashed through Qin Mo's eyes. He immediately sank his consciousness into the Demon Pagoda.

Sure enough! Within the seemingly small tower existed a strange space vastly larger than its outer dimensions! The space was currently empty and gray, with only the orchid leaf he had just absorbed floating quietly in the center, as though time itself had stopped around it.

The size of the space exceeded his expectations. By rough estimation, it could easily hold dozens of cubic meters of items. Moreover, as he infused it with Soul Power, the space seemed to show an exceedingly faint tendency to expand!

"It truly contains a world within, and this space... is enormous." Qin Mo felt exhilarated. "But this feeling is definitely not all there is... 'Demon Pagoda,' 'seal'... Grandfather seemed to have seen something deeper."

He suppressed the urge to test its other functions at once and slowly withdrew his Soul Power. The Nine-Story Demon Pagoda's glow gradually faded before turning into a streak of light and entering his palm.

The hall returned to normal, but the turmoil in Bing'er and Yan'er's hearts did not settle. They had never heard of such miraculous storage abilities.

Then Qin Mo's expression grew solemn as he turned his attention to his right hand.

Activating this unawakened Martial Soul was far more difficult than summoning the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda, as though an incomparably thick barrier stood in the way.

He calmed his mind and concentrated, mobilizing all his Soul Power to strike an invisible node somewhere within the Meridians of his right hand.

In an instant, a chill even clearer and more direct than what he had felt in Myriad Manifestations Hall yesterday erupted violently from his right palm!

Crack, crack...

Centered on his right hand, the white jade floor tiles beneath his feet, the redwood tea table beside him, and even the moisture in the air instantly froze beneath a thick layer of frost that shimmered with a dark blue light! The temperature throughout Ink Rhyme Pavilion plummeted, as though it had suddenly fallen from warm spring into the depths of winter. Ice crystals rapidly spread across the walls and window frames!

Bing'er instinctively shivered. The Ice Phoenix Martial Soul within her trembled uncontrollably, conveying an extremely complex emotion—there was both the closeness of encountering power from the same origin and the reverence and... fear one felt before a supreme existence! Her Ultimate Ice, already considered among the finest, seemed somewhat... inferior before this chill?

Yan'er staggered back two steps, trembling all over. The Fire Phoenix Soul Power around her automatically began circulating to resist the cold, and her face was filled with horror. Even her Ultimate Fire sensed the threat of being suppressed, of being frozen!

Above Qin Mo's right palm, that tiny glow of Ultimate Ice, so pure it made one's heart quiver, lit up once more. It flickered and struggled, attempting to gather into a concrete form. Vaguely, it seemed that the phantom of a peerlessly graceful woman, one who looked down upon the world, was about to break free and emerge—noble, cold, and solitary.

That fleeting phantom seemed to carry an eternal, unmelting desolation, enough to freeze the soul of anyone who glimpsed it.

Yet, just as yesterday, the phantom ultimately failed to fully solidify. It was as if it lacked the most crucial key, some indispensable Origin Power or opportunity. After the light flickered violently for a moment, it finally could no longer sustain itself.

In the end, it did not take form. It stabilized once more into a hazy, ice-white orb of light that continuously emitted a faint yet incomparably pure aura of extreme cold, floating quietly and alone above Qin Mo's palm.

It was like a sleeping embryo, like a sealed god. It clearly possessed the potential to destroy heaven and earth, yet was trapped within invisible shackles.

Qin Mo frowned slightly. He could sense the terrifying power contained in the orb, an Ultimate Ice close to the origin of laws, far beyond what he could currently comprehend. Yet no matter how he urged his Soul Power or tried to communicate with it through Spiritual Power, it was like a stone sinking into the sea. He could not provoke any effective response, nor could he pry open that solid seal.

It simply existed, radiating coldness—silent and resistant.

"An unawakened Martial Soul... requires a specific opportunity." Qin Mo murmured. Rather than feeling discouraged, he felt an intense desire to investigate. He carefully sensed the emotions within that chill—coldness, pride, and a trace of... barely perceptible sorrow and waiting.

He silently committed that feeling to memory. If the opportunity had not arrived, forcing the matter would be useless.

He slowly dispersed his Soul Power. The ice-white orb silently vanished just as it had appeared, and the terrifying chill swiftly receded with it, leaving only the frost throughout the room as proof of its recent presence.

Only then did Bing'er and Yan'er let out a breath, exchanging glances. Both saw incomparable shock in the other's eyes. The Young Sect Master's two Martial Souls were each stranger and more powerful than the last, utterly beyond common sense.

Just then, light footsteps sounded outside the pavilion. Bing'er promptly stepped forward and silently used her Soul Power. A gentle icy mist swept through the hall, quickly melting the frost covering the floor to avoid arousing suspicion.

Yan'er went to the door and soon returned carrying an exquisite food tray, upon which were several light yet spiritually rich breakfast dishes.

"Young Sect Master, are you studying your Martial Souls again?" Yan'er placed the tray on the newly thawed tea table and curiously looked toward where Qin Mo's palm had been. Excitement sparkled in her large eyes. "That tower was so beautiful! So amazing! Just now... did it store that leaf inside?"

Bing'er also walked over, though her gaze fell more often upon Qin Mo's right hand. Her cool face still bore traces of lingering alarm and inquiry. "Young Sect Master, your second Martial Soul... the chill it gives off makes me... very uncomfortable." She carefully chose her words. "It isn't hostility. It is a feeling that makes me want to stay away, yet unable to stop myself from wanting to get closer. It is very contradictory."

Qin Mo withdrew his consciousness, accepted the warm, damp towel Bing'er offered, and wiped his hands. Hearing this, he smiled faintly. "It is fine. For now, it only releases its aura on its own and bears no ill intent. Perhaps once it truly awakens, you may gain some insight from it."

He walked over to the tea table and sat down, looking at the two girls. "Eat first. Afterward, we will go to Myriad Manifestations Hall to find Grandfather. It is time to depart for the Star Dou Great Forest."

"The Star Dou Great Forest?" Yan'er's eyes lit up, though a trace of nervousness soon appeared. "Are we going to hunt Soul Beasts?"

"We are going to obtain my First Soul Ring." Qin Mo picked up a spirit fruit, his tone calm, as though he were stating something perfectly natural. "And to see what sort of 'food' my Nine-Story Demon Pagoda likes."

His gaze turned toward the window again, as though it had already pierced through the valley mist and reached that vast, boundless primeval forest, filled with danger and opportunity.

Bing'er and Yan'er's expressions turned solemn as well. They knew that the Young Sect Master's first hunt carried extraordinary significance. It concerned not only his first soul skill, but also the first true battle appearance of this mysterious Nine-Story Demon Pagoda.

A simple breakfast soon ended amid a silence mixed with anticipation, tension, and curiosity.

When Qin Mo set down his bowl and chopsticks and rose to his feet again, his eyes had become sharp and focused.

"Let's go."

He took the lead toward the pavilion exit, his black robes cutting a crisp arc through the morning light. Bing'er and Yan'er immediately followed behind him like his two most loyal shadows.

A new chapter was about to officially unfold within the Star Dou Great Forest.