Ice Cream Refills and Earth Vein Ripples

"Slurp..."

Ling Ye smacked his lips with satisfaction, his fingers deftly scooping the last spoonful of vanilla ice cream mixed with chocolate chips from the paper carton. The action was so practiced, it didn't seem like a primordial overlord who had slept for eons, but rather a neighborhood kid sneaking a snack—if you ignored the deep glint in his eyes that occasionally flashed, as if analyzing the fundamental structure of the universe.

He licked the cold, milky residue from his fingertips, his gaze falling on the empty, ripped-up ice cream carton. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"It's gone," he stated the obvious, his tone carrying a hint of regret, like a child who had broken a toy right after getting it. The ice cream, which held a faint trace of "Myriad Year Ice Marrow," was ultimately too little, too impure. It wasn't even enough to fill a gap in his teeth; it was merely a taste.

His gaze, like a precise spotlight, swept across the kitchen towards the smart refrigerator, its door still wide open, the cold air long dissipated, and the interior a mess. His vision pierced through the jumbled food packaging, locking onto the depths of the freezer compartment—there seemed to be two more boxes of ice cream with the same packaging!

Su Wanqing's heart leaped with his gaze! Those were her last two boxes of the limited edition! She hadn't even been willing to eat them herself!

However, Ling Ye didn't get up to grab them immediately. Instead, he lowered his head, looking at his fingers still smudged with melted ice cream, then at the empty, tattered carton. A look of... disgust? appeared on his face.

"Sticky," he mumbled, seemingly disliking the sweet, gooey sensation.

Then, under Su Wanqing's wary and bewildered gaze, Ling Ye very casually wiped his milk-stained fingers on the expensive, soft cushion of the sofa beside him!

Once, twice.

The action was as natural as washing one's hands by a stream.

Several distinct, melted ice cream stains instantly appeared on the expensive silk embroidered cushion.

The corners of Su Wanqing's eyes twitched violently! Her heart was bleeding! That sofa was a custom piece from a top Italian brand, and that cushion alone was worth five figures!

Ling Ye, however, acted as if he had just completed the most ordinary of tasks, satisfied that his fingers were dry again. He casually tossed the empty carton onto the carpet (adding another piece of evidence), then padded barefoot towards the refrigerator, which looked like a disaster scene.

He expertly reached in and pulled out the remaining two boxes of ice cream from the freezer, cradling them like treasures as he returned to the sofa.

This time, he didn't tear open the packaging so roughly. His gaze swept over the two identical cartons, as if contemplating something. Then, he did something that made Su Wanqing's jaw drop.

He picked up one of the ice cream boxes. Without opening it, he... brought his fingers together and, through the sturdy cardboard packaging, lightly... tapped the center of the ice cream box.

A barely perceptible, chaotic light flashed briefly at his fingertip.

"Buzz..."

A faint hum, as if condensed by extreme cold, emanated from within the carton.

Ling Ye withdrew his finger and casually tore open the packaging of the "processed" ice cream box.

The ice cream inside... hadn't melted. Instead, it exuded an even more piercing, purer chill! Within the originally milky white ice cream, countless extremely fine, ice-blue stardust seemed to be slowly swirling and settling! A refined "Myriad Year Ice Marrow" chill, several times purer, though still weak, emanated along with the milky fragrance!

He had actually... refined the ice cream inside through the box, just like that?!

Ling Ye looked at the "upgraded" ice cream with satisfaction and began to slowly enjoy it, his eyes narrowing with each bite as he savored the subtle pleasure brought by the refined chill.

The other, unprocessed box of ice cream was casually placed on the sofa armrest, as if it were an insignificant freebie.

Watching him immerse himself in enjoyment, then looking at the ordinary box on the armrest rapidly melting, and thinking of her expensive sofa being used as a rag, Su Wanqing was overwhelmed by a sense of immense powerlessness. Arguing about hygiene or value with this overlord? It was like playing the lute to a cow!

Just as Ling Ye was diligently tackling the second box of "special" ice cream, the last bit of melted pink residue, mixed with chocolate chips, slowly flowed out of the empty carton he had carelessly tossed onto the carpet, seeping into the soft carpet fibers.

And that spot was not far from the load-bearing pillar on the east side of the living room.

That tiny bit of liquid, containing traces of the refined "Myriad Year Ice Marrow" and residual Chaos Origin Qi, as it touched the carpet and slowly seeped downwards, seemed to have triggered some extremely hidden... Earth Vein node?

"Buzz..."

A vibration, clearer and deeper than before, like a sleeping giant disturbed from its slumber, suddenly erupted from the depths of the earth! This time, it wasn't just below the load-bearing pillar; the entire foundation of the villa seemed to shake slightly!

The ordinary ice cream box on the sofa armrest was shaken loose and fell to the carpet with a "splat," completely ruined.

Su Wanqing was startled by the sudden tremor and leaped to her feet, her face pale: "An... earthquake?!"

Ling Ye's ice cream-eating paused. He suddenly looked up, his gaze instantly sharpening like a knife, no longer lazy and indifferent! In his deep eyes, stars seemed to flow, instantly penetrating the floor and rock layers, precisely "seeing" into the depths of the earth!

His brows were tightly furrowed, and for the first time, a clear look of... impatience and... a hint of genuine anger appeared on his face!

"Are you not done yet?!" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an icy chill that seemed capable of freezing the soul!

He had clearly sensed that cold, sinister shadow energy from underground. Although heavily damaged, it hadn't given up completely! It seemed to have been stimulated again by the "Myriad Year Ice Marrow's" innate coldness (however faint) and the residual aura of Chaos Origin Qi. Like a shark smelling blood, it was stirring again, attempting to use more covert, circuitous methods to bypass the suppression of the Fragment of Buzhou Mountain and touch, and corrode, that Primordial Anchor Fragment!

The repeated probing, the constant harassment, buzzing like flies, had finally exhausted the meager patience of this primordial slacker!

Ling Ye slammed the half-eaten ice cream carton onto the coffee table! With a dull thud!

He suddenly stood up, his bare feet on the carpet, his gaze coldly sweeping towards the load-bearing pillar!

This time, he didn't casually point or wave his hand in the air as before.

Instead... he took a step, padding... directly towards the load-bearing pillar!

Seeing his terrifying expression, as if he were about to personally strangle something, Su Wanqing stumbled back several steps, her back pressed tightly against the cold wall, not daring to breathe!

Ling Ye walked to the load-bearing pillar and stopped. He looked down at the area where the pillar met the carpet, the spot moistened by the "foot-washing water" and ice cream stains.

Then, he did something that made Su Wanqing's soul fly out of her body!

He slowly... raised his right foot!

That clean foot, which had just been soaked in the Chaos Green Lotus basin, stained with Breathing Soil dust and noodle soup essence, and had been "intimately" touched by her...

On his sole, an indescribable, immensely heavy, chaotic light instantly condensed! It was as if the weight of the entire starry sky had been concentrated at the sole of his foot! The surrounding air let out a mournful cry of being unable to bear the burden, and light distorted violently!

"Get lost!"

Ling Ye's voice was as cold as ten thousand years of profound ice, carrying an unquestionable, supreme will of expulsion!

Then, his right foot, imbued with terrifying power, like the hammer of divine punishment, fiercely... stomped down onto the carpet beneath the load-bearing pillar!

"BOOM!!!!!!"

A muffled, earth-shattering roar, as if the entire planet were trembling, erupted from the deepest part of the earth!