The disheveled old man and his companions were scared out of their wits. Beneath this icy pool, they had no way to flee as they could on the surface. Without the ice talismans to guide them, the more intense lightning and frigid aura here alone could have killed them countless times over.
"Where did you two get those jade talismans?" the ice marten's demonic shadow asked, looking down at them.
"W-We got them after killing a snow-maned sunny colt, Senior Lin. The colt was badly wounded at the time, and we two took advantage of that," the disheveled old man replied, not daring to hide anything.
"Hand those jade talismans over to me, and I'll spare your lives!" the ice marten's demonic shadow declared.
"B-But, Senior, we've survived beneath this icy pool only because of these talismans. Without them to protect us, I'm afraid we wouldn't last long before perishing here. Senior, you... you see..." The horned leopard demon naturally didn't want to offend the ice marten's demonic shadow. But offending it meant death, and losing the talismans that protected them meant death too. Neither choice offered a good outcome, leaving him in an impossible predicament.
"If that's the case, there's no point keeping a bunch of good-for-nothings like you alive." The ice marten's demonic shadow let out a cold laugh. Its form swelled rapidly, covering the cultivators in the blink of an eye. As it descended over them, the pressure grew heavier and heavier. Thump, thump, thump—their hearts pounded like drums under a relentless beating.
Beneath this icy pool, even with the jade talismans in hand, they couldn't move very fast.
"You're nothing but a phantom, not the true body. If you force us to fight to the death down here, Senior, we'll have no choice but to fight