Ice Crystal Giant Python

Aolikedui Mountain was the highest peak in the northern section of the Greater Khingan Mountains. To be precise, it was already in Inner Mongolia.

In the Oroqen Language, Aolikedui Mountain meant Snow Rock Peak.

It was already mid-August, close to the hottest time of the year, yet the summit of Aolikedui Mountain was still blanketed in snow.

At the foot of the mountain, in front of a vast pine forest, Chu He breathed out a cloud of white mist.

"This place is freezing! I remember Dad said... that Ice Spring was halfway up the mountain, right?" Chu He adjusted his gear, then rose into the air again. "I wonder if the Ice Spring really contains Spirit Machine."

Water—or rather, good water—was an extremely important ingredient in brewing good wine.

Especially with the Wine God Inheritance, finding good water containing Spirit Machine would be almost like finding a universal additive.

After successfully inviting Luo Hua, Chu He had returned home and devoted himself to studying the three Seeds of Divine Ability.

The runes on the three Seeds of Divine Ability weren't merely for inscribing on objects.

If Chu He could comprehend enough of them, he could combine them and use them like a special Secret Technique.

The Secret Techniques of this world were originally composed of different Law Secret Patterns.

Time passed quietly. Old Chu returned safely from the Greater Khingan Mountains, bringing Chu He news of this Ice Spring.

After hearing about it, Chu He—who had been training at home for some time—couldn't sit still.

If the Ice Spring contained Spirit Machine, then couldn't he finally use that Lingzhi he'd been unable to process all this time to make wine?

Chu He immediately decided to go take a look.

Before long, the forest below, its branches hung with icicles, gave way to shrubs, then green moss, and eventually to nothing but a vast, desolate expanse.

In that world of ice and snow, only gray-white and silvery white remained. No plants or trees grew there; thick layers of snow covered the ground.

"The altitude's about right. It should be around here."

As he spoke, Chu He lowered his flying altitude slightly and began circling the mountainside, almost skimming its surface.

Soon, a frigid Ice Spring came into view.

If Old Chu, an Elementary War God, could make it here, then this place naturally posed no danger to Chu He, who was at the Planetary Level.

The moment he landed, Chu He sensed that the water in the Ice Spring truly did contain Spirit Machine.

"Excellent!"

Using his Spiritual Force to control his Flying Daggers, Chu He began digging down toward the spring's source.

Since he'd come here in person, how could he be satisfied with filling a flask and taking it home?

Naturally, he wanted to find out how the Ice Spring had formed—and see if he could somehow move the entire spring into his World in the Pot.

Sss! Sss!

The Flying Daggers dug downward at incredible speed, turning the once-clear spring into murky water.

Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground. The previously calm snowfield began surging like a tide.

The closer he got to the spring's source, the more intense the shaking became.

"Boom! Boom!"

The mountain shook more and more violently, as though some monster beneath the spring had awakened.

Boom!

A deafening blast rang out!

Snow sprayed from the spring's source as frigid mist billowed into the air.

An Ice Crystal Giant Python several zhang long and about a foot thick shot out of the spring. Its entire body looked as if it had been cast from ice.

At a glance, the Ice Crystal Giant Python spotted Chu He and fixed him with a frigid stare.

Against its snow-white, crystalline scales, its vivid red Snake Tongue flickered in and out.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Beneath its raised head, two fleshy wings jutted out from either side of its body—unlike those of an ordinary python.

As they opened and closed, its ice-crystal scales rubbed together with a rustling sound.

Combined with the hiss of its Snake Tongue, the sound made Chu He's scalp crawl.

This Ice Crystal Giant Python was unmistakably a King Rank Monster that had just awakened from hibernation!

"That was close! Good thing Dad didn't mess around here like I did, or else..."

A wave of fear washed over him, followed by a surge of anger.

King Rank Monsters were the culprits behind the Beast Tide!

He couldn't let it live today!

"Hiss—"

The Ice Crystal Giant Python roared at the sky, its thunderous hiss echoing across the snowy mountain like a clap of thunder.

Suddenly, the Ice Crystal Giant Python bent its body sharply, beat its fleshy wings, and shot toward Chu He like an arrow loosed from a bow.

For a moment, it looked like a gigantic ice-crystal arrow streaking toward him on a gust of wind, the snow it kicked up whirling through the air like blades.

The Ice Crystal Giant Python's leap was astonishingly fast, producing a piercing whistle as it broke the sound barrier.

Even with Chu He's Planetary Level physique, a direct hit—even a glancing one—would likely snap his bones and tear his muscles.

"Hmph!" Chu He's Spiritual Force erupted in an instant!

As he twisted aside to dodge, several Flying Daggers traced streaks of Flowing Light through the air, clanging against the scales covering the Ice Crystal Giant Python.

Sparks flew, blooming like fireworks.

The Flying Daggers were made from SSS-Grade Metal. They might have been effective against Lord-level Monsters, but against a King Rank Monster, they couldn't even break its defenses.

"Damn it!"

In the heat of battle, Chu He's thoughts raced. In almost an instant, he came up with a way to defeat his enemy.

Spiritual Amplitude meant that if each Flying Dagger could exert the power of Planetary Level 1, then when two Flying Daggers struck the same spot, the force it endured would be doubled!

Each additional Flying Dagger doubled the force again.

When Chu He had been at Elementary War God Level, he could perfectly control nine Flying Daggers with his Spiritual Force.

Now that he'd advanced to the Planetary Level, his ability to perfectly control Flying Daggers had only risen to eighteen, since he lacked a Secret Technique for Spiritual Force.

That meant a Spiritual Force Amplitude of eighteen times.

Compared to Luo Feng's Spiritual Force Amplitude of thirty-six times when he was at Planetary Level 1, Chu He was a full eighteen times weaker.

Even so, that was more than enough to deal with the Ice Crystal Giant Python before him.

After all, Thunder God, who currently had no domain, could only exert seven times his normal strength.

In an instant, Chu He's Spiritual Force spread like an invisible net, tracking every movement of the Ice Crystal Giant Python.

"Clang! Clang!"

The Flying Daggers traced all kinds of arcs as they tangled with the Ice Crystal Giant Python. Each clash was like stars colliding, light flaring everywhere. Every strike landed precisely on the base of one of the python's fleshy wings.

"Rumble—"

The giant python attacked like a raging storm, its body thrashing across the snowy mountain. Each roll shook the ground and sent ice shards flying.

Yet it was like an insect caught in a spiderweb. It had plenty of strength, but nowhere to use it.

Suddenly, the Ice Crystal Giant Python seemed to sense something. Just before another collision, it lashed its tail, knocking several Flying Daggers away—but in doing so, it lost its balance.

"Now!"

Chu He's eyes lit up. His Spiritual Force erupted to its full extent, and eighteen Flying Daggers attacked from every direction, aiming straight for the base of the giant python's fleshy wings.

"Bang!"

The giant python's fleshy wings were severed completely, and its speed plummeted.

Chu He didn't pause for a moment. His Spiritual Force surged again.

Against an Ice Crystal Giant Python whose speed had been reduced, it was easy to make every blade strike the same spot.

Before long, the Ice Crystal Giant Python's body shattered amid streaks of light and flying sparks.

"Crash!"

Its ice-crystal armor broke apart into countless shards that scattered through the air, like a dazzling rain of ice crystals.