Ice Lake

It was an ice lake hidden deep within the folds of icy peaks.

Calling it a lake was inaccurate; it was more like a gigantic ice crystal forgotten by the heavens.

The lake's surface was not completely frozen, but existed in a strange half-frozen, half-melted state. A transparent layer of thin ice covered the surface, so thin that the dark blue, bottomless water beneath could be seen clearly.

Tiny bubbles slowly rose between the ice and the water, freezing into minute ice flowers the instant they touched the ice sheet.

The lake was vast, with a diameter of at least several hundred meters.

Its shores were not made of ordinary soil or rock, but an ice forest formed from countless sharply angled icicles.

Yet the most eye-catching sight was at the center of the lake.

A massive ice pillar rose violently from the lakebed, forcibly piercing through the lake's ice sheet and the snowy mist above, becoming the absolute core of the entire Ice Lake.

The pillar was over ten meters wide and at least fifteen zhang tall.

Its body was not a smooth cylinder, but covered in savage ice ridges and spikes, its surface crisscrossed with claw marks of varying depths.

The top of the ice pillar was relatively flat, forming a platform roughly thirty meters in diameter.

Strange coral-like structures formed from condensed ice crystals grew along the platform's edges.

And at the center of the platform lay an Ice Dragon.

Jiang Bai's heartbeat abruptly quickened.

He had Fire Dragon land on an ice peak far from the Ice Lake, then quietly climbed to the summit and lay hidden in the snow, observing from afar under the cover of ice ridges.

It was a giant dragon entirely covered in icy blue.

Most of its body was curled up within its nest.

The nest was built from countless shattered ice crystals, the bones of unknown giant beasts, and something resembling silver moss, forming a hollow den atop the ice pillar.

Only its long neck extended from the nest, along with half of an icy blue dragon tail dangling lazily over the edge, occasionally swaying gently.

Its neck was slender and elegant, covered in overlapping scales that seemed carved from the finest blue crystals.

Every scale was the size of a palm, thin as cicada wings at the edges and thick at the center, flowing with a dark, frigid blue glow beneath the dim daylight.

Its thick tail vertebrae were distinctly segmented, tapering gradually toward the tip, where three sharp, icicle-like tail spikes grew.

Jiang Bai gathered his mental power to its limit and probed cautiously.

Though he could not see its full body, Jiang Bai estimated that this Ice Dragon was more than eight thousand years old.

Perfect!

This was precisely the target Jiang Bai had dreamed of for his fourth Spirit Ring: a pure-blooded Ice Dragon, with the right age and an exceptional attribute!

But amid his delight, Jiang Bai's mind began racing.

How could he kill it?

The Ice Dragon held an absolute geographical advantage.

That Ice Lake was clearly its home ground, and the nest atop the ice pillar was easy to defend and difficult to attack. To approach it, he would have to endure the disadvantage of attacking upward.

Fire Dragon's combat strength would be weakened in the extreme cold, while Earth Dragon and Wind Dragon would also struggle to use their full power.

Jiang Bai lay atop the ice peak without blinking, staring at the distant Ice Dragon nest as countless plans flashed through his mind.

He needed a method that could subdue the Ice Dragon while minimizing the risk as much as possible.

His Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda could allow spirit beasts to retain their souls after becoming Spirit Rings, continuing to live and cultivate, even accelerating their growth.

If he could make this Ice Dragon sacrifice itself willingly, everyone would benefit.

But would spirit beasts—especially proud apex spirit beasts like the Dragon Clan—listen to a human trying to "reason" with them?

Spirit beasts did indeed grow wiser as their cultivation increased. Once they broke through ten thousand years, their intelligence would rapidly develop and could even rival that of humans.

This Ice Dragon had cultivated for more than eight thousand years, so it should already possess considerable intelligence.

But in the world of spirit beasts, especially among the Dragon Clan, the most primitive "law of strength" was revered.

Without strength, one had no right to speak.

In the Ice Dragon's eyes, perhaps Jiang Bai would only be qualified to "negotiate" after defeating it first.

Jiang Bai assessed his current strength.

After being tempered by ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber, his physical condition had reached an astonishing level.

In terms of raw physical strength alone, he was likely no weaker than an ordinary Soul King.

And with the threefold enhancement to all attributes brought by the possession of the three dragon beasts—

He might not be unable to fight it.

A trace of resolve flashed through Jiang Bai's eyes.

But even so, against a pure-blooded Ice Dragon over eight thousand years old with home-field advantage, his chances in a direct confrontation remained low.

He needed some "extra measures."

He took a small wooden box from his Storage Bracelet and opened it. Inside were dozens of tiny golden granules, glimmering with a faint metallic sheen beneath the dim daylight.

Hair Gold—or rather, the raw material for Dragon Whisker Needles.

While staying at the inn in Dragon City, aside from cultivating, he had also taken time to process the Crystal Board he had bought from Flender. He had smashed apart the hard crystal with a heavy hammer, then hurriedly collected the hair-thin Hair Gold, which would automatically curl into granules once removed from the crystal's protection. The process had not been easy.

In the end, he had only collected several small boxes.

Jiang Bai carefully pinched several golden granules and injected Soul Power into them.

Stimulated by the Soul Power, the granules rapidly stretched and thinned, transforming into several nearly invisible golden needles: Dragon Whisker Needles.

He tried to control the fine needles.

Without Tang Sect concealed weapon techniques, he could only perform the most basic manipulation.

To be safe, Jiang Bai dispersed his Soul Power and let the Dragon Whisker Needles curl back into granules, then hid them in a concealed pocket within his left sleeve.

Once everything was ready, Jiang Bai took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening like a blade.

"Eldest, Second, Third, prepare to possess me."

At his command, the three dragon beasts simultaneously crashed into Jiang Bai's body!

"Boom—!!!"

Surging energy erupted within him!

His muscles swelled in an instant, his bones cracked explosively, and dragon-scale patterns of three interwoven colors emerged across his skin!

Jiang Bai looked toward the Ice Dragon's nest atop the ice pillar at the center of the distant lake, battle intent blazing in his eyes.

He stepped out from behind the ice peak where he had been hiding and slowly walked toward the Ice Lake.

Atop the ice pillar, the sleeping Ice Dragon seemed to sense something. Its dragon head lifted slightly, and its vertical icy blue pupils slowly opened.

Jiang Bai did not stop. He raised his right hand, palm facing upward, as scorching fire-attributed Soul Power gathered wildly, condensing into a massive fireball more than a meter in diameter!

The flames were crimson gold and incomparably hot. The surrounding air began to distort, while falling snowflakes instantly vaporized.

"Go!"

Jiang Bai shouted, thrusting his right hand forward!

The crimson-gold fireball shot directly toward the Ice Dragon atop the ice pillar!

The attack came suddenly and with astonishing speed!

The Ice Dragon had only just awakened from its slumber, and its reaction was half a beat too slow.

By the time it saw the incoming fireball clearly, it was already right before its face!

"Roar—!"

The Ice Dragon let out an enraged roar and opened its mouth, spewing a stream of icy blue breath!

The breath and the fireball collided violently in midair!

"Rumble!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out!

Flames and frost intertwined, annihilated each other, and erupted into a violent shockwave of energy!

Countless cracks exploded across the ice pillar's surface. Huge chunks of ice and rock broke loose and plunged into the Ice Lake below, sending towering sprays of water into the air!

The thick smoke and icy mist from the explosion temporarily obscured the view.

The Ice Dragon had been enraged.

It spread its enormous icy blue wings and shot into the sky from its nest!

Its colossal body cast a massive shadow across the sky. Its dragon might fully erupted, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and even the air seemed about to freeze!

Insignificant human!

Jiang Bai pressed both hands against the ground, pouring Soul Power into the frozen earth beneath his feet.

A wall of earth, one meter thick and five meters high, rose from the ground and blocked his path!

Though this was not true soil but frozen earth and ice, it was still exceptionally sturdy under the empowerment of Earth Dragon's earth-attributed Soul Power.

The Ice Dragon dove down, its jaws opening wide as it spewed an even thicker, darker stream of icy blue breath!

"Crack—crack—crack—"

Under the extreme cold of the breath, the earthen wall rapidly froze, became brittle, and then shattered inch by inch!

The instant the wall broke apart, Jiang Bai moved!

Instead of retreating, he charged directly at the Ice Dragon!

He spread the fingers of his right hand and aimed them at the Ice Dragon's wide-open jaws.

Now!

Several Hair Gold granules hidden in his sleeve silently slipped into his palm, and Soul Power surged into them in an instant!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three nearly invisible streaks of golden light shot from his fingertips!

Before the Ice Dragon could react, they had already entered deep into its gaping mouth!

Dragon Whisker Needles could pierce through protective qi and Soul Power defenses. Once inside the body, they curled and tore along with the contraction of muscles, bringing unbearable agony!

"Roar!!!"

The Ice Dragon's movements instantly froze!

Its dragon eyes widened round, and for the first time, clear pain and terror appeared in its pupils!