Embryo (Part 2)

Cold, dead silence.

The dark, narrow space was illuminated by the soft glow of a night-luminescent pearl, though the light turned chilly after reflecting off the ice walls.

"Tap~"

"Tap~"

The faint sound of footsteps echoed through the narrow ice tunnel.

Knowing he was likely in the core area of the Far North, Xu Lanqing dared not make too much noise. If it weren't necessary, he wouldn't even dare to breathe deeply, terrified of attracting some terrifying existence.

He had previously discovered two tunnels, one above his head and one in front of him. Judging by the marks on the ice, they had been carved out by the claws of a soul beast rather than forming naturally, though he couldn't tell what kind of beast it was just from the claw prints.

He had originally intended to wait for his body to recover and then leave through the tunnel above his head; the top seemed the most likely exit, and if that failed, he could always try the other path.

However, when he used his Ice Phoenix martial soul to flap his icy wings and fly toward the opening, he awkwardly discovered he couldn't fit through.

He could have made it if it were just his body, but with his icy wings, it was impossible. Furthermore, the ice was extremely smooth, making it impossible for him to climb up.

With no other choice, he had to take the tunnel that led to who knows where.

Yet, he had been walking for nearly a day now and still hadn't reached the end. Ahead remained a stretch of quiet darkness; what kind of soul beast dug a tunnel this long?

Xu Lanqing now didn't know whether to keep walking or return to the original spot and wait for Jing Hongchen and the others to find him.

What if the end was the lair of a soul beast? Wouldn't that be walking straight into his own grave?

But if he stayed put, when would Jing Hongchen and the others find him? This was the deep Far North, home to countless powerful soul beasts; would they even be able to find him?

It was truly a dilemma.

Xu Lanqing's mood began to grow irritable.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten about Electrolux?

Because he had been so weak and there were no strong external influences, Electrolux hadn't been paying attention to the outside world, causing Xu Lanqing to almost forget about his teacher.

He stopped in his tracks, manifested his phantom in his spiritual sea, and asked Electrolux directly:

"Teacher, can you sense what is at the end of this tunnel?"

The gray bead stirred, and a gray mist emerged; it seemed he was sensing the outside world.

A moment later, the aged voice of Electrolux rang out: "There is no aura of a soul beast ahead, but there is the aura of humans. There are two of them, and one of them should be at the Title Douluo level."

Hearing the first half, Xu Lanqing breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the second half left him astonished.

"This is the core area of the Far North. How could humans possibly appear here?"

To Xu Lanqing's somewhat skeptical tone, Electrolux replied instantly: "Although my spiritual consciousness is currently too weak, I am still capable of such minor tasks as detection."

Xu Lanqing quickly said: "Teacher, I certainly don't doubt your strength, it's just hard to imagine anyone else being able to enter this place."

His own appearance here was purely an accident; how did those two get here?

Even he, with his Ultimate Ice martial soul, felt the cold. Any other soul master would likely be frozen into an ice sculpture the moment they stepped inside.

As for the other party being a Title Douluo, that didn't surprise him. There were plenty of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in the Far North, and in such a harsh environment, anyone without real strength would have been buried where they stood long ago.

Wait, could it be that they dug this tunnel?

Were they digging such a long tunnel to steal some rare heavenly treasure?

Forget it, never mind. He would go over and take a look first, then decide what to do based on the situation.

"If you wish to proceed, I will first cast a barrier to conceal your aura so you aren't discovered by them."

As if sensing Xu Lanqing's thoughts, no sooner had Electrolux finished speaking than gray mist spread from the spiritual sea, forming a thin gray film over Xu Lanqing's body.

"This effect only lasts for three hours, and it will dissipate if you activate your soul power, so be careful."

"Understood. You are as thoughtful as ever, Teacher."

Xu Lanqing said with a smile; he hadn't thought of that.

Looking at the gray film on his body, Xu Lanqing tried taking a few steps. He discovered that it not only concealed his aura but also silenced the sound of his footsteps.

He continued to walk forward.

Walking alone in the dark, dead-silent, narrow tunnel without knowing when it would end—the feeling of being swallowed by darkness at any moment and the bone-chilling cold was quite eerie, especially for someone with claustrophobia.

Xu Lanqing was thankful he didn't suffer from that condition, otherwise, he would have gone mad before long.

Another hour passed.

Finally, Xu Lanqing saw faint white specks of light flickering ahead.

His heart leaped with joy, but his movements became even more cautious.

He crept forward carefully, the light shining in from outside the tunnel growing brighter.

Reaching the opening, he instinctively held his breath and poked his head out to look.

What met his eyes was a massive, cylindrical space. The ice on the floor and walls was as reflective as a mirror. Looking up, the circular sky was sealed by white gale winds, leaving not a single gap, yet sunlight still managed to shine through the gales.

Now Xu Lanqing understood why that person had dug such a long tunnel; just looking at those gale winds made him feel a bone-piercing chill.

He scanned his surroundings. It was empty; there was no one there.

He then looked toward the center, where an ice-blue palace stood silently.

That's right, a palace.

Since when did soul beasts start living in palaces?

The palace was not large, but it was exquisite and elegant; it didn't look like a dwelling for a soul beast, but rather one for a human.

Xu Lanqing's gaze fell upon the wide-open palace doors, where he could faintly see light flickering within, clearly indicating someone was inside.

He hesitated for a moment before cautiously approaching.

Since he was already here, why not go over and take a look?

Besides, there was no way back now.

Beside the palace gate, Xu Lanqing slowly poked his head out to peer inside.

A gaunt, skin-and-bones old man stood in the center of the hall. Before him was a glowing white barrier, and inside that barrier, a spherical mass of white airflow hovered in mid-air.

Floating in front of the old man was a white tray, and upon it sat a wooden stand inlaid with at least a hundred gemstones of various colors.

Half of the tray had already passed through the barrier, and the old man was struggling to push the remaining half through by channeling his soul power, yet that mass of white airflow showed no reaction at all, remaining quietly suspended.

The aura emanating from the old man was the same as that of Jing Hongchen and the others, though it was somewhat weaker; this must be the Title Douluo that Electrolux had mentioned.

Xu Lanqing glanced around, but other than the old man, there was nothing else.

His heart tightened, and he couldn't help but ask in his mind, "Teacher, didn't you say there were two people? Why is there only one here?"

Electrolux replied indifferently, "My perception is not wrong; there are indeed two people inside."

There was clearly only one person here, where could the second...

Wait, Xu Lanqing's body stiffened as if he had realized something. He looked at the tray, then back at the mass of white airflow, his mouth twitching.

It couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it...