Cold. Dead silence.
The dark, cramped space was lit by the soft glow of a luminous pearl, but the light felt cold after reflecting off the ice.
"Tap~"
"Tap~"
Faint footsteps echoed through the narrow ice passage.
Knowing he might be in the core region of the Far North, Xu Lanqing didn't dare make too much noise. If he could help it, he barely even dared to breathe, afraid of attracting some terrifying presence.
He had noticed a passage above him and another ahead. Judging by the marks on the ice beside them, they had probably been clawed out by a Soul Beast rather than formed naturally, though the claw marks alone weren't enough to tell what kind.
At first, he had planned to wait until he'd recovered and then leave through the passage above. It seemed the most likely exit, and if that didn't work, he could always try the other way.
But when he flapped his Ice Phoenix Martial Soul's ice wings and flew up to the opening, he awkwardly discovered that he couldn't fit through.
He could squeeze in if he didn't have the wings, but with them, there was no way. What's more, the ice was extremely smooth, so he couldn't climb up either.
With no other choice, he could only take the passage, not knowing where it led.
But he had been walking for nearly a day, and still hadn't reached the end. Ahead lay only quiet darkness. What kind of Soul Beast dug a tunnel this long?
Xu Lanqing didn't know whether to keep going or return to where he'd started and wait for Jing Hongchen and the others to find him.
What if the passage ended at a Soul Beast's lair? Wouldn't that be walking straight to his death?
But if he stayed where he was, how long would it take Jing Hongchen and the others to find him? This was deep in the Far North, where who knew how many powerful Soul Beasts roamed. Could they even reach him?
He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.
Xu Lanqing began to grow restless.
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead. How had he forgotten about Electrolux?
Because he was so weak, Electrolux usually paid no attention to the outside world unless something significant happened. Xu Lanqing had nearly forgotten that he had a teacher.
He stopped and manifested his phantom form in the Sea of Consciousness, then asked Electrolux directly:
"Teacher, can you sense what's at the end of this passage?"
The gray bead shifted, and wisps of gray energy appeared, as if sensing the world outside.
A little while later, Electrolux's aged voice rang out. "There are no Soul Beast auras ahead, but there are human auras—and there are two people. One of them should be at the Titled Douluo level."
At the first part, Xu Lanqing relaxed a little, but the second part surprised him.
"This is the core region of the Far North. How could humans have made it here?"
At Xu Lanqing's doubtful tone, Electrolux immediately replied, "Though my divine sense is exceedingly weak now, I can still manage minor things like detection."
Xu Lanqing hurriedly said, "Teacher, of course I'm not doubting your abilities. It's just hard to imagine that anyone else could get in here."
His own arrival had been a pure accident. How had those two people gotten here?
Even he, with his Ultimate Ice Martial Soul, felt cold. Other Soul Masters would probably freeze into ice statues as soon as they came in.
As for one of them being a Titled Douluo, that didn't surprise him. There were plenty of hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts in the Far North, and the environment was so harsh that anyone without enough strength would be buried right where they stood.
Wait, could they have dug this tunnel?
Had they dug such a long tunnel to steal some rare treasure?
Forget it. He'd go take a look first, then decide what to do based on the situation.
"If you want to go on, I'll first set up a barrier to conceal your aura, so they won't notice you."
As if he had sensed Xu Lanqing's intentions, Electrolux had barely finished speaking when gray wisps of energy spread out from the Sea of Consciousness and formed a thin gray film over Xu Lanqing's body.
"This will only last three hours, and using your Soul Power will dispel it. Be careful."
"Got it. You really have thought of everything, Teacher."
Xu Lanqing said with a smile. He hadn't thought of that.
Looking at the gray film on his body, Xu Lanqing tried walking a few steps. He discovered it not only concealed his aura, but also made his footsteps completely inaudible.
He continued onward.
Walking alone through a narrow, pitch-black, deathly silent tunnel, with no idea when it would end, was a chilling experience. It felt as if the darkness could swallow him at any moment, and the cold seeped into his whole body. It was especially unnerving for someone with claustrophobia.
Xu Lanqing was glad he didn't have that condition. Otherwise, he probably would have gone mad before walking very far.
Another hour passed.
At last, Xu Lanqing saw a faint white point of light flickering ahead.
His heart lifted, but he moved even more carefully.
He crept forward, and the light shining in from outside the tunnel grew brighter.
When he reached the opening, he instinctively held his breath and leaned out to look.
Before him was a vast, roughly cylindrical space. The ice on the ground and all around it was smooth as a mirror. Looking up, he saw that the circular sky was sealed by white gale winds, without a single gap, yet sunlight still filtered through them.
Xu Lanqing now understood why that person had dug such a long tunnel. Just looking at those gale winds made him feel their bone-piercing cold.
He scanned the area. It was empty. No one was there.
Then he looked toward the center, where an ice-blue palace stood in silence.
That's right, a palace.
Since when had Soul Beasts started living in palaces?
The palace wasn't large, but it was elegant and refined. It didn't look like a place meant for Soul Beasts to live in. It looked more like a human dwelling.
Xu Lanqing's gaze fell on the palace doors, which stood wide open. He could just make out light flickering inside. Someone was clearly in there.
He hesitated, then carefully crept closer.
He was already here. How could he not go take a look?
Besides, there was no way back anyway.
Beside the palace doors, Xu Lanqing slowly poked his head in to look.
A gaunt old man stood in the middle of the hall. Before him was a glowing white barrier, inside which a mass of white, circular airflow hovered in the air.
A white tray floated in front of the old man. On it sat a wooden stand set with at least a hundred gemstones of various colors.
Half the tray had passed through the barrier. The old man was urging it onward with his Soul Power, laboriously pushing the other half through. The mass of white airflow showed no reaction at all, still hovering quietly in the air.
The aura radiating from the old man was like Jing Hongchen and the others', though it was somewhat weaker. He must be the Titled Douluo Electrolux had mentioned.
Xu Lanqing glanced around. Other than the old man, there was nothing else.
His heart tightened, and he couldn't help asking in his mind, "Teacher, didn't you say there were two people? Why is there only one?"
Electrolux replied calmly, "My senses are not mistaken. There really are two people inside."
There was obviously only one person here. Where could the other one be—
Wait. Xu Lanqing's body stiffened as something occurred to him. He looked at the tray, then at the mass of white airflow, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
It couldn't be that simple coincidence...
Before you continue