Ice Soul Root, Mystic Ice Turtle

Not knowing the depth of the cave and fearing an ambush by demonic beasts, Xu Yang could not afford to worry about the expenditure of his internal energy. As soon as his feet touched the cave floor, he immediately summoned his flying sword and stood upon it, descending deeper into the darkness.

As Xu Yang descended, the temperature inside the cave plummeted rapidly, to the point where even his tempered Iron Body felt the chill. He soon reached the bottom of the cave, where he found the surroundings pitch black, save for the occasional flash of silver light.

Before him lay a circular tunnel, just wide enough for one person to pass through. Xu Yang stepped into the tunnel and began to walk slowly forward. As he ventured deeper, the tunnel grew wider, and the air became even colder.

Xu Yang's Iron Body was struggling to hold out; after all, it was only at the initial success stage, equivalent to the fourth level of Qi Refining. With no other choice, he had to circulate his Gang Qi to resist the bitter cold. With both methods working in tandem, he finally managed to keep the freezing air at bay.

Suddenly, a flash of silver caught the corner of Xu Yang's eye. Startled, he immediately became cautious and looked toward the source of the light, only to see a white root, about a foot long and as thick as a little finger, growing on the cave wall and shimmering with constant silver light. Xu Yang's expression relaxed, and he immediately approached the root.

Upon closer inspection, a look of joy crossed Xu Yang's face. This root was none other than the target of his trip—the Ice Soul Root. The so-called Ice Soul Root was actually the rhizome of a plant that was otherwise useless. It grew in places rich in water spiritual energy, and only when its rhizome mutated to manifest an ice attribute did it become a spiritual treasure.

With a look of delight, Xu Yang dug out the Ice Soul Root and placed it into his Qiankun Bag. His mission was now complete, and a Peiyuan Pill would soon be his. This mission had been very simple, and naturally, the reward was small; Xu Yang had chosen it deliberately to experience the process of completing a mission firsthand so that he would know what to expect in the future.

After collecting the Ice Soul Root, Xu Yang continued forward. Along the way, he found more and more of them, until they were densely packed across the cave walls, leaving him dumbfounded. From what he understood, while the Ice Soul Root was not rare, there shouldn't have been such a massive quantity.

Curiosity piqued, Xu Yang quickened his pace. He soon arrived at a spacious cavern where the Ice Soul Roots had grown even thicker, resembling small trees, and the cave was filled with white vapors.

These vapors gathered into clusters, drifting back and forth. Upon seeing them, alarm bells rang in Xu Yang's mind; his intuition told him these vapors were extremely dangerous. Xu Yang moved his divine sense, cautiously scanning the white vapors, only for a bone-chilling sensation to strike his heart, instantly threatening to freeze his very thoughts.

Xu Yang's expression changed drastically, and he quickly retreated two steps to avoid the white vapors. Just as he was about to move forward again, a sound came from behind him, accompanied by the faint noise of human voices. Xu Yang's expression shifted; he looked left and right before immediately leaping to hide behind a thick Ice Soul Root.

A moment later, a group of five people arrived in the cavern. Xu Yang watched quietly and saw three men and two women; judging by their attire, they were also disciples of the Bailian Pavilion. At this moment, one of the attractive women spoke up: "Senior Brother Xu, what is going on here? Why are there so many Ice Soul Roots?"

The leading man replied in a deep voice: "I do not know either. It seems some kind of mutation has occurred here. Everyone, be careful; there may be danger in this place!"

The five of them then walked to the center of the cavern. Upon seeing the white vapors, the leading Senior Brother Xu's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said: "Be careful! These vapors are Extreme Freezing Qi, condensed from coldness at its absolute peak. If you touch them, you will be frozen into an ice sculpture instantly."

The other four heard this and retreated in haste, simultaneously sending out their divine sense to probe the cold air. "Hmph! Hmph!" All four let out muffled groans and retracted their divine sense with pale faces. Seeing this, Senior Brother Xu looked displeased and mocked them: "What, you didn't believe me? Now you've suffered for it! You are all too reckless; you would do well to be more cautious in the future."

The four of them looked embarrassed, and a tall, thin man among them flashed a look of resentment in his eyes. The woman who had spoken earlier said shyly: "Senior Brother Xu is right to scold us. We were too impulsive and caused you trouble."

Hearing the woman's words, Senior Brother Xu's expression softened slightly. He nodded and said: "Enough talk. Follow my orders. If we obtain the treasure, everyone will have a share. If anyone acts out of turn, don't blame me for being heartless."

The other four looked at each other and nodded, indicating their willingness to follow Senior Brother Xu's command. Seeing this, Senior Brother Xu took the lead and headed deeper into the cave, with the other four following closely behind. The group of five slowly disappeared from Xu Yang's sight.

Once the five were far away, Xu Yang emerged from behind the Ice Soul Root and followed them from a distance. The cultivation levels of these five were all higher than his, so he dared not scan them with his divine sense and had to rely on his naked eye. Fortunately, his vision had greatly increased after practicing the Indestructible Golden Body Art, allowing him to see clearly.

Following the group, Xu Yang soon arrived at the deepest part of the cave. From afar, he saw a massive Ice Soul Root standing in front of them. Senior Brother Xu and his group stood before this giant root, and Xu Yang immediately ducked into the shadows to observe the situation.

Senior Brother Xu and the others looked at the giant Ice Soul Root in astonishment, exclaiming in wonder. This Ice Soul Root was three zhang tall and three meters thick. Its entire body was silver-white, radiating faint silver light, and it was incredibly beautiful. At its top grew a white flower bud, currently on the verge of blooming, emitting waves of fragrance that lingered in the surrounding air.

As time passed, the flower bud opened bit by bit, and the air became thick with fragrance. Even Xu Yang, who was quite a distance away, could smell the rich scent, which instantly made his mind feel cool and his spirit greatly refreshed.

Just then, a rustling sound came from all around. Xu Yang was startled and turned his head to look. Mystic Ice Turtles, the size of washbasins and half a meter tall, were swarming toward the giant Ice Soul Root from all directions. They were densely packed, numbering at least one or two hundred.

Fortunately, these Mystic Ice Turtles did not attack him, or Xu Yang would have been exposed immediately. Even so, he was extremely nervous, his flying sword and talismans both appearing in his hands.

Senior Brother Xu and his group naturally discovered the Mystic Ice Turtles as well. Because they were too close to the giant Ice Soul Root, they were completely surrounded by the turtles.

The expressions of the five turned grim. The Mystic Ice Turtles were weak; if there were only forty or fifty, the five of them wouldn't have cared. But now there were over two hundred—four or five times more than they could handle.

At this moment, the flower bud on the giant Ice Soul Root opened completely, and a massive bead floated above the flower. Waves of fragrance drifted from the bead. It was deep blue, its light contained within, and no aura leaked from its surface—a true state of returning to simplicity.

Seeing the bead appear, the Mystic Ice Turtles roared in unison, a truly startling display. Then, they all opened their mouths, and ice blades condensed before them, flying toward Senior Brother Xu and his group in the next instant.

Over two hundred ice blades rained down like a storm. The five of them changed color, immediately scattering and driving their respective flying swords to hack at the blades. For a time, shards of ice flew everywhere. Just as they managed to shatter all the blades, the next wave of attacks arrived.

Another two hundred ice blades flew toward them. Seeing this, the five looked even grimmer and hurriedly drove their swords again, only to find the next wave already coming. Seeing this, Senior Brother Xu said to the others: "We cannot go on like this. Our Gang Qi is being consumed too quickly. If this continues, we will be exhausted to death here. Fellow juniors, show your true skills!"

As he spoke, Senior Brother Xu pulled out a talisman and threw it at the turtles. The talisman transformed into a massive fire dragon in mid-air, lunging straight at the Mystic Ice Turtles. Seeing this, the other four also brought out their trump cards; flying swords, vines, and giant wooden pillars all struck toward the turtles.

The Mystic Ice Turtles roared, and a white light erupted from their bodies, rapidly connecting to form a barrier above their heads. The fire dragon, flying swords, and other attacks were blocked by the barrier, unable to advance an inch.

For a time, the fire dragon roared repeatedly, the flying swords clanged, and the sound of the giant wooden pillars crashing down was incessant. The Mystic Ice Turtles also roared continuously, pouring their power into the barrier, and the two sides remained in a stalemate.

After a while, the fire dragon vanished, the spells like the wooden pillars weakened significantly, and the flying swords were recalled. The white barrier also became thinner and thinner, eventually disappearing along with the other spells.

Once the barrier vanished, all the Mystic Ice Turtles collapsed to the ground, exhausted and unconscious. Seeing this, the five were overjoyed and immediately prepared to manipulate their swords and artifacts to slaughter the turtles. Just then, a loud boom echoed. Xu Yang's alarm bells rang, and he hurriedly looked up toward the source of the sound.

A massive Mystic Ice Turtle approached slowly. It was three meters tall and five or six meters long, its copper-bell eyes glaring fiercely at the five disciples. It opened its massive mouth, and a wave of white cold air surged toward them; wherever the cold air passed, a thick layer of ice instantly formed.

Senior Brother Xu and his group were terrified, never expecting such a giant Mystic Ice Turtle to exist, and they hurriedly dodged the attack. Having driven the group back, the giant turtle immediately headed toward the deep blue bead floating above the flower.

Discovering the giant turtle's intent, the group immediately manipulated their artifacts to attack it, trying to prevent it from reaching the treasure. The giant turtle roared and turned back to engage the five in battle.