Extreme North, Humanity's Forbidden Zone

Because it was Bibi Dong's order, Chrysanthemum Douluo did not dare delay.

The next day, he arrived in Nuoding City.

But when he came to the Martial Soul Hall Branch in the city and received the same answer as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, his heart immediately sank.

Such a genius had actually been snatched away first!

And taken away from Nuoding City as well.

Cold sweat began to bead on Chrysanthemum Douluo's forehead.

It was over. He had still arrived a step too late.

He could imagine how furious His Holiness the Pope would be upon learning this news.

Meanwhile, Jiang Liang, who was on his way to the Extreme North, had no idea that so many people had gone to Nuoding City looking for him.

Even if he had known, he probably would not have cared.

All along the way, he had been flipping through the Soul Beast Compendium he had borrowed from Ma Xiunuo.

The book contained detailed information on many Soul Beasts living in the Star Dou Forest or Sunset Forest.

But there was very little information concerning the Soul Beasts of the Extreme North.

Even so, Jiang Liang found the Soul Beast he wanted.

The Ice Jade Scorpion.

It was an overlord Soul Beast of the Extreme North and possessed the strongest ice attribute.

For Soul Masters who wanted ice-attribute control or ice-attribute assault-type Soul Skills, it was the best choice.

But Jiang Liang was not entirely satisfied.

For his first Soul Ring, he still wanted a purely enhancement-type Soul Ring.

So he set his sights on his second choice.

The Ice Blade Mantis.

It often appeared around the Ice God Mountain Range in the Extreme North, possessing forelimbs as sharp as those of other mantis-type Soul Beasts.

Not only that, it possessed powerful ice-attribute strength as well as top-tier attack speed and movement speed.

"That's the one!" Jiang Liang grinned as he looked at the Ice Blade Mantis's entry.

He turned to look at the falling snow outside the window, his heart full of anticipation.

In the blink of an eye, another four days passed.

By the fifth day, Jiang Liang finally stood at the outskirts of the Extreme North.

Looking at the vast world of ice and snow ahead, he broke into a grin.

"Fairy Sister, we're finally here."

"Mm, I see it." Sword Mother chuckled softly. "Then follow your heart and hunt the Soul Beast you want most."

"Alright!" Jiang Liang gave a mischievous laugh.

Then, with a flick of his right hand, he summoned the Cold Moon Sword Martial Soul and held it in his hand as he remained on guard.

He first scanned his surroundings. Only after making sure there was no danger did he step forward.

The Extreme North was terrifyingly cold.

The temperature in the air had dropped to a frightening degree.

Fortunately, his body had been tempered by ice and fire energy, strengthening his resistance to both ice and fire attributes.

Otherwise, at his age, coming here alone would have frozen him to death.

After walking several hundred meters, Jiang Liang saw a stone marker standing there, with a tent beside it.

"Extreme North, humanity's forbidden zone. Soul Beasts appear here. Danger! Danger! Danger!"

The last three words, "Danger," had been specially marked in red.

Inside the tent beside it lay four or five corpses, clearly dead for only a short while.

Their bodies bore savage claw marks, and they had obviously been killed by Soul Beasts.

Seeing those claw marks and the warning on the stone marker, Jiang Liang's heartbeat quickened.

He had been somewhat excited while traveling to the Extreme North.

But now that he had truly arrived and seen traces left behind by Soul Beasts, he could not help feeling nervous.

Sword Mother clearly sensed his anxiety as well and comforted him gently. "Don't be afraid, Xiao Liang. Your sister is here."

"Mm!" Hearing Sword Mother's voice, Jiang Liang's heartbeat gradually calmed down.

He exhaled a long breath of white vapor, readjusted his mood, and continued toward the Ice God Mountain Range.

The Ice God Mountain Range lay in the southeastern part of the Extreme North.

From where Jiang Liang stood, looking slightly to the right, the endless range of snowy mountains was the Ice God Mountain Range.

The Ice Blade Mantis he was searching for was there as well.

Jiang Liang gripped the hilt of the Cold Moon Sword Martial Soul tightly and cautiously approached the Ice God Mountain Range step by step.

This was already a region where Soul Beasts were active. No one knew what kind of Soul Beast might be hiding in the snow ahead, so caution was best.

Sure enough, after he had moved forward just over a hundred meters, he saw something writhing beneath the snow ahead, rapidly approaching him.

Jiang Liang immediately became fully alert.

Before it could get close, he made the first move!

He jogged three steps for momentum, then sprang off the ground when he neared the thing beneath the snow and brought his sword down in a fierce overhead slash!

"Hiss—!"

That creature clearly had not expected Jiang Liang to be so bold, nor for his attack to come so quickly.

Before it could react, its life had already ended, and blood instantly stained the surrounding snow red.

A faint yellow Soul Ring then slowly rose from the snow.

Only then did Jiang Liang clearly see what had been hiding beneath the snow. It was a small snake with mottled patterns.

He remembered this Soul Beast being recorded in the Soul Beast Compendium. Was it an Ice Flower Snake?

The Soul Beast Compendium said this Soul Beast possessed potent ice venom. Once bitten, the chill would freeze the victim's body, leaving them unable to move.

"That scared me." Jiang Liang lightly patted his chest and let out a long breath.

Sword Mother chuckled. "You did well just now. Your strike was decisive, your timing was accurate, and you took down that Soul Beast in one blow."

"But your footing was unsteady, and your Sword Qi was still somewhat impetuous. It is fine when dealing with weak creatures like this."

"If you encounter a powerful Soul Beast, you must not charge in so recklessly."

Jiang Liang nodded forcefully. "I understand, Fairy Sister. I'll pay attention next time."

"Good. Then let's keep going."

"Mm!"

Jiang Liang put away the Cold Moon Sword Martial Soul, walked around the Ice Flower Snake's corpse and Soul Ring, and headed directly toward the Ice God Mountain Range.

The farther he went, the thicker the snow on the ground became.

At its deepest, it even reached his calves.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, turning Jiang Liang's nose red from the cold.

He had no idea how many meters he had traveled. He only remembered being attacked by four or five Soul Beasts along the way.

Most of those Soul Beasts were low-level creatures of the Extreme North, with cultivation bases generally below three hundred years, and Jiang Liang killed them all with a single slash.

The most dangerous encounter had been with a four-hundred-year Ice Fist Iron Bear.

This Soul Beast was immensely strong. Its massive fists, formed from condensed frost, could smash a one-meter-wide crater into the ground.

If Jiang Liang's body had not undergone multiple rounds of strengthening, this time would truly have been dangerous.

The sky gradually darkened.

At night, the temperature in the Extreme North would drop even further.

Jiang Liang found a sheltered spot and set up a small tent. Without even lighting a fire, he ate dry rations in the dark to fill his stomach.

After eating and drinking his fill, he lay down in the tent and slept.

Sword Mother also appeared at the right time, simply so he could rest without worry.

The Soul Beasts lurking nearby were scared into fleeing in all directions by the Sword Qi she released.

The next day, Jiang Liang continued his journey in high spirits, searching for the Ice Blade Mantis.

After another day of travel, he drew closer and closer to the Ice God Mountain Range.

The Soul Beasts appearing nearby had also risen from two- or three-hundred-year cultivation bases to the thousand-year level. Occasionally, he even encountered Soul Beasts nearly ten thousand years old fighting each other.

When facing these Soul Beasts, Jiang Liang avoided them whenever he could and absolutely did not waste even a bit of strength.

If he could not avoid them, he would use the Sword Qi Sword Mother had given him to frighten them away.

And so, he traveled through the Extreme North for three straight days.

During those three days, he encountered all sorts of Soul Beasts and even saw traces of Ice Blade Mantises.

Though that Ice Blade Mantis did not meet Sword Mother's requirements, it had still reached the thousand-year level.

Jiang Liang wanted to take its Soul Ring, but Sword Mother refused.

Left with no choice, he could only give up on that thousand-year Ice Blade Mantis and search for a ten-thousand-year Ice Blade Mantis instead.

Fortunately, persistence paid off.

On the fourth day, he finally discovered traces left behind by another, larger Ice Blade Mantis.

And when he followed those traces to find the Ice Blade Mantis, he saw it fighting a humanoid Soul Beast more than thirty meters tall!

"That is... a Titan Snow Demon!"