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 beaten to the punch!

And he had even been taken away from Nuoding City.

Cold sweat began to seep from Chrysanthemum Douluo's forehead.

It was over. He had still arrived too late.

He could imagine how furious the Pope would be when he learned 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.

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

The book recorded detailed information about many soul beasts inhabiting Star Dou Forest or Sunset Forest.

But there was very little information about 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 very 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 near the Ice God Mountain Range in the Extreme North and possessed 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 and movement speed.

"This is the one!" Jiang Liang grinned as he looked at the Ice Blade Mantis's description page.

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.

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

He looked at the vast world of ice and snow before him and grinned.

"Fairy Sister, we've finally arrived."

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

"Alright!" Jiang Liang chuckled.

Then, with a flick of his right hand, he summoned his Cold Moon Sword martial soul and held it in his hand as he stayed alert.

He first looked around, and only after confirming there was no danger did he step forward.

The Extreme North had terrifyingly cold weather.

The temperature in the air had dropped to a terrifying 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 Jiang Liang walked several hundred meters forward, he saw a stone monument standing there, with a tent beside it.

"Extreme North, humanity's forbidden zone. Soul beasts roam here. Danger! Danger! Danger!"

The final three warnings were specially marked in red.

Inside the tent beside it lay four or five corpses, evidently dead only recently.

Their bodies were covered in savage claw marks, clearly indicating that they had been killed by soul beasts.

Seeing those claw marks and the warning on the stone monument, Jiang Liang's heartbeat could not help quickening.

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

But after truly arriving here and seeing traces left behind by soul beasts, he still became nervous.

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

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

He let out a long breath of white vapor, readjusted his state of mind, and continued toward the Ice God Mountain Range.

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

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

The Ice Blade Mantis he sought was there as well.

Jiang Liang gripped the hilt of his Cold Moon Sword martial soul tightly and cautiously approached the Ice God Mountain Range little by little.

This was already an area 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 wriggling beneath the snow ahead and rapidly approaching him.

Jiang Liang immediately focused all his attention.

Before that thing could get close, he struck first!

He took a three-step running start, then, upon closing in on the thing beneath the snow, he suddenly launched himself from the ground and brought his sword down in a fierce overhead slash!

"Hiss—!"

That thing had clearly not expected Jiang Liang to be so fierce or his attack to come so quickly.

Before it could react, it was already dead, its blood instantly dyeing the surrounding ground red.

Immediately afterward, a faint yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from the snow.

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

He remembered that the Soul Beast Compendium had recorded this kind of soul beast. It was called an Ice Flower Snake?

The Soul Beast Compendium said that this soul beast possessed powerful ice venom. Once bitten, cold would freeze one's body, leaving one unable to move.

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

Sword Mother chuckled softly. "You did well just now. Your strike was decisive, your timing was precise, and you dealt with that soul beast in one blow."

"But your footing was unstable, and your Sword Qi was still somewhat impetuous. That is acceptable when dealing with weak opponents."

"If you truly encounter a powerful soul beast, you must not rashly launch a direct attack like that."

Jiang Liang nodded firmly. "I understand, Fairy Sister. I'll be careful next time."

"Good. Then let's keep moving."

"Mm!"

Jiang Liang put away his Cold Moon Sword martial soul, went around the Ice Flower Snake's corpse and Soul Ring, and headed straight 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 also grew stronger, freezing Jiang Liang's nose red.

He did not know how many meters he had traveled. He only remembered being attacked by four or five soul beasts along the way.

Most of these soul beasts were low-level soul beasts of the Extreme North, with cultivation no greater than three hundred years, and Jiang Liang killed them all with a single slash.

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

This type of soul beast was incredibly strong. Its huge fists, formed from condensed frost, could smash a one-meter-wide crater into the ground.

If Jiang Liang's body had not undergone multiple enhancements, 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 went to sleep.

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

The soul beasts lurking nearby were frightened in all directions by the Sword Qi she released.

The next day, Jiang Liang continued on his journey refreshed and energized, searching for the Ice Blade Mantis.

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

The soul beasts appearing around him had also risen from two- or three-hundred-year cultivation to the thousand-year level, and he occasionally even encountered nearly ten-thousand-year soul beasts fighting.

When facing these soul beasts, Jiang Liang avoided them whenever he could and never wasted even a bit of his 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 consecutive days.

During those three days, he encountered all kinds of soul beasts and also saw traces of an Ice Blade Mantis.

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

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

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

Fortunately, persistence paid off.

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

And when he followed those traces to find it, he unexpectedly saw the Ice Blade Mantis fighting a humanoid soul beast over thirty meters tall!

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