Ancient Array and the Ice Crystal Guard

The cave held a world of its own.

The instant everyone stepped through the entrance, nearly all of them sucked in a sharp breath.

This was not a narrow mountain cave, but an outrageously magnificent underground temple! Its vaulted ceiling stretched beyond sight, while countless enormous icicles hung overhead like divine pillars holding up heaven and earth.

What shocked them most were the walls.

Every ice wall in every direction was carved with densely packed blue runes. The runes seemed alive, flickering and dimming like breathing at a steady rhythm, bathing the entire space in a dreamlike glow.

"Holy crap... wh-what is this place?" one team member asked, his voice trembling.

"A miracle! This must be the interior of the divine inheritance!"

"It's too spectacular... I feel like even breathing is filling me with energy..."

Even Tu Feng, this burly man, stood there like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, his mouth hanging open for a long while. He could feel the soul power within him becoming more active in this space.

Only Huo Yuhao remained as calm as if he were strolling through his own backyard.

Within the [Thought Palace], data streams surged at an unprecedented speed.

[Environmental scan complete. This location is the energy transmission hub of the primary sealing array. The spatial structure has been forcibly stabilized by an ultimate-ice energy field.]

[Runic analysis in progress... confirmed to be an ancient soul power guidance array. Functions: extraction, suppression, circulation. Target: a high-dimensional lifeform.]

[Conclusion: The sealing core of the Sky Dream Iceworm has been confirmed.]

Huo Yuhao sneered inwardly. Divine inheritance? No, this was a cage built to imprison a million-year soul beast.

"Stay sharp!" he said coldly. "Every step here could trigger a killing array. If you don't want to die, stay close behind me."

At his words, the crowd's fevered minds instantly cooled. They hurriedly composed themselves and followed closely behind Huo Yuhao, step for step.

"Consultant," Vice Dean Mo Li hurried over, his beard trembling with excitement, "these runes... they're alive! This completely overturns everything we know about soul guidance arrays! Does this... does this confirm the 'main system' theory you mentioned before?"

The way he looked at Huo Yuhao was like an apprentice gazing up at the founding master.

"You could put it that way." Huo Yuhao casually made things up, leading them deeper into the pit he had dug for them. "These runes are the 'circuits' on the 'motherboard,' responsible for transmitting and distributing energy. Look." He pointed to an area ahead where the flickering was noticeably faster. "That is a 'high-load zone.' The energy flow is too fast. If you approach carelessly, you'll be vaporized instantly."

Frightened, everyone quickly gave it a wide berth.

Huo Yuhao pointed at another patch of ground that appeared utterly ordinary. "There is the hidden entrance to the 'cooling vent.' Beneath it is an energy void. If you fall in, not even bone fragments will remain."

Each time he pointed something out, he accurately identified a genuine array trap.

After that, no one dared harbor the slightest doubt. As they looked at Huo Yuhao's back, their admiration gained a heartfelt reverence.

This guy was practically a walking strategy guide in human form! Following him was safe!

Lin Mu walked along the flank of the group, quietly watching the young man's back. From beginning to end, he had been far too calm—so calm that he did not seem like a teenager at all. She knew very well that every word Huo Yuhao said served a greater purpose.

She asked nothing, merely tightening her grip on her vine martial soul and remaining ready to support the others at any moment.

The group traveled through the maze-like temple for more than ten minutes. Huo Yuhao always anticipated the danger in advance, leading them around every hazard.

At last, they passed through a narrow ice-crystal passage, and the view before them suddenly opened up.

An even larger circular plaza appeared before them.

At the center of the plaza stood a humanoid creature over three meters tall.

Its entire body was formed from the purest ice crystals, pale-blue radiance flowing across its surface. It had no facial features; only a core at its chest shone with intense energy fluctuations.

"What the hell is that?" Tu Feng immediately tightened his grip on his battleaxe and assumed a defensive stance.

"It's a guardian," Huo Yuhao said flatly. "The 'security program' has been activated."

The moment his words fell, the core in the Ice Crystal Guard's chest flared brightly!

Bzzzt—

A terrifying pressure instantly engulfed the entire plaza!

ROAR!

The Ice Crystal Guard moved! Its figure blurred in an instant, leaving an afterimage as it swung a fist viciously at Tu Feng, who stood at the front!

It was absurdly fast!

"Good!" Tu Feng roared. His fourth soul ring flashed, and blazing golden battle aura ignited across his massive battleaxe. Rather than retreat, he charged forward and hacked straight at the ice-crystal fist!

CLANG!

A deafening explosion rang out!

A violent shockwave erupted, making everyone nearby stagger.

Tu Feng was blasted backward by an irresistible force. His feet plowed two deep furrows through the ice before he barely managed to stabilize himself. The arm holding his axe trembled violently beyond his control.

"What incredible strength! This thing's body is harder than ten-thousand-year mystic iron!" Tu Feng said in shock.

"Ranged attacks!" Mo Li shouted.

Several long-range soul masters immediately launched their attacks. Fireballs, wind blades, and arrows of light all came crashing down at once.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Ice Crystal Guard neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the soul skills to explode against its body. Yet aside from scattering a few ice chips, they did not even leave a white mark.

"Physical immunity? Its energy resistance is that high too?"

"How are we supposed to fight this?!"

Everyone's hearts sank.

Just then, Huo Yuhao's voice rang out amid the chaos, reaching everyone's ears with perfect clarity.

"It isn't a living creature. It's an energy construct. Attacking its body is useless—its weakness lies in the 'logic' of its movements."

"Lin Mu, use vines to bind its feet. Don't pull hard; keep disrupting its sense of balance."

"Fatty! Use your gravity-control soul skill. Don't target it directly—aim three steps to its front left and alter the gravity field there!"

"Tu Feng, get ready. Don't move until I tell you to!"

The instructions were brief and precise.

Though they did not understand, everyone instinctively followed them.

Lin Mu's vines coiled around the guard's ankles like agile serpents, tugging lightly and constantly. The fat soul master immediately released his soul skill as well, changing the gravity in the designated area.

Sure enough, the Ice Crystal Guard's movements became slightly uncoordinated. Every step felt as though it were landing on both cotton and steel plates, its rhythm thrown into disarray.

Now!

A dim glint flashed deep within Huo Yuhao's eyes.

Within the [Thought Palace], the Ice Crystal Guard's energy core was thoroughly deconstructed.

[Core resonance frequency locked: 341 Hz.]

[Generating inverse interference waveform...]

[Concept Armament: Structural Resonance Interference!]

A spiritual ripple imperceptible to mortals, like the most precise surgical scalpel, silently pierced the core in the Ice Crystal Guard's chest!

"Buzz..."

The Ice Crystal Guard, which had been charging forward, suddenly froze! The glow flowing across its body began flickering violently, like an old television with poor reception.

The energy circulation within its body had been forcibly thrown into chaos!

"Tu Feng! Now! Its chest core!" Huo Yuhao's voice cracked like thunder.

Tu Feng had long been poised to strike. At the command, a terrifying gleam burst from his eyes. With an angry roar, he launched himself forward like a cannonball!

"Break for me!"

Soul power erupted from the battle axe without restraint. All his strength converged at one point as he viciously cleaved into the wildly flickering core in the Ice Crystal Guard's chest!

"Crack!"

A crisp snap rang out!

That indestructible energy core, like glass struck by a hammer, was instantly covered in cracks!

"Boom!"

The next second, the entire Ice Crystal Guard exploded, becoming countless blue motes of light that danced through the air before finally fading away.

The battle was over.

The entire scene fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared dumbly at Tu Feng, then at Huo Yuhao, who had not moved a single step from beginning to end.

Th... that was it? They had won?

A terrifying guard that could send peak Soul King Tu Feng flying in a single exchange had been dismantled with just a few words?

Tu Feng panted heavily. He looked down at his battle axe, then up at Huo Yuhao, his face full of disbelief. He knew perfectly well that ninety-nine percent of the credit for that strike belonged to this adviser!

It felt as if Huo Yuhao had personally placed the enemy's forehead beneath his axe blade!