A Mining Prodigy, the Terror of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern

"It's so hard, and I can't even pull it out."

While Xia Yu was pondering the value of the Icebound Divine Crystal, Meng Hongchen had long since lost her patience and started digging for treasure.

Unfortunately, since she did not know the proper method, she could not do anything to the Icebound Divine Crystal.

After trying all sorts of methods to no avail, she finally gave up on digging and turned to Xia Yu beside her.

"Brother Yu, what are these crystals called? Do you know how to mine them?"

"This is Icebound Divine Crystal, the highest-grade ice-attribute metal. Mining it is simple—just use ice-attribute soul power. Ultimate Ice would be best."

Xia Yu snapped out of his thoughts and answered Meng Hongchen's question.

As he spoke, he personally demonstrated how to extract Icebound Divine Crystal.

Using the power of the Ghostly Frost Flame to imitate Ultimate Ice-attribute soul power, Xia Yu connected with the Icebound Divine Crystal and easily pulled it out.

"So that's how it works. Then I'll give it a try too."

Now that she knew how to mine Icebound Divine Crystal, Meng Hongchen immediately got to work.

Thanks to the protective barrier Xia Yu had set up for her, her soul power temporarily carried the aura of Ultimate Ice as well.

Very quickly, she effortlessly pulled out a piece of Icebound Divine Crystal.

Having succeeded once, Meng Hongchen happily continued mining Icebound Divine Crystal.

The way she huffed and puffed made her look like she was pulling radishes from the ground.

"Ah, this piece of Icebound Divine Crystal... it actually has life! How amazing!"

After digging for quite a while, Meng Hongchen finally came across a piece of Icebound Divine Crystal that had given birth to an Ice Spirit, and she let out an incredulous cry.

Then, as if she were holding the most precious treasure in the world, she tightly hugged that piece of Icebound Divine Crystal to her chest.

As a soul engineer, she knew all too well what living metal represented.

After all, if it had life, it meant it could be communicated with.

And if a soul engineer could communicate with a soul tool and achieve resonance at the level of its origin, the power the soul tool could unleash would become even more terrifying.

That was not all. Meng Hongchen quickly thought of the Natal Soul Tool Xia Yu had mentioned.

If she was not mistaken, this kind of living Icebound Divine Crystal was very likely to be more easily fused with Martial Soul Origin.

Of course, the prerequisite was that one's soul power could communicate with the Icebound Divine Crystal and make it feel close to them.

Otherwise, not only would it fail to reduce the difficulty of fusing Martial Soul Origin, it would instead become an obstacle.

And she happened to possess the ability to communicate with Icebound Divine Crystal and make it feel close to her.

Meng Hongchen had already experienced that firsthand while mining Icebound Divine Crystal just now.

Didn't that mean she might be able to use Icebound Divine Crystal to forge her own Natal Soul Tool?

She had personally witnessed the power of a Natal Soul Tool, so how could she not hope to possess one herself someday?

The thought alone made Meng Hongchen so excited that she could barely contain herself.

"Brother Yu, do you think I can use this living Icebound Divine Crystal to forge a Natal Soul Tool? If I can, how long would it take?"

This time, Meng Hongchen was direct and decisive. As soon as she had the idea, she eagerly went to Xia Yu to confirm whether it was possible.

"It is possible, but I can't say how long it will take. That mainly depends on your own fortune."

Xia Yu first affirmed Meng Hongchen's idea.

However, when it came to the time required, he could not give an exact answer.

After all, forging a Natal Soul Tool mainly depended on the soul engineer's own ability. When fusing Martial Soul Origin with a soul tool, it was difficult for others to lend a hand.

"It really is possible? That's wonderful!"

After learning from Xia Yu that her idea could be realized, Meng Hongchen became even more excited.

She had not expected her sudden whim to actually work.

In an instant, she was filled with motivation and mined with even greater vigor.

Seeing this, Xia Yu was infected by her enthusiasm and sped up his own extraction of Icebound Divine Crystal.

Before long, under the sweep of these two mining prodigies, all the Icebound Divine Crystal had been extracted.

Before the well water outside the cavern could pour back in, the two hurriedly returned to the well and began diving deeper once more.

The farther down they went, the greater the water pressure became, while the temperature plummeted at an astonishing rate.

However, with the Ghostly Frost Flame, Xia Yu and Meng Hongchen did not need to fear the extreme cold.

Not long after, they reached the bottom of the well and saw the source of the frigid power—a dark-blue spring.

"Brother Yu, what exactly is this spring? How can it emit such terrifyingly cold power? Why does it feel like the temperature here has already surpassed Ultimate Ice?"

The moment she saw the spring, Meng Hongchen's expression changed drastically.

The temperature here was simply too low. Even protected by the Ghostly Frost Flame, she still felt the cold piercing her to the bone.

She had not even stayed near the spring for long before her body began to faintly feel as though it were freezing stiff.

"This is the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern, a treasured land that can only form after gathering the world's frigid power for tens of thousands of years..."

Only now did Xia Yu realize that he might still have underestimated the frigid power of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern.

It truly deserved to be called a terrifying place capable of freezing even souls.

They had not even truly entered the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern yet, and the Ghostly Frost Flame was already close to failing against the erosion of its frigid power.

If they actually went inside, who knew what would happen.

Xia Yu himself was tough and possessed extraordinary physical strength, so he could endure it, but Meng Hongchen might not be able to.

Although Xia Yu had prepared other things that could resist the erosion of the frigid power, he still was not completely confident that Meng Hongchen could remain unharmed within the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern.

So, for Meng Hongchen's safety, he definitely could not bring her into the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern.

"Meng, the frigid power of this Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern is simply too terrifying. I may not be able to bring you inside with me. For the time being, cultivate near this spring..."

Having made his decision, Xia Yu immediately told Meng Hongchen about the arrangements ahead and began setting up an environment suitable for her cultivation.

Although the barrier created by the Ghostly Frost Flame could ensure that Meng Hongchen would not be eroded by the frigid power,

a barrier alone was not enough if she wanted to cultivate here. Other preparations were needed as well.

"Wait, Brother Yu. Let me get this straight."

Seeing Xia Yu start to act, Meng Hongchen hurriedly stopped him. Then she pointed at the spring with an incredulous look on her face.

"Brother Yu, if I heard correctly, are you saying that this terrifying spring isn't the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern itself? It's only an entrance?"

"That's right. This spring is indeed the entrance to the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern."

Xia Yu looked directly into Meng Hongchen's eyes and gave her an affirmative answer.

"H-How is that possible? The temperature here is already lower than Ultimate Ice. Wouldn't the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern be even more terrifying? Could it freeze everything?"

"Brother Yu, how about we give up? Let's not go after that Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern."