Entering the Cave to Investigate
After regaining his composure, An Jun looked at Huo Lei and asked, "What should we do next? Should I take out the Ice Leopard Emperor's Soul Bone to fuse with it? Or should we go into the cave to explore first?"
Huo Lei said frankly, "Let's explore the cave first and see what's going on. If it's really as the Bear King says, that there's a large amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow inside, wouldn't it be better for you to absorb the Soul Bone inside?"
An Jun nodded and said, "That makes sense."
"Bing'er, Xue Wu, Yunxiang, the three of you wait outside. I'll go into the cave with Senior An Jun to explore first," Huo Lei instructed the three women.
"Huo Lei, be careful!" Shui Bing'er said worriedly.
Huo Lei smiled slightly at Shui Bing'er, "Don't worry, with Senior An Jun by my side, nothing will happen."
"Teacher, your disciple and Senior An Jun will first go into the cave to explore." Huo Lei looked at Jin Shan and called out softly.
Jin Shan nodded.
Huo Lei and An Jun had only taken a few steps when the Snow Soul Bear King's gruff voice rang out. "Young friend, it's best if you don't go in. You can't withstand the temperature inside the cave."
The Bear King's words warmed Huo Lei's heart, and he said gratefully, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Bear King. I'd like to see the scenery inside the cave. If I really can't stand the temperature inside, I'll naturally come out."
"Alright!" The Bear King lowered its massive head, which had been slightly raised, back onto its paws and said no more.
Huo Lei and An Jun exchanged a glance, and the two walked towards the cave entrance in tacit agreement.
Huo Lei arrived at the cave entrance, looked up and surveyed the six-meter-high cavern, and peered inside. With the help of the light and the reflection of the snow, he could only see about fifty meters inside; beyond that, it was all darkness.
Huo Lei suddenly turned to look at the Snow Soul Bear King and asked, "Senior Bear King, how deep is this cave? And how far is the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow from the cave entrance?"
The Bear King slightly raised its massive head and replied, "This cave is about three hundred meters deep, gradually descending. At the end, you'll find the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow."
"Thank you, Senior Bear King." Huo Lei said his thanks, then turned and walked into the cave.
Upon entering the cave, Huo Lei did not sense anything unusual. The cave walls were covered with a thick layer of frost, but the temperature inside the cave was not much different from that outside.
From the moment An Jun entered the cave, he had already released his mental perception.
Huo Lei and An Jun walked side by side. When they reached the boundary between light and darkness inside the cave, Huo Lei suddenly stopped.
"Senior An Jun, how's your investigation going?" Huo Lei asked.
An Jun said, "I haven't been able to reach the bottom yet, and the deeper I probe, the more my mental energy is consumed. In this cave, my mental perception can only penetrate a distance of up to two hundred meters. If I want to explore further, I have to keep going."
"Oh? Is it that amazing? Let me try it," Huo Lei exclaimed in surprise.
His spiritual power condensed, transforming into an invisible energy that probed into the cave's interior. His spiritual power, like the eyes of Huo Lei, explored the world within the darkness.
To Huo Lei's great surprise, when his mental energy penetrated to nearly two hundred meters, he felt as if he had sunk into a cold quagmire, making it extremely difficult to move forward. Moreover, the consumption of his mental energy was as great as An Jun had said.
"How can the ice elemental attribute affect mental power?" Huo Lei exclaimed in surprise, having never encountered this situation before.
"Huo Lei, withdraw your spiritual power!" An Jun's voice rang in Huo Lei's ears.
Huo Lei turned to look at An Jun and asked, "Senior An Jun, why is this happening?"
An Jun said, "Once any energy reaches a certain level, it will all lead to the same destination. Although mental energy is different from elemental energy, it is also a form of energy. The ice attribute two hundred meters ahead has reached its limit. If our mental energy enters it, it will be affected by its energy. Instead of expending a lot of mental energy to explore inward, we should go further in."
"Alright! Let's continue!" As Huo Lei finished speaking, he released his Flame Martial Soul.
Flame erupted from Huo Lei's right hand, illuminating the path ahead. Although it only lit up a distance of four or five meters, it was enough.
After entering the darkness, Huo Lei clearly felt the temperature drop significantly, and the fur coat he was wearing was no longer very effective. Huo Lei had no choice but to mobilize his Soul Power to resist the increasingly intense cold that was invading his body.
"Such strong ice attributes! We've advanced dozens of meters, yet we still can't find the bottom of the Cavern. For the remaining fifty meters, every meter we explore consumes a lot of mental energy. We can currently explore 270 meters. According to the Bear King's estimate of 300 meters, only 30 meters remain." An Jun exclaimed in surprise after walking dozens of steps into the cave.
"Then let's keep going. We must see what the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow really looks like." Huo Lei strode forward, a purple Soul Ring illuminating his body. Instantly, his entire body was enveloped in fiery red rocks, illuminating the dark Cavern. This was his fourth Soul Skill Lava Armor.
Seeing Huo Lei's actions, An Jun quickly followed.
As he moved forward, Huo Lei's pace slowed down. After several dozen steps, he finally stopped. The Huo Lei Lava Armor on his body, which had been blazing brightly, became dull, as if it might collapse at any moment.
"Ah! It's so cold! Senior An Jun, my Soul Power is too depleted, I'm afraid I can't hold on much longer. I can only accompany you this far, the rest of the way is in your hands! I'll release my spiritual power now to probe, we should be able to detect the bottom of the Cavern from here. After I take a look at the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, I'll return to the cave entrance." Although Huo Lei was protected by the Lava Armor, his body was still trembling slightly.
"You're really going all out to get a glimpse of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. Hurry up and probe it! I'll infuse you with some Soul Power." An Jun looked at Huo Lei beside him and sighed, extending his right hand to infuse a Sisi gentle Soul Power into Huo Lei's body.
"An Jun very much, Senior An Jun." Huo Lei thanked him and released his spiritual power, probing forward.
In a short while, Huo Lei's spiritual power detected the bottom of the Cavern. At the same time, in order to see the true appearance of the Cavern bottom and the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow more clearly, Huo Lei mobilized a wisp of Soul Power and applied it to his eyes. Golden light instantly flowed deep within his golden eyes, and the dark Cavern became clear.
Huo Lei activated his Fiery Golden Eyes and finally saw clearly the environment at the deepest part of the Cavern.
The space at the bottom of the Cavern is not large, only a little over 100 square meters, and about eight meters high.
Inside this cave, there are many strange ice pillars, a total of thirty-six, crisscrossing and varying in size.
Each icicle was pure white. Inside those pure white icicles, liquid seemed to flow faintly. The terrifying chill emanated from these icicles.
"This is the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, just as described in the Book of Douluo II." Huo Lei sighed inwardly.
Satisfied, Huo Lei withdrew his spiritual power and Fiery Golden Eyes, turned to An Jun beside him, and said, "Senior An Jun, there is indeed a considerable amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow at the bottom of the Cavern. I have already seen it, and it is indeed a rare treasure. Now there is still a thorny problem to solve, which is how Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu will approach the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow? Their levels are too low, and they definitely cannot withstand such a temperature. What should we do?"