The Ice Fissure.
Xu Yuan stood at the entrance, took a deep breath, and said softly:
"From now on, whoever stops me from helping the Black Coffin Universe is evil."
The Song of Boiling Blood gave a hum of perfect agreement.
Xu Yuan moved, flying forward.
As he passed the Ice Lake,
he suddenly sensed something.
Beneath the Ice Lake,
deep below,
the Giant Serpent lay coiled in loop after loop, its eyes half-closed as though dozing.
Xu Yuan could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.
This creature.
It had finally caught him.
He had gone back and forth several times today without seeing it. Only now had it settled in to wait for him.
It couldn't even get to a pile of shit while it was still warm.
No, wait.
He shouldn't describe himself that way.
Xu Yuan betrayed nothing as he stepped onto the Ice Lake and walked across it at an easy pace.
Deep beneath the lake,
the Giant Serpent remained motionless.
But every marking on its body lit up, along with the human-face patterns gathered across its skin.
It was gathering power.
Xu Yuan kept pretending not to notice, strolling slowly over the lake's surface.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
The Giant Serpent suddenly shuddered and vanished from the depths of the Ice Lake.
Violent waves of power stirred terrifying undercurrents along the lakebed.
The next instant,
it burst through the surface, its gaping mouth swallowing Xu Yuan whole.
A perfect opportunity!
A flawless ambush!
The dozen-odd innate Mystic Arts swirling around its body had all struck the target in an instant.
He's finished!
Delight flashed through the Giant Serpent's slit pupils. But the next second, it cried out:
"No, I was wrong! Please, spare—"
Its voice cut off.
A sharp sword gleam