After crossing the site of the ambush, Ye Chen continued deeper. The wind and snow seemed to have intensified, dense flakes as large as goose feathers falling thickly enough to blur his vision. The extreme cold slipped into every opening, seeking to erode all outsiders, yet its efforts came to nothing before the invisible layer of the primordial chaos domain surrounding him.
He made no deliberate effort to speed up, maintaining a pace that was almost a leisurely stroll, as though admiring this world of pure ice and snow. Unlike the savage deathly stillness of the Blood-Baleful Wasteland, the bitter cold of the Profound Ice Plains held a tranquility that seemed to cleanse the soul. Had he not come with a purpose, this would have been a fine place for secluded cultivation.
When he reached a relatively level stretch of the plains, a wondrous sight appeared ahead. Countless enormous ice pillars stood like a natural labyrinth, their crystalline surfaces refracting the cold daylight into shimmering halos of seven colors. The wind passed through the gaps between them, producing melodious notes like music from the heavens.
Ye Chen paused briefly, a flicker of surprise crossing his dual pupils. Deep within this Ice Pillar Forest, he sensed an aura entirely different from that of the Ice Soul Demon Sect. Cool and pure, it carried an inviolable sanctity, like a blue lotus blooming in the snow, standing apart from the mortal world.
Someone from the Mystic Maiden Palace? The thought stirred in his mind. According to his information, this region was already close to the Mystic Maiden Palace's sphere of influence.
Without concealing his aura, he walked straight into the Ice Pillar Forest. He had not gone far when fluctuations from clashing spiritual power reached him from ahead, mingled with sharp feminine cries and the sound of shattering ice.
After rounding several enormous ice pillars, his view suddenly opened up. In a cleared space, three slender women in moon-white Daoist robes were locked in fierce combat with a pack of hideous Ice-Plain Demon Wolves.
The demon wolves were as massive as oxen, their bodies covered in thick white fur. Their fangs and claws gleamed coldly, their eyes were blood-red, and icy-blue breath streamed from their mouths. Their auras were ferocious, with most ranging from the late golden core stage to the nascent soul early stage. Of the three women, the strongest was only at the nascent soul middle stage, while the other two were at the nascent soul early stage. They were already drenched in sweat, their robes flecked with blood and ice crystals. Clearly at a disadvantage, they were surrounded by the pack, peril closing in on every side.
The woman leading them, a nascent soul middle stage cultivator, wielded an Ice Crystal Sword. Her swordplay was nimble and flowing, trailing wisps of cold as she repeatedly deflected the wolves' lunges by a hair's breadth and protected her two junior sisters behind her. Her face was delicate and beautiful, her brows marked by resilience and resolve. Even in such danger, her eyes remained clear and steadfast.
"Senior sister! Watch your left!" one of the younger women cried. A wolf's shadow had already lunged toward their leader's flank.
The leading woman had just blocked an attack from the front. Her previous force was spent, and fresh strength had yet to gather. The wolf's claws were about to tear into her!
Just then, a calm voice rang out abruptly, breaking through the din of battle:
"Freeze."
The voice was quiet, yet it seemed to contain the will of some supreme law.
In an instant, time seemed to stop. The lunging demon wolf hung motionless in midair, frozen in its savage attack. Not only that wolf, but every snarling, leaping demon wolf around it, along with their icy breath and the ice fragments they had kicked up, became utterly still, as though sealed in amber!
Even the three Mystic Maiden Palace disciples felt their bodies tighten, as though they had sunk into an invisible mire. Their movements became unbearably slow; only their eyes could still turn as they stared in horror toward the source of the voice.
A handsome young man in black robes, bearing an air of transcendent detachment, had appeared at the edge of the battlefield without their noticing. He stood with his hands behind his back, watching them calmly. The wind and snow curved around him of their own accord, not a single flake touching his clothes.
He gently swept his sleeve.
"Disperse."
The dozens of immobilized demon wolves, together with their icy breath, seemed to be brushed away by an invisible hand. In an instant, they became the purest ice spiritual energy and dispersed into the air, leaving not even a trace behind.
The frozen space returned to normal. The three Mystic Maiden Palace disciples felt the pressure around them ease, regaining their ability to move, yet they remained rooted to the spot, staring dumbfounded at the unbelievable scene before them.
The entire pack reduced to dust in the flick of a finger? What kind of divine power was this?!
The leading woman was the first to recover. Forcing down her shock, she hurriedly sheathed her sword and bowed deeply to Ye Chen, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor. "This junior is Leng Ning, an inner disciple of the Mystic Maiden Palace. Thank you, senior, for saving our lives! May we ask your honored name? Our gratitude is boundless!" Her two junior sisters hastily followed her in bowing, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude.
Ye Chen's gaze swept over the three women, lingering briefly on the one named Leng Ning. Her foundations were solid, her sword intent pure, and her disposition was good as well. Among the younger generation of the Northern Border, she could be counted as an outstanding talent.
"I was merely passing by. There's no need for such ceremony," Ye Chen said evenly. "Why were you fighting these demon wolves here?"
Leng Ning answered respectfully, "Senior, the three of us came here under our sect's orders to gather iceheart snow lotuses. They grow only in the Cold Pool deep within this Ice Pillar Forest and are the main ingredient for refining Pureheart Pills. We unexpectedly disturbed the ice wolves guarding this place. Had you not intervened, I fear none of us would have survived today."
Her tone was sincere, her manner neither servile nor arrogant.
Ye Chen nodded. His impression of the Mystic Maiden Palace was quite favorable. Its palace master, the Ice Soul Immortal, enjoyed a reputation equal to that of the Lingyun Sword Emperor, and her disciples possessed considerable integrity as well.
"Iceheart snow lotuses..." His divine sense stirred, and he immediately detected several snow-white lotuses rich in spiritual energy gently swaying in the Cold Pool deep within the Ice Pillar Forest. "Go and gather them."
"Thank you, senior!" Leng Ning and the other two thanked him again, but did not leave immediately. After a moment's hesitation, Leng Ning spoke. "Senior, your strength reaches the heavens, but this place is already close to the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern. Not only do cultivators from our Mystic Maiden Palace and the Ice Soul Demon Sect frequent that area, but many powerful Ancient Ice Beasts also lurk there. There are even rumors of lingering elder ice souls. It is extraordinarily dangerous. If you intend to go there, please exercise the utmost caution."
She was returning a peach for a plum, repaying his kindness by telling him of the dangers she knew. Although she could not discern Ye Chen's cultivation, the fearsome reputation of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern thundered in every ear across the Northern Border. Even void insight cultivators did not dare venture deep into it lightly.
Ye Chen glanced at her and nodded slightly in acknowledgment of her goodwill. "Understood."
Without another word, he turned to leave.
"Senior, please wait!" Suddenly remembering something, Leng Ning took a jade talisman engraved with an ice lotus from her storage ring and offered it with both hands. "This is our Mystic Maiden Palace's Ice Lotus Talisman. Carrying it provides some protection against the extreme cold deep within the Profound Ice Plains. Perhaps it may be of a little help to you. I have no way to repay you for saving our lives. Please accept it!"
The Ice Lotus Talisman was difficult to craft and contained a cold-resisting formation secretly passed down within the Mystic Maiden Palace. For cultivators who did not practice ice techniques, it was indeed a rare treasure in the depths of the Profound Ice Plains. Her gesture was both repayment and an attempt to sow the seed of a favorable connection. This senior's strength was unfathomable. Establishing friendly relations with him might well benefit the Mystic Maiden Palace.
Ye Chen looked at the jade talisman emanating a gentle chill. After a moment's consideration, he accepted it without refusing. "That was thoughtful of you."
He put away the jade talisman and nodded to Leng Ning. With a single step, his figure merged into the wind and snow filling the sky and vanished.
Only long after Ye Chen had left did Leng Ning and the other two finally release long breaths, realizing that their backs were soaked in cold sweat.
"Senior sister, that senior... was terrifying! What cultivation level is he?" one junior sister asked, still shaken.
Leng Ning gazed in the direction where Ye Chen had vanished and shook her head, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and contemplation. "I couldn't see through him. But he is definitely far beyond spirit transformation... perhaps even... a legendary void insight powerhouse!"
She tightened her grip on her Ice Crystal Sword, waves surging through her heart. Why had such a figure suddenly appeared in the Northern Border? Was it for the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern? The skies over the Northern Border were likely about to change.
"Let's go. We'll gather the iceheart snow lotuses first, then return to the sect immediately and report this to the palace master!" Suppressing her thoughts, Leng Ning led her junior sisters swiftly toward the Cold Pool.
The wind and snow continued, and the Ice Pillar Forest returned to its former tranquility. Only the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy lingering in the air told of that brief, astonishing encounter.
Ye Chen toyed with the Ice Lotus Talisman in his hand, sensing the intricate cold-resisting formation within it. The corner of his mouth curled slightly.
"The Mystic Maiden Palace... has a little more sense than the Ice Soul Demon Sect."
He raised his head and looked deeper into the ice plains. There, the entrance to the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern lay like the maw of a colossal beast, hidden behind endless ice, snow, and danger.
The next fragment lay there.
Before you continue