The deeper he ventured into the Profound Ice Plains, the harsher the surroundings became. The blizzard no longer consisted of drifting snowflakes, but had condensed into ice knives and frost swords that slashed madly through the void. The cold formed white mist visible to the naked eye. An ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator's protective spiritual radiance would likely crack from the frost before long. An icy, deathly silence seemingly born in the primordial age filled heaven and earth, as though even time had frozen.
Ye Chen's steps remained steady. The Ice Lotus Talisman in his palm gave off a gentle chill, striking a subtle balance with the extreme cold around him. Yet he did not rely on it. The Primordial Chaos Purple Qi circulated on its own, keeping all the bitter cold outside his body.
After he entered this central region, the resonance between the Nameless Fragment and the Black Iron Piece tucked against his chest intensified again, even more strongly than it had in the Demon-Burying Abyss. Their scorching heat seeped through his robes, pointing him in a definite direction.
Several days later, a breathtaking sight appeared before him.
It was neither a simple mountain range nor a glacier, but an endless expanse of ruins piled from countless enormous blocks of ice. These blocks were not transparent, but a deep, shadowy blue, as though the ages themselves had frozen within them. They tilted and overlapped at all manner of impossible angles, forming countless passages, fissures, and cavities, like an immense frozen labyrinth. This was the outer region of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern—the Ice-Burial Bone Sea.
Even before stepping inside, he felt a tremor rising from the depths of his soul. The cold here was no longer merely a low temperature. It also contained powerful, chaotic remnants of will, as though countless mighty beings had fallen here, their resentment and unwillingness eternally sealed in ice to create this eerie forbidden realm.
The fragment's final destination lay in the deepest reaches of this Ice-Burial Bone Sea.
Ye Chen stood at the edge of the Bone Sea, chaotic halos swirling within his Dual Pupils. His gaze pierced layer upon layer of deep-blue ice crystals, revealing the intricate structures within and the many powerful presences lurking in the shadows. There were ancient ice beasts comparable to Spirit Transformation cultivators, ice fiends born from extreme cold and resentment, and even ancient remains that had been frozen for untold years yet still radiated dangerous fluctuations.
"Not a bad place to lay one's bones." Ye Chen spoke softly, without the slightest fear in his voice. Instead, there was a hint of scrutiny and appraisal. He could sense that the spatial structure deep within the Profound Ice Cavern was likewise unstable, even stranger than that of the Demon-Burying Abyss, and faintly showed signs of becoming independent of the outside world.
He was about to enter this labyrinth of ice when he suddenly sensed something and turned his gaze behind him to one side.
Amid the distant blizzard, a blood-red streak of light was hurtling through the air at tremendous speed. Its undisguised, savage, bloody aura was utterly at odds with this pristine world of ice and snow—the unmistakable hallmark of the Blood Demon Sect. It seemed that after Xue Li's report reached them, the Blood Demon Sect had refused to give up and sent someone stronger instead.
Almost simultaneously, an imposing, domineering aura carrying a piercing icy chill rapidly approached from another direction. Its might far surpassed Jin Wu's, making it clear that a true expert of the Sacred Emperor Palace had arrived.
Ye Chen stopped and stood with his hands behind his back, quietly awaiting their arrival. He wanted to see what other tricks these two great factions could muster.
A few breaths later, two figures landed almost simultaneously at the edge of the Ice-Burial Bone Sea, forming a triangular standoff with Ye Chen.
The one approaching from the Blood Demon Sect's direction was an old man dressed in dark-red blood robes. His face was withered and his eye sockets sunken, yet his eyes resembled two churning pools of blood, emitting a sinister gleam that seized the soul. The Blood Fiend Qi surrounding him had condensed to near solidity, faintly forming the phantom of a surging blood sea behind him. His aura had actually reached early Void Insight! He was one of the Blood Demon Sect's elders who wielded real authority—the Blood River Ancestor!
The one approaching from the Sacred Emperor Palace's direction was a middle-aged general clad in golden armor adorned with coiling dragons. His face was stern, and his gaze was like ice frozen for ten thousand years. He did not radiate an especially terrifying presence, yet the moment he stood there, the surrounding ice and snow seemed to submit to him, and even space faintly flowed around him as its center. His cultivation had likewise reached early Void Insight! He was one of the three great divine generals guarding the Sacred Emperor Palace's Northern Border frontier—the Iceedge Divine General!
Two mighty Void Insight cultivators!
Figures like these were giants standing at the apex of the Primordial World's pyramid, usually as elusive as divine dragons whose heads appeared but whose tails remained unseen. Yet now, because of Ye Chen alone, both had appeared here at once!
The Blood River Ancestor fixed his scarlet eyes on Ye Chen, his hoarse voice sounding like the cries of a night owl. "Brat, you're that Ye Chen? You killed disciples of my Blood Demon Sect and destroyed my Bone-Eroding Shadows. What audacity you have!" As he spoke, the phantom blood sea behind him surged, releasing a nauseating stench of blood.
The Iceedge Divine General's gaze was cold, scraping across Ye Chen like two ice swords. "Ye Chen, your origins are unknown. You trespassed into the Northern Border, injured an envoy of my Sacred Emperor Palace, and have dealings with the fiends of the Blood Demon Sect. Your intentions alone warrant execution! Surrender at once and follow me back to the Sacred Emperor Palace for questioning, and your life may yet be spared!"
Both men spoke aggressively. Though they were astonished and suspicious that Ye Chen had so easily dealt with the earlier ambush, as mighty Void Insight cultivators, they had their own pride and confidence. In their eyes, no matter how strong Ye Chen was, he remained a young junior of unknown origins. Could he really overturn the heavens?
Looking at the two menacing Void Insight experts before him, Ye Chen suddenly smiled. It was a faint smile, yet it carried the indifference of someone looking down upon ants.
"Questioning? Spare my life?" He gently shook his head, as though he had heard something utterly ridiculous. "You think you're capable of that?"
His gaze swept over the Blood River Ancestor and the Iceedge Divine General. His voice was calm, yet held unparalleled dominance:
"Why should I, Ye Chen, explain my actions to you?"
"I will enter this Profound Ice Cavern."
"I will take what lies inside."
"Whoever blocks me dies."
"That includes you."
The instant his words fell, the aura Ye Chen had kept restrained suddenly stirred awake by the slightest fraction, like a slumbering primordial beast!
Though it was only a fraction, it seemed to stir the laws of heaven and earth throughout the entire region! The ten-thousand-year-old profound ice beneath his feet let out a strained crack, countless fissures spreading across it! The howling blizzard abruptly stopped, as though frozen by an invisible force! A terrifying pressure that towered above all creation, seemingly commanding the birth and destruction of the cosmos, spread outward like a tide!
The phantom blood sea behind the Blood River Ancestor shook violently, letting out piercing wails as though it had encountered its natural predator! His own expression changed drastically. As though an invisible giant hammer had struck his chest, he grunted and involuntarily staggered half a step backward, his eyes filled with boundless horror!
The icy domain around the Iceedge Divine General instantly shattered as well. Before that faint trace of Ye Chen's aura, the chill that seemed capable of freezing souls rapidly melted like snow beneath a blazing sun! Disbelief appeared on his resolute face for the first time. His clenched fists turned white at the knuckles, and his body trembled slightly with an instinctive fear born of the disparity between their very levels of existence!
At that moment, their arrogance and contempt were crushed to dust!
They finally understood that the young man before them was no junior they could manipulate at will! He was far more terrifying than they had imagined! That faint trace of his aura had already touched a realm beyond their comprehension!
Looking at their utterly horrified expressions, Ye Chen slowly withdrew the trace of aura he had released. The surrounding phenomena instantly subsided, as though everything that had just happened was an illusion.
Yet the chill in his words cut deeper than the winds that had swept these Profound Ice Plains for ten thousand years:
"Now, get lost."
"Or die."
The Blood River Ancestor and the Iceedge Divine General turned deathly pale, cold sweat instantly soaking the backs of their clothes. They exchanged a glance, each seeing profound fear and the urge to retreat in the other's eyes.
Against an existence they could neither comprehend nor resist, sect missions and a divine general's dignity meant nothing compared to their lives!
"We... leave!" The Blood River Ancestor forced the words through his teeth, turned into a streak of blood-colored light, and fled in panic without looking back, several times faster than he had arrived.
The Iceedge Divine General likewise gave Ye Chen a long look, as though trying to engrave his appearance into the depths of his soul. Then, without a word, his figure merged into the blizzard and vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the two mighty Void Insight cultivators who had arrived so aggressively fled like dogs driven from their homes, not even daring to leave a single threat behind.
Ye Chen stood alone before the Ice-Burial Bone Sea, his black robes snapping in the wind and snow.
He gazed calmly toward the deep-blue labyrinth of ice, as though he had merely chased away two annoying flies.
"Peace and quiet at last."
He took a step forward, and his figure disappeared into the danger-ridden labyrinth built from countless blocks of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.
Ice-Burial Bone Sea, Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern, here I come.
Before you continue