"But judging from this, the seal has malfunctioned," Lin Hao said calmly. "The caster either exhausted themselves halfway through or was interfered with by external forces, resulting in an incomplete seal. Everyone fell into Eternal slumber, their souls gradually dissipating over time, and now they have completely vanished."
He looked up into the depths of the Ice God Palace: "However, there should still be living creatures."
"Living creature?"
"Hmm, a faint but definitely present life force is lurking deep within the palace." Lin Hao strode towards the palace. "Follow me, be careful, something's not right here."
Snow Empress quickly followed.
The two stepped onto the stairs and headed towards the main gate of the palace.
"Squeak--"
The heavy ice door was pushed open, and an even stronger sense of history rushed out.
The hall was incredibly spacious, with four ice pillars supporting the dome. The floor was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the figures of the two people. Directly in front of them was a statue of an Ice Emperor, seated high on a jade platform, looking down below.
Three figures were kneeling beneath the statue.
Although they were also Ice Seal, unlike the disciples outside, these three ice sculptures contained faint fluctuations of divine souls.
"These are... the last three elders of the Ice God Palace?" The Snow Empress recognized the clothing features of one of them.
Lin Hao walked up to an ice sculpture and flicked his finger.
"Click."
A crack appeared on the surface of the ice sculpture, which quickly spread and turned into a spider web.
"Bang!"
The ice sculpture shattered, revealing an old woman in white inside.
The old woman's eyes were tightly closed, her face as pale as paper, and her breath was extremely weak, like a candle flickering in the wind. But her chest was still rising and falling slightly.
He's still alive.
"Hmm..."
The old woman let out a soft moan, her eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened them.
Those were cloudy eyes, filled with confusion, but soon the confusion dissipated, turning into terror.
"Who... who are you?!" She struggled to get up, but after being frozen for tens of thousands of years, her body was already stiff and her Spiritual Power was exhausted. As soon as she moved, she fell to the ground.
The Snow Empress stepped forward, supported her, and channeled a Lunar Power into her.
As the gentle Lunar Power entered her body, the old woman's pale complexion regained some color, and her breathing stabilized somewhat. She looked at the Snow Empress with suspicion, then at Lin Hao: "You... aren't from the Ice God Palace... how long has it been in the outside world?"
"It has been 30,000 years since the Ice God Palace closed its gates," Lin Hao said calmly.
"Thirty... thirty thousand years..." The old woman murmured, as if struck by lightning, "It's already... thirty thousand years... then the Palace Master..."
She suddenly became agitated, grabbing Snow Empress's hand. "Where is the Palace Master? Where is the Ice Emperor Ancestor? Did they... did they succeed?"
Snow Empress looked at Lin Hao.
Lin Hao walked up to the Ice Emperor statue and placed his hand on the base of the statue.
"Buzz--"
The statue trembled slightly, and a complex array of patterns appeared on its surface. At the center of the array, there was a palm print.
"It requires the essence and blood of a true successor of the Ice God Palace to activate." Lin Hao withdrew his hand and looked at the Snow Empress. "Your master should be the only successor of the Ice God Palace in this generation, right?"
Snow Empress nodded. "My master once said that she was the personal disciple of the 362nd generation Palace Master of the Ice God Palace, but due to the great upheaval 30,000 years ago, she was traveling abroad and was unable to return. By the time she returned, the Ice God Palace had been completely sealed off. She exhausted her lifespan and was unable to open the mountain gate, and finally passed away on the edge of the Northern Plains, leaving her legacy to me."
As she spoke, she bit her fingertip, and a drop of crystal-clear blood seeped out, exuding a rich Yin energy.
"The blood of Taiyin... indeed..." The old woman stared at the drop of blood, tears welling in her eyes. "Is this fate...? The Ice God Palace... has finally found its successor..."
Snow Empress dripped blood into the indentation of her palm print.
"Buzz--"
Blood seeped into the array patterns, spreading rapidly, and the entire statue burst forth with a dazzling icy blue light.
"Click, click..."
Cracks appeared on the surface of the statue, and ice chips fell down in a flurry.
"Boom!"
The statue exploded completely, revealing a downward-facing ice staircase.
Deep within the icy steps, a Youyou blue light emanated, and at the same time, an indescribable chill, mixed with an ancient, weathered, and even... a hint of madness, spread out.
"This is..." Snow Empress's pupils contracted.
"The true secret of the Ice God Palace lies below." Lin Hao stepped down the ice steps first.
Snow Empress, supporting the old woman, followed closely behind.
The ice steps were long and winding downwards, as if leading to the earth's core. Murals began to appear on the ice walls on both sides, but the content of these murals was completely different from that outside.
It was no longer a time of praise and celebration, but rather... a disaster.
In the murals, the Ice God Palace was magnificent and prosperous, with countless cultivators coming to pay homage. But one day, the sky cracked open, and a gigantic hand, Shrouding the Heavens the heavens, descended, striking the Ice God Palace. The Ice Emperor soared into the sky to fight back, but ultimately was no match, his blood staining the heavens. Then, the Ice God Palace activated its grand formation, sealing itself beneath the glacier, while the owner of the gigantic hand lingered above the icy plains for a long time before finally departing...
"What is that...?" Snow Empress's voice trembled.
Even though it was just a mural, that giant hand made her tremble with fear, as if she were facing the might of heaven.
" Supreme." Lin Hao uttered two words.
" Supreme?" Snow Empress asked, puzzled.
" Ancient Supreme who severed himself, an existence within Life Forbidden Zone," Lin Hao said calmly. "It seems that 30,000 years ago, a Forbidden Zone Supreme set his sights on something within the Ice God Palace. The Ice Emperor fought desperately but was ultimately defeated and had no choice but to seal the mountain. But judging from this, that Supreme did not succeed, otherwise the Ice God Palace would have been wiped out long ago."
The old woman stammered, "It was... it was the ' Supreme Xuanming ' of ' Burial Heaven Island '... He wanted to seize the treasure of my Ice God Palace —the ' Ice Emperor's Heart '... The Ice Emperor Ancestor fought desperately, sealing the entire sect with the ' Mystic Ice Soul Seal Sealing' technique, and burying himself and the Ice Emperor's Heart deep within the ' Ice Tomb ', awaiting a destined person in the future..."
" The Ice Emperor's Heart?" Snow Empress looked at Lin Hao.
" The Ice Emperor's Source Emperor Heart contains his life's Dao Fruit; if obtained, it can extend one's imperial destiny for Lifetime lifetime," Lin Hao said. "For Supreme being who has severed himself, it is an irresistible temptation."
As they talked, the three of them reached the end of the ice steps.
Before me lay a massive Ice Tomb.
The tomb chamber is circular, measuring a thousand feet in circumference, with a high dome inlaid with countless luminous pearls, as dazzling as the starry sky. In the center of the tomb chamber, there is no coffin, only an ice platform.
On the ice platform, a figure sat cross-legged.
It was a woman, dressed in white, with flowing black hair and an unparalleled beauty, like a fairy from the moon palace. Her eyes were slightly closed, her expression serene, as if she were simply asleep.
But there was no sign of life in her.
Where her heart was, a long, icy blue sword was embedded, its blade piercing through her heart and pinning her to the ice platform. At the hilt was a fist-sized, crystal-clear icy blue crystal, which was now emitting a faint light, flickering like a heartbeat.
"Ancestor Ice Emperor..." The old woman knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Snow Empress stared blankly at the figure. She could feel that the icy blue crystals on the sword resonated strongly with her Taiyin Physique.