The two walked on the snow under the moonlight toward the glacial mountain range.
After walking for about half an hour, the outline of the mountain range became clearer and clearer. The surface of the glacier shimmered with a deep blue luster under the moonlight, like a huge gemstone inlaid in the earth.
The wind had almost stopped here, and the only sounds were the crunching of the snow underfoot and the even breathing of the two people.
Feng Xiaotian walked ahead, his gaze fixed on the direction of the mountains. He could feel the heat in his chest growing stronger, and the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf was restless within him, as if being repeatedly pulled by something.
"Don't you feel..." He started to speak, but before he could finish, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
In the snow-covered depression ahead, there was a series of huge claw prints. Each claw print was the size of a washbasin, deeply embedded in the snow and ice, with a thin layer of blue ice crystals covering the edges, as if the claws carried some kind of extremely cold power that had frozen the surrounding snow.
Shui Bing'er also saw it. She walked over and squatted down next to the claw mark, gently pressing her finger on the layer of ice crystals. The moment her fingertip touched it, she paused slightly. "This is the claw mark of an ice-attribute Soul Beast, and... it's very pure."
Feng Xiaotian frowned. "How pure?"
"Slightly inferior to my Ultimate Ice, but far surpassing ordinary ice-attribute Soul Beast." Shui Bing'er stood up and looked in the direction of the claw marks—which stretched all the way to the side of the glacier mountain range—"It's at least a hundred thousand years old."
One hundred thousand years.
Feng Xiaotian didn't waste any words and said directly, "Go around it."
The two immediately changed direction, attempting to go around the mountain from the other side. But less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Feng Xiaotian stopped again—there was another series of claw marks on the snow ahead, almost coinciding with their current route.
"Is it on patrol?" Shui Bing'er whispered.
"It doesn't seem like it." Feng Xiaotian crouched down and examined the claw marks carefully. "Patrol routes wouldn't be so concentrated. These claw marks have been moving back and forth in the same area... It's guarding something."
The two exchanged a glance and both thought of the same possibility—that the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was the Guardian of this glacial mountain range.
Just then, a deep, long howl came from the direction of the mountains, causing the snow beneath their feet to tremble slightly.
That wasn't an ordinary beast roar; it contained a chilling pressure that felt like a weight pressing directly on one's soul.
Feng Xiaotian's expression changed. He could feel the Soul Power fluctuations contained in that voice—pure, profound, and vast—that were simply beyond what their level could withstand.
"Let's go!" He grabbed Shui Bing'er's wrist and turned to run towards the ice mound to the side.
But it was too late.
A colossal figure rose into the air from the side of the glacial mountain range, its wingspan obscuring the moonlight and casting a deep shadow.
It was a colossal dragon covered in ice-blue scales, larger than any Soul Beast Feng Xiaotian had ever seen. Its vertical pupils gleamed with a chilling light, locking onto their location.
It is Frost Dragon, Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Without much thought, Feng Xiaotian tapped the ground with his toes, and the Soul Power of the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf erupted instantly. The azure light enveloped Shui Bing'er as they retreated rapidly.
But the next second, the Frost Dragon opened its mouth and spewed out a cloud of icy blue breath, freezing the air in its path into tiny ice crystals, as if the entire space had been put on pause.
"Get out of the way!" Feng Xiaotian pushed Shui Bing'er to the side, and then used the force of the wind to roll to the other side.
The icy breath grazed his shoulder, and even though he wasn't hit head-on, the extreme cold aftershocks instantly made his right arm go numb.
Shui Bing'er landed and immediately steadied herself, her body suddenly glowing with an icy blue aura. She quickly formed hand seals, and an ice wall condensed in front of her, but the Frost Dragon merely flicked its tail, and the ice wall shattered into countless ice shards as if it were made of paper.
"We can't beat them." Feng Xiaotian gritted his teeth and stood up, his right arm still numb. He knew he couldn't fight head-on. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. On the side of the glacier mountain range, there was a large rock wall covered with ice and snow. At the bottom of the rock wall, there was an inconspicuous crack—not very wide, but a person could probably squeeze in sideways.
He immediately used his Soul Power to transmit his voice directly into Shui Bing'er's ears. "See that crack on the side? You create ice mist, and I'll use wind to help you widen it, blocking the Frost Dragon's view. Then run along the rock wall and crawl inside."
Shui Bing'er didn't turn around to look at him, but simply nodded very slightly.
The next second, she clasped her hands together, and the Ultimate Ice suddenly erupted, with countless ice crystal particles instantly condensing into a thick ice mist.
At the same time, Feng Xiaotian pushed out with his palm, and a cyan vortex carrying icy mist swept forward and spread—
The wind amplified the ice's momentum, and the ice, in turn, borrowed the wind's power. The ice mist, which originally only covered a small area, was instantly expanded into a massive white barrier, obscuring the entire vision of the Frost Dragon.
The Frost Dragon let out a deep roar, its wings flapping violently in an attempt to dispel the icy mist.
But Feng Xiaotian's wind continued to push the ice fog forward, and newly condensed ice crystals kept replenishing it, forming a brief but solid visual barrier.
Feng Xiaotian grabbed Shui Bing'er's wrist. "Now!"
The two ran at full speed along the rock wall, their bodies almost skimming the ice as they slid into the crevice.
The entrance to the crevice was narrow, but once inside, it opened up into a passage covered by ice, stretching downwards at an unknown distance.
The Frost Dragon lingered outside the crevice for a while, then lowered its massive head, its vertical pupils approaching the opening. Its cold gaze swept across the darkness within, and finally let out a low, unwilling roar before turning and flying back into the depths of the mountain range.
The two leaned against the icy wall of the passage, panting heavily. Feng Xiaotian's right arm had regained some feeling, but the entire arm was still blue from the cold.
Shui Bing'er glanced at him, then placed her hand on his arm. The Soul Power of the Ultimate Ice slowly circulated, drawing out the remaining cold energy from Feng Xiaotian's body.
"You reacted quite quickly." Shui Bing'er withdrew her hand, her tone calm, but her eyes held a hint of barely perceptible approval.
"You cooperated well too." Feng Xiaotian moved his right arm, which had regained feeling, and smiled. "Our cooperation was barely passable."
Shui Bing'er didn't respond to his words, her gaze passing over him and landing deeper in the passage. There, a faint light flickered in the darkness, as if something was waiting for them.
"Did you feel it?" she asked.
Feng Xiaotian stopped laughing, turned around, and followed her gaze. The heat in his chest surged again, stronger than ever before.
"I can feel it," he said. "It's inside."
The two stopped talking and walked one after the other along the ice-covered passage toward the ray of light.
As they ventured deeper into the passage, the ice overhead gradually transformed into rock walls, and blurry engravings began to appear on the ice surfaces on either side, resembling some kind of ancient runes, faintly visible in the dim light.
Feng Xiaotian raised his hand and touched one of the engravings. His fingertips felt a warm sensation—deep in the glacier, where the temperature was tens of degrees below zero, the engraving was actually warm.
"This is..." He subconsciously looked down and kicked a protruding Shitou.
The sound of the rolling Shitou echoed through the passage, and after hitting the distant ice wall, it produced a sound that froze him in place—a sound like the tolling of a bell.
A long, ancient chime, echoing through the ages.
At this moment Feng Xiaotian's Martial Soul completely lost control. The Gale Twin-Headed Wolf roared within his body, and the power that had been subtly drawing him in finally became clear—it was at the end of the passage.
He unconsciously quickened his pace.