The sky was ablaze with fire, and burning branches were everywhere.
Huang Liang felt as if he had entered a fiery inferno, like setting a huge fire in the Amazon rainforest or the eucalyptus forests of the East China Sea of Australia.
Itjenetjer's expression was solemn, the Soul of Ice in his hand held upright in front of him, and he chanted incantations. A large amount of Mental Power surged from the void, condensing into layers of ice around him, which turned into a hazy white mist when it touched the burning heat around him.
The fog thickened, and snowflakes even began to fall from the sky.
This is a very peculiar sight.
The snowflakes danced in the air, landing on the burning branches and sticking there, but they weren't melted by the fire, only hissing and emitting white smoke. Meanwhile, the fire on the tree didn't go out; instead, the flames intensified, as if what fell into the fire wasn't snow, but oil.
Branches and leaves burned to ashes in the fire, turning into a rain of fire that fell from the sky, creating a striking contrast with the snowflakes in the air, transforming the world into two different realms: one of fire and one of snow.
Huang Liang was already feeling unwell from the smoke from the fire, and then he was assaulted by the chill of the heavy snow. Although he knew that these were memories of hot and cold awakened by the power of his spirit, the amplified sensation of alternating hot and cold was truly agonizing.
He was a little worried, after all, this was an ice field, and according to Hong Kui's previous judgment, this place should be near the North Magnetic Pole of the Elizabeth Islands. Of course, it was also possible that they had already reached another void world by taking that Heavenly Road.
In this icy wasteland, the power of cold is boundless. And the only thing Qingmu can rely on, besides his own power, is probably the nine Sun in the sky that appeared out of nowhere.
Through the gaps in the snowflakes and fire rain, Huang Liang looked up and saw the nine Sun, like nine fireballs hanging on a tree branch. Eight of them hung in the eight outer directions, connected to the burning branches, like a burning spider web.
There's another one hanging on the middle treetop, which looks slightly different.
Upon closer inspection, he could vaguely see a black dot inside the fireball in the center, moving around like a fledgling bird about to hatch.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the firelight grew fiercer. He felt unbearably cold all over, yet also intensely hot. Gradually, his body stiffened, and his vision began to blur.
Just as he expected, the power of ice and snow was boundless, as if firefighters were extinguishing fires from the air in helicopters, and the fires in many places began to subside.
The flames on some branches finally went out, leaving only scorched, withered branches, and large swathes of the forest dimmed. Only the trunk of that great tree continued to burn fiercely, desperately resisting the endless stream of icy and frigid air from the void.
Itjenetjer, however, dared not relax for a moment. He remained tense, holding the Soul of Ice high, his eyes fixed on the enormous fire tree.
He seemed to have the advantage of timing and location, with the upper hand completely in his favor, but he was unable to completely overwhelm his opponent.
He could suppress the flames, but he could not suppress the power of life.
As soon as one branch is burned out or another breaks off, a new branch quickly grows out from the main stem.
This life force is unique to the Soul of Wood.
This is the most fundamental spiritual quality that constitutes life, extracted from Gaia Consciousness. It is precisely because of this spiritual quality that life can continue to thrive and multiply.
The life force of the wood fueled the momentum of the fire, greatly strengthening the power of the half- Soul of Fire, which was originally difficult to resist the complete Soul of Ice. Even though Itjenetjer had the advantage of timing and location, the fire tree could still stubbornly resist the snow and ice in this icy world.
The forces of ice and fire remained locked in a stalemate.
Suddenly, a large black bird emerged from the Sun atop the treetop. Its body was enveloped in golden flames. It spread its wings and took flight with a whoosh, landing on a cold branch in the distance. Flames ignited from its feet, quickly spreading to ignite the entire branch.
It flapped its wings and flew away, golden flames splashing everywhere with it.
It was like a flowing fireball, a Sun that darted about everywhere. Wherever it went, the previously extinguished forests burst into flames again, and the raging flames burned once more to the horizon.
Itjenetjer was focused on suppressing Qingmu and had no energy left to deal with the Fiery Golden Crow. He could only watch helplessly as the crow destroyed the gains he had just made.
Before long, all the extinguished fire trees in the forest reignited.
The snow had just fallen when the golden crow flew in. It completely made up for the original weakness of fire.
At the moment when they reached a balance, the Fiery Golden Crow suddenly let out two Guagua cries and pounced on Itjenetjer.
Itjenetjer saw a huge golden fireball, as big as the Sun, hurtling towards him. He dared not underestimate it and quickly focused his attention, condensing an ice ball of the same size at the tip of the Soul of Ice.
But in that moment of distraction, the stalemate in the fire forest changed.
As the pressure eased, the giant mulberry tree unleashed its power, which had been confined within its trunk. Countless enormous branches twisted and grew, coiling around Itjenetjer's body like fiery pythons.
Itjenetjer was taken aback. With a wave of his Soul of Ice, the ice ball exploded, freezing all the vines and tendrils that were wrapped around him. Then, with a shake of his body, he shattered them, which fell to the ground.
However, at that moment he couldn't care less about the fireball that was being thrown at him.
The fireball struck him like a supernova exploding in the absolute zero of the frigid space. The flames and rays cooled instantly in the low temperature, eventually turning into a burst of icy mist.
Itjenetjer appeared to be unharmed.
But he stood there stiffly, motionless, only looking down at his own chest.
A small light flashed across his chest. Then the light grew larger and larger, forming a hole of light in his chest.
A Crow flew out of the hole of light, Guagua. In its claws lay a heart as black as its feathers.
Itjenetjer stretched out its withered claws and reached for the Crow, trying to retrieve its heart and put it back into its chest.
However, the Crow had already flown away quickly, throwing the black heart into the raging fire.
The Soul of Ice clattered to the ground.
The fire and rain subsided, the wind and snow stopped, and everything returned to its original state.
On this tranquil ice field, the air is clear and cloudless, with only nine strange Sun still hanging high in the sky.
Qingmu stood quietly, like a pine tree rooted in an iceberg. His trench coat fluttered gently in the breeze blowing across the icy plain.
The Crow cawed and landed on Qingmu's head.
A Guagua echoed from the distant glaciers and canyons.
Itjenetjer clutched his chest and slowly collapsed. His body rapidly withered, turning into a shriveled, black the Mummy.