The moment you step into the Far North Ice Cavern, even the cold wind seems to freeze. Unlike the frigid Ice Soul Flower Valley, the air here carries a strange "stagnation"—with each step, the ice beneath your feet makes a subtle "clicking" sound, as if you are stepping on shattered fragments of time and space; the cave walls are not covered with ordinary ice ridges, but are covered with twisted "light patterns," within which blurry images occasionally flash: people dressed in ancient clothing are forging stone tablets, a huge torrent of energy breaks through the seal, and a tall figure embraces the black energy.
"This is no ordinary ice cave." Loran gripped the Spirit Soul Flower tightly in his hand, its petals suddenly trembling violently, and tiny warning symbols appeared within the pale blue halo. " Spirit Soul Flower sensed wasn't 'turbid energy malice,' but... fear?"
Lei Lin suddenly stopped, his Golden Crystal Power surging rapidly—he transformed into human form, the ice particles on his black hair falling off due to the tremors of his spiritual core, his golden eyes fixed on the depths of the ice cave. "The energy inside is strange, possessing both the chilling cold of turbid energy and the warmth of protective energy." Before he finished speaking, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the end of the ice cave, and a giant about three zhang tall emerged from the shadows: his entire body was covered in black ice crystals, beneath which faint golden light patterns could be seen, and his eyes were two flickering black flames—it was the " Black Ice Giant."
But the giant didn't attack; instead, he took a step back. Blackfire stared at the Origin Key in Loran's hand, his voice hoarse like crushed ice. "The Key... A descendant of the Ice Spirit Clan?"
"You're the culprit who polluted Ice Soul Flower Valley?" A Mu immediately raised the New Sprout Sword, its Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern glowing orange, but Loran suddenly grabbed his wrist—her Origin Key was emitting a soft blue light, resonating with the golden patterns beneath the giant's ice crystals. "Wait, he doesn't seem to be planning anything."
The giant silently raised his hand, and a cracked black crystal tablet appeared in his palm. The inscription on the tablet was similar to the ancient script of the Crystal-Word Ruins, but even more ancient. A Shi quickly took out paper and pen and rapidly copied the inscription, his fingertips trembling with excitement. "This is the 'Ancient Sealing Script'! It says, 'Space-time rift, turbid energy leaks out, use your body as a shield, suppress it for ten thousand years'—he's not releasing turbid energy, he's using his body to suppress the rift!"
The truth was revealed at that moment. As the giant recounted his story, everyone finally understood: a thousand years ago, the ancient Ice Spirit Clan, in their exploration of "inter-domain energy," conducted experiments in the Far North Ice Cavern, but accidentally opened a "space-time rift"—the "primordial turbid energy" gushing from the rift would devour the life force of the continent. To prevent the disaster, the guardian at the time (the predecessor of the Black Ice Giant ) bound his own spiritual core to the rift, using his body as a seal. The turbid energy surrounding him was actually primordial turbid energy seeping from the rift, not his own. The pollution of Ice Soul Flower Valley was caused by the recent anomalies in the rift, which exacerbated the leakage of turbid energy.
"The rift is becoming increasingly unstable, and my spirit core is about to give way." The giant's black fire eyes dimmed slightly, and a small crack appeared on his ice-crystal-covered chest. "The key you possess is the 'activation key' that sealed the rift back then. Only it can temporarily stabilize the rift and find a way to repair it."
However, disagreements arose within the team. A Mu frowned, the orange light at the tip of his sword still gleaming. "Who knows if what he said is true? What if he's trying to trick us into opening the rift?" A Ya nodded hesitantly, the Symbiotic Fiber in her hand taut. "We've seen the devastation in Ice Soul Flower Valley; we can't easily trust him."