Core Detonation and Survival from Desperation

Fleeting Life, Dreaming's footsteps echoed through the deathly silent ice chamber like the beat of a funeral drum. Behind him, Drunken Spring Breeze's members spread out, vaguely forming an encirclement that sealed off every possible escape route for Su Yan. World Crusher flexed his wrists with a savage grin, dangerous light gathering once more at the tip of Boundless Dharma Sea's staff. Several unfamiliar players also drew their weapons, their auras locked onto Su Yan.

Su Yan knelt on one knee, cradling the unconscious Little Big Dipper in his arms. Blood still stained the corner of his mouth, and he appeared to be at the end of his strength. Yet his gaze was exceptionally calm, his mind racing through distances, angles, and every detail of that insane plan.

"What? Still thinking of making a last desperate struggle?" Fleeting Life, Dreaming stopped ten paces away from Su Yan, lightly waving his Jade Bone Fan with the teasing tone of a cat toying with a mouse. "Don't waste your effort. Hand over the Compass and the bug, then tell us how to control that core. Maybe I'll consider only killing you down to level ten and leaving you a way out." He pointed at the Ice Flame Core on the altar, still unstable but now flashing with a faint silver star within.

Su Yan did not answer. His gaze seemed to drift over the altar, over the unconscious Wind and Snow Pavilion members around them, before finally returning to Fleeting Life, Dreaming's face. With difficulty, he pulled his lips into a mocking curve. "Control the core? You people... think you're worthy?"

Before his words had even faded, he seemed to exhaust his last bit of strength and suddenly hurled the unconscious Little Big Dipper toward the altar! At the same time, his left hand, concealed within his sleeve, sent out a talisman he had just secretly completed at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. Its structure was wildly unstable, and it flickered with a dangerous red glow. It was not an orthodox Mount Fangcun talisman, but a temporary creation based on his understanding of "data anomalies," intended to trigger a violent energy clash—the [Turbulence Talisman]. It shot toward the darkly contaminated region of the Ice Flame Core!

"Seeking death!" Fleeting Life, Dreaming's expression changed. He thought Su Yan intended to sacrifice Little Big Dipper for something. A player beside him wielding a longbow immediately drew and loosed an arrow at Little Big Dipper in midair!

But Su Yan had never intended to use Little Big Dipper for anything. Throwing it had merely been a decoy to draw attention! His true killing move was that inconspicuous [Turbulence Talisman]!

Just as the arrow was about to strike Little Big Dipper, the red [Turbulence Talisman] touched the Ice Flame Core's dark region first!

Bzzzz—!!!

Like a ladle of cold water splashed into boiling oil, the Ice Flame Core abruptly froze for an instant, then erupted into an energy storm far more terrifying and chaotic than the previous shockwave!

Within the core, its fragile balance was completely shattered! The suppressed Dark Energy surged back like floodwaters bursting through a dam, while the pure Iceflame power and the tiny purifying silver star left behind by Little Big Dipper became the final embankment, resisting with all their might! Two—no, three—entirely opposing energies underwent a devastating sympathetic detonation around the core!

"Not good! Retreat!" The triumph on Fleeting Life, Dreaming's face instantly turned to horror. He screamed and tried to pull back, but it was already too late!

Rumble—!!!

An indescribable roar shook the entire mountain interior! The altar was the first to turn to dust. Then, a raging torrent of energy expanded outward faster than sound, like a tangible ring of destruction! Wherever it passed, space twisted, and the ice walls were torn apart, shattered, and vaporized like paper!

The first to bear the brunt were Drunken Spring Breeze's members nearest the altar. The archer did not even have time to scream before turning into a streak of white light beneath the blinding radiance. World Crusher and Boundless Dharma Sea only had time to reveal despair before they too were swallowed by the energy. A thick golden shield suddenly flared around Fleeting Life, Dreaming's body—clearly a precious life-saving item—but beneath the destructive Energy Impact, the shield burst like a soap bubble. His entire body was hurled away like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the collapsing ice wall behind him. Whether he lived or died was unknown. None of the other Drunken Spring Breeze members escaped either. Every last one perished in the explosion.

The instant Su Yan fired the [Turbulence Talisman], he activated the Compass with his last thread of Spiritual Power! The Compass, now restored to 25%, blazed with silver light and formed a thin protective barrier infused with a certain power of "order." It enveloped both him and Little Big Dipper, whom he had deliberately thrown toward a relatively sheltered corner, away from the explosion's central impact.

At the same time, the spot where he had previously fallen happened to be behind a massive half-collapsed ice pillar. The pillar weakened the shockwave to some extent.

Even so, the destructive energy aftershock still slammed viciously into the Compass's barrier and the ice pillar!

Crack! The Compass's barrier shattered instantly. Su Yan felt as though an iceberg had smashed into him head-on. Every bone in his body seemed ready to come apart. His vision went black, blood burst from his mouth, and he completely lost consciousness. In the last instant before his mind sank into darkness, he seemed to see a point of intertwined icy blue and silver-white light shoot toward him from the center of the explosion like a meteor...

After an unknown amount of time, Su Yan awoke in a violent coughing fit. Every inch of him hurt, as if he had been crushed to pieces and barely put back together. He found himself buried beneath half-melted ice shards and rocks. The Compass had fallen beside his hand, its light dim, as though it had been excessively drained. Little Big Dipper was still unconscious, curled up in his arms. Its breathing was weak, but the star markings on its body continued to stubbornly glimmer.

He struggled out of the ruins and looked around, his heart still filled with lingering fear.

More than half of the enormous ice chamber had completely collapsed. The place where the altar had stood had become a bottomless pit, its walls smooth and still carrying a terrifying aura of energy. Collapsed ice and rocks lay everywhere. The once-crystalline ice cavern was now a chaotic mess, like the ruins of the apocalypse.

The Wind and Snow Pavilion members had also been buried in different places. Enduring the pain, Su Yan relied on memory and faint perception to dig them out of the rubble one by one. Fortunately, although they were all badly injured and unconscious, barely clinging to life, they seemed to have preserved their lives through their own means at the final moment. They had not been directly devoured by the blast, nor completely buried by the subsequent collapse.

Su Yan distributed his meager remaining Advanced Wound Medicine among them and fed one to Little Big Dipper. He swallowed medicine himself, sat cross-legged on the ground, and barely circulated the Star Qi Drawing Art, guiding the medicinal power to repair his nearly depleted meridians and wounded body.

After a long while, Snowfall Without Trace was the first to awaken. He coughed up several mouthfuls of clotted blood mixed with ice chips. Looking at the devastation around them, his eyes were full of shock and lingering fear. He looked toward Su Yan, who was regulating his breath, and spoke hoarsely. "Su... Brother Su... what... happened just now?"

Soon after, Ocean's Smile, Talisman to Stabilize the Universe, and the others gradually woke as well, each wearing the expression of someone who had narrowly survived disaster.

Su Yan slowly opened his eyes and briefly explained what had happened. He omitted the details about the Compass protecting him and the self-created [Turbulence Talisman], saying only that Little Big Dipper's purification seemed to have destabilized the core, ultimately causing the explosion. Drunken Spring Breeze had borne the brunt and been wiped out.

"Detonated the Ice Flame Core..." Talisman to Stabilize the Universe drew in a sharp breath. Looking at the enormous pit, his face was full of disbelief. "That power... was far too terrifying. Fleeting Life, Dreaming and the others... are they really all..."

"They should be," Su Yan nodded. "They were too close. Unless they had some heaven-defying life-saving method, it would have been difficult to survive."

The group fell silent. They felt a trace of satisfaction at Drunken Spring Breeze's destruction, but their hearts also trembled at such devastating power.

"This time, we have Brother Su and your Sea Hairy Caterpillar to thank." Snowfall Without Trace solemnly cupped his fist toward Su Yan. "If not for you two, we would likely have died at Drunken Spring Breeze's hands long ago, or been completely corrupted by that core. Wind and Snow Pavilion will remember this debt!"

The other members also looked at Su Yan with gratitude. After this ordeal, Su Yan's standing in their hearts had completely changed. No one looked down on him for his low level anymore.

"You're all too polite. We were simply in the same boat," Su Yan said with a wave of his hand. He was more concerned about something else. His gaze swept across the ruins, as though searching for something.

At that moment, Little Big Dipper stirred in his arms. It let out a faint groan and slowly opened its eyes. Its gaze was somewhat unfocused, but when it saw Su Yan, it immediately rubbed affectionately against his palm.

"You're awake? How do you feel?" Su Yan hurriedly checked its condition.

Little Big Dipper shook its head. It still seemed weak, but its spirits were clearly recovering. It struggled free from Su Yan's embrace and jumped to the ground. Then, as if sensing something, it ran toward a nearby pile of ice fragments that glimmered faintly.

It pawed aside the ice chips, picked something up from within them, and ran back to Su Yan as if presenting treasure.

It was an irregular crystal fragment about the size of a fingernail. One half was a deep icy blue, with what seemed like a cold current flowing inside; the other half was pure silver-white, radiating a gentle yet steadfast purifying aura of the Same Origin as Little Big Dipper's star markings. The two colors were not distinctly separated, but slowly swirled and merged like a nebula, forming a harmonious and mysterious whole.

[Heart of the Ice Flame Shard (Pure)] (Special Item/Legendary Material)

Description: A fragment condensed from the most fundamental and purest portion of an ancient Ice Flame Core during its sympathetic energy detonation, fused with mysterious "purifying" power. It contains exceptionally pure ice-element laws and a trace of the origin of "order." It can be used as a top-grade forging material, an alchemy ingredient, or a key for special quests. Status: Stable.

Su Yan accepted the tiny crystal and immediately felt the vast yet gentle power contained within it. It was as different from the previous violent, chaotic core as heaven from earth! This was likely the greatest—and only tangible—gain from this adventure!

The Wind and Snow Pavilion members gathered around as well. Gazing at the magnificent crystal, all of them revealed looks of amazement.

"This... is this a fragment of the Ice Flame Core? It actually became so... pure?" Floating Clouds exclaimed.

"It seems the trace of 'purifying' power Little Big Dipper left behind protected this most fundamental portion during the explosion and fused with it," Talisman to Stabilize the Universe analyzed, looking at Little Big Dipper with even greater astonishment.

Snowfall Without Trace looked at the fragment, then at Su Yan and Little Big Dipper, before laughing heartily. "Brother Su, this item was fated to come to you, so it should naturally belong to you. This mission may have destroyed the ruins, but we got to know Brother Su, discovered the source of this place's anomaly, and dealt with the trouble called Drunken Spring Breeze. This journey has already been worthwhile."

Su Yan did not stand on ceremony. He truly needed to strengthen himself now, and this fragment might prove tremendously useful. "In that case, I'll gladly accept it. Thank you, everyone."

He carefully put away the fragment. The Compass seemed to sense it as well, sending a faint feeling of longing, but Su Yan did not intend to feed it to the Compass for now. This item might have a more important use.

The group searched through the ruins a while longer and found some decent equipment and materials dropped by Drunken Spring Breeze's members. They counted as additional spoils, which Snowfall Without Trace distributed fairly, giving Su Yan a share as well.

After resting and confirming that there was nothing else to gain, the party began the difficult journey back along the route they had taken in. The Ice Flame Palace ruins had essentially been destroyed, and the purpose of their expedition had been barely fulfilled.

Once they left the collapsed glacial gorge and breathed the frigid air of the Northern Continent of Jizhou again, everyone felt as though they had been reborn.

"Brother Su, what are your plans from here?" Snowfall Without Trace asked.

Su Yan looked into the distance, feeling the lingering ache of his injuries and the urgent need to raise his level. "I need to find somewhere safe to rest and recover for a while, then improve my strength. Surviving this time was truly a matter of insufficient strength."

Snowfall Without Trace nodded in understanding. "Indeed. If Brother Su doesn't mind, you can return to Wind and Snow Pavilion's base with us and stay there temporarily. It's relatively safe, and we have all kinds of cultivation facilities."

After a brief hesitation, Su Yan shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, Brother Snowfall. But I'm used to traveling alone, and I also have some personal matters to handle." He did not want to become entirely dependent on any faction too early. Besides, he had too many secrets, and acting alone was more convenient.

Snowfall Without Trace did not press him. He handed over a token engraved with a wind-and-snow pattern. "In that case, we won't force you. This is Wind and Snow Pavilion's guest elder token. If Brother Su ever needs anything, you can use it to seek help from Wind and Snow Pavilion or send a message. We still have some influence in the Northern Continent of Jizhou."

"Thank you!" Su Yan accepted the token. This was undoubtedly a weighty favor.

The two sides parted ways. Watching the Wind and Snow Pavilion team vanish into the wind and snow, Su Yan held Little Big Dipper, which had regained much of its energy and was curiously looking around, and let out a long breath.

This journey through the Northern Continent of Jizhou had been a narrow escape from death, but the gains had also been immense. The Compass's restoration had increased, he had obtained the precious [Heart of the Ice Flame Shard], established a good relationship with Wind and Snow Pavilion, dealt with Drunken Spring Breeze's pursuers, and, more importantly, confirmed and enhanced Little Big Dipper's abilities. He himself had also gained a deeper understanding of power at the edge of life and death.

"It's time to go back." Su Yan stroked Little Big Dipper's head. "First, recover from these injuries, and then... it's time to think about how to raise my level and strength as quickly as possible."

He glanced southward, where a broader world surely lay hidden with even more secrets and dangers. But before that, he needed a safe base of his own. Perhaps it was time to return to Jianye City and take a look—or find a more suitable place to begin planning his next step.

Improving his strength was urgent.