Disturbance on the Ice Plains, an Ancient Guardian, and the First Glimpse of Shadow
The bitter wind of the Far North Ice Plains was even harsher than they had imagined.
Tang San and his companions trudged through snow that rose above their knees, making their way toward the Ice Prison White Bear colony's habitat. They had rested for only three days after the celebration before setting off north-the sense of crisis conveyed by the Chaos Azure Lotus was growing stronger. As they approached the ice plains, in particular, the malice lurking in the darkness had become almost tangible.
"No wonder Dai Mubai said this place could freeze Soul Power." Oscar pulled his thick fur coat tighter and shivered. "My sausages can barely keep the cold at bay. If we go any farther north, I'm afraid I'll have trouble even using my Soul Skills."
Lin Ye circulated Golden Crow Fire, forming a warm barrier around the group. "Hang on a little longer. According to Golden Crow Perception, the white bear colony is in the ice valley ahead. But... the presence there is strange."
"Strange?" Tang San asked. Blue Silver Grass emerged silently from the snow, picking up the fluctuations of Soul Power around them.
"It's as though two forces are fighting each other." Lin Ye's brows drew tight. "One is the ice power of the Ice Plains White Bear. It's very pure. The other... is bitterly cold and carries a desire to devour everything. It's somewhat like Ghost Douluo's nether power, but much more ancient."
Xiao Wu's ears twitched, as though she had heard something. "It sounds like there's fighting up ahead."
The group quickened their pace. After crossing an ice ridge, the sight before them made their pupils shrink-
In the center of the ice valley, hundreds of Ice Plains White Bears had formed a huge circle, roaring angrily at its center. Inside, a giant bear several times the size of an ordinary white bear—clearly the colony's leader—was locked in combat with a dense mass of black mist. Pitch-black tentacles kept reaching out of the mist, and every strike drew a pained roar from the leader bear. The armor of solid ice covering its body melted at a visible rate.
More alarming still, more than a dozen white bear corpses lay scattered around the black mist. Their bodies were shriveled and stiff, as though all their life force had been drained away.
"It's a Darkness Fragment!" Tang San said in a low voice. "It's devouring the white bears' life force!"
"We have to help them!" Xiao Wu said urgently, about to rush down.
"Wait." Tang San pulled her back. "There's something wrong with that black mist. Its devouring power is far stronger than Ghost Douluo's nether power. If we approach recklessly, it'll entangle us." He looked at Lin Ye. "Can your Lotus Flame counter it?"
Lin Ye nodded. "Golden Crow Fire already counters darkness, and its purifying effect is even stronger after merging with the power of the Azure Lotus. But it's too big. I need time to build up power."
"I'll buy you some time." A fierce glint flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes. Possessed by his Nether Civet Martial Soul, he turned into a blur. "Tai Long, help me hold it off!"
"Right!" Tai Long transformed into a Great Strength Gorilla and charged through the snow toward the black mist. His massive bear paws kicked up a cloud of snow that filled the air, temporarily blocking the black mist's view.
Dai Mubai seized the chance to circle around to the side of the black mist. Soul Power gathered in his Netherworld Thrust as he struck fiercely at its core.
"Rip-"
The claws plunged into the black mist with a sound like tearing cloth. The mist churned violently, and countless tentacles suddenly swung around, whipping toward Dai Mubai.
"Look out!" Tang San's Blue Silver Grass arrived just in time, wrapping around Dai Mubai's waist and pulling him back. The tentacles struck the snow, instantly leaving pitch-black marks. The snow melted, exposing the corroded ice beneath.
"What corrosive power!" Dai Mubai's heart still pounded with lingering fear.
Just then, Lin Ye finished gathering his power. He floated in midair, the phantom of a Three-Legged Golden Crow spreading out behind him. Golden flames intertwined with the seven-colored light of the Azure Lotus, forming a massive pillar of fire. "Golden Crow: Lotus Fire Burns the Heavens!"
The pillar of fire slammed into the black mist like a falling meteor. The mist let out a shrill scream and churned violently. Its black vapors melted away in the Lotus Flame, revealing a walnut-sized black crystal inside—the core of the Darkness Fragment!
"Now!" Tang San roared. His Blue Silver Grass turned into countless spikes that stabbed precisely toward the black crystal.
"No-!"
The crystal let out a furious roar of unwillingness and suddenly burst apart, turning into countless tiny black threads that fled in all directions.
"Trying to run?" Lin Ye had prepared for this. The Lotus Flame spread instantly, forming an enormous barrier of flame that trapped every black thread inside.
The black threads battered the barrier madly, but they could not break through the Lotus Flame's defenses. At last, they vanished completely in the flames.
With the annihilation of the Darkness Fragment, even the cold in the ice valley seemed to lessen somewhat. The leader bear looked at the dissipating black mist, then at Tang San and the others. It slowly lowered its massive head and let out a deep roar-a sound of gratitude.
The white bears around it followed suit, their roars rising and falling throughout the ice valley, shaking loose showers of snow.
"They seem to be thanking us," Xiao Wu said with a smile.
Tang San stepped forward. His Blue Silver Grass gently touched the leader bear's paw, conveying a friendly presence. "We mean no harm. We only want to know where that black mist came from."
The leader bear seemed to understand him. It raised its head and roared twice toward the depths of the ice valley.
"It says the black mist came from the Forgotten Ice Cave at the end of the ice plains," Lin Ye translated. Golden Crow Perception could pick up the fluctuations in a Soul Beast's emotions, and by combining that with the tone of its roars, he could roughly understand its meaning. "That place is a forbidden area of the ice plains, where an ancient evil is sealed. Recently, the seal has weakened for some unknown reason."
"The Forgotten Ice Cave?" Tang San frowned slightly. "What's sealed inside?"
A flicker of fear crossed the leader bear's eyes. It shook its head, as though it dared not recall it. Scraping at the snow with its paw, it drew a crooked picture-something like a giant serpent with nine heads.
"A nine-headed serpent?" Dai Mubai said in surprise. "Could it be the legendary Nine-Headed Ice Serpent?"
"Legend has it that the Nine-Headed Ice Serpent was an ancient Ferocious Beast of the Far North Ice Plains. It lived by devouring souls and was sealed in the ice cave by Soul Masters of antiquity." Oscar took out the Record of Continental Wonders, which he carried with him, and turned to a page. "The book says each of its heads represents a negative emotion. Once they all awaken, it can devour the souls of the entire continent."
Tang San looked at the picture in the snow, and the sense of crisis rose in his heart once more. "The black mist is probably power leaking from the Nine-Headed Ice Serpent. If the seal really has weakened, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"Then should we go take a look?" Xiao Wu asked.
The leader bear seemed to understand. It hurriedly shook its head and let out a warning roar toward the depths of the ice valley, while patting the ground with its paw to indicate that the place was dangerous.
"It says the Forgotten Ice Cave doesn't just contain the Nine-Headed Ice Serpent. There's also a guardian," Lin Ye explained. "The guardian is very powerful, but something seems to have gone wrong with it recently too. It no longer stops the evil from leaking out."
"A guardian?"
The leader bear nodded and drew another picture in the snow-this time, an ice figure holding a giant axe.
"It's an Ice Soul Giant!" Oscar pointed at an illustration in the book. "Legend has it that Ice Soul Giants were guardians created by Soul Masters of antiquity using the core power of the ice plains. Their strength rivals that of a Titled Douluo, and they've guarded the seal in the Forgotten Ice Cave for generations."
Tang San pondered for a moment. "No matter what, we have to go take a look. If the Nine-Headed Ice Serpent's seal really has weakened and we leave it alone, not only will the ice plains suffer, but the entire continent will be in danger."
Lin Ye nodded in agreement. "And the consciousness of the Chaos Azure Lotus is also urging us toward the ice cave, as though something there is attracting it."
Seeing that they were determined to go, the leader bear let out a helpless growl. It turned and dragged a crystal-clear block of ice out of an ice cave. A blue bead was frozen inside, giving off pure ice power.
"Is this... the Heart of the Ice Plains?" Oscar exclaimed. "The book says it was formed from the condensed core energy of the ice plains. It can withstand any ice attack and even amplify ice-attribute Soul Skills!"
The leader bear pushed the Heart of the Ice Plains in front of Tang San and roared once more toward the depths of the ice valley, as if to say, "Take it. It might help."
Tang San solemnly accepted the Heart of the Ice Plains and bowed deeply to the leader bear. "Thank you. We'll find a way to reinforce the seal and keep the evil from harming the ice plains again."
The leader bear gave a low growl in response.
After bidding the white bear colony farewell, the group set off for the Forgotten Ice Cave at the end of the ice plains. The Heart of the Ice Plains truly was miraculous. With it in hand, the cold around them vanished instantly, and even the circulation of their Soul Power became smoother.
The closer they came to the ice cave, the thicker the bitterly cold presence in the air became. The Chaos Azure Lotus trembled gently inside Tang San, as though sensing something.
"The Forgotten Ice Cave is up ahead." Lin Ye stopped and pointed at a vast valley in the distance, covered in ice and snow. Two ice sculptures stood at its entrance, the very Ice Soul Giants the leader bear had described. But... a strange red light flickered in their eyes.
"Something's wrong." Tang San's Blue Silver Grass lay pressed tightly against the ground. "The Ice Soul Giants' Soul Power fluctuations are chaotic, as though they're being controlled."
No sooner had he spoken than the two Ice Soul Giants suddenly moved! They pulled the giant axes from the ground and walked toward Tang San and the others, each step making the earth shake violently. The red light in their eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"There really is something wrong!" Dai Mubai readied himself for battle. "It looks like the guardians really have been affected."
Tang San gripped the Heart of the Ice Plains, feeling the pure power within it. "They were created by the ice plains' core. Perhaps the Heart of the Ice Plains can awaken them. Lin Ye, prepare your Lotus Flame. If I fail, use the flames to purify the evil inside them!"
"Understood!"
Tang San took a deep breath and walked toward the Ice Soul Giants, the Heart of the Ice Plains in his hand radiating a soft blue light. He did not know that, in the deepest reaches of the Forgotten Ice Cave, a Ferocious Beast that had slumbered for ten thousand years was slowly opening its first head, its eyes gleaming with greed.
A new battle was about to begin in the ice plains' forbidden area. And this time, what they faced might be an existence more ancient and more terrifying than the Spirit Hall.