Somewhere in the Northern Region,
The sky was pale gray. Snow drifted endlessly through the air like cold feathers. Frozen mountains pierced the horizon like white spears, and the cold wind howled through the peaks, carrying a biting chill.
A ripple in space appeared above one of those icy mountains. A tear formed in the void, and Shen Yi stepped out slowly, his black robe fluttering lightly in the blizzard wind.
He looked around, his eyes narrowing slightly as he observed the landscape below... endless snowfields and jagged cliffs covered with ice.
"Is this the Ice Valley territory?" he muttered, his breath forming a faint mist.
He spread his spiritual consciousness outward. Like invisible threads, his perception stretched across the frozen land, going through mountains, glaciers, and hidden caverns.
In mere seconds, his awareness covered thousands of miles. Deep in the northern direction, he sensed an enormous energy barrier... cold, refined, and ancient.
"Found it." His eyes gleamed faintly. "The Ice Valley… four Early Dou Zuns, one Middle Dou Zun." He chuckled softly. "It's indeed them."
He looked down toward the horizon, where a faint bluish glow marked the entrance of the valley.
"Let's see," he said, his tone growing calmer, "if they still enjoy stealing special bodies from others. I've heard their elders take over the bodies of talented practitioners, seizing their abilities while destroying the original soul."
A faint smile appeared on his lips... a dangerous, almost playful expression.
"Perhaps this time, they'll find themselves interested in the wrong person. Also, it will announce my arrival in this central continent if a valley is annihilated overnight."
With that, his figure blurred. A faint ripple twisted the space where he stood, and the next moment he vanished.
He reappeared a few miles away from the valley entrance, his energy suppressed to that of a late Dou Emperor, unremarkable and harmless. His eyes, however, shimmered faintly with gray-gold lightning as he looked at the great icy fortress ahead.
Far in the distance, the snowstorm howled stronger, as though sensing the arrival of something beyond understanding.
…
He silently walked through the snowfield towards a tall ice gate. It looked like a mountain of frozen crystal, with old frost symbols that glowed softly with spiritual light.
Two guards stood at the entrance, dressed in white fur and silver armor, their spears crackling with frost energy. When they saw him approaching, their eyes narrowed sharply.
"Stop! This is the sacred land of Ice Valley. Outsiders are not allowed!" one guard shouted, raising his spear. His voice was muffled by the swirling wind.
Shen Yi stopped a few steps away, a faint hum of lightning under his skin keeping his physique warm in such low temperature.
"I've come to join Ice Valley," he said calmly. "I have a special physique… one that your Ice Valley might be interested in."
The guards looked at each other cautiously. One of them scoffed. "Every fool who comes into this snowfield says the same thing. Do you think we'll believe that without proof?"
Shen Yi's eyes flickered; faint gray lightning danced in his pupils. "Proof?" he said softly.
The next moment, a spark of thunder burst under his feet, melting the ice for dozens of meters around. The frost energy that had been freezing the air instinctively pulled back, as if afraid of being destroyed.
The two guards froze, their Dou Qi trembling. The king-level Dou Qi inside their bodies shrank as if it sensed the horror and pressure of the behemoth.
"Th-this… Dou Emperor," one stammered, unable to speak. He even felt cold as his ice Dou Qi was rendered useless.
"Take me to your Chief," Shen Yi said simply.
They hesitated, but the strong pressure from him left no room for argument. One of them swallowed and nodded stiffly. "Y-yes, please follow us."
The gates slowly opened, and the cold air inside was even more suffocating. The guards led him through hallways of solid ice where spiritual energy swirled like mist. Sculptures of frost dragons lined the walls, their eyes glowing faintly blue.
Shen Yi looked at each one, sensing the faint remains of human souls sealed inside. His expression didn't change.
After several minutes, they arrived at a huge ice hall. The guards bowed. "Chief is inside… please wait."
The doors opened, releasing a rush of chilling mist. Shen Yi stepped inside calmly, ignoring the guards staying outside.
The hall was enormous, carved from a single mountain of glacial jade. In its center was a round platform of clear crystal, surrounded by about six elders in white robes. Their eyes were cold, ancient, and calculating.
On the central throne sat a young-looking figure, Bing He, current chief of Ice River Valley... a four-star Dou Venerate, his power sharp as a blade of frozen steel.
There were two old men standing on both sides of him, each of them with a one-star Dou Zun aura. An organization with few Dou Zun made the Ice River Valley stronger than four pavilions in the Central Plains.
The chief's eyes swept over Shen Yi. After sensing no special constitution aura from his physique except his Dou Emperor level strength, his brow furrowed.
"A Dou Emperor dares to lie… wants to join our Ice Valley claiming a special physique?" His voice was cold, full of disbelief.
"Do you even understand where you are?"
"Ice Valley," Shen Yi replied calmly. "I heard that Ice Valley is looking for people with special constitution in order to recruit them… that's why I am here."
The elders were startled, and their brows furrowed, looking at each other. Then Elder Tian Shuang Zi on the right asked with furrowed brows, "Your body, then. What is it?"
Shen Yi slowly raised his hand; Dou Qi surged out from his dantian, and at that moment, the air trembled.
Golden lightning flickered around his arm, then turned blue, cyan, red, green, black, white, then finally gray… the colors changing endlessly like living storms.
The frost symbols carved into the ice walls quivered. Cracks appeared on the floor as the elemental energy distorted the temperature of the entire hall.
...
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