Deep within the Heart-Chilling Cave, silence reigned.
Mike moved deliberately along the frozen basin, each step measured, careful not to disturb the pale mist curling around his feet like living smoke. The cave walls rose high, coated in layers of ancient ice that fractured faint light into broken patterns, giving the impression of a crystalline labyrinth. A low heat flowed quietly through his body, a fire that pushed back the cold pressing from every direction. Wherever frost reached, it recoiled, unwilling to cross that invisible barrier.
He stopped.
Embedded in the ice ahead was a flower. Its petals glimmered like polished glass, refracting the pale glow of the cave into delicate prisms. The cold spiraled around its stem, yet never touched it, respecting its fragile perfection.
Snow Glass Lily.
Mike crouched, fingers flickering with a faint flame. He pressed the ice at the flower's base.
Crack.
A thin fracture spread outward. The ice didn't shatter; it released. The lily slid into his palm, cold and biting through the heat, yet unharmed. He carefully stored it in his ring and continued.
Higher on the cave wall, where moonlight filtered through a crack, another flower appeared. A pale blue orchid clung sideways to ice-coated stone, its roots drinking from the frozen rock.
Frostcore Moon Orchid.
The wall beneath it was slick, treacherous. One misstep meant falling into the frozen basin below. Mike leapt, landing lightly on a narrow ridge of ice no wider than a blade. This time, he did not use fire. Instead, he pressed his palm against the stone, sending a thin stream of spiritual power into the frozen rock.
The ice loosened with a soft sigh, releasing the orchid whole, roots intact. He stored it.
Two treasures.
The cave grew colder as he approached the lake.
The Heart-Chilling Lake lay before him, its surface still and crystal clear. Beneath the frozen water, a lotus bloomed, pale silver with faint veins glowing like frozen rivers beneath moonlight.
Glacier Vein Lotus.
Mike stepped onto the ice. Instantly, the cold surged upward, savage and merciless. Flames erupted around him, wrapping him in a flowing mantle of heat. He knelt, pressing his palm against the frozen surface.
CRACK!
The ice split in a controlled circle, frost exploding outward as steam rose violently. Mike plunged his arm into the frigid water, teeth clenched, veins burning, and seized the lotus. For a brief moment, the plant's chill fought back, but he pulled it free and stored it.
Three treasures.
After sealing the flowers away, the cave returned to silence.
Without hesitation, Mike stepped forward and entered the lake. The cold bit at him, but he flowed with the water, heat from his flame pushing back the merciless chill.
Inside, Jianwu sat mid-current, cultivating. Frost gathered on her eyelashes as her aura sank into calm depths. Even from a distance, the cold energy she absorbed seemed to draw the lake itself into her grasp. Mike floated nearby, taking out the Frostcore Moon Orchid. A faint, ancient scent spread through the water.
Suddenly, the lake trembled.
A massive, invisible force pressed downward, pulling the water as if a giant hand was closing around it. Jianwu's body lurched, her balance disturbed.
Brother Mike! she shouted.
Get out of the lake. Now, he ordered, voice cutting through the rising pressure. Flames surged brighter around him.
Jianwu pushed upward using cold energy, and Mike followed. The pressure doubled, water dragging at their legs, freezing against their movement.
Then a sharp, straight line of condensed ice shot upward from the depths.
Jianwu! Mike reacted instantly, shoving her sideways with all his strength and kicking off in the opposite direction. The ice beam screamed past, pierced the surface, formed a towering spike in the air, and then collapsed back into the lake. The water trembled as if something ancient had awakened.
Jianwu regained balance and swam beside him.
That wasn't natural, she said quietly. It feels like a magical beast… or a guardian.
Mike's brows furrowed. I checked this lake earlier. No aura. No movement. Nothing.
Then realization struck him.
It allowed us, he said. It remained hidden until I exposed the spiritual flower.
Jianwu glanced at him. Brother Mike, you really read too many books.
He gave a small, strained laugh. Yeah quite a lot.
She looked back toward the lake's depths. Then… what is it?
Two possibilities, Mike said calmly. A serpent type guardian… or something closer to a dragon lineage.
Jianwu smiled faintly. Are you ready?
Mike nodded. Always. If I want to walk this world properly, danger is part of it.
Then from the white mist below, a long spiraling shadow rose. First, a narrow, flat head emerged, carved like ancient jade. Then the body followed, coil after coil, scales pure white with thin golden lines like inscriptions of old. A spined tail sliced through the water with frightening precision.
Cold pressure erupted outward. Mike's pupils shrank. Ice Heart Serpent, he muttered. It protects what's here with its life. It didn't come to warn us, it smelled greed ours.
The serpent released a low, vibrating roar. Pressure alone forced Mike and Jianwu back. Flames flared instinctively around him.
Mike clenched his fists with saying in the mind, my strength isn't enough. Flames surged around him, but his thoughts hesitated. If I use my real trump cards… Jianwu is here. I can't… but what can I do.
Brother Mike, Jianwu said, stepping forward. Stay behind me.
Mike froze. What are you doing? You can't fight this alone.
She turned slightly and looked at him calmly. Believe me, she said softly. This time, I'll protect you.
She raised her right hand and formed a seal with two fingers.
Cold as ice, she whispered.
Let the world return to silence.
Her True ice power revealed, the lake changed. Cold exploded outward, purer, sharper, and more terrifying than before. The air froze. Even with flames burning, Mike felt the cold pierce his body and forced him to use more energy.
Jianwu's aura fully unfolded.
Mike's breath stopped and says Peak Jing Ying Realm, Nine-star. So this is her real strength…
She vanished.
In the next moment, she appeared behind the serpent. Her sword had already fallen. Steel hit scale. Ice sparks exploded.
Then the serpent's tail whipped violently.
Jianwu blocked but the force slammed her into the stone wall of the lake. Blood sprayed lightly as she hit.
Jianwu! Mike shouted.
I'm fine, she said, wiping blood from her lip.
She held her sword horizontally and touched the blade with two fingers. Ice energy flowed into it, obedient and pure. The sword shone with white light. Dance, Jianwu said calmly. And end it.
She spun. Her body turned into a storm of ice, her sword at the center. The serpent twisted and tried to retreat, but the icy storm chased it, bending unnaturally.
BOOM!
The attack hit its body and sent it flying across the lake. It smashed into frozen rock and exploding ice everywhere.
Jianwu landed on the other side, breathing heavier.
The serpent rose again, injured and furious.
It opened its mouth. White icy energy gathered into a deadly point. A beam fired.
Jianwu dodged by a hair's breadth.
The beam hit the cavern wall and froze solid stone instantly.
The serpent attacked again.
Jianwu created a ice defense with spiritual energy and then icy beam struck Jianwu's spiritual barrier head-on.
Crack.
Crack.
The barrier trembled violently, layers of condensed ice fracturing under the pressure. For a few heartbeats, Jianwu endured it, teeth clenched, feet sliding backward across frozen big stone inside lake. But this was enough.
At the final instant before collapse, she stepped aside.
The barrier shattered behind her, exploding into shards of light.
Then, in a blink, the serpent's tail whipped out again, smashing into Jian Wu. Blood burst forth as she was struck and beaten back once more.
Then Jianwu straightened, her expression turning cold and absolute. I'll show you, she said calmly, voice carrying killing intent, how ice is meant to be used.