Chapter 38 – Beneath the Frozen Soil
The mountains surrounding Frostbane Gorge loomed like blackened fangs tearing into the pale sky. The air was so cold it burned, the ground littered with frozen bones of beasts and failed cultivators who dared to tread too far.
Tian Yuan stood at the edge, white hair whipping in the violent winds. His golden eyes scanned the jagged abyss below where thick mist curled like living serpents.
The old Hoe on his back vibrated faintly, resonating with the power hidden deep within.
"The sixth relic… this soil has been dead for too long," he murmured softly.
Inside his mind, the other voice chuckled—deep, mocking.
"Dead soil doesn't need saving. It needs purging."
Tian Yuan ignored Xiao Tianmie's words and stepped forward. His boots crunched against black ice as he descended into the gorge, each step leaving faint golden prints as if the soil beneath still remembered life.
The Dead Gorge Awakens
The deeper he went, the more suffocating the air became. Whispering voices rose from the walls, clawing at his mind:
"Soilkeeper… Betrayer… Riftbreaker…"
The words were not merely echoes; they felt alive, thick with hatred. His golden aura flared gently, warding them away, but his jaw tightened.
Finally, the mist ahead thickened unnaturally, swirling into a humanoid shape.
A massive figure emerged—an ancient guardian of frost and bone, its body cracking as it moved, glowing veins of dark-blue light snaking across its chest.
Its hollow voice boomed:
"You dare step onto this cursed soil again… Riftbreaker."
Tian Yuan's calm gaze didn't waver. "I am not him."
The guardian's icy jaw cracked into something resembling a smile.
"You are him. Same root, same destruction."
The guardian raised a clawed hand, frost spiraling around it. The gorge trembled as frozen spears formed mid-air.
The Battle of Ice and Soil
The guardian struck first. A hail of spears shot toward him, tearing the mist apart.
Tian Yuan planted the Hoe into the ground. Golden roots burst through the frost, weaving a living shield that deflected most of the spears. But one pierced through, grazing his cheek and freezing the skin instantly.
Xiao Tianmie's voice growled in his head:
"You're holding back. Pathetic. Let me take over."
Tian Yuan clenched his jaw, his calm voice steady even in the chaos. "No. This soil can still grow. I won't destroy what can be saved."
The guardian roared, slamming its claw into the ground. Frost spread rapidly, freezing even his golden vines.
Tian Yuan's golden eyes narrowed.
The Balance Awakens
As the guardian lunged again, something in Tian Yuan shifted. His calm golden aura flickered—and a crimson hue bled into it.
For the first time, the farmer and the god moved together.
One of his eyes glowed crimson, the other golden. His aura twisted—a terrifying harmony of life and death.
The soil beneath cracked open violently as crimson-tipped golden roots erupted from the ground, wrapping around the guardian like living chains.
The guardian struggled, its frozen body cracking under the weight of the mixed power.
Tian Yuan stepped forward, his merged aura pressing down on the gorge like a divine storm. His voice, layered with his own and Xiao Tianmie's, resonated through the air:
"This soil will live again, whether you want it or not."
He swung the Hoe once. The roots tightened, pulsing with divine energy. The guardian let out a final, echoing scream as its body shattered into icy mist, dissolving into the air.
The Relic of Eternal Roots
The ground beneath him trembled, and from the cracked ice, a soft light rose—a dark-blue orb pulsing gently like a sleeping heart.
Tian Yuan reached out, his aura softening as he held it. The orb's cold energy seeped into his hand, but instead of freezing, tiny green sprouts pushed through the frost around him.
The Sixth Relic – The Frozen Root of Eternity had accepted him.
He stared at it for a long moment, the crimson in his eye slowly fading.
Xiao Tianmie's voice hummed darkly.
"Six relics… one left. Are you ready to see what happens when we gather them all, Farmer?"
Tian Yuan's fingers tightened around the relic, his golden eye reflecting the sprouting life around him.
"I don't care what happens. I only care that this soil grows."
Without another word, he turned and walked back through the gorge. Behind him, the once-dead frost cracked and shifted—tiny blades of grass pushing through for the first time in centuries.
The whispers of hatred were gone, replaced by a strange, soft silence.
End of Chapter 38