The Northern Icefield is located even further north than the Northern Snowfield. There, instead of year-round snow, there stretches a thousand years of unmelting ice. Layer upon layer, the icy mountains stretch for nearly a million miles, stretching as far as the eye can see. Furthermore, extremely powerful demonic beasts roam the icefield. Even the most powerful cultivators will exercise extreme caution upon entering the Northern Icefield, refusing to disturb the behemoths unless absolutely necessary.
However, everywhere, danger and wealth coexist, and the two are directly proportional. The icefield's numerous dangers also mean mountains of wealth. It's a place not accessible to mortals, and similarly, the wealth there is beyond the reach of mortals.
Ming Qi had heard many legends about the icefield, even claiming that behind the icefield, there was a vast expanse extending all the way to a place called the Natural Chasm. It seemed that the world's powerful and capable could only explore as far as the Natural Chasm. Beyond that, no records, not even legends, existed. For this reason, throughout history, the chasm behind the icefield has been called the end of the world.
Behind the snowfield lies the icefield, and behind the icefield lies the chasm.
The majestic North Pole City lies nestled in the Silver Valley, just south of the snowfield. Spanning a hundred miles in radius, North Pole City houses nearly ten million northern residents, one-tenth of whom serve as soldiers under the command of North Pole City's lord, Situ Jian.
Situ Jian, the powerful lord of the north, holds an exceptionally high reputation within the Tianhuang world and is known as the Northern Guardian of the Central Land. This is largely due to the fact that for nearly a century, Situ Jian has consistently kept the notoriously ferocious and brutal snowfield barbarians and their demonic beasts out of the Central Land, preventing them from even setting foot in the prosperous region.
Defending the north, Situ Jian is a true hero of the time, but his approach to family and state governance leaves Ming Qi with little regard.
There's an old saying that wealth doesn't last for more than three generations. This infers that heroes, whether they're heroes or tyrants, will never outlive their success. Each generation is inevitably inferior to the previous one. This is evident from the behavior of the dandy young men in Arctic City.
Ming Qi's plan for this northern trip is to confront Situ Jian if his words fail to translate. Therefore, he must raise Slaughter God Dolls to compensate for his own lack of strength. To raise Slaughter God Dolls, he must either obtain the blood of a sufficient number of powerful individuals or find a legendary crystal mine to forge hundreds or even thousands of Slaughter God Dolls, overwhelming them with sheer numbers.
Finding a legendary crystal mine is nearly impossible, so Ming Qi changed his itinerary, temporarily bypassing Arctic City and exploring the ice fields to hunt powerful barbarians or powerful monsters. He wouldn't raise a Slaughter God Doll to the point of slaying immortals and gods, but at least to the point where he could rival an emperor-level powerhouse. This would ensure a foolproof outcome.
Ming Qi's lineup this time was truly formidable. Of the four Emperor Realm powerhouses, Ming Qi naturally couldn't be measured by common sense. Xing Yun also possessed strength beyond that of cultivators of the same realm. While Lu Ji and Ye Yuancheng's combat power was somewhat inferior to Ming Qi and Xing Yun's, they were both genuine Martial Emperors. Furthermore, Chang Kong had already reached the peak of the Holy Spirit Realm, equivalent to a peak Martial Saint for humans, and his combat power should not be underestimated.
As for Da Hei and Yue Dongqing, Ming Qi had brought them here purely for show; if a real battle broke out, they wouldn't be able to participate.
However, a battle against barbarians or demonic beasts would provide them with training.
Ming Qi had already roughly guessed about Yue Dongqing's sudden appearance, but since Yue Dongqing hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't reveal it. Furthermore, Yue Dongqing possessed considerable talent. If the North God awakened and the stele space was activated, she could cultivate within it for a period of time, and she would surely achieve a significant breakthrough. Alternatively, if there were another opportunity to enter the Star Domain, she could be brought along.
The snowfield was bitterly cold, and the icefield was even more terrifying. The group had barely set foot on the icefield when Yue Dongqing and Dahei, who had lower cultivation, began to feel the torment of the icy chill. Fortunately, Ming Qi, an Emperor-level expert specializing in flame power, was there, bestowing a ray of flame power upon each of them, largely offsetting the effects of the freezing cold.
The icefield was a world of ice, a single color at first glance. However, what surprised everyone was that a wide variety of vegetation also grew on it. These plants all matched the color of the glacier and appeared vibrant. Many small monsters even fed on these plants.
"Haha, this is my favorite place!"
The most excited person upon arriving on the icefield was Ice Emperor Ye Yuancheng. He had dedicated all his cultivation to the power of ice. Once in a place with abundant icy energy, he felt like a fish in water.
So, upon entering the icefield, Ye Yuancheng excitedly led the way, exploring here and there.
"Hey, wait!"
After a few days, the monsters encountered on the road grew increasingly powerful, even reaching the level of a Heavenly King Realm monster. However, Ming Qi only had Yue Dongqing and Dahei take the initiative in a few battles, but both were unable to withstand the attacks of the Heavenly King Realm ice-attributed monsters and were defeated.
Just then, Ye Yuancheng seemed to have discovered something valuable. He suddenly stared at the ice beneath his feet and began circling back and forth.
"What is it?"
Seeing Ye Yuancheng's eyes light up, Ming Qi grew curious and approached him.
"God-level material! There must be god-level Ice Spirit Stone underneath!"
"Ice Spirit Stone?"
Ming Qi searched his memory and remembered seeing these things in the Future Star Palace. He had even cut off a few pieces himself.
But since he had come across Ice Spirit Stone here, he couldn't let it go.
"Then open it and take a look."
Ming Qi pointed to the ground, then said to the others, "Take this opportunity to rest."
Ye Yuancheng nodded and immediately unleashed his magical powers. In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire ground had been completely turned upside down. After digging several hundred meters, he finally discovered a fist-sized round crystal amidst the countless layers of solid ice.
"That's it!"
Ye Yuancheng excitedly took out the Ice Spirit Stone, cradling it in his hands like a treasure.
Seeing Ye Yuancheng's delight, Ming Qi couldn't help but criticize him, saying, "Don't be so excited. You're going to use this Ice Spirit Stone to hit someone in a fight?"
Hearing this, Ye Yuancheng became somewhat discouraged. He quickly understood the complexity of the situation. Even if he had divine-level materials, without the prerequisites, he naturally couldn't refine anything. Throwing such divine-level materials out there wouldn't even kill a Xiantian cultivator.
Of course, this was a joke. To forge a divine weapon, one naturally needs a peerless furnace and a skilled refiner. These alone are only the most basic requirements. So, even if Ye Yuancheng obtained the Ice Spirit Stone, he would still be far from creating a divine weapon.
Just like Xing Yun, despite possessing sufficient Miracle Stones and possessing a unique refining secret, he still couldn't forge a divine weapon. This shows that the creation of a divine weapon is far more complex than simply refining.
"Alright, pack up and let's keep going."
Ming Qi's target was the Martial Emperor-level demon and the barbarian Martial Emperor-level expert, so they had to keep moving.
However, not long into their journey, the sky suddenly darkened, like before a summer downpour. Looking up, they saw a sudden flash of lightning and thunder in the distant sky. Amidst the dark clouds of thunder and lightning, a gigantic ice throne, a hundred feet tall, slowly rose from the horizon!