Li Yan stood motionless in the cave. After five breaths, his aura finally stabilized at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Three breaths later, it plummeted back down to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm at an incredible speed.
'So this is the effect of the Melting Bamboo Shoot? Just a thin sliver allowed me to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment in five breaths and maintain it for three. This is equivalent to the temporary boost achieved by self-harming methods that squeeze out one's potential. And within those eight breaths, my Spirit Power circulation speed increased by at least twenty to forty percent. Afterward, my meridians are completely undamaged.' Li Yan savored the momentary surge in power. After carefully inspecting his meridians, he found no signs of swelling, soreness, or rupture. This brought a joy that even the ever-calm Li Yan could not contain.
If he used the Melting Bamboo Shoot to execute the Five Elements Return to Primordial Genesis, just a single sliver could grant him the power of the Pseudo-Core Realm for a short time. He believed that with the support of the Melting Bamboo Shoot, he could maintain that state indefinitely. But no one would use a heavenly material like this in such a way, and of course, neither would Li Yan. This was equivalent to giving himself multiple life-saving opportunities, chances that an ordinary person could only dream of. And Li Yan truly possessed them.
For a moment, Li Yan's emotions churned, and he stood stunned on the ice throne. A long time passed before he slowly regained his composure. Looking at the two-inch-long, milky-white object in his hand, some of the previously clueless questions now had some plausible answers. This might be the solution, or at least a close guess.
'The origin of that fake 'Melting Bamboo Shoot' is truly unknown. But given how similar it is in length and size to this real one, they must have been obtained by the same person. It was definitely not this Snow Sprite Lord. The person who acquired these items must have had extraordinary supernatural powers. This ice throne was likely also left by him. But if this powerful person was a cultivator, the probability is pitifully small. No cultivator would be willing to leave both a real and a fake 'Melting Bamboo Shoot' in the Melting Cave, especially since the fake one is also a formidable weapon. The fact that he could seal it means he could subdue the mysterious entity within the ice block. And the aura of the ice throne itself belongs to this land; it's not a foreign object. It's unlikely a cultivator, after obtaining both items, would have the leisure to carve an ice throne here, hide the real one inside, and then leave it behind. That's a ridiculous joke.'
Li Yan first ruled out the possibility that the ice throne was left by a cultivator who had previously entered the Melting Cave.
Since the ice throne wasn't left by a past cultivator, Li Yan considered another possibility.
'Perhaps the one who obtained the real and fake 'Melting Bamboo Shoots' was a demonic beast from the Melting Cave. But there shouldn't be such a powerful demonic beast on the first level. This place has been explored by countless cultivators, and the highest level found is only the peak of the second-tier, which is merely equivalent to the Pseudo-Core Realm for a cultivator. It wouldn't even count as a mid-level cultivator. It would have been completely unable to seal or subdue the fake 'Melting Bamboo Shoot.' In that case, there are only two possibilities: First, the real and fake 'Melting Bamboo Shoots' were deliberately left by the person who refined the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda . He then hid the real one in the ice throne carved with an ice phoenix. For a cultivator who could reshape the world with a wave of his hand, these things were useless. Perhaps he did it on a whim, casually placed them in the pagoda, and forgot about them afterward. This would explain the appearance of an ice phoenix carving in the Melting Cave. The other possibility is that this Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda was originally a breeding ground for Vicious Souls. In the distant past, there may have been many, many Vicious Souls on the first level. They possessed memories from their former lives, so it's normal that they would know what phoenixes and dragons look like. Perhaps there was once such a powerful Vicious Soul here. After obtaining the real 'Melting Bamboo Shoot,' it couldn't use it because it was a soul body, but it knew of its rarity. At the same time, it subdued another powerful Vicious Soul, transformed it into the shape of a 'Melting Bamboo Shoot,' sealed it, and placed it in plain sight. As for why, perhaps it was a Vicious Soul full of resentment, wanting to use this item to claim the lives of cultivators who entered the pagoda, to satisfy its desire for revenge. Then, it dreamed of one day being able to leave, seize a physical body, and use the real 'Melting Bamboo Shoot.' So, relying on its memory, it hid the item inside the ice throne carved with an ice phoenix.' Li Yan thought to himself.
Li Yan quickly came up with two possibilities. 'Either of the two scenarios above could have led to today's result. Perhaps the creator of the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda truly forgot and left these items behind. Or perhaps that powerful Vicious Soul was ultimately unable to escape the pagoda and was refined here, leaving behind the real and fake 'Melting Bamboo Shoots.' After the passage of time, this Snow Sprite Lord obtained both items, but it might have only known about the fake one. So even though it had developed meridians, it never used the real 'Melting Bamboo Shoot.' At the same time, it sensed the terror of the object hidden within the fake one and decided to keep it as a major weapon. The real 'Melting Bamboo Shoot,' however, has been right under its nose all this time, undiscovered. The ice throne isn't transparent. The crystalline ice reflects light, making it difficult to notice a small branch at the ice phoenix's feet. But why did the Snow Mosquitoes react that way?'
Li Yan pondered for a long time. He could only speculate that the senses of the Snow Mosquitoes were different from other demonic beasts. They were able to sense the differing icy auras in different regions of the massive ice throne. And demonic beasts themselves have a strict hierarchy. Powerful beasts occupy areas with dense Spirit Qi, while weaker ones take secondary positions. This resulted in the staggered distribution of Snow Mosquitoes on the ice throne, which in turn revealed the shape of the Melting Bamboo Shoot.
The world is vast and full of wonders; some things are simply inexplicable. It was like a certain spirit bird demonic beast. Its intelligence was only just awakened, like that of a four or five-year-old child, and it could only ever be a level one demonic beast for its entire life. Yet, it possessed a natural talent: an unusually keen sense for places with Spirit Qi. Even Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivators might not be as sensitive to Spirit Qi as it was. Thus, it was often released by cultivators to find treasures or places with dense Spirit Qi to establish a cave residence. Beyond that, the beast was useless.
Li Yan lamented how his casual act of collecting the Snow Mosquitoes into the Earth-Spot had brought him this immense benefit before he had even left the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda .
Although he had guessed at some outcomes, these were still just Li Yan's speculations. He then turned his gaze back to the massive ice throne. At this moment, although the icy chill remained, it seemed to be missing something. Li Yan thought for a moment.
'It's missing vitality. Yes, vitality!' Ever since Li Yan had taken the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" from the ice throne, the entire throne seemed to have lost its soul. It was cold and lifeless. Before, the ice phoenix on the backrest was full of life and vigor, as if it could break through the sky and fly away at any moment. Now, the ice phoenix on the backrest was just a bas-relief. Perhaps this was why the throne had lost its vitality. And perhaps this was why the Snow Sprite Lord had been able to keep it all this time. Although the Snow Sprite Lord didn't know what the throne truly was, that vitality alone told it that this was an extraordinary item.
Li Yan once again performed a hand seal. A patch of dark clouds appeared above the ice throne again. Suddenly, rain fell in sheets. But this time, when the raindrops landed on the throne, due to its extreme cold, many of them quickly condensed into tiny ice pellets. The raindrops that didn't have time to freeze flowed down the throne and onto the cave floor.
Li Yan withdrew his art, thinking, 'Just as I thought!' It turned out the throne's strange devouring ability came from the "Melting Bamboo Shoot." But then, Li Yan's expression changed, and he felt a wave of nausea. If the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" had a devouring function, and he had seen Cheng Wenming's blood and brain matter disappear into the throne during his painful struggle, then...
At this thought, Li Yan looked at the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" in his hand, which was emitting a faint, milky-white glow. It was as if it were filled with the juices of various demonic beasts and human bodies. He suddenly felt the urge to throw it away immediately.
The next moment, he placed the "Melting Bamboo Shoot," which he had regarded as a priceless treasure, back onto the ice throne. After a moment's thought, he extended his finger, and an arrow of blood shot out, striking another part of the throne. The moment the blood arrow landed, it was as if it had grown eyes. It quickly moved towards the "Melting Bamboo Shoot," and in the next instant, it disappeared into the throne.
Li Yan watched without blinking, splitting his Divine Sense into two strands. One followed the blood arrow, and the other locked onto the "Melting Bamboo Shoot." But when the blood arrow disappeared into the throne, his Divine Sense found nothing, just like before.
The Divine Sense locked on the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" also came up empty. Just as Li Yan was feeling puzzled, a faint, barely perceptible wisp of white qi seeped from the ice throne into the "Melting Bamboo Shoot." If not for Li Yan's powerful Divine Sense and his constant attention on the object, that almost non-existent wisp of white qi would have been completely overlooked in the freezing cave. The process was instantaneous, but Li Yan, who had been focused on the "Melting Bamboo Shoot," still caught it.
'So that's how it is. Even after being taken from its original growing place, the 'Melting Bamboo Shoot' can still absorb and grow. This ice throne is like soil, and the 'Melting Bamboo Shoot' can be seen as the 'crop' on it. The person who collected the 'Melting Bamboo Shoot' back then understood it deeply. Although he cut off its roots, he found a way for it to continue its slow growth through other means. The cultivation world is full of wonders. What I've learned from books is merely scratching the surface.'
Thinking of this, Li Yan no longer felt disgusted looking at the "Melting Bamboo Shoot." He imagined it was no different from crops grown in a field fertilized with manure. It was like saying grain covered in dung was inedible. Since that was the case, Li Yan thought for a moment, then with a wave of his hand, he sent the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" back into its original position in the ice throne's backrest. He then made a wiping motion in the air with his hand, and the phoenix tree branch was restored to its original appearance.
With a thought, the ice throne and the two Snow Mosquitoes from before vanished from the cave once more, returned to the Earth-Spot.
In the Earth-Spot space, the Snow Mosquitoes in the cavern on the mountaintop had just calmed down when an object suddenly appeared in the cave, and the massive swarm once again began to surge wildly.
Since the ice throne could serve as "soil" for the "Melting Bamboo Shoot," he might as well keep it in its original place. When he needed it, he would naturally take it out. Leaving it in the ice throne even seemed to stimulate the Snow Mosquitoes' growth. Li Yan wasn't worried that the Snow Mosquitoes would drain the "Melting Bamboo Shoot." The ice throne, like the ice block around the fake one, had a protective effect. Otherwise, the essence of the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" would have been completely absorbed long ago by the Snow Sprite Lord who sat cross-legged on it all day to cultivate.
After doing all this, Li Yan returned to the cave. He did not leave in a hurry. This time, he sat down cross-legged on the ground, then wiped his left wrist. A small purple flag floated before him, and he took a jade slip into his hand.