Gripping the warm-yet-cold "Frost Heart Orchid Fruit," a clear, directional sense of guidance radiated from his palm, like lighting a beacon in endless dark fog. Xiao Qi and Third Senior Sister hesitated no longer, transforming into streams of light and rushing directly into the airspace above that dead-silent, mirror-smooth massive ice lake.
The moment they entered the lake's airspace, the surrounding scenery instantly transformed. The originally howling wind and snow sounds ceased abruptly, replaced by an eerie absolute silence. The ice lake beneath their feet was no longer simply white, but presented a deep, seemingly able to devour all light abyssal blue. The air was permeated with the extreme cold of countless ages, a chill that didn't merely act upon the physical body but seemed able to freeze spiritual power and solidify the divine soul. Even with Xiao Qi using the Black Tortoise Soul Crystal's power to form an invisible barrier for protection, Third Senior Sister still felt spiritual power circulation become extraordinarily sluggish, having to fully activate her cultivation method to resist.
More eerie still, the space here seemed distorted. As far as the eye could see, the ice lake seemed endless—up, down, left, right all presented that dizzying abyssal blue, losing all reference points. If not for the Frost Heart Orchid Fruit in his hand continuously transmitting a stable, clear guidance, the two would likely have long since lost their way in this eerie ice lake airspace.
"Stay close to me, don't deviate from the direction the orchid fruit indicates!" Xiao Qi transmitted sound with a deep voice. He could sense that once they deviated from this invisible "safe path," unforeseeable consequences would immediately follow—perhaps spatial turbulence, perhaps direct attacks from that terrifying existence beneath the ice lake.
The two boosted their speed to the extreme, racing along the path indicated by the Frost Heart Orchid Fruit through this dead-silent abyssal blue world. During the journey, relying on his extraordinary spiritual perception and the Four Symbols Soul Crystals' resonance, Xiao Qi several times gave advance warnings, narrowly avoiding several areas that seemed calm on the surface but actually hid spatial folds or extreme cold traps.
After flying for roughly half an incense stick's time, just as even Xiao Qi felt somewhat mentally exhausted, at the end of that seemingly eternal abyssal blue horizon, a different color finally appeared.
It was a massive, slowly rotating like a vortex... ice cavern entrance!
The entrance was set into the ice lake's "end" (or perhaps center), with a diameter of a hundred zhang. Its edges weren't regularly circular, but looked like jagged, torn apart by some enormous force and then frozen solid. The cavern's interior wasn't pitch black, but emitted a deep, weighty, as-if-carrying countless ages ofmysteriousblack light. A wave of aura far more ancient and pure than even the ice lake's surface, carrying unmatched defensive and suppressive meaning, radiated outward from the cavern's depths like tides.
This aura was of the same origin as the Black Tortoise Soul Crystal! Even more complete and grand than the Black Tortoise Soul Crystal fragments Xiao Qi had already fused!
"There it is!" Xiao Qi's spirits lifted. The guidance from the Frost Heart Orchid Fruit reached its peak at this moment, pointing directly toward thosemysteriousblack depths.
The two accelerated, flying toward the ice cavern entrance. The closer they got, the stronger that weighty pressure became, as if every step forward added an invisible mountain upon their shoulders. Even Xiao Qi felt breathing becoming difficult, spiritual power circulation around his body sluggish. Third Senior Sister's face turned pale, having to use all her spiritual power to resist this pressure.
Finally, the two arrived at the ice cavern entrance's edge. Looking down, they saw a bottomless, winding downward passage of dark ice. The passage walls weren't smooth, but covered with countless naturally formed, complex and mysterious ice crystal patterns. Those patterns faintly formed shapes like turtle shells and coiled snakes, emitting faint light and resonating with the Black Tortoise Soul Crystal's aura.
"This ice cavern... is probably the core passage to the 'Frost Ice Eye,' and the place where the Azure Dragon Saint's will is most concentrated." Xiao Qi felt solemn within his heart, sensing that vast, ocean-like weighty aura.
He attempted to probe his divine sense into the passage, but found it severely suppressed here—only able to penetrate less than a hundred zhang before being blocked by densermysteriousblack light and heavier will.
"Let's descend. Be vigilant." Xiao Qi took a deep breath, carefully storing away the Frost Heart Orchid Fruit (guidance was no longer needed here). Together with Third Senior Sister, he slowly flew into that dark ice passage.
Upon entering the passage, the surrounding pressure multiplied once more! This wasn't merely physical weight, but a sensation originating from the soul level, as if being rejected and suppressed by all heaven and earth. The passage was silent, even the faint wind sounds from their flight devoured by that weighty aura. Only the bottomless darkness beneath their feet and those faintly glowing ice crystal patterns on the walls reminded them they were continuously descending.
The passage wasn't straight down, but winding—sometimes broad as a plaza, sometimes narrow with only a few people walking abreast. Along the way, they saw many strange scenes frozen within the dark ice: massive, unidentifiable ancient beast remains in ferocious poses, frozen mid-struggle and roar; crystal forest-like gorgeous yet dangerously emitting ice pillar clusters; and even within some ice walls, faintly visible were some blurry, as-if-recording ancient scenesthe ice-sealed shadows...
All this testified to this ten thousand year ice cavern's long history and extraordinariness.
After flying for roughly an incense stick's time, the passage ahead suddenly opened up, and a massive underground ice cavern space appeared before the two.
This cavern space was extraordinarily vast, as if an entire mountain range had been hollowed out. From the dome above hung countless massive ice spikes like swords, glittering with cold, pale light. And in the cavern's center, rather than the anticipated pool or spring, was a massive, entirely composed ofmysteriousblack ice crystals's... altar!
The altar was circular, divided into nine levels, each covered with patterns similar to those on the passage walls but even more complex and ancient—turtle shell and serpent symbols. At the altar's apex, rather than being pointed, was a smooth platform. Above the platform floated a house-sized, continuously slowly rotating...mysteriousblack water sphere!
That water sphere appeared liquid yet was incomparably solidified, its surface smooth as mirror. Within seemed galaxies revolving, universes being born and destroyed. An indescribable aura, carrying supreme defense, the source of all waters, and the suppression of all evil, radiated from thatmysteriousblack water sphere, filling the entire cavern space!
This was the Frost Ice Eye! The Northern Wastes' core, the source of all ice, the manifestation of the Azure Dragon Saint's will!
And Xiao Qi's jade pendant at his chest, the moment it saw thismysteriousblack water sphere, erupted with unprecedented violent trembling and burning heat! Especially the Black Tortoise Soul Crystal's phantom within the jade pendant—it almost seemed ready to break free from the pendant and directly plunge into that water sphere!
The final piece of the Four Symbols Soul Crystals, the complete origin of the Black Tortoise Soul Crystal, was within thatmysteriousblack water sphere!
However, just as excitement filled Xiao Qi's heart and he prepared to step forward, a suddenmutation occurred!
Thatmysteriousblack water sphere floating above the altar's apex, its surface like a mirror, suddenly rippled with aripples. Then, a blurry, massive figure, radiating boundless authority and ancient aura, slowly emerged from within the water sphere.
That figure had a turtle body and serpent tail, bore dark armor, its serpent head raised—exactly one of the Four Symbol Saints, guardian of the north—Azure Dragon!