278: Chapter 277 The Giant Bear King

The tribe's leader, a woman in her thirties named Ayiguli, had also come to visit him. Ayiguli was a Martial Artist at the Blood Expansion Realm Peak. She was tall with a resolute face, and her black hair was braided into countless small plaits that hung behind her. Her left arm had been bitten by a strange beast during a hunt; although the wound had healed, it left a lingering injury that pained her whenever it was overcast.

Jiang Hanzhou used Pure Yang True Intent combined with an ointment to dispel the residual cold from her wound. Ayiguli was immensely grateful and promised that once his injuries healed, he could stay with the White Deer Tribe, where they would provide him with the best treatment.

Jiang Hanzhou politely declined, saying only that he would leave once he recovered. Ayiguli did not push him, but she sighed and told him that the North was no place for a Loose Cultivator to survive, advising him to think twice.

Jiang Hanzhou did not explain.

He could not stay with the White Deer Tribe. He still had to return to the East Sea, find a way to sever all dao seeds, and face the Dragon Slaying True Person. The White Deer Tribe was merely a stop on his journey, not the destination.

However, this half-month stay was of great benefit to his Cultivation.

The extreme cold of the Mystic Ice Vast Sea formed a natural opposition to the Pure Yang True Intent and Heavenly Fire True Intent within his body. That freezing cold seeped through his pores, stimulating his blood and Qi, allowing his Li Fire Golden Body to grow slowly in the process of resisting the cold. His Physical Body was tougher than when he was in the East Sea, and his blood and Qi were more robust.

More importantly, the extreme cold allowed him to re-polish his four types of True Intent.

He gained new insights into Tidal True Intent within the icy sea. The Tides of the East Sea were gentle and long-lasting, but the icy sea Tides of the North were bone-chilling, violent, and unpredictable. He sat cross-legged on the floating ice, feeling the rhythm of the icy Tides, merging that cold and violence into his own Tidal True Intent, making it richer and more versatile.

Pure Yang True Intent was tempered in the extreme cold. The more bone-chilling the cold, the more blazing the Pure Yang power within him became. That feeling of opposition between ice and fire was exactly like his experience in the Ice Fire Two Energies Valley. He integrated the balance of that opposition into his Pure Yang True Intent, making it purer and more resilient.

Metal Sharpness True Intent was honed in the storms of the ice plains. The storms of the North were as fierce as blades, with ice crystals flying in the wind, cutting through everything in their path. He practiced his saber techniques in the storm, allowing his Metal Sharpness True Intent to resonate with the sharpness of the storm, making it more lethal and keen.

Heavenly Fire True Intent fell into dormancy in the extreme cold. Heavenly fire required a blazing environment to grow, and the extreme cold of the North left the Heavenly Fire True Intent listless. But Jiang Hanzhou did not give up; he drew the Heavenly Fire True Intent into his Dantian to nourish it with Pure Yang True Intent, waiting to re-polish it after returning to the East Sea.

Half a month later, although his cultivation had not recovered, the Foundation of his four True Intents had restabilized. The insights scattered by the spatial turbulence returned to his Sea of Consciousness bit by bit. Although he still could not manifest his Dao-Slaying Blade Intent, the dark-gold halo on his Heart Blade began to circulate once more.

He sat cross-legged in the tent with the tiger soul saber across his knees, eyes closed as he regulated his breathing.

Outside the tent, the wind and snow howled.

Inside the tent, the campfire flickered.

His breathing was long and steady; with every breath, a thread of Pure Yang True Intent circulated through his body, dispelling the cold and nourishing his Meridians.

He opened his eyes, looked at the roof of the tent, and murmured to himself, "How much longer until I recover?"

No one answered him.

Only the sound of the wind and snow howled outside the tent.

The ice Tide came without warning.

That night, Jiang Hanzhou was sitting cross-legged in his tent regulating his breathing, the tiger soul saber across his knees with a faint dark-gold halo circulating on the blade. His cultivation was still Sealed by spatial power, but after half a month of tempering in the extreme cold, the Foundation of his four True Intents had restabilized, and his Physical Body was much tougher than when he first fell.

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble.

It wasn't an earthquake, but the vibration produced by some gargantuan creature running across the ice plains. The vibration came from afar, getting closer and more intense until even the campfire in the center of the tent flickered. Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, his brow furrowing sharply. He sensed it—he sensed countless violent blood-and-Qi fluctuations surging from deep within the ice plains, each comparable to a Martial Artist at the Blood Expansion Realm Peak, with several even reaching the Soul Condensation Realm.

He grabbed the tiger soul saber, lifted the door flap, and rushed out of the tent.

The camp was already in chaos. The White Deer Tribe members were startled from their sleep; the elderly carried children toward the open space in the center of the camp, women hurriedly packed supplies, and the young adult Martial Artists grabbed weapons and rushed toward the fence. Ayiguli stood in the center of the clearing, holding an iron spear with a grim face, shouting to her people, "The old, weak, women, and children retreat to the center! All Martial Artists at the Blood Expansion Realm or above, follow me to hold the fence!"

Tuerdan stood by her side, the white bead at the top of his wooden staff erupting with a blinding light. Shamanic Power poured frantically from his body, turning into a semi-transparent barrier that enveloped dozens of tents in the center of the camp. But his face was deathly pale and his body trembled slightly; clearly, maintaining this barrier was a massive drain on him.

Jiang Hanzhou rushed to the fence at the edge of the camp and saw the scene outside.

On the ice plains, countless dark shadows were surging toward the camp. Some were as large as calves, others as small as hounds, but every single one emitted violent blood-and-Qi fluctuations. Under the moonlight, he saw the true faces of those shadows.

Mystic Ice Giant Bears, ten feet long and covered in ice-blue scales, with claws like hooks and fangs like knives. Every step they took as they ran across the ice plains made the earth tremble. Ice-Fang Sea Wolves, five feet long and snowy white, with only their eyes being blood-red. Their speed was like lightning, leaving white afterimages on the ice.

Dozens of them. No, hundreds.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils constricted. He had seen these two types of strange beasts in the "Northern Strange Beast Records" Tuerdan had given him. The Mystic Ice Giant Bear was at the Blood Expansion Realm Peak, thick-skinned and immensely strong, capable of smashing boulders with a single blow. The Ice-Fang Sea Wolf was at the Blood Expansion Realm Late Stage, extremely fast, with ice poison in its claws and fangs; if bitten, the cold would enter the body, causing frostbite at best and Bloodline solidification at worst.

If he were in the East Sea at his Peak, he wouldn't have spared these beasts a second thought. A single Tidal Heaven-Burning Slash could have slaughtered most of them. But now, the majority of his cultivation was Sealed, leaving him with only the Foundation of an Early Stage Dragon Fetus Realm. He could only activate less than thirty percent of his four True Intents, and his Dao-Slaying Blade Intent was impossible to manifest.

He did not retreat.

Because behind him were over two hundred lives. The elderly, the children, the women who had brought him hot soup when he was injured, the tribespeople who had been immensely grateful when he treated them. He could not watch them die.

"Physician Jiang, get back!" Ayiguli rushed to his side, her iron spear held across her body, her voice raspy. "You aren't a Northern Martial Artist; you don't know how to fight strange beasts. Leave this to us."

Jiang Hanzhou did not retreat, merely tightening his grip on the tiger soul saber. "Chief Ayiguli, though my cultivation is Sealed, I can still manage to kill a few beasts."

Ayiguli glanced at him, wanting to say more, but the first wave of beasts had already reached the fence.

Three Mystic Ice Giant Bears slammed into the fence simultaneously. The walls built of ice blocks and animal bones were like paper under the bears' impact, collapsing with a crash. Shards of ice flew and bones shattered as the three bears charged into the camp, opening their bloody maws to pounce on the nearest Martial Artists.

The White Deer Tribe Martial Artists did not retreat. They charged at the bears with harpoons, spears, and iron sabers. But the gap in strength was too vast; a Middle Stage Blood Expansion Realm Martial Artist was like a child before a Mystic Ice Giant Bear. One young Martial Artist was swatted away by a bear's claw, his chest caving in as he spat blood, falling heavily into the snow and never rising again. Another Martial Artist's iron spear pierced the bear's belly, but it only went in three inches before being caught by the scales; the bear snapped the spear with one claw and bit off his arm in one mouthful.

Screams, roars, and the sound of tearing flesh and bone intertwined into a symphony of death within the camp.

Ayiguli gritted her teeth and thrust her iron spear at one bear's eye. Her spear technique contained the unique blood-and-Qi power of the North, and as she thrust, the air erupted with a sharp whistle. The spear tip pierced the bear's left eye, blood spurting out. The bear let out a shrill roar and swiped a claw at Ayiguli's shoulder. Ayiguli's body was sent flying, crashing heavily into a tent as a trickle of blood escaped her lips.

Tuerdan's Shamanic Power barrier trembled violently under the beasts' assault. His face grew whiter and whiter, and a thread of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. The Shamanic Power in his body was almost exhausted, but he couldn't stop, because once the barrier broke, the elderly and children in the center of the camp would be torn to pieces by the beasts.

Jiang Hanzhou moved.

He didn't charge at the bears but instead rushed toward the clearing in the center of the camp. There, Tuerdan was struggling to hold on. He needed to stabilize the Shaman first, otherwise, if the barrier broke, everything would be over.

He rushed to Tuerdan's side and pressed his right hand against Tuerdan's back. Pure Yang True Intent poured from his palm, flowing along the Meridians into Tuerdan's body. That power was blazing yet gentle, like the warm sun in winter, reigniting the nearly depleted Shamanic Power within Tuerdan.

Tuerdan's body jolted, a hint of shock appearing on his aged face. "You... your power..."

"Don't talk," Jiang Hanzhou interrupted him, injecting more Pure Yang True Intent into his body. "Hold the barrier. Leave the rest to me."

Tuerdan took a deep breath, merging the Pure Yang True Intent Jiang Hanzhou injected with his own Shamanic Power, and the barrier stabilized once more.

Jiang Hanzhou let go, turned around, and charged toward the densest concentration of beasts.

His left leg was still slightly lame, the broken bones in his back hadn't fully healed, and the wound on his left arm throbbed with pain during intense movement. But he didn't stop; he simply gripped the tiger soul saber and channeled his remaining Tidal True Intent into the blade.

The dark-gold halo on the blade brightened slightly before dimming. It wasn't enough; the True Intent was too weak, completely insufficient to manifest the Tidal Heaven-Burning Slash.

He did not panic.

He closed his eyes, sensing the extreme cold Qi all around him. That cold Qi surged from deep within the ice plains, from the frozen sea surface, and from the howling wind and snow. It was bone-chilling and violent, like countless invisible blades cutting through the air.

He drew that cold Qi into his body—not to resist it, but to merge with it.

The essence of Tidal True Intent was water, flow, and guidance. In the East Sea, he guided the gentle ocean Tides. In the North, he guided the freezing ice Tides. Water and ice shared the same source but had different qualities; both were variations of the power of the water element.

He opened his eyes and swung his saber.

The moment the saber light flashed, the cold Qi he had drawn into his body erupted, merging with the Tidal True Intent to form an ice-blue blade light. Everywhere the light passed, the air froze and snowflakes stopped in their tracks; the bodies of three Ice-Fang Sea Wolves froze mid-motion within the light before shattering into countless ice crystals scattered across the snow.

One strike, three Late Stage Blood Expansion Realm Ice-Fang Sea Wolves dead.

The camp's Martial Artists were stunned. They looked at that ice-blue saber light and those shattered ice crystals, their eyes full of terror and awe. Ayiguli struggled to her feet, looking at Jiang Hanzhou's back, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

A glint of sharp light flashed in Tuerdan's eyes as he murmured to himself, "A Loose Cultivator from the East Sea... such powerful martial arts."

Jiang Hanzhou did not linger. He employed his footwork, his figure weaving rapidly through the camp. Every time he swung his saber, an ice-blue blade light flashed out, each one taking the life of a strange beast. His saber technique was lethal and precise, every strike aimed at the beasts' vitals, never wasting a shred of power.

However, his breathing became increasingly labored, and his face grew paler. His cultivation was Sealed, and he could only activate less than thirty percent of his True Intent; every swing of his saber was overdrawing his Foundation. He knew he couldn't hold out for long, but he couldn't stop because beasts were still pouring into the camp in a continuous stream.

Right then, a world-shaking roar came from deep within the ice plains.

The roar was deep and resonant like muffled thunder, shaking the entire camp. All the strange beasts, upon hearing that roar, simultaneously ceased their attacks and crouched on the ground, shivering.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils constricted sharply. He sensed it—he sensed a terrifying blood-and-Qi fluctuation surging from the depths of the ice plains. The intensity of that fluctuation far exceeded the Soul Condensation Realm; it was at least at the Spirit Communication Realm.

A giant beast, three times the size of an ordinary Mystic Ice Giant Bear, stepped out of the darkness. It was covered in ice-blue scales, which shimmered with fine silver patterns—the condensation of frost power. Its eyes were blood-red, and it exhaled white freezing mist; with every step it took, fine cracks spread across the ice beneath its feet.

The Mystic Ice Giant Bear King, a strange beast leader at the Soul Condensation Realm Peak.

Ayiguli's face was as white as paper. "It's over... it's the Ice Bear King. Why would it come here?"

Tuerdan's voice was raspy. "The ice Tide has come. The decadal ice Tide has driven the beasts beneath the icy sea into a frenzy. The Ice Bear King was driven ashore by the ice Tide; it is looking for food, for blood and Qi, for anything it can devour."

He paused, saying word by word, "If we cannot stop it, the White Deer Tribe will vanish from the Mystic Ice Vast Sea tonight."

Jiang Hanzhou looked at the giant beast and remained silent for a breath.

Then, he held the tiger soul saber across his body and walked toward the Ice Bear King.

"Physician Jiang, are you mad?" Ayiguli roared. "That's a Soul Condensation Realm Peak beast! In your current state..."

Jiang Hanzhou did not look back, only saying calmly, "I am not mad. But if I do not go, you will all die."

He used his footwork and charged toward the Ice Bear King.