279: Chapter 278 Giant Bear King 2

The Ice Bear King spotted him, a bloodthirsty glint flashing in its crimson eyes. It opened its massive maw and exhaled a blast of ice-blue frigid air. The cold air was like a storm; wherever it passed, the air condensed, the ground froze, and even stones were cracked by the frost.

Jiang Hanzhou did not retreat. He pushed his Pure Yang True Intent to its limit, and a scorching heat surged within his body, insulating him from the cold air three feet away. He charged in front of the Ice Bear King and swung his tiger soul saber, aiming a strike at the beast's front left leg.

The saber light struck the scales, erupting in blinding sparks. A fine crack appeared on the scales, but they did not shatter. The Ice Bear King's defense was too strong; with his current strength, he simply couldn't break through it.

The Ice Bear King swiped a claw with extreme speed. Jiang Hanzhou dodged to the side, but his left shoulder was still grazed by the tips of the claws, tearing his flesh and sending blood spraying. His body was sent flying by the massive impact, slamming heavily onto the snow.

The Ice Bear King took a step forward, opening its massive maw to bite down on him.

Jiang Hanzhou gritted his teeth and thrust the tiger soul saber into the ground to prop himself up. His vision was blurring and his consciousness was fading, but he did not give up. He poured all the remaining True Intent in his body into the tiger soul saber; the dark-golden halo on the blade suddenly brightened, then dimmed once more.

Not enough, it's still not enough.

Just then, a faint message came from the tiger soul saber. It wasn't the message of the blade's sentience, but something from deeper within, as if a consciousness slumbering in the depths of the blade had been awakened.

The dragon soul remnant.

Back when he had slain Blood Bone Venerable on Black Stone Island, the tiger soul saber had devoured the dragon essence power from the jiaolong remains, and a faint dragon soul remnant had been slumbering deep within the blade. That remnant had been in a state of hibernation, never having awakened. But at this moment, the aura of the Ice Bear King's essence blood stimulated it, causing it to slowly stir from its slumber.

The tiger soul saber suddenly vibrated, letting out a clear, sharp ring. The sound was like a dragon's roar, echoing through the night sky. On the blade, those dark-golden patterns began to flow slowly, extending from the hilt to the tip, and from the tip to the edge.

The Ice Bear King's movements suddenly seized, a trace of fear flashing in its crimson eyes. It sensed it—it sensed that aura within the tiger soul saber that made it tremble. That was Dragon Might, the pressure of the King of All Beasts.

Jiang Hanzhou sensed the change in the tiger soul saber and felt that the dragon soul remnant slumbering deep within the blade was awakening. He did not hesitate, pouring all the blood-qi, all the True Intent, and all the will in his body into the saber.

The tiger soul saber erupted with a blinding dark-golden light that illuminated the entire camp like broad daylight. Upon the blade, a phantom dragon shadow slowly emerged; the dragon shadow was pitch-black all over with eyes like lightning, and it opened its maw to release a heaven-shaking dragon roar.

The Ice Bear King's body suddenly froze, the fear in its eyes reaching an extreme. It turned to flee, but it was too late.

Jiang Hanzhou swung his saber.

That strike was not the Tidal Heaven-Burning Slash, nor was it the Divine Intent Heavenly Saber; it was a brand-new power erupted from the Fusion of the dragon soul remnant within the tiger soul saber and his own will. The saber light was dark-gold, containing the three powers of Dragon Might, True Intent, and blood-qi, carving a perfect arc through the night sky.

The saber light struck the Ice Bear King's neck; scales shattered and flesh flew. The Ice Bear King's head was severed in a single blow, its massive body crashing down and causing the ground to shake violently. Blood geysered from the severed neck like a fountain, staining the surrounding snow dark red.

The tiger soul saber greedily devoured the Ice Bear King's essence blood. The dark-red blood surged into the blade, absorbed bit by bit by the dragon soul remnant. The dark-golden patterns on the blade grew brighter, and the dragon shadow became clearer.

Jiang Hanzhou stood beside the Ice Bear King's corpse, the tiger soul saber planted in the ground to support his swaying body. His face was as pale as paper, his breathing rapid, and a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. But his eyes were bright—as bright as the stars in the sky.

The Ice Bear King was dead.

The remaining exotic beasts, suppressed by the Dragon Might, scattered and fled, disappearing into the depths of the ice plains.

A deathly silence filled the camp.

The tribespeople of the White Deer Tribe looked at Jiang Hanzhou's back and then at the Ice Bear King lying in a pool of blood, their eyes filled with shock and awe. Ayiguli knelt on the ground, her lips trembling, unable to speak. Tuerdan looked at Jiang Hanzhou, an indescribable and complex expression appearing on his aged face.

"Physician Jiang..." Tuerdan spoke, his voice hoarse, "You slew the Ice Bear King, an exotic beast at the Peak of the Soul Condensation realm. Your current cultivation is clearly only..."

Jiang Hanzhou turned around and looked at Tuerdan, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Shaman Tuerdan, cultivation is not the only standard for measuring strength."

He paused, his gaze falling on the tiger soul saber. The dark-golden patterns on the blade were still slowly flowing, and the dragon shadow swam within the blade, emitting a low hum. That humming resonated with a certain aura beneath the ice sea, causing the blood-qi in his body to boil involuntarily.

He sensed it—he sensed that deep within the ice sea, there was an aura of the same source as the dragon soul remnant in the tiger soul saber. That was the aura of a jiaolong, a true, living jiaolong slumbering in the depths of the ice sea.

Tuerdan sensed it too. His expression changed drastically, and his voice trembled. "Beneath the ice sea, there is a jiaolong. The Ice Tide has awakened it."

Jiang Hanzhou looked at the sea at the end of the ice plains and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he spoke slowly, his voice calm: "I know."

He sheathed the tiger soul saber, turned around, and looked at the surviving tribespeople. "No more exotic beasts will come tonight. Let everyone rest; wounds will need to be tended to tomorrow."

He walked toward his tent with steady steps, but only he knew that his body had reached its limit. That strike just now had overdrawn too much of his blood-qi and True Intent; if it weren't for the power of his fate supporting him, he would have collapsed long ago.

He returned to his tent, sat cross-legged by the campfire, and laid the tiger soul saber across his knees.

Closing his eyes, he began to review.

Reviewing the battle to the death with the Ice Bear King. From the first strike failing to break the scales, to the awakening of the dragon soul remnant, to that final blow severing the Ice Bear King's head. Every detail replayed slowly in his mind.

He found the source of that strike's power.

It wasn't Tidal True Intent, nor Pure Yang True Intent, nor Golden Sharpness True Intent, nor Heavenly Fire True Intent. It was the Fusion of Tidal True Intent and the power of extreme cold. At the moment he swung that saber, he had drawn the extreme cold Qi of the ice plains into his body and fused it with his Tidal True Intent, forming a brand-new power. That power was bone-chilling and violently unpredictable, like an undercurrent in an ice sea, silently freezing, tearing, and destroying everything.

He opened his eyes and raised his right hand, his thoughts stirring slightly.

A wisp of ice-blue light emerged from his palm, containing the endurance of Tidal True Intent and the frigidness of extreme cold power. The two powers intertwined and spiraled, forming a fist-sized vortex in his palm. Within the vortex, countless fine ice crystals could be seen slowly flowing.

He clenched his fist, drawing that power back into his body.

"Mystic Ice Tidal Slash," he murmured to himself, naming this newly created Martial Skill.

It wasn't a variant of the Tidal Heaven-Burning Slash, but a brand-new killing move adapted to the extreme cold environment of the Northern Border. The Tidal Heaven-Burning Slash used Pure Yang as fire and the Tide as its foundation, suitable for the temperate environment of the East Sea. The Mystic Ice Tidal Slash used extreme cold as its edge and the Tide as its bone, suitable for exerting power in the ice and snow of the Northern Border.

He now had the capital to survive in the Northern Border.

But he knew this was only the beginning. The slumbering jiaolong beneath the ice sea was the true threat. The dragon soul remnant in the tiger soul saber had resonated with it; that resonance would not disappear, only grow stronger. One day, that jiaolong would wake up and follow the resonance to find him.

By then, he had to have enough strength to slay it.

He closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing. The power of his fate was slowly repairing his injuries, and the extreme cold Qi was tempering his Physical Body. He needed time, patience, and to take things step by step.

Outside the tent, the wind and snow howled.

Inside the tent, the campfire flickered.

His breathing was long and steady, like the undercurrents beneath the ice sea—silent, invisible, and never-ending.

After the beast Tide receded, a deathly silence returned to the ice plains.

The tribespeople of the White Deer Tribe did not rest; they were busy clearing the battlefield, carrying the bodies of their kin from the snow and dragging the carcasses of the exotic beasts together. The firelight reflected off the blood-stained ice; cries and prayers intertwined in the night wind as a heavy sorrow blanketed the entire camp.

Jiang Hanzhou did not return to his tent. He walked over to the corpse of a Mystic Ice Giant Bear, knelt down, and began to examine it carefully. He didn't believe this beast Tide was merely a natural phenomenon triggered by the Ice Tide. The decennial Ice Tide had occurred countless times on the Mystic Ice Vast Sea, and the White Deer Tribe had lived here for centuries; he had never heard of a beast Tide being so frenzied, with over a hundred exotic beasts charging a single camp simultaneously. It defied logic.

He flipped the giant bear's corpse over and began inspecting it from the head, searching inch by inch down the neck to the chest. Although his Divine Sense was mostly sealed, it was still far more acute than that of a Northern Border Martial Artist. When his fingers touched a scale on the giant bear's neck, he sensed a faint anomaly.

That scale was darker than the surrounding ones, with a fine black pattern on its surface. He drew the tiger soul saber and used the tip to gently pry open the scale, revealing the flesh beneath. Within the flesh, an ice-blue insect the size of a fingernail was curled up; its body was covered in fine black patterns that writhed slowly like living things.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized this insect. Not from having seen it in person, but from reading about it in the "Secret Record of Blood Gu (Fragmented Edition)." The Ice Gu, one of the thirty-six basic Gu insects of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect. It fed on ice-attribute spiritual energy and parasitized the host's flesh, releasing toxins to stimulate the host's central nervous system, making the host frenzied, bloodthirsty, and irrational. The Ice Gu itself was not aggressive, but if someone used Shamanic Power to stimulate them, they would multiply frantically within the host, releasing massive amounts of excitatory toxins and driving the host into an uncontrollable state of berserk rage.

This Ice Gu shared the same origin as the Blood Gu he had seen in Shahe Stockade; both were products of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect. The Blood Gu was adapted to warm environments, while the Ice Gu was a variant tailored by the Ten Thousand Gu Sect for the Northern Border, better suited for extreme cold.

He stood up and walked to the corpses of several other exotic beasts, checking them one by one. In every beast's body, he found an Ice Gu. Some were in the neck, some in the abdomen, and some near the heart. Some of these Ice Gu were still alive, while others were dead, but their physical structures, patterns, and auras were all identical.

Ten Thousand Gu Sect. Black Witch Cult.

Jiang Hanzhou placed an Ice Gu into a jade box and put it back into his sumeru pouch. He needed this evidence; he needed to confirm the relationship between the Black Witch Cult and the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, and he needed to take this information back to the East Sea.

"Physician Jiang." Tuerdan's voice came from behind him.

Jiang Hanzhou turned around and saw the old Shaman leaning on his wooden staff, walking slowly toward him. Tuerdan's face was pale, his Shamanic Power nearly exhausted, making every step he took somewhat unsteady. But his eyes were bright—within those aged eyes resided an indescribable gravity.

"Shaman Tuerdan." Jiang Hanzhou nodded. "Your body..."

"I can still hold on." Tuerdan waved his hand and walked to his side, his gaze falling on the dissected giant bear corpse. "What did you find?"

Jiang Hanzhou took the jade box from his sumeru pouch, opened the lid, and showed the Ice Gu inside to Tuerdan.

The moment Tuerdan saw the ice-blue insect, his expression changed drastically. His body trembled slightly, and the wooden staff in his hand almost slipped. A trace of undisguisable fear flashed in his aged eyes.

"Ice Gu," he said hoarsely. "The Black Witch Cult's Ice Gu."

Jiang Hanzhou's brow furrowed slightly. "Shaman Tuerdan, you recognize this insect?"

Tuerdan remained silent for a long time, then slowly nodded. He turned and walked toward his tent, gesturing for Jiang Hanzhou to follow.

The two entered Tuerdan's tent one after the other. The tent was filled with various animal bones, herbs, and ritual tools. In the center, on a hide rug, lay a palm-sized black stone slab. The slab was engraved with dense runes; these runes were completely different from the Formation runes of the East Sea—they were coarser and more primitive.

Tuerdan sat on the rug, placed his staff by his side, and fixed his gaze on the black stone slab.

"Physician Jiang, you come from the East Sea, so you must have heard of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect." His voice was low, aged, and hoarse. "The Ten Thousand Gu Sect is famous throughout the world for its Gu arts, with branches in the East Sea, the Southern Marches, and the Western Desert. But what you don't know is that the Ten Thousand Gu Sect also has a branch in the Northern Border."

He paused, saying word by word: "The Black Witch Cult."

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils contracted slightly. He had guessed as much, but he needed confirmation.

"The Black Witch Cult is the Northern Branch of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect," Tuerdan continued. "They entered the Mystic Ice Vast Sea thirty years ago, combining Gu arts with Witchcraft to expand rapidly. They secretly control several large tribes, planting Ice Gu into exotic beasts and humans to create chaos and harvest blood-qi. Over the last decade, the Black Witch Cult's influence has grown stronger and stronger, to the point where they now rival the Northern Border's number one Sect, the Mystic Ice Sword Sect."

Jiang Hanzhou was silent for a moment, then spoke: "This beast Tide was orchestrated by the Black Witch Cult?"

"I'm not certain." Tuerdan shook his head. "The Ice Tide happens every ten years, and the beasts beneath the ice sea are naturally prone to agitation. The Black Witch Cult likely planted the Ice Gu in the beasts ahead of time, using the power of the Ice Tide to activate the insects and drive the beasts into a frenzy. They weren't aiming to attack small to medium tribes like the White Deer Tribe; rather, they were testing the effectiveness of the Ice Gu in preparation for a larger operation."

He looked up at Jiang Hanzhou, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. "The White Deer Tribe was just caught in the crossfire. But our resistance exceeded the Black Witch Cult's expectations—especially that strike of yours that killed the Ice Bear King. The power it contained was too great; it will certainly attract the Black Witch Cult's attention."

Jiang Hanzhou's brow furrowed sharply. "You mean the Black Witch Cult will send someone to investigate?"

"It's not 'will,' they already have." Tuerdan's voice was grave. "The Ice Bear King also had an Ice Gu inside it, and there is a connection between the Ice Gu and the Mother Gu. The moment the Ice Bear King died, the Black Witch Cult's Witch Invoker must have sensed it. They will send people to the White Deer Tribe to find out who killed the Ice Bear King and whether the tribe has any masters of heterodox arts."

He stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the flap, and looked into the depths of the ice plains. "With the Black Witch Cult's efficiency, someone will arrive in three days at most."

Jiang Hanzhou remained silent for a long time.

Then, he spoke slowly, his voice calm: "Shaman Tuerdan, how much do you know about the Black Witch Cult?"

Tuerdan turned around and looked at him. "What are you planning to do?"