281: Chapter 280 Ice Dragon King

Teng Qinghan sat cross-legged on the rug, while her two companions stood at the tent entrance, one on each side like two door gods. Jiang Hanzhou sat opposite her, with the tiger soul saber resting across his knees.

"Junior Brother Jiang," Teng Qinghan began, her voice returning to its usual coldness, "do you know the relationship between the Mystic Ice Sword Sect and the Innate One Qi Sect?"

Jiang Hanzhou shook his head. "I do not."

Teng Qinghan took a Jade Slip from her sleeve and placed it on the ground between them. The Jade Slip was pure white, its surface engraved with fine silver patterns that wound like swords, slowly flowing across the slip. She extended her Divine Sense into the Jade Slip, and an image slowly emerged above it.

It was a towering mountain Peak that pierced the clouds, its summit covered in pristine white snow. Countless palaces and pavilions were built into the mountain, each engraved with dense runes. These runes shared the same Origin as the Formations of the East Sea's Dragon Abyss Palace, yet they were more ancient and profound.

"This is Ice Sword Mountain, the Sect headquarters of the Mystic Ice Sword Sect," Teng Qinghan said calmly. "The Mystic Ice Sword Sect is not a native Sect of the Northland. Three thousand years ago, an Elder of the Innate One Qi Sect led Disciples north and established the Mystic Ice Sword Sect in the Mystic Ice Vast Sea as a northern branch of the Innate One Qi Sect."

She paused and said word for word, "And the Dragon Slaying True Person was the last Sect Master of the Innate One Qi Sect a thousand years ago."

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils contracted sharply. He recalled the images from the heavenly secret mirror, the figure of the Dragon Slaying True Person, and the fragments of information regarding the Innate One Qi Sect. He had not expected the Mystic Ice Sword Sect to be a branch of the Innate One Qi Sect, let alone that the Dragon Slaying True Person was its Sect Master.

"The Innate One Qi Sect," Teng Qinghan continued, "was the number one Sect of the Ancient Era. With Five Elements True Intent as its core and the Dao of the sword as its Foundation, its Disciples were spread across the five domains of the world during its Peak. But a thousand years ago, after the Sect Master, the Dragon Slaying True Person, slew the Ancestral Dragon that was terrorizing the East Sea, he was afflicted with the Daoist Destruction Curse by the Ancestral Dragon before it died. His dao foundation shattered, and his Lifespan was nearly exhausted. He chose martial dissolution, using his own Dao Principles as a guide to set up the grand scheme of Dao-Severing Rebirth."

She looked at Jiang Hanzhou with a piercing gaze. "You should already know this. Because within your body, there was once a dao seed planted by the Dragon Slaying True Person."

Jiang Hanzhou nodded. "I know. But I used the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother to devour the roots of the dao seed and used my Dao-Slaying Blade Intent to sever the connection with the Dragon Slaying True Person's remnant soul. I am no longer his dao seed."

A flash of admiration crossed Teng Qinghan's eyes. "Yuzhi was right; you are indeed a very interesting person. To be able to uproot a dao seed before it matures—you are the first."

She changed the subject. "But what you do not know is that what the Mystic Ice Sword Sect has guarded for generations is precisely the Dao Seed Origin left by the Dragon Slaying True Person in the Northland."

Jiang Hanzhou's brow furrowed instantly. "The Dao Seed Origin?"

"Correct." Teng Qinghan nodded. "Before his martial dissolution, the Dragon Slaying True Person left one Dao Seed Origin in each of the world's five domains. These Origins are the Foundation of his Dao-Severing Rebirth scheme. Each Origin Seals a portion of his Dao Principle fragments and thousands of dao seeds. Those seeds circulate with the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence, silently implanting themselves into Cultivators' bodies to take root and grow into dao seeds."

She took a fist-sized ice-blue bead from her sleeve. Within the bead, one could faintly see countless fine golden threads slowly flowing. Those threads wound like worms, writhing inside the bead and emitting a suffocating aura.

"This is the Dao Seed Origin that the Mystic Ice Sword Sect has guarded for a thousand years." Teng Qinghan's voice was calm yet carried an unspeakable gravity. "It is kept deep within Ice Sword Mountain, sealed by the secret methods of successive Sect Masters. For a thousand years, the Seal has been loosening, and dao seeds have been leaking out, implanting themselves into the Cultivators of the Northland. Even the Disciples of the Mystic Ice Sword Sect have not been spared."

Jiang Hanzhou looked at the bead, the chill in his heart deepening. He sensed an aura within the bead identical to the dao seeds of the East Sea. Those golden threads, those writhing patterns, and that nauseatingly sweet scent were of the same Origin as the dao seeds he had sensed within Sun Mo, Great Elder Su Heng, and Han Qing.

"The Mystic Ice Sword Sect has guarded the Dao Seed Origin for a thousand years," he spoke, his voice raspy. "Did you never think of destroying it?"

"It cannot be destroyed." Teng Qinghan shook her head. "The Dao Seed Origin is deeply bound to the remnant soul of the Dragon Slaying True Person. If one were to forcibly destroy the Origin, his remnant soul would awaken prematurely and trigger the final ritual, draining the Divine Souls, Dao Principles, and lifelong cultivation of every dao seed across the five domains. At that time, the entire world would fall into catastrophe."

She tucked the bead back into her sleeve and fixed her gaze on Jiang Hanzhou. "Therefore, all the Mystic Ice Sword Sect can do is maintain the Seal. We Seal the Origin to slow the leakage of dao seeds, buying time to find a way to resolve this completely."

She paused and said word for word, "And you, Junior Brother Jiang, might be that way."

Jiang Hanzhou's brow creased slightly. "Me?"

"Correct." Teng Qinghan nodded. "Your Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother can devour dao seeds. Your Dao-Slaying Blade Intent can sever the connection between the dao seeds and the Dragon Slaying True Person's remnant soul. If you can raise these two powers to a higher level, perhaps you can destroy all the Dao Seed Origins in the five domains without triggering the final ritual."

She stood up and looked at Jiang Hanzhou with a hint of earnestness in her eyes. "Junior Brother Jiang, I originally came to the White Deer Tribe only to investigate the Black Witch Cult's manipulation of the beast tide. But meeting you, I know this is the will of heaven. The Mystic Ice Sword Sect needs your help, the Northland needs your help, and the entire world needs your help."

She extended her hand. "Come back to Ice Sword Mountain with me. I will take you to meet the Sect Master, show you the Dao Seed Origin, and let you investigate the complete layout of the Dragon Slaying True Person. The Sect Master has been waiting for this day for a very long time."

Jiang Hanzhou looked at her extended hand and remained silent for a long time.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. The Mystic Ice Sword Sect was a branch of the Innate One Qi Sect, guarding the Dao Seed Origin for generations. The Dragon Slaying True Person's layout in the Northland was deeper and broader than he had imagined. The Dao Seed Origin was the Foundation of the Dao-Severing Rebirth scheme; destroying it would destroy the entire plan.

However, most of his cultivation was currently sealed, and he could only activate less than thirty percent of his four True Intents, while his Dao-Slaying Blade Intent could not be used at all. Going to Ice Sword Mountain in this state meant that if anyone in the Mystic Ice Sword Sect harbored ill intentions, he wouldn't even have the strength to resist.

He looked up into Teng Qinghan's eyes. Those eyes were cold but firm, without evasion or hesitation, showing only an indescribable sincerity.

"Fine." He nodded, reaching out to clasp Teng Qinghan's hand. "I will go to Ice Sword Mountain with you."

A faint smile touched the corners of Teng Qinghan's mouth; it was her second smile since entering the camp.

"We depart in three days." She released his hand and turned toward the tent entrance. "During these three days, recover your breath well. Ice Sword Mountain is in the deepest part of the Northland. The journey is long, and we may encounter ambushes from the Black Witch Cult along the way."

She lifted the curtain and stepped out of the tent. Her two companions followed behind her, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Jiang Hanzhou sat in the tent, staring at the campfire in silence for a long time.

Then, he looked down at the tiger soul saber on his knees. The dark golden patterns on the blade flickered slightly, and a faint message came from the saber's sentience, as if saying, 'Master, I will accompany you.'

He gripped the hilt, a flash of determination in his eyes.

Ice Sword Mountain, the Dao Seed Origin, and the Dragon Slaying True Person's complete layout.

He had to see it, understand it, and find a way to destroy it all.

No matter how dangerous the road ahead, no matter how powerful the enemy.

His saber would carve a path for him.

On the second day after Teng Qinghan left, Jiang Hanzhou had not yet made his final preparations.

He sat in the tent with the tiger soul saber across his knees, the campfire light dancing on the blade and reflecting the dark golden patterns. Teng Yuzhi's request, Teng Qinghan's invitation, the Origins of the Mystic Ice Sword Sect and the Innate One Qi Sect, and the truth of the Dao Seed Origin—all this information churned in his mind like an inextricable mess.

Going to Ice Sword Mountain meant leaving the White Deer Tribe and embarking on a path full of unknowns. Not going meant staying on the ice plains, slowly recovering his sealed cultivation while waiting for an opportunity that might never come.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing his stray thoughts.

Just then, the earth began to vibrate.

It wasn't the kind of vibration from a distant beast tide, but one coming from beneath the frozen seas, from the depths of the bottomless ocean trenches. The vibration was heavy and low, like the heartbeat of an ancient colossus, each thrum making the entire ice plain tremble. The campfire in the tent flickered violently, nearly going out. The hide blankets hanging from the tent ceiling fell one after another, and the pebbles on the ground hopped with the tremors.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, his pupils shrinking.

He sensed it. He sensed a terrifying aura surging from the depths of the icy sea. That aura was not Spiritual Essence, not True Intent, and not Shamanic Power, but Dragon Might. A pure, primitive, heavenly Dragon Might. This Dragon Might was a hundred times stronger than what he had sensed in the ancient flood dragon remains, and a thousand times stronger than the dragon soul remnant within his tiger soul saber.

That was a living, true Dragon standing at the apex of the Northland's Yao Race.

His body trembled slightly under the pressure of the Dragon Might, not out of fear, but because the dragon essence and dragon blood within him were resonating. The dragon essence power he had refined from the ancient flood dragon remains and the dragon blood essence he had tempered in the Dragon Blood Pool were now awakened, surging wildly within him and resonating with the aura beneath the icy sea.

He grabbed the tiger soul saber and rushed out of the tent.

The camp was already in chaos. Members of the White Deer Tribe ran from their tents—Elders clutching children, women supporting the wounded, and young Martial Artists gripping their weapons with pale faces, their bodies shivering under the Dragon Might. Ayiguli stood in the center of the camp, her iron spear thrust into the snow beside her, her hands balled into fists as she gritted her teeth, forcing her knees not to buckle. Shaman Turdan leaned on his wooden staff, his Shamanic Power fully activated as his white bead erupted with piercing light to shield the camp from the Dragon Might, but his face was as pale as paper and his body swayed.

"Shaman Turdan, what is happening?" Jiang Hanzhou rushed to Tuerdan's side, pressing his right hand against the man's back as his Pure Yang True Intent flowed into him to help stabilize his Shamanic Power.

Tuerdan's voice was raspy, filled with unavoidable terror. "The Vast Sea Dragon Palace. The Ice Flood Dragon King. The Yao Race overlord of the Mystic Ice Vast Sea... Why would he awaken at a time like this?"

Before he could finish, the surface of the frozen sea exploded.

Countless ice-blue figures surged from beneath the waves, each between three to five zhang long, their bodies covered in ice-blue scales. Their heads resembled flood dragons and their bodies were like snakes, with four sharp claws slicing through the air with a piercing whistle. They circled in the sky, letting out sharp screeches that converged to make the entire ice plain shudder.

The Ice Flood Dragon Guards.

Jiang Hanzhou had seen records of the Vast Sea Dragon Palace in the 'Northland Bestiary' Tuerdan had given him. The Vast Sea Dragon Palace was the Yao Race overlord of the Mystic Ice Vast Sea, ruling over tens of thousands of sea-dwelling beasts. The master of the Dragon Palace, the Ice Flood Dragon King, was a supreme expert at the Peak of the Spirit Communication Realm who had fought a world-shaking battle against the third-generation Palace Master of the Dragon Abyss Palace a thousand years ago. In that battle, the Ice Flood Dragon King's kinsman, an ancient flood dragon, was slain by the third Palace Master, and its remains were suppressed at the bottom of the Dragon-Locking Abyss to serve as the Foundation for the East Sea's Luck. The Ice Flood Dragon King had fled back to the Northland heavily wounded, where he had been slumbering in the depths of the icy sea for a thousand years to heal and gather strength.

Now, he was awake.

Thirty ice flood dragons circled in the air, completely surrounding the White Deer Tribe's camp. They did not attack, only prowled the sky as Dragon Might poured from them, enveloping the entire camp.

Then, the sea surface exploded once more.

A massive ice flood dragon, over ten zhang long, slowly rose from beneath the waves. Its entire body was covered in ice-blue scales, with fine silver patterns flowing over them like living things. Its eyes were dark gold with vertical pupils, like two lanterns glowing coldly in the night. Atop its head grew a pair of three-foot-long ice-blue dragon horns, engraved with dense ancient runes that each contained unspeakable power.

The Ice Flood Dragon King.

His gaze swept over the camp, past the shivering tribespeople, past Ayiguli and Tuerdan, finally landing on Jiang Hanzhou.

A cold glint flashed in those dark golden eyes.

"Dragon essence, dragon blood, and a dragon soul remnant," the Ice Flood Dragon King spoke, his voice deep and heavy like muffled thunder echoing across the ice plains. "A human actually possesses such thick flood dragon aura. You are from the Dragon Abyss Palace."

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils contracted. He did not deny it, for he knew denial was useless. The Ice Flood Dragon King had sensed the dragon essence and dragon blood within him, powers that came from the ancient flood dragon remains—the very dragon slain by the third Palace Master of the Dragon Abyss Palace. In the Ice Flood Dragon King's eyes, he was a lackey of the Dragon Abyss Palace, a Disciple of his enemy.

"Jiang Hanzhou, a Disciple of the Dragon Abyss Palace's Red Fire Peak," he said, gripping the tiger soul saber as his Dao-Slaying Blade Intent operated at full capacity in his Sea of Consciousness. "But I am not a spy sent to the Northland. I was swept here by a spatial turbulence; it has nothing to do with the Dragon Abyss Palace."

The Ice Flood Dragon King looked at him, silent for three breaths.

Then, he laughed. The grin was hideous, revealing snow-white fangs in his bloody maw, each fang as long as an adult's arm.

"Swept to the Northland by spatial turbulence? Do you think this King would believe that?" His voice was thick with unspeakable killing intent. "A thousand years ago, the third Palace Master of the Dragon Abyss Palace slew my kinsman and suppressed his remains at the bottom of the Dragon-Locking Abyss, using his Dragon Qi to suppress the East Sea's Luck. This King fled back to the Northland and lay low for a thousand years, just to wait for the day of revenge."

He raised a sharp claw and pointed it at Jiang Hanzhou. "And you, with my kinsman's dragon blood flowing in you, having refined his dragon essence, and even carrying a saber tempered by his dragon soul remnant... if you are not a spy, then what are you?"

Jiang Hanzhou fell silent. He could not explain, for explanation was futile. The Ice Flood Dragon King's hatred for him was not because of who he was, but because of the powers within him. Those powers came from the King's kinsman, and in the King's eyes, they were evidence of his guilt.