22: Chapter 22 The Coffin of Wanhua: The End

“Roar!”

The Frozen Tundra Giant Crocodile was enraged by the lightning; its blood-red vertical pupils contracted sharply, and its massive body suddenly arched.

Its giant tail, covered in ice armor, seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, swinging fiercely with a sharp whistle that tore through the air—

The tail was fully three zhang long, each scale shimmering with a frigid luster; the airflow stirred by its movement actually condensed into fine ice shards in mid-air, and even before it drew near, it caused the surrounding air to crackle and pop, as if the air in the entire cave had been compressed into a boiling cauldron of oil by this single swing.

“Careful!”

Chen Nianchu's voice had barely fallen when an ice-blue longsword materialized in her hand, its blade shimmering with frost under the reflection of the lightning.

She tapped her toes on the ground and retreated rapidly; at the same time, she flicked her wrist, and the longsword traced a perfect semicircle in front of her, the power of the A-rank “Frost Blade Ice Heart” exploding instantly: “Ice Dome Flawless!”

Following her sharp cry, countless ice crystals surged from the Void Realm, condensing at an astonishing speed into a massive hexagonal shield—

This was the ultimate form of the “Aurora Barrier,” where each layer of ice crystals shimmered with a faint, iridescent light, as if the polar auroras had been frozen within them, and swirling vortices of cold air lingered at the edges; clearly, she had pushed her defense to the limit.

“Boom!”

The moment the giant crocodile's tail whip collided with the Aurora Barrier, the entire cave seemed to be struck by a giant hammer.

The ice-blue barrier trembled violently, its outer layer of ice crystals instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and the shockwave generated by the collision of cold air and immense force spread outwards, forcing Zhang Wen to retreat another two steps.

His Indestructible Thunder Body was operating at full capacity, his pale purple Lightning Radiance armor crackling; he gritted his teeth and withstood the aftermath, his heart rising to his throat as he watched the barrier continuously cave in under the immense force.

Chen Nianchu's face paled, her hand holding the sword trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead—

She could clearly feel that the power coming from the crocodile's tail was not only savage but also carried the frigid spiritual energy of the Initial Stage of the Formation Realm, which was eroding the ice crystal structure of the barrier bit by bit.

“Crack...”

The first layer of the barrier shattered in response, turning into a mist of ice, but thanks to this buffering, most of the impact force was dissipated.

The crocodile's tail whip was deflected by half an inch and raised again with an unwilling roar, but Chen Nianchu had already taken the opportunity to retreat several zhang, her fingertips rapidly condensing energy as she prepared to add another layer to the barrier.

“This guy's strength is too outrageous!”

Zhang Wen shouted urgently, lightning flashing under his feet as he instantly rushed to Chen Nianchu's side, “Hold on, I'll find a chance to hit it again!”

He dared not rashly use Startling Thunder Arises, so he could only push his Indestructible Thunder Body to its limit, letting the lightning glow on his body surface spread as much as possible, attempting to interfere with the crocodile's movements using the domineering Aura of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder—

After all, with his current abilities, apart from resisting head-on and that one strike of Startling Thunder Arises, he had no better way to deal with it for now.

“Zhang Wen! Its outer scales have been tempered by cold air to be harder than black iron; if we don't break this shell first, our attacks won't penetrate at all!”

Chen Nianchu shouted urgently while maintaining the teetering Aurora Barrier; as she spoke, another layer of ice crystals condensed in front of her, barely blocking the tail whip the crocodile swung again.

Zhang Wen gritted his teeth, the lightning around him emitting a shrill hum as it operated at full power.

He naturally understood this principle, but the Frozen Tundra Giant Crocodile's scales were layered, each one like an ice shield embedded in its body; even such a violent blow as Startling Thunder Arises had only shattered a few outer ice shells, so how could it be easy to precisely break a specific scale?

Just as the giant crocodile swung its tail, kicking up a sky full of ice mist, Zhang Wen's gaze suddenly fell below the crocodile's neck—the scales there were relatively sparse, and they seemed to tremble slightly when brushed by the lightning earlier.

His eyes lit up suddenly, and his Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder spiritual energy surged: “I've got it! Although this is the first time I'm using the second form of my Rushing Thunder Delusion Breaking Fist, ‘Thunder Net Locking Truth’, it can condense Thunder Power into a net to temporarily lock its movements!”

He explained at lightning speed: “I'll use the Thunder Net to entangle its body, forcing it to be unable to use force to struggle, and then use Startling Thunder Arises to target that weak spot on its neck! As soon as you break the scales there, you strike immediately!”

Hearing this, Chen Nianchu's hand holding the ice sword tightened suddenly, and a flash of determination crossed her eyes.

She took a deep breath, and the ice-blue halo around her began to spin rapidly; even the cold air in the air was being frantically drawn in by her, condensing into an ever-expanding vortex of ice crystals above her head: “Alright! I'll prepare my secret technique now; as long as you open a gap, we will definitely deal it a heavy blow!”

Before the words had faded, her Aura surged sharply, and countless tiny ice prisms began to emerge within that ice crystal vortex, each shimmering with an almost transparent, frigid light—this was her trump card secret technique, “Myriad Flower Ice Coffin · End,” prepared specifically for single-target execution; at this moment, she was frantically accumulating power during the gap in the crocodile's attacks, and the direction pointed by the tips of the ice prisms was exactly the spot on the neck that Zhang Wen had spotted earlier.

Seeing this, Zhang Wen hesitated no longer; he took a sharp step forward and formed hand seals.

Pale purple lightning gathered and rotated in his palms, gradually weaving into a Thunder Net shimmering with golden patterns; the mesh crackled, and a faint sound of a Dragon roaring could be heard.

This was his first time activating “Thunder Net Locking Truth,” and although slightly unrefined, it carried the unique binding power of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder; clearly, he was betting everything on it.

The Frozen Tundra Giant Crocodile seemed to sense the danger, roaring and opening its giant mouth; frigid energy gathered in its throat; clearly, it was also preparing to launch a stronger attack.

A head-to-head execution was already on the verge of happening.

Just as the Frozen Tundra Giant Crocodile was about to spew the frigid breath gathered in its throat, its massive body suddenly stiffened—those Thunder Nets that had spread from Zhang Wen's palms had somehow already entangled its limbs and torso!

The pale purple Thunder Net was like maggots on rotting bones, the golden patterns flashing frantically between the meshes; the power of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder drilled inward along the gaps between the scales, and every surge of current made the crocodile's muscles twitch uncontrollably; it had actually managed to lock this Demonic Beast of the Initial Stage of the Formation Realm firmly in place!

“Haha, it worked!”

Zhang Wen's eyes lit up; although it was the first time using Thunder Net Locking Truth, the binding power far exceeded expectations.

Taking advantage of the moment the crocodile was bound, he kicked off the ground, the lightning around him flaring up like a torch, and the violent power of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder was poured entirely into his right fist: “Giant Crocodile, taste this! Startling Thunder Arises!”

This punch was even swifter and more fierce than before, the fist aimed directly at the relatively weak scales on the crocodile's neck.

The purple-gold lightning exploded the moment it made contact; this time, without the buffer of the outer ice shell, the Thunder Power slammed directly onto the actual scales—with a crisp “crack,” several cyan-black scales shattered, flying out with blood, revealing the mangled, bloody wound underneath!

“Roar!”

The intense pain caused the giant crocodile to let out a deafening roar; its blood-red vertical pupils widened in rage and pain, and its massive body struggled frantically, the Thunder Net being stretched until it crackled, showing faint signs of tearing.

Just at this moment, Chen Nianchu's secret technique finally finished accumulating power.

She hovered in mid-air, the ice crystal vortex around her having condensed into a massive ice-blue blade several zhang long; the blade shimmered with a frigid luster, as if it could freeze the passage of time.

This was the final form of “Myriad Flower Ice Coffin · End,” gathering all of her Frost Blade Ice Heart power; before it even descended, the surrounding cold air had already condensed into solid ice needles, the terrifying Aura causing the cave walls to crumble and shed debris.

“Myriad Flower Ice Coffin · End!”

Chen Nianchu's voice was as cold as ice; as she swung her arm down, the giant blade, which had condensed the power of extreme frost, carried a sharp whistle through the air, like an aurora cutting through the darkness, striking the wound on the giant crocodile's neck with absolute precision!

The moment the ice blade sank into the flesh, there was no earth-shattering roar, only a soft “hiss”—the extreme cold erupted the moment it touched the wound, surging frantically into the giant crocodile's body along with its blood; everywhere it passed, muscles and bones were frozen into ice!

The crocodile's roar was stuck in its throat; its massive body twitched violently a few times, its blood-red pupils quickly covered by a layer of white frost, and its strength to struggle grew weaker and weaker.

After a few breaths, the current of the Thunder Net gradually subsided; the crocodile's massive body collapsed to the ground with a thud, the wound on its neck frozen into a huge lump of ice, and even its last bit of breath was completely sealed in ice.

Zhang Wen panted, dispersing the Thunder Net; looking at the motionless giant crocodile on the ground, he wiped the cold sweat from his face: “Phew... finally done. Your secret technique is truly vicious.”

Chen Nianchu landed lightly, her face somewhat pale; clearly, activating “Myriad Flower Ice Coffin · End” had consumed quite a bit.

She looked at the giant crocodile's corpse and said indifferently: “When dealing with a Demonic Beast of this level, either don't attack, or if you do, it must be fatal.”