331: Chapter 239 The Snowfield Has No Solution, But I Have a Way to Survive

The ice plain fell silent.

"What exactly is here? Why does it stay like this? And why were you Seniors trapped here?"

Silence. After a long while, the Founding Ancestor of Divine Forging Sect spoke. His voice had returned to being steady, enunciating every word, unhurried.

"This place was once a fragment that fell from the Hancang Dao Prefecture, one of the three thousand Dao Prefectures. Countless tens of thousands of years ago, the Dao Prefecture shattered, and a fragment drifted into the Chaos, where it was discovered by the Origin of the Xuanhuang Small World. The Origin wanted to refine this fragment but discovered it was not simple. At the core of this fragment, there is a supreme treasure. Its grade is extremely high, at least the peak of the sixth rank, perhaps even the seventh rank."

Yun Ming's pupils constricted slightly. Seventh rank. That was a grade beyond the understanding of the Xuanhuang Small World. In the entire Xuanhuang Small World, even sixth-rank treasures could be counted on one hand. Seventh rank—that was something that only existed in legends.

"The Origin wanted to refine the fragment from the Hancang Dao Prefecture, but its power was blocked by that supreme treasure. Thus, it informed us—it informed the few most powerful Cultivators in the Xuanhuang Small World at that time." The Founding Ancestor of Divine Forging Sect lowered his voice slightly. "It let us come in to take that supreme treasure. In return, it would refine the remaining parts of the fragment and feed it back into the Small World, allowing Xuanhuang to ascend."

He paused. "We entered. And then, we never left."

Yun Ming's heart sank. "What about that supreme treasure?"

"No one found it." The First Palace Master of Star Palace took over, his weak voice tinged with bitterness. "We searched for a long, long time. So long that we forgot time itself. We cannot enter the core of the fragment, and we haven't even seen the shadow of the supreme treasure. We lost contact with the Origin, and we cannot find the way out. We are trapped here, becoming prisoners of this fragment."

Yun Ming was silent for a moment. "So, there is no exit here?"

"There is." The Master of Samsara Valley said only two words.

The Grand Elder of Taixu Grotto-Heaven took over, his deep voice carrying a hint of exhaustion. "But we cannot find it. The fragment changes every moment. You think you have memorized a path, but the next time you come, the path is gone. The ice surface, the clouds, the snow—everything is alive. It is preventing us from leaving."

The voice of the Supreme Elder of Cangwu Divine Mountain was no longer screeching. "It does not kill us, nor does it let us go. It just traps us here. Like a cage."

The Master of Myriad Demon Hall added hoarsely. "A cage that can never be opened."

Yun Ming did not speak. He looked up at the layer of clouds above that he could never touch, looked down at the ice surface beneath his feet that could never be shattered, and looked at the ice plain all around that he could never walk out of.

He suddenly understood where the exhaustion, numbness, and despair in those six voices came from. It was not because they were not strong enough; it was because they were so strong that they could not even die.

Trapped in a cage with no exit, for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, day after day, year after year.

No hope, no end. Only ice, only snow, only wind.

Yet Yun Ming did not give up.

He tried all the methods he could use.

He fully activated the Tahua Zizai Escape Technique, his extreme speed leaving countless afterimages on the boundless ice plain, but the snow plain beneath his feet remained unchanged throughout the ages, and there was simply no end in sight.

He unleashed the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Heaven-Controlling True Formula, and golden lightning filled the sky, crashing down violently onto the ice surface. It only caused a shallow ripple to explode, while the ice layer remained completely unmoved.

The cauldron of all things mother qi hung high above his head, and the golden crow feather ignited raging flames, turning into trails of fire Dragons that shot straight into the clouds, forcibly burning through the thick cloud layer. But in an instant, the broken clouds quickly gathered again, becoming even thicker and more oppressive than before.

The cicada wing sword flashed with cold light, stabbing diagonally deep into the thick ice, but the sword body probed into the Void Realm, touching nothing. He withdrew his long sword, only to see a layer of bone-chilling frost condensed on the thin blade, and several more cracks had appeared on the already densely cracked surface.

Yun Ming put away all his Magic Treasures and stood on the ice plain, panting heavily. Most of his internal Qi had been consumed, and the hundred-zhang Law of Heaven and Earth could no longer be maintained. His body slowly shrank, finally returning to the appearance of a normal person.

Just then, the six familiar voices rang out in turn, echoing across the dead silent snow plain.

The voice of the First Palace Master of Star Palace was weak and powerless, carrying a hint of indescribable sympathy: "Stop trying. We tried all these methods you used back in the day. Attacks stronger than yours, faster evasion techniques, and more exquisite Magic Treasures were all useless. This Dao Prefecture fragment is alive; it is deliberately imprisoning us. The harder you struggle, the tighter its blockade becomes."

The sharp laughter of the Supreme Elder of Cangwu Divine Mountain rang out, without a hint of mockery, leaving only bitterness in his throat: "Kid, don't think that only you know how to use fire attacks. Back then, I activated the Cang Wu Divine Fire, burning the heavens and boiling the seas, and burned for three whole years. As a result, the ice layer did not melt in the slightest, and I almost roasted myself to death here instead."

The Grand Elder of Taixu Grotto-Heaven gave a low huff, his tone filled with helplessness: "That time, you almost roasted us all along with it."

"That was an accident!" The Supreme Elder of Cangwu Divine Mountain immediately retorted loudly, "Who could have known that your protective spirit light was so unable to withstand burning!"

The Grand Elder of Taixu Grotto-Heaven gave a cold laugh: "My protective barrier couldn't withstand burning? It is clearly that your Divine Fire is too evil and strange, specifically designed to restrain Qi barriers. To this day, I still cannot figure out how the orthodox Divine Fire of Cang Wu Divine Mountain could have such bizarre characteristics."

"That is my unique secret technique! What do you know!" The Supreme Elder of Cangwu Divine Mountain's voice suddenly rose.

"Enough." The steady voice of the Founding Ancestor of Divine Forging Sect fell suddenly, directly suppressing the two's argument. His voice was calm as he slowly advised Yun Ming: "Young man, we have been trapped here for countless tens of thousands of years, and we have tried every possible method. Brute force, fire techniques, evasion techniques, spatial tearing—none of them worked. You are only at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, and even if you possess a few strange treasures, wanting to break open this ancient cage on your own is ultimately unrealistic. Save your strength."

Yun Ming stood silently, lowering his head slightly, letting the flying snow fall on his shoulders, accumulating a thin layer of white frost, without brushing it away at all.

He rapidly reviewed all the clues in his mind: the land of Law of extreme Yin and extreme cold, the rumors of a hidden supreme treasure, the ice layer that had never shattered throughout the ages, the impenetrable clouds, and the snow plain cage that six Void Refinement Divine Lords could not escape from despite exhausting all their methods.

They had tried all methods, but their raging fires were not the ultimate extreme Yang fire of the world; their extreme Yang Dao power was not the true warm sun of the heavens; what they relied on was never the true Origin of the sun.

But he had it.

Yun Ming slowly raised his head, looking up at the grey sky above, looking at the wind and snow that had never stopped for ages, and looking at the six ancient figures hidden in the depths of the ice plain.

His voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally firm, clearly spreading throughout the entire dead silent snow plain: "Seniors, I have an item that might be able to break this situation."

The Supreme Elder of Cangwu Divine Mountain immediately sneered, carrying a bit of disbelief: "Oh? You, a junior at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, can take out something that we, six great Void Refinement experts, have never seen? Let's hear it and let me broaden my horizons."