46: Chapter 46 Taking a Risk, Fragments Recognize Their Owner

The Cold Flood Dragon's vertical pupils locked onto him; the crisis of death felt like ice awls piercing his bones!

Retreat? All previous efforts would be wasted! Besides, the Cold Flood Dragon had already noticed him, the retreat path was sealed by ice, and no matter how fast he was underwater, he couldn't outrun a Tier 2 Yao Beast!

He had to risk his life! He had to snatch the fragment before the Cold Flood Dragon's attack arrived, then escape in the fastest way possible!

Although the status of the gui water escape talisman (damaged) was unknown, it was his only hope at this moment! The ice soul snow lotus was good, but the fragment was what the ancient ring yuan sha craved—it was the top priority!

In the blink of an eye, Lin Ye no longer hesitated. In his eyes, there was only the pitch-black fragment within arm's reach and those few swaying ice soul snow lotus.

His left hand reached out like lightning, not grabbing the snow lotus, but directly seizing the pitch-black fragment that was slightly vibrating at the lotus roots!

At the same time, his right hand's five fingers spread, and cold spiritual power turned into several threads, sweeping towards the nearest two ice soul snow lotus, pulling them out by the roots!

The fragment was in his hand, biting cold, yet it carried a strange throb that seemed to resonate with his Soul. The ice soul snow lotus also fell into his hand, its faint fragrance hitting his nose.

And the moment he succeeded—

"Roar—!!!"

The Cold Flood Dragon was thoroughly enraged! The treasure it guarded (especially that fragment, which seemed to have some significance to it) had been stolen, causing it to let out a deafening roar! The entire ice cave trembled, the pool water exploded, and a dark blue cold breath, thicker and more condensed than before, like a dragon's breath, blasted down toward the water area where Lin Ye was!

Before the cold air arrived, the extreme low temperature had already started to freeze the pool water. Lin Ye felt as if his blood were about to congeal!

There was no time to think, no time to feel the fragment and the ice soul snow lotus. Lin Ye injected all his spiritual power without reservation into the damaged "gui water escape talisman" in his arms, which was covered in cracks and had dim spiritual light!

The escape talisman flickered slightly, then became unstable, seemingly about to shatter completely at any moment.

But at this life-and-death juncture, perhaps because he was in the environment of mystic yin true water, or perhaps because the aura emitted by the fragment had triggered something, the escape talisman barely stabilized, erupting with its final radiance, wrapping Lin Ye along with the fragment and ice soul snow lotus in his hands!

Whoosh!

The pale blue escape light had just lit up when the Cold Flood Dragon's breath arrived!

Boom—!!!

The terrifying cold breath completely froze that area of water, forming a huge ice block emitting chilling cold air! Even the pool water was solidified!

At the very instant before the ice sealed everything, the escape light narrowly penetrated the edge of the ice layer, twisted, and disappeared.

"Roar!!!" The Cold Flood Dragon roared repeatedly, its huge head looking around, but it could no longer find the trace of the "thief." Only a few torn ice soul snow lotus leaves floated on the water surface.

It angrily swung its tail, smashing the ice block into pieces, then issued a threatening roar toward the severely injured Murong Bai and Miss Liu in the corner, before unwillingly sinking slowly into the pool to continue guarding the remaining ice soul snow lotus.

Murong Bai and Miss Liu were already pale with fright. Seeing the Cold Flood Dragon sink back into the pool, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the look in each other's eyes remained full of vigilance and despair—the entrance was sealed by ice, and they were severely injured; how could they get out?

The pale blue escape light enveloped Lin Ye, shuttling through the cold, dark, and twisted spatial channel.

This teleportation was far more unstable and painful than when he came out of the Xuanyuan Cave Abode last time. The escape talisman was already damaged, and it was forcibly activated under the interference of the Cold Flood Dragon's attack. The spatial channel was full of cracks, and the violent spatial turbulence tore at his body.

The old wound on his left shoulder split open, new wounds were added, and blood sprayed from his mouth.

But his right hand tightly gripped the pitch-black fragment and the two ice soul snow lotus, while his left hand held the escape talisman, injecting the last bit of spiritual power to maintain the escape light.

He didn't know how long it had been—perhaps it was just a moment, or perhaps it was incredibly long.

Thump!

Lin Ye fell heavily onto a piece of cold snowy ground. The escape light dissipated completely, and the broken escape talisman in his hand turned into fly ash.

He struggled to lift his head, gasping for the cold air.

Before his eyes was a vast world of ice and snow, with cold winds howling and glaciers stretching into the distance. It seemed he was still within the range of the Beiming Cold Abyss, but he was far away from that ice cave.

Temporarily safe.

He immediately checked his condition: the injuries were very heavy, both internal and external, and his spiritual power was exhausted. But fortunately, he had obtained the items!

He opened his right hand.

In his palm, the pitch-black fragment lay quietly, about the size of a palm, irregular in shape, with sharp edges. It was pitch black as ink, but inside, it seemed as if countless tiny starlight were flowing, deep and mysterious. Holding it in his hand, there was a cold, heavy texture, and even a strange suction force, as if it were actively absorbing the surrounding cold air, and even... absorbing the cold spiritual power in his body?

And those two ice soul snow lotus, although roughly torn off, were still crystal clear, emitting rich vitality and cold air. They were precious medicines for healing and Cultivate.

Lin Ye carefully put the ice soul snow lotus into his Storage Pouch (preserved in a jade box).

Then, all his attention was focused on this pitch-black fragment.

After obtaining the fragment, the throb of the ancient ring yuan sha not only did not subside, but became even more intense, as if it had met a long-lost relative, transmitting a strong desire and... intimacy?

Lin Ye tried to probe a trace of weak spiritual sense into the fragment.

Hum!

The fragment shook violently, the starlight inside accelerated its flow, and a huge, ancient, cold, yet sharp-willed stream of information, like a bursting flood, fiercely rushed into his Sea of Consciousness!

"Ah—!" Lin Ye groaned, his vision went black, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he almost fainted.

The information stream was too huge and complex, and carried a strong impact.

He gritted his teeth and persisted, holding onto the last bit of clarity in his mind.

In a trance, he "saw" broken images:

A massive ancient sword that reached the sky and earth, seemingly condensed from thousands of stars, lay across the endless Void Realm. The sword body was covered in cracks, emitting terrifying power that could cut through the galaxy and destroy all worlds... Then, the ancient sword shattered, and the fragments scattered across the heavens and worlds...

One of the smaller fragments fell into an extremely cold ice field (Beiming?), buried deep underground, nourished by the mystic yin true water for eternity, coexisting with the ice soul snow lotus...

Inside the fragment, a trace of the ancient sword's Origin remained—the essence of [starfall cold iron], as well as a faint Legacy imprint regarding sword techniques (or Sword Intent)...

The information stream gradually subsided.

Lin Ye collapsed on the snowy ground, soaked in cold sweat, but his eyes burst with unprecedented brilliance!

starfall cold iron! A peerless material formed by the fall of ancient stars, tempered by the mystic yin qi of eternity! It was one of the highest Materials for refining ice-attribute and star-attribute Magic Treasure! And this fragment was the essence of it!

What surprised him even more was that the remaining sword technique Legacy imprint in the fragment, although incomplete, was of extremely high grade. Its Concept was profound and seemed related to [Stars], [Cold], and [Destruction]. If he could comprehend it, it would have immeasurable benefits for perfecting his own Sword Intent and even finding his Lifebound Treasure in the future!

No wonder the ancient ring yuan sha was so eager! This ring was already related to "metal sharpness," and this starfall cold iron fragment was a great supplement for its growth!

He endured the severe pain and weakness, struggled to sit up, and brought the fragment close to the ancient ring yuan sha on his left hand.

Hum—!

The ancient ring erupted with unprecedented brilliant starlight. The cloud patterns on the ring surface seemed to come alive, reflecting the starlight in the fragment. A pure, vast, and cold star iron essence, like a trickling stream, was extracted from the fragment and injected into the ancient ring.

The color of the ancient ring changed from star silver to a deeper, more brilliant "dark star" color at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a phantom of the galaxy flowing faintly appeared on the ring surface. Its internal space also seemed to be expanding slowly, and the nourishing power fed back to Lin Ye was even purer and more powerful.

At the same time, the Legacy imprint of the sword technique in the fragment also turned into dots of starlight, merging into Lin Ye's Sea of Consciousness. Although he couldn't understand it for the time being, it was like a seed waiting to sprout.

This was a slow process; the essence in the fragment could not be absorbed in a moment.

Lin Ye put away the fragment (the ancient ring was still slowly absorbing), and took a petal of the ice soul snow lotus (chewed it directly). The pure cold medicinal power dissolved, nourishing his damaged Meridians and internal organs. Combined with the "Ice Soul Sword Art," his injuries began to recover slowly.

He had to leave here immediately; the Cold Flood Dragon might track his aura at any time, and the environment here was harsh, not suitable for staying long.

Identifying the direction (according to the sun and cold wind), he stumbled away from the ice cave and away from Cold Crow City.

Three days later.

In a leeward ice valley, Lin Ye opened a simple ice cave to stay temporarily.

His injuries were mostly healed by the medicinal power of the ice soul snow lotus and the operation of his Cultivation Technique, and his cultivation had also benefited from the disaster, breaking through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining Stage 5 under the edge of life and death and the nourishment of the fragment's Star Power.

He took out the starfall cold iron fragment and examined it carefully.

The starlight on the fragment seemed to have dimmed a bit, but it was still deep. The absorption of the ancient ring yuan sha was still continuing, and progress was slow.

He tried to comprehend the sword technique Legacy imprint in the fragment again.

The imprint was incomplete, with only three vague sword move Concepts and a cryptic general outline.

First move: [Starfall] — Invoking the power of stars (or similar power), turning it into a meteor strike, powerful and unstoppable.

Second move: [Ice Seal] — Extreme cold Sword Intent, freezing everything, even spiritual power and Divine Soul could be frozen.

Third move: [Return to Ruins] — Destruction Sword Intent, making all things return to silence, severing all vitality and Karma.

The general outline emphasized "Mind and sword as one, using the spirit to control the sword, incorporating star and cold intent, breaking the illusions of all laws."

Although incomplete, the conception was lofty and the power was infinite, far exceeding any sword technique he had learned so far.

"This sword technique shall be named 'Starfall Ice Soul Sword'." Lin Ye realized in his heart that this fragment Legacy, along with his "Ice Soul Sword Art," the ancient ring yuan sha, and even the starfall cold iron itself, fit perfectly together.

He sat cross-legged, holding the fragment, trying to sense and simulate the three Sword Intents according to the guidance of the general outline.

In the ice cave, starlight twinkled, and the cold was biting.

Several months later.

In the ice valley, a figure moved and turned in the wind and snow.

There was no sword in his hand, but his fingertips spat out pale blue cold Sword Qi. Within the Sword Qi, there was a faint flow of starlight, carrying a heavy, cold, and destructive connotation.

It was Lin Ye practicing the incomplete "Starfall Ice Soul Sword."

Although he only had the form and not the spirit, and its power was not even one-ten-thousandth of the true Legacy, it was already much stronger than his previous three incomplete Sword Intents: [Severing Flow], [Hidden Edge], and [Shattered Jade].

More importantly, after several months of hard cultivation, under the dual nourishment of the starfall cold iron fragment and the ancient ring yuan sha, his cultivation had stabilized at the Peak of Qi Refining Stage 5, just one step away from the 6th layer. The "Ice Soul Sword Art" and "Mystic Jade Body" had also improved.

But the star iron essence in the fragment was about to be absorbed by the ancient ring, and the ice soul snow lotus had been used up.

It was time to leave Beiming and go look for new Opportunities and resources.

He spread out the qingming residual map, his eyes falling on a blurred mark at the edge of the map, with some small characters next to it: "There is a city in the far north, named 'Frost Snow', a place where Loose Cultivator gather and trade."

Frost Snow City? It seemed to be the largest Loose Cultivator trading city in the Beiming land.

There, he might be able to inquire about more news regarding starfall cold iron, mystic yin true water, and even other Opportunities in the "Qingming Ruins."

He could also sell some Materials he didn't need (such as the remaining red fire copper essence and Yao Beast Materials) in exchange for what he needed for Cultivate.

More importantly, Frost Snow City was a mix of dragons and snakes, with well-informed news. He might be able to find out the latest trends regarding the Qingyun Sect, the demon abyss sword, and the Yinkui Sect.

Lin Ye put away the residual map and looked toward the depths of the wind and snow in the north.

A new journey was about to begin.

[Please choose the direction for Chapter 47]

A. Head to Frost Snow City: Set off immediately for Frost Snow City. Exchange for resources, gather information, and prepare for the next step of Cultivate and finding Opportunities.

B. Continue deep into the Cold Abyss: The fragment and ice soul snow lotus have been obtained, but there may be other Opportunities deep in the Cold Abyss (such as more starfall cold iron fragments, purer mystic yin true water). Venture deep to explore the core secrets of the Cold Abyss.

C. Return to Cold Crow City: The most dangerous place is the safest place. The danger of the Cold Flood Dragon may have passed. Return to Cold Crow City to rest and recover, and by the way, inquire about the aftermath of the ice cave (the life and death of Murong Bai and Miss Liu, the reactions of Xuanbing Pavilion and Cold Moon Sect).