27: Original Ice and Snow Woman

On the side of the howling, cold mountain slope, Chu Jingyu leaned against a thick tree, preparing to rest his feet.

From his position, he could see the massive ice-blue ring released from the ice pillar.

It seemed that this also transmitted some kind of signal, as a slender bird hiding within the dark clouds in the sky began to reveal its form.

They had thin wings and long legs, their feathers were gray-white, their narrow eyes glowed with sharp light, and their crowns appeared to be irregular prismatic protrusions made of ice crystals.

The eyesight of an Uncommon Rank Contract Master allowed Chu Jingyu to instantly recognize what kind of Source Beast these birds were.

The Hán Háo Strange Bird is a type of Source Beast that likes to live in ice and snow, and its most outstanding ability is tracking, searching for isolated individuals with powerful energy fluctuations in the ice and snow, and hunting them in groups.

Chu Jingyu cursed inwardly, realizing that the Liu family truly intended, just as he had predicted, not to spare any independent Contract Master.

If killing all the Contract Masters in the town wasn't enough, then the clansmen of the Shi and Zhang families, who resided in the Town Chiefs Mansion, would likely not be spared either.

The Golden Jade Beast appeared by Chu Jingyu's hand, then burrowed into the snow beside the tree root.

In just a moment, a deep hole large enough for one person to pass through appeared next to the root.

Chu Jingyu watched the Hán Háo Strange Bird drawing closer and closer, turned, and jumped into the hole.

A golden yellow pincer emerged from the hole.

A moment later, the hole was restored to flatness, with a thin layer of snow covering the surface.

A Hán Háo Strange Bird landed on the large tree Chu Jingyu had just been leaning against, shaking the snow off the branches.

It looked strangely at the spot where the snow layer was significantly thinner than the surroundings, tilted its head as if contemplating something, and then flew off toward other areas.

About thirty meters deep underground, Chu Jingyu did not know if his current location was completely safe, or if the Liu family had other means of tracking people.

He could only instruct the Golden Jade Beast to curve and move the tunnel to a farther location.

After a great deal of effort, the man and the beast finally stopped in one place to rest... In Heyu Town, at the Liu family square.

In the end, Tang Cheng's two fists couldn't stand up against so many hands; wounded, he was tied up on the side with a rope capable of restraining internal energy, forced to watch the ceremony proceed.

Although Tang Cheng was already over forty, he had always lived within the family, and who knew that the very first time he ventured out, he would encounter such an event.

This undoubtedly subjected his mental state to immense shock.

His gaze was somewhat gloomy as he watched more soul ice crystals drifting in from the air.

The originally blurred figure inside the ice pillar was becoming clearer and clearer, and the ceremony seemed to be approaching its final moment.

By this time, the hunting outside had been going on for most of the day.

After an initial surge, the speed at which various soul ice crystals appeared began to slow down again.

The Liu Family Head sensed that the Source Beast he had contracted within the ice pillar was only one step away from completing its transformation, but this final step was stubbornly refusing to happen.

He looked towards two directions in the town, his expression turning grim and solemn.

"The Shi family, the Zhang family, I require the spirits of two Spirit Rank Contract Masters.

Let each family contribute one."

He stood beside the ice pillar, yet his voice traveled far to the locations of the Shi and Zhang families, striking the hearts of both clansmen like falling icicles.

From the cluster of stone houses belonging to the Shi family far away, an elder who appeared to be in charge walked out of a house, bowing respectfully toward the ice pillar in the sky.

"Please forgive Family Head Liu, my Shi family is merely a minor ninth-rank clan.

How could we possibly have a Spirit Rank Contract Master to serve as a sacrifice for the Liu family?"

The elder trembled, his attitude respectful, but his words did not satisfy the Liu Family Head.

The Liu Family Head gently waved his arm in the direction of the Shi family, and a gigantic ice sword, dozens of meters wide, hovered over the entire Shi family compound.

"If there is no Contract Master, a Spirit Rank Source Beast guardian will suffice."

The Liu Family Head's calm words caused the elder's expression to change drastically, turning his trembling into horror.

This Liu family was truly terrifying; they even knew the exact strength of the family's final hidden foundation.

Just as the gigantic ice sword was about to descend upon the Shi family buildings, a massive stone within the Shi family compound transformed, instantly shapeshifting into the appearance of a colossal stone man.

Although its appearance was not refined, the rough, wild aura emanating from it declared its identity as a Spirit Rank Source Beast.

It clasped its hands together, crushing the gigantic ice sword at the blade into fragments, shattering it into ice crystals that filled the sky.

Although the colossal stone man remained silent, its rebellious attitude added a measure of displeasure to the Liu Family Head's face.

His voice revealed a chilling coldness, "It is merely low-tier Spirit Rank.

Qiancheng, bring it back to me."

A middle-aged man waiting outside the square bowed with cupped hands, and, taking the ice fox beside him that wore ice crystal earrings, headed toward the Shi family's location.

Before long, the sounds of battle came from the Shi family's direction.

Although the stone man was dozens of meters tall and looked imposing, it quickly fell into a disadvantage under the ice fox's continuous attacks.

The ripple effects of the two Source Beasts' battle even destroyed the Shi family's ancestral hall, and many Shi family members were wounded or killed in the fighting.

The Liu Family Head turned his gaze toward the Zhang family's direction and spoke again, "Does the Zhang family require me to make a trip personally?"

Not long after, a very ancient elder walked out of the Zhang family compound.

His face was covered in a thin layer of skin, wrinkled like the bark of a dead tree.

He did not look like a living person, but rather a withered corpse that had crawled out of a coffin.

His extremely hoarse and dry voice seemed to emanate from his abdomen.

"This old man... is willing to contribute to the Liu family's advancement ceremony.

I only hope, Family Head Liu, that you do not make things difficult for my Zhang family descendants."

Seeing that someone was finally willing to cooperate, a slightly appeased expression finally appeared on the Liu Family Head's face.

"Since you are willing to offer yourself as a sacrifice, I naturally will not make things difficult for the rest of the Zhang family."

Regarding Family Head Liu's words, the withered elder neither confirmed nor denied them.

At this moment, everyone in the entirety of Heyu Town was merely fish on the Liu family's chopping block.

It was only a matter of seeing how much the Liu family needed to be satisfied.

The elder's current voluntary offering was merely an attempt to ensure the Zhang family was left until last, gaining a chance at survival.

The elder turned back to look at the Zhang family descendants kneeling all over the ground behind him, managing a difficult smile at the corner of his mouth.

"I am leaving now.

From this day forward, you must work together wholeheartedly and absolutely must not let the Zhang family bloodline end with you.

Only by surviving is there hope."

Saying this, amid the swirling wind and snow, the elder slowly closed his eyes, and his withered body slowly fell backward.

A bright, smooth, palm-sized soul ice crystal flew out from his forehead.

Upon seeing this scene, the Zhang family descendants kneeling on the ground collectively let out a mournful cry, "Old Ancestor~"

The highest-ranking Zhang family members in the front caught the elder's body, and then, with expressions of grief and humiliation, slowly placed the elder's corpse into a luxurious coffin.

The soul formed by the Zhang family ancestor calmly merged into the ice pillar, becoming the brightest pearl on the skirt of the humanoid Source Beast within it.

Finally, as the stone man was also decapitated and the remaining human spiritual power within it merged into the ice pillar, the figure inside the ice pillar completely opened its eyes.

"Crack, crack,"

Fine cracks appeared on the ice pillar, and then, at a certain moment, they all shattered simultaneously, turning into blossoming ice crystal flowers suspended in the air.

The figure that had been dancing with closed eyes inside the ice pillar now completely stepped out of the ice pillar and into reality.

Its physique resembled that of a human, but its entire body was an icy blue color.

It was seven or eight meters tall, wearing a crown made of 'Ice Crystal Lotus' petals, and adorned with glittering fractured ice crystals on its forehead.

Its voluminous long dress made it look like a blooming cold ice lotus between heaven and earth, and its deep blue long hair spread out over the skirt like water ripples.

It quietly stepped through the air, instantly drawing everyone's attention, as if it were the sole protagonist of this world.

Its gaze calmly swept over the world, like a sacred goddess inspecting her territory.

At this moment, the white snow falling between heaven and earth also froze in the air, as if time had been half-stopped.

However, everyone knew in the next moment that this was just an illusion.

Because people could still move freely; only the wind and snow between heaven and earth were being controlled by the mysterious figure's will.

"Original Ice Snow Maiden."