87: Ice wall collapse

It was not only the low-level Contract Masters on the ground being pulled toward the ice wall, but also those Spirit Rank Contract Masters in the air; in fact, the suction force exerted on them was even stronger.

They were pulled onto the ice wall even sooner, and visibly, the flesh of some Contract Masters withered away in an instant, turning them into skeletons wrapped in a layer of skin in just a blink of an eye.

The quick-witted among them soon inflicted numerous wounds on themselves, just like Chu Jingyu, to alleviate the suction force of the ice wall.

Following that, various Source Beasts were summoned by those Spirit Rank Contract Masters, but the terrifying price was that before those Source Beasts could even steady themselves in the air, they were dragged toward the ice wall by an even greater force.

Red lines of blood in the air acted like bridges connecting the ice wall and the Contract Masters, and one of the Contract Masters roared,

"Huo Guangcheng, I come from the Seventh-Rank Ling Family of Qingyang. Do you dare to use me as a sacrifice? Are you not afraid of my Ling Family retaliating?"

So Old Ancestor Huo was actually named Huo Guangcheng. Chu Jingyu looked up and swallowed another leaf from the "Ginseng Baby" in his mouth, silently observing the situation on the field.

Old Ancestor Huo muttered to himself, "Huo Guangcheng, it has been a long time since I last heard that name."

The next moment, his figure turned into ink and tumbled through the air, instantly arriving in front of the person who had shouted.

"The Seventh-Rank Ling Family? That is even better. You must have more Luck on you."

As he spoke, while the young man wore a terrified expression, Old Ancestor Huo gently pushed him on the shoulder.

Then, the young man was seen floating uncontrollably toward the ice wall, turning into a withered skeleton.

"Old Ancestor, I cannot hold on much longer." At the very center of the ice wall, Huo Fucheng, who had his palm pressed against the center of the formation patterns, had turned deathly pale at some unknown point in time.

Old Ancestor Huo moved in a flash, instantly arriving beside Huo Fucheng; the eyes beneath layers of white hair seemed to reveal a hint of faint dissatisfaction.

However, he did not say anything, instead slowly pressing his palm against the other side of the ice wall. The ice wall seemed unable to withstand the pressure, and cracks began to appear between the various formation patterns.

"This is the last time."

There was a sigh in Old Ancestor Huo's voice.

Then, Old Ancestor Huo's head slowly drooped. His body did not turn into skin and bone, because it was already skin and bone; instead, his entire body turned into ashes and dissipated into the air.

Panic appeared in Huo Fucheng's eyes. The situation before him was not within his expectations, and he hurriedly shouted, "Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor! How could this happen?"

"Fucheng."

A familiar call was transmitted from within the ice wall.

Huo Fucheng steadied his mind and looked into the ice wall, and then he saw that Old Ancestor Huo's figure had somehow been transferred into the ice wall.

Huo Fucheng's expression turned to one of pleasant surprise,

"Old Ancestor, you are still here! That is great."

Compared to when he was in the outside world, Old Ancestor Huo's face within the mirror surface seemed clearer, and not as aged as imagined.

He smiled at Huo Fucheng, "Fucheng, it is time to proceed to the next step of the ritual. Open your mind."

Huo Fucheng nodded, then slowly closed his eyes.

Old Ancestor Huo revealed a satisfied smile. He slowly raised his palm, and on the other side of the ice wall, it slowly overlapped with Huo Fucheng's palm.

The Qi of the two slowly overlapped at this moment. Around the ice wall and from the body of Old Ancestor Huo inside the ice wall, various energies that had merged into different colors surged toward Huo Fucheng.

Huo Fucheng's expression was ferocious; the influx of so much energy and Qi made him feel the pain of his Soul being torn apart.

However, this pain did not last long. He suddenly felt a sense of lightness in his body, as if he had shed all shackles.

Did it succeed?

He opened his eyes in pleasant surprise, but what met his gaze was a face extremely similar to his own.

However, the eyes on that face revealed a sense of vicissitudes and darkness that he could never possess.

He had only ever seen such eyes on Old Ancestor.

His mind jolted, and a thought appeared in the depths of his heart: Old Ancestor had taken over his body.

He raised his arms in disbelief, pounding against the back of the ice wall in front of him, roaring something.

Yet, all of this looked like a silent pantomime from outside the ice wall; one could only see the clownish, exaggerated performance within the ice wall.

Old Ancestor Huo, who had awakened in Huo Fucheng's body, raised the arm of his new body and examined it,

"This feeling of being full of vitality is truly nostalgic!"

Following that, he looked at the furious Huo Fucheng inside the ice wall and smiled,

"The Huo Family can exist without Huo Fucheng, but it cannot exist without Old Ancestor. Fucheng, you will surely understand Old Ancestor, right?"

Having successfully transferred the Soul, the suction force on the ice wall suddenly stalled, and the red lines of blood gathering in the air also slowly broke.

The ritual ended. One-quarter of the original Spirit Rank Contract Masters remained, and those low-level Contract Masters were less than one-tenth of the original number.

Old Ancestor Huo waved his finger gently, and the ink scroll unfurled in the sky slowly retracted, then condensed behind him into a constantly fluctuating scroll over two meters long.

Thick, rich ink emerged from the scroll, drowning and swallowing the scroll Huo Fucheng had left in the outside world as well as the closed-eyed ghost.

Neither of them offered any resistance, being dragged back into the wide scroll like food.

"Boom."

Amidst a loud noise that echoed throughout the valley, the ice wall that spanned the entire valley collapsed in an instant.

Behind the ice wall, a magnificent river nearly a hundred meters wide was revealed.

The ice blocks formed from the ice wall turned into one ice floe after another on the river, drifting toward the unknown distance with the current.

Old Ancestor Huo stared at the location where the ice wall had collapsed for a long time, unable to snap out of it; his eyes revealed many complex emotions such as bewilderment, regret, and pity.

Only then did he snap out of it and look at the remaining Contract Masters. His voice grew much louder,

"To be able to survive until now, you are the ones who truly possess great Luck."

His body slowly descended from the air, bringing with it an Aura that covered the entire valley.

The ink inside the scroll behind Old Ancestor Huo tumbled, as if it were about to rush out the next moment.

However, at the very next instant, his figure swayed slightly in the air, seemingly because he had just entered a new body and the Soul and flesh had not yet merged.

Old Ancestor Huo's brows furrowed slightly. This situation had never occurred before. He looked back; could it be the impact caused by the collapse of the ice wall?

The surviving Contract Masters, although they did not know what state Old Ancestor Huo was in, were not fools; anyone who did not run now would be an idiot.

Each Contract Master used the fastest speed of their lives to scatter and flee.

Some rushed toward the river behind the ice wall, some returned along the path they had come from in the valley, some rushed into the high sky, and others burrowed into the ground.