182: Snow Lotus

His figure flashed as he instinctively dodged.

Looking closely, it was actually a piece of profound ice the size of a fist that grazed his shoulder and smashed heavily against the ice wall behind him, kicking up a fine mist of ice.

"Hmm? This profound ice?"

Seeing that fist-sized piece of profound ice, joy appeared on Lin Yan's face.

It seemed to have been polished, being perfectly round.

Most importantly, the color of this profound ice was a deep, eerie blue, and its cold Qi was awe-inspiring, far surpassing thousand-year profound ice.

"ten-thousand-year profound ice! Truly, I searched far and wide for it to no avail, only to find it so easily now!" Lin Yan could not help but clap his hands.

"Awoo! Roar!!!"

A Dao strange cry rang out.

Lin Yan's brows twitched slightly as he turned to look.

On a snowy slope not far away, a tall ape with a snow-white body was waving its arms and letting out a coarse, strange cry at him.

The ape had fur as white as snow and crimson eyes; it was a Snow Ape, a common Spirit Beast of the Snowy Plateau.

In its other hand, it was tightly clutching another round piece of ten-thousand-year profound ice of the same size.

"So it is you, you beast, causing trouble."

Instead of being annoyed, a hint of joy flashed in Lin Yan's eyes.

He raised his hand in a gesture and said in a calm tone, "Throw that piece over here too."

The Snow Ape seemed to understand, but instead of complying, it let out a threatening low growl and turned to dash toward the depths of the snowy slope riddled with caves, moving at an incredible speed.

"Trying to run?"

The corners of Lin Yan's mouth curled up. He stowed the piece of ten-thousand-year profound ice, a green light flashed beneath his feet, and his figure shot forward like an arrow from a bow.

Exerting his Foundation Establishment Ninth Level cultivation to the fullest, he closed in on the Snow Ape's back in just a few leaps.

The Snow Ape looked panicked and dived into a hidden crack in the mountain wall.

Lin Yan followed closely behind, his figure flickering as he entered as well.

Behind the crack was another world entirely.

This was not a natural ice cave, but a spacious one that had been artificially excavated.

Several strings of unknown beast-bone wind chimes hung on the cave walls, and some gathered herbs and stones were piled in a corner; it was clearly the Snow Ape's lair.

Lin Yan went deep inside, all the way to the innermost part of the cave.

The sight before him made him startle slightly.

In the center of the cave, several crystalline white lotuses emitting a dense cold Qi were quietly blooming.

"Is this the legendary Snow Lotus?!" Lin Yan was ecstatic.

Beside the Snow Lotuses, there was a pile of seven or eight fist-sized pieces of ten-thousand-year profound ice.

These pieces of profound ice were all round, discarded there carelessly like a child's toys.

"So that is how it is... this fellow actually treats ten-thousand-year profound ice as toys," Lin Yan realized.

Seeing him intrude into its territory and covet its "treasures," the Snow Ape flew into a rage.

Its eyes turned blood-red as it lunged at Lin Yan, its fists wrapped in Foundation Establishment Middle Stage spiritual power, smashing out Dao after Dao of ice spikes.

"Overestimating yourself."

Lin Yan stood his ground, not even unsheathing his sword.

With a slight sway, he dodged the Snow Ape's pounce and, with his right hand's fingers joined like a sword, tapped the back of its neck as fast as lightning.

The massive force caused the Snow Ape to stiffen, and its huge body crashed to the ground. After a few struggles, it completely lost its ability to resist, only able to glare at him angrily with its crimson eyes.

Lin Yan withdrew his hand, sparing its life.

Stepping forward, he looked at the pile of ten-thousand-year profound ice and then at the Snow Ape, saying indifferently:

"I will be taking these 'toys' then."

Lin Yan walked to the pile of ten-thousand-year profound ice and bent over to collect every single fist-sized piece of profound ice into his Storage Pouch.

With these pieces of ten-thousand-year profound ice, this trip has reached Perfection.

The Snow Ape let out an angry low growl but was powerless to resist.

After collecting the profound ice, his gaze fell upon those few Snow Lotuses.

The Snow Lotuses looked as if they were carved from ice and jade, with crystal-clear petals. At the center of the pistils, visible wisps of white cold Qi swirled like mist, emitting a refreshing fragrance and a dense medicinal aroma.

"There are several types of Snow Lotus; the most famous is the Tianshan Snow Lotus. It is rumored that to Cultivate beside it has the effects of strengthening the foundation and cleansing the Divine Soul." "Ordinary Snow Lotuses do not have such effects, but they are still top-tier auxiliary ingredients for refining high-level Medicinal Pills."

He took out a small jade shovel and carefully dug around the roots of the Snow Lotus, his movements gentle and precise, for fear of damaging this delicate spirit plant.

After a moment, a complete Snow Lotus, along with the frozen soil at its roots, was fully unearthed. He carefully placed it into a prepared jade box and stowed it in his spiritual plant bag.

Without stopping, he continued to dig up the other two Snow Lotuses.

The Snow Ape nearby regained a bit of strength but did not dare to stop him.

It hid in the corner, growling softly as it watched Lin Yan.

It looked like a child sobbing in grievance after having their toys stolen.

Another Snow Lotus was placed into the spiritual plant bag, and Lin Yan was about to dig up the third one.

At that moment, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended.

Boom!

The temperature inside the cave plummeted, and even the space seemed to freeze.

Sweeping his Divine Sense, his heart sank. This aura was so strong that it far surpassed an ordinary Purple Mansion Realm cultivator; it was at least at the Purple Mansion Peak, or perhaps it had even stepped into the fourth realm!

"Ga ga ga..."

The Snow Ape in the corner showed a look of ecstasy, pounding its chest with its fists as it suddenly became excited.

"This Snow Ape is just a cub; the parent is back..."

The thought flashed through his mind, and Lin Yan made a decisive move, abandoning the Snow Lotus and turning to dash toward the cave entrance.

Just as he moved, a deafening roar exploded within the cave.

Behind him, a giant ape over ten feet tall burst through the ice.

The massive Snow Ape's white fur stood on end, its eyes were blood-red, and its aura was violent.

It was indeed the "parent" of the little Snow Ape from before.

The giant ape swept its Divine Sense and discovered that Lin Yan had not only beaten its cub but also stolen its precious Snow Lotuses.

It let out a furious roar and struck at Lin Yan with a palm from a distance.

The spiritual power condensed in its palm transformed into a massive white palm print, carrying the power to crush mountains as it headed straight for the back of Lin Yan's heart.

"Holy crap!"

Lin Yan's eyes narrowed.

Too strong! I am no match!

In the moment of crisis, Lin Yan advanced instead of retreating. Behind him, a massive, lush green phantom of a Spirit Willow appeared, its branches like Dragons and its roots digging into the earth.

Dao Foundation Manifestation, Spiritual Willow Suppressing Mountains and Rivers!

With a low shout, the Spirit Willow phantom surged in size, its thousands of willow branches coiling up like spirit snakes to forcefully intercept that Dao distant giant palm.

"Bang!"

Amidst the deafening explosion, the Spirit Willow phantom trembled violently, and a large number of willow leaves shattered.

Lin Yan felt like he had been struck by lightning. He was sent flying backward, unable to stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Such powerful demonic power..."

He felt a chill in his heart, but at the same time, he was secretly relieved.

If not for the full power of his Dao Foundation Manifestation and the protection of his third-rank defensive robe, he would have been heavily injured, if not killed, by this single palm strike.

Having failed to land the blow, the giant ape roared and lunged again.

"Want to chase me? Let us see if you have the ability!"

The previous strike had allowed Lin Yan to put some distance between himself and the Snow Ape.

Forcing down his churning Qi and blood, he tapped his toe on the ice, and his figure instantly became blurred.

"Eight Directions Sword Step!"

His figure seemed to merge into the Eight Directions of the Void Realm, every step perfectly aligning with his Sword Intent, moving at an incredible speed.

At the same time, with a thought, his Wind Intent erupted with full force, as if a pair of invisible wind wings had unfurled behind him, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.

"Swish!"

Lin Yan transformed into a Dao green sword light, frantically weaving across the snowy plains, leaving behind only a Dao faint afterimage and a series of hurried beast roars.