176: Chapter 176 A Family Reunion

The ravine where the Ivory Throne was located seemed to have been intentionally carved out from the map of the Hyperborean Continent.

Surrounded by icy peaks on four sides, the interior of the ravine was flat, with a layer of permafrost blue ice shell covering the frozen soil year-round.

Hundreds of Noph-Keh were scattered across the ice shell. Some curled up inside runic indentations to nap, others crouched on the edges using their giant horns to wrestle, and a few young Noph-Keh chased dead tundra leaves blown down by the mountain wind across the open area in the center.

Right in the center of the ice shell stood a massive, towering ice sculpture.

The sculpture was completely transparent, without a single bubble or crack inside, shimmering with a pure, deep blue halo in the grayish-blue morning light.

An outline was sealed within—an Old God, also encased in ice, sat solemnly inside.

Rhan-Tegoth, God of the Ivory Throne, once one of the most revered Old Gods of the Hyperborean Continent, had slept beneath this ice shell for who knows how many years.

Xie Feng immediately pulled out a charcoal pencil and started sketching, while Tu Ziguan beside him frowned.

"Hey, now's not the time to be drawing, is it?"

"What the hell do you know? This is my first time seeing a Great Old One's physical main body. It's so worth commemorating."

The moment the Third Princess stepped into the ravine, her whole body froze in place.

The fragment of Rhan-Tegoth's tentacle inside her—which had been slowly throbbing ever since they entered the Hyperborean Continent—seemed violently activated at this moment by a tremendous summons.

Deep in her Dantian, the fragment throbbed violently; with every beat, it drew closer to its instinct to return home.

Zhou Jinglan stepped forward from the side to support her arm, but she shook her head to signal she could still hold on.

Xie Feng's spiritual perception swept across the entire ravine.

Hundreds of Noph-Keh were scattered all over the ice shell. Counting everything from cubs to adults, there were at least over three hundred.

A few male Noph-Keh closest to the edge of the ice shell had already stood up, turning their giant horns toward the entrance of the ravine, their throats emitting low, wary grunts.

They did not recognize these outsiders intruding into the Forbidden Ground, but they smelled the scent of Rhan-Tegoth's tentacle, and several people carried the blood of their kin.

It was splashed on them during the earlier fight with the villagers.

The dark-red pupils of these Noph-Keh contracted sharply. They lowered their giant horns and exerted force with all six limbs, slowly advancing toward the entrance.

"Sorry, excuse us."

Xie Feng didn't let them push forward any further.

Opening his five fingers, silver-white mana threads gushed out from his fingertips, weaving into a silver-white mirror surface in the sky above the ice shell.

Spacetime Gate.

Tsathoggua's cave was deep underground far beyond the ravine. The God of Toads' domain was spacious enough, so packing in this suddenly extra herd of white-furred giant beasts was no problem at all.

As for whether Tsathoggua would mind suddenly receiving a few hundred Noph-Keh as takeout?

Xie Feng mentally sent a short, perfunctory greeting to the God of Toads: *Old gentleman, you were quite happy accepting the Shituolin Swamp back in the imperial city last time. Do me another favor this time, and I'll treat you to something even better later.*

The silver-white mirror above the ice shell expanded abruptly. Hundreds of mana tentacles exerted force simultaneously, pulling the six giant limbs of every single Noph-Keh on the ice shell right off the ground.

For a moment, the ravine was filled with the terrified, harsh roars of the Noph-Keh and the dull thuds of their horns clashing, but the teleportation spell was executed fast enough. In just a few moments, all the Noph-Keh vanished above the ice shell.

Xie Feng pulled back his left hand and turned to the Third Princess.

The Third Princess released her hand pressing against her abdomen and, without needing anyone's support, stepped onto the now empty ice shell on her own.

She walked directly beneath that tall, ancient ice sculpture.

The vague contour sealed within the ice sculpture was still asleep, eyes unopened, but the tentacle fragment inside the Third Princess had stopped throbbing.

"So, what do we do next?"

Zhou Jinglan looked at the colossal Old God ice sculpture in front of them.

Xie Feng sat on the ground and began recovering his mana.

"Wait a bit. According to lore, Rhan-Tegoth's tentacle likes to absorb energy. I'll rest for a while, stuff some magic into the Third Princess, and then, attracted by its main body in front of us, the thing should go back on its own."

As Xie Feng sat recovering on the ground, he continued chatting with the Third Princess.

"By the way, I'm really curious how you got Rhan-Tegoth's favor. This thing is usually given to the Noph-Keh; they hold a ritual in front of the god.

A fibrous humanoid creature is used as a sacrifice, and at least two Noph-Keh sway their bodies through a complex and delicate etiquette, performing various movements. If their service satisfies Rhan-Tegoth, it implants its sacred substance into them; otherwise, they get eaten."

The Third Princess covered her Dantian and waved her hand.

"How would I know?"

Just as Xie Feng was recovering his mana, his cold crystal blind staff and heart suddenly began vibrating.

"Hey, what are you two so excited about? Did you spot your big boy?"

Rhan-Tegoth was a descendant of the Great Old One Aphoom-Zhah, once dwelling in the oceans of Yuggoth (Pluto).

It descended three million years ago.

Meaning Cthugha's grandchild generation, and Aphoom-Zhah's son generation.

Therefore, Xie Feng could understand the Lord of Ice and Flame and Cthu-ko being a bit excited upon seeing their junior descendant.

Their precious big boy, after all.

Then, a surge of magical fluctuation suddenly came from behind.

Xie Feng immediately waved his hand, and the Barrier of Nak-Titer spread out from beneath his feet in an instant.

A grayish-white mana shockwave blasted straight at the barrier from the direction of the ravine entrance, two forces of grayish-green and grayish-white exploding into a dense burst of scattered light upon impact.

On the icy rocks at the entrance of the ravine, three mages in magical robes slowly emerged from the light.

Two pale-skinned sorcerers stood in the front row—specifically the tall Duni and the short Uks Lodhan.

Behind them stood a young wizard wearing a leather satchel slung across his shoulder.

Tu Ziguan grabbed the maxim resting near his feet and pulled back the bolt, only to find that the barrel was still bent.

Cursing under his breath, he tossed the maxim onto the ground, drew the modified colt from his waist, and flicked off the safety with his thumb.

"The maxim's barrel isn't straightened yet; we can only use this thing to hold them off for a bit!"

Pressing the colt against his waist, he moved toward the nearest rock wall cover.

"Are you even acting like a Cultivator? What kind of Cultivator doesn't draw their blade when under attack, but looks for cover first?"

Xie Feng really couldn't bear to look.

The Imperial Guards' long sabers were already unsheathed. Over a dozen Imperial Guards behind him scattered simultaneously to form a blade formation, tightly protecting the Third Princess and Zhou Jinglan right in the middle.

"Look at them!"

Xie Feng thudded his cold crystal blind staff against the ground and stood up. His mana hadn't even recovered to half, but a dangerous grin stretched across his lips.

Upon closer inspection—wasn't that the sorcerer he asked on the street earlier?

Truly, appearances can be deceiving; this kid actually wasn't a good person either.