84: Chapter 84 The Deal Inside the Ice Crack Seems a Bit of a Loss

The depths of her eyes were a calm ice lake, unruffled, as if the Sword Qi overhead capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks were merely a few raindrops falling outside a window.

And in his eyes, there was a wolf, a blade, the kind of venom-quenched cold light that only ignites when on the brink of desperation.

Boom!

Another strike of Sword Qi descended, this time closer. The entire ice rift felt as if it had been struck by a giant hammer; spiderweb-like cracks split the ceiling, and ice fragments mixed with dust fell in a rustle. A few shards grazed Shen Xiao's cheek, carving out thin, bloody scratches.

The ice fragment in his palm grew increasingly scorching amidst the tremors. The dormant "quietude" was stirred by external forces, and the frozen starlight points within flashed frantically, like the low roar of a sleeping giant beast being disturbed.

Shen Xiao's gaze fell upon the hand Xia Lengbai had extended.

Slender, fair, with distinct knuckles, her fingertips wreathed in a faint, ethereal cold air; it looked like an invitation, yet also like a trap.

He did not take it.

Not only did he not take it, but he suddenly bent over, a mouthful of blood foam mixed with ice shards spilling from the corner of his mouth. With a plop, it landed on the icy ground beneath his feet, congealing into a tiny, dark red ice flower.

The injuries to his internal organs were worsened by the violent tremors; the Dark Gold Spiritual Energy in his Meridians was like muddied water being stirred up, rushing about chaotically, battering his internal organs until they screamed in protest.

Yet, Shen Xiao's eyes were clearer than ever.

He slowly straightened up, wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and held the ice fragment up between the two of them.

The ice-blue cold radiance reflected off his pale face, and also reflected in Xia Lengbai's bottomless ice-blue pupils. Two clusters of blue light confronted and entangled each other in the darkness, like two silent snakes.

"Want to know what I 'saw'?"

Shen Xiao spoke, his voice hoarse yet carrying a blade-like sharpness,

"Sure."

He paused, his gaze locking onto every subtle expression of Xia Lengbai like a hawk, saying word by word:

"But you must help me block that person outside right now."

He shook the ice fragment in his palm, the cold radiance swaying along with it, casting flickering light and shadow between them.

"At least... drag it out until I figure out how to use this thing."

Outside the ice rift, Lin Yun's angry roar came again, carrying overwhelming spiritual power like rolling thunder: "Shen Xiao!

Do you think you can hide?!

If I don't tear you to pieces today, I, Lin Yun, will not rest!"

Before the words faded, another strike of Sword Qi descended, this time directly shaving off a corner of the ice rock at the entrance of the ice rift. Ice shards splattered, and cold air overflowed.

Shen Xiao didn't even blink, just stared fixedly at Xia Lengbai, waiting for her answer.

Xia Lengbai withdrew her hand.

The movement was very slow, as if withdrawing a rejected gift, yet it carried a certain indifferent composure.

As her fingertips were retracting, she took the opportunity to gently brush her smooth glabella.

That touch was like casting a pebble onto a calm lake surface.

The Tomb Guardian Seal suddenly lit up, a pale blue halo diffusing from her glabella to the surroundings, like ancient runes being awakened, circulating a certain aura that was of the same origin as the Seal beneath their feet, one that instinctively made people feel oppressed.

That aura was dormant, ancient, carrying a deathly silence that had remained unmoved for ten thousand years, yet it pulsed at Xia Lengbai's glabella, as if recounting some unspeakable contract and binding.

"Drag him out?"

Xia Lengbai's tone remained flat, as casual as if she were discussing what color dharma robe to wear today.

"The price is not small."

She raised her eyes, her ice-blue pupils illuminated by the light of the Tomb Guardian Seal, looking like two ignited sapphires, cold and dazzling.

"However..."

She suddenly pursed her lips and smiled.

The smile was very faint, just the corners of her lips curving upward ever so slightly. She remained cold and aloof, yet it inexplicably reminded Shen Xiao of an ice lotus blooming on a snowy plain—beautiful, yet carrying a bone-chilling determination.

"My interest in the 'Gate' is indeed greater than my interest in watching you die."

Having said this, she turned around.

Her moon-white skirt hem traced an arc in the darkness, like a falling snowflake.

With her back to Shen Xiao, facing the entrance of the ice rift, her voice was so faint it sounded as if it came from very far away:

"Remember, your life now has a share belonging to me."

Shen Xiao's pupils constricted slightly.

The meaning behind these words was heavier than what was on the surface.

His life, from this moment on, no longer belonged entirely to himself.

But he had no time to dwell on it, because Xia Lengbai had already moved.

She formed Seals with her hands in front of her, her ten fingers crossing and flying like butterflies flitting through flowers. Every hand Seal carried a certain ancient rhythm, as if replicating a hand technique left behind by some ancestor ten thousand years ago.

The Tomb Guardian Seal at her glabella shone brilliantly, blue light pouring out like water, enveloping her entire being as if she were a statue cast from ice and snow.

The next second, an aura permeated from her body.

That aura...

Shen Xiao's breath hitched instantly.

That was not spiritual power, not magic power, not any force he had ever seen or perceived.

It was a fluctuation of the same origin as the Seal beneath his feet, so ancient it was heart-palpitating, like a giant beast that had slept for ten thousand years turning over in its dream, or like a glance cast across time and space by some sealed will.

Dormant.

Deathly silent.

Absolutely static.

Yet it carried an indescribable sense of being "alive," as if this aura itself were the reverberation of some contract, a "program" inscribed within the rules of heaven and earth being triggered once again.

This aura surged out from Xia Lengbai, instantly filling the entire ice rift, dyeing every inch of space in that ancient and cold blue.

Shen Xiao felt as if he were soaking in a frozen river of time; everything around him became slow and heavy, even his heartbeat seemed suppressed by some force, becoming sluggish and weak.

But he knew, this was just the beginning.

Sure enough, after filling the ice rift, the aura did not stop. Instead, like invisible tentacles, it spread outward along the gaps of the ice rift, radiating precisely toward the top of the Ice Rift Valley, toward the direction where Lin Yun was.

Meanwhile, in the direction of the Seal entrance, an almost identical fluctuation was "simulated."

No, not simulated.

It was a "projection."

Utilizing the power of the Tomb Guardian Seal, Xia Lengbai drew, amplified, and directionally radiated the residual ancient aura from the Seal entrance, creating a realistic illusion as if the Seal entrance were violently fluctuating again, as if something even more terrifying were about to break through the Seal.

Shen Xiao's pupils constricted abruptly.

This move was ruthless enough.

And above the Ice Rift Valley.

Lin Yun was leading several trusted Disciples, forcibly advancing through the chaotic herd of beasts.

The golden light of Luck around his body was as scorching as the sun, knocking away the approaching Vicious Beasts one by one. Behind him, several Disciples formed a sword array, Sword Qi crisscrossing, cutting down any fish that slipped through the net.

"It's right ahead!" Killing intent boiled in Lin Yun's eyes, his Divine Sense spreading out like a net, firmly locking onto the direction of the ice rift. "That brat can't run far, get him..."

Before his words faded, his expression changed drastically.

Up ahead, a violent, heart-palpitating ancient Seal fluctuation erupted without warning!

The source of that fluctuation was exactly the ice rift where Shen Xiao was hiding!

No, that wasn't right; the fluctuation was stronger, more ancient, and more... dangerous than before!

"Careful! Form the array!"

Lin Yun shouted sharply, subconsciously thinking that Shen Xiao had triggered some taboo again, or that the Seal was on the verge of total collapse.

He dared not be negligent, using the golden light of Luck to protect his body with all his might. A layer of dense golden runes appeared around him, enveloping his entire being like a golden-armored divine general.

The Disciples behind him also changed color, immediately contracting the formation, spiritual power surging wildly, forming a defensive sword array, and looking vigilantly toward the direction from which the fluctuation came.

Lin Yun's speed was forced to slow down. He cautiously swept his Divine Sense toward the source of the fluctuation, but only "saw" a chaotic surge of aura, so ancient it made him instinctively feel uneasy. He simply could not penetrate that layer of mist to glimpse the truth inside.

"Damn it..." Lin Yun gritted his teeth, a flash of wariness in his eyes. "What exactly is under this Seal?"

He had to temporarily stop his steps and re-evaluate the situation.

And deep in the ice rift...

Shen Xiao felt it.

The aura outside stalled.

Lin Yun's speed slowed down, and that sense of being watched like needles on his back developed a brief, precious gap.

He did not hesitate.

The last wisp of Dark Gold Spiritual Energy in his body was forcibly extracted. Ignoring the tearing pain coming from his Meridians, he frantically poured it into the ice layer beneath his feet.

The spiritual power spread and permeated within the ice layer, extending downward along the trajectory of the ice rift. At the same time, he deliberately suppressed the aura of his spiritual power to the minimum, blending it into Xia Lengbai's overwhelming Tomb Guardian Seal aura, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, leaving no trace.

Then, he moved.

No jumping, no running. Like a swimming fish, he clung tightly to the inner wall of the ice rift, using the traction of the spiritual power in the ice layer to slide silently into the deeper depths.

The ice rift twisted and extended downward, becoming narrower and darker. The cold air in the air became increasingly heavy; every breath felt like swallowing crushed ice.

But Shen Xiao could not care about these things.

He went all the way down, and further down, passing through several turns so narrow they were almost impassable, finally finding another passage—an ice rift almost vertically downward, leading toward the hinterland of the ice plain, moving in the opposite direction of the Seal entrance.

The light of the ice fragment in his palm was forcibly suppressed to the minimum, leaving only a faint, ethereal cold radiance that flickered in the darkness, like a dying star.

The System's voice sounded intermittently in his mind, carrying static, carrying a kind of near-fanatical tremor:

"Protocol fragment... stability increased by 1.7%... energy signature locking... Host... Host..."

The voice suddenly paused, and then, using a tone of urgency never heard before, one that almost only humans would possess, it said the last sentence:

"It is calling to its kind."

Shen Xiao's pupils constricted sharply.

He lowered his head and looked at his palm.

Inside the ice fragment, those frozen starlight points were flashing synchronously at a strange frequency.

And that frequency...

Was completely identical to the pulsing of the System Silver Pattern within his body.