42: Chapter 42 Bloodbath in the Frozen Abyss

Several Ice Soul Palace warships hovered above the sea surface. The ice and snow Formations engraved on their hulls emitted a faint blue halo, like several moving icebergs, completely sealing off the sea area below. Onboard, dozens of Ice Soul Palace Cultivators dressed in snowy white attire stood ready, their crossbows and Formations aimed downward, as a chilling aura of slaughter filled the air.

At the bow of the leading warship stood three people, their auras as imposing as mountains and Peaks, all of them shockingly Golden Core Cultivators. The man in the center was a middle-aged man around forty years old, with a cold face, a high hair bun, and dressed in a silver-blue robe. His aura was the most formidable, having already reached the Late Stage Golden Core; he was none other than the Ice Soul Palace’s Elder of External Affairs, Elder Hanyue. On his left was a thin Elder with sinister eyes, a Mid-stage Golden Core. On his right was a young Cultivator with a pale face and a slightly unstable aura, yet his eyes were filled with hatred. He was precisely the Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator, Han Yufeng, who had previously cornered Old Ghost Mo in the North Sea Market and was caught in the self-detonation of the Xuanming True Water.

“Junior Martial Uncle Hanyue, that person below... must be the killer who murdered Old Ghost Mo and took the Xuanming True Water and the North Sea Chart!” Han Yufeng gnashed his teeth, pointing at the blurry figure below that was floating upward, locked onto by the spiritual light of the Formation. “Just now, there was a violent outbreak of Demonic Qi and combat fluctuations here, which must have been caused by this person, and he is coming right from the direction of the Cold Flood Dragon Gorge!”

Elder Hanyue’s expression was cold, his gaze like lightning, penetrating the dark seawater to land on Lin Wan, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He actually could not see through this person’s depth, only feeling that the other party’s aura was somewhat strange, as if integrated with the surrounding seawater and Void Realm, making him hard to grasp. Moreover, to be able to fight the guarding Ice Flood Dragon (they already knew there was a tier-four Yao Beast here) in the Cold Flood Dragon Gorge by himself and come out alive, he was definitely no ordinary person.

“Who goes below? State your name! Why have you appeared in our Ice Soul Palace’s Forbidden Ground?” Elder Hanyue spoke in a deep voice, his words like ten-thousand-year-old ice, passing clearly through the seawater into Lin Wan’s ears, carrying a heart-shaking chill.

Lin Wan’s rising figure stopped a hundred Zhang below the sea surface. He looked up through the shimmering ripples of light at the three people at the bow, especially the Late Stage Golden Core Cultivator who brought him the greatest pressure. Under the cover of his cloak’s hood, only a cold, hard jawline and thin lips were revealed.

“A Loose Cultivator, just passing through this place to hunt Yao Beasts and collect some Materials. I did not know this was your noble sect’s Forbidden Ground. I entered by mistake and will leave immediately.” Lin Wan’s voice was calm, also transmitting through the seawater, neither humble nor arrogant.

“Passing through? Hunting Yao Beasts?” Han Yufeng sneered. “The Cold Flood Dragon Gorge is occupied by a tier-four Ice Flood Dragon, which is a known danger zone of our Ice Soul Palace. You, a mere Loose Cultivator at the Early Stage Golden Core, can hunt a tier-four Ice Flood Dragon? What a joke! I think you are clearly coveting the sunken silver ore vein discovered by our sect, killing our Disciples, and stealing our treasures!”

A sunken silver ore vein? Lin Wan’s heart stirred slightly. It seemed the Ice Soul Palace also knew there was sunken silver there, but they apparently hadn’t explored it deeply, or perhaps they viewed it as their exclusive property, not allowing others to touch it. Old Ghost Mo’s North Sea Chart was probably leaked from within the Ice Soul Palace.

“I know nothing of any sunken silver ore vein. As for that Ice Flood Dragon, I was merely lucky. Taking advantage of its pre-existing injuries, I scared it away and did not hunt it. If you do not believe me, you may go and investigate for yourselves.” Lin Wan remained calm, attempting to buy time. Fighting head-on right now was definitely not wise.

“Hmph, what smooth-tongued words!” The sinister Elder snorted coldly, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes. “Senior Brother Hanyue, why waste words with him? For this person to come out of the Cold Flood Dragon Gorge safely, he must have gained something. Moreover, he is highly likely the murderer who killed our sect’s Disciples and stole our treasures! Capture him first, then perform soul searching and soul refining, and everything will naturally become clear!”

soul searching and soul refining! A cold light flashed in Lin Wan’s eyes. As expected, these great forces always acted tyrannically. Since this could not be resolved peacefully, then...

“In that case...” Elder Hanyue slowly raised his hand. The spiritual power of all the Cultivators on the ship was instantly mobilized, and the Formation’s light flared up. Terrifying cold and spiritual power fluctuations converged and pressed down toward Lin Wan. “Then... capture him!”

Before his voice could fade, he flicked his finger. Three ‘Profound Yin Bone-Penetrating Needles’, as thin as cow hair, deep blue in color, and almost completely merging with the seawater, shot silently toward Lin Wan’s upper, middle, and lower vital points! The speed was so fast and the angles so tricky that they sealed off all of Lin Wan’s evasion space. These needles specialized in breaking protective spiritual light; once hit, the cold Qi would penetrate the bones and corrode the Meridians, making them incredibly vicious.

At the same time, dozens of Ice Soul Palace Disciples on the ship also attacked one after another. Ice spikes, ice spears, and ice storms poured down like a torrential rain, covering the hundred-Zhang sea area around Lin Wan! Several thick ice chains even extended from the ship’s hull like giant pythons, wrapping toward Lin Wan to confine him and drag him onto the ship.

Facing this overwhelming onslaught, the speck of silver-gray sword glow in Lin Wan’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Five Elements Returning to Ruins, Void as Escape!”

He hesitated no longer, instantly unleashing his remaining thirty percent of core origin along with the power of the Void Dao Seed! His figure suddenly became blurry, as if transforming into an invisible phantom. Within the gaps of that dense, rain-like attack, he twisted and flashed with an incredible angle and speed, hazardously dodging most of the attacks, especially those three vicious Profound Yin Bone-Penetrating Needles!

“Eh? What a bizarre movement technique!” The sinister Elder exclaimed in surprise.

“You have some tricks, but that is all! Ice Seal of a Thousand Li!” Elder Hanyue’s gaze turned cold as he slammed his hands together!

“Boom—!”

With Lin Wan at the center, the seawater within several hundred Zhang, along with the Spiritual Qi inside it, was instantly forced to freeze by a terrifying power of the Ice Law! It transformed into an incredibly massive, dozens-of-Zhang-thick, crystal-clear ‘ice cage’! Within the cage, space itself seemed to be solidified, and the temperature was so low that even a Golden Core Cultivator’s core origin would stagnate!

This was a simplified version of a Nascent Soul-level Spell. Spelled by Elder Hanyue with his Late Stage Golden Core cultivation, its power was equally astonishing, enough to trap and kill Cultivators of the same stage!

Under this suddenly descending ‘Ice Seal of a Thousand Li’, Lin Wan’s rapidly dodging figure was like falling into the thickest glue, instantly becoming sluggish. His protective spiritual light also fluctuated violently, its surface covered with a layer of ice crystals.

“Let’s see where you can run! Ice Soul Divine Light, Suppress!” Han Yufeng grinned hideously, sacrificing an ancient mirror that was completely snow-white and engraved with Ice Soul patterns. The ancient mirror flashed, and a thick, condensed, milky-white ‘Ice Soul Divine Light’, carrying the terrifying power to freeze the Divine Soul and disintegrate spiritual power, shot fiercely toward Lin Wan trapped in the ice cage!

Attacked from both above and below, a desperate situation!

However, at the very instant that Ice Soul Divine Light was about to strike Lin Wan—

Lin Wan, who had been silent and seemingly forced into a corner, suddenly looked up. Beneath his hood, those silver-gray eyes erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant luster! At the center of his forehead, the imprint of the Void Dao Seed shone with a great silver light, like a star lighting up!

“Five Elements Returning to Ruins, Void as Sword—Domain, Reverse!”

With his low shout, which seemed to contain the sound of the Great Dao, the massive ice cage that originally trapped him, along with the frozen seawater and Spiritual Qi within, actually rotated in reverse and collapsed with him as the center! It was as if an invisible black hole was frantically devouring and assimilating this majestic ice power!

At the same time, the gray-white, broken ‘guixu sword’ in his hand, which had remained unused, was finally unsheathed!

The blade was lusterless, yet it carried an innate intent of annihilation that could slay everything and return all things to ruins. Upon the blade, those few faint cracks now had a faint flow of Chaos light.

Facing the incoming ‘Ice Soul Divine Light’ that was enough to freeze the Divine Soul, Lin Wan neither dodged nor avoided it, thrusting the guixu sword directly toward the divine light!

There was no vast Sword Qi, nor any earth-shattering momentum.

Only a gray, hazy sword scar of nothingness, which seemed capable of devouring all light and dragging all things into the end, quietly extended from the tip of the sword, silently colliding with that milky-white Ice Soul Divine Light.

“Chii...”

It was like boiling water poured over snow.

The moment the amazingly powerful Ice Soul Divine Light touched the gray sword scar, it actually seemed to meet its natural enemy, rapidly dimming, melting, and annihilating, turning into the most primitive and pure icy Spiritual Qi, which was then absorbed and assimilated by the reversing and collapsing ice cage!

“What?!” Han Yufeng’s expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with disbelief. His ‘Ice Soul Divine Light’ was actually neutralized so easily? How was this possible?!

“Not good! This person is strange! Strike with all your strength and suppress him!” The sinister Elder also sensed something was wrong and shouted sharply, sacrificing an entirely pitch-black ice spike. The tip of the spike was surrounded by a bizarre black cold Qi, clearly a vicious Demonic Path Magic Treasure, as it stabbed fiercely toward the back of Lin Wan’s heart.

Elder Hanyue’s pupils contracted even more. He felt that the ‘Ice Seal of a Thousand Li’ he had unleashed was actually showing signs of losing control! The figure trapped in the ice cage seemed to have transformed into a massive vortex devouring the power of ice; not only was he not weakened, but his aura was bizarrely climbing!

“We cannot let him continue! Strike together and activate the ‘Ice Soul Profound Light Grand Formation’!” Elder Hanyue made a prompt decision, shouting to the Disciples on the ship.

Hearing this, the dozens of Ice Soul Palace Disciples on the ship immediately shifted their Formation, each taking their positions to frantically pour spiritual power into the ship’s Formation. The ice and snow Formation patterns engraved on the hull seemed to come alive, erupting with a piercing blue light that echoed with the sky and sea surface, quickly forming a massive ice and snow Formation covering a radius of several Li! Within the Formation, countless ice crystals and snowflakes condensed, each containing a sharp cutting power and extreme cold Qi, like a blizzard, frantically sweeping toward Lin Wan at the center!

This was the combined attack grand Formation of the Ice Soul Palace warships, powerful enough to threaten a Late Stage Golden Core, or even temporarily trap a Nascent Soul!

However, Lin Wan, who was at the center of the storm, closed his eyes at this moment.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

Inside his body, the Chaos gray Dan Qi, which had originally been reduced to only thirty percent, crazily devoured and assimilated the icy power of "Ice Sealing the Thousand Li," as well as the pure Spiritual Qi dissipated from the Ice Soul Divine Light, and unexpectedly recovered and grew at an astonishing speed!

This newfound power, bearing an icy attribute, perfectly integrated into the Five Elements Returning to Ruins system, making his Dan Qi more profound, complex, and versatile.

The "Void Dao Seed" at the center of his brow also seemed to be further stimulated under this pressure, continuously providing insights into the Law of space and offering power support.

The guixu sword in his hand hummed and vibrated, as if it felt its master's Battle Intent and the infusion of power; the Chaos light on the sword grew increasingly intense, and those few cracks seemed to be heating up slightly, as if yearning for something.

It is time.

The Materials for the first stage of repairing the guixu sword are complete.

And this place, with the massive icy Spiritual Qi provided by the Ice Soul Palace warship and the pressure from the three Golden Core Cultivators, is the perfect "furnace" and "whetstone"!

He wants to use this place to nourish the battle with battle, temper the sword with the enemy, repair the guixu sword in one go, and... solve these troubles!

"star gold, void crystal essence, Star Sinking Silver—Merge!"

Lin Wan chanted silently in his heart, taking out the "star gold" gifted by the Feng Family, the "void crystal essence" obtained from the Void Realm vortex, and the newly acquired, higher-quality "Star Sinking Silver" from his Storage Pouch!

The three rare Materials hovered in front of him, and under the scouring of the surrounding violent ice and snow Formation and the majestic icy Spiritual Qi, they were not damaged at all; instead, they faintly resonated, emitting a strange halo interwoven with gold, silver, and gray colors.

"With my Dan Qi as fire, with the enemy's power as a hammer, with guixu as intent—Forge!"

Lin Wan opened his eyes abruptly, and a flash of Chaos light exploded in his pupils!

He held his hands in a void-grasping position, placing the three Materials and the guixu sword in his hand in front of his chest.

The Chaos gray Dan Qi within him, which had recovered by more than half and had fused with the majestic icy Spiritual Qi of this place, erupted like a volcano, surging out crazily and transforming into a raging "Dan Fire" that possessed a Chaos hue but contained the intent of Five Elements rotation and Void Realm annihilation, completely enveloping, burning, and smelting the three Materials and the guixu sword!

"What is he doing? Artifact Refining? At this time?!" the sinister old man was astonished.

"Stop him! He is using the power of our Formation to perform Artifact Refining! We must not let him succeed!"

Elder Hanyue's expression finally changed; he felt a breath from that ball of Chaos Dan Fire that made his heart palpitate, as if it could bring about the end of everything.

He held back no longer, and a long spear appeared in his hand, entirely ice-blue, as if carved from ten-thousand-year black ice.

A phantom of an Ice Flood Dragon coiled around the shaft, emitting terrifying Spiritual Pressure. It was clearly a Fourth-Grade Low Grade ice-type Magic Treasure—the Ice Flood Dragon Spear!

"Ice Flood Dragon—Sea Breaker!"

Elder Hanyue thrust his spear, and the Ice Flood Dragon Spear transformed into an ice-blue spear light tens of zhang long.

At the front of the spear light, the Ice Flood Dragon phantom was vivid and lifelike, emitting a silent roar, carrying the terrifying momentum to pierce mountains and freeze the sea, fiercely stabbing toward that ball of Chaos Dan Fire!

He wanted to interrupt Lin Wan's Artifact Refining and kill him completely!

However, just as the ice-blue spear light was about to pierce the Chaos Dan Fire—

From within the Dan Fire, the long-silent guixu sword suddenly emitted a clanging sound that pierced metal and cracked stone, as if it could sever eternity!

"Hum——!!!"

Amidst the sword's ringing, the Chaos Dan Fire exploded!

No, it didn't explode, but was forcibly absorbed and devoured by an invisible force!

A brand-new long sword slowly emerged from the center of the Dan Fire.

The sword was three feet and three inches long, its entire body presenting a strange, Chaos dark silver color that seemed capable of devouring light.

The blade was no longer gray-white but contained countless tiny, star-like silver light spots that flowed slowly.

On the surface of the blade, those deepest cracks had disappeared, leaving only a few extremely faint silver lines like natural patterns, adding to its mystery.

The entire sword no longer emitted a simple intent of annihilation and returning to ruins, but possessed a vast, inclusive, supreme Dao charm that seemed to contain the birth and death of stars and the rotation of the Void Realm, yet it restrained the ultimate sharpness that could sever everything and return it to nothingness.

The guixu sword was initially repaired!

Its grade had reached Third-Grade High Grade, even touching the threshold of the Fourth Grade!

Moreover, because it had fused with "Star Sinking Silver" and the icy Spiritual Qi of this place, its attributes were more complex and powerful, possessing extremely strong control and suppression effects over water, ice, space, and even star-attributed powers.

More importantly, Lin Wan felt that the sleeping sword spirit within the blade seemed to show a trace of extremely faint signs of awakening, and its connection with his mind and spirit became tighter and clearer.

Holding the brand-new guixu sword, Lin Wan felt an irresistible force surge from the blade into his body, blending perfectly with his own Dan Qi, Sword Intent, and the power of the Void Dao Seed.

His aura surged instantly, even faintly touching the Peak of the Mid-stage Golden Core!

"Now, it is my turn."

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the raging ice and snow storm, locking onto Elder Hanyue at the bow of the ship and the incoming Ice Flood Dragon Spear.

He waved the guixu sword in his hand gently.

"Returning to Ruins—Void Severing."

A sword light, only about a zhang long, Chaos dark silver in color, containing star light spots, and seemingly capable of severing the connection between space and time, flew quietly from the tip of the sword, soundless and without a trace, meeting the astonishingly powerful ice-blue spear light.

"Shhh..."

There was no earth-shattering collision.

The ice-blue spear light, along with the roaring Ice Flood Dragon phantom at its front, at the moment it touched the Chaos dark silver sword light, like a dream or bubble, silently... split in the middle, dividing into two!

Immediately, the two split halves of the spear light, as if wiped away by an invisible hand, quickly dimmed and dissipated, turning into sky-filling ice crystal spots, swept away by the surrounding wind and snow.

And that Chaos dark silver sword light, its momentum undiminished, as if it had only sliced through a layer of insignificant thin paper, continued to slash leisurely toward Elder Hanyue at the bow of the ship.

"No——!!!"

Elder Hanyue's pupils shrank to needle points, and for the first time, boundless fear appeared on his face.

He crazily activated the Ice Flood Dragon Spear, setting up layers of ice walls and ice shields in front of him, and even activated a life-saving jade pendant, which transformed into a thick ice crystal protective shield.

However, in front of that Chaos dark silver sword light, all these defenses were like paper.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

Ice walls, ice shields, and the ice crystal protective shield shattered one after another, without any obstruction.

The sword light brushed gently across Elder Hanyue's neck.

The terror on Elder Hanyue's face suddenly froze, and his eyes dimmed instantly.

He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but could not make any sound.

The next moment, his head, along with the Ice Flood Dragon Spear in his hand, slid down silently, falling toward the cold sea surface.

The headless corpse stood upright for a moment longer before collapsing with a crash, blood gushing out and instantly freezing.

The Ice Soul Palace External Affairs Elder, Elder Hanyue of the Late Stage Golden Core—fell!

One sword strike, killing a Late Stage Golden Core!

The whole scene was dead silent.

Whether it was the sinister old man, Han Yufeng, or the other Ice Soul Palace Disciples on the ship, everyone was as if paralyzed by a binding Spell, dumbfounded, looking at this scene before them in disbelief.

Their invincible Junior Martial Uncle Hanyue had actually been... killed by this mysterious Loose Cultivator with one sword strike?!

"Run... run quickly!!!"

It was unknown who first let out a shrill scream, breaking the dead silence.

The Formation light on the Ice Soul Palace warship instantly became chaotic, and the Disciples fled in all directions like headless flies, with no one daring to stay for even a moment.

The sinister old man and Han Yufeng were even paler, their livers and gallbladders shattered with fear, turning and fleeing for their lives in different directions, wishing only that their parents had given them two more legs.

Lin Wan did not pursue.

That "Void Severing" sword strike just now, while seemingly understated, had actually consumed most of the strength he had just recovered after repairing the guixu sword, and it was quite a burden on his Divine Soul.

He needed time to regulate his breathing and stabilize the Sword Intent insights he had just broken through and his connection with the guixu sword.

Moreover, this place is not suitable for a long stay.

With Elder Hanyue dead, the Ice Soul Palace will surely be furious and will definitely send stronger experts, perhaps even alarming a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

He must leave as soon as possible.

He waved his hand, grabbing Elder Hanyue's Ice Flood Dragon Spear, Storage Pouch, and the valuable "Ice Soul Divine Light Mirror" from the air.

Without even looking at the fleeing Ice Soul Palace Disciples, his figure turned into a Chaos dark silver sword light, plunging into the deep sea below, and after a few flashes, disappeared into the vast icy sea, leaving no trace.

Half an hour later, several even more terrifying auras swept rapidly from the northern horizon and descended here.

Looking at the floating corpse of Elder Hanyue, the damaged warship, and the heart-palpitating Chaos Return-to-Ruins Sword Intent remaining in the air, the newcomers all had ashen faces, their eyes filled with shock and rage.

"Investigate! Investigate for me! Even if you have to turn over the entire Northern Plains and dig three feet into the ground, you must find that madman who dared to kill my Ice Soul Palace Elder! Dead or alive!"

The angry roar echoed over the icy sea, lingering for a long time.

At this moment, Lin Wan, who had stirred up the winds and clouds of the Northern Dark Abyss and killed the Ice Soul Palace Elder, had already fled tens of thousands of miles away, finding a naturally formed icy Spiritual Cave located in the hinterland of a massive iceberg, setting up layers of Restrictions, and beginning a deep-level seclusion.

He wanted to thoroughly consolidate his cultivation, digest the gains from this bloody battle in the Cold Abyss, and perfectly fuse the initially repaired guixu sword with his own Sword Intent and the Void Dao Seed.

He also needed to deduce and perfect that shocking "Returning to Ruins—Void Severing" sword strike.

The turmoil in the Northern Plains was temporarily unrelated to him.

His gaze had already turned further south, toward the legendary Sea of Returning to Ruins, which devoured everything and nurtured the ultimate secret of the Five Elements Sect.