411: Chapter 409: The Divine City Beneath the Ice, the Tower of Creation of the Azure Heaven

Hou Ying's madness wasn't impossible to snap him out of; it was just that he was needed a moment ago, so Xuan Ling hadn't acted yet.

Sending a Divine Thought into Hou Ying's Sea of Consciousness with a sudden jolt, Hou Ying's eyes cleared, and he looked at the coordinates sent by Daoist Xuan Ling.

Without any hesitation, the two of them flickered and charged forward, shattering the Ice Mirrors blocking their path.

Dao Monarch Ziyuan was filled with shock. At this moment, he was absolutely certain he had been discovered. The outer Ice Mirrors were shattering one after another, and the eight Ice Mirrors surrounding him glowed with Divine Runes, through which the dao patterns of the Great Dao of Space were flowing.

"Buzz!"

With a roar, a spatial vortex appeared beneath his feet, intending to teleport him away.

Before Dao Monarch Ziyuan could step in, he suddenly felt a chilling breeze behind him, making even his Soul Body unstable. He abruptly surged his cultivation and struck out a palm backward, clashing with a thrusting, searing sword blade.

His eyes flickered as he looked into the distant wind and snow, where Gu Shengge stood tall, grinning at him. "Gu Shengge, how bold! You still dare to make an enemy of this seat even here!"

He roared as Gu Shengge changed his sword stance. The Spirit Sword, burning with Crimson Flame, suddenly grazed past Dao Monarch Ziyuan's Soul Body.

"Boom!"

The newly formed Spatial Portal was struck, and violent energy exploded within it. After a loud bang, the Spatial Portal was destroyed.

By then, Daoist Xuan Ling and Hou Ying had also broken through to the outside of the eight Ice Mirrors, finally seeing Dao Monarch Ziyuan clearly.

"Ziyuan, you old dog, you won't escape this time!"

Hou Ying grinned ferociously; his fury finally had a place to be vented.

With almost no hesitation, his massive Beast Claw struck down, shattering the Ice Mirror in front of him and tearing open a gap.

Recalling his experience of nearly dying here, Daoist Xuan Ling also gritted his teeth in hatred. He immediately pounced toward Dao Monarch Ziyuan, several dark green Chains of Order extending from his large hand, coiling toward Dao Monarch Ziyuan like slithering venomous snakes.

Dao Monarch Ziyuan's face was full of rage: "Gu Shengge, you bastard, how dare you harm me!"

While cursing, the Hand Seals he was performing never stopped. After forming six extremely complex Seals, the ice beneath his Soul Body suddenly cracked open.

He was currently a Soul Body without the protection of a Physical Body, but this also gave him unparalleled escape speed. With a flash, his Soul Body vanished into the crack.

Daoist Xuan Ling and Hou Ying had found Dao Monarch Ziyuan with great difficulty and would certainly not give up now, so they followed him inside.

Gu Shengge retracted his Spirit Sword and landed at the crack. Below was not pitch black, but a frozen Ancient City.

Looking down from this crack, he could see a corner of a city wall.

Gu Shengge also followed. The ice plains were vast and boundless, and it was impossible to search aimlessly. This ruin might be where the System was hiding!

Gu Shengge landed on the city wall. It was covered in a thick layer of hard ice, but there seemed to be some kind of power reinforcing it; the structure of the city remained intact. The thick ice layer above looked more like an Icy Dome protecting the city.

Dao Monarch Ziyuan sped through the city, with Daoist Xuan Ling and Hou Ying in hot pursuit. Gu Shengge did not follow; his strength wasn't enough to face two or even three of them at once, so there was no need to get involved.

Using the System remnants he had previously refined as a guide, he began to sense and probe for the System's traces. The effect was quite significant, and he soon locked onto a tall tower standing in the northwest corner of the city.

The tower was estimated to be a thousand stories high, the tallest building in the entire city. It was entirely black, its outer gates covered by a thick layer of ice.

With a few flickers, Gu Shengge landed beneath the tower. Hundreds of Divine Iron Chains extended from around the black tower, with countless yellow Talismans hanging from them, their purpose unknown.

After searching for a while, Gu Shengge quickly found the entrance. There was a plaque above it with the words 'Heavenly Creation' written on it.

Gu Shengge didn't quite understand it but felt it was impressive; it must be something very powerful... He stepped forward to touch the hard ice, and the thick layer unexpectedly dissolved in an instant, revealing the gate.

Gu Shengge was stunned. Why did this feel like he was being invited into a trap?

Pushing open the gate, dust fell, nearly covering his head.

The inside of the tower was pitch black, and the floor was covered in dust. Stepping on it left a footprint four or five inches deep.

After Gu Shengge entered, over a hundred Oil Lamps suddenly lit up on the tower walls. The moment the Oil Lamps were lit, Gu Shengge thought he heard wailing in a daze.

He was certain he hadn't misheard. He walked toward the Oil Lamp closest to him. Within the bright yellow flames, a figure was twisting and struggling, seemingly still wailing, but it was isolated by an internal Formation and didn't reach the outside.

Gu Shengge stared at the figure. Under his Double Pupils, he saw clearly and couldn't help but shudder.

The Divine Soul in the Oil Lamp seemed to be a Mahayana Realm powerhouse!

Gu Shengge looked at the hundred or so Oil Lamps arranged around him and felt his heart race. And this was only the first floor!

There were still hundreds of floors above!

Gu Shengge investigated one after another. Inside every Oil Lamp was the Divine Soul of a Mahayana Realm powerhouse. However, the degree of weakening of these souls varied; they weren't suppressed here at the same time but seemed to have been sealed one by one over a long period.

After investigating for a while, Gu Shengge looked at the stairs leading to the second floor. He walked to the entrance of the stairs, which also had a gate that seemed to be forged from divine iron, engraved with Ancient Text. Those runes were obscure, mysterious, and difficult to understand.

Gu Shengge tried pushing it a few times, but it was as solid as a rock and wouldn't budge.

"Boom!"

A loud bang suddenly came from outside. Gu Shengge's expression changed drastically as he quickly went downstairs, only to see Daoist Xuan Ling landing on the ground, holding a massive head in his hand—it was Hou Ying's!

Gu Shengge was full of shock. Wasn't Hou Ying Daoist Xuan Ling's ally? How could this be?

Beside Daoist Xuan Ling, Dao Monarch Ziyuan's Divine Soul flickered as it hovered next to him.

"Jie jie jie, Xuan Ling, you've made the right choice. You won't regret the decision you made today."

Daoist Xuan Ling's expression was calm, his gaze deep. "Is that greatest Opportunity truly here?"

"Naturally it is here, but whether you can open it depends on yourself. Back then, I meditated here for five hundred years and only managed to melt the ice at the entrance and touch the gate."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the entrance. Seeing the wide-open gate, his eyes nearly popped out in shock.

"This... how is the gate of the heavenly creation pagoda open?"

Dao Monarch Ziyuan was full of disbelief. He hadn't been able to open the heavenly creation pagoda; even after five hundred years, he had only dissolved the ice. That was why he dared to bring Daoist Xuan Ling here now.

Since he couldn't open it anyway, it would serve as a way to stall for time and recover from his injuries. With Hou Ying already dead, he might even be able to counter Daoist Xuan Ling.

But... how did this gate open on its own? Could Xuan Ling really be a Child of Destiny?