[The Ice Dragon Lair, Tianxuan Gate]

Beyond the gate, they found an icy world with temperatures that were freezing. It was so cold it could easily freeze any low-level spirit cultivator to death.

​​

And even Zhao Qingteng shivered as he entered the enclosed space.

He explored the place as soon as he walked through the Tianxuan Gate, but he did not find any unusual concentration of spirit energy anywhere within. He settled down, trained for just one day, and noticed his powers had been considerably boosted.

Despite the considerable result he gained, he didn't linger on but went about searching for the lead that he had paid a lot of money for. And he finally found the Ice Dragon Lair.

The lair was a cavernous one, and except for icy stalactites hanging from above, there was nothing else but cold springs in front of him.

The place was frigid and the "Ice Dragon Spring" turned out to be that spring before him.

He tried to waddle into the spring but felt as if his soul was about to be frozen solid. He could only stay at the outer fringes to train.

Despite this, the progress he made was still several times greater than the other common areas found in the Tianxuan Gate.

That was utterly unimaginable.

Zhao Qingteng withdrew from his training state after finally having stabilized his foundation at the middle stages of Origin Court.

"The Ice Dragon Spring…"

He looked out at that blue spring water as he caressed his Ice Stream Sword, and muttered, "Is she dead?"

A girl garbed in purple robes forced her way into the Ice Dragon Lair about half a day ago.

She dived into the Ice Dragon Spring right away after entering the lair, seemingly not having noticed his presence at all. The memory of that scene made Zhao Qingteng's skin crawl.

If his memories served him correctly, that girl was probably the most powerful among the newly appointed batch of 33 of the Inner Yard.

"Luo Leilei…"

"Isn't she of the lightning element? Why would she come to the Ice Dragon Lair then?"

He felt what she did was puzzling.

He lowered his head above the surface of the Ice Dragon Spring and looked in. He touched the spring water and instantly pulled his hand away, for it was freezing!

Crack, crack.

The ice on his hand fell off, and he was still reeling from the experience.

"Probably dead, then. No one could have survived such low temperatures, even if she was at Upper Spiritual Level."

Boom!

The Tianxuan Gate suddenly shook violently, catching Zhao Qingteng off-guard and causing him to fall into the spring.

He was frightened.

Holy sh**!

Shocked, he instinctively tried to escape but was frozen into an ice sculpture in less than half a second. Even his soul seemed to be suspended in animation.

"Move!"

Zhao Qingteng panicked when he discovered that even his energy reserve had been frozen solid, preventing him from using his spiritual source.

Crack, crack.

The cold seeped into his skin and he tried his best to internalize the cold, but his efforts proved futile.

Such feats were not something that someone at the middle stages of Origin Court Level could accomplish.

That was why the elders of the spirit palace did not allow the Inner Yard disciples who entered the Tianxuan Gate for the first time to head to the training grounds.

Something similar had happened a very long time ago.

He gradually lost consciousness. He had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that his life would be so short.

He found it even more ridiculous that a cultivator at the Innate level like him would end up dying in a treasure site of ice element.

Damn it…

"No, I couldn't die here! I have yet to defeat Xu Xiaoshou! I can't just die like this!"

"You have yet to avenge your cousin, Zhao Shu. Zhao Qingteng, how could you just die like this?"

"Get up! Xu Xiaoshou is laughing at you!"

Arrgghhhh!

His soul was screaming in anguish as he gradually lost consciousness.

His eyes looked dazed and his vision blurred as he saw the icy stalactites at the top of the cave turn from blue to pitch-black.

"Damn it…"

When he was about to be swallowed by the darkness altogether, he seemed to sense something ramming into him, but he lost consciousness all the same.

"Ouch!"

Luo Leilei doubled over atop an Ice Dragon Egg, cradling her head with her other hand. She looked at the ice sculpture that she just rammed into in disbelief.

Isn't this Brother Zhao? What the hell is wrong with him? Why would he want to come inside the Ice Dragon Spring?

She frowned and put her hand on the sculpture.

Hmm, he's still alive…

Whatever, I'm about to leave, anyway. I'd just take it as a chance of dumping all the sentiments I have for the spirit palace for the past several years onto you then.

Lightning flashed, and the ice broke.

Luo Leilei looked at Zhao Qingteng, who was already frozen to the core and laid one hand on his chest.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three shocks and she yanked Zhao Qingteng back from the clutches of death.

Cough, cough!

Zhao Qingteng began to regain consciousness.

BOOM!

The Tianxuan Gate trembled violently again. The young man, still covered with a layer of smooth, slippery ice on his back, almost slipped back inside the spring again. Luo Leilei caught him in time.

"Th-Thank you."

Zhao Qingteng looked at the girl before him again and sensed that she was no longer a mortal.

He saw that the girl emanated golden light and had white wings behind her. She also carried an egg…

Well, forget about that.

She's an angel. An angel who emerged and saved me twice!

Luo Leilei left the young man behind and looked at that massive egg that she was cradling, and mumbled, "what is happening? Even if that kid had taken that scabbard, there should only have been two treasures taken…"

"The intensity of the quake. Is someone attacking the place from outside?"

Her eyes lit up. "Brother Shuangxing and the others are here?"

BOOM!

Yet another massive rumble was heard. Luo Leilei realized that something wasn't right and ran outside the cave to look. She saw massive black gashes in the sky.

"What? Is the sky falling apart?"

Luo Leilei's heart sank, looking at that massive egg in her hand in disbelief. "Does it mean that this is the fourth treasure stabilizing the realm?"

"So does it mean there have been two others already taken away then?"

She thought of Xu Xiaoshou but quickly dismissed the possibility.

Even if Xu Xiaoshou were to have unusual means, his speed wouldn't have been able to match hers, which meant that he could have only taken one more treasure other than the scabbard. He couldn't have obtained two so quickly.

Is there someone else out there seeking these things?

Luo Leilei was flustered, thinking that how a puny Tiansang Spirit Palace could have so many spies lurking about.

"Sh**. It is over. I can never get out of here…"

She wanted to put the Ice Dragon Egg back into the spring, but that wouldn't repair the damage.

Zhao Qingteng walked out of the cave from behind and was stunned by the massive holes in the sky as well.

"This is…"

"Shut up!"

Luo Leilei was flustered, pacing about back and forth.

How do I get out?

Xu Xiaoshou!

She thought of Xu Xiaoshou again. If that world were to crumble and someone were to make their way out through the spatial turbulence, only someone with the Master Physique like Xu Xiaoshou among those of the entire Tianxuan Gate would stance a chance to do so.

Still, the likelihood was that they would all die inside.

Suddenly, she saw yet another gash opening up in the sky far away, and a rustic-looking but majestic gate stood within the gash.

"The Tianxuan Gate!"

Their eyes lit up, and they took flight in an instant.

The gate was their only hope.

However, as they made their way there, the half-opened gate stopped opening and got stuck, leaving only a small gap to the outside, and turbulence formed around it.

"…"

Luo Leilei despaired right away, convinced that she had gotten herself into big trouble.

She wondered who had the audacity to yank the other two treasures out.

Why did being a spy have to so difficult? Couldn't people at least some common sense? Didn't you know the place would blow up?

At that moment, a voice could be heard reverberating throughout the domain inside the Tianxuan Gate.

"Everyone, gather at the gate!"

Luo Leilei's eyes lit up right away.

Ye Xiaotian!

The dean!

Yes, he has spatial elemental powers. There's probably still a chance for us…

Let's go!

Zhao Qingteng saw the girl before his eyes turned into a bolt of lightning and suddenly vanish into the sky. His eyes became dull right away.

She had never so much as looked him in the eye even once throughout the whole time they were outside.

He clutched his heart was and felt a sense of hollowness. An indescribable feeling welled up in him, and that was something that he had never experienced before.

Maybe I'm just not good enough…

"Hurry up! I can only hold on for a quarter-hour!" Ye Xiaotian's voice was heard again.

A quarter-hour?

Zhao Qingteng's eyes lit up, recalling he had taken almost half a day to get from the gate to the lair.

Holy sh**, hang in there!

He instantly vanished into the air in a boom.