vncnus Chapter 53 The Eternal Ice and Fire Lotus
Chapter 53 The Eternal Ice and Fire Lotus
The Snow Emperor's Palace in the far north.
The pale golden light flowing around Dai Youheng gradually subsided, and the light of the character "King" on the forehead of the phantom of the evil shadow tiger behind him shone brightly for the last time before slowly sinking into his body and disappearing.
He exhaled a long breath, which condensed into a white streak in the cold air and lingered for a long time.
He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and bright. The previous fatigue and minor injuries had vanished, and he was in an unprecedented peak condition. His soul power was abundant and surging.
"How is your condition?" Xue Di's thoughts rang out at just the right moment.
"It's better than ever before." Dai Youheng clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, full of confidence. "We can begin."
Xue Di's thoughts also carried a hint of solemnity and determination, "Alright. Little White!"
At the palace entrance, the Ice Bear King, as large as a small mountain, raised its head upon hearing the sound.
"Transform into human form and come in with us! We may need your power to help suppress the situation below," the Snow Empress commanded.
"Yes, Mother!" Little White replied in a muffled voice. Suddenly, its massive body emitted a strong, icy blue light, which rapidly contracted and deformed.
In the blink of an eye, the mighty and terrifying overlord of the far north disappeared, replaced by a chubby boy who looked to be about ten years old.
He was round-faced with a chubby face, wearing an ice-blue leather coat. He had big eyes that conveyed a kind of honesty and curiosity, making him look even a little cute. Only the powerful ice-attribute energy fluctuations emanating from his body hinted that he was no ordinary boy.
This was the first time Dai Youheng had seen Xiaobai in human form. He raised an eyebrow slightly, but this wasn't the time to be curious. He nodded to Xiaobai, who had transformed into human form.
Then, guided by Xue Di, he turned and headed deeper into the ice castle. Xiao Bai followed quietly behind him with his sturdy steps.
After passing through several deep corridors sculpted from millennia-old ice, the temperature dropped lower and lower, and the ice crystals that had condensed on the walls seemed to contain an ancient chill. Finally, they arrived at a huge ice wall.
With a thought from the Snow Emperor, a complex icy blue rune flashed across the ice wall. Immediately afterward, accompanied by a deep rumble, the thick ice wall slowly slid apart to reveal a downward-facing staircase passage emitting alternating red and blue light.
An extremely contradictory aura emanated from it—extreme cold and scorching heat intertwined strangely, yet strangely maintained a balance, without annihilating each other.
Dai Youheng took a deep breath and stepped into the passage.
The dangerous yet purposeful challenge he was about to face contrasted sharply and cruelly with the bleak atmosphere in the valley.
Descending the staircase where red and blue light intertwined and ice and fire energies clashed violently, Dai Youheng and Xiaobai's steps were firm yet cautious.
At the end of the passage stood an even thicker, massive ice gate, engraved with countless profound ice patterns. The Snow Empress's will surged once more, and the ice gate slid open silently, unleashing an even more violent and pure surge of ice and fire energy like a burst dam!
Behind the door was an incredibly spacious circular chamber. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the chamber were entirely made of extremely solid ice that had never melted in millennia. The ice walls were covered with powerful sealing runes, which were now flickering erratically, desperately suppressing the terrifying presence in the center of the chamber.
In the center of the secret chamber stands a huge ice pillar with a diameter of over ten meters. The ice pillar is crystal clear, and a strangely shaped plant can be vaguely seen sealed inside.
The plant's main body was an incredibly thick root with interwoven red and blue spiral patterns, deeply embedded in the frozen ground. At its top, two enormous lotus flowers grew from its forked branches!
A blazing sun, its petals composed entirely of solidified lava and flowing golden-red magma, radiating a terrifying heat capable of melting fine metal—the very source of the intense heat felt earlier.
The other flower is as cold as an ancient star of ice, its petals formed from the purest, ultimate ice energy. It is crystal clear with an icy blue color, and its chilling aura seems to freeze time and space. It shares the same origin as the environment of the surrounding secret room, yet is even more refined.
It is none other than the 100,000-year-old plant-type soul beast—the Ice and Fire Lotus!
However, as soon as they entered, a heat wave that was far hotter and more aggressive than the one in the passage rushed towards them, like an invisible fiery beast roaring to burn the intruder to ashes.
"Just as I thought!" The Snow Emperor's thoughts were heavy with a hint of helplessness. "For thousands of years, I've tried to nurture and transform it with the ultimate ice, but instead of shifting towards the ice attribute, its fire attribute has become even purer and more domineering! What exactly is the source of that wisp of fire attribute divine power affecting it? And why is it appearing in the core of the far north?"
No one could answer her question.
"Little White," the Snow Empress quickly ordered, "Once I break the seal, you immediately use your human form to restrain it with all your might! It's currently dominated by fire, which counters your ice attribute, so be extremely careful! Although it lacks intelligence, its racial strength is extremely high, and its power is no less than that of the previous Abyss Ice Tiger. The moment it's freed, it will instinctively attack wildly!"
This secret chamber was designed to be the size of the Snow Empress's true form. If Xiaobai were to transform back into the Ice Bear King's true form, it would instantly collapse this place.
"Don't worry, Mother!" The chubby boy, in the form of Little White, patted his chest confidently. "Even if I can't turn back to normal, taking care of a static flower is no problem!"
His body began to surge with icy blue soul power.
The Snow Emperor focused her thoughts on Dai Youheng. "Youheng, walk to the ice pillar and unleash the Emperor's Palm! Great Cold, No Snow! This seal doesn't recognize the strength of soul power, only the essence of energy. Only the ultimate ice of the same origin can trigger it to dissolve!"
The seal of this ice pillar does not depend on the strength of the soul power, but on the soul power sensing. Even the ultimate fire would find it difficult to melt unless it has power comparable to the Snow Emperor. It will only melt on its own when it senses the Snow Emperor's ultimate ice.
Dai Youheng possesses the Snow Emperor's soul ring, and the ultimate ice created by the Snow Soul Ice Condensation Pill, condensed using the Snow Emperor's power, originates from the same source as her power.
He held his breath and raised his right palm. The extreme cold instantly condensed, and the palm lines became clear as jade. All the moisture in the surrounding air instantly condensed into fine ice crystals and surrounded him. This was one of the three great techniques of the Snow Emperor: the Emperor's Palm, which brought great cold without snow!
He gently pressed his palm against the cold pillar.
Om-!
As if receiving a final command, the enormous ice pillar suddenly burst forth with an incomparably dazzling ice-blue radiance.
The densely packed sealing runes inside the pillar seemed to come alive, rapidly circulating before quickly dimming and dissipating.
Click... Click...
The massive ice pillar began to crack from where Dai Youheng pressed his palm, and the cracks spread rapidly throughout the entire pillar.
"Retreat!" Xue Di shouted urgently.
Dai Youheng retreated rapidly, instantly appearing behind Xiaobai.
Boom!!!
The enormous ice pillar shattered completely, turning into countless ice powders that scattered in all directions! The Ice and Fire Lotus, sealed for a thousand years, was finally revealed in the secret chamber!