The deep, ancient underground levels of the Ice Mystic Peak were a isolated, ghostly realm carved entirely from massive slabs of unyielding, glacial blue-stone. Far beneath the bustling surface of the academy, where natural sunlight had never managed to penetrate since the legendary founding of the Sun-Moon Academy, the atmospheric temperature was so brutally frigid that tiny water droplets suspended in the air froze instantly into shimmering micro-crystals. These floating ice specs drifted lazily through the dim, hollow stone passages, catching the faint light like clouds of glowing blue stardust.
Senior Sister Rusunam Rusu walked in complete, tense silence down the long, spiral stone staircase that wound deeper into the belly of the mountain. Her pristine white silk robes rustled softly over the frost-covered steps with every fluid movement of her body. Railin followed roughly three paces behind her, his dark navy robes effortlessly absorbing the pale blue luminescence emitted by the ancient frost-runes etched deep into the surrounding cliff faces.
At the bottom of the long, ominous descent stood a massive, circular archway carved masterfully in the terrifying shape of a yawning frost dragon. In the center of the dragon's gaping maw rested a heavy, heavily reinforced double door constructed entirely from dark cold-iron and overlaid with intricate, glowing spiritual ice seals.
Rusu came to a smooth stop, her slender, pale hand slipping into her wide sleeve to draw out a silver key-talisman inscribed with delicate, glowing runes. She stepped forward and pressed the talisman firmly against the central array node of the dragon's maw.
HUMMM—!
The heavy seals flared instantly with a brilliant, blinding azure light, unlocking in a rapid succession of deep, echoing metallic thuds that vibrated through the solid rock walls. The massive cold-iron doors slowly parted, releasing a dense, highly concentrated wave of pure, subterranean frost qi that transformed into thick white mist the second it struck the outer air.
"This is the Third Subterranean Ice Chamber," Rusu said, stepping aside and turning her cold, sharp azure eyes toward Railin's unbothered face. "The natural spiritual leyline located directly beneath this specific room carries the absolute purest cold-attribute energy in the entire Inner Sect. Even Stage Three Foundation Establishment masters cannot remain sitting inside for more than a single day without their internal meridians freezing completely solid into fragile ice."
Railin looked past her into the depths of the chamber. In the exact center of the vast, circular cavern sat a solitary, elevated stone platform carved from a single piece of dark granite, entirely surrounded by a deep, bubbling pool of liquid cold-essence. Thick, heavy clouds of white mist swirled lazily around the platform, shimmering with an intense concentration of raw, unrefined spiritual power.
"It will suffice for my needs," Railin remarked neutrally, his tone flat and utterly unbothered by the deadly temperature.
Rusu eyed him closely, her sharp gaze lingering on his emotionless, impassive features. "You have exactly three days in this room. Once your allotted time is up, the outer array system will automatically cycle, and the heavy barrier will reset. My master has fully kept her end of our bargain by handing over the Glacial Soul Lotus without demanding a binding oath upfront—do not disappoint her when the Spirit Realm Trial officially begins."
"I have never concerned myself with the empty expectations of others, Senior Sister Rusu," Railin replied smoothly, stepping past her shoulder and moving directly into the freezing cavern. "I only pursue absolute, tangible results."
Before Rusu could formulate a response, Railin casually extended his left hand. With a subtle flick of his spiritual sense, the heavy cold-iron doors slammed shut behind him with a deafening boom. The loud, mechanical grinding of shifting array gears echoed through the chamber, sealing him off from the outside world entirely.
Inside the subterranean chamber, the ambient temperature was so unnaturally low that human blood would freeze solid within seconds of exposure. However, as Railin walked slowly toward the central stone platform, his lower dantian thrummed quietly in response. The First Level Foundation Core spinning smoothly within his body emitted a faint, invisible void-field, silently devouring the creeping frost before it could even make contact with his skin or clothing.
He stepped onto the elevated stone platform, crossed his legs comfortably, and assumed a traditional meditative posture. With a fluid flick of his wide navy sleeve, the translucent, cold-iron box materialized on the flat stone before him with a heavy metallic clatter.
CLICK.
The delicate latch unlocked, and the iron lid flew open, revealing the exquisite, glowing beauty of the three-hundred-year-old Glacial Soul Lotus. The icy lotus flared instantly with a radiant, ethereal blue luminescence, its soul-nourishing fragrance filling every inch of the sealed space.
Railin did not hesitate for even a fraction of a heartbeat. He reached out his pale, steady hand, his fingers wrapping firmly around the glowing stem of the glacial lotus.
"The Eclipse Soul Scripture," Railin muttered softly under his breath, his dark eyes flashing with a sharp, terrifyingly predatory light. "Absorb!"
BOOM!
The moment Railin activated the dark, forbidden soul technique, a pitch-black, abyssal aura erupted violently from his chest and forehead, wrapping around the Glacial Soul Lotus like a hungry swarm of ravenous tendrils. The icy petals began to tremble violently as their pure, three-hundred-year-old soul essence was forcibly extracted, transforming into liquid streams of brilliant blue energy that flowed directly into Railin's brow center—the primary gate to his Upper Dantian!
SWISH—!
The second the icy soul essence entered his spiritual sea, an agonizing, bone-chilling wave of intense frost washed violently through Railin's mind. His entire spiritual domain trembled as the ancient herb's immense, unyielding cold power fought fiercely against the dark, devouring nature of his soul scripture.
Ordinary cultivators attempting to refine such a high-grade soul herb would be forced to consume dozens of delicate warming pills to balance the severe cold, carefully absorbing the herb over several grueling weeks to prevent permanent brain or meridian damage. But Railin possessed no such patience, nor did he care for traditional, slow cultivation methods.
His pitch-black spiritual consciousness formed a massive, terrifying whirlpool-like void in the sky of his soul sea. The void descended without mercy, swallowing the massive streams of glacial energy whole, refining and purifying every single drop of volatile icy strength with absolute, uncompromising brutality!
CRACK! CRACK!
Deep within Railin's Upper Dantian, the vast expanse of his soul sea expanded at a mind-boggling speed. Where his spiritual sense could previously cover a maximum radius of merely fifty paces, it now violently pushed outward—seventy paces... one hundred paces... one hundred and fifty paces... two hundred paces!
The sheer density and weight of his mental power rose to unprecedented, terrifying heights.
Under the continuous, agonizing compression enforced by The Eclipse Soul Scripture, the newly refined soul power began to rapidly coalesce into physical form. Dark, razor-sharp crystalline needles began to form in the stormy expanse of his spiritual sea.
The first Soul-Piercing Needle, which he had condensed during his earlier breakthrough, grew twice as thick and dark as before, its refined tip gleaming with a deadly, piercing glint.
Right beside it, a second stream of heavily concentrated black-and-blue soul energy began to twist and condense violently.
HUMMM—!
With a resonant, metallic hum echoing inside his head, a second Soul-Piercing Needle fully condensed into physical reality!
Then, powered by the remaining, overflowing soul energy of the three-hundred-year-old Glacial Soul Lotus, a third dark needle began to take shape right next to the second, solidifying until it shone with an icy, lethal luster!
One single needle was already enough to shatter the mental defenses of a Stage Two Foundation master. Three heavily condensed, reinforced Soul-Piercing Needles, backed by his vastly expanded two-hundred-pace spiritual sense, meant Railin could now silently paralyze, torture, or entirely annihilate the soul seas of Stage Three and Stage Four Foundation Establishment experts before they could even realize an attack was underway!
Time flowed silently and seamlessly in the subterranean darkness.
On the third and final day, the last remaining petals of the Glacial Soul Lotus dissolved into fine, grey dust, completely drained of every last drop of their ancient spiritual essence.
Railin slowly opened his eyes in the pitch-black room.
His pupils were no longer merely pitch-black; deep within their depths flickered a faint, icy blue sheen—an unmistakable marker that his spiritual consciousness had reached an extraordinary level of absolute purity and terrifying power. He slowly exhaled a long breath of white mist, which instantly frozen into tiny ice crystals mid-air and shattered silently upon touching the cold stone floor.
"Three fully condensed Soul-Piercing Needles... and my active spiritual sense now covers two hundred paces," Railin murmured to himself, standing up smoothly from the stone platform. His dark navy robes flapped softly as he stretched his limbs, his frame feeling significantly lighter, faster, and vastly more dangerous than when he had first entered the chamber.
THUD! THUD!
The complex array seals locking the heavy cold-iron doors unlocked with a deep, echoing resonance, and the thick doors slowly slid open along their tracks.
Rusunam Rusu stood waiting outside the entrance, her sharp eyes scanning the mist-shrouded chamber. The exact millisecond her azure eyes locked onto Railin's gaze, a sharp, instinctual, and violent chill ran straight down her spine. Her own powerful spiritual sense recoiled violently in pure self-defense, sensing an invisible, razor-sharp aura radiating from his mind that threatened to pierce her soul sea if she dared to step any closer.
"Your... your spiritual consciousness..." Rusu gasped softly, her usually untouchable, cold composure shattering for the second time in three days. "You... you managed to fully absorb the entire three-hundred-year-old Glacial Soul Lotus in just three days without going into a frozen coma?!"
Railin stepped smoothly off the stone platform, walking out of the cavern with calm, rhythmic strides.
"The speed and efficiency of my cultivation techniques are not your concern, Senior Sister Rusu," Railin said smoothly, his voice carrying an invisible, heavy weight that reverberated softly in the quiet, stone corridor. "Where is the empty vial your master requested for her research?"
Rusu swallowed subtly, forcing her racing heart to calm down as she produced a small, silver-sealed jade bottle from her deep sleeve. Railin took the bottle without a word, bit the tip of his right thumb slightly, and squeezed three glowing drops of his highly condensed, void-attribute spirit essence directly into the container before sealing it back up and handing it to her.
"The trade is now officially complete," Railin stated flatly, his dark eyes looking straight past her.
Rusu held the silver jade bottle, feeling the sinister, devouring energy pulse gently beneath the heavy seals. She looked up at Railin, her face returning to its grave, serious mask. "While you were closed off in the ice chamber for the past three days, urgent news arrived directly from the Shadow Moon Peak. Shu-Lin and her brother Hao-Lin have officially mobilized their faction. They have formally submitted their final roster for the Grand Assembly's opening trial."
Railin eyed her with complete, unwavering indifference. "And? How does their petty roster affect me?"
"They have officially named you as an illegal, dangerous variable in front of the Grand Council," Rusu warned, her voice heavy with urgency. "By using their family's massive influence and bribing several corrupt elders, they managed to persuade the Outer Affairs Council to place a mandatory, high-risk bounty mission directly on the Mission Board—a forced enforcement mission targeting the chaotic outer borderlands. They intend to use the academy's strict laws to force you out of the protected grounds before the trial even officially begins!"
A cold, dark, and terribly sinister smile slowly crept onto the corner of Railin's lips.
"A forced mission outside the safety of the academy?" Railin mused softly, his dark eyes glinting with a cold, ruthless expectation. "Then it seems I will not need to wait three whole months to test the lethality of my new needles.
See you in next chapter...