Deep in the northern peaks, the three of them stepped onto a vast frozen lake. Its surface was covered by thick ice, shrouded in thin mist that seemed to float like invisible breaths. Beneath the ice, countless vague shadows swayed, like faceless corpses drifting in black water. Ye Chenyu held his breath, staring intently; every shadow seemed to watch him, like ghosts from another world, ready at any moment to reach out and drag him into the icy abyss.
Above the ice lake, the cold wind howled, carrying a bone-piercing chill. Liyue Ying moved lightly across the ice, her gaze sharp as a blade, fixed on the dark currents beneath the surface. Xuan Ye extended his hands above the lake, tracing sigils whose faint blue glow seemed to suppress the anomalies lurking under the ice. Ye Chenyu gripped his ice staff tighter, his heartbeat quickening, sensing an indescribable force concealed beneath the water.
Suddenly, the ice trembled violently. Countless layers cracked, and the lake churned. A massive aquatic beast broke through the ice, leaping from the depths—its body enormous, ape-like, covered in thick, dark scales. Its limbs were as strong as heavy timber, and each slap of its hands sent towering waves crashing across the lake. Its eyes glowed a deep red, radiating primal savagery and fury, as if it could pierce Ye Chenyu's soul. The lake roiled with its roar, and the faceless shadows beneath the ice were stirred, the illusions twisting across the surface into a nauseating chaos.
Ye Chenyu's heart tightened; he felt his consciousness being eroded by the faceless illusions—shadows vaguely projecting fragments of sigils from the Southern, Western, and Northern Mountains, silently whispering: "All five lands of the Spirit Domain are under control." His palms trembled involuntarily. The ice staff in his hand radiated cold light; the sigil fragments within it flickered faintly, as if responding to the malevolent force beneath the lake.
The ape-like water beast struck the ice again, sending waves of wind and shards crashing toward the three of them. Xuan Ye quickly raised a circle of sigil light over the center of the lake. The collision with the beast caused violent reactions; chunks of ice flew toward them like missiles. Ye Chenyu leapt sharply, nearly slipping into the water, and swung his ice staff, sending floating shards flying aside. Liyue Ying moved with cold precision, splitting a massive block of ice with her curved blade to form a shield against the impact.
The beast roared, stirring the lake into a whirlpool, and the faceless shadows spun with the current, casting distorted human forms, mocking the intruders' fear. Ye Chenyu's mind teetered on the edge of collapse, the illusions dragging him into a nightmare. He faintly saw himself transformed into one of the faceless corpses, floating helplessly in the lake, unable to breathe, unable to escape.
Xuan Ye barked sharply, and the sigil array's glow intensified. The whirlpool on the lake's surface was suppressed, and the beast's movements slowed. Liyue Ying's gaze remained fixed on the creature; with a swift motion, her long blade flashed, forcing the beast several steps back. Ye Chenyu seized the moment, striking the surface with his ice staff, triggering the sigil fragments, which flared like sparks into a protective dome, enveloping the three of them.
The beast lunged violently, but the combined barrier of sigils and the fragment shield prevented it from approaching. The faceless shadows in the water twisted and disintegrated under the glow, and the illusions gradually vanished. Ye Chenyu panted heavily, his ice staff trembling slightly. Yet a chill lingered deep in his heart—the depths of the lake seemed to conceal even greater darkness.
The ice lake gradually returned to calm. The beast slowly retreated beneath the ice, and the surface regained its stillness, but the latent power remained. Ye Chenyu understood that this battle was only a portion of the trials in the northern peaks; the secrets of the Spirit Domain's five lands were far more vast and complex than they had imagined.
He looked at Liyue Ying and Xuan Ye, standing at the lake's edge, cold yet alert. Their eyes met in the wind, each filled with questions and vigilance, silently acknowledging that the abyss of the northern peaks had no end, and deeper dangers lurked beneath the ice, waiting to strike again.
The wind rose once more. The surface of the ice glimmered faintly, reflecting the residual shadows of the faceless corpses beneath, as if whispering a warning: within the frozen bones of the northern peaks, there still slumbered entities beyond comprehension.