Devil Mountain towered impossibly against the void, its massive form defying comprehension.
This ancient mountain was so vast that even a single platform or valley carved into its base rivaled Earth's entire surface area. Consequently, magnificent palaces had been constructed at its foundation, some soaring nearly ten thousand miles into the darkness. Only Immortals possessed the power to inhabit such structures!
"No loud noises!"
"No fighting!"
"No flying out of the valley!"
"Violators will be killed!"
A mighty voice echoed through the valley, carrying absolute authority.
Throughout the vast space, thousands of figures gathered in various states of rest. Some sat cross-legged in meditation, others leaned against crystalline rocks, while groups of three or five chatted in hushed tones. They all shared similar features: two hands, two feet, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Even their height resembled that of baseline humans.
The only distinguishing characteristic was the pair of curved horns protruding from each forehead.
Some horns gleamed obsidian black, while others shone silver-white.
These were the native inhabitants of the nine planets orbiting Devil Mountain, warriors who dreamed of earning membership in the Virtual Universe Company through their trials within the mountain's depths.
At a glance, the valley held thousands of such natives.
"Those are the silver-clad deacons of the Virtual Universe Company!"
Suddenly, excitement rippled through the assembled natives as a large contingent of silver-uniformed figures emerged from the distant towering palace. These Silver-Clad Deacons held extremely privileged positions within the company hierarchy, commanding respect from all who saw them.
In the distant void, a sleek spaceship rapidly approached, soon hovering above the valley as its hatch opened smoothly.
A white-haired young man in a form-fitting black combat suit emerged from the hatch. Nearly a hundred Silver-Clad Deacons stood at attention in perfect formation. At the head of the group, three individuals wearing white robes bowed slightly in respectful greeting. "Your Highness Han Jue!"
"Your Highness Han Jue!" The remaining Silver-Clad Deacons echoed with even greater reverence.
Han Jue glanced at the watching natives nearby and nodded slightly before following the deacons toward the palace entrance.
Soon, accompanied by his white-robed guardians, Han Jue entered the palace's second floor.
"Your Highness, this is your identification token." The lead white-robed guardian handed Han Jue a crimson token, his expression serious. "Remember, once you come within 500 meters of those natives, the tokens will sense each other. They'll immediately know you're carrying a red token, and they will attack you frantically."
Han Jue nodded, understanding the stakes perfectly.
He knew that if any native successfully killed a Virtual Universe Company genius and claimed their red token, they would instantly become members of the company. It represented their ultimate dream, making them desperate and extremely dangerous opponents.
"Inside Devil Mountain, there are two primary threats that can kill you," the white-robed guardian continued. "The native warriors, and the Mystical Beasts that inhabit Devil Mountain's depths."
He paused, meeting Han Jue's gaze directly.
"Of course... if they can kill you, you can kill them as well. If you collect 10,000 black tokens from the natives, you'll receive an additional reward beyond the mission completion bonus. It's far superior to ordinary point rewards. Every 10,000 black tokens can be redeemed once, and there's no upper limit."
"Then I'll have to kill more natives," Han Jue said with a slight smile, his confidence evident.
"Entering from the front of Devil Mountain leads to 'Devil Note Mountain,' which primarily tests the soul," the white-robed guardian explained. "Entering from the cave system behind Devil Mountain leads to 'Ice Mountain,' which primarily tests the physical body." He gestured toward a holographic display showing the mountain's layout. "Your Highness, please make your choice. Which area of Devil Mountain do you wish to enter?"
"I choose Ice Mountain," Han Jue said without hesitation.
There was no need to deliberate, he'd decided this long before arriving.
"Excellent choice," the white-robed guardian nodded approvingly.
Ice Mountain, which primarily targeted the physical body, was indeed a better choice than Devil Note Mountain for someone with Han Jue's capabilities. After all, if physical damage occurred, there remained hope for recovery and continued fighting. But if the soul suffered damage in Devil Note Mountain's illusions and mental assaults, a warrior trapped in that nightmare realm would have no chance of resistance.
"I'll arrange for your escort to Ice Mountain immediately," the white-robed guardian said, bowing slightly.
Shortly after, an elliptical spaceship approximately a hundred meters in length soared through the void and landed directly before Han Jue. The hatch opened smoothly, revealing three white-robed figures including the guardian who had briefed him.
"Your Highness Han Jue, please board!"
"Very well."
Ice Mountain was renowned throughout the cosmos for its extreme cold!
The temperature within its depths defied conventional understanding. The so-called "absolute zero" was merely a conceptual limit within Earth's primitive scientific framework, temperatures far lower than absolute zero existed throughout the vast universe, in places where the fundamental laws themselves created environments of unimaginable extremity.
The temperature within Ice Mountain wasn't uniform throughout its vast expanse. Some areas possessed cold capable of harming Universe-level beings, while others contained temperatures so extreme they could damage even Domain Masters or World Masters! Therefore, if someone inadvertently strayed into one of Ice Mountain's truly terrifying zones, their cells and genes could instantly freeze and collapse, shattering like glass.
However, for Han Jue's Heaven's End Ice Derivative Body cultivation, this place represented an excellent training ground.
Before arriving, Han Jue had already exchanged his 1.04 million points for resources necessary to cultivate the fifth stage of the Heaven's End Ice Derivative Body. Combined with Ice Mountain's natural environment, he had a genuine chance of achieving the fifth stage here, even allowing the Water-Sky Holy Flame to aid in his physical refinement.
At that point, his body's physical amplitude would reach eight times the baseline, a level of strength that would dramatically increase his combat effectiveness!
From the outer perimeter of Devil Mountain, Han Jue passed through a massive cave entrance and entered Ice Mountain proper.
The moment he crossed the threshold, an invisible wave of bone-piercing cold washed over him, penetrating through his Force armor as though it didn't exist and striking directly into his body. The chill was so intense that if Han Jue hadn't cultivated the Heaven's End Ice Derivative Body to the third stage, his Universe-level physical fitness alone would have been woefully insufficient to withstand it.
The cold seemed limitless, penetrating everything.
Han Jue quickly activated his [No Limit] ability, the passive defensive technique creating a spatial barrier that isolated him from the surrounding invisible cold. The relief was immediate as the environmental pressure decreased dramatically.
It seems the entrance location I selected wasn't ideal, Han Jue thought wryly. I was immediately subjected to cold intense enough to affect even a Domain Lord.
Looking around, he observed a labyrinth of interconnected caves, some large, others small, extending into hundreds of branching passages in all directions.
The ground and walls here consisted of impossibly thick ice, so dense and ancient that even a Domain Lord would struggle to break through it. Waves of invisible cold emanated continuously from this ice, affecting all living things that passed through the tunnels.
With his [No Limit] ability maintaining its protective barrier, Han Jue headed directly toward Ice Mountain's depths.
The location of the Ice God's inheritance remained unknown, but logic suggested it lay somewhere within these frozen depths. The symmetry was too perfect to be coincidental, Devil Note Mountain held the Demon Sound God General's legacy, so Ice Mountain almost certainly contained the Ice God General's inheritance.
Han Jue's plan was straightforward: kill natives to collect their black tokens while cultivating to the fifth stage of the Heaven's End Ice Derivative Body, then seek out the Ice God's inheritance temple once his physical foundation was sufficiently strengthened.
No need to rush things!
Without attempting any disguise or concealment, Han Jue advanced openly, deliberately allowing the natives to detect his presence and attack him.
Even if the natives here proved stronger than those he'd encountered in the Seven Flames Palace, what did it matter?
Han Jue, wielding the Water-Sky Holy Flame and eight Origin Fire Seeds, could unleash power approaching that of a peak World Master at any moment if necessary. At most, he would experience a period of weakness afterward due to the energy expenditure, but with the Star-Eating Grass's protection, he had nothing to genuinely fear from ordinary opponents.
For Han Jue, the greatest danger wasn't the natives or even the Mystical Beasts.
The invisible cold represented the true threat.
This cold could disregard the defensive capabilities of Force armor and penetrate deep into his body, bypassing conventional protections entirely. If he encountered a zone where the temperature reached levels capable of freezing a peak World Master to death, his [No Limit] ability might be overwhelmed, and even Han Jue could perish in these frozen depths.
That was the real challenge Ice Mountain presented, not the warriors who hunted here, but the environment itself.
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