Wang Chen gazed at the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals and immediately began extracting them. These crystals were companion materials to the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence. Once the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals were harvested, he could access the deeper layers to extract the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence.
Extracting the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals was remarkably simple; it only required infusing them with Ultimate Ice soul power. Wang Chen circulated his Ultimate Ice soul power, his hands glowing with a faint blue light as he pressed them against the ice wall. The moment his soul power made contact, the rock-hard Ice Extreme Divine Crystals softened like snow melting in spring, their texture turning gel-like.
With a gentle flick of his fingers, a fist-sized deep blue crystal detached from the ice wall. As it separated, ripples of blue light shimmered across its surface, flickering as if it were a living entity with a breath of its own. This was why the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals were called divine crystals—they had evolved to possess a degree of vitality.
However, only a small fraction of these crystals reached this level of life force, and such high-quality Ice Extreme Divine Crystals were known as Ice Spirits. Only Ice Spirit-grade crystals were suitable for crafting level-10 soul tools. Ordinary Ice Extreme Divine Crystals, no matter how skilled the soul engineer, could at most be used to create peak level-9 soul tools.
"Ice Spirit-grade divine crystals. Not bad luck," Wang Chen remarked, storing the soft, jelly-like Ice Extreme Divine Crystal in his storage soul tool before continuing to harvest the remaining crystals.
In less than ten seconds, he had collected all the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals from the ice wall. He looked with satisfaction at the pile of blue crystals in his storage ring. Then, his gaze shifted to the dark passage behind the ice wall—the true goal of his expedition.
Wang Chen ventured into the winding passage, descending deeper. As he progressed, the temperature dropped at an alarming rate, approaching absolute zero. Even with his cultivation and ice attribute, Wang Chen felt a piercing chill. He had to circulate his soul power, forming a protective film around his body to shield himself from the soul-freezing cold.
After passing through the final narrow ice corridor, the sight before him made Wang Chen's breath catch. In a circular cavern no larger than ten square meters, forty-five translucent ice pillars stood like a forest. The pillars were pure white, like jade, with a faint glimpse of a liquid resembling ambrosia flowing slowly within.
These ice pillars were the source of the extreme cold in the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Cave, and the liquid inside was Wang Chen's target: the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence. This was a supreme ice-attribute treasure. The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had relied on it to achieve a million years of cultivation. While the quantity here at the Earth Dragon Sect was less than what the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had absorbed, it was still enough to save Wang Chen a decade of arduous cultivation and allow him to condense a second soul core with complementary yin and yang attributes.
Once he condensed this second soul core, Wang Chen's soul power would rival that of the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler and Di Tian. At that point, he could easily overpower any human Limit Douluo with dual soul cores resonating in harmony.
The cavern housing the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence was small, with a ceiling only about one and a half meters high. Wang Chen had to float off the ground, lying flat to move forward. Soon, he reached one of the ice pillars, sat cross-legged, and began operating the Meridian-Clearing Technique to fully absorb the energy within the pillar's Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence.
The energy within the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence was immense yet remarkably gentle, making absorption effortless. Unlike many natural treasures whose energy was difficult to absorb, the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence was an exception. Otherwise, a weakling like the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm could never have reached such a realm with its help.
As Wang Chen absorbed the essence, the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence in the first pillar was quickly depleted, all of it stored in his lower dantian. He slowly opened his eyes, marveling at the ice-blue energy of the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence in his dantian. "Such robust, pure, and refined Ultimate Ice energy. Its quality surpasses my own soul power by far. If I absorb all the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence and convert it into my soul power, not only will my total soul power increase dramatically, but its quality will also leap forward. This high-quality energy is perfect for condensing a second soul core. After compression through the soul core, its quality will improve even further—absolutely ideal."
Wang Chen focused his mind, sat cross-legged, and continued absorbing the remaining Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence with full concentration. His body gradually became encased in a layer of deep blue ice crystals, and his lower dantian glowed with a dazzling blue light. The Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence in the forty-five ice pillars visibly diminished at a rapid pace.
The process lasted a full hour. When the last drop of Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence was absorbed, the ice pillars, which had stood for ten thousand years, collapsed into fine ice powder. Wang Chen's eyes snapped open, a blue gleam flashing through his pupils. A terrifying chill radiated from his body, freezing everything around him.
Inspecting his lower dantian, Wang Chen saw it had been entirely dyed deep blue, with forty-five energy vortexes formed by the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence slowly rotating within. Due to the energy's exceptional quality, it was already semi-solid even without compression. If Wang Chen's cultivation hadn't been bottlenecked below level 90, he could have attempted to condense the dual yin-yang soul core right then.
Rising slowly, Wang Chen felt the terrifying chill emanating from his body. He immediately mobilized his Tangible and Substantive spiritual power to compress all the overflowing cold back into his dantian. Having obtained the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence, his mission was a resounding success. He promptly left the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Cave.
While Wang Chen was deep in the cave collecting the essence, Nan Shuishui and the Earth Dragon Sect elders waited nearby. The elders looked at the uprooted chilling spring with complicated expressions. This spring was a treasure of the Earth Dragon Sect, its waters rich with spiritual energy that nourished soul masters' bodies. The sect's soul masters drank from it daily, but now that the spring had been uprooted by the mysterious powerhouse, its future usability was uncertain.
The Earth Dragon Sect, only a thousand years old, lacked the deep foundation of sects with ten-thousand-year legacies. Losing the spring further diminished their already thin resources. However, Sect Master Nan Shuishui remained calm. As the sect leader, she knew more than the elders. Past sect masters who had reached the Titled Douluo level had explored the spring to uncover the source of its spiritual energy, but the extreme cold had prevented even them from delving deep, leaving the matter unresolved.
Now, this mysterious powerhouse had disrupted the spring and entered the chilling cave. With a Super Douluo leading the way, the Earth Dragon Sect might gain access to the cave and reap some benefits, even if only scraps remained after the powerhouse took the lion's share. This was Nan Shuishui's thinking. During the hour Wang Chen was in the cave, some elders had suggested seeking help from the Heavenly Dragon Sect, but Nan Shuishui suppressed these ideas. As a peak Soul Douluo, she had a clearer sense of Wang Chen's strength than the Soul Saint elders. The Heavenly Dragon Sect's leader, though a strong Titled Douluo, was no match for a Super Douluo. Seeking their help might anger the mysterious powerhouse, which would be disastrous.
Nan Shuishui had no intention of provoking this Super Douluo. Her goal was to follow in his wake and gain some benefits. If she could establish a connection with him, even at some cost, it would be well worth it.
As Nan Shuishui pondered, a loud bang snapped her back to reality. A black figure shot out of the cave.
"Senior!" Nan Shuishui started to approach, but the figure had already vanished.
The Earth Dragon Sect elders breathed a collective sigh of relief as the mysterious powerhouse left.
"He's finally gone. That was terrifying."
"But our chilling spring is ruined. What a loss."
"The spring is nothing. That man must have taken the treasure at its source. That treasure rightfully belonged to our Earth Dragon Sect. How hateful! He bullied the weak despite his status, stealing what's ours. He deserves divine retribution!"
As the elders grumbled, Nan Shuishui sighed inwardly. "What a pity. This senior had no interest in our Earth Dragon Sect and left directly. I had hoped to build a relationship with a Super Douluo. Even losing the spring would have been worth it for such a connection."
Nan Shuishui set aside her disappointment. As the sect leader, she had a long-term perspective. There was no point lamenting what was already lost; one had to look forward. Her gaze turned to the mysterious cave, noticing that its chill had lessened. After a moment's thought, she decided to explore it thoroughly to see if anything valuable remained.
Unbeknownst to her, Wang Chen had absorbed all the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Essence, the source of the cave's cold. Without it, the chill would gradually fade, disappearing entirely in a few hundred or thousand years. While Wang Chen had taken the essence and Ice Extreme Divine Crystals, he had left behind the crystals' secondary metals, which he deemed unworthy. These rare metals, though far less valuable than the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals, could be refined to craft level-7 or level-8 soul tools—a significant fortune for a sect like the Earth Dragon Sect.
As Nan Shuishui explored the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Cave, Wang Chen soared through the sky outside Dragon City, his level-9 flight soul tool unfurled behind him. Like a bolt of black lightning, he sped toward the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. His mission had been a complete success. Not only had his strength surged, but he had also reaped a bountiful harvest of resources. With his second martial soul, he could now charge toward level 99 Limit Douluo at breakneck speed.
Gazing into the distance, Wang Chen thought, "With my current strength, the Holy Spirit Cult can no longer threaten me. I wonder how things are at home after being away for so long." With that, his speed increased even further.
…
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy, in the Sea God Pavilion's meeting hall.
The academy's top brass and Mu En's relatives gathered together: Cai Mei'er, Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo, Xuan Zi, Beibei, Zhang Lexuan, and others, all looking at the frail, elderly Mu En with sorrowful eyes. None of them had expected that two days ago, when Elder Mu and the Sea God Island's High Priest—both Limit Douluo—set out to hunt down the murderer of Yan Shaozhe, it would end like this.
They had thought it would be an easy task, like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. Instead, not only did they fail to kill the culprit, but Elder Mu had exhausted his life force. Had they known this would happen, they would have done everything to stop him.
Elder Mu was Shrek Academy's only Limit Douluo. Without him, the academy would lack a Limit Douluo, severely diminishing its influence. Without Elder Mu to guide them, who could lead Shrek Academy through these turbulent times? Elder Xuan? No. Elder Song? No. Xian Lin'er and the others? Also no.
The entire Shrek Academy leadership was filled with worry, their gazes toward Mu En heavy with grief.
"Great-Grandfather, don't leave me," a young man with features resembling Mu En's cried, tears streaming down his face.
"Teacher, I don't want you to die," Xian Lin'er wept.
"Teacher, Shaozhe is gone, and now you're leaving me too?" Cai Mei'er sobbed, her eyes red and swollen.
"Elder Mu, if you go, what will happen to Shrek Academy?" Xuan Zi coughed violently. Having been nearly killed by Wang Chen and treated with elixirs and a Super Douluo healing soul master, he still hadn't fully recovered.
Mu En lay on a recliner, his gray-white hair disheveled, his breathing faint, and his body shrouded in an aura of death. The wrinkles on his face were deep enough to trap a fly.
Hearing their words, Mu En slowly opened his eyes, his golden pupils reflecting boundless weariness. He spoke slowly, "The Sea God's High Priest has not returned, so he must have failed. According to the High Priest, the Sea God once said that the demon named Wang Chen will bring ruin to nations, bloodshed to the people, and immense destruction to the continent. I failed to eliminate him. In the future, the Three Kingdoms of Douluo and our Shrek Academy will face this calamity. I am dying. After I'm gone, Xuan Zi will temporarily take over as the Master of the Sea God Pavilion. Lexuan will be the designated successor. Once Lexuan breaks through to Super Douluo, she will officially assume the role of Pavilion Master…"
Mu En spoke at length, giving many instructions and even stabilizing the Holy Dragon bloodline for his great-grandson Beibei. After completing these tasks, he closed his eyes wearily and said softly, "Alright, everyone leave. In my final moments, I want to be alone."
"Yes, Elder Mu."
After everyone left, Mu En opened his tightly shut eyes. "Xi Shui, I never thought I'd see you again in my lifetime."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 30 early chapters available on Patreo
[email protected]/facficmax10