"Be careful! The Ice-Snow Laws within this underground palace seem to originate from this giant being! What race does this creature belong to?" The Soul Body of the brawny man appeared beside Ye Yunfei, gazing with solemn eyes at the giant within the ice coffin.
"He is an Ice Demon, an extremely rare race with a miniscule population," Ye Yunfei replied.
"An Ice Demon?" The brawny man was taken aback. As a native of the Canghuang Realm, he had never heard of this peculiar race.
Ye Yunfei flickered and arrived next to the ice coffin.
"This guy really is undergoing a bloodline breakthrough," Ye Yunfei said softly, sensing the aura emanating from within the coffin.
"Don't get so close! It's too dangerous. My Soul Body is almost frozen solid!" The brawny man was shocked to see Ye Yunfei actually approach the coffin.
"No need to fear. He's one of us," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"What? One of us? Is this Ice Demon the 'acquaintance' you mentioned earlier?" The brawny man was bewildered.
"Exactly. It's him," Ye Yunfei said, looking at the slumbering Ice Demon in the coffin. He couldn't help but recall the glorious days when he had roamed the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds with this Ice Demon by his side, a surge of warmth filling his chest.
As a supreme expert who once dominated the Three Thousand Realms, Ye Yunfei naturally had many followers. Among them, this Ice Demon was not the strongest, but he was absolutely loyal and steadfast. Before meeting Ye Yunfei, this Ice Demon had wandered alone through countless worlds, both large and small. Ye Yunfei never imagined he would encounter him again in this life, right here in the Canghuang Realm.
"Alright. I'll refine some pills to speed up your bloodline breakthrough," Ye Yunfei said. With a flicker, he brought the brawny man's Soul Body into the Phantom Tower.
Then, Ye Yunfei took out a large quantity of Yin-attributed medicinal herbs, followed by ten Pill Cauldrons which he arranged before him. Employing the Multi-Cauldron Refinement Technique, he began concocting pills.
One month later, Ye Yunfei had used up all the Yin-attributed herbs in his possession!
Ye Yunfei emerged from the Phantom Tower and stood before the massive ice coffin. The Earth Flame and Samadhi True Fire manifested in front of him, protecting him from the erosive Ice-Snow Laws.
With a wave of his sleeve, Ye Yunfei pushed open a corner of the coffin's lid. Another gesture summoned a large pile of jade bottles to hover before him. Following that, he pointed his finger. The lids of the bottles opened one by one, and the pills within flew out, rushing into the coffin towards the Ice Demon's head.
Since these pills were great nourishment for the Ice Demon, driven by instinctive consciousness, he abruptly opened his mouth and began devouring them.
A moment later, all the pills had been consumed.
Boom!
A vast medicinal potency surged and roared within the Ice Demon's body. His aura began climbing rapidly! The pills Ye Yunfei refined had a significant accelerating effect on his bloodline breakthrough.
Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged beside the coffin and patiently waited for ten hours.
Ten hours later…
Within the ice coffin, the Ice Demon suddenly opened his eyes. A pair of enormous, bell-like eyes, larger than lanterns, fixed on Ye Yunfei, revealing confusion.
"Someone was feeding me pills earlier… was that you?" the Ice Demon spoke, each word causing the entire underground palace to tremble.
"Yes, it was me," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Considering you helped with my breakthrough, I won't kill you. Leave," the Ice Demon said, his giant eyes sizing up Ye Yunfei.
"I am indeed leaving, but you're coming with me," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"Why should I go with you?" the Ice Demon was stunned.
"Because, from now on, you will follow by my side and become my little brother," Ye Yunfei stated.
"Why should I follow you, a puny human? What qualification do you have to make me your little brother? Get out! Or I'll kill you!" the Ice Demon roared in anger upon hearing this.
His terrifying voice was like a series of exploding thunderclaps, causing the entire underground palace to quake and echo relentlessly.
"I am absolutely qualified," Ye Yunfei said, "because in the future, I will take you with me to dominate the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. I will aid your growth every step of the way, helping you become a peerless powerhouse. Ultimately, I will also take you to find the Space-Time Path back to the Icy Snow World, locate your Ice Demon race, and help you unravel the mystery of your origins. Believe me, in this world, absolutely no one understands you, an Ice Demon, better than I do. By staying by my side, your bloodline breakthrough speed will increase by at least tenfold, even a hundredfold or more, allowing you to grow stronger rapidly. You see, with so many benefits to being my little brother, do you have any reason to refuse?" His voice was filled with a tempting allure.
The Ice Demon was utterly stunned by Ye Yunfei's words. "You know I belong to the Ice Demon race? You can take me to find the Space-Time Path back to the Icy Snow World? You can help me uncover the mystery of my origins? You can increase my bloodline breakthrough speed by tenfold, even a hundredfold?" He stared at Ye Yunfei with incredulous, bulging eyes.
"Yes. The answers to all your questions are affirmative. I told you, no one in this world understands you better than I do," Ye Yunfei said leisurely, putting on an air of profound mystery as he smiled.
"Who are you exactly? Why do you know so much about me? Did you specifically investigate my background?" The Ice Demon fixed a death glare on Ye Yunfei.
"For this bloodline breakthrough, you must have awakened the Twelve Profound Ice Ancient Devil Art, right?" Ye Yunfei said lightly. "That technique is one of the core inheritance methods of your Ice Demon race. It consists of twelve postures corresponding to twelve realms, each representing a deeper application of the Ice-Snow Laws. Cultivate it diligently; it will grant you a massive boost in combat power."
"You… you actually know I awakened the Twelve Profound Ice Ancient Devil Art during this breakthrough! How is that possible? You… you really do know everything!" The Ice Demon was now completely dumbfounded.
"Alright, enough wasting my time. Hurry up and call me Big Brother, then come with me," Ye Yunfei said impatiently. "I don't have time to stand around here blabbering with you."
The Ice Demon was momentarily stunned. *Should I really become this human kid's little brother?* He hesitated, examining Ye Yunfei from head to toe, indecisive.
"You… you truly can take me to find the Space-Time Path back to the Icy Snow World?" he asked, locking his gaze on Ye Yunfei. "You truly can help me uncover the mystery of my origins? You truly can increase my bloodline breakthrough speed tenfold or even a hundredfold?"
"Truly," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Good! From this moment on, you are my Big Brother! Please accept your little brother's bow!" The Ice Demon suddenly reached out, pushed the coffin lid aside, stood up, and bowed heavily towards Ye Yunfei with his immense frame.
"Finally succeeded in persuading him," Ye Yunfei revealed a pleased smile.
Ye Yunfei understood every aspect of this Ice Demon like the back of his hand; he was far too familiar. Even if the Ice Demon had continued to resist, Ye Yunfei had plenty of other methods up his sleeve to eventually win him over wholeheartedly. However, him yielding this quickly did save Ye Yunfei quite a bit of time.