Pffft…
The Mysterious Ice Sect leader vomited mouthfuls of blood, her body flying backward like a kite with its string cut. She smashed through several ice peaks in succession, her aura instantly plummeting.
"Oh no! The sect leader is defeated!"
Upon witnessing this scene, members of the Mysterious Ice Sect let out unwilling cries.
Very quickly, the morale of the Mysterious Ice Sect completely collapsed, and all resistance swiftly disintegrated.
That severely injured Mysterious Ice Sect leader was rushed forward by Huang Shang, who controlled both her physical body and soul body.
Although this Mysterious Ice Sect leader was a woman, having chosen to participate in the battle, she had no one to blame for this outcome.
Furthermore, back when the Mysterious Ice Sect had allied with several other major forces to form a coalition to deal with Lü Dandan, if Lü Dandan had been defeated by that allied army at that time, her fate would have been no better than this Mysterious Ice Sect leader's current state.
Thus, neither Ye Yunfei nor Lü Dandan showed mercy on account of her being a woman.
What's more, almost half of the Mysterious Ice Sect's members were female; it was impossible to spare them all.
After the Mysterious Ice Sect leader was defeated by Lü Dandan, the other high-level members of the sect were no match for Lü Dandan and Ye Yunfei, and were slain one after another before long.
Half an hour later, the battle was completely over, and the Mysterious Ice Sect was destroyed.
"This is the Ancient Mysterious Ice Cavern, a sacred object of the Mysterious Ice Sect. I wonder if it holds some ancient inheritances or treasures from the sect's past?"
After eliminating the Mysterious Ice Sect's forces, Ye Yunfei came to a normal world deep within the sect's headquarters.
This world was completely covered in ice and snow, with flurries of white flakes dancing through the sky, rendering the entire world a pure white.
Ye Yunfei descended before a cave entrance that was largely buried in snow, only a corner exposed. This entrance was located on the mountainside of a tall, snow-capped peak.
Thick layers of ice covered the peak everywhere, and howling winds fierce enough to freeze a person's soul swept through.
Having devoured the soul body of a core elder of the Mysterious Ice Sect, Ye Yunfei knew of this Ancient Mysterious Ice Cavern's existence and thus decided to take a look.
"There are several decent formations here."
Ye Yunfei could tell at a glance that the cave entrance was sealed by several hidden ancient formations; to enter, one would need to break them.
"Let me break them."
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had long since followed Ye Yunfei here. He stepped forward, formed hand seals, and immediately produced a large number of golden runes. These golden runes condensed into a golden dagger that slashed forward directly.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had instantly identified the key nodes of the ancient formations. Therefore, each strike of that golden dagger landed on the weakest points of the formations.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Those ancient formations began to shake violently.
"Impressive. Your clan's heritage in formation-breaking is truly remarkable," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but praise.
"Of course it is. Don't think that just because you're a formation master, your ability to break formations surpasses mine. Our clan's talent is innate," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said proudly.
"Let me give you a hand." Ye Yunfei smiled, taking out five Formation-Breaking Flags and hurling them forward forcefully, embedding them into specific positions around the cave entrance.
Rumble...
As soon as Ye Yunfei's five Formation-Breaking Flags were inserted into their corresponding positions, the ancient formations at the cave entrance began to shake violently and then, with a *pop* sound, exploded like several bubbles.
"How is this possible? You broke all of them in one go?"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm looked at the now-exploded ancient formations, somewhat surprised.
"These formations were of a high grade and quite powerful, but they have been here for too long and have long since lost most of their array power. Furthermore, the formations themselves are incomplete. If they were in their original state, freshly arranged and at their peak power, breaking them wouldn't have been so easy for me," Ye Yunfei replied.
"Let's go, take a look inside."
Then Ye Yunfei stepped forward and walked into the cave entrance ahead. Inside was an ancient ice passageway, winding downwards.
Soon after, a spatial portal appeared ahead.
Passing through the spatial portal, Ye Yunfei found himself in a small, hazy, gray, seemingly isolated and abandoned small world.
The Laws of Heaven and Earth here were incomplete, the spiritual energy was sparse, and everywhere there were dilapidated walls and ruined buildings, all covered by thick layers of ice, as if countless years had passed.
"This seems like... the abandoned site of a sect? It seems we've stumbled into an ancient faction's headquarters by accident, but it looks like it has long since become ruins," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm cried out, looking at the ancient architectural remains frozen in ice within this small world. Its layout distinctly resembled that of a faction's headquarters.
Ye Yunfei walked into this small world, moving about while releasing his Soul Power energy.
His Soul Power meticulously swept across every inch of space and land.
"I wonder if there's anything precious here?"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, walking beside Ye Yunfei, also released his Soul Power to sense around.
"This place looks like nothing more than the headquarters of an abandoned faction, devoid of anything valuable."
Soon, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm showed a disappointed expression.
"I think this was likely the true headquarters of the ancient Mysterious Ice Sect. For some unknown reason, the ice energy and Grand Dao Ice Laws in this small world had likely dried up, turning it into an ordinary small world. That's why the Mysterious Ice Sect abandoned it and developed within the world cluster outside."
After walking around in this small world for a while, Ye Yunfei guessed that this was indeed the true headquarters of the ancient Mysterious Ice Sect and spoke.
"That's possible. It seems this place has been completely abandoned by the Mysterious Ice Sect, and nothing valuable was left behind. Let's go look outside instead." The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was starting to lose interest in this small world.
"No hurry. Since we're here, let's take a good look around. We might stumble upon something good," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei walked into a relatively well-preserved ice hall.
In the center of the ice hall sat a skeleton that was crystal-clear like jade. In front of the skeleton were several jade slips emitting faint, cold light, and a peculiarly shaped blue crystal.
The inside of the ice hall was shrouded in a bone-chilling cold, as if time itself had frozen there.
Ye Yunfei's gaze fell upon the crystal-clear skeleton and the blue crystal before it, beginning to sense and study them.
This skeleton had remained un-decayed through countless years and still exuded faint pressure, indicating its owner possessed considerable strength during life.
Although the blue crystal's glow was restrained, it subtly emitted an icy aura that even Ye Yunfei found startling. It was clearly no ordinary object.
"This thing is a bit strange. Could it be a treasure?"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm looked at the blue crystal and started to study it.
"It's possible it's a treasure."
Ye Yunfei pondered for a moment, then reached out his hand to pick up the blue crystal for closer inspection.
However, the moment Ye Yunfei's fingers touched the crystal's surface, a sudden change occurred.
Hum…
The blue crystal abruptly erupted with dazzling, brilliant blue light. A vast, ancient, and inexhaustibly resentful soul fluctuation, like a bursting dam's floodwaters, appeared out of thin air, surging violently!
At the same time, within the skull of the crystal-clear skeleton, two dim blue soul-fires suddenly ignited. An illusory, distorted woman's soul body struggled as if breaking free from some kind of restraint, slowly rising from within the skeleton.
"How many years has it been... I've been suppressed here by this Chaos Profound Ice Marrow, my soul body diminishing day by day... Finally... finally, a fresh, powerful physical body has come knocking on my door!"
The soul body released a sharp and ecstatic mental fluctuation. Her features were blurred, but one could vaguely make out her once cold and beautiful contours, now filled with greed and ferocity.
"Watch out! That skeleton contains an ancient remnant soul aiming for you!" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm immediately shouted.
"That remnant soul seemed to have been sealed before, and the source of the sealing energy was that blue crystal. You unintentionally disrupted the delicate balance between her and the crystal's seal, giving her a chance to escape," Hun Lao transmitted to Ye Yunfei.
"Such a formidable body! Even though it's a male's, this is currently my best option! I'll possess it first! This is my chance for rebirth!"
At the first moment of freedom, sensing Ye Yunfei's physical body that blazed with life force and contained terrifying power, the remnant soul hesitated not at all. She transformed into a sharp blue stream of cold air and shot directly into Ye Yunfei's Soul Sea!
She wanted to seize this perfect body and return to the world.
"Be careful!"
Hun Lao and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm exclaimed simultaneously.
Though startled, Ye Yunfei did not panic. Innumerable life-and-death battles and trials had honed his reactions to an astonishing speed.
"Soul-Nourishing Tree, restrain!"
Within his Soul Sea, the towering Soul-Nourishing Tree erupted with brilliant green light. Its branches and leaves swayed, scattering endless clear radiance as countless emerald leaves and branches grew wildly, weaving into a green protective shield. In an instant, Ye Yunfei's entire Soul Sea was stabilized, steady as a rock.
Simultaneously, dozens of Soul Power stars shone brightly, revolving like a vortex of stars.
"Samsara Phantom Secret Art!"
Ye Yunfei uttered a soft command.
A profound, abyss-like drowsiness surged towards the remnant soul, seeking to lull it into slumber.
"Hmph! Mere trifles! How could my attainments in soul techniques be compared to yours!"
The remnant soul emitted a disdainful snort. In her former life, she had surpassed the Sovereign God realm. Even now, in her weakened state, her remnant authority remained. That drowsiness was directly dispelled by an extreme cold will within her soul body.
"Profound Ice Spike!"
A stream of blue cold air suddenly condensed into countless fine, icy spikes formed of Soul Power, raining down like a storm upon the depths of Ye Yunfei's Soul Sea, the assault viciously sharp.
"Soul Power Star Technique, devour!"
Ye Yunfei's thoughts flashed. Those dozens of Soul Power stars abruptly transformed into miniature black hole vortexes, generating powerful suction force, furiously devouring the Profound Ice Spikes.
The Soul-Nourishing Tree also erupted with devouring power, starting to refine and absorb the energy of these spikes.
The sizzling sound was continuous. The icy Soul Power of that remnant soul was rapidly decomposed and absorbed by the stars and the Soul-Nourishing Tree.
"What?! You can devour my Soul Power?"
The remnant soul was shocked, then grew even more frenzied.
"Then taste the feeling of having your soul completely frozen!"
An extreme chill that could seemingly freeze time and space erupted from the remnant soul. Where it passed, even the flow of Ye Yunfei's Soul Power grew sluggish, and the edges of his Soul Sea even began to crystallize with blue ice.
"Mind Reading Technique!"
While urging the Soul-Nourishing Tree and Soul Power stars to resist the chill with all their might, Ye Yunfei deployed the Mind Reading Technique. Countless chaotic thoughts and illusions invaded the remnant soul's consciousness like a virus.
"Be gone!"
The remnant soul roared in irritation and rage.
The various Soul Power techniques Ye Yunfei employed were emerging without end, causing her difficulty.
Especially that Soul-Nourishing Tree, which held an extremely potent restraining and refining effect on her Soul Power. Although she was strong, she was, after all, merely a remnant soul.