Chapter 449: Endless Spirit Ice

On this day, a group of individuals emerged near the mouth of a glacier in the Fallen Spirit Abyss. The glacier was colossal, resembling an ice dragon that extended between the heavens and earth, its expanse stretching out in all directions, with swirling clouds crowning its peak.

Their presence in this location wasn't a mere coincidence. Long before, Xiao Ming, who was in the group, had sensed a strange attraction emanating from it.

Even from several tens of miles away, he detected an unusual energy fluctuation resonating within the massive glacier.

'Yet another extremely cold place'

Xiao Ming's countenance shifted to an odd expression as he stood outside the glacier. While such extreme cold zones weren't exactly common in the Fallen Spirit Ice Source, he had encountered them a few times before.

However, the majority of those encounters were fruitless. They were frequently notable solely for their unusual terrain and dense concentrations of heaven and earth energy.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Xiao Ming inquired calmly, looking at the several burly men standing beside him with scorpion-shaped patterns on their faces.

The men shivered as they responded with anxious smiles to his question.

"Yes, Senior. We felt a strange aura of coldness inside this location when we stumbled upon it. We guessed that there must be something valuable hidden deeper inside, so we immediately informed you."

"Moreover, there was a natural concealed formation here before, but we broke it. The things inside should still be there."

"Hehe, I hope you're not deceiving me. Otherwise, the consequences would be severe." Xiao Ming chuckled lightly, instilling a sense of fear that caused the men to vehemently shake their heads.

As if! How could they even dare deceive this imposing figure? Wouldn't that be akin to courting death?

They sighed, regretting their decision to ambush him back then. They were now in a situation where, while other magical beasts were assisting for a reward, they might just get beaten up.

"Remain here. Should I emerge and not find you, you're well aware of the repercussions."

Disregarding their expressions, Xiao Ming left this declaration and swiftly moved, parting through the wind and snow. Before long, he appeared at a lower point on the glacier.

His powerful soul power spread out, and after an hour, Xiao Ming appeared at a certain spot. Swiftly, he unleashed a punch.

Thud!

A deep ice cave suddenly appeared. Xiao Ming entered the cavity, wherein only the entrance was created by him, while the rest had formed naturally. The tunnels within the cave were intricate, leading to unknown destinations.

After selecting a direction, Xiao Ming strode briskly for a while.

Suddenly, a vast passage came into view before him.

Gurgle!

To his surprise, within the ice cave flowed a river that remained unfrozen.

In such frigid conditions, the presence of an unfrozen river was unexpected. Xiao Ming took a few steps forward, extending his hand to test the water. He lightly touched the surface but quickly withdrew his hand.

'So cold!'

His body experienced a bone-piercing chill that felt like it was trying to freeze his internal organs.

A thread of icy air surged, frosting over Xiao Ming's eyebrows. Soon, his entire body was encased in frost.

His Dou Qi automatically circulated within his body, quickly melting away the ice.

'The cold is spreading so rapidly, quite interesting. I can sense the aura of a heavenly treasure within it. This time, I should be on the right track!'

Xiao Ming felt no discomfort, glanced at the river by his feet, and began to follow it upstream, heading toward its source.

As he delved further, the cold grew more intense. The icy aura was thick and unyielding in the air.

Threads of bone-chilling cold emitted incessantly.

An hour later, Xiao Ming had ventured deep within the glacier.

Passing through a network of interconnected ice caves, about a hundred paces in, Xiao Ming sensed that he was drawing closer to the heavenly treasure.

Gurgle!

Suddenly, several hundred paces away, Xiao Ming heard the sound of flowing water - a continuous, rushing sound.

'Here it is!'

Xiao Ming's heart surged with joy. He quickened his pace, and soon a frozen cave appeared before him.

This was a stalactite cave within the glacier, adorned with ice crystals. Astonishingly, within the cave, a spring was present.

Gurgle, gurgle!

The spring water flowed continuously, shooting several meters high before cascading down the glacier, forming small streams.

Without lingering by the spring for long, Xiao Ming's gaze was quickly drawn to something else.

Inside the cave, at the far end, the ice wall was as smooth as a mirror. Xiao Ming could clearly see a gigantic ice-blue scorpion-like creature encased within it.

'A Dou Saint-level Ice Dragon Scorpion?'

Xiao Ming recognized the creature and reached out to touch the ice wall. His hand immediately felt a scorching sensation.

This sensation wasn't due to excessive heat, but rather a response triggered by a certain level of coldness.

Without a doubt, the ice wall before him was the Endless Spirit Ice.

'Could it be that this Ice Dragon Scorpion was the previous owner of this Endless Spirit Ice, and for some reason, it became sealed within it?'

Xiao Ming speculated, his actions hastening.

A white flame suddenly ignited, and as if sensing the White Glazed Heart Flame, the ice wall trembled violently. Gradually, it began to melt, transforming into a suspended blue gel-like substance about the size of a human head.

As the blue gel-like substance took form, the entire cave expanded significantly, revealing the creature's body to the open air.

However, the creature appeared completely lifeless, showing no signs of movement.

"Judging from its appearance and color, it's indeed the Endless Spirit Ice!"

The Endless Spirit Ice lay right before him, yet Xiao Ming refrained from hastily collecting it.

Instead, he stored the creature's body within his storage ring first, redirecting his focus to the task at hand.

'Embedded within the Endless Spirit Ice is an ice-blue silkworm. I need to extract it before proceeding further.'

This silkworm was known as the Ancient Crystal Silkworm, one of the ten poisons of ancient times.

When someone was bitten by the Ancient Crystal Silkworm, they were exposed to a unique toxin. A portion of their cultivated Qi would be transformed by the toxin, not entirely vanishing but being absorbed by it. This toxin acted much like salt dissolving in water, integrating into the Qi, limbs, and internal organs, making it hard to eliminate. As the poisoned individual's cultivation realm increased, the accumulated toxins within their body would increase as well, eventually resulting in them turning into ice sculptures.

Although Xiao Ming held no fear of this poison, he certainly had no desire to experience its adverse effects either.

Hence, retracting the Heavenly Flame, Xiao Ming set out to find the strange creature within the blue gel-like substance. After some time, he managed to identify a translucent ice-blue silkworm.

Using his soul power, he retrieved the creature and then eliminated it with a burst of energy, storing its body within his storage ring.

With this, all the risks during the process of collecting the Endless Spirit Ice were eliminated.

The next step was to collect it!

Half an hour later, Xiao Ming emerged from the glacier, holding a swirling and flowing mass of blue gel-like substance in his hand.

"Senior!"

Seeing Xiao Ming's appearance, the group hurriedly gathered around him.