Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 248: Encountering the Ice Demon Beast in the Snowy Region

Fang Hao hid behind that black boulder for a good while, consuming most of the Medicinal Pill he had for healing. Using the Chaos Derivation Art combined with the power of the "Earth Fire Burning Body" he had just mastered, he managed to treat the scorched black burns on his back and his shaken internal organs by about seventy or eighty percent. Although there was still a lingering ache, he could finally move normally, and his strength had recovered to about seventy or eighty percent.

"This wave wasn’t a loss. Although I was almost roasted and wasted a life-saving Talisman, I got the fourth fragment, mastered the Earth Fire Burning Body, and both my Physical Body and strength have improved by a notch." Fang Hao calculated while adjusting his breathing. He took out the four "battle heaven axe" fragments and placed them together.

The four fragments had different shapes and sizes, but the material was the same, all emitting that ancient, barbaric aura. Now that they were together, the attraction between them was even more obvious. One could even faintly see an extremely faint dark gold light flowing at the edges of the fragments, as if they wanted to merge together, but because too much was missing, they couldn’t form a shape at all.

"Five more to go." Fang Hao’s gaze was burning. This "battle heaven axe" was a divine weapon of the ancient "War Heaven Clan," shattered into nine pieces, and he had already obtained nearly half of them. If he could collect them all, even without recasting the divine axe, the power and secrets contained in the fragments themselves would be immeasurable. Not to mention, these fragments seemed to be closely related to the "War Heaven Scripture" Legacy. Collecting the fragments might allow him to obtain the complete Legacy or find a way to recast the divine axe.

"Keep searching! Since the Sun Family is setting up a net on the periphery, I can just search in the depths of the Secret Realm. Moreover, with these four fragments, the resonance between them should be stronger. Using the ’star evolution plate’ as an aid, I might be able to find the general location of the other fragments."

He took out the "star evolution plate" again and placed the four fragments around the compass. Sure enough, as soon as the fragments approached the compass, the needle in the center of the compass began to rotate violently and irregularly, pointing in different directions, clearly interfered with by the different auras emitted by the four fragments.

"This won’t work, it’s too messy." Fang Hao frowned. He thought for a moment and tried to inject his own faint strand of Battle Intent, condensed during the "war soul" test, into the "star evolution plate," while silently thinking about the appearance and aura of the complete "battle heaven axe."

Hum—!

The "star evolution plate" shook slightly, and the starlight in the center area suddenly brightened, creating a strange resonance with the strand of Battle Intent Fang Hao injected. On the compass, next to the light spot representing his own position, four extremely dim, almost invisible tiny light spots slowly emerged, faintly corresponding to the positions of the four fragments. And in the depths of the Secret Realm, far away from these four light spots, in different directions, on the edge of the blurry map on the compass, several more imperceptible, dim halos of light that almost merged with the background seemed to appear, flickering in and out of existence.

"There’s a reaction!" Fang Hao’s spirit lifted. Although those halos were extremely dim and difficult to locate accurately, at least it showed that there were indeed other "battle heaven axe" fragments in the depths of this Secret Realm, and more than one! It was just that they were too far away, or obscured by some power.

"Great! It seems there are at least three or four more fragments in this Secret Realm!" Fang Hao was excited. He carefully identified the positions of the several extremely dim halos on the compass. One of them seemed to be in the far north of the Secret Realm, where there were continuous snow-capped mountains and ice plains, biting cold, the exact opposite of the Earth Fire area. Another was in the due west, where the map marked a vast, fog-shrouded primeval swamp, full of poisonous miasma and strange creatures. There were two others, whose directions were even more blurry; one seemed to be in the deep mountains in the southeast, and the other vaguely pointed to... the center of the Secret Realm, an area that was completely blank on the map and specially marked as an "Unknown Forbidden Land."

"Snow mountains, swamps, mountains, Forbidden Land..." Fang Hao frowned. None of them were good places. It seemed that the remaining fragments were all scattered in the most dangerous and core areas of the Secret Realm. To get them, the difficulty would only be higher than before.

"Start with the relatively’simple’ one." Fang Hao’s gaze first turned to the snow-capped ice plains in the far north. Firstly, it was relatively close to his current position (in terms of the scale of the Secret Realm). Secondly, he had mastered the "Earth Fire Burning Body," so his resistance to cold environments should have improved. Thirdly, fire and ice countered each other, and perhaps he could find some exotic items there that could restrain fire or be beneficial to his Cultivate, and he could also avoid the limelight of the Sun Family (the Sun Family probably wouldn’t think he would run to a bitter, cold place).

Having made up his mind, he didn’t delay any longer. He packed up the fragments and the compass, changed into a cold-resistant black outfit (he had spares in his storage ring), checked the Medicinal Pill and Talisman on his body again, and then left the Earth Fire area, heading north towards the continuous mountain range covered in white snow.

The further north he went, the faster the temperature dropped. Scattered snow began to appear on the ground, and the air was filled with a dry, cold chill. The originally rich wood, earth, and fire Spiritual Qi gradually thinned, replaced by a cold, pure ice and water attribute Spiritual Qi. The towering ancient trees turned into cold-resistant coniferous forests, and finally, even the coniferous forests disappeared, leaving only exposed black mountain rocks and thick ice and snow that had accumulated for unknown tens of thousands of years.

The cold wind howled, scraping against his face like a knife. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would probably struggle to even maintain their protective spiritual light here. But Fang Hao channeled the power of "Earth Fire Burning Body," and the Qi and blood in his body operated like a furnace. A warm current flowed naturally throughout his body, isolating the cold, and even his skin faintly emitted a layer of invisible warm breath, instantly evaporating the snowflakes that fell on him.

"This ’Earth Fire Burning Body’ is really useful, immune to both cold and heat." Fang Hao was very satisfied. He used the Shadowless Evasion Technique, leaving very faint traces on the snow, and advanced rapidly towards the depths of the snow mountains. The Clear Spring Spirit Eyes constantly observed the surroundings. This seemingly pure and dead snow field often hid fatal dangers, such as ice crevices under the snow, lurking ice-type Demon Beast, or sudden blizzards.

He had been walking for about a day and a night, and had already penetrated deep into the hinterland of the snow mountains. Everything around was white, and the Peaks towered into the clouds, as if connecting to the sky. The ice Spiritual Qi here was so dense it was almost impossible to dissolve. Inhaling it into his mouth and nose brought a bone-chilling cold, which required a little refining to absorb.

Fang Hao took out the "star evolution plate" from time to time to confirm the direction. As he approached, the halo on the compass representing the fragment in the north seemed to become slightly clearer, but it was still extremely blurry, making it difficult to locate accurately, and could only guide him to a general area.

Just as he crossed a huge glacier pass, the Clear Spring Spirit Eyes suddenly captured an unnatural, half-hidden cave entrance on the mountainside of an ice Peak not far ahead. And on the "star evolution plate," the halo representing the fragment seemed to point exactly to that ice Peak.

"Is it there?" Fang Hao’s heart tightened, and he immediately became vigilant. He did not rush to approach, but first found a sheltered ice rock to hide behind and observed carefully.

The cave entrance was large, several zhang in height and width, like the lair of some large creature. Many ice crystals of various lengths, like crystals, hung on the edge of the cave entrance. On the snow near the entrance, some huge, claw-like marks could be seen, extending deep into the cave.

"There is a Demon Beast entrenched there, and it’s quite large." Fang Hao frowned. A Demon Beast that could survive in such a bitter, cold place was definitely not easy to mess with, at least a Tier 3 or above, or possibly a Tier 4 ice-type Demon Beast.

He was wondering whether to sneak in or find a way to lure the Demon Beast away, when suddenly, his ears twitched.

An extremely slight, but very fast "rustling" sound came from the snow slope behind him, as if something was moving quickly under the snow! And not just one!

Fang Hao became alert instantly, pushing the Shadowless Evasion Technique to the limit, his figure seemingly merging into the snowy background, while he suddenly turned his head to look in the direction the sound came from.

Only to see the thick snow on the snow slope dozens of zhang away suddenly explode! Three Demon Beasts, completely white, almost blending into the surrounding environment, shaped like giant wolves, but with a single ice-blue horn on their foreheads, suddenly burst out from the snow, in a pin formation, rushing towards the ice rock where Fang Hao was hiding like lightning! They were more than twice the size of ordinary snow wolves, with sharp fangs, four claws Treading Snow Without a Trace, and their aura was clearly around Medium Grade Tier 3, their eyes cold and full of predator’s killing intent!

"Icefield Wolves? No, it’s a mutated ’Ice Crystal Horned Wolf’!" Fang Hao recognized this kind of Demon Beast. They were fast, good at lurking and sneak attacks, and could spit icy breath from their mouths. They were troublesome predators in the snow mountains. It seemed that when he was observing the cave just now, he accidentally revealed a trace of his aura, or disturbed the wolf pack patrolling nearby.

The three Ice Crystal Horned Wolves were extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, they rushed to the front, the fishy wind hitting his face, and the cold killing intent locked onto him.

"Court death!" A cold light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. Since he had been discovered, he would make a quick decision! He didn’t use the yitian sword; he just happened to test the power of his Physical Body after mastering "Earth Fire Burning Body"!

Facing the wolf king who rushed to the front and opened its mouth to spit out a cone-shaped ice thorn, Fang Hao did not dodge or avoid it. He gave a low drink, a dark red light flashed on his right fist, the power of Earth Fire Burning Body condensed instantly, and he threw a punch! The surface of his fist was even covered with a thin layer of dark red flames with a very high temperature!

Bang—Crack!

The fist collided with the ice thorn, and the ice thorn instantly shattered into ice crystals all over the sky! The momentum of the punch did not stop, and it slammed heavily onto the wolf king’s wide-open bloody mouth!

"Awooo—!"

The wolf king let out a shrill scream, its mouth full of fangs were shattered, its entire lower jaw was deformed, and its huge body was blasted away by the huge force, plowing a deep trench on the snow, struggled twice, and then stopped moving.

One punch, seconds-killing a Medium Grade Tier 3 wolf king!

The other two Ice Crystal Horned Wolves were obviously frightened by the miserable state of their companion and the scorching aura on Fang Hao’s fist that made them instinctively fear, and the momentum of their pounce suddenly stalled.

How could Fang Hao let the opportunity go? Divine Spirit Steps activated, his figure was like lightning, and he instantly appeared beside one of the ice wolves on the left. His palm, covered with dark red flames, was like a red-hot soldering iron, slamming heavily on its waist and abdomen!

Sss—! Ouch!

Fur scorched, bones shattered! The ice wolf screamed and flew sideways, hitting the ice rock, and it looked like it wouldn’t survive.

The only remaining ice wolf was scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. How could it dare to attack? It tucked its tail and turned to run.

"Stay!" Fang Hao pointed like a sword, Star Shattering Finger condensed a wisp of Earth Core Flame Fire, and pointed out in the air! A pale purple trail of fire struck first, accurately sinking into the back of the fleeing ice wolf’s head. The ice wolf’s running movement suddenly stiffened, and it fell to the ground, smoke rising from its body, and it died instantly.

The battle, from start to finish, took only a few breaths. The three ferocious Ice Crystal Horned Wolves were vulnerable in front of Fang Hao, who had mastered "Earth Fire Burning Body" and whose strength had greatly increased.

Fang Hao shook off the non-existent bloodstains on his hands and was very satisfied with his performance. It seemed that dealing with Demon Beast of the same rank, relying solely on his Physical Body and the power of fire was enough.

He was just about to go up to deal with the wolf carcasses (the Demon Beast core and fur could still be sold for some money), when suddenly, from the depths of the cave on the mountainside of the ice Peak, came a dull, magnificent roar full of supreme majesty and cold anger!

"Roar—!"

With the roar, the entire ice Peak seemed to vibrate slightly! The huge ice crystals hanging at the cave entrance broke and fell with a "crack, crack" sound. A terrifying pressure, far exceeding Tier 3, and even comparable to the fire creature in the Earth Fire giant pit, filled with the ultimate ice aura, surged out from the depths of the cave like a tsunami, instantly covering the entire area!

On the snow, the corpses of the three ice wolves just killed by Fang Hao were instantly covered with a thick layer of blue ice crystals on the surface, and then with a "crack" sound, they shattered into ice shards!

Fang Hao’s face changed drastically, he looked at the direction of the cave, his pupils contracted.

"A Peak Tier 4 ice-type Demon Beast?!"