Chapter 338: Chapter 337: Ice Soul Pearl, Heavenly Snow Mountain
After the silver snake shedding its skin, it was faster, harder, and its overall qualities had improved. Even its intelligence had risen considerably.
At this moment, however, it felt a fear it had never experienced before, as if lingering for one more second would cost its life.
Without hesitation, the silver snake darted outwards in fear.
But Shi Xiaole would not give it the chance.
This snake held no good intentions. If he hadn’t just made a great advancement in his skills, everyone present would have died today.
He executed his Death Claiming Fifteen Swords. After reaching the Spiritual-Passage Realm, the thickness of Shi Xiaole’s internal power greatly increased, enhancing the power of this sword, and he has been able to use it more frequently within a short period of time.
Once, twice.
Shi Xiaole struck the snake’s vital part seven times in succession. With a hissing sound, the silver snake let out a dire scream, its body split into two, and the silver blood sprayed out, bringing an abrupt drop in the surrounding temperature.
The sword’s light flashed away in an instant.
The silver snake’s head was pierced through, its life force crushed by the blazing Sword Qi.
"With my current strength, I should be able to defeat most top-level warriors at the eighth tier of the Spiritual-Passage Realm. Even if they are at the ninth tier, I might still stand a chance."
Wind God Leg greatly amplified Shi Xiaole’s speed, and the breakthrough in his realm advanced his concrete strength further. Considering a portion of ninth-tier warriors in the Spiritual-Passage Realm in Great Cold, Shi Xiaole felt he was on a par with them.
A first-tier Spiritual-Passage realm being on par with the ninth-tier Spiritual-Passage realm, if said out loud, no one would believe such an absurd statement!
Judging by the difficulty level of the Silver Bull Horn test, a first-tier Xuanqi realm is on par with a ninth-tier Xuanqi realm, and it would probably reach the seventh level. To compare a first-tier Spiritual-Passage realm to a ninth-tier Spiritual-Passage realm would be like a wild fantasy.
But there is no way, how many people, like Shi Xiaole, have been able to perfectly cultivate a top second-grade internal skill before breaking through to the Spiritual-Passage realm?
On the surface, he’s in the first-tier Spiritual-Passage realm, yet the level of 30% Inborn Gang Qi is comparable to the level of others in the fourth or even fifth tier of the Spiritual-Passage realm!
Of course, the ninth-tier warriors in the Spiritual-Passage realm that Shi Xiaole sees as his equals are the weakest of the bunch.
If the opponent’s Sword Heart realm, or realm of fist or palm intent, is higher than Shi Xiaole’s, with no inferiority in comprehension, even if their cultivation level is only at the second or third tier of the Spiritual-Passage realm, they must be stronger than Shi Xiaole.
On the other hand, that level of comprehension would only be possible unless the person is of the same age as Shi Xiaole or their cultivation talent is exceedingly poor; otherwise, they would have already broken through to who knows what realm by now.
"This snake is strange."
Shi Xiaole snapped back from his thoughts when Xia Yunxi approached, the look on her face was unusual.
"You recognize it?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
Xia Yunxi shot him a glance and said, "I read about it in an ancient book. This snake should be the Ice Land Giant Snake, which was said to be extinct long ago."
"This kind of snake sheds its skin three times in its lifetime, evolving completely each time. By the third successful molt, it is said to be able to swallow several peak warriors in the Spiritual-Passage realm in one gulp. The breath it exhales could easily freeze a river."
Listening to this, Wang Yuwei was stunned - was it that dramatic? However, she knew, her Senior Sister often enjoyed researching ancient books, she shouldn’t be wrong.
Xia Yunxi looked at the bisected corpse of the silver snake and said, "This snake has just completed its first molt. It hadn’t yet unleashed much of its potential. However, it has probably already formed the Ice Soul Pearl inside its body."
"What is the Ice Soul Pearl?"
Shi Xiaole inquired curiously.
Xia Yunxi absentmindedly tossed her hair back, revealing her shiny earlobes to Shi Xiaole. She said, "Ice Soul Pearl is the essence of the Ice Land Giant Snake, thanks to this pearl, it could absorb the world’s coldness and keep evolving."
"In the Martial World, many warriors who cultivate chill-inducing internal power regard the Ice Soul Pearl as a legendary item. If they can acquire it, their martial arts training can be ten times more effective."
Suddenly, Wang Yuwei said, "Senior Sister, didn’t you win a mysterious icy martial arts manual? You have said the power within that manual was immense, but the requirements for inherent coldness were too great, rendering it unfeasible to cultivate. What if..."
Xia Yunxi smiled and shook her head, "I have been cultivating Heavenly Wood Skill since I was a child. Now my internal power has set. It’s too late to cultivate something new."
Wang Yuwei let out a small disappointed sigh.
Although the Heavenly Wood Skill is the unique skill of Heavenly Wood Fortress, it is only at the middle level of the second tier. Otherwise with Senior Sister’s talent, her strength would have definitely been much stronger than it currently is.
While the two women were talking, Shi Xiaole had begun cutting the snake’s body into sections using Redfire Sword. Finally, inside its abdomen, he found a smooth silver pearl the size of a night pearl.
The moment he touched the silver pearl, the coldness almost froze his hand. He had to circulate his full internal power to resist it.
Self-evidently, the silver snake couldn’t fully utilize the power of the Ice Soul Pearl, or else it wouldn’t have been killed so easily by Shi Xiaole.
"Wait a moment."
After speaking to the three of them, Shi Xiaole returned to the edge of the Cold Pool.
The water in the Cold Pool had already frozen into ice. Shi Xiaole tested it, realizing that with his current power, he could barely break the top layer of the ice.
He took out the Ice Soul Pearl and placed it on the surface of the Cold Pool. Soon, strands of cold entered the Ice Soul Pearl, and after about fifteen minutes, the ice on the surface melted into water.
Feeling there was some truth to this, Shi Xiaole continued to experiment.
Four 2-hour periods later, the top meter had all turned into the cold water of the past.
And so, Shi Xiaole understood.
I’m afraid that from the beginning, the Cold Pool was already in this state. It was only after the silver snake absorbed it that it slowly melted into an irregular solid.
It’s strange, the bed at the bottom of the pool, with such heavy cold air, why doesn’t it spill out of the pool’s mouth, and after only one eruption, it quiets down?
Otherwise, Shi Xiaole really suspected that the entire island would turn into an ice island.
Wanting to melt the entire Cold Pool was not a day’s work. Shi Xiaole put away the Ice Soul Pearl and returned to his rest area.
"Shi boy, this was left for you by the senior sister, hmph."
Wang Yuwei pointed to a large piece of cooked meat cushioned with clean leaves by the bonfire. The rich aroma of the cooked meat whetted one’s appetite.
"Senior Sister said, silver snake meat is good for the body, and it tastes excellent. Brother Shi, have a taste."
Lv Tao also laughed at the side.
Shi Xiaole glanced at Xia Yunxi, who was feigning sleep. Probably sensing his gaze, her long eyelashes fluttered unconsciously.
Shi Xiaole chuckled, picked up the grilled snake meat and ate it, remarking, "Hmm, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, crunchy but not crumbly. I wonder who the master is behind this fine cooking, I haven’t tasted anything so delicious in a long time."
Wang Yuwei snorted coldly, glaring at him, but eventually burst out laughing, "Such a show-off!"
Lv Tao also roared with laughter.
Not far away, Xia Yunxi couldn’t help but curl up the corners of her mouth, turning her head away.
The moon in the sky rose high.
In the following days, Shi Xiaole continuously attacked the Cold Pool.
Although his cultivation had broken through to the Spiritual-Passage Realm, he still had a lot of Devil Path essence in his body, and he could use the rebirth force of the cold air to further enhance his internal power.
A month later, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation was firmly established in the middle of the first tier of the Spiritual-Passage Realm.
Only the very central layer of the Devil Path essence remained, but it was also the hardest, and even the cold air could not loosen it. It seemed that only the force of the ice bed would do.
However, Shi Xiaole didn’t dare to try it.
This time he kept the irregular solid object about five meters in size, and kept walking around it, but his eyes were observing the ice bed in the center.
The bed was about two meters long, slightly wider in the middle than at the ends, and astonishingly about one meter thick. The occasional breath it exuded made Shi Xiaole’s soul tremble.
If this truly was a bed, who used to sleep on it in the past?
Suddenly, Shi Xiaole saw a small hexagonal snowflake mark carved on the right side of the bed’s base, and a storm of shock surged in his heart.
There are countless martial sects in the Flying Horse Dynasty, each with their own marks, but because there are so many various sects, many of them overlap. Other than the local and nearby martial artists, not many people recognized them.
But some marks are different.
For instance, the top forces of the Flying Horse Dynasty!
These top forces are the true rulers of the Martial World, who can summon wind and rain in their respective territories, capable of anything. They command obedience.
No one, nor any force, dare imitate their marks, otherwise they would commit a taboo of the Martial World and would be pursued by everyone.
If Shi Xiaole wasn’t mistaken, the snowflake mark is clearly the unique mark of Heavenly Snow Mountain, one of the top forces of the Flying Horse Dynasty among the Seven Sects of the turbid world!
But, is it possible?
For the current Shi Xiaole, Heavenly Snow Mountain’s enormous size was like a skyscraper in the air, unreachable. Could an item belonging to them appear here?
Shi Xiaole operated his internal power, trying to lift the irregular object for a closer look. However, its weight exceeded his expectations. Even with his nearly a hundred thousand jin internal power, he could only lift a small gap.
Hum!
The moment the gap appeared, a strange force emanated from the bottom, attacking Shi Xiaole like a wave, making him stare blankly as his hands loosened, the force then disappeared without a trace.
It took him a long time to recover, feeling very shaken in his heart. He looked again at the ice bed, his gaze flickering uncertainly.
The force just now was just like the strange force on the island, only it was many times stronger. It was fortunate that only a bit leaked out, and coupled with Shi Xiaole’s mental strength being far superior to ordinary people, he was not shocked into becoming a fool.
"Could it be that the ice bed was placed here to suppress some kind of force? Who put the ice bed here in the past? And, where did this force come from?"
Shi Xiaole had endless questions in his heart, but he couldn’t guess the answers.
"If I meet someone from Heavenly Snow Mountain in the future, perhaps I can ask."
Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole swept out from the Cold Pool, took one last look, and then flew away.
He had already thoroughly explored this place, and the cold air could no longer enhance his power, so there was no longer any meaning in staying.
If he had enough strength in the future, he could come back and have a look.
After telling Xia Yunxi and the others about his plan to leave, they were all very happy.
The three of them had wanted to leave a long time ago, but seeing that Shi Xiaole never mentioned it, Xia Yunxi suppressed the matter.
