Chapter 556: Chapter 556 The Violent Heart Of Ice
Ximena Santos harbored this thought, but she didn’t rush into any decision.
The entire night passed.
Ximena remained awake in bed, wrestling with this dilemma endlessly.
When dawn broke, Ximena finally rose from her bed.
"Mr. Raymond serves as deputy sect master of Green Moon Villa. Handing him Ice Heart could be our way of securing his loyalty to Chilton Tower," Ximena inhaled deeply.
This seemed like her wisest option.
Ximena stood and headed toward my room.
When she arrived at my door, she caught the sounds of alchemy drifting from within.
This only strengthened Ximena’s conviction!
"Mr. Raymond has dedicated himself completely to Green Moon Villa. Maybe I truly should entrust him with Ice Heart."
With this resolve, Ximena pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Seeing Ximena enter, I rose slowly and smiled, "Patriarch Santos, what brings you here?"
Ximena bit her lip and whispered, "Mr. Raymond, if I grant you Ice Heart, you’ll be able to reach Military Marquis, correct?"
"Ice Heart?" I blinked in surprise.
Ximena nodded, "It lies beneath the gap."
I replied gravely, "I have a ninety percent probability."
"Very well!" Ximena steeled herself.
"Then follow me. I’ll take you to open that gap right now."
With that, Ximena spun around and walked out.
My heart erupted with excitement, and I couldn’t stop myself from celebrating internally.
"At last, I’ve pulled this off!" I nearly leaped with joy!
Sure, it involved some deception and manipulation, but if I didn’t claim it, the Great Saint Sect would eventually seize it.
At minimum, I could help Green Moon Villa reclaim its former glory.
I forcibly contained my excitement and trailed Ximena to Iceheart Lake.
Standing beside the lake, Ximena pressed her lips together tightly.
She gazed up at me and asked, "You’re absolutely going to elevate Green Moon Villa, aren’t you?"
I answered seriously, "Our primary objective is overthrowing the Great Saint Sect."
"Good!" Ximena nodded.
Then she took the lead and entered Iceheart Lake.
I wasted no time following her.
Both of us plunged deep into Iceheart Lake and quickly reached the gap.
Ximena pressed her palms together, murmuring incantations softly.
The gap started glowing with light.
Next, the gap expanded, growing as wide as a circular disk!
Blue-tinted icicles began seeping out from the opening.
Ximena extended her hand toward the gap, "Ice Heart rests right here."
I gazed fixedly at the gap.
Within it sat a stone resembling an ice block, radiating a soft blue luminescence. It appeared absolutely stunning beneath the water.
Dense qi poured out from it.
Instantly, the qi throughout Iceheart Lake skyrocketed!
I reached out with shaking hands and retrieved the Ice Heart from the gap.
"So this is Ice Heart? The legendary Ice Heart passed down for ten millennia..." My eyes gleamed with an unusual light, and my emotions took considerable time to settle.
"Mr. Raymond, let’s surface." Ximena whispered.
After speaking, she took the lead swimming upward.
I temporarily placed the Ice Heart in my Spatial Magic Artifact, then emerged from the water.
"Patriarch Santos, thank you." I bowed to Ximena with genuine gratitude.
Ximena sighed and whispered, "I’ve come to terms with it too. Word about Ice Heart has already gotten out, and keeping it would only invite catastrophe."
At this moment, Ximena looked at me and said, "Once you consume this Ice Heart, how will others train?"
I chuckled, "Don’t worry. Once I eliminate Atkinson Samson, I’ll control the Great Saint Sect."
"When that happens, the Great Saint Sect will become our new Green Moon Villa’s domain."
Seeing this, Ximena had little choice but to nod.
"Time is critical. I won’t linger to chat," I said.
Atkinson Samson had stated he would only grant me three days.
I had to absorb this Ice Heart within those three days!
As long as I advanced to the Military Marquis Realm, I wouldn’t need to fear Atkinson Samson anymore!
Carrying the Ice Heart, I returned to my room.
"Patriarch Santos, I must remain undisturbed during the next few days," I said.
Ximena nodded, "Understood."
I shut the door.
I retrieved the Ice Heart, sensing the qi emanating from it.
Then I opened every pore in my body, rapidly absorbing the Ice Heart with incredible velocity!
Endless qi flooded into my body.
The speed was remarkable!
Even I was amazed, as the qi within Ice Heart proved more concentrated and pure than I’d anticipated!
The Ice Heart contained virtually no impurities!
"I’ve never encountered such pure qi before!" I couldn’t help but gasp!
Even five-thousand-year-old herbs and the Divine Alchemist Pavilion’s treasury paled in comparison.
"Now I get it!" I suddenly realized something!
This so-called Ice Heart was actually ice formed from pure qi!
When qi became sufficiently dense, it was said to condense into droplets.
Now that qi had directly transformed into an entire ice block, its concentration was obvious!
In today’s world, securing even small resources from the Capital City Martial Arts Association and various Great Families counted as tremendous fortune.
For Ice Heart with such dense qi concentration, it was simply beyond imagination!
"Lucky I targeted the Great Saint Sect instead of the Capital City Martial Arts Association," I thought.
Otherwise, this Ice Heart would’ve likely changed hands, and with their resources, they could’ve extracted it without needing Ximena Santos.
As time ticked by minute by minute, an entire day vanished in a flash.
During this day, the qi in Ice Heart had barely decreased at all!
This started making me somewhat anxious.
After all, time was limited, and I couldn’t afford delays.
After some consideration, I simply broke off a small piece of Ice Heart and popped it into my mouth.
The moment this fragment entered my stomach, I immediately felt intense qi exploding in my dantian!
"Damn it!"
I cursed silently!
The Ice Heart hadn’t been in my stomach for even a second, yet it already filled my entire dantian!
If the Ice Heart melted completely, wouldn’t it rupture my dantian?
I hurriedly began circulating my cultivation technique, attempting to process the qi.
However, with qi concentration exceeding my expectations, sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen!
The violent qi started surging upward from my dantian.
It filled my chest and head, nearly stuffing me completely.
I felt like my skull might explode, sweat forming on my forehead.
I desperately circulated my cultivation technique, working to consume the qi.
Fortunately, the qi gradually stabilized and slowly flowed throughout my body.
...
Time raced by, and the third day arrived in a blink.
——
Inside the Great Saint Sect, Atkinson Samson wore an icy expression, with several elite sect members standing before him.
