25: Chapter 25, Fortuitous Encounter, Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Mystic Ice

The Cold Pool Secluded Valley returned to a deathly silence, with only the occasional bubble rising from the depths of the pool, making a faint "gurgling" sound.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged by the pool, with a dry animal skin spread beneath him.

The Ice Crystal Grass he had consumed had already transformed into a stream of pure cold energy, slowly dispersing within his body.

Merging with the profound yin cold qi absorbed from the jade pendant and the cold pool, it felt like countless cold streams, washing over his damaged Meridians and nourishing his dried-up Dantian.

Under the nourishment of the rich cold energy, the injury on Ye Chen's left arm healed at a speed visible to the naked eye; the blackish hue faded completely, leaving only a pale pink scar.

Within his Dantian, the True Qi, which had only recovered to thirty or forty percent, was now surging like a rising tide, rapidly filling up.

It was even more refined and pure than before he was injured.

The barrier of the Fifth Level of Meridian Opening began to loosen under the impact of this overwhelming cold current.

Ye Chen focused entirely, operating his Cultivation Technique with all his might, guiding this powerful energy to launch an assault toward the Meridian Opening Stage Five Middle Phase.

The connection between the twenty acupoints in his limbs and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi became tighter, and wisps of the cold Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were forcibly absorbed, merging into the surging torrent of True Qi.

He did not know how much time had passed—perhaps a day, perhaps two.

Ye Chen was completely immersed in his Cultivate, forgetting the passage of time.

"Crack..."

A faint cracking sound seemed to come from within his body.

It was not a Breakthrough of his Bottleneck, but rather the jade pendant on his chest; after absorbing a massive amount of cold energy, several fine, ice-crack-like patterns had actually appeared on its surface!

Immediately following this, a coldness far purer and more ancient than before slowly seeped out from the depths of the jade pendant!

This coldness did not come from Lin Qingxue, nor did it come from the cold pool.

It was a primordial coldness that had settled over endless years, seemingly originating from an ancient ice plain!

At the same time, the jade booklet in Ye Chen's Sea of Consciousness vibrated violently, emitting a brilliant light!

Beside the indigo-blue bond light chain belonging to Lin Qingxue, an extremely faint, nearly transparent white light chain had emerged!

This light chain did not connect to anyone but pointed directly to the depths of the cold pool beneath him!

【Detected Heaven and Earth treasure: ten thousand year profound ice (Damaged)】

【Bond target: Spirit of Profound Ice (Not Awakening)】

【Bond Rank: Negligible (Gray)】

【Can attempt contact to obtain Profound Ice Origin aura】

ten thousand year profound ice?! Spirit of Profound Ice?!

Ye Chen's heart shook violently, and he jolted awake from his deep state of Cultivate!

He opened his eyes, and a flash of azure cold light flickered in his pupils.

At this moment, his True Qi was surging, his aura was thick and stable; he had clearly completely recovered from his injuries and had broken through to the Meridian Opening Stage Five Middle Phase in one go!

But he could not spare the joy of his improved cultivation; all his attention was drawn by the anomalies of the jade pendant and the jade booklet.

Beneath this cold pool, there was actually a Heaven and Earth treasure like "ten thousand year profound ice" hidden?

And what was that "Spirit of Profound Ice"?

He stood up, walked to the edge of the pool, and stared intently at the bottomless, ink-black pool water.

The faint sense of summoning, originating from the jade pendant's detection, was coming from the bottom of the pool.

The cold energy of the pool water seemed to carry a hint of eternal, unmeltable charm because of the existence of this Profound Ice.

He had to go down and see!

Ye Chen returned to the campsite, where Xiaoyu was sitting by the fire with her knees hugged, her little head nodding as she dozed off.

An earthen pot was set over the fire, with simple meat soup stewing inside, the aroma wafting out.

It seemed his meditation this time had not been short.

"Xiaoyu."

"Brother! You're awake!"

Hearing his voice, Xiaoyu woke up instantly, ran over excitedly, and looked up at him with bright eyes.

"Brother, you seem... different again!"

Children were sensitive and had noticed the change in Ye Chen's aura.

"Yeah, my cultivation has improved a bit." Ye Chen smiled and patted her head.

"Hungry? Eat first. I'm going to go down into this pool to take a look later. You stay on the shore, and no matter what happens, don't come near, okay?"

"Go down into the pool?" Xiaoyu looked at the cold, white-mist-emitting pool water and shrank her neck.

"It's very cold!"

"Brother isn't afraid of the cold." Ye Chen ladled a bowl of soup and handed it to Xiaoyu.

"Eat obediently and wait for me to come back."

After calming his sister down, Ye Chen walked to the pool's edge.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his state to its peak.

Then, he activated his Cultivation Technique, and a faint layer of blue halo enveloped his whole body, isolating him from the cold of the pool water.

He leaped, and with a "splash," he dived into the ink-black cold pool.

The pool water was bone-chillingly cold, far exceeding the outside. Even with True Qi protecting his body, that coldness felt like countless ice needles trying to pierce through his defenses.

The light dimmed rapidly, and it was pitch black all around; he could only rely on his Divine Sense to perceive things.

Following the faint induction from the jade pendant, Ye Chen dived down like a fish.

The deeper he went, the greater the water pressure and the heavier the cold energy became. The light disappeared completely, and he couldn't even see his own fingers.

An ordinary Cultivator of the Meridian Opening Realm would probably be frozen stiff or crushed before reaching this depth.

After diving for about twenty or thirty zhang, he finally touched the bottom.

The bottom of the pool was hard rock, covered with thick silt and water plants.

And that sense of summoning came from the rock wall on one side of the pool bottom.

Ye Chen swam over and reached out to touch the rock wall. It was cold and hard to the touch, but the induction from the jade pendant was exceptionally clear.

He focused his vision, channeling True Qi into his eyes, and barely managed to see a highly concealed crack at the base of the rock wall, only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways.

Rich cold energy was seeping out from the crack in wisps.

This was it!

Without hesitation, Ye Chen squeezed into the crack. The crack was narrow at first, but after moving forward several zhang, it suddenly opened up!

Before him was actually an underground cave hidden at the bottom of the pool!

The cave was not large, only the size of a room; there was no water, and the air was dry but extremely cold.

In the center of the cave stood an irregular crystal half a person's height!

It was crystal clear, like the purest crystal, emitting a soft and cold white halo that illuminated the entire cave as if it were daytime!

ten thousand year profound ice!

Ye Chen walked closer; the closer he got, the more he could feel the coldness emanating from the depths of his Soul.

The ground around the Profound Ice was covered with thick white frost, and the air seemed to be on the verge of freezing.

The jade pendant on his chest was searing hot, and the jade booklet in his Sea of Consciousness was flowing with light, the gray light chain connecting to the Profound Ice flickering slightly.

He carefully reached out and touched the surface of the Profound Ice.

"Hum—"

An extremely pure and vast aura of the Profound Ice Origin surged into his body along his arm!

This aura was cold, ancient, and carried a Nirvana Concept that looked down on all things!

Ye Chen shook violently; his blood almost froze instantly, and his thinking became sluggish!

Just at this moment, the jade pendant exerted its power again, emitting a warm light that protected his heart and main Meridians.

At the same time, the jade booklet shone brightly, beginning to frantically absorb and refine this foreign Origin aura!

【Contacted ten thousand year profound ice (Damaged), absorbing Profound Ice Origin aura...】

【Profound Yin Body affinity greatly increased!】

【Cold resistance enhanced!】

【Obtained Profound Ice Origin insight: Nirvana Coldness (Elementary)】

A large amount of information flooded into his mind, a vague insight into the characteristics of the Profound Ice Origin.

At the same time, the nature of the cold True Qi in his body seemed to undergo some subtle changes.

It gained a hint of eternal Nirvana, and its quality improved by a large margin!

But Ye Chen had also reached his limit!

The Origin contained in this piece of Profound Ice was too powerful; even if it was just a fragment, the trace of aura it emitted was far from what he could withstand now.

If he stayed any longer, he would likely be frozen into an ice sculpture!

He made a prompt decision, forcibly cutting off contact with the Profound Ice, staggered back a few steps, sat cross-legged, and operated his Cultivation Technique with all his might to digest the gains he had just made.

He did not know how long it had been before he slowly opened his eyes, a lingering fear flashing in them. This Profound Ice was too terrifying.

But it had also given him immense benefits!

Not only was his cultivation more stable, but his control and understanding of cold energy had also deepened, especially the insight into "Nirvana Coldness."

Although it was just the tip of the iceberg, it made the power of the cold energy he unleashed when fighting enemies multiply!

He looked at the piece of ten thousand year profound ice, his eyes burning with fervor.

This was a huge treasure vault!

But for now, he could not fully exploit it.

Perhaps he would only be able to barely withstand its Origin aura once he reached the Wheel Sea Realm.

"Time to go up."

Ye Chen stood up, took one last look at the Profound Ice, firmly remembered its location, then turned and swam out of the cave, returning along the original path.

"Splash—"

Ye Chen broke through the water and landed on the shore, his whole body overflowing with cold energy, and a thin layer of ice condensed on the surface of his skin.

He operated his True Qi to steam away the water vapor, and the ice crystals fell with a rustling sound.

"Brother!" Xiaoyu, who had been nervously guarding the shore, immediately ran over.

"I'm fine."

Ye Chen smiled at her, feeling the surging power in his body and the newly born Nirvana Coldness, and a sense of heroic spirit arose in his heart.

With the Meridian Opening Stage Five Middle Phase, plus the insight into the Profound Ice Origin, he now had full confidence in defeating Wang Teng if he faced him again!

Even facing that Ghost Old Man, he might not be without the strength to fight!

He adapted to and familiarized himself with the newly gained power by the pool until he could control it freely, only then did he take Xiaoyu.

He left the Cold Pool Secluded Valley, which had brought him both Opportunity and danger.

It was time to take the initiative.

Always being on the receiving end was not his style.

Some scores needed to be settled in advance.