Chapter 29: The Ice Path

Blood Sea True Person raised his hand and waved. A stream of magic shot from his sleeve and instantly split into four strands, each hovering in the east, west, south, and north.

Under his exquisite control, those four currents of magic gradually shaped into forms of thunder, gale, ice, and magma. They wavered between real and illusion, slowly rotating in the air, weaving together like a miniature map.

It was enough to show Blood Sea True Person’s precise mastery of magical force.

“Fellow cultivators,” he said as his gaze swept across everyone, his voice grave, “after we teleport to the mid-mountain of Heavenly Abyss Mountain, only these four roads will lead to the summit.”

“Countless ancient Prohibition Marks are arrayed above Heavenly Abyss Mountain, their danger unpredictable. Even though some of us are Nascent Soul cultivators, you should avoid attempting to fly recklessly. Otherwise, you’ll be seeking your own death.”

He paused, then pointed toward the Heavenly Thunder Path and the Gale Path.

“Before I came here, I consulted many ancient books, especially the notes left by our sect’s predecessors who once entered Heavenly Abyss Mountain. It’s one thing for cultivators from the Heaven and Earth Alliance to venture anywhere — they might tread all four roads—”

As he spoke, his eyes covertly flicked toward the gathering of Righteous Path Nascent Soul cultivators in the distance, his glance carrying a hint of meaning.

“But since Heavenly Abyss Mountain reappeared, the Demonic Path Alliance and the Righteous Path Alliance have always taken separate routes. Righteous Path cultivators mostly go via the Heavenly Thunder Path and the Gale Path, while we take the Lava Path and the Ice Path. As to why we separate like this, you should understand what I mean.”

Jiuyou listened silently and nodded inwardly.

His Nether Capital Art leaned toward cold attributes, so taking the Ice Path suited him perfectly. If anything went wrong, he could better leverage the advantages of his own technique, avoiding being suppressed by the environment.

“Once you step onto the road, it’s different from entering the border of a secret realm,” Blood Sea True Person continued.

“Entry onto any of these roads is done by random teleportation. However, whether it’s the Lava Path or the Ice Path, besides the searing heat or bone-piercing cold, each road is also inhabited by beasts aligned with that attribute.”

“But there’s no need to be overly worried. Those beasts’ peak strength is about equivalent to seventh-grade demonic beasts, which pose little threat to us Nascent Soul cultivators.”

As Blood Sea True Person spoke, the four spheres of magical force above his head suddenly shifted form, condensing into various small fire and ice beasts that were lifelike and floated before everyone, gradually swimming through the air.

“After passing the end of each road, you’ll find the teleportation array leading to the summit, ready to activate at any time. So try not to waste time along the way. We should pass through quickly, rendezvous as soon as possible, and jointly seize the Life-Extending Fruit — that is the priority.”

Jiuyou nodded slightly and kept silent, then suddenly sensed several gazes filled with murderous intent cast in his direction.

His expression barely changed, but he quietly extended his Divine Sense and soon identified the owners of those gazes.

One was Old Ghost Qingshan, who was mingling among the Righteous Path Nascent Soul cultivators. That old fellow’s face was sullen and his eyes like knives; from hundreds of zhang away he stared fixedly at Jiuyou, his hatred openly displayed.

Another gaze came from a streak of golden light rapidly approaching in the distance. Within the radiance, Zhou Jin’s figure flickered. Beside him was another, even more brilliant golden streak of flight, its aura deep as an abyss — it was Jade Clarity Superior, Zhou Xuanzhen.

The two golden streaks met in midair and seemed to exchange a few quiet words.

Soon after, Zhou Xuanzhen landed in front of a teleportation array on the left. At his arrival, several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Righteous Path promptly greeted him with respectful demeanors; they were clearly his companions.

Zhou Jin, meanwhile, changed direction and flew toward the right. That side was the teleportation array leading out of the secret realm. It seemed the Golden Sword Superior had already decided to withdraw from this contest.

Jiuyou snorted coldly and withdrew his gaze.

Many people already occupied the right-hand teleportation array — mostly Foundation-Establishing cultivators and some Golden Core cultivators, with a few Nascent Soul cultivators among them.

But those Nascent Soul cultivators had only recently formed nascent souls; they still had hundreds of years ahead and had no need to risk their lives like Jiuyou, an old Nascent Soul, to fight for a Life-Extending Fruit. They were here merely to try their luck and maybe pick up a bargain.

After further discussion, they finally seized a teleportation array on the right, positioned far from the Righteous Path Nascent Soul cultivators.

The Golden Core cultivators who had originally occupied that array saw six Demonic Path Nascent Soul cultivators approaching and were instantly terrified. They fled in panic, rolling and tumbling away, not daring to look back.

Canfeng’s mouth twitched with a smug smile. He puffed out his chest and swaggered boldly onto the teleportation array behind Jiuyou, inwardly feeling the satisfaction that comes with strength.

Xie Yunqing reined himself in and looked considerably more restrained.

The group sat and meditated on the teleportation arrays, while keeping a wary eye on the activity around other arrays to see if more Nascent Soul cultivators would come to contest the territory.

Days passed, and the teleportation arrays finally reached the scheduled activation day.

Everything remained peaceful.

Jiuyou counted quietly. Excluding some Nascent Soul cultivators who planned to leave early, including himself there were exactly twenty Nascent Soul cultivators prepared to embark on these four perilous roads to the summit.

At noon, the arrays activated on time.

A blinding white light flashed again, and spatial force surged like a tide, sweeping up everyone.

Jiuyou felt his body lighten as the scenery before his eyes shifted rapidly, as if an invisible giant hand had thrown him into the void.

Moments later, the white light dissipated.

He felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Jiuyou opened his eyes to find himself standing in a broad plaza. The square was paved with bluish-gray megaliths; time had left mottled marks on the stone, yet it remained as smooth as a mirror, faintly showing flowing spiritual light.

Ahead of the plaza, a wide corridor extended inward, flanked by towering pillars carved with simple, ancient patterns.

Above the corridor, pavilions and towers rose in staggered rows, their upturned eaves steeped in antiquity, as if leftover halls from a primordial immortal palace.

“This is the entrance at mid-mountain,” Blood Sea True Person said beside Jiuyou, his gaze toward the corridor’s depth, his voice low.

“Pass through this corridor and you will see the four roads.”

The group walked forward along the corridor.

Footsteps echoed through the spacious passage with a repressed solemnity. In the pavilions and towers flanking the corridor, traces of broken statues and stone steles could be seen, carved with ancient script that was hard to decipher, radiating a heavy, time-worn aura.

The corridor was not long.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they reached its end.

The view suddenly opened up.

Four enormous passageways stood side by side, each dozens of zhang tall, deep and unfathomable, their destinations unknown.

In the first passage on the left, waves of heat rolled out, red flames flickering deep within as the air twisted and warped from the burn.

The second passage on the left brimmed with cold that condensed frost; an eerie blue chill glinted in the depths, as if it could freeze everything.

In the first passage on the right, dark clouds churned, thunder rumbling faintly; silver-white arcs of lightning occasionally detonated within the darkness, producing deafening booms.

In the second passage on the right, gales howled; the wind sounded like blades, as if countless sharp edges were dancing in the air, slicing through all.

Four roads, four utterly different manifestations of nature’s might, now stood before everyone.

Jiuyou’s gaze swept across the four passages and finally rested on the second passage on the left.

“I, this old man, will take the Ice Path,” he said simply, then stepped toward the channel filled with penetrating cold.

Canfeng hurried to follow, though his expression soured. Since teleportation was random, he could only hope they wouldn’t run into major trouble before reuniting with the patriarch.

Blood Sea True Person gave a slight nod but did not press the matter. Each person harbored their own thoughts and made their choices.

Moments later, six figures entered two different passages and disappeared into the deep darkness.

Jiuyou led Canfeng into the Ice Path.

Inside the passage, the cold bit to the bone. The ground beneath was covered with a thick layer of ice, and every step produced crisp creaks.

The deeper they walked, the heavier the cold became.

Canfeng forced his magical power to defend against it but still shivered from the chill. He glanced at his sect’s patriarch and saw his face unchanged as he strolled ahead, as if the biting cold affected him not at all — even seeming to find it pleasantly natural.

“Keep close,” Jiuyou’s voice came from ahead, calm and steady.

“When you enter the Ice Path, follow the jade token’s guidance to find me. If you wander off and run into trouble, this old man won’t be able to protect you next time.”

Canfeng quickly replied, gritting his teeth and picking up his pace to stay right behind the patriarch.

In the deep Ice Path, the two figures walked farther and farther, soon swallowed by the ghostly blue cold light, vanishing into the channel’s depths.