Chapter 42: Northern Underworld Cold Evil Tribulation
Lu Qingyang stepped on the frozen lake, which was formed from thousand-year-old xuanming heavy water. The red sun array patterns hidden in the soles of his boots left scorched black footprints on the ice. The aurora of the Northern Underworld rotated in the sky, its purplish-blue halo making the cracks on the qingmu spirit pearl in his arms appear even more menacing. The Dragon Soul essence Qi he had swallowed three days ago condensed into scale-like Dao patterns on the surface of his Golden Core, now flickering erratically with the invasion of the cold evil.
“The cold Qi in this damned place is even three times more intense than the ice cellar of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.” The white mist he exhaled froze into ice shards before it could even fully form. He flicked his finger, shattering the ice worms that tried to climb onto his clothes. The exploded worm corpses painted eerie totems on the ice, which subtly aligned with the cracks on the spirit pearl.
Yinghuo’s silver bell cord wrapped around a floating ice block, and her chensha stone shattered the dark shadow beneath the ice. Nine remnants of ice dragon corpses surfaced, the ice shards at their broken ends glowing with the unique green light of Taiyi Pavilion’s Sword Qi. Su Li’s Puppet Silk extended into the dragon corpses’ eye sockets, pulling out half a frozen communication paper crane: “Ye Wuchen’s personal guards were here three days ago.”
“Just in time.” Lu Qingyang used his fingers to cut open the ice dragon’s inverse scale, digging out a cold dragon pearl the size of a pigeon egg. “This pearl is worth two hundred Spirit Stones on the black market, Fellow Daoists…” Before he could finish speaking, the frozen lake suddenly trembled, and thick, ink-like xuanming heavy water surged out from the ice cracks. The moment the heavy water touched the red sun array patterns, the exploding cold Qi actually caused fine cracks to appear on his Golden Core Dao patterns.
“Kan Palace shifts, Li Fire burns the heavens!”
Yinghuo’s chensha array temporarily forced back the heavy water, and Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to dart towards the center of the lake. The qingmu spirit pearl reflected a thousand-year-old Ice Soul Lotus curled up beneath the ice, but its nine-petal lotus platform was bound by xuan-iron chains, inscribed with the ‘Spirit Suppressing Charm’. He flicked his finger at the chains, and within the exploding ice shards, a scene manifested: a Taiyi Pavilion Elder gouging out Cultivators’ Golden Cores to nourish the lotus.
“This isn’t an Ice Soul Lotus at all; it’s clearly a soul-devouring demonic creature.” Su Li’s Puppet Silk wrapped around a broken section of chain, and frost flowers condensed on her pale fingertips. Lu Qingyang, however, chuckled as he stared at the wriggling black shadow in the lotus heart: “Soul-devouring is good; it’s perfect for feeding my disobedient Golden Core.” With that, he tore off half of his Daoist robe to wrap his hand and reached towards the base of the lotus platform.
The xuanming heavy water suddenly surged back, condensing into nine ice Puppets that lunged forward. Lu Qingyang maneuvered by stepping on the ice Puppets’ heads, the red sun array patterns on his boots interacting with the cold evil, imprinting fragments of the ‘Tai Xu Swallowing Sky Skill’ on the ice. The Dragon Scale Dao patterns on the surface of his Golden Core suddenly erupted, tearing the approaching ice Puppets into shattered pieces. He seized the chance to dig out a ten-thousand-year xuan-ice marrow from the base of the lotus platform. The moment the cold Qi entered his body, ice crystal scales actually covered his throat.
“Lu Qingyang! Your Golden Core…” Yinghuo’s silver bell cord wrapped around his wrist but was shaken off by the rampaging ice evil. Su Li’s Puppet Silk formed a trapping array, and she frowned, looking at his gradually crystallizing right arm: “Xuanming backlash!”
“Backlash?” Lu Qingyang bared his teeth and tore off his frozen cuff, revealing his forearm covered in ice patterns. “When Mr. Lu swallowed the Ice Silkworm Gu King alive in Southern Border back then, his Meridians were already 70% frozen…” Before he could finish speaking, the ice layer suddenly exploded, and the xuanming heavy water beneath the lotus platform condensed into a giant palm and slapped down. He threw three Exploding Flame Talismans with a backhand, and in the firelight, he saw a corpse sealed in xuan-ice—it was the leader of the Northern Underworld Loose Cultivator Alliance who had disappeared thirty years ago.
At the peak of the midnight aurora, the Ice Soul Lotus suddenly bloomed. Lu Qingyang leaped towards the lotus heart, stepping on the flying xuan-ice fragments. The qingmu spirit pearl automatically operated the ‘Tai Xu Swallowing Sky Skill’, swallowing the soul-devouring black mist into his Dantian. The Dragon Scale Dao patterns on the surface of his Golden Core suddenly opened their eyes, exhaling a wisp of Divine Sense mixed with alcohol: “Northern Underworld cold evil can temper the Dragon Soul.”
At the fifth watch, Yin Qi surged, and Sword Qi resonated from the depths of the frozen lake. Lu Qingyang found half a broken ice crystal sword among the lotus platform remnants. The character ‘Ye’ carved on the sword hilt was blurred by the cold evil. He flicked his finger, shattering the Seal on the sword body. The moment the Sword Qi touched the spirit pearl, three hundred ice corpses of Taiyi Pavilion Disciples suddenly floated up from beneath the ice—each corpse’s skull had a round hole gouged out, with traces of Golden Core extraction for nourishing the lotus.
“Ye Wuchen is quite willing to invest.” He kicked away an ice corpse, digging out a communication talisman frozen into an ice bead from its stiff fingers. The Divine Sense remaining in the talisman suddenly came alive, manifesting a map of the Northern Underworld sub-branch in his Sea of Consciousness, with a red dot marked as “Nine Nether Cold Vein.”
Yinghuo’s silver bell cord wrapped around his waist, pulling him back abruptly. The spot where he had stood was already swallowed by the xuanming heavy water. Lu Qingyang held up a remnant petal of the Ice Soul Lotus towards the fading aurora. What flowed at the tip of the petal was not Spiritual Qi, but dense fragments of the ‘Demon Feeding Charm’. Su Li’s Puppet Silk extended into the gaps of the charm, pulling out half a wisp of a Taiyi Pavilion Elder’s remnant Divine Sense: “They are raising something deep within the cold vein.”
“Good for them!” Lu Qingyang stuffed the remnant petal into his wine gourd. “I was just worried my Golden Core lacked some potent medicine for tempering.” He lifted his foot and crushed an ice louse attempting to climb onto his boot, then narrowed his eyes, gazing at the surging cold evil Yin clouds to the north. “After I deal with these Gu-raising people, it’s time to meet an old acquaintance in Southern Border…”