A layer of purple flames lit up from Han Li’s body, blocking the icy winds from approaching him.
The winds seemed to melt away as soon as they touched him.
At that same moment, Han Li glanced to the side. The entire hall was covered in ice, but the users of the ice flames were completely unharmed.
Bai Mengxin protected herself with white flames while Arctic Dragon emitted a cloud of Celestial Ice Flames from the small cauldron in front of him.
As for the middle-aged azure-robed man, a black flame enveloped his as he held his hands behind his back.
The old woman produced a yellow walking cane at an unknown time, creating clouds of yellow flame in front of her.
The grey-robed monk slapped his hands together, producing a green flame that coiled around his body, flickering as it blocked the icy winds.
As for the other cultivators, they were able to block the icy winds, but their barriers and treasures flickered in their struggle against the winds.
In the blink of an eye, the howling came to a sudden stop and winds gradually dispersed, filling the entire hall with silence.
As Han Li’s eyes wandered, he formed a hand incantation and his purple flames were absorbed back into his body.
He looked at the stone gate and found countless giant pillars of ice erected there almost like a maze.
His heart stirred and he released his spiritual sense forward. Not long after, he felt his spiritual sense become sluggish and heavy, a sign that peculiar spirit restrictions laid within.
The old woman and the others sensed the same and their expressions changed.
Arctic Dragon took a deep breath and turned to gravely look at the foreign cultivators. “Fellow Daoists, be careful! This is also the first time that I’ve entered the Spirit Void Hall. Although most of the restrictions are under my control, there are a few that even I can’t touch. Please follow me with the utmost care to avoid triggering any of the restrictions.”
The old woman indifferently replied, “Of course. Why would we recklessly rush through your palace’s restricted area?”
Han Li and the grey-robed monk raised no objections.
Arctic Dragon nodded with satisfaction and announced to the North Night Palace elders, “The process of breaking the bottleneck will take a month at worse, less than a week at best. If those demons attack the palace during this time, respond in accordance to our original plans. If there are any unforeseen events and I’ve yet to emerge for two months, put our reserve plans into action!”
“Yes, Grand Elder!” The group of cultivators replied with a solemn tone.
“Then we shall be heading in!” Arctic Dragon then turned around and summoned a fist-sized jade plate into his hand with a wave of his sleeve. He then raised the magic tool in his hand and led the way through the stone gate.
Han Li and the other wielders of the ice flames closely followed after him.
Once all of them entered, Arctic Dragon cast a spell seal with a single hand and struck the plate with a spell seal. Soon after, the stone gates closed with a rumble and talisman characters lit back up from it.
When the old woman and the grey-robed monk saw this, they exchanged an odd glance.
“Fellow Daoists, don’t worry,” Arctic Dragon explained, “Although the gates are difficult to open from the outside, it is easy from the interior. For the time being, I’ve shut it to prevent anyone from bothering us.”
The old woman and the monk found it difficult to speak against this. As for Han Li, he didn’t seem to mind this at all.
When the group walked thirty meters forward, they arrived in front of many ice pillars and were dazzled by the s.h.i.+ny sight.
Arctic Dragon calmly warned, “These pillars of Myriad Year Profound Ice have all gone through tempering by ancient cultivators to form the Frigid Soulfreeze Formation. Those without the suitable magic tool would instantly freeze upon entering. The icy winds we encountered from the entrance was the icy Qi that acc.u.mulated from the formation after being sealed for a thousand years. Even wielders of glacial flames would find it difficult to survive the formation.”
When the old lady and the monk heard this, they glanced at the pillars of eyes with traces of doubt.
Han Li chuckled, “Fellow Daoist Arctic Dragon, don’t worry. We aren’t interested in testing the might of the formation.”
Arctic Dragon smiled when he heard this and he began to wave the formation plate in his hand towards the endless ma.s.s of ice pillars in front of him.
Suddenly, a beam of white light shot out from the plate and left white light from places it crossed. White light then lit up from the pillars of ice, creating the illusion of a pa.s.sage.
With white light continuing to s.h.i.+ne from the formation plate, Arctic Dragon walked forward.
The party closely stuck close behind him.
Han Li walked at the group"s rear, looking around him curiously.
The pillars of profound ice were remarkable thick, appearing as if two people could hug around them, and had a sleep surface.
Upon closer inspection, dim talisman characters were roaming across the surface of the pillars. When he through to examine them closer, the talisman characters suddenly disappeared. It was truly mysterious.
When he raised his head, he noticed a dense icy mist about two hundred meters above them. They obscured the top half of the ice pillars from view.
But it was obvious these ice pillars contained a fearsome amount of cold energy. Even a distance of ten meters away, one could sense the treads of glacial Qi they emitted. Although they couldn"t compare to flames of extreme cold, they were beyond what ordinary cold Qi was capable of.
It was no wonder why Arctic Dragon was so confident!
As Han Li pondered, the party ventured for about a kilometer. Throughout their journey, the pillars of ice lined up densely to either side.
Despite the party’s calm appearance, this came as a shock to them.
After walking for the time it would take to finish a cup of tea, light had finally opened around them and they walked out from the pillars of ice. There was a raised altar in front of them; it was sixty meters tall and over three hundred meters tall.
It was made from of white jade and was covered in blue light. Faint golden doors could be seen from its side, each over twenty meters tall with ancient talismans embedded on each side. They appeared to be a sealed pa.s.sage of some sort.
When Arctic Dragon saw this, he wore an expression of joy and he put away the formation plate in his hand. He took large strides towards the altar and raised his hands. With blue sparks, a layer of Celestial Ice Flames wrapped around them, then pressing his hands against the altar.
The flames and the altar’s light barrier fused, causing the barrier to slightly tremble. It burst with blinding light as the barrier became translucent; followed by a strange bang, it turned to crystal and cracked from where Arctic Dragon infused the flames, then vanis.h.i.+ng in nearly an instant.
Arctic Dragon’s figure suddenly blurred and he stood on top of the altar.
Han Li and company turned to streaks of light and arrived at Arctic Dragon’s side.
At that moment, Arctic Dragon held his hands behind his back and looked down at the ground in front of him.
Han Li followed his gaze, soon discovering there was a strange spell formation located at the center of the altar. Furthermore, there was also a huge pattern at the center that looked the same as the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
For just a moment, Han Li’s face betrayed a change of expression.
Arctic Dragon’s unintentionally brushed past Han Li. Although his face was now ordinarily calm, Arctic Dragon still focused his gaze on him and asked, “Fellow Daoist Han, have you seen a spell formation of this kind before?”
Han Li’s heart jumped and he slowly replied, “Yes, I had seen something like this in an ancient cave residence, but upon closer inspection, I see that it is truly different. It was only a lapse in judgment.
“Is that so?” Arctic Dragon wore a mysterious smile. It may have been a display of doubt, but he didn’t pursue the matter. Instead, he swept his sleeve, releasing a small cauldron that lit up with Celestial Ice Flames. It spun through the air until it arrived above the spell formation.
Han Li pursed his lips and unconsciously gasped. The others’ attention was fully captured by what was happening.
With one of his hands forming a gesture, he flicked his other hand towards the small cauldron.
A m.u.f.fled bang sounded out as the small cauldron grew larger. Blue flames violently lit up from the cauldron, instantly covering every inch of its surface, restoring the cauldron to its original size.
At that moment, Bai Mengxin and the azure-robed middle-aged man both took a step forward and raised their hand, producing a white and black flame that struck two sides of the formation.
Suddenly, a huge rumble shook the ground and the spell formation lit up, activated by the two flames. The huge cauldron pattern at the center s.h.i.+ned dazzlingly. Lightly slowly emerged from it to take the form of a cauldron of blue light.
The original cauldron had stayed floating above the formation this entire time. When the phantom cauldron fully emerged, Arctic Dragon controlled it to immediately drop down. Blue light wildly flashed as they began to fuse together. As a huge explosion boomed, the cauldron
Arctic Dragon suddenly muttered a strange incantation and the Celestial Ice flames spurt forth from the cauldron like a volcano, enveloping the entire spell formation.
When the formation and the flames made contact, blindingly light flashed and the entire altar began to violently shake.
With the cauldron at the center, cracks began to appear on the ground, gradually widening and expanding as time went on.
While Han Li and company floated in the air, they looked down with awe.
The huge cauldron was now suspended in the air at its original location. White beams of light faintly s.h.i.+ned from underneath the cracks around it.