Ten days pa.s.sed...
Nie Tian was still stranded within the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation by himself, without even getting nearer to the mountain valley in the middle.
High in the sky, Jing Feiyang and the others looked down and saw nothing but the vague shapes of mist-enveloped mountains. There wasn’t any sign of Nie Tian.
Jing Rou sighed. “It’s been ten days, and there’s still no sign of him. Patriarch Icy Crystal is guarding this grand spell formation. So even if we try to use force, it probably won’t end well for us.”
“It’s a bit tricky indeed,” Jing Feiyang chimed in. “The Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation is one of the most famous spell formations of the Heavenly Ice Sect. It’s actually very deadly. Bewildering those who enter it is only a small part of its profound mysteries. This grand spell formation can automatically channel frigid aura from the frozen mountains in its surroundings, all of which have stood there for hundreds of thousands of years.
“I might be able to defeat Patriarch Icy Crystal if we were to fight in the starry river.
“But if I fight him here, there’s a good chance that I’ll be the one who’ll lose.
“It would probably take me a significant amount of time and energy just to break the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation alone. If I have to fight Patriarch Icy Crystal after that, I’ll definitely be at a disadvantage.”
“What should we do then? Do we just sit here and wait?” Jing Rou asked.
“It doesn’t seem that we have a choice,” Jing Feiyang said with a frustrated expression. “We can only wait for Nie Tian to solve the spell formation, or admit his failure.”
...
Inside the spell formation.
The late Void domain expert from the Heavenly Ice Sect turned to Patriarch Icy Crystal, who was sitting and meditating in silence, and asked, “How much longer are we going to trap him, Patriarch?”
“Two to three years,” Patriarch Icy Crystal said with a plain tone.
“What if he admits to his failure?”
A cold smile appeared on Patriarch Icy Crystal’s face. “That’s even better. If he does that, he’ll have to return empty-handed, which means that his trip to our domain will be a complete failure. Then, it’ll be a job well-done for us.
The late Void domain expert seemed a bit concerned as he said, “There’s no doubt that he won’t be able to solve the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation when he’s only at the Profound realm. The only thing that worries me is that I’m afraid his arrival will trigger changes in the Realm of Crystal Snow like it did with the other realms.
“It’s still unknown whether those changes were triggered by him.” Patriarch Icy Crystal said, his brow furrowed. “If he did have what it takes to trigger the upheavals in those eight realms, he should have solved the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation long ago.”
The late Void domain expert nodded slightly. “Good point. If he was actually able to provoke change in the geographical structures of those realms, the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation shouldn’t have been able to trap him for so long.”
“Again, he’s only at the Profound realm,” Patriarch Icy Crystal said disdainfully. “Sure, he’s a Son of the Stars, but so what?”
Inside the ice prison, Fan Kai and the others roughly figured out the situation from the signs and pieces of conversation they picked up.
Whether Nie Tian was able to solve the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation would determine whether they would be able to get out of this ice prison and return to the Domain of the Falling Stars.
It had been ten days since Nie Tian’s landing, and they hadn’t seen any sign of him yet.
This made them feel very frustrated.
“Patriarch Icy Crystal is at the Saint domain,” Zhao Luofeng said in an angry low voice. “He gave Nie Tian this important task on purpose. What can he do? The Heavenly Ice Sect is clearly using us to trap Nie Tian here. d.a.m.n those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.”
Fan Kai sighed. “It’s all because we’re too weak.”
“Let’s just hope Nie Tian can come through and get us back to the Domain of the Falling Stars,” Lei Zhenyu said with a bitter expression. “If we can get back alive this time, I’ll go into secluded cultivation right away, and won’t come out until I break through into the Void domain! The starry river is vaster than our imagination. Given our cultivation bases and strength, we should have stayed in the Domain of the Falling Stars. We were being naive by being so eager to see the outside world.”
...
In the depths of the frosty mist.
Nie Tian finally stopped traveling aimlessly. Instead, he sat down in the lotus position and communicated with the Flame Dragon Armor on a soul level.
He wondered if the Flame Dragon Armor, which was a fire-attributed unique treasure, would be able to break the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation.
The Flame Dragon Armor gave him an answer moments later.
According to it, frost power filled every corner of the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation. On top of that, the frozen mountains in its surroundings kept infusing it with an endless frigid aura.
Therefore, it was impossible for the Flame Dragon Armor to expel the frigid aura and break the grand spell formation by relying on its flame power alone.
Therefore, even if he brought it out, he wouldn’t be able to turn the situation around.
“The Flame Dragon Armor won’t be able to change much, and the Heaven Eyes will be frozen...” After pondering painstakingly for a long time, Nie Tian decided to give the Spirit Pearl a shot.
The five evil spirits suddenly flew out of the Spirit Pearl to float over him like five demonic G.o.ds.
Howling non-stop, the five of them seemed to suddenly sense something as they flew out in different directions.
Inside the mountain valley, Patriarch Icy Crystal sprang to his feet. His expression flickered for the first time. “What are those?”
Upon seeing the five fierce spirits, even Jing Feiyang, who was high in the sky, exclaimed softly, “Those spirits seem to be heading to the surrounding mountains to catch something!”
A few seconds later, his expression flickered strongly. “They’re catching and devouring discarnate souls!”
Duan s.h.i.+hu was taken aback. “Discarnate souls?”
“The Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation is actually a deadly grand spell formation.” Jing Feiyang explained. “Over hundreds of thousands of years, countless people have died in it! The remains of the dead were left in those frozen mountains. Under the profound influence of the grand spell formation, their discarnate souls didn’t fully dissipate into heaven and earth. Instead, they were trapped inside the mountains.
“Patriarch Icy Crystal did this so that he could make use of the power of those discarnate souls. Their existence vested the grand spell formation with a strong soul-restraining power.
“If Nie Tian’s soul awareness leaves his sea of awareness, his judgment will instantly be clouded, stopping him from telling what’s real and what isn’t.
“However, the spirits Nie Tian unleashed just now seem to have the ability to devour discarnate souls, so they headed directly towards those mountains.”
Overjoyed, Duan s.h.i.+hu asked, “So will they help Nie Tian break the spell formation?”
“I don’t know about that, but their appearance is definitely good news for us!” Jing Feiyang said, looking spirited as well.
The five fierce spirits spread out and flew to the nearby mountains, following some instinct.
Apparently, they had no problem reaching places that Nie Tian couldn’t see or go.
As they approached the frozen mountains, the snow suddenly slid down the mountains’ surface, which turned out to be smooth and clear like mirrors, revealing numerous blurry faces inside of them.
The faces were the discarnate souls that had been sealed within the mountains by the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation.
Like diving into the ocean, the five fierce spirits flew into the mountains.
The discarnate souls trapped inside the crystal-clear mountains couldn’t resist the five fierce spirit in the slightest. They were devoured by the hundreds, as if they were being preyed upon by their natural enemies.
A profound soul-restraining effect that had enveloped this entire area was suddenly broken, like an egg dropped to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, Nie Tian realized that he was finally able to examine his surroundings with his soul awareness.
With an overjoyed look on his face, he hastily formed his Heaven Eyes again.
This time, they weren’t suppressed or influenced in any way, but rather lit up the mist-wreathed ground like nine bright, s.h.i.+ning stars.
“Finally, a direction!” With the vision his Heaven Eyes gave him, Nie Tian cast a Stars.h.i.+ft. Like a falling star that streaked across the night sky, he arrived in front of Patriarch Icy Crystal in the blink of an eye.
Inside the ice prison, Zhao Luofeng couldn’t help but exclaim ecstatically, “Nie Tian!”
CRACK! CRACK!
The mountains that had formed the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation cracked. Giant boulders started to roll down their surfaces.
Deafening rumbles filled the air, alarming even the Heavenly Ice Sect disciples who were garrisoned in locations hundreds of kilometers away.
“What’s happening?!”
“Why are the crystal-clear mountains the patriarch used to form the Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation suddenly shaking so violently?”
“Don’t tell me Jing Feiyang from the Divine Seal Sect has initiated an attack?”
“This is the Realm of Crystal Snow, deep in our sect’s territory. If the Divine Seal Sect dares to act rashly here, death will be their punishment.”
Numerous Heavenly Ice Sect disciples ignored their orders to stay put, and converged on the mountain valley from all directions.
At the very center of the mountain valley, Nie Tian stood in front of a piece of solid ice. He slammed it with his fist that looked like a hammer.
BOOM!
His punch didn’t break the solid ice, only giving rise to a loud boom.
Without paying attention to the ecstasy in the eyes of Fan Kai and the others, Nie Tian stared Patriarch Icy Crystal in the eyes. “I’m standing here, and I touched this piece of ice. As we agreed, you need to free them now!”
Various expressions flashed across Patriarch Icy Crystal’s face. With an exasperated snort, he jerked around and shot towards one of the surrounding mountains.
However, the discarnate souls of those who had died in the grand spell formation over hundreds of thousands of years suddenly broke free from the confinement of the mountains.
The five fierce spirits chased after and devoured them like sharks preying on shoals of fish.
Upon seeing this, Patriarch Icy Crystal let out frenzied roars, as if he had suddenly forgotten the deal he had made with Nie Tian. “My Spirit-sealing Frozen Mountains Formation!”