Yuan's Ascension

Chapter 691: Completion, Spacetime Labyrinth (2)

Chapter 691: Completion, Spacetime Labyrinth (2)

The interior of the ice sheet was extremely vast, with numerous branching paths, intertwining glaciers, and many ice pillars stretching for hundreds of thousands of li. It resembled a colossal blade of ice.

Crack! A massive chunk of ice, spanning tens of thousands of li, broke off from its base. As if pulled by an invisible force, its speed instantly skyrocketed, hurtling into the depths below.

Boom! In an instant, the ice sheet trembled for millions of li around.

"Run!" A deep voice commanded.

Whoosh! A terrifying bolt of lightning streaked across the ice sheet, carving bizarre refractions through the void. In mere seconds, it had traversed over a million li.

Rumble! Another gigantic glacier fell, threatening to block their path.

Hum! Invisible fluctuations of Time spread out, altering the flow of time around the lightning bolt. Its speed suddenly tripled.

Boom! A long spear thrust forward violently, sweeping aside countless smaller ice chunks spanning hundreds or thousands of li.

With their coordinated efforts, they managed to escape this danger zone.

"Glacier collapse. Truly terrifying. This must be the most dangerous encounter we've faced," Kou Lei said with a smile.

"Indeed. This is the 126th glacier collapse we've encountered in nine days. It's certainly the most perilous one," the three chatted, still relatively at ease.

...

Crack! The sturdy ice sheet cracked, and several crystals emanating powerful auras flew out.

Three Snow Devil Sourcestones, and such large ones too. I estimate they're worth nearly ten divine crystals. Wu Yuan grinned as he collected the crystals.

The Snow Devil Cave was fraught with danger, but it also yielded many treasures.

The most common were Snow Devil Sourcestones, nurtured by the unique environment of the ice sheet. They had some special uses, though their value was far lower than the Froststones from the Frost Mist Sea. However, it was made up for in quantity.

As the three continued their journey, Wu Yuan's perceptive abilities naturally allowed him to gather quite a few of these treasures. Though each find was small, they accumulated into a considerable fortune.

For such risk-free treasures, they followed the principle of "finder's keepers."

Zhuo Haiyue and Kou Lei's gains were much more modest.

...

"Roar!" "Roar!" A chorus of angry bellows erupted as Snow Devils, resembling white bears tens or hundreds of li tall, burst forth from ice crevices with lightning speed, howling as they charged to attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Spear silhouettes intertwined, instantly piercing through the bodies of over a hundred Snow Devils.

They exploded into fragments, falling onto the ice sheet. But visibly, the bodies of these High Immortal-level Snow Devils began rapidly reforming and healing.

The three humans had already swiftly departed.

"That's the 78th wave of Snow Devils. Fortunately, they were all relatively weak."

"The battle was quite easy."

Traversing through this deadly realm was inevitably a slow process. Over twenty days, the three had advanced over a hundred billion li, encountering numerous dangers.

For normal dangers, Zhuo Haiyue would employ her lightning movement arts to help them make a swift escape.

For slightly more perilous situations, Kou Lei would take action. His frontal combat prowess was the most formidable, able to shatter ordinary Snow Devils with a single spear thrust.

When faced with great danger, it fell to Wu Yuan to act! Under the cover of his time domain, both Zhuo Haiyue and Kou Lei's strength would surge dramatically, allowing them to easily escape from many perils.

However, this technique took a massive toll on his mind and thus had a certain cooldown time required for recovery. It was a trump card, not to be used lightly.

But overall, their journey had been thrilling yet safe. Before they knew it, they had covered more than half the distance to their destination.

...

Deep within an ice sheet of the Snow Devil Cave.

In a dark passageway, countless glaciers stood, their surfaces smooth as mirrors, reflecting myriad silhouettes.

A figure in white robes walked cautiously along the ice sheet. He probed his surroundings, searching for Snow Devil Sourcestones. His search efficiency was far inferior to Wu Yuan's and he would only make discoveries on rare occasions.

As a Fifth Tribulation High Immortal, my gains from safer regions are too meager. It would take over a thousand years to accumulate a hundred divine crystals.

In this Inner Region, the Snow Devil Cave is considered an extremely dangerous area. Yet, in just ten years of exploration, I've already gathered Snow Devil Sourcestones worth several hundred divine crystals. The white-robed figure mused to himself. Truly, great rewards go hand in hand with great risk.

For an ordinary High Immortal unwilling to take risks, accumulating a thousand divine crystals might take tens of thousands of years.

As a Fifth Tribulation High Immortal, his wealth was not insignificant, but to overcome the Sixth Immortal Tribulation and become a lofty Archimmortal, following the normal path of cultivation offered almost no hope given his talent.

Among ten thousand High Immortal cultivators, it was rare for even one to become a Seventh Tribulation Archimmortal. One could imagine how low the odds were.

So, he had to take desperate measures.

I must persevere! Only when I accumulate two hundred thousand divine crystals can I receive an inheritance. The white-robed figure prayed silently.

Many large factions would open channels for ordinary immortal cultivators to exchange resources for opportunities. So for many High Immortals, gathering enough resources to gamble on some fortuitous encounters was the only way to grasp that sliver of hope. If successful, they could enjoy longevity spanning a hundred million years.

Hmm? The white-robed figure abruptly sensed powerful energy fluctuations erupting not far ahead. Such intense fluctuations?

A treasure? Could it be that my opportunity has arrived? A glimmer of joy flashed in the white-robed figure's eyes.

Whoosh! Following his senses, he quickly rushed over, passing through layer after layer of ice until he arrived at one particular ice sheet.

Rumble! In the distance, the massive ice sheet was fracturing apart. Ice and snow sealed for trillions of years were melting, turning into a colossal whirlpool of icy water that spanned over a million li in diameter.

Moreover, this enormous icy vortex was visibly expanding, ripping apart more glaciers and ice sheets, growing increasingly vast and turbulent. Even from afar, one could feel the extreme cold.

At the same time, deep within this massive icy vortex, space seemed to overlap and flicker, with the faint silhouette of a temple visible.

What? An ice vortex? A temple? The white-robed figure was stunned.

He wasn't particularly strong, still far from comprehending even a Lesser Dao. He could only vaguely sense that the shadowy temple at the center of the vortex seemed to lead to another realm beyond the world, leaving him bewildered.

What is this? Hesitation flashed in his eyes.

Even with all the knowledge he possessed, he had never heard of such a phenomenon.

Boom! Just then, a terrifying ray of silver light suddenly tore through layers of ice, traversing a million li almost instantly, and pierced the white-robed figure's body.

Splat! His body exploded, completely annihilated!

He was dead!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Five figures swiftly appeared, landing beside the ice vortex.

At the forefront was His Highness Li Xuan.

"A Fifth Tribulation High Immortal dares to linger near such a great opportunity? Blocking His Highness's path is tantamount to courting death," the black-robed man said coldly, waving his hand to collect the various treasures left behind by the white-robed High Immortal.

They felt nothing about the death of a High Immortal's mana body, having done this countless times before.

"What is this? Could it be the legendary..." His Highness Li Xuan stared in shock at the massive ice vortex and the shadowy temple flickering at its center.

"Indeed, Your Highness." Another Archimmortal breathed, "It's the Spacetime Labyrinth, said to contain the greatest secrets of the entire Snowlight Mist Realm.

It's said to appear only after countless ages pass, randomly manifesting in any area of the Snowlight Mist Realm.

But most often, it appears in the Core Region. I never expected it to appear in the Inner Region this time," the golden-skinned Archimmortal said solemnly. "This is absolutely a stroke of fortune for you, Your Highness."

Fortune! His Highness Li Xuan stared at the vortex intently. Though he was indeed among the top ten lords of the Hundred Mysteries Palace, how many lords had the Hundred Mysteries Palace produced over its long history?

Once he ascended, he would be just an ordinary member among the countless Astral Lords of the Hundred Mysteries Palace.

Driven by ambition, he had come to the Snowlight Mist Realm to seek opportunities, yearning to become an Astral Monarch directly after completing his Tribulation, a renowned powerhouse of the Dao Realm.

And now, the opportunity had arrived. But whether he could seize it depended entirely on himself.

"It seems the Spacetime Labyrinth has just emerged, the entrance passages have yet to open fully," His Highness Li Xuan intoned gravely.

"Each of you is to guard one of the ice sheet passages. Eliminate as many powerhouses drawn by the disturbance as possible. Contain the information at all costs," His Highness Li Xuan ordered.

"Understood," the four Archimmortals responded solemnly.

They all knew that each time the Spacetime Labyrinth opened, it would remain open for a long while. Once word spread, it would attract countless powerful beings, resulting in brutal bloodshed.

Naturally, the earlier one entered, the higher the probability of obtaining invaluable treasures.

...

Days passed.

Within one of the ice sheets of the Snow Devil Cave.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three figures landed on the ice sheet, their keen eyes fixed on a massive crevasse in the ice and snow nearby, leading into an unfathomable, gloomy abyss.

"Another ten billion li more, and we'll enter the Core Region," Kou Lei said with a smile. "I'm grateful to you both for assisting me along this journey."

"This is our duty as part of our mission," Zhuo Haiyue replied.

"Our gains have been considerable as well," Wu Yuan added with a grin.

Working together, their progress through this treacherous journey had been surprisingly smooth. Indeed, for Wu Yuan and Zhuo Haiyue, this Sovereign-level escort mission hadn't posed much of a challenge.

Boom! A colossal wave of spacetime fluctuations surged through their ice sheet, simultaneously sweeping towards even more distant ice sheets.

Instinctively, Wu Yuan, Zhuo Haiyue, and Kou Lei raised their heads in unison, gazing in a single direction, their eyes flashing with surprise.

This eruption of energy was too violent and obvious to ignore. It was as though something was telling them: a great treasure was manifesting.

"It's far," Wu Yuan instantly judged, estimating the source of the spacetime disturbance to be tens of billions of li away.

"What could it be?"

"I’m not sure," Zhuo Haiyue and Kou Lei responded, both deeply shocked.

Barely ten breaths later, Kou Lei's eyes widened with astonishment. "It's the Spacetime Labyrinth! An imprint bearer has spread the news through the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm. A Spacetime Labyrinth has emerged within the Snow Devil Cave.

However, Dao Realm powerhouses are blocking the path. He couldn't get past them, and with the Spacetime Labyrinth already manifested, he chose to disseminate the information."

Among the nearly ten million imprint bearers of the Spacetime Island, quite a few were exploring the Snowlight Mist Realm. It was only natural that some would be venturing through the Snow Devil Cave.

"The Spacetime Labyrinth?" Wu Yuan and Zhuo Haiyue's eyes flickered with shock.

They were well-versed in the intelligence surrounding the Snowlight Mist Realm. Of course, they had heard of the Spacetime Labyrinth and understood its immense value.

"Ming Jian, Daoist Haiyue, you should hurry there right away," Kou Lei suddenly said with a smile. "There's no need to accompany me for the last leg of this journey. If you're late, you might miss this chance entirely."