Chapter 2351: Six Transformations Late Stage

Hoo-hoo…

A chilling wind beat against Qin Sang as he was enveloped by a thick, cold mist. He cautiously scanned his surroundings.

The cold penetrated to his bones. All around him, tiny specks of blue light floated. Illuminated by these lights, Qin Sang saw a massive ice wall in front of him, and another behind him.

He was trapped in a narrow seven-foot-wide crevice between the two ice walls.

The blue lights moved incessantly. On closer inspection, they were strange, tiny insects, moving in swarms and able to pass freely within the ice.

Strangely, these insects had no signs of life, which was peculiar.

“Where is this place?”

Qin Sang had been flung out by the Void Butterfly, swallowed by darkness, and then landed here.

The Void Butterfly used the power of the Divine Tree to transport him to an unknown location. He should have left Mount Dengbao, but judging by the Void Butterfly’s tone, where he landed was entirely up to luck. With bad luck, it wasn't impossible to end up in a place more dangerous than Mount Dengbao.

The surrounding environment made Qin Sang uneasy. He looked up and saw that the cold wind was blowing from an upward angle. He decided to go up and investigate first.

He checked his internal condition.

His biggest gain from this trip to Mount Dengbao was the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.

Within his Qi Sea, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly was already in a deep slumber, her wings folded together, a posture she always adopted when molting and forming a cocoon.

When she ingested the Imperial Nectar, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly became drowsy as if intoxicated. Now, she could no longer resist.

Qin Sang was curious about the Void Butterfly's inheritance, but he also understood that it was best not to awaken the Heavenly Eye Butterfly now. He needed to let her refine and absorb the Imperial Nectar first. However, judging by her appearance, it would likely take a long time.

Leaving the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to continue her slumber in the Qi Sea, Qin Sang withdrew his thoughts, ready to find a way out.

Summoning his Thunder Wings, Qin Sang flew against the wind, distinctly feeling the wind grow stronger, which made him secretly alarmed.

Against the biting cold, Qin Sang flew towards the source of the wind, moving from one crevice to another. He felt as if he was inside a palace made of ice. The thickness of the ice layer was astonishing, suggesting that the outside must be an extremely harsh and cold environment.

Qin Sang recalled the Witch Tribe's ancient texts. The Ten Forbidden Lands didn't seem to have such an environment. Could he have been sent out of the Witch Tribe's territory by the Void Butterfly?

At this moment, he felt like he was traveling beneath an ice plain. The ice here wasn't solid; it contained countless crevices and holes, allowing the cold wind to penetrate everywhere.

Qin Sang wondered how this strange terrain was formed. He flew for a long time without encountering any living creatures; only the unknown ice insects were present.

Qin Sang tried to catch one. Once the ice insect left the ice, it turned into an insect-shaped ice shard in his palm, as if its existence depended on the surrounding ice.

After passing through countless cracks and ice caves, the cold wind grew fiercer. Qin Sang finally heard an unusual sound ahead, accompanied by vibrations transmitted through the ice.

By now, Qin Sang had already summoned several spiritual treasures, fully armed. He sped forward and soon saw a straight, narrow ice cave. White cold wind blew into the ice cave, seemingly carrying sharp ice blades.

Qin Sang darted into the ice cave and reached its other end, where he was stunned by the sight before him.

Rumble...

The cloud-sea-like scene before him was composed of endless cold wind and shattered ice. The wind, carrying the ice fragments, formed a vast ice tide, like a hurricane-driven tsunami, relentlessly unleashing terrifying destructive power, enveloping the ice above.

The entire visible area was filled with boundless ice tide. Even with his spiritual vision, Qin Sang couldn't see the outside.

It seemed he would have to force his way through this ice tide to leave. Qin Sang did not act rashly. He patiently observed for a while and noticed some clues.

The cold wind around him felt more like a suction force. The ice tide seemed to continuously draw in external objects. If so, the ice tide was likely a giant vortex, and what he saw now was merely the tip of the iceberg.

This made Qin Sang recall a place mentioned in ancient texts—the Arctic Heavenly Cabinet!

Legend had it that the Arctic Heavenly Cabinet was located in the extreme north of the Spirit Realm, known as the place where the northern sea flowed in. Despite countless eons, the waters of the North Sea continuously poured into the Arctic Heavenly Cabinet without ever filling it, leading some to call it the Eye of the North Sea.

Between the extreme north of the Spirit Realm and the Witch Tribe's territory lay an endless wilderness. If he had been transported to the Arctic Heavenly Cabinet, it would be truly astounding.

According to legend, the Arctic Heavenly Cabinet devoured all things, allowing entry but no exit. Anyone who landed there would be forever trapped in the Eye of the Sea, no better off than being captured by a Witch Tribe Grand Unity cultivator, unless they could break through to the Integration Stage there, which offered a slim chance.

Even if he was transported to a place similar to the Arctic Heavenly Cabinet, escaping would likely be difficult.

Qin Sang flapped his wings and flew towards the ice tide. A biting cold assaulted him, accompanied by a powerful downward force trying to pull him down. Thinking, *as expected*, Qin Sang forced himself upward and plunged into the ice tide. Immediately, a crackling sound erupted around him as ice fragments continuously struck his Brilliant Mountain Armor. It felt like small mountains colliding with him, and the 'suction' force surged dramatically.

Engulfed by the ice tide, even with Qin Sang's cultivation, he couldn't move completely freely, only managing to move as close to his target as possible.

At the same time, Qin Sang felt an even more piercing cold invade him. This was definitely not ordinary cold; it could even freeze his primordial spirit.

It truly was like the legendary Arctic Heavenly Cabinet, capable of devouring everything in the world!

Qin Sang didn't give up. He resisted all obstacles, moving upward inch by inch, and trying to find a pattern here.

Suddenly, Qin Sang vaguely heard an unusual sound.

He immediately became vigilant, gazing ahead. He discovered that the naturally flowing ice tide was suddenly disturbed by a force, and a giant white figure emerged from deep within the ice tide.

"This is... a dragon?"

Qin Sang was startled and uncertain.

The figure was over a hundred feet long, slender, with scales on its body. Its head resembled a dragon's, with dragon horns but no dragon claws, appearing more like an incomplete flood dragon that hadn't fully transformed.

This dragon was entirely composed of ice—an ice dragon.

The ice tide was too chaotic, disrupting Qin Sang’s spiritual senses. He wasn't sure if this ice dragon had drifted over from somewhere else or had just been born from the ice tide.

Like the small insects in the ice layer, the ice dragon had no sign of life, yet its behavior in no way suggested it was inanimate.

It roamed the ice tide, its body swaying freely among the ice fragments, seemingly unaffected by the 'suction' force, and much more agile than Qin Sang. Suddenly, it whipped its head, its hollow white eye sockets fixed intently on Qin Sang.

Qin Sang sensed danger and decisively abandoned his ascent, allowing himself to be rapidly pulled down by the ice tide's 'suction'.

*Whoosh!*

*Roar!*

Unlike the harmless little insects, the ice dragon exuded monstrous killing intent, roaring as it pursued him.

From this ice dragon, Qin Sang actually felt a threat no weaker than that of a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator.

Sword light flickered.

Qin Sang unleashed the Four Symbols Sword Array, but the ice dragon ignored it and charged directly into the array.

Then, Qin Sang was slightly taken aback, because after the sword array was deployed, the star sea actually warped. The sword stars plummeted, and chaos ensued.

This place could even distort a sword array!

The ice dragon's intelligence didn't seem high, but if he couldn't seize such a huge flaw, his strength would be for naught.

The ice dragon coiled its lower body into a ring, raised its upper body, and violently struck upward with its head. Its dragon horns burst forth with surging cold energy, instantly breaking through the sword array. The ice dragon, like an arrow released from a bowstring, shot upwards.

*Boom!*

Its forward momentum halted abruptly; it had crashed into a mountain.

Qin Sang had long since secretly summoned the Daiyu Immortal Mountain, which smashed fiercely into the dragon's horns. The ice dragon's body stiffened, then cracks spread from its horns, and its entire head shattered under the Immortal Mountain.

Finally, its headless body was swept into the ice tide, merging with the shattered ice.

*Clang!*

Qin Sang landed back in an ice cave, but not the previous one. The ice surface was pitted and uneven, and ice caves were everywhere.

Seeing the ice dragon smashed to death by the Daiyu Immortal Mountain, no longer causing trouble, Qin Sang felt a slight relief, but he remained pessimistic.

One ice dragon posed little threat, but what if there were ten or a hundred? Or something stronger than an ice dragon?

The ice dragon seemed like a guardian beast of this place, though not to block intruders, but to prevent anyone from escaping. Coupled with the ice tide and the suction force, it was truly fraught with obstacles.

Qin Sang frowned and tried a few more times. Eventually, he even summoned the Vermilion Bird and the Thunder Beast battle guard, but was still blocked by the ice tide.

“What kind of cursed place is this?” The surrounding cold made the Vermilion Bird uncomfortable all over, so it simply hid in the small grotto-heaven, leaving Qin Sang to deal with it himself.

Qin Sang pondered. Forcing his way through wouldn’t work. Since there was no immediate danger, he didn't want to waste the Sacrifice Thunder Mantra here.

Moreover, Qin Sang had a premonition that even using the Sacrifice Thunder Mantra might not get him out. He only had one chance, and it had to be used at a critical moment. If he wasted it, he might be trapped here forever.

To escape from here, he first needed to understand the patterns of the ice tide. He would need the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's divine ability. Should he wait until the Heavenly Eye Butterfly awoke to act?

There was no way up, but would there be a breakthrough below?

Thinking this, Qin Sang changed his strategy, turned back into the ice layer, and began moving downwards.

After an unknown distance, Qin Sang suddenly stopped.

After so long, he still hadn't reached the bottom of the ice layer. The thickness of the ice here was beyond imagination.

As he reached this point, he inexplicably felt a sense of danger emanating from deep within the ice. This feeling was far more intense than when he faced the ice dragon.

“What exactly is down there?”

Qin Sang was startled and uncertain.

Could this be the dwelling of some powerful entity? Or a dangerous forbidden land?

He slowed down, cautiously descending, and the feeling of danger intensified.

After some thought, Qin Sang wisely chose to give up and quietly retreated back up. Unable to leave upwards and unwilling to go downwards, he was in a dilemma.

"It seems I'm going to be trapped here for a while..." Qin Sang mused.

Aside from being cold, the spiritual energy here was abundant.

Although there were threats both above and below, it seemed as long as he stayed put in the ice layer, they wouldn't bother him.

He hoped they could continue to live in peace.

With this thought, Qin Sang began to wander through the ice layer, partly to explore its boundaries and partly to find a suitable dwelling.

*Crack!*

A smooth opening was cut into the ice wall. Qin Sang slipped inside, then fitted the ice block back perfectly.

He summoned several spiritual banners and arranged them around the ice cave. Qin Sang concentrated his senses and found that the banner array was indeed affected by the 'suction' force. Fortunately, the suction within the ice layer wasn't as strong as that of the ice tide, so it should hold for a while.

Reserving a small portion of his consciousness for vigilance, Qin Sang settled his mind into his Qi Sea, preparing to help the Heavenly Eye Butterfly refine the Imperial Nectar.

However, after a few attempts, Qin Sang found it difficult to intervene. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly, deep in slumber, was refining and absorbing the Imperial Nectar purely by instinct. Qin Sang's intervention could only slightly speed up the process, and he dared not interfere too much for fear of negative consequences.

Since that was the case, Qin Sang simply stopped and entered meditative cultivation.

Unconsciously, ten years passed.

Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and Qin Sang still hadn't found a way out. The good news was that the ice dragons in the ice tide and the unknown dangers in the depths had remained peaceful as he wished for the past decade.

Inside the ice wall dwelling.

Qin Sang's eyelids trembled, then slowly opened. He sensed that the Heavenly Eye Butterfly in his Qi Sea still showed no signs of waking.

Refining the Imperial Nectar was proving to be more difficult than expected. However, Qin Sang noticed that while refining the Imperial Nectar, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's cultivation was quietly improving.

According to the Ghost Mother, due to limitations in cultivation and foundation, Qin Sang and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly couldn't fully utilize the most powerful properties of the Imperial Nectar like those grand cultivators. However, even if they absorbed it haphazardly, it could greatly enhance the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's potential and be very beneficial during her transformation.

Furthermore, the effect of improving cultivation was merely incidental, yet it was immediately noticeable.

“There are still dozens of strands of *Suxu* grass. Perhaps they can help the Heavenly Eye Butterfly break through to the late Sixth Transformation here…”

After parting ways with the Dongyang clan, it was naturally impossible for them to introduce him to the owner of the Thunderstrike Moon Orchid. Qin Sang originally found this regrettable, but these *Suxu* grass strands completely made up for the loss.

If the Heavenly Eye Butterfly broke through to the late Sixth Transformation, he would have a greater chance of escaping from here. Thinking this, Qin Sang took out the *Suxu* grass and began a simple refining process. The Void Butterfly had given him a few elixir recipes, but he couldn’t find the other auxiliary herbs, so he didn't worry about whether it was a waste.

After refining a portion of the *Suxu* grass, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly was still asleep. Qin Sang sometimes went out to explore and sometimes returned to his dwelling to cultivate. Later, he realized that exploring was a complete waste of time, so he spent most of his time in his dwelling.

Cultivation knows no time.

“Three hundred years…”

On this day, Qin Sang’s mind stirred, and he awoke from his meditation. He calculated the time and realized he had been trapped here for three hundred years.

During these three hundred years, he had not stopped trying to find a way out, but each attempt was fruitless. Later, seeing that it was quite safe here, he decided to make the best of it.

The High Priests of the Witch Tribe had already changed three times. He wondered how Jinxie Ying and the Ghost Mother were doing.

His gaze shifted, and Qin Sang looked at his left knee, where the Heavenly Eye Butterfly stood quietly.

Sensing the change in her aura, Qin Sang smiled faintly and flipped his hand, taking out a jade bottle.

The jade bottle contained the essence of *Suxu* grass, which had been refined into drops of spiritual liquid.

*Pop!*

The jade bottle opened, and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly instinctively took a breath, swallowing the *Suxu* grass essence completely.

Qin Sang didn't enter meditation; he stared at the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.

A moment later, he suddenly felt an unusual fluctuation from within the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's body. Overjoyed, he quickly connected his mind with hers and silently circulated the *Panhu True Scripture*.

The Heavenly Eye Butterfly's wings trembled slightly, her Heavenly Eyes flickered, and her gaze gradually brightened. A moment later, her cultivation, which had stagnated for several years, finally broke through that invisible shackles and entered the late Sixth Transformation!