Chapter 958: Seven Hundred Million

Zhou Yuan and Yuan Kun followed Jiugong deep into the ice mountain. They walked in silence for a moment before Jiugong stopped. Zhou Yuan looked ahead and saw an ice cave.

The ice cave led directly underground and appeared extremely deep and dark.

Jiugong, without a word, leaped down. Zhou Yuan and Yuan Kun exchanged a glance and followed her.

Their bodies slid rapidly down the ice cave, and a knife-like cold wind cut against them.

This rapid descent continued for several minutes. As they went deeper, Zhou Yuan's expression grew solemn because he felt the surrounding temperature dropping steadily. Eventually, even he had to circulate his Genesis Qi to resist the cold.

Ordinary people would not dare to linger in such low temperatures.

*Rip!* As Zhou Yuan felt a jolt of surprise, Jiugong suddenly extended her hand and fiercely tore at the ice wall, her fingertips leaving deep claw marks. Her descent slowed, and she gently drifted downwards.

It seemed they had arrived.

Zhou Yuan and Yuan Kun circulated Genesis Qi under their feet, also slowing their descent.

The three of them landed on a large, protruding ice block.

Zhou Yuan looked down to see a massive ice lake below, with large ice blocks floating on its surface. Through the water, he vaguely discerned about ten specks of light deep within the lake.

He infused Genesis Qi into his eyes, and his vision immediately sharpened.

His gaze penetrated the lake water, finally allowing him to clearly see the ten specks of light.

They were, in fact, ten ice lotuses!

The ice lotuses were lifelike, slowly blooming.

Each petal was inscribed with wondrous patterns, as if naturally formed by heaven and earth. These ice lotuses looked like physical objects, yet they also gave an ethereal impression, as if formed by air currents, appearing remarkably miraculous.

When Zhou Yuan saw them, the Divine Dwelling within his body vibrated violently, and a profound sense of craving erupted within him.

Zhou Yuan drew a light, cold breath, and his eyes filled with shock and ecstasy.

What else could cause such a reaction from the Divine Dwelling but Innate Spirit Machines!

Those ice lotuses were undoubtedly manifestations of Innate Spirit Machines!

*Gulp.* As Zhou Yuan rejoiced, a sound of swallowing saliva came from beside him. Yuan Kun was staring intently into the depths of the ice lake, his eyes practically bursting with desire and greed.

He couldn't help but take two steps forward.

"If you want to die, go down," Jiugong said flatly from the side, her tone cold.

Zhou Yuan's gaze hardened, his Divine Soul flickered at his glabella, and his perception spread outwards.

A few breaths later, his gaze sharply shifted towards a small iceberg floating on the ice lake. He vaguely perceived a shimmering figure within it.

An uncontrollable sense of danger emanated from it, causing Zhou Yuan's skin to tingle.

Zhou Yuan pulled Yuan Kun back, gesturing in that direction with his eyes.

Yuan Kun looked, and his entire body of fat trembled. His expression grew solemn as he whispered, "Is that a fallen fiend shadow?"

"Based on my detection," Jiugong said calmly, "this fallen fiend shadow was likely at the Heavenly Sun Stage when it was alive. So even if its strength is weakened now, its Genesis Qi intensity should still be around seventy million Genesis Qi stars."

Hearing this, Yuan Kun gasped, and even Zhou Yuan's eyelids twitched.

"Seventy million Genesis Qi stars..."

This Genesis Qi intensity was stronger than what any of them could achieve even at full power!

In a one-on-one fight, any of the three of them would likely be utterly crushed.

After all, a Genesis Qi gap of tens of millions was enough to render many techniques useless.

Jiugong gave Yuan Kun a cold glance and said, "Now do you understand why I haven't gotten a single Innate Spirit Machine?"

Yuan Kun, feeling a bit awkward, retorted resentfully, "If you knew you couldn't handle it alone, why did you drive me away earlier?"

Jiugong paused slightly and huffed, "I only discovered that fallen fiend shadow after I drove you away. And I knew you wouldn't give up easily; you'd definitely come back, most likely with help."

Yuan Kun said in astonishment, "So you were waiting for me to find help and come back!"

"Then why did you make such a fuss?!" He was somewhat exasperated, feeling as though he had been played by this woman.

Jiugong said calmly, "If you had brought the main teams from the other domains, perhaps there wouldn't have been that earlier formation-breaking incident. But you brought Zhou Yuan, so of course, I had to test his abilities."

Zhou Yuan ignored their quarrel and stared solemnly at the fallen fiend shadow within the iceberg. "Even if the three of us join forces," he said, "I'm not sure we can deal with it."

Even with amplification secret techniques, their combined Genesis Qi reserves would likely only be between fifty and sixty million.

But three individuals with sixty million Genesis Qi reserves each don't necessarily add up to one with seventy million!

Yuan Kun nodded at this. "Seventy million Genesis Qi reserves," he said. "If you want to fight it alone, I'm afraid only Zhao Mushen, Wu Yao, and Su Youwei have that capability."

"Wang Xi should also be able to," Jiugong added.

Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered slightly. From their words, it seemed that Zhao Mushen's Genesis Qi reserves had already exceeded seventy million. He was indeed very powerful, truly a formidable enemy.

His gaze swept around. Suddenly, his eyes shifted to Jiugong. "There are some Genesis Rune remnants here," he said. "Did you make them?"

Jiugong looked at him with a hint of surprise. "Your Divine Soul perception is truly keen," she said. "Yes, I left those Genesis Runes earlier, intending to construct a Genesis Rune barrier to deal with it."

Zhou Yuan mused, "Using a barrier is a good method, but it's far from enough. Even if you brought the Meridian Golden Light Barrier, it might not be able to severely wound it."

"The Meridian Golden Light Barrier requires numerous nodes and extensive personnel assistance due to its massive scale," Jiugong said, shaking her head. "And the cold here is extremely severe; no one else can approach besides the three of us."

Zhou Yuan fell silent. Without the Meridian Golden Light Barrier, ordinary barriers would likely only offer minimal resistance.

As for him and Yuan Kun, even using their most powerful moves might only inflict minor injuries on this Heavenly Sun Stage fallen fiend shadow, unlikely to turn into a decisive advantage.

If the battle intensified, a single misstep could even lead to their elimination.

All three realized this, and a tense silence fell over them. The atmosphere grew somewhat oppressive.

Clearly, all three were extremely unwilling. Innate Spirit Machines were incredibly rare, and to find ten here was an immense opportunity. How could they willingly allow this fallen fiend shadow to block them?

During this silence, Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered slightly as he slowly said, "However, it's not entirely impossible to deal with it."

Yuan Kun and Jiugong both looked at him in astonishment.

"You have a way?" Jiugong's tone was full of doubt. Dealing with a fallen fiend shadow with a Genesis Qi intensity of seventy million was not something ordinary methods could achieve.

Zhou Yuan said calmly, "I possess a treasure with sealing power. If it hits, it can seal approximately half of its target's Genesis Qi."

"However, this treasure is my trump card and has limited uses. Therefore, if we succeed, I'll need five of the ten Innate Spirit Machines."

The sealing treasure Zhou Yuan referred to was the "Five Spirits Qiankun Pagoda" he had taken from Lu Hai and his group. After nurturing this item for some time, he could barely activate it. Of course, the "limited uses" was just a bluff to deceive the other two.

"Five Innate Spirit Machines?" Yuan Kun and Jiugong both frowned. Even as top talents of the Nine Domains, they had to be meticulous when facing a treasure as valuable as Innate Spirit Machines.

With Zhou Yuan taking half, Yuan Kun and Jiugong felt a sharp pang, somewhat unwilling to agree.

Zhou Yuan said nothing more, simply staring at them with an unyielding expression.

He wasn't intentionally taking advantage, as his sealing technique would be crucial for success, warranting a significant share based on contribution.

Yuan Kun and Jiugong were both intelligent and understood this point. So, after a moment of silence, they finally gritted their teeth.

"Alright," they finally conceded, "if your sealing ability is truly as powerful as you say, then after we succeed, you get half of the ten Innate Spirit Machines!"