Chapter 2573: Cold Wave Beehive

The Winds Rise in Kyushu

The person before had promised him substantial benefits as long as he cooperated—benefits that would be enough to compensate for his losses that day.

Anyway, the other party's goal was clear. Since that was the case, there was no harm in cooperating a bit.

A few days later, Lu Ye stood atop a tall tower in the city, gazing into the distance ahead.

His vision was filled with a vast expanse of colorful light. Each ray of light was immense and stretched endlessly. They resembled long dragons, extending deep into the distance, intertwining and crisscrossing to fill a vast area.

“These are the unique Netherfrost currents of the Snowfield,” Lian said softly, standing beside Lu Ye, a deep sense of dread in her eyes. “The cold within these currents is so intense that even Fusion Dao cultivators cannot easily touch them. It is said that the original Snowfield was full of such dangers everywhere, making it impossible for ordinary cultivators to enter.”

Yuan Xi added from the side, “This area is one of the few places that still retains the original environment of the Snowfield.”

“Our target is hidden inside?” Lu Ye’s eyelids twitched slightly.

It had to be said, this place was indeed an excellent hiding spot. If one hid inside, there was little to fear about being pursued, as anyone could see the danger of the place. Unless absolutely necessary, ordinary people would certainly take a detour if they came near here.

“The intelligence says so,” Yuan Xi nodded.

Then it must be right. Lu Ye knew that Yuan Xi’s intelligence came from the Governor’s City. Over such a long period, their city had achieved many successes with the help of this intelligence, and there had never been a single error.

“This thing looks like a beehive…” Lu Ye mused.

Overall, the place where countless Netherfrost currents converged and intertwined indeed resembled a beehive. Its interior was not entirely filled with the cold currents; there were always empty spaces where they crisscrossed. The internal passages were certainly extensive and well-connected.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a special beehive.

“Be careful once we enter, and absolutely do not touch the Netherfrost currents,” Yuan Xi cautioned.

In ordinary parts of the Snowfield, divine sense would be corroded by the icy cold as soon as it left the body, something no one could avoid. The power of the Netherfrost currents, however, was countless times stronger than ordinary ice cold.

“Understood!” Lu Ye nodded, growing increasingly curious. How had this vast Snowfield been shattered? Rumors spoke of powerful individuals clashing here, but he had remotely sensed the battle between Ba Qiu and the Bright Moon Wheel. While that battle had indeed shaken the entire Starry Sky Spectacle, such a conflict could never have shattered the Snowfield.

Yet Ba Qiu was already at the pinnacle of strength in the Inner Realm. Even if someone in history had been stronger than him, their superiority was probably limited.

Could the shattering of the Snowfield truly have been accomplished by human power?

From afar, the special beehive formed by the converging Netherfrost currents looked immense. The closer they got, the more they could feel its grandeur.

As before, Yuan Xi City concealed itself using the secret art empowered by the Mirage, with Ling Feng City leading the way.

Upon entering this special beehive, Lu Ye immediately felt a chill surge from all directions. That cold not only made his body shiver and his divine soul turn icy, but it even affected the circulation of blood and Dao power within his body.

Lu Ye slightly activated his Dao power, sensing something amiss. He turned to Yuan Xi, asking, “Does this place affect our strength?”

Yuan Xi nodded, “Anyone who comes here will have their Dao power weakened by at least twenty to thirty percent. The shallower one’s foundation, the greater the impact.”

Indeed, it would be weakened by twenty to thirty percent, as Lu Ye felt that the Dao power he could control at that moment was only around 700 units. This made him feel quite uncomfortable.

This instantly made him feel as if he had returned to his state at the Eighth Layer of Fusion Dao.

However, just as this thought emerged, he suddenly felt his Talent Tree react. Looking intently, he saw black smoke swirling around the Talent Tree, a clear anomaly.

The uncomfortable feeling of his strength being weakened immediately vanished without a trace.

He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, having never expected the Talent Tree to play a role at such a critical moment. This undoubtedly indicated that the weakening of cultivators' strength in this special environment was caused by the erosion of an external force, and this erosion was something cultivators simply couldn’t resist.

He had the Talent Tree, which could incinerate such effects, allowing him to remain unharmed.

Lu Ye couldn’t help but turn to Yuan Xi and ask, “How much has your strength been weakened, Senior?”

Yuan Xi was powerful, which undoubtedly showed her solid foundation, so she wouldn’t be too severely affected.

“Less than twenty percent, I suppose.” Yuan Xi lightly clenched her fist, Dao power surging on her small knuckles.

Lu Ye then looked at Lian, “And what about you, Pavilion Master?”

Lian smiled faintly, “About the same, but if a real fight breaks out, our Fusion Dao cultivators will be weakened by more than twenty percent.”

“How so?” Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

Lian smiled faintly, “You haven’t entered the Fusion Dao realm yet, so you might not feel it clearly. In this unique environment, the aura of the Star Abyss is not as active as in normal environments.”

Lu Ye was startled and quickly sensed it, and indeed found that, as Lian had said, the Star Abyss aura in this place felt very sluggish.

Another Fusion Dao realm cultivator might not have noticed these subtle changes, but as a Son of the Star Abyss, Lu Ye’s perception of the Star Abyss aura was far beyond that of ordinary Fusion Dao realm cultivators.

In fact, he should have noticed this earlier, but he had been too focused on his own state and overlooked it.

This made him raise an eyebrow. This place… it seemed he had a lot of room to maneuver here.

If Fusion Dao cultivators came here, it would be one thing if only their own Dao power was suppressed by twenty to thirty percent. The key was that the Star Abyss aura was not active enough, which meant it would be even harder for Fusion Dao cultivators to borrow external power.

The strength of Fusion Dao cultivators was divided into two parts: one part was the power they could wield themselves, and the other was borrowed external power.

Therefore, their strength would be weakened by far more than twenty to thirty percent.

If a Fusion Dao cultivator could wield 500 units of Dao power and normally borrow another 500, their total strength would be 1000 units.

But in this place, the Dao power they could wield would be reduced to only 400. The external power they could borrow would also be discounted further. Thus, a Fusion Dao cultivator with 1000 units of strength might only be able to exert 600 to 700 units here.

This level of weakening was extremely terrifying. As a result, some enemies who were stronger than him might become no match for him here, which would undoubtedly make it much easier for him to defeat them.

However, despite this, it was not advisable to stay in this damned place for long, because the consumption of Talent Tree fuel was somewhat high. If they stayed too long, Lu Ye didn’t know if he would have enough fuel. He certainly couldn’t run out to replenish it during a major battle.

The information from the Governor’s City was very detailed. It not only informed Yuan Xi City that enemies were lurking nearby, but also marked several locations, which were precisely where the enemy Fusion Dao City might be hiding.

Therefore, Ling Feng City, leading the way, only needed to follow the map and search these locations. By doing so, they might find traces of the Fusion Dao City.

Just as Lu Ye had observed from outside, the interior of this cold current beehive was indeed extensive and well-connected. Between the crisscrossing and intertwining cold currents of different colors, many gaps were left, which made the internal environment incredibly complex.

You Die carefully navigated, keeping as far away from the cold currents as possible, fearing an accidental collision.

Inside this cold current beehive, there were also countless fragmented floating landmasses, big and small.

Everyone had assumed that this search for the enemy would take a considerable amount of time and had mentally prepared for it. Who would have thought that Ling Feng City, leading the way, would make a discovery while only searching the first location?

When the news reached Yuan Xi City, Yuan Xi’s spirits lifted: “Let’s finish this quickly!”

She also didn’t want to stay in this damned place for long, wishing only to quickly deal with the opponent and leave.

With a command, she flashed out of their city.

Behind her, Lu Ye, Lian, and Huan Qing followed closely.

Since Lu Ye had lifted the blood curse from Huan Qing, she had finally recovered during nearly a year of recuperation. She had also participated in a battle not long ago. Although her strength was not as great as Lian, the Pavilion Master of Golden Core Pavilion, she was stronger than average Fusion Dao cultivators.

Her inherent strength was actually quite remarkable.

Huan Qing’s recovery meant that their city had gained another Fusion Dao combatant.

While Yuan Xi City was making its move, the Fusion Dao cultivators from Ling Feng City, who were leading, had already led a large contingent of Fusion Dao realm cultivators out to attack. They were a surging mass, full of momentum.

On a floating landmass ahead, a Fusion Dao City lay quietly anchored.

In terms of scale, it matched the intelligence provided by the Governor’s City: it was a Barren-grade Fusion Dao City.

Lu Ye looked at the Barren-grade City from afar, his brows furrowing slightly. According to intelligence, this Barren-grade City had recently gone through a major battle, but now, there seemed to be no residual traces of a battle; many of the city’s buildings were intact.

However, this didn’t necessarily mean anything. They had encountered similar situations before, and repairing buildings within a Fusion Dao City was not a difficult task.

So, the thought merely crossed his mind, and Lu Ye didn’t dwell on it.

“Brother Dao, they’re here!” Inside the city, two figures stood side by side, gazing at the formidable enemies charging towards them. One of them, a Fusion Dao cultivator with a hooked nose, sunken eyes, and a sinister expression, spoke slowly, a hint of apprehension in his demeanor.

He was merely a Barren-grade City Lord, but this time, he was forced to get involved in a major affair. Yet, he couldn’t resist, which made his heart heavy.

“Proceed as planned!” Beside him, another handsome and dashing young man slowly nodded.

As if sensing the emotions of the Barren-grade City Lord beside him, he began to comfort him: “Fellow Daoist Ying Fei, there’s no need to be nervous. This matter is not your concern; you just need to cooperate. After this is over, I will bear all battle losses for your Fusion Dao City. Not only that, but if things succeed, my lord will also allow you to pledge allegiance.”

Ying Fei’s heart felt bitter.

Barren-grade Cities like his were countless in the Inner Realm. If they truly wished to attach themselves to a stronger power, they could usually only pledge allegiance to a Cosmic-grade Fusion Dao City, and even then, it would be a struggle. Yet now, he had an opportunity to pledge allegiance to one of the Top Ten.

This was a good fortune he could never have sought under normal circumstances.

If it were before, he would surely have been ecstatic. After all, if he could become an affiliate of one of the Top Ten, he might not be able to act arrogantly in the Inner Realm, but no petty rogue would dare to provoke him arbitrarily.

But now he couldn’t be happy, because if he truly became their subordinate, he would just be waiting for the reckoning after the fact…

For some reasons, I am preparing for a long journey whose feasibility is uncertain. I have also registered a Douyin account. If I do embark on the journey, I will likely do some live streams. You can follow it.

You can search for "Qidian Mo Mo."

With thanks and gratitude.