Chapter 567: The Road Forward

"Mission accomplished!" The Guard Captain smiled, then stood up again.

By this point, the surroundings of both the Guard Captain and the female envoy had completely transformed. This was a newly formed, independently existing illusionary formation. Concealed within it, even the leader of the Glacier Kingdom would be unable to detect their presence within a short period.

Furthermore, all sound waves and fluctuations in the Glacier Kingdom's primary forbidden area, located beneath the center of the ice lake, would be completely muffled by this illusionary formation.

In other words, hidden within this space, the female envoy and her companion could do whatever they pleased to Xu Yang's team without anyone discovering their actions.

"Excellent! With this formation, we can finally unleash our full power. Let's give them a good reception!" The female envoy declared, taking the Guard Captain's place. It was clear, however, that both of them were still wary of each other. The Guard Captain, especially, had intentionally created two separate spatial zones within the illusionary formation, ensuring that one couldn't be ambushed by the other while casting spells.

Yet, the female envoy didn't think much of his caution. After all, vigilance was a necessity. Even if the Guard Captain hadn't made such arrangements, she would have been equally cautious of him. Prudence always paid off; having contingencies was always a good idea.

The female envoy touched her glabella, stepped into her designated half of the illusionary space, and then unleashed her Law of Earth, beginning to search for Xu Yang and his team's exact location.

In mere moments, all aura fluctuations beneath the forbidden area were within the female envoy's detection range.

"I've found them!" The female envoy smiled in satisfaction. She immediately activated her Law of Earth, channeling her spiritual energy into the underground palace. By utilizing the flowing aura currents within, she began to manipulate the terrain. Deep within the earth, countless areas frantically changed their trajectories and forms under the influence of her Earth Law.

"Holy cow, are you kidding me? Every piece of terrain here is constantly shifting!" Long Kun was utterly dumbfounded. He never dreamed that the Law of Earth could be so abnormal, changing geographical forms remotely and at will! Who could possibly endure this?

Needless to say, Xu Yang and his companions were completely unfamiliar with this place. Even insiders from the Glacier Kingdom would find it incredibly difficult to locate an exit quickly under such frequent manipulation of the Law of Earth.

"Don't panic, everyone! Follow my movements, keep up with the pace, and don't fall behind!" Xu Yang remained as calm as ever. At that moment, he increased his movement speed and began to counter each alteration using his own Law of Earth.

Whenever an area's form was altered by the external Law, Xu Yang would instantly deploy his own Law, restoring the displaced terrain. Simultaneously, he relied on his memory to locate the direction of the original aura flow, as that path led to the true route deeper into the underground palace.

"I have to admit, these individuals are truly cunning, especially that leader, Xu Yang. His strength is beyond what ordinary people can imagine. Merely by relying on the Law of Earth from the codex, he has already glimpsed the true essence of the inheritance. This person is too powerful!"

The Guard Captain scoffed disdainfully, "No matter how powerful he is, it's useless. Since they managed to enter here, they won't leave alive. My suggestion is to try and lure them into the Spirit-Barren Valley and let the thousands of evil creatures there 'entertain' them!"

The female envoy revealed a chilling smile. "To be honest, I was thinking the same thing."

The so-called Spirit-Barren Valley was one of the most terrifying places deep within the underground palace. It held one of the three top bosses of the entire palace, truly a forbidden area within a forbidden area.

However, for Xu Yang and his group, this wasn't the most critical point. What mattered most was returning to the main path so they could begin their search for the true whereabouts of the Angel Soul Pillar Force.

Rumble! Enormous boulders continuously tumbled down within the surrounding space. Xu Yang, leading the way, used his immense power to constantly smash these falling rocks. Even so, the difficulty of their journey steadily increased.

"Boss, that looks like a valley ahead. If we rush in, we might risk being trapped in the middle. Are you sure we should go through there?"

Long Kun spoke up immediately to advise. Though usually carefree, it had to be admitted that he was quite experienced in battles within special terrains.

Xu Yang naturally understood this principle. However, as the saying goes, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Many truly vital locations were often found in such perilous and unique geographical positions.

"Don't worry," Xu Yang replied. "If my judgment is correct, beyond this valley lies a relatively open new area. Once we enter a battlefield similar to a plain, the threat posed by the Law of Earth will be greatly reduced. Although the passage leading there is the most dangerous place, this risk is worth taking."

Since their leader had spoken, the others offered no further objections, simply continuing to follow his footsteps steadily forward.

Rumble! Suddenly, a massive ice-blue source stone tumbled down from the valley's center. Its enormous size exerted immense pressure on the group. More significantly, wherever the colossal stone passed, the ground shimmered with an ice-blue glow, clearly indicating it was a Magic Crystal Stone!

A Magic Crystal Stone was a naturally occurring rock imbued with divine power, containing a portion of divine essence. It was often considered a highly scarce energy resource in the Glacier Kingdom.

However, this type of ore was almost unusable by outsiders; one had to master the corresponding Law of Earth for full exploitation. No one in Xu Yang's team had imagined that these individuals would be willing to use such a precious, massive Magic Crystal Stone to attack them.

"Everyone, be careful! For outsiders, this thing is like a walking formation. Do not get stuck to it, or the consequences will be unimaginable!"

However, just then, to everyone's surprise, Ling Yao, who had seemed somewhat subdued and was still recovering throughout the journey, suddenly soared into the air. The familiar Sky Sword reappeared, manifesting behind her.

What was different was that Ling Yao's Sky Sword was now surrounded by an incredibly powerful ice-attributed aura and even possessed a sealing effect. Her overall strength had increased by more than just one level compared to before!

Undoubtedly, Tian Bing'er's power had, to some extent, merged into Ling Yao's bloodline, subtly helping her grow into a top-tier divine-level expert.

Rumble! With a single powerful swing of her sword, the impossibly massive ice-crystal boulder was shattered into dust by Ling Yao's might.

"My heavens! She can't be *that* strong, can she? That's insane!"