Chapter 1838: Liuli Ice Flame and Four Seasons Sword Master's Message

Huang Fugui's gaze shifted, and he grinned, revealing his discolored teeth. In a fawning tone, he said, "Senior Wang, Senior Wang, I've discovered an ancient cultivator's dwelling, which might be the final resting place of a Soul Transformation cultivator."

As the saying goes, surviving a great catastrophe brings good fortune. Huang Fugui had been teleported to the Wind and Snow Abyss, where he unexpectedly discovered an ancient cultivator's dwelling. However, before he could break through its restrictions and claim any treasures, he encountered a fourth-tier demonic bird.

In an unrestricted area, Huang Fugui would naturally outrun a fourth-tier demonic bird. But here, with numerous restrictions, he couldn't move freely to escape and was forced to be cautious, making his situation quite awkward and perilous. Had he not encountered Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, Huang Fugui would have been severely injured, even if he didn't die.

"An ancient cultivator's dwelling? Is it far from here?" Wang Changsheng became interested and pressed for more details.

"It's about a hundred thousand *li* away. We'll pass through several powerful restrictions on the way; I almost died under them. But with your divine abilities, Senior Wang and Senior Wang, it shouldn't be an issue," Huang Fugui said, his face full of fawning flattery.

"Let's go! Lead the way," Wang Changsheng instructed. He was unsure of their exact location and didn't dare to wander aimlessly. Areas Huang Fugui had already explored were likely safer, and there might even be a detailed map of the Wind and Snow Abyss inside the ancient cultivator's dwelling.

Huang Fugui gladly accepted, knowing that based on his past interactions with Wang Changsheng, if Wang Changsheng gained significant benefits, he would surely share a portion. Even if the "Green Lotus Immortal Couple" feasted, Huang Fugui could at least get a taste of the broth.

Wang Yingjie and two others flew out of the Profound Water Palace. Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the palace transformed into a square token, disappearing into his sleeve.

Led by Huang Fugui, the group vanished into the snowy expanse.

Deep within the Wind and Snow Abyss, a steep snow-capped mountain suddenly shook violently, sending large quantities of accumulated snow tumbling down. With a loud bang, a shimmering golden axe blade shot forth, splitting the snow mountain in two. Countless shattered rocks sprayed outwards, and a somewhat disheveled figure suddenly flew out—it was Shangguan Tianhong.

His face was pale, his left arm was gone, and the Golden Scale Lock he wore on his chest had vanished. He had been sucked into a gray, hazy space. After great difficulty, he finally escaped, but his Spirit Treasure, the Golden Scale Lock, was destroyed, he lost an arm, and his vitality was severely damaged.

Shangguan Tianhong's eyes were filled with killing intent. He secretly swore that if he could leave this place, he would annihilate Liu Tong's entire clan.

"I wonder how Fellow Daoist Wang and the others are doing. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come," Shangguan Tianhong muttered to himself. He was now soaring above a continuous stretch of white mountain ranges. Everywhere he looked was pure white; he saw no demonic beasts, nor any rare treasures or exotic fruits.

He took out the Jinwu Pearl and infused it with spiritual power, causing it to emit dazzling golden light. After a moment, the Jinwu Pearl returned to normal. Shangguan Tianhong then flew towards the northeast, staying as close to the ground as possible.

At a narrow, long white valley, Wang Changsheng and his group stood outside. Wang Yingjie, covered by a red light barrier, was trembling constantly, his face pale, and his spiritual power draining rapidly. It took them three days to reach the ancient cultivator's dwelling Huang Fugui had mentioned. Along the way, they encountered numerous restrictions and fourth-tier demonic beasts, but fortunately, the restrictions were not very powerful, and Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan easily dealt with them.

"Senior Wang, Senior Wang, the ancient cultivator's dwelling is right here," Huang Fugui said, pointing at the valley with an excited expression.

The valley was flanked by thick ice walls, and within it stood several ice pillars, each several *zhang* tall. A red light illuminated between Wang Ruyan's eyebrows as her Black Phoenix Divine Eyes appeared, gazing into the valley. At the valley's end, there was a faint blue light; had it not been for her divine eyes, she would not have noticed it.

Lu Tianxue transformed into a gust of ghostly wind and floated into the valley. After a moment, a huge rumbling sound echoed from within. Wang Changsheng and the others maintained calm expressions, while Huang Fugui's face was filled with anticipation.

Lu Tianxue flew out of the valley and reported, "There is indeed a restriction. I don't recognize it, but one thing is certain: it must be a fifth-tier restriction; otherwise, I would have broken it already." Even with her late Nascent Soul stage strength, she couldn't breach it.

"Let's go, let's take a look inside," Wang Changsheng said, waving his sleeve. Wang Xin led the way, with the others following, and Wang Yingjie staying close to Wang Ruyan.

The valley wound its way, dotted with numerous ice pillars. Before long, they reached the valley's end, where a steep ice mountain blocked their path. The ice wall was severely cracked, revealing a faint, flickering blue light within.

Golden light burst from Wang Xin's body, accompanied by a deafening dragon roar. A miniature flood dragon flew out, instantly expanding to over a hundred *zhang* long, and shot directly towards the blue water barrier. *Boom!* With a loud bang, the blue light warped and deformed but quickly returned to normal, repelling the golden flood dragon.

"This is the Four Seas Reversal Spirit Array, a fifth-tier formation. It can reflect attacks. Fire-attribute divine abilities are effective against this restriction, and it can also be broken by brute force, though that would create a significant commotion," Ye Haitang explained.

"A fifth-tier array? So, this was set up by a Soul Transformation cultivator," Wang Changsheng mused, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. He then flipped his hand, took out the Seven Star Demon Slaying Blade, and chopped towards the blue light.

The blue light warped and deformed as the ice mountain shook violently. Thick, long cracks appeared, the ice wall shattered, and large chunks of ice tumbled down. Following a tremendous crash, the blue light burst like a bubble, and a surge of extraordinary cold energy rushed out. The Seven Star Demon Slaying Blade instantly froze, but after emitting a dazzling blue light, the ice layer on it melted.

An ice cave, about a *zhang* wide, appeared before them. Its walls bore clear signs of artificial excavation.

Lu Tianxue transformed into a breeze and drifted into the ice cave. Not long after, she flew out, her expression excited, and said, "Inside, there's a unique flame called Glazed Ice Flame! It seems a Soul Transformation cultivator set up a restriction to imprison it."

"Glazed Ice Flame!" Wang Changsheng's face showed shock. Glazed Ice Flame is one of the Heaven and Earth Fire Spirits, born from glaciers over ten thousand years old, and extremely rare.

He flashed and flew into the ice cave. After traversing a long passage, an ice cavern, roughly an *mu* in size, appeared before him. In the center of the cavern was an underground fire pool several *zhang* wide, covered by a faint blue light barrier. A semi-transparent flame floated above the pool.

When the semi-transparent flame touched the blue light barrier, a dull thud immediately sounded. The blue light barrier quickly froze, forming a white ice layer. However, countless blue runes soon emerged on the barrier's surface, causing the ice layer to melt away.

Wang Ruyan and the others entered, carefully examining the ice cave for any other discoveries.

Wang Changsheng already possessed the Dark Nether Cold Flame; if he could refine the Glazed Ice Flame into it, the Dark Nether Cold Flame's power would be significantly enhanced. Unique flames require tens of thousands of years to evolve and can only form under various fortuitous circumstances. Ordinary flames simply cannot exist for over ten millennia.

He conjectured that a Soul Transformation cultivator had discovered this underground fire pool. At that time, no unique flame had yet formed, so the cultivator used a formation to trap the fire, intending to cultivate a unique flame from it. The Myriad Flames Palace in the East Glazed Realm controls several underground fire pools and uses this method to cultivate unique flames. However, this process is incredibly slow; it's a matter of earlier generations planting trees for later generations to enjoy the shade, truly benefiting one's descendants.

Wang Changsheng could take the Glazed Ice Flame and relocate this underground fire pool back to Green Lotus Island. After ten millennia, perhaps this same fire pool could give birth to another Glazed Ice Flame.

"There are no other restrictions here. Most likely, the ancient cultivator deliberately set up this formation hoping to cultivate a unique flame, never expecting it would end up benefiting us," Wang Ruyan said with a smile. She added that to sever the Thousand Gourd Realm's heritage, the demon race had destroyed a vast number of ancient texts, which might have once contained records of this very place.

When cultivators discover rare treasures, such as spiritual fruit trees, if the trees haven't yet borne fruit, transplanting them could easily lead to their demise. Thus, they would naturally set up a formation to protect them and record their location, so that future generations could harvest the spiritual fruits once they ripened.

Wang Changsheng wielded the Seven Star Demon Slaying Blade and chopped at the blue light barrier. Its power was already depleted, and it shattered instantly. A bone-chilling cold swept out, causing the temperature in the entire ice cave to plummet. Wang Yingjie trembled uncontrollably, his body feeling as if it were about to freeze solid. He formed a hand seal, and the red jade pendant on his chest suddenly burst forth with dazzling red light, making him feel a little better.

Freed from the formation's confinement, the Glazed Ice Flame seemed to come alive and flew outwards. It hadn't flown far before the nearby void tightened, causing it to stop abruptly. Wang Changsheng opened his mouth, and a blue flame shot out, transforming into a three-inch-long miniature flood dragon that darted directly towards the Glazed Ice Flame.

The miniature flood dragon bit onto the Glazed Ice Flame, tearing off and swallowing a large chunk of the transparent flame. The Glazed Ice Flame was no match and was slowly consumed by the miniature flood dragon. Wang Changsheng waved his sleeve, and the miniature flood dragon flew back into his hand, transforming into a fist-sized blue crystal orb that emitted a cold aura.

A unique flame was, of course, not so easy to refine. After returning, Wang Changsheng would find time to properly refine this flame, which would then greatly enhance the power of his Dark Nether Cold Flame. He cast a spell to collect the underground fire pool, intending to relocate it back to Green Lotus Island, hoping future generations could make use of it. They carefully checked but found nothing else.

"Huang Fugui, you've done very well. Once we leave the Wind and Snow Abyss, I will certainly reward you handsomely. Have you discovered any other ancient cultivator dwellings?" Wang Changsheng asked pleasantly. Huang Fugui had many nicknames in the East Glazed Realm, such as "Huang the Runner," "Ragged Rogue," and "Treasure Seeker Venerable," a testament to his extraordinarily good luck.

Huang Fugui thought for a moment and said, "There's a place where I'm not sure if there's an ancient cultivator's dwelling, but it's guarded by a high-grade fourth-tier demonic insect. There should be spiritual herbs or other valuable items there."

"Good, lead the way for us," Wang Changsheng instructed, his tone serious.

Huang Fugui acknowledged and quickly led the way. Leaving the valley, Huang Fugui led them towards a vast, boundless white forest. Before long, they vanished into its depths.

Five days later, they appeared at the foot of a massive ice mountain that seemed to meet the horizon. Its peak was obscured by a thick white cold mist, making its exact features unclear. Along the way, they encountered numerous fourth-tier demonic beasts, none of which were a match for them. Huang Fugui, Ye Haitang, and Wang Yingjie obtained the corpses of multiple fourth-tier demonic beasts, making a considerable fortune.

Huang Fugui took out a shimmering yellow banner and gently shook it forward. Strong winds arose, and a hazy yellow hurricane swept through, blowing away large quantities of snow and revealing a crack over a hundred *zhang* long. Had Huang Fugui not led the way, Wang Changsheng would never have imagined such a fissure existed at the foot of the massive ice mountain.

Ye Haitang released Lu Tianxue, who flew into the crack. Not long after, a huge booming sound emanated from within. The sound grew closer, and Lu Tianxue flew out, her expression alarmed. Two colossal, pure white scorpions suddenly emerged. Their bodies were translucent and crystal-clear, as if crafted from ice, and each had a pair of snowy white wings on its back.

"Oh, these are Snow Crystal Soul-Snatching Scorpions, a rare variant," Wang Ruyan exclaimed softly. Snow Crystal Soul-Snatching Scorpions are a rare ice-attribute spirit insect that lives in glaciers. They possess an ice-attribute flood dragon bloodline, and it is said that high-tier ones feed on demonic creatures.

As a ghostly being, Lu Tianxue found the Snow Crystal Soul-Snatching Scorpions to be her natural nemesis.

"Let's capture them and cultivate them as spirit insects!" Wang Changsheng said with a calm smile. He clapped his hand towards the void, causing ripples above the scorpions' heads. A blue giant hand, over a hundred *zhang* in size, materialized and swiftly slammed down.

With a dull thud, the two Snow Crystal Soul-Snatching Scorpions were deeply embedded in the ground. Before they could unleash their divine abilities, a shimmering golden net descended from the sky, enveloping them both. They struggled violently, spewing forth surges of cold qi that froze the golden net.

Wang Ruyan flicked her sleeve, and two shimmering green talismans flew out, sticking to the scorpions' bodies, causing them to immediately cease their resistance. Green Lotus Island had ten-thousand-year-old ice mountains and Profound Jade ore veins, making it an ideal place to capture and cultivate ice-attribute spirit beasts and insects. These could be left for future generations, strengthening the family's foundation.

Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the golden net flew back into his sleeve, disappearing from sight.

They flew along the crack, which opened into a hidden paradise: a massive ice cavern spanning about a hundred *mu*. Its ice walls were uneven, and numerous white ice pillars hung from the ceiling. Wang Ruyan activated her Black Phoenix Divine Eyes and carefully observed the ice cavern.

"Oh, has the Four Seasons Sword Venerable been here?" Wang Ruyan exclaimed softly, looking towards the ice wall on the left.

Wang Changsheng wielded the Seven Star Demon Slaying Blade and chopped at the void towards the ice wall on the left. A shimmering blue blade energy swept out, striking the ice wall precisely. The wall instantly shattered, sending large chunks of ice tumbling down and revealing a smooth, circular ice pillar. Carved onto the pillar was a message: "I, the Four Seasons Sword Venerable, departed from the East Glazed Realm, first journeyed to the Sky Raging Realm, then to the Ice Sea Realm, and finally arrived at the Thousand Gourd Realm, hoping to find a method of ascension."

"The Four Seasons Sword Venerable actually came here? Isn't he the founding ancestor of the Taiyi Immortal Sect?" Huang Fugui asked in surprise.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were not surprised; they had long known that the Four Seasons Sword Venerable had been here. This record indicated that the Four Seasons Sword Venerable had traveled to other realms, searching for a method to ascend to the Spirit Realm.

Wang Changsheng recalled the underground fire pool; could it have been discovered by the Four Seasons Sword Venerable? He did not know which realm the Four Seasons Sword Venerable had gone to, nor if he had successfully ascended to the Spirit Realm.