Chapter 381: Ice Clan's Great Plan, Frozen Demon Qi

The possibility of the Nine Evils Sword Lord being involved was truly slim. If he genuinely wanted to find him, his primary target would be Tianbao City, and his secondary target, Guiling. He wouldn't defy common sense by locating him in the Boundless Ice Plains, much less setting a trap along this ancient path discovered by Coldblood Peak.

It could only be the Ice Tribe. The branch of the Ice Tribe at the Ancient Demon Sealing Ground had been on good terms with Coldblood Peak for generations. Blocking the road without harming anyone indicated they did not wish to be enemies with the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect.

"Are they stalling for time?" This thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He then recalled the mixed-blood individuals he encountered while killing rogue cultivators in Xuan'gu Mountain. Upon reflection, the human ancestors of this realm had made various attempts to break free from their shackles. Had the Ice Tribe not done the same? Clearly impossible! Interbreeding was merely the first step to leaving the Ice Plains. If their ancient history wasn't lost, they would surely know the Ice Tribe's past, as they were once rulers of the Ice Prison Realm. Looking to the future, their enemies were also outsiders from beyond the heavens, making cooperation an excellent strategic direction.

Moreover, the appearance of these mixed-bloods was indistinguishable from humans. Only when faced with a deadly extreme cold assault would they suddenly activate their special ice crystal qi sea to save themselves. Considering their heritage, the probability of them infiltrating Coldblood Peak was high.

Wang Yu rubbed his chin, pondering silently. Yu Shu saw his contemplative state and did not disturb him, falling into thought himself. He had not failed to notice the oddities, but his mind was preoccupied with Song Yun's matter. His mind was solely focused on the necessity of breaking through his cultivation realm, considering all difficulties encountered on the journey as trials. Now, questioned by Wang Yu, his mind significantly calmed down.

"...Fellow Daoist Ice Demon, why do you ask about this?"

"Oh— I am also heading to the Ancient Demon Sealing Ground on this trip. That area is filled with demonic energy, which is more suitable for Nascent Soul cultivation."

Wang Yu regained his focus, deliberately revealing his Fourth-tier strength with his spiritual sense. He did this not only to deter Yu Shu but also because he didn't want to disclose the significant matter of forming a Nascent Soul to others. Otherwise, wouldn't that be alerting them that he possessed spirit items for Nascent Soul formation? Enticing the other party to take risks would not be ideal. It was better to deter them early, and using cultivation as an excuse was reasonable.

However, the other party retreated in shock, becoming even more wary. In Scarlet Ibis, there was no precedent for a Nascent Soul cultivator to address a Core Formation junior as "Fellow Daoist," but Wang Yu paid no mind.

"If Fellow Daoist has the opportunity to leave these Ice Plains, you may inquire about my whereabouts. Farewell."

He genuinely hoped the other party could successfully form a Nascent Soul. Saying this was an expression of goodwill, but nothing more. Respecting others' destiny, whether they succeeded or failed, was entirely up to them.

Having learned from Yu Shu about the Ice Tribe's roadblocks, he planned to speed up. If they were stalling for time and didn't want human cultivators to go to the Ancient Demon Sealing Ground, he naturally had to speed up and figure out what the Ice Tribe was planning.

Furthermore, as long as he approached the sealed area, the demonic energy concentration should rise significantly. He could linger nearby to collect it, without necessarily entering the sealing ground itself. Extracting resources from an ancient demon was extremely dangerous. Even pioneers like the Coldblood Mountain Lord and Frost Demon Lord collected frozen demonic energy from the periphery. For this, Wang Yu had originally prepared a set of formation flags. Now, empty supreme-grade spirit stones were actually more suitable. These were natural containers; collecting enough demonic energy to fill one would suffice for his Nascent Soul formation, and depleting the demonic energy inside wouldn't affect the supreme-grade spirit stone's recovery.

Sometimes, major demonic sects would also go to the Ancient Demon Sealing Ground to collect specific demonic energy corresponding to different paths, sealing it away for future generations or for use when breaking through realms. Theoretically, when forming a demonic Nascent Soul, absorbing demonic energy that matches the cultivation method's attributes is essentially like opening a new source! It grants cultivators the ability to absorb and refine demonic energy. Just like entering the Dao requires a cultivator to meditate, sense spiritual energy, and refine spiritual energy, this is a necessary process to enter the demonic path's threshold. After that, specific demonic energy isn't required for cultivation, because the seed is already there; the rest is just conversion. Purified spiritual energy and demonic energy of other attributes can all be converted into demonic essence. In fact, due to the excessive number of ancient demons sealed in the Ice Prison Realm, extremely faint traces of demonic energy naturally exist within the qi inhaled and exhaled by all living beings.

Of course, absorbing demonic energy of the corresponding attribute significantly speeds up cultivation, but also carries the risk of losing control. It should only be used sparingly, mostly during breakthroughs. This is also another special currency used internally by demonic Nascent Soul cultivators, filled by empty supreme-grade spirit stones. If Wang Yu were to fill the three empty supreme-grade spirit stones he possessed, they could be called Frozen Demonic Spirit Stones. Others would immediately understand what they were. However, most Nascent Soul demonic cultivators still use supreme-grade spirit stones for cultivation, as the demonic essence converted this way is more controllable. They often rely on one or more large Fourth-tier spiritual veins.

As he processed this information, he realized that given his Innate Demonic Embryo physique, the daily cultivation cycle that an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could achieve with ten supreme-grade spirit stones was far from enough for him; he would need at least fifty. This was naturally due to his spirit body-level aptitude, which provided benefits during Nascent Soul cultivation and even offered some help for breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage. Only then would the advantages of the spirit body gradually diminish. He needed more supreme-grade spirit stones, but these items rarely appeared on the market. He had only seen them twice, both at large Fourth-tier auctions. This was just Scarlet Ibis; he couldn't even imagine how competitive it would be in the Taihu region.

Several days later, accelerating with the Aurora Escape Technique, Wang Yu drew closer to the Ancient Demon Sealing Ground. Along the way, he discovered numerous gigantic Ice Tribe beasts, indeed blocking the path. To avoid detection, he chose to take a detour. The Ice Transformation Secret Art, on the Boundless Ice Plains, was arguably the most perfect stealth technique, rendering him as devoid of any aura as a common ice block. A slight detour was enough to pass through.

Thus, half a month later, clusters of ice-sculpted buildings came into view, with an enormous ice phoenix statue in their center. This Ice Tribe settlement, responsible for guarding the sealing ground, had finally been reached. Most Ice Tribe buildings were massive, with a rough and primitive style, constructed entirely from solid ice. A crude ice palace he saw had an entrance dozens of meters high, likely designed to accommodate their large, beast-shaped tribesmen. However, the Ice Tribe mostly appeared in human form. Thus, there were also exquisitely crafted buildings, reflecting the styles of human architecture from various regions. This particular tribe's population wasn't very prosperous, numbering only tens of thousands. All sorts of strange ice sculptures moved within.

Indeed. To Wang Yu, the Ice Tribe members were essentially no different from ice sculptures. These beings were entirely composed of ice crystals: some had four arms, some had beast heads and human bodies, others human heads and beast bodies... some resembled mammoths, others gorillas. They seemed to have been artificially sculpted. Wang Yu couldn't help but wonder how these beings could interbreed with humans. Did they even have a concept of reproduction? Could they ejaculate? Conceive? Unfortunately, the black stele only described the concept of the Ice Tribe, without any corresponding spiritual energy projections, and Coldblood Peak's ancient texts were also old versions. Although it was said that the Ice Tribe were as beautiful as ice crystals, he truly hadn't expected the description to be so realistic. One could only say the world was full of wonders. In truth, this was Wang Yu's first time seeing members of another race, and they were also the oldest intelligent race in the Ice Prison Realm.

Considering his lack of understanding about the Ice Tribe, he did not approach rashly but instead looked for a way to bypass this settlement. As "gatekeepers," they wouldn't reside directly above the sealing ground. That would be too dangerous, so they usually blocked important entrances. According to the sect's ancient texts, the Frozen Demon should be sealed atop an isolated peak. However, Wang Yu did not see such a conspicuous landmark.

"Is it concealed by formations or similar means?" He began to move around the settlement. Generally, revealing one's identity as a Coldblood Peak cultivator would allow smooth entry into the settlement to sense the frozen demonic energy. After all, they had been allies for generations. Considering that the Ice Tribe might be involved in something clandestine, and unwilling to expose his identity too early, Wang Yu walked around the settlement, attempting to directly sense the concentration of frozen demonic energy to pinpoint the direction of the sealing ground. This method proved quite effective. After only about half a day, Wang Yu discovered something unusual.

"Is this frozen demonic energy?" At this moment, a wisp of blue-black frozen demonic energy was swirling around his finger. Its appearance was almost indistinguishable from his normal magical power, but its quality was on an entirely different level. The same volume of magical power, if used to activate an Ice Sword Art, would at most reach a scale of fifteen meters. If frozen demonic energy were used, splitting mountains and severing rivers would likely be no problem. The formidable power of demonic essence definitely greatly enhanced a cultivator's destructive capabilities. Divine abilities would experience a surge in power, often leaving city-destroying aftermaths. To what extent could he unleash his full power? Wang Yu hadn't seen it yet, but it was certainly stronger than the Yellow Spring Earth Grievance Puppet.

Injecting this wisp of frozen demonic energy into a supreme-grade spirit stone, its fluctuations immediately stabilized. His gaze also turned towards the rear of the Ice Tribe settlement. The frozen demonic energy there seemed even more concentrated. As for whether to forcefully enter this Ice Tribe settlement, he personally was unwilling. Successive Coldblood Mountain Lords had always chosen to maintain friendly relations rather than take control. There must be a reason for this. He must not ignore the rules left by his predecessors; some were truly discovered by risking their lives. This could also allow him to infer some information.

As he gradually moved further away, inside the Ice Tribe settlement, in a tall tower near the ice phoenix statue, three cultivators with pale skin, silver hair, and blue eyes exchanged glances.

"The magical power aura cultivated by the Ice Soul Sacred Demonic Scripture has gone towards the sealing ground."

"Don't worry about it, it must be a Coldblood Peak cultivator."

"But... he must have discovered something, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen to bypass our tribe."

The leader's eyes narrowed, his aura distinctly at the late Nascent Soul stage. He pondered for a moment before speaking. "This person's life aura is very young; he should be a genius from Coldblood Peak. He cannot die here; we cannot be enemies with the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect. Besides, the gigantic ice beasts along the way were positioned so crudely that he likely guessed we were trying to stall for time. His purpose is probably just to gather some frozen demonic energy for Nascent Soul formation."

"The Great Priest is right," said a man with a youthful appearance, whose cultivation was slightly weaker but had still reached the sixth layer of the Nascent Soul stage, indicating he was no ordinary individual. "Since this person didn't try to sneak in and investigate, he clearly doesn't want to interfere, and it won't affect our great plan. Why stir up trouble?"

These three were the strongest in the "Gatekeeper Tribe." The Ice Tribe beings originally had no knowledge of cultivation. The arrival of humans was both a calamity and a blessing. In the most ancient times, cultivators, seeing their sentience, taught them cultivation methods. They were enslaved and used for various purposes. More often, they became jailers, guarding the sealing grounds for others. However, later, great changes occurred in the world, and the Ice Plains receded until only this small area remained. And among the tribes still guarding the gates, only their branch remained.

However, cultivation methods were passed down through generations and continuously improved. After the ancient immortal dynasty fell, the demon race rose, and finally, during the era of the Ice Phoenix, they reached their peak. In fact, according to Yan Ling's intelligence and common consensus, everyone believed the Ice Phoenix was the Demon Lord. The Ice Tribe's appearance was simply too deceptive; their bodies were like ice crystals, sparkling when light hit them, making it almost impossible to mistake them.

But as the Ice Tribe cultivated the Nascent Soul Great Dao, after breaking through the Fourth-tier, their ice-sculpture-like bodies would transform into human forms, evolving towards bodies more suitable for cultivation. The same principle applied to the Fourth-tier transformation of the demon race. As for why this happened, there were many differing opinions. The Ice Phoenix was the first Ice Tribe member to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. She then disguised herself as a demon, seizing the opportunity to gain resources from across the world and secretly expand the Ice Tribe's power. It wasn't enough for her to leave behind the Sacred Lord's Celestial Palace Treasury; she also set up 720 Legacy Sacred Halls across the Boundless Ice Plains, almost all prepared specifically for the Ice Tribe. However, these descendants were not up to par. Most of the sacred decrees fell into the hands of the demon race, and the legacy tokens were scattered across the world, with most ending up with humans. These secrets were known only to their branch of the Ice Tribe, which had an orderly lineage, completely different from the wild tribes outside.

Deep in thought, the Great Priest suddenly spoke. "Continue. Only by imitating our ancestor's deeds can we hope to win. It used to be the demon race's world; now it's the human race's."

"Understood."

"Yes!"

Around the three of them, there were naked human female cultivators, their eyes hazy, clearly controlled by a magical art. Before breaking through the Third-tier, the Ice Tribe's method of reproduction was very unique: it involved sculpting by tribe members and the cumulative infusion of aura over time, until one day they developed sentience. It was somewhat akin to ice blocks gaining sentience, a highly difficult process. Due to this, the Ice Tribe's numbers had always been small, until they encountered the path of cultivation. After breaking through the Fourth-tier, they gained the ability to transform into human form and grew reproductive organs. The plan to imitate their ancestor, the Ice Phoenix, and steal the demon race's achievements naturally arose.

The two younger Ice Tribe Nascent Soul cultivators endured their distaste and fatigue to vigorously sow their seeds, while the Great Priest walked to the center of the ice tower, where a heavily pregnant woman lay. She was clearly a special individual. The Great Priest cast a spell, drawing out his own heart's blood and infusing it into the pregnant female cultivator's body, silently nourishing the Ice Tribe's child of hope! Calculating the time, she would successfully give birth in a few years. He truly did not want any complications at this moment. Therefore, as long as Wang Yu had no intention of probing the internal affairs of the Ice Tribe, he was willing to let things be. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially since he didn't know Wang Yu. He had no informants in the outside world. Low-tier Ice Tribe members could not leave the Ice Plains. Although high-tier transformed Ice Tribe members could leave, they couldn't do so for long. If they stayed too long, their origin would dissipate. According to information left by the Ice Phoenix Ancestor, it was due to divergent heaven and earth rules; they could only live under the protection of the Ice Prison Realm's original rules. Born of it, and bound by it.