Chapter 509: Time's Afterimage, the Path of Extreme Cold Hell

Through Bing Jiu’s memories, Wang Yu gained insight into many of the Ice Clan’s plans, the most crucial of which was perhaps the timing of their true entry into the conflict.

Their thinking was similar to that of the Venomous Dragon Demon Venerable. The pure-blooded Ice Clan was waiting for the most critical moment of the war between the righteous and demonic forces; that would be their true time to strike. Specifically, this moment was when the Demon Dao Alliance would assault the Sword Sect’s mountain gate. They clearly all believed the Demon Dao Alliance capable of reaching this point. Thus, their objectives aligned.

Wang Yu quickly recovered from the influx of memories. Bing Jiu’s memories contained only one inheritance of an ice-frost Dharma Idol divine ability, called the Proud Cold Ice God Dharma Idol. This inheritance came from the Ice Clan’s first Soul Transformation cultivator. It wasn't profoundly mysterious, just an ordinary Dharma Idol level, yet it was enough to have a profound impact on Wang Yu.

He then retrieved the Nascent Soul of the old man from the Northern Town Tower. Under the Soul-Searching Evil Art, no restriction could prevent Wang Yu from peering into the deep secrets of his memories. This elder, unexpectedly, offered him a pleasant surprise: the Everfrost Yin God Dharma Idol!

This divine ability was essentially similar to the Ice God Dharma Idol, but it had clearly undergone countless modifications and additions by human cultivators of the ice attribute, making it more suitable for human cultivation. Its core of extreme cold perfectly aligned with Wang Yu’s path of frost. Using this as a core to deduce and create his own divine ability Dharma Idol technique was absolutely feasible. However, a fundamental requirement was to perfect it before deducing and modifying it.

Placement Slot 6: Everfrost Yin God Dharma Idol (Fifth Tier / Dharma Idol Divine Ability)“Everfrost Yin God Dharma Idol (0/100): Cultivate twenty-four hours a day, complete in one hundred years.”

“A hundred years…” He withdrew his attention from the placement slot. While he didn't believe he would need a hundred years to reach the Soul Transformation stage, the placement slot’s speed indeed followed this pattern. For divine abilities and techniques beyond his current realm, the required time was often several decades to over a hundred years. While it seemed like he wouldn't be able to catch up with his breakthrough in realm, it wasn't a major issue at all.

The Manifestation of Heaven and Earth, essentially a divine manifestation of the Soul Transformation realm, would naturally give birth to a Dharma Idol that suited the cultivator, even without cultivating the corresponding divine ability. This was why Wang Yu was so insistent on deduction. Having these two inheritances as a foundation was enough. When his realm broke through and the Dharma Idol condensed, he could begin modifying and finalizing it. He didn't need to cultivate it to the perfected stage; reaching the 'small success' stage would be sufficient. Additionally, the intention of the cold attribute Dharma needed to be comprehended. He didn't change the plans for his other placement slots for this. He would proceed with what needed to be advanced.

Thus, time flowed by ever faster, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed. The opening of the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm was imminent. The Nascent Soul experts, either solitary or in small groups, also appeared together. Clearly, some agreement had been reached among them, placing them on the same side before entering the secret realm. This was to ensure a smooth entry, preventing the Northern Demon Clan from clearing them out beforehand, as they had done with the mixed-blood Ice Clan.

At the center of the Half-Mountain Platform, Wang Yu, who had been studying Dharma Idol divine abilities for a year, stood beside Heavenly Peng King. He asked curiously, “What exactly is the method for opening the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm?” He remembered that Yan Ling had said her presence was crucial; otherwise, Jiang Qinzhuan of Heavenly Corpse Peak wouldn't have sought her cooperation. She must possess some unique and irreplaceable characteristic, which made Wang Yu curious about the Northern Demon Clan's method of opening the gate.

Heavenly Peng King was somewhat puzzled by his question. “The method to open the secret realm gate? Naturally, you open it with a key…” Wang Yu was startled. Then he saw the Five-Colored Saint Lord step forward in full view, taking out an ice crystal token carved with a dragon and a phoenix. This was not a "Saint Token" that represented eligibility for entry. It was a real key!

Putting aside the questions in his mind, as soon as the token appeared, it floated naturally to the center of the platform, and brilliant cold light suddenly burst forth. Space twisted within the light. Soon, a swirling vortex, shimmering with starlight like the Milky Way, unfolded in mid-air, expanding to a person's size in the blink of an eye.

Yan Ling, among the crowd, also frowned, reaching out to touch her chest. Under her opaque clothes, there was an ice-phoenix pattern mark, silent and unlit as usual. This tattoo-like pattern was an anomaly she had possessed since birth. However, being an orphan, she was captured by the "recruitment team" of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect from a young age and sent directly to Cold Blood Peak for cultivation after her Heavenly Spirit Root was detected. Without a master to enlighten her, it had always remained a mystery. Later, after learning about the Sutra Hall, she spent years there consulting ancient texts.

She concluded that she likely possessed an imprint of an Ice Phoenix soul spirit within her, making her, in some sense, an Ice Phoenix reincarnation. However, this talent had always been latent. It would only manifest during a life-threatening crisis. Jiang Qinzhuan accidentally glimpsed this, which led him to connect it with the existence of the Saint Lord Heavenly Palace, believing Yan Ling would be key to opening the secret realm. The "opening" here actually referred to *prematurely* opening it—just the two of them secretly entering to acquire all the treasures and opportunities within the secret realm. This was the truth behind his private collaboration with Yan Ling. Even Yan Ling herself was somewhat unaware of this.

As for the soul spirit imprint reincarnation theory, that's a long story. Ice Phoenixes are true spirit bloodlines. Such beings possess Fifth-Tier strength upon reaching adulthood and can easily break through to the Void Refinement stage with casual cultivation. Top-tier true spirit bloodlines can even reach the Great Ascension stage! This terrifying talent is favored by heaven and earth; even if they die accidentally, a remnant of their soul spirit can reincarnate. The race of reincarnation is hard to determine, but they can inherit some talents and abilities of the true spirit. Their bloodline doesn't change, but they possess various special abilities. The reason Yan Ling's talent was latent, only erupting in life-threatening situations, was also related to the uniqueness of the Ice Prison Realm. Don't forget, the Ice Prison Realm's rules were altered by an immortal. True spirit bloodlines, transcending Soul Transformation, found it difficult to resist these immortal rules, and thus were forced into a latent state.

Therefore, Yan Ling knew of her unique nature. But the problem was, the Ice Phoenix Saint Lord was not a true Ice Phoenix, merely a fake with the appearance, whose true origin was a pure-blooded Ice Clan member. Wang Yu had not communicated this to her. So, when a fake encounters the real thing, and the real thing shows no reaction, it made Yan Ling doubt whether the records in the Sutra Hall were true.

“Strange.” Yu Tangtang turned her head to look at the perplexed Yan Ling. “Sister Yan Ling, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” Yan Ling shook her head, unable to hide the disappointment in her beautiful eyes. She had thought this would be when Wang Yu needed her, but unexpectedly, this soul spirit imprint had no effect at the crucial moment. This sense of frustration made her feel like she was once again a burden to Wang Yu.

Half-Mountain Platform. As there were too many people present, Wang Yu did not contact Yan Ling but followed the Northern Demon Clan’s team directly into the secret realm gate, intending to seize the initiative! The spatial isolation sensation when traversing secret realms was usually similar. His vision plunged into darkness, and logically, he should soon arrive in a new cosmic space. But… this was different from before!

In the endless darkness, a white line suddenly lit up. As he concentrated and looked, the white line abruptly expanded into a rift, and pale white frost flames rapidly unfolded. From it emerged a true form of an Ice Phoenix, a hundred zhang in size. Wang Yu’s heart tightened. The throbbing veins on his forehead constantly reminded him that this Ice Phoenix was extraordinarily dangerous! “So… this is the Ice Phoenix Saint Lord’s method of screening outsiders?”

As this thought just arose in his mind, he saw the Ice Phoenix let out a cry to the sky, and a low-temperature storm roared in. Wang Yu suddenly realized that he currently had no physical body. It was neither a soul nor divine sense; instead, it was the projection of his mental will that was confined in this special space! Just as he faced this threat from a temporal afterimage of an ancient era, coincidentally, all cultivators who entered the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm were caught in this death trap. If their mental will was not resilient enough, ninety-nine percent of the cultivators would fall at this initial barrier.

At the same time, Heavenly Peng King’s face was ashen as he confronted the mental attack of the Ice Phoenix’s image. His dissatisfaction with the Five-Colored Saint Lord reached its peak. The Northern Demon Clan had not entered the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm for the first time, but there had never been any record of this particular challenge. The difference between this time and previous ones, aside from the Five-Colored Saint Lord, was the mass slaughter of mixed-blood Ice Clan experts at the secret realm entrance. “Could their blood have activated the defense mechanism left by the Ice Phoenix? Otherwise, it makes no sense…” In his consciousness, for some reason, he felt that the Five-Colored Saint Lord knew about this trap. If he had listened to his advice and not attacked at the secret realm entrance, perhaps they wouldn't have encountered this danger. Now, it was too late for regret.

Of course, this was just a thought. If he were truly given the choice again, he would most likely still initiate the battle, but he would definitely guard against a trap. It was their familiarity with the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm that led them astray. After this ordeal, the Northern Demon Clan experts might suffer heavy losses.

Northern Town Tower. After the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm opened, this place once again welcomed a batch of visitors. Tower Master Xue Wu Shuang was bewildered as he received a large group of Ice God's Children. Yes… a large group. Almost everyone was an Ice God's Child—third generation, fourth generation, fifth generation… up to the thirty-eighth generation. Their strength had almost all reached the early Fourth Tier. Only a few possessed mid-Fourth Tier cultivation.

Bing Lian, the twelfth-generation Ice God's Child leading the group, took out the Guardian Tribe’s High Priest’s command token and proudly declared, “Tower Master Xue Wu Shuang of Northern Town Tower, receive the order!” Xue Wu Shuang bowed his head, showing a posture of submission and listening, which made Bing Lian even more satisfied with his attitude. “The High Priest commands: Northern Town Tower must immediately deploy all personnel to the entrance of the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm and set up the ‘Eighty-One Everfrost Yin Annihilation Array’ to capture all cultivators who enter the secret realm in one fell swoop!”

Upon hearing this, Xue Wu Shuang suddenly looked up. He asked doubtfully, “Is this truly the High Priest’s intention?”

“Naturally.” Bing Lian threw the command token to Tower Master Xue Wu Shuang. The aura and spiritual imprint on it were undoubtedly from the Ice Clan’s High Priest. His thoughts were similar to Wang Yu’s. He believed that if the Ice Clan wanted to regain their dominant position in this realm, the best way was to wait for an opportunity like “the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman benefits!” This critical juncture had clearly not yet arrived. Activating the Northern Town Tower, this chess piece, now would only lead to the Ice Clan’s premature exposure, making it difficult to achieve great things. Theoretically, the High Priest would not be so irrational.

But what if one thought differently? Assuming the pure-blooded Ice Clan’s goal was not to regain dominance, but merely to strike back and retaliate against the beings who occupied their world? Humans were like this, and demons were also like this. The Ice Clan harbored hatred for all beings outside their own clan. Humans had many Soul Transformation Venerables, while Demon Clan Venerables were either confined by humans in certain areas or were struggling to protect themselves. Attacking the Northern Demon Clan was indeed the most suitable course of action. This was a blood feud of revenge!

The Guardian Tribe represented the last lineage of the pure-blooded Ice Clan, and they were very close to the Frozen Demon Seal. If Soul Transformation Venerables were to attack their tribe, the ancient Frozen Demon would be an excellent tool to exploit. This dangerous move, purely to vent emotions, seemed a bit far-fetched. Xue Wu Shuang keenly noticed the true core issue lay in the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm! There was something in there that the Ice Clan *must* obtain! Revenge might just be a side benefit. His thoughts quickly clarified, and Xue Wu Shuang said no more. With a wave of his hand, he immediately issued a summons, bringing all the Nascent Souls of the Northern Town Tower. A massive team of over sixty Nascent Soul cultivators traversed the endless ice plains, heading directly for the Half-Mountain Platform where the secret realm was located, estimated to arrive in half a month.

— Special Mental Space —

After a period of adaptation and struggle, with the accumulation of his Mind’s Third Realm, the Immaculate Realm, Wang Yu forcibly altered the dark, lightless world. It now displayed the unique scenery of his mind lake. Or rather, this *was* his mind lake space. The sea of blood, the red trees, and the Asura Killing Heart, crystal clear like colored glaze, still pulsed powerfully on the offering platform. The previous dark, lightless space should have been the Ice Phoenix’s mind lake scenery. Since it was merely an ancient remnant technique, and not the mind lake of a true living being, it appeared dark and devoid of light.

Wang Yu’s mental realm hadn’t improved for a long time. His practice of the Prajna Heart Sutra continued, but its growth rate had always been slow and steady, progressing consistently. He was still some distance from the peak of the Immaculate Realm, let alone touching the Fourth Realm, the Lapis Lazuli Heart. To be fair, this mental attack from the temporal afterimage was somewhat dangerous even for Wang Yu. He suspected that more than half of the Northern Demon Clan experts would perish in this trap.

Wang Yu cared nothing about the fate of the demon clan. The problem was his two companions: Yu Tangtang’s powerful bloodline meant she should be fine, but whether Yan Ling could safely pass was completely unknown. Unknown, to him, meant the probability of her safe passage was extremely low. He was unaware of the Ice Phoenix soul spirit imprint. Currently, he only had a murderous intent in his heart. With a thought, five or six Soul-Destroying Death Lights simultaneously struck towards the Ice Phoenix, just as the ice phoenix flames were about to surge.

Where the mind wills, all things are permitted. In his mind lake space, as long as his mental power was sufficient, he could achieve whatever he desired. From the moment the mental space transformed, this crisis had already passed. Those trapped in the endless darkness were the ones truly in danger. The Ice Phoenix’s frost flames sputtered as if misfired, unable to emerge, and when it tried to spread its wings and dodge, it was bound by chains formed from mental power. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a handful of ashes and vanished.

His vision flickered for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, Wang Yu had arrived at the first area of the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm – the Extreme Cold Hell Path!