Chapter 510: Opportunities to Enhance Magical Energy

The so-called Road to Extreme Cold Hell was actually a bluestone path on a vast lake beneath the sky. The lake surface was quiet and deep, so still that there wasn't a single ripple or undulation, as if no living creatures existed there at all.

The lake surface perfectly reflected the sky's scenery. Looking around, everything was a peaceful scene of bright sunshine and gentle breezes.

This was completely different from the Hell Road Wang Yu had imagined! At the very least, it should have been a scene of widespread ice and snow, shouldn't it? Currently, there was only one path forward, and no other fellow cultivators nearby who had directly navigated the mind trap.

He deeply suspected that this time, the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm was completely different from previous times, and the intelligence gathered from the Northern Demon Race would only serve as a reference, making it impossible to fully trust the information it provided.

After a moment of hesitation, Wang Yu chose to step onto the bluestone path. At that instant, the Ice Dragon Core Flame within him suddenly flared up, voluntarily releasing itself from his limbs and bones, enveloping Wang Yu like a figure of blue flame. The terrifying low temperature from outside could almost instantly freeze the flesh and demonic energy of Nascent Soul cultivators, as if entering a domain of ice. No living creature could escape the influence of this extreme cold.

While the Ice Dragon Core Flame protected his body, it also greedily absorbed this extreme cold energy to accelerate its own growth, and the faint sentience within the flame significantly improved as well.

"A cultivation treasure land, then..." Wang Yu, who had just tensed up, breathed a sigh of relief.

His judgment was correct; the advantage brought by the Fifth-Order Ice Dragon Core Flame was immense. At the very least, the Road to Extreme Cold Hell posed no difficulty for him.

However, looking at the harmonious scene around him, his malicious suspicions about the Ice Phoenix Saint Lord grew stronger. Even if Ice Clan cultivators were misled, their powerful bloodline, born of ice and snow, would prevent them from being significantly affected. But for cultivators of other races, entering the Road to Extreme Cold Hell without any precautions would lead to nothing but death!

The environment's disguise was truly flawless.

After taking a few steps forward and realizing that the incoming cold hadn't further lowered the temperature, Wang Yu's gaze involuntarily turned to the mirror-like lake, which showed no ripples.

After a moment's thought, he extended his left hand, covered in Ice Dragon Core Flame, into the lake water.

"—He gasped sharply!"

Even with Wang Yu's abilities, he couldn't help but gasp. After quickly pulling out his left hand, he saw a large number of purplish-blue frostbites on his previously unblemished palm. Even with his physique and the protection of the Ice Dragon Core Flame, he found it difficult to touch this lake water for too long, which showed the extent of this low temperature.

He could guarantee it. If anyone else were to rashly touch it—they would either die or be crippled! After all, among the Nascent Soul cultivators who had arrived, his resistance to cold was definitely top-tier; no one was better at manipulating ice than him.

Unfortunately, due to the superficial illusion and by merely looking with his eyes, Wang Yu temporarily couldn't determine what kind of liquid this "lake water" was. Was it a rare spiritual treasure? Or a death trap set by the Ice Phoenix Saint Lord using divine abilities? It was unknown.

"If only I could dive to the bottom and take a look..." Such a thought flashed through his mind.

But soon, Wang Yu was drawn by the changes in the Ice Dragon Core Flame. The pulsating sentience within the flame was emitting an eager, longing emotion, vaguely pointing to a certain spot at the bottom of the lake.

Currently, Wang Yu had just stepped onto the bluestone path and had only walked a few steps. Through his recent contact with the lake water, the Ice Dragon Core Flame had clearly sensed something. The direction pointed directly ahead on the bluestone path. Wang Yu thought for only an instant before lifting his leg and walking forward.

The Heavenly Palace Secret Realm was a top-tier spatial domain crafted with great effort by the Ice Phoenix Saint Lord. While its principles were similar to the pool Wang Yu had obtained in Dongji City, it was clearly countless times larger. The restrictions and formations here were integrated into the space itself, making them difficult to detect and break in advance. And flight restriction was almost a mandatory measure in such secret realms, and this place was no exception. Not being able to fly high didn't mean one couldn't fly at all; as long as one stayed within a zhang (about 3.3 meters) of the ground, escape arts could still be used.

Therefore, Wang Yu flew swiftly along the narrow bluestone path.

Not long after, one figure after another finally appeared at the starting point of the Road to Extreme Cold Hell, having passed through the mind trap. Heavenly Peng King's face darkened as he scanned the surroundings and immediately transmitted a message to Fire Crow King and Thunder Qilin King, who had appeared alongside him.

"The Five-Colored Saint Lord is gone, and Wang Yu seems to be absent as well."

Fire Crow King's head was still somewhat dazed. Seeing the team of over forty people drastically reduced to just over a dozen upon entry, and nearly all the Fourth-Order initial stage demon race cultivators annihilated, his heart was filled with anger. "Damn it! Why weren't there such traps before?!"

Thunder Qilin King also recovered his senses and said with a complex expression, "Perhaps this time the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm is in its truly activated state? In the past, most of our clan's elders who came to this secret realm gained little, but the mortality rate was very low, which doesn't align with the usual characteristics of a top-tier secret realm."

There was some truth to what he said. Heavenly Peng King, just like Wang Yu, deeply suspected that this matter was related to the large-scale slaughter of mixed-blood Ice Clan members at the entrance of the secret realm. Perhaps their blood sacrifice led to this change.

"Five-Colored is gone. He must have guessed that we intended to obstruct him and deliberately hid... But what about Wang Yu? Could it be that he solved the mind trap faster than us?"

The three demon kings' conversation didn't last long before eight or nine figures appeared at the starting point of the Hell Road. These were the "individual cultivators" who had luckily passed through the mind trap:

A renowned figure of the Righteous Path, True Monarch Changqing of Crane Valley!A rogue cultivator from Taihu Lake, late-stage Nascent Soul—Layman Qinglu!Two unnamed cultivators, one large and one small, resembling a mother and daughter.From the Chaotic Ancient East Sea, of the Tianhai Ancient Sect, Wang Yushan, titled True Monarch Moving Mountains and Filling Seas!From the Southern Sea Luo Clan, True Monarch Ancient Beast Luo Tianji!

And two more, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, arrived together. They were cultivators from the Joyous Union Demonic Sect—Yu Hongchen and Ji Changjing. They could also be considered renowned figures of the Scarlet Kite. All of them were old demonic experts who had been famous for a long time.

Except for the two unnamed individuals, all were great cultivators of the late Nascent Soul stage. Their cultivation levels generally reached the eighth layer of Nascent Soul. For powerhouses of this caliber, even if they hadn't met, most of them were aware of each other's existence.

Both sides exchanged glances. Yu Hongchen spoke first, "Fellow Daoist Heavenly Peng, since we are both members of the Demonic Alliance, why not let Changjing and I join your team's operation?" After speaking, he deliberately distanced himself from the other cultivators. This was different from the "unity" they displayed outside. How could demonic cultivators mingle with righteous cultivators when their methods and interests didn't align? It was better to associate with the current most powerful Northern Demon Race.

To their surprise, Heavenly Peng King directly refused. "No, Fellow Daoist Yu, please proceed on your own. Although many demon race members entered, the treasures obtained would be difficult to distribute." The unspoken meaning was clear: if you came with us, you wouldn't gain anything.

This left Yu Hongchen and Ji Changjing feeling somewhat helpless. They glanced once more at the two righteous cultivators, just as they were about to step onto the Road to Extreme Cold Hell. Those two actually went ahead. They probably realized that too many powerhouses had gathered at the starting point and the situation might be unfavorable for them, so they naturally chose to act together. However, as this was their first time entering the secret realm, they lacked corresponding intelligence and didn't even know this place was called the "Road to Extreme Cold Hell." They simply judged based on past experience that there was generally no danger near a secret realm's entrance. Moreover, the Saint Lord's Heavenly Palace was a treasure vault-type secret realm. The main difficulty usually lay in breaking the protective restrictions around treasures, rather than clearing stages to obtain rewards.

This complacent reliance on experience led True Monarch Changqing of Crane Valley to suffer a great calamity directly. He stepped onto the bluestone path before Layman Qinglu. In just the blink of an eye, he froze motionless. Layman Qinglu, who was nearby, was immediately horrified. He forcefully altered the direction of his escape art, and after disengaging from his escape light state, he involuntarily staggered back a few steps. He fell back onto the ground, with rapid breaths escaping his lips.

This sudden turn of events drew the attention of everyone present. Heavenly Peng King's expression became even more complex. "Something is wrong with the situation," he transmitted via divine sense, "Although the Road to Extreme Cold Hell has a very low temperature, it shouldn't be capable of this extent of freezing. According to records, a Nascent Soul cultivator's protective qi barrier should be enough to withstand it." This message was still transmitted via divine sense, as the three kings maintained close internal communication.

"Could it be that the secret realm is only truly activated now?"

"Not necessarily," Fire Crow King proposed a new possibility, which indeed had some probability. "Perhaps the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable did something to this place during his years of healing in the secret realm?"

Since True Monarch Changqing appeared to have instantly solidified, silence fell over the scene for a while, with no movement. Everyone communicated secretly via divine sense, until Fire Crow King, enveloped in his Fire Crow True Flame, actively stepped onto the bluestone path. The horrifying low temperature almost extinguished half the flames in front of him, but with the injection of more demonic energy, the flames suddenly stabilized. Fire Crow King, now a human-shaped pillar of flame, radiating a more intense and violent aura. In his eyes, True Monarch Changqing was completely covered in a layer of ice crystals. Life force still existed within. However, his crow's claw, wreathed in crimson flames, directly shattered the entire human-shaped ice crystal with brute force, sending bloody ice fragments mixed with flesh flying everywhere.

Changqing's Nascent Soul and storage ring were taken by Fire Crow King. He then revealed a fierce grin. "I've never killed a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator so easily before!—What a thrill!"

The demon race was not to be trifled with. Just as Yu Hongchen of the Joyous Union Sect had said earlier, they were all now part of the Demonic Alliance. With an opportunity to kill a righteous path powerhouse, what was there to hesitate about?

Upon seeing this, Layman Qinglu, without hesitation, activated the Saint Token in his hand, choosing to abandon the secret realm expedition on the spot and directly teleported away using the token's power. Such decisiveness allowed him to temporarily keep his life.

The remaining members of the Northern Demon Race immediately turned their gazes to the other individuals. Yu Hongchen and Ji Changjing showed friendly smiles and moved to the side. Yan Ling and Yu Tangtang, one revealing demonic energy, the other demon energy. In the current situation, as long as they proved not to be righteous cultivators, compelled by the existence of the Demonic Alliance, the Northern Demon Race wouldn't rashly attack them. The same was true for Wang Yushan from the Tianhai Ancient Sect. He appeared as a bald, bearded, burly man, wearing a cassock-like dharma robe that exposed his chest. He suddenly let out a hearty laugh. "Hahahah, friends of the demon race! This one is from the Tianhai Ancient Sect and never participates in wars on the continent. I only came for the secret realm's opportunities."

True Monarch Ancient Beast Luo Tianji conveyed the same meaning. He actively bowed his head and said, "The Southern Sea Luo Clan has always revered the Nether Mountain Sect, so one could say we are half members of the Demonic Alliance."

After observing everyone, it was indeed difficult to make another move. Heavenly Peng King mused, "You all go onto the Hell Road first; the Northern Demon Race will follow behind."

The benefit of this move was primarily that after the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm changed, past intelligence was no longer an advantage and could even be misleading, making these individuals most suitable for scouting the path. If danger was encountered, they could withdraw in time to prevent further casualties. What if someone walking ahead encountered treasures first and took them? Naturally, those with destiny would obtain them! As for the current situation, no one in the secret realm could resist their will. Moreover, Heavenly Peng King felt that although the secret realm had become more dangerous, some fundamental aspects would not change. As far as he knew, the treasures in the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm were all placed in very mysterious ways. If one was destined, they would certainly obtain them! If one was not destined, they might find no gains even after traversing the entire secret realm.

Just as the secret realm exploration was in full swing, Wang Yu had already walked halfway through the Road to Extreme Cold Hell. In the latter half of the journey, the temperature became even lower. Although the environment remained peaceful with bright sunshine and gentle breezes, the invisible cold wind made him squint his eyes. Compared to others, who were struggling against the extreme cold, desperate to use all their abilities and looking quite disheveled, Wang Yu, on the other hand, was practically strolling effortlessly. With the Fifth-Order Ice Dragon Core Flame attached to him, he felt almost no cold. Only a stream-like flame flowed and surged around his body, like a true liquid. At times, he transformed into an escape light, rushing a distance along the bluestone path; at other times, he suddenly stopped and extended his hand into the water to sense something.

The feedback from the Ice Flame Spirit became increasingly strong. He had a premonition that the mysterious treasure might be hidden somewhere beneath this "lake water." At the same time, the environment of the Road to Extreme Cold Hell was like a concentrated version of the endless ice plains, unifying the scattered extreme cold currents from various places into one location. This made it very convenient for him to absorb and refine them and then integrate them into his demonic energy to enhance his cultivation. One day here was almost equivalent to ten days outside. Accumulated over time, this would be enough to cause his cultivation speed to skyrocket again.

The spiritual energy absorption ability brought by the perfected Fifth-Order cultivation technique, and the various self-refinement effects while walking, sitting, or lying down, almost constantly increased his demonic energy and made it even more chillingly cold. It rapidly increased drop by drop, and after reaching its limit, transformed into demonic energy crystals, adding another gleam of light to the starry landscape within his Qi Sea. As long as the extreme cold energy here was inexhaustible, if he stayed for over ten years, he was confident he could break through to the ninth layer of Nascent Soul, showing the immense benefits brought by the environment.

"Hmm?" Having just withdrawn his hand from the lake water, Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. He sensed the approaching team, and his movements abruptly paused.

At the same time, far behind him, Yu Hongchen and Ji Changjing of the Joyous Union Demonic Sect were forcefully making Yan Ling and Yu Tangtang scout the path at the very front. Wang Yushan and True Monarch Ancient Beast said nothing about this. Instead, they were pleased not to have to intervene and could enjoy the feeling of having free cannon fodder. The Northern Demon Race pressured them, and they pressured Yan Ling. The cultivation world was like this: big fish ate small fish, and small fish ate shrimp. The strong could indeed oppress the weak and dominate everything about them!

Yan Ling was furious but dared not speak, and plunged forward with single-minded determination. Yu Tangtang, however, was tempted to lash out at them. But a single sentence from Yan Ling calmed her down.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Wang is just ahead..."