“The Heavenly Blessings Frozen Pond is the ultimate Restricted Area of my Ice Heart Valley. No one is allowed to enter without explicit permission. The cold pool is divided into twelve layers, and the lower one goes, the higher the difficulty and the greater the danger, but the more benefits one can obtain,” Luo Li looked at Yang Kai and continued to explain.
“Oh? How deep has Senior managed to descend?” Yang Kai asked with interest.
“The deepest this Queen has managed to dive was the eighth layer,” Luo Li said with some slight embarrassment.
“Su Yan is inside?”
“En, her aptitude is superb, and she possesses an Ice Crystal Jade Body. Originally, I wanted to wait a few more years before allowing her to enter this place to seek opportunities, but she has now managed to break through to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm far ahead of when I anticipated, so she has the qualifications to enter the cold pond. Although she is no longer my Ice Heart Valley’s disciple, this can be considered a parting gift from this Queen.”
“If that is the case, I offer Senior my thanks.”
Naturally, he understood that Luo Li had done this to ease the relationship between Ice Heart Valley and him. In any case, allowing Su Yan to enter this Heavenly Blessings Frozen Pond wouldn’t have any detriments and could improve his opinion of Ice Heart Valley.
Luo Li smiled lightly, “This is what Ice Heart Valley owes her, Young Master Yang need not be so polite. En, she should be coming out soon, so it is just a question of how far down she was able to dive.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s expression changed, and from his connection, he realized that Su Yan’s aura was truly rising up slowly from this deep pond.
A short time later, a small vortex suddenly appeared on the surface of the water and released a profound chill from deep below.
Soon, a beautiful figure’s shadow flew out from this vortex.
A bit of cold light flashed along with this beautiful figure’s appearance, forcing Yang Kai to narrow his eyes. Even with his current strength, he could not help feeling a chill on his skin, like a million tiny needles were piercing him when this cold light shone upon him.
Yang Kai’s expression turned to one of shock as he stared towards the source of this cold light.
“This is…” Luo Li was also shocked as she stared up into the sky.
Up above, Su Yan’s figure stood quietly, motionless as an extremely tyrannical frozen aura pulsed from her right hand. In her grasp, there was a meter-long shining sword.
The stinging cold light was emanating from this long sword.
Yang Kai and Luo Li’s eyes instantly fixed on the long sword, the former flashing a smile as warm as the sun while the latter could not help trembling with shock.
The sword held by Su Yan was slightly strange in shape. Although it was a meter long, it was far slenderer than a normal sword of such length. The sharp aura it gave off was also quite astonishing.
The cold light shone without restraint from this sword as Su Yan held it in one hand while caressing it with her other.
The sword gave off a light hum as the cold light it was emitting suddenly transformed into a terrifyingly cold field centred around Su Yan.
Pure Ice Peak, which was already extremely cold, suddenly plunged in temperature once more.
The barrier outside the thatched hut creaked under this field, as if it was being overwhelmed and about to collapse.
“Profound Frost?” Luo Li could no longer maintain her composure as she leapt to her feet and exclaimed, her pair of beautiful eyes staring fixedly at the slender sword in Su Yan’s hand, a look of disbelief filling her face.
Yang Kai did not miss her reaction and instantly understood that Su Yan had picked up a big bargain this time, one that Luo Li apparently hadn’t expected her to, so he couldn’t help letting out a hearty laugh.
Su Yan also seemed to have finally recovered at this moment and turning her head, the ice aura suddenly faded and she revealed a warm smile, her tender body flickering as she flew down to the thatched hut and asked, “Junior Brother, why are you here?”
“Senior Luo asked me to come over,” Yang Kai explained with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.
He discovered that Su Yan’s aura was extremely calm and stable, becoming far stronger than when they had separated a dozen days ago. Obviously, she had obtained many benefits from this Heavenly Blessings Frozen Pond.
Yang Kai’s gaze then fell on the slender long sword again and after observing it for a moment, Yang Kai, who had seen several Origin King Grade artifacts before, couldn’t help feeling startled.
This slender sword was like a pure condensation of cold energy and was constantly releasing a sharp, invisible aura, one that pierced his mind all on its own, as if it was resisting his investigation.
“Su Yan, this sword… can you let this Queen examine it?” Luo Li composed herself and asked solemnly.
“Please have a look, Supreme Elder!” Su Yan respectfully held up the slender sword and handed it over.
Luo Li reached out and accepted.
A gleam of brilliance flashed across the sword as an unimaginable chill emerged from it and spread towards Luo Li’s body.
Luo Li’s delicate hand was being frozen at a speed visible to the naked eye, with a thin layer of ice quickly condensing on her fair skin.
However, she seemed to have expected this to happen and with a slight flick of her wrist, the ice broke.
Yang Kai raised his brow as he revealed a look of surprise.
This slender sword was truly extraordinary; even without anyone operating it, it could cause some minor trouble for a master like Luo Li. If it was being used consciously by a person, just how powerful would it be?
With this sword alone, Su Yan’s combat power would soar several levels!
This was probably a peak level Origin King Grade artifact! Yang Kai secretly guessed.
“Sure enough, it is Profound Frost!” Luo Li carefully observed the sword and nodded after a long time, a somewhat emotional expression filling her face as she muttered, “This Queen never expected to see Profound Frost in her lifetime.”
Yang Kai could not help asking, “What is the origin of this sword?”
A hint of respect appeared on Luo Li’s face as she solemnly replied, “This is the personal sword of my Ice Heart Valley’s Ancestral Founder: Bing Yun.”
Yang Kai and Su Yan exchanged a look of shock.
Ice Heart Valley had existed for over ten thousand years and it was rumoured that its Ancestral Founder was a peak Third-Order Origin King, a true powerhouse of the Star Field. However, although she had left behind her complete inheritance, throughout Ice Heart Valley’s history, it had never been able to replicate its original glory. The strongest master it had produced after its founding was only a Second-Order Origin King.
In this generation, Luo Li was the only Origin King, and she was only a First-Order.
“This is Ancestral Founder’s sword?” Su Yan was in a daze, but after coming back to her senses she said, “Since it is the Ancestral Founder’s sword, it should be kept by Supreme Elder. Disciple did not know the significance of this sword and only thought it was extremely valuable when she brought it out.”
Luo Li slowly shook her head, “You still calling me Supreme Elder is more than this Queen deserves. As for keeping this sword, hehe… this Queen cannot do that.”
As she spoke, she shook her arm and broke the layer of ice which had covered her arm. If she had not done so, the frost would likely have reached her chest and soon after, frozen her solid.
Luo Li did not dare to continue holding the sword. Reaching out, she handed Profound Frost back to Su Yan and said, “Since you’ve managed to obtain it, you should keep it. This is your opportunity after all! This Queen has no reason to take it back. Ancestral Founder’s last teachings state that Profound Frost will choose its own master, so if this Queen kept it, she would be disobeying Ice Heart Valley’s ancestral precepts. This Queen cannot bear such a sin.”
“But…” Su Yan seemed to want to say something.
“Fate works as so. Profound Frost’s decision is equivalent to Ancestral Founder’s decision,” Luo Li sighed.
If Su Yan was still an Ice Heart Valley disciple and she managed to obtain Profound Frost, Luo Li would feel only joy. However, Su Yan was no longer an Ice Heart Valley disciple, so her being recognized by Profound Frost was nothing less than a huge loss to Ice Heart Valley.
Even so, Luo Li did not dare violate the Ancestral Founder’s teachings.
At this moment, Luo Li very much wanted to ask Su Yan to return to Ice Heart Valley, but when she remembered the attitude she and the other Elders had shown, she was unable to voice such thoughts.
“Since Senior Luo has said so, you should accept it, Su Yan. As long as you keep Ice Heart Valley in your heart, what does it matter if you are an Ice Heart Valley disciple or not?” Yang Kai said indifferently from the side.
Luo Li glanced over at him thoughtfully before nodding in gratitude.
Although Yang Kai had not spoken too clearly, Luo Li was able to understand the meaning behind his words. Though what was broken once could never be fully restored, with the weight of Profound Frost in her hand, if Ice Heart Valley were to really encounter disaster in the future, Su Yan would definitely not just sit back and watch.
This was the best outcome Ice Heart Valley could currently ask for.
“En, Su Yan, since you managed to obtain Profound Frost, that must mean you reached the twelfth layer, yes?” Luo Li suddenly remembered something and asked nervously.
“Disciple does not know how many layers she managed to penetrate, but she did reach the bottom of the pond,” Su Yan replied softly.
“En, the bottom of the pond is the twelfth layer,” Luo Li sighed, “It seems that, with the power of the Ice Phoenix Source added to your body, your future achievements will be much higher than this Queen’s.”
She had cultivated diligently for many years but was still only able to reach the eighty layer. On the contrary, Su Yan managed to reach the twelfth layer of the Frozen Pond on her first attempt. This was more than enough to illustrate the great power of her Ice Phoenix Source.
Without the Ice Phoenix Source, Su Yan would never have been able to accomplish this feat at her current level.
“Since you reached the bottom of the pond, did you manage to find Ancestral Founder’s Origin Essence Crystal?” Luo Li’s expression became even tenser when she asked this.
“Origin Essence Crystal?” Su Yan frowned, “I did not see anything like that. Besides an extremely powerful Domain at the bottom of the pond, there was only Profound Frost. Disciple did not find any Origin Essence Crystal.”
“You truly did not find it!?” Luo Li’s beautiful eyes flashed brightly, as if she was thinking of something, her expression constantly changing. Only after quite some time smiling brightly as she muttered, “It seems the rumours were true after all, haha!”
In the end, she could not help laughing, as if extremely excited.
Yang Kai frowned and asked suspiciously, “What is Senior referring to?”
“My Ice Heart Valley’s Ancestral Founder may not be dead!” Luo Li made a shocking statement!
Yang Kai’s face changed dramatically, and Su Yan could not help covering her mouth in shock.
“Of course, this is only a possibility,” Luo Li smiled lightly, “A grand character like Ancestral Founder could not have fallen easily, and according to my Ice Heart Valley’s ancient books, it was only recorded that Ancestral Founder left behind Profound Frost in the deepest depths of the Heavenly Blessings Frozen Pond, but there was never any mention of whether she fell or not. However, since Ancestral Founder’s Origin Essence Crystal was not at the bottom of the pond, there is a chance she may still be alive!”