Chapter 141 Glacier Seals the Island

Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan stayed inside the cave for three full days.

During these three days, even deep within the cavern, the two of them could clearly feel the external temperature steadily dropping, growing increasingly frigid.

The Nether Ice Cold Flame was one of the legendary Heavenly Flames. It had existed since the creation of the heavens and earth, possessing its own independent consciousness and representing an extremely unique life form in the universe.

The volcanic terrain of Monroe Island had once been used by a Divine-realm powerhouse who sealed the flame here, attempting to suppress it and integrate the Nether Ice Cold Flame into their own sea of consciousness. For reasons unknown, however, that endeavor had ultimately failed.

The Nether Ice Cold Flame had remained sealed ever since, and the mysterious symbols within the glacier were a form of restriction designed to keep it contained.

Over the span of ten thousand years, the power of the seal had gradually weakened. The Nether Ice Cold Flame had relentlessly eroded the restrictions until a corner of it finally breached the deep underground and manifested on Monroe Island.

Seeking to uncover the secrets hidden within the glacier, the four major factions had bombarded it relentlessly, exhausting the already feeble power of the seal. This ultimately allowed the Nether Ice Cold Flame to break free, spawning tens of thousands of Nether Ice Beasts that wreaked havoc across Monroe Island, plunging this volcanic land into absolute devastation. Being a Heavenly Flame, it was nearly impossible to seal unless attempted by a Divine-realm powerhouse.

Upon realizing that the entity hidden within the glacier was actually a Heavenly Flame, the warriors of the four major factions did not hesitate, fleeing the glacier and rushing to escape Monroe Island at utmost speed.

The Nether Ice Beasts were condensed from the freezing aura of the Nether Ice Cold Flame. In the freezing environment of Monroe Island, these beasts were continuously nourished by a steady stream of cold energy from the flame.

This freezing aura rendered the Nether Ice Beasts as hard as iron and exceptionally agile. Given their massive numbers, the warriors of the four major factions knew they could not withstand them, prompting their retreat.

Aware of the terrifying power of the Nether Ice Beasts and wishing to avoid being overwhelmed, Xia Xinyan had decisively excavated a cave to hide within, defending against their attacks.

Three days had passed.

The external chill had steadily intensified, and Monroe Island was now wrapped in absolute silence, as if the Nether Ice Beasts had vanished from the region entirely.

"The Nether Ice Beasts are condensed from the Nether Ice Cold Flame. Now that Monroe Island has been devastated, the energy within the beasts will eventually be reclaimed by the flame. Judging by the elapsed time, there shouldn't be any Nether Ice Beasts left on the island," Xia Xinyan said, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as she pondered for a moment. "We can head outside and look for an opportunity to leave Monroe Island."

"Once the warriors of the four major factions escape, they will undoubtedly spread the news here immediately. By then, Divine-realm experts driven by greed for the Nether Ice Cold Flame will descend upon Monroe Island from all directions. Once those powerhouses arrive, the chaos here will only escalate. Indeed, it is time to leave," Shi Yan nodded in agreement.

Following four days of recovery and aided by the Undying Martial Spirit, Shi Yan had returned to his peak condition.

Having survived this ordeal, his state of mind seemed to have undergone a transformation. Amidst the brush with life and death, his existence felt sublimated, and he faintly sensed a breakthrough on the horizon.

Reaching the Hundred Tribulations Realm required experiencing various trials to comprehend the threshold of a breakthrough and step into a new realm.

This stage demanded far more than mere profound vital essence; a sudden flash of spiritual enlightenment was of paramount importance.

Without sufficient comprehension of one's realm, even the most abundant vital essence would struggle to propel one any further.

This calamity had proven immensely beneficial to both him and Xia Xinyan.

Working together, the two of them hauled the boulders blocking the cave entrance backward, piece by piece, slowly approaching the exit.

Before long, the final few stones were moved aside, and they stepped out from the cavern.

The moment they emerged, their expressions shifted drastically, filled with shock and dismay.

Under the moonlight, the world before them was a realm of crystal glaze. Everything was encased in thick, solid ice, and the earth was covered by several meters of frozen sheet.

A bone-chilling cold permeated the entire world, lingering between heaven and earth like a thick, white mist.

Standing amidst this frozen wilderness, not a single trace of green or patch of grey soil remained in sight.

Monroe Island had undergone a cataclysmic transformation. The nearby dormant volcanoes had also turned into towering glaciers, sparkling dreamily under the moonlight.

In the far distance, several warriors maintained their running postures, frozen into ice sculptures and having lost their lives forever.

Because of the presence of the Nether Ice Cold Flame, the vast Monroe Island had transformed into a ten-thousand-year-old glacier, with ice and frozen rock everywhere one looked.

Spreading out his spiritual awareness, Shi Yan could not detect a single trace of life fluctuation. Even the Nether Ice Beasts had completely vanished, reduced to lifelike ice sculptures scattered across the landscape.

"Everyone on Monroe Island must have been frozen to death; this truly is a devastating catastrophe," Xia Xinyan sighed. "Because the warriors of the four major factions wanted to uncover the secrets of the glacier, they destroyed the restrictions sealing the Nether Ice Cold Flame, ultimately breaking the seal and freezing the entire island. The people living here suffered a truly tragic fate."

With a cold expression, Shi Yan said indifferently, "I wonder how many warriors from the four major factions managed to escape this calamity. I truly hope they perished along with the rest under the Nether Ice Cold Flame."

"Heaven-realm experts possess terrifying speed, so those they carried with them should have managed to escape. The Heavenly Lake Holy Land possesses many formidable secret treasures; the Saintess Qu Yanqing and her party likely survived as well. However, unimportant figures probably died on Monroe Island. Those not carried away by Heaven-realm powerhouses, if they failed to hide in caves like we did, would find it nearly impossible to survive."

"Crack, crack, crack!"

From a dormant volcano several thousand meters away, the mountain split open as several graceful figures slowly emerged from a fractured cave. Leading the group was none other than Qu Yanqing, the Saintess of the Heavenly Lake Holy Land.

Behind Qu Yanqing, a group of beautiful matrons from the Heavenly Lake Holy Land wore horrified expressions, deeply shaken by the miraculous and terrifying transformation of Monroe Island.

Xia Xinyan frowned slightly, quietly pulling her veil back over her face, and whispered, "It seems we aren't the only clever ones. They must have also known how to evade the Nether Ice Beasts and possessed secret treasures capable of rapidly carving out a cave. I knew a woman like her wouldn't die so easily."

Standing gracefully in the distance, Qu Yanqing remained expressionless. Clad in snowy court robes, her cold eyes cast a gaze from a thousand meters away toward Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan, seemingly curious as to how they had managed to survive.

Qu Yanqing gazed in their direction for a moment, whispered a few instructions to the beautiful matrons beside her, and then Shi Yan saw two Earth-realm women slowly walking toward them.

The two women wore arrogant expressions, their pale faces frosted with cold, matching the icy climate of Monroe Island.

They appeared to be in their thirties, with slender legs, tall figures, phoenix-like eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, flowing hair, and slender waists, walking with graceful, lotus-like steps.

Holding their heads slightly high with cold expressions, upon arriving, one of the women spoke indifferently, "Our Saintess wishes to see you both. Follow us."

Having said that, the two women merely glanced coldly at Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan before turning around with an air of absolute hauteur, seemingly believing that Qu Yanqing granting them an audience was the highest honor imaginable.

Anger flashed in Xia Xinyan's bright eyes, and she let out a soft huff.

Shi Yan frowned, speaking in a lukewarm tone, "Such grand airs."

"Hmm?" The two women appeared to have heard the words spoken behind them. Their phoenix eyes flashed with malice as they turned around simultaneously to glare at Shi Yan and his companion. The woman who had spoken first wore a stern face and snapped coldly, "What are you whispering about?"

"Nothing," Xia Xinyan replied indifferently, tugging at the corner of Shi Yan's sleeve to signal him not to act rashly. Lowering her gaze slightly, she pulled Shi Yan along as they walked toward the group.

Before long, Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan followed the two Heavenly Lake Holy Land women to the side of Qu Yanqing.

Qu Yanqing's hair was gathered into a cloud-like bun, and her facial features were not particularly striking, save for a pair of eyes as clear as autumn water that radiated a sense of chilling aloofness. Standing there, she frowned as she looked at the two of them and said indifferently, "When did you come out? Have you noticed anyone else left alive on the island? Have you seen any strange anomalies?"

Suppressing his temper, Shi Yan shook his head. "We just came out as well, and we know nothing about the current state of Monroe Island."

Qu Yanqing gazed deeply at Shi Yan, deliberating for a moment before giving a calm instruction: "You two, go over to the exposed glacier area and take a look. Whatever you discover, as long as you return and report it to me, I will reward each of you with a Mysterious-grade weapon. Go."

The exposed glacier area was the place where the Nether Ice Cold Flame had been sealed. It was highly likely that the Nether Ice Cold Flame was hidden deep beneath the ground there.

To wander into that region at this moment meant absolute death if one were discovered by the Nether Ice Cold Flame, with zero chance of survival.

The people of the Heavenly Lake Holy Land did not dare to risk scouting the area themselves, yet they were forcing Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan to act as cannon fodder and walk to their deaths—an act of extreme malice.

"Sorry, we barely managed to survive, and we have no desire to go over there and throw our lives away," Shi Yan said with a darkened expression, shaking his head firmly. "We are about to leave Monroe Island, and I'm afraid I have no fortune to enjoy your Mysterious-grade weapon."

"Hmm?" Qu Yanqing furrowed her brows, a trace of displeasure flashing across her face.

" Brat, you will go whether you want to or not!" A plump Nirvana-realm matron with full, mountain-like breasts wore an icy expression and cold eyes as she snapped, "If you don't go right now, you die immediately!"

Shi Yan's expression shifted.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The sound of someone piercing through the air echoed from the distance. Before long, Chen Shi was seen flying in alone, while the crane-haired, youthful-faced old woman of the Dongfang family flew in swiftly from outside Monroe Island, carrying Dongfang He in one hand and Gu Jiange in the other.

Gu Jiange possessed the Dragon-Slaying Sword, which had a fire cricket beast sealed within it. Since fire crickets were fire-attribute demonic beasts that possessed restraining properties against cold-attribute entities in frozen environments, he had been brought along.

Among the four of them, Chen Shi and the old woman were in the Heaven realm, Dongfang He was in the Nirvana realm, and Gu Jiange was in the Hundred Tribulations Realm.

The four of them had spread the news of this place and awaited reinforcements, yet they grew worried about potential changes regarding the Nether Ice Cold Flame, suspecting that rare treasures might still lie within the glacier. Once the Nether Ice Beasts dissipated, their greed resurfaced, prompting them to return.

"Oh!" Dongfang He let out a soft exclamation and signaled the old woman, who descended with Dongfang He and Gu Jiange, landing beside Qu Yanqing.

Chen Shi glanced down, flew down as well, and came to a halt behind Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan.

"Zhao Rong, what's going on?" Landing, Chen Shi glanced at the plump Heavenly Lake matron who had just threatened Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan with a cold face, speaking indifferently.

"We wanted these two to go ahead and check out the situation, but they don't seem very cooperative," Zhao Rong said. Her expression lost its cold arrogance when facing Chen Shi, replaced by a charming smile. "See, I was just discussing it with them. Oh, I didn't expect you guys to arrive as well."

Hearing this, Chen Shi and his party simultaneously frowned, casting displeased looks toward Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan.