Chapter 208

The cold wind of the Ice Tower Forest seemed to stagnate within that eerie chant.

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong held their breath, restraining their aura to the utmost, like two rocks on the Icefield, observing the ritual at the edge of the fissure from afar.

The chanting of the Black Blade members was ancient and twisted, filled with blasphemous meaning.

At the center of the circle they formed was not an altar, but the disemboweled corpse of an Icefield mammoth!

A dark green fungal carpet was spreading upward from the edge of the fissure, covering the corpse's surface like countless tiny tendrils, writhing as it sucked blood and flesh.

The corpse withered at a visible speed, while the dark green light deep in the fissure swelled slightly.

They were feeding life energy to the thing beneath the fissure!

"These madmen……" Huang Rong felt a flicker of disgust in her eyes; given her nature, even seeing such a cruel and bizarre scene made her feel uneasy.

Li Qingxuan's gaze was sharper; he noticed that, during the ritual, the Black Blade members also bore faint dark-green patterns on their bodies, sharing the same source as the fungal carpet, their eyes fanatical and dazed, as if their minds were being controlled by some power.

"Shadow Blessing?" Li Qingxuan recalled Blake's words; it seemed this so-called "blessing" was more like deep mental control and energy pollution, turning these marauders into puppets that only knew to obey orders and fear no death.

At that moment, the chanting suddenly rose in pitch, becoming sharp and piercing!

The dark green light deep in the fissure suddenly flared!

"Boom—!"

The entire Icefield seemed to tremble, and ice fragments at the edge of the fissure rattled down.

A stench of decay, far richer and more nauseating than before, mixed with extreme cold, surged out of the fissure like a volcanic eruption!

Immediately afterward, under the even more fervent gaze of the Black Blade members, a colossal claw, entirely composed of dark-green ice crystals and twisted flesh, thrust out from the depths of the fissure and slammed heavily onto its edge!

That claw was so huge that even the portion exposed above the ice was comparable to a house!

The claw was covered with pulsating fungal carpet and twisted blood vessels, exuding a despair-inducing pressure!

As the claw emerged, the dark green light within the fissure nearly condensed into substance; an immeasurably vast shadow was slowly rising beneath the Ice Glacier!

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong's faces changed drastically! They could clearly sense that the entity rising up had an energy level far surpassing the Corrupted Nest Mother, even making him feel a strong threat!

This was absolutely not an existence they could confront head-on!

We must stop it from fully emerging!

Li Qingxuan made a decision in an instant.

He took a deep breath, no longer concealing himself, and unleashed the full power of the second stage of the Weird Divine Realm!

A grayish mist domain with a radius of two hundred meters instantly enveloped the area around the fissure's edge!

Fear Aura and Spatial Shackles took effect simultaneously!

The sudden domain suppression caused the chanting of the fervent Black Blade members to cease abruptly; the dark-green patterns on their bodies flickered violently, and their eyes flashed with a moment of confusion and terror.

Even the giant claw that had just probed out showed a noticeable lag; its grip on the ice edge seemed to loosen somewhat.

"Attack! Interrupt the ritual!" Li Qingxuan shouted low, his body shooting like lightning as he lunged at the nearest Black Blade member, thrusting his Changqiang straight at their throat!

Huang Rong reacted even faster; the moment Li Qingxuan deployed his domain, she shot out like a ghost, her Dwarf War Axe bearing icy killing intent as she slashed toward the neck of another chanter.

"Enemy attack!"

The remaining Black Blade members finally reacted, letting out hoarse roars as they all drew their weapons.

Although suppressed by the domain, their movements sluggish and spirits wounded, the controlled, fearless Black Blade members frenziedly lunged at the two.

However, under the suppression of the Weird Divine Realm, their strength was greatly diminished.

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong were like tigers among sheep; in the flash of spear and axe light, several Black Blade members were instantly slain.

But their goal was not to annihilate these puppets entirely, but to interrupt the ritual!

Li Qingxuan instantly locked onto the figure that appeared to be the leader of the Black Blade, who stood closest to the fissure, holding a crystal that continuously emitted green light, seemingly the key guiding the entity beneath the fissure to rise!

"Stop him!" the leader obviously realized Li Qingxuan's target, shouting sharply while raising the green crystal high, attempting to continue guiding.

Several Black Blade members threw themselves in Li Qingxuan's path without hesitation.

"Get out of the way!" Li Qingxuan's eyes flashed with a harsh glint; he swept his Changqiang sideways, and the tremendous force directly blew the blocking few away, the sound of breaking bones clearly audible.

He did not pause his steps, charging straight at the leader.

The leader's face showed despair mixed with madness; he violently threw the green crystal toward the fissure while hastily retreating backward, hoping to leap into the fissure!

"You think you can get away?"

Huang Rong's figure appeared like a teleport on his retreat path, her War Axe bearing a bleak arc of light, cutting off all his escape routes.

Li Qingxuan didn't even glance at the thrown crystal; he released his Changqiang, which flew like an arrow from a bow, carrying a piercing whistle, arriving first despite being launched later, and precisely struck the falling green crystal!

"Bang!"

The green crystal exploded in midair with a boom, turning into a thick cloud of green energy.

Almost simultaneously with the crystal's explosion, the vast shadow rising from the depths of the fissure emitted a soundless yet soul-shaking angry roar!

The giant claw lodged on the ice edge stiffened violently, then began to struggle fiercely, as if trying to break free forcibly, yet seeming bound by some invisible chain, its upward momentum forcibly checked!

The entire dark-green fungal carpet along the fissure's edge began to writhe and contract violently, as if deprived of its energy source.

The ritual was forcibly interrupted!

"Success!" Huang Rong felt joy in her heart, and without hesitation she brought her War Axe down, beheading the leader who had tried to flee.

Seeing their leader dead and the ritual broken, the remaining Black Blade members, as if losing their backbone, grew even more chaotic; under the domain's suppression and the pursuit of Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong, they were quickly wiped out.

The battle ended, and the edge of the fissure temporarily returned to silence; only the giant claw remained lodged there, trembling slightly, exuding an air of resentment and ferocity, yet it seemed unable to advance any further.

Li Qingxuan breathed lightly; maintaining the domain and the recent outburst had taken a considerable toll on him.

He walked to the edge of the fissure and solemnly regarded the giant claw and the surging dark-green light below.

Although we had temporarily prevented its full descent, the very existence of this thing was a tremendous threat; moreover, it appeared to be sealed, not a complete form.

"This thing…… is far more terrifying than the Corrupted Nest Mother." Huang Rong gazed at the claw with lingering fear.

Li Qingxuan nodded, about to speak, when his Control Panel suddenly received another message from the Shadow Hall, this time carrying an unprecedented urgency… and a hint of barely perceptible fear?

"……Hurry…… leave that place!"

「「The False Emperor's tentacles have been startled…… They will lock onto your position……」」

「「……【Core】……not in the rift……but in……Heart of Ice Tower Forest……find……Ice Sealed Throne……」」

The message cut off here abruptly.

Li Qingxuan's expression changed, he grabbed Huang Rong: "Hurry up! Something more troublesome is coming!"

The two didn't hesitate, turned and raced toward the depths of the Ice Tower Forest.

Almost less than a minute after they left, in the distant sky, came several sharp sounds of tearing air; several figures radiating powerful aura, their bodies entwined with shadow and frost, were flying toward the rift at astonishing speed!

(PS: Please support the free love-powered updates; the author will be more motivated if you like this book, you can leave ratings, thank you everyone.)