Chapter 209: The Throne's Illusory Shadow

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong pushed their speed to the limit, like two shadows skimming the ground, weaving between the jagged ice towers.

The sonic booms from behind and the several powerful auras rapidly approaching were like death‑summoning talismans, making them dare not linger even a little.

"Over here!" Huang Rong, thanks to the extraordinary perception granted by Dark Night Stealth, always finds the most concealed, most complex path in advance.

She led Li Qingxuan to maneuver between the massive ice pillars and deep crevasses, using the complex terrain to delay the pursuers as much as possible.

Those several pursuing figures were clearly extraordinary; they did not blindly charge into the Ice Tower Forest but hovered in midair, their icy spiritual power sweeping the area below like a broom over and over.

One of those figures, surrounded by especially thick shadow, emitted an aura that made Li Qingxuan's heart race—undoubtedly a powerhouse not weaker than him!

"Spread out to search! He can't run far!" a cold voice echoed in the air, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong held their breath and focused, hiding in a depression covered by huge icicles, their heartbeats nearly stopping.

The pursuers' search range is vast, and they are very patient; at this rate, being found is only a matter of time.

"Heart of the Ice Tower Forest… Ice Sealed Throne…" the final hint from the Shadow Hall echoed in Li Qingxuan's mind.

The Ice Tower Forest is huge, its central area a maze‑like existence; how can we reach that place under the pursuers' blockade?

At that moment, the mark in his spirit sea linked to the Shadow Hall sent another extremely faint guide wave, as if exhausted of its last strength, pointing to a specific direction—this wave was not a thought but more like a vague coordinate pointing to a deep part of the Ice Tower Forest.

No time to hesitate!

"Follow me!" Li Qingxuan shouted low, no longer relying entirely on Huang Rong's perception, but following that faint guide as he charged toward the core region of the Ice Tower Forest.

Huang Rong was doubtful, yet she followed without hesitation.

Their sudden acceleration and change of direction seemed to draw the attention of the airborne pursuers.

"Over there! Chase!" the strongest shadow figure snorted, instantly turning into a black light and swooping down.

The other several figures immediately followed.

The pressure surged!

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong pushed their movement techniques to the limit, fleeing desperately through the ice‑tower labyrinth.

Attacks from behind rained down intermittently, ice spikes and shadow arrows shattering the ice towers along the way, sending shards flying. Several times the attacks grazed their bodies.

Li Qingxuan even had to forcibly activate a small‑scale Weird Divine Realm again, using Spatial Shackles to slightly disturb the pursuers' attack trajectories and striking them with Fear Aura to impact their minds, barely avoiding the deadly encirclement.

But each activation turned his face a shade paler, consuming enormous spiritual power.

"This won't do!" Huang Rong said urgently, noticing Li Qingxuan's condition deteriorating.

"Almost there! I can feel it!" Li Qingxuan gritted his teeth and persisted; the guide wave from the Shadow Hall grew clearer.

They burst out of a dense cluster of ice towers, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

This is a circular glacial valley surrounded by countless huge ice towers; at its center lies not flat ground but a bottomless ice abyss!

And hovering directly above the ice abyss is a throne entirely carved from ten‑thousand‑year mysterious ice!

The throne is massive and ancient, its whole body crystal clear and transparent, exuding an eternal chill.

Countless intricate, unfamiliar runes are carved into the throne's armrests and backrest; they are not static but slowly flow, emitting a faint yet steady blue glow that subtly connects with the energy of the entire Ice Tower Forest and even the deeper ice glacier.

An indescribable aura of majesty, antiquity, and loneliness emanates from the throne.

It simply hovers there above the ice abyss, as if suppressing something beneath it, yet also waiting for its master.

"Ice Sealed Throne!" Li Qingxuan's heart jolted.

At the same moment, the several pursuing figures appeared instantly at the edge of the valley, forming a semicircle that surrounded them.

The leading shadow figure is a man whose face is shrouded in a hood's shadow, revealing only a pair of eyes burning with azure flame; he stares fixedly at Li Qingxuan, then glances warily at the hovering Ice Sealed Throne.

"As expected… you too are one chosen by 'it'…" the shadow man's voice hoarse and icy, carrying a complex meaning—both killing intent and an indescribable… jealousy?

Li Qingxuan's heart tightened, "The chosen one"?

Does it mean one guided here by the Shadow Hall, or… the throne itself?

"Profaner, your journey ends here." The shadow man stopped talking, his shadow energy boiling over, clearly preparing to unleash a Thunder Strike.

The other pursuers also gathered power at the same time, killing intent locked on.

Before them a strong enemy, behind an abyss and an ownerless throne—it seemed already a desperate situation.

Li Qingxuan took a deep breath, shielded Huang Rong behind him, his eyes resolute, ready to fight to the death.

However, at that very moment—while the Ice Sealed Throne had been silently hovering—it suddenly burst forth with dazzling blue light without any warning!

A terrifying pressure far greater than the shadow man's, vast and pure, seeming to spring from the very source of the ice glacier, surged out from the throne like a tsunami, instantly enveloping the entire valley!

Under this pressure, the shadow man and his underlings' faces changed drastically; their energy fluctuations were forcibly suppressed, their movements became agonizingly slow, and their eyes filled with shock!

"The throne… awakened?!" the shadow man cried out, no longer paying attention to Li Qingxuan, he fled backward in a desperate attempt to escape the area.

But it was already too late.

The blue runes on the Ice Sealed Throne came alive, racing wildly; an intensely condensed blue light pillar, like a Spear of Judgment, flashed across space and slammed into the shadow man!

"No—!"

The shadow man only managed to let out a short, desperate roar before his shadow shield shattered like paper; his whole body rapidly froze and crumbled in the blue light pillar, ultimately turning into a puff of ice crystal dust that dissipated in the air.

The remaining pursuers, terrified out of their wits, fled desperately, but the throne again shot several thinner blue light beams, precisely freezing each into ice sculptures that fell from the air and shattered upon the ice.

In an instant, the powerful pursuers were utterly annihilated.

Within the valley, only Li Qingxuan, Huang Rong, and the throne emitting endless majesty and chill remained.

The blue light gradually faded, the throne returned to its former tranquility, yet the intangible pressure still lingered.

Li Qingxuan and Huang Rong stared at each other, both stunned by this sudden turn of events.

This throne… is it protecting them?

At that moment, the blue halo on the throne fluctuated again, and a vague phantom made of ice and snow slowly emerged.

The phantom's face was indiscernible, only a rough outline of a seated figure could be seen; it "gazed" at Li Qingxuan, and an ancient, weary thought transmitted directly into his mind: "Bearer… of the 'Seed'… successor… you… have finally… come…"

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