pjbooks Chapter 131 3 Years
Chapter 131 3 Years
Antarctica, the deepest part of the ice sheet.
The polar night has lasted for three months, shrouding the entire continent in eternal darkness. Temperatures are minus sixty degrees Celsius, and blizzards sweep across the ice fields at speeds exceeding one hundred kilometers per hour, reducing visibility to less than three meters. Deep within this forbidden zone, where even penguins dare not tread, lies a black mountain peak, covered by ice for countless years.
The shape of the mountain is exactly the same as the one in the Kunlun Ruins.
When the special plane landed in Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in Chile, Jiang Chen changed into a cold-weather combat suit specially made by the General Administration. The dark blue fabric was covered with densely packed rune patterns, which were a thermal insulation array developed by the Dragon Kingdom Academy of Sciences using ancient seal script unearthed from the Kunlun ruins. It could maintain the body surface temperature above zero degrees Celsius in environments with temperatures tens of degrees below zero.
He wasn't wearing his school uniform. This was the first time in three months.
Ye Wuhen stood behind him, his silver-white longsword hanging at his waist, his thumb habitually rubbing the shallow scratch on the hilt. He was also wearing the same cold-weather combat uniform today, the dark blue fabric making his face, honed by time and battle, appear even more stern.
"Old Chen has already coordinated with the Antarctic research station." Ye Wuhen looked at the portable terminal on his wrist, which displayed a real-time satellite map of the Antarctic ice sheet. "The coordinates of the Ice Xuan Immortal Emperor's ruins are at the deepest part of the ice sheet, about 300 kilometers away from the research station. Due to the climate conditions there, transport planes cannot fly in."
"Then let's go in." Jiang Chen stepped down the gangway, the frozen ground beneath his feet gleaming a cold, silvery-white in the moonlight.
Two snowmobiles were parked on the runway at Punta Arenas airport, their engines already warmed up, the propellers whipping up gusts of wind that sent snow flying everywhere. A middle-aged man in a heavy winter coat poked his head out of the cargo door and waved to them.
"Dean Jiang! I'm Zhou Mu, the station chief of the Antarctic research station! Professor Chen sent me to pick you up!"
Jiang Chen nodded to him, bent down, and crawled into the cabin. Ye Wuhen followed closely behind, his silver-white longsword resting horizontally on his knee in the cramped cabin.
The transport plane took off and flew south into the darkness.
Three hours later, the transport plane landed on the makeshift ice runway at the Antarctic research station. Zhou Mu led Jiang Chen and Ye Wuhen into the main building of the research station. The moment they opened the door, a warm breeze carrying the smell of coffee and diesel fuel wafted towards them.
The main building lobby was packed with people. There were researchers in white hazmat suits, Awakened guards in thick military uniforms, and several expedition team members wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats with frostbite marks on their faces. The moment Jiang Chen walked in, all eyes were on him.
"Dean Jiang, the coordinates marked on the star map are about 500 meters deep beneath the ice sheet." Zhou Mu unfolded a geological profile of the ice sheet, pointing to the point marked with a red circle on the map. "Three days ago, we scanned that area with ice radar and discovered a huge cavity beneath the ice layer. The volume of the cavity is about three times that of the spherical space in the Kunlun Ruins, and there are extremely strong energy fluctuations inside."
He turned to the second page of the cross-section diagram, which displayed an echo image from an ice radar. In the center of the image, a huge black outline floated deep within the ice, with a very thin, almost invisible pale blue halo around its edges.
"The frequency of the energy fluctuations is completely different from that of the Kunlun Ruins and the East African Rift Valley Ruins. The Kunlun Ruins are golden, and the East African ones are dark red, but this one—"
Zhou Mu paused for a moment, then lowered his voice.
"It's ice blue. The frequency is almost identical to the ice-type spiritual energy taught by Luo Qinghe."
Ye Wuhen tapped lightly on the hilt of the silver-white longsword with his fingers.
"The Dao Fruit of the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor is related to the ice element."
"It might not be a Dao Fruit." Jiang Chen stared at the ice radar image for a moment, then spoke. His voice was calm, yet it made everyone present hold their breath for a second. "It could be the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor himself. He might still be alive."
The main building lobby of the research station was deathly silent.
The hum of the diesel heater sounded particularly jarring at that moment. Zhou Mu's hand, holding the coffee cup, froze in mid-air, the surface of the liquid rippling slightly—his fingers were trembling. Several researchers turned pale; some instinctively took a half-step back, while others gripped their folders tightly, their knuckles turning white.
Ye Wuhen's thumb stopped on the shallow scratch on the sword guard.
"Thirty thousand years ago," his voice was hoarse, "the remnant soul of the Primordial Immortal Emperor lingered for thirty thousand years in the Kunlun Ruins, until only a wisp of consciousness remained, on the verge of dissipation. The remnant soul of the Burning Heaven Immortal Emperor also lingered for thirty thousand years at the bottom of the East African Rift Valley, until even his Dao Fruit was almost extinguished. Do you think the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor might still be alive?"
"It's not possible." Jiang Chen placed the ice radar image on the table and tapped the light blue halo in the center of the image with his right index finger.
Jiang Chen did not answer. He summoned the Primordial Sword from his palm, and a golden sword light flashed and disappeared in the hall. Among the seven stars on the hilt, the dark red Burning Soul Star was vibrating at an unprecedented frequency.
"The Primordial Sword sensed the aura of the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor. The Burning Silence Fire and the Ice Profound Power are two extremely opposing attributes; ice and fire are incompatible. If the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor had already perished, the Burning Silence Fire would not have reacted at all. It is restless because it has sensed the aura of its nemesis."
Ye Wuhen remained silent for a moment. Then he stood up, unfastened his silver-white longsword from his waist, and held it in his right hand. The blade gleamed with a cold, sharp light, casting a play of light and shadow on his face.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Jiang Chen sheathed the Primordial Sword in his palm and turned to walk towards the door. He stopped at the door without turning back, his voice coming from the thick collar of his winter coat, carrying a hint of solemnity that even he himself didn't realize.
"Station Chief Zhou. If I don't return before dawn tomorrow, have Elder Chen activate the emergency plan. The Spirit Gathering Array at Qingyun Academy is automatically maintained by the Primordial Sword Intent and requires no human intervention. Wang Kai's Chaotic Spiritual Root has entered the second stage, and he will become the academy's second dean."
Zhou Mu's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But Jiang Chen had already pushed open the door and stepped into the eternal darkness of Antarctica.
On the surface of the ice sheet, the blizzard was even more intense than when it arrived.
Visibility was less than a meter; even the beams of powerful flashlights were swallowed up by the snow curtain several meters away. Jiang Chen walked ahead, the Primordial Sword hovering beside him, the golden light flowing along its blade creating a protective shield several meters in diameter amidst the blizzard. Fine runes swirled across the surface of the shield, insulating it from the wind, snow, and extreme cold. Ye Wuhen followed behind him, his silver-white longsword half an inch from its sheath, its blade flashing outwards, forming a second layer of defense around him.
Their footprints stretched across the snow, only to be quickly erased by the blizzard. In this wasteland where even time seemed frozen, every step was an unknown, every step a perilous abyss.
Three hours later, the huge hole in the ice radar image appeared beneath their feet.
The ice layer suddenly thins here, dropping from several hundred meters to less than a hundred meters. Through the translucent ice, one can vaguely see the bottomless darkness below, and a pale blue halo at the edge of that darkness.
Jiang Chen stopped, and the Primordial Sword emitted a clear, melodious sword cry at his side. He looked down at the ice beneath his feet, at the pale blue halo below, and felt the half-gold, half-red flame pattern in his palm spinning at an unprecedented speed.
"We're here," he said.
He raised his right foot and stomped it down lightly.
He plummeted. The wind whistled in his ears, and ice fragments evaporated into nothingness outside the Primordial Sword's protective shield. The fall lasted for about three breaths before Jiang Chen's boots touched a smooth, mirror-like ice surface.
He opened his eyes.
This is a massive spherical space large enough to contain the entire Qingyun Academy. The dome and walls of the space are covered with layers of ice that have never melted for millennia. Countless fine, icy-blue runes flow across the surface of the ice, each rune breathing and pulsating as if it were alive. The light emitted by those runes illuminates the entire space as if it were daytime.
At the very center of the spherical space, suspended in the air, was an altar entirely composed of ice-blue crystals. Every brick of the altar glowed, the rhythm of the light perfectly synchronized with the breathing of the runes on the dome. At the very center of the altar, a skeleton dressed in an ice-blue robe sat cross-legged.
Jiang Chen's pupils contracted slightly. He saw that the chest of the "skeleton" was still rising and falling slightly.
The Ice Profound Immortal Emperor is still alive.
Thirty thousand years ago, the Primordial Immortal Emperor used his Immortal Emperor Dao Fruit to set up the Zhou Tian Star Array, sealing the fragments of the Demon Ancestor's primordial spirit deep within the Kunlun Mountains. Thirty thousand years have passed; his physical body has decayed, his Dao Fruit has transformed into the Primordial Sword, and his remnant soul has dissipated before Jiang Chen.
Thirty thousand years ago, the Burning Heaven Immortal Emperor used his Burning Silence Fire to suppress another fragment of his primordial spirit at the bottom of the East African Rift Valley. Thirty thousand years later, his physical body turned into skeletons, his Dao Fruit merged into the Burning Silence Sword, and his remnant soul turned into specks of light and scattered in front of Jiang Chen.
But the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor is still alive. His physical body was completely frozen by the power of Ice Profound during the 30,000 years of guarding, and his life force was sealed in the deepest part of the ice layer, flowing away at the slowest speed, and has not yet been exhausted.
Jiang Chen strode towards the altar. His steps were light, as if he were treading on a thousand years of memories. He reached the edge of the altar and looked up at the figure floating in the icy blue light above. As the distance closed, he finally saw the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor's face clearly.
It was an extremely young face. He looked to be under thirty, with a cool and aloof expression, delicate features, and skin so fair it was almost translucent. His lips were slightly pursed, with a faint curve at the corners, as if he were having a sweet dream in his sleep. His long, silvery-white hair cascaded over the shoulders of his ice-blue robe, the ends fluttering gently in the air, each movement leaving a fleeting, icy-blue trail in the air.
On the ring finger of his left hand was an ice-blue ring, engraved with a six-petaled ice flower. Each petal was slowly rotating, radiating extremely pure icy energy.
To his right lay a sword. Its blade was entirely ice-blue, transparent as crystal, with fine, ice-blue patterns flowing along its edge. Engraved on the hilt was a six-petaled ice flower, identical to the one on his ring, which slowly bloomed, faded, and bloomed again in the light of the blade.
Jiang Chen stopped at the edge of the altar, not moving forward. The half-gold, half-red flame pattern on the palm of his right hand was spinning at an unprecedented frequency, and the Burning Soul Fire was restless within him, as if sensing the aura of his nemesis.
"The Dao Fruit of the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor was not used to suppress the fragment of the Demon Ancestor's primordial spirit." Jiang Chen's voice echoed in the spherical space, calm yet resolute. "It was used to suppress himself. His Ice Profound Power and the Demon Ancestor's Chaos Power are mutually exclusive, and when the exclusive power is exhausted, it becomes a seal. He used his own body, which he had lived for 30,000 years, to freeze this fragment of his primordial spirit within his own body."
Ye Wuhen stood behind him, his hand gripping the silver-white longsword tightening suddenly.
"Therefore, this fragment of primordial spirit is not beneath the altar, but inside his body."
"That's right." Jiang Chen raised his right hand, his palm facing the figure that had been sleeping for 30,000 years in the center of the altar. "30,000 years ago, a hundred Immortal Emperors joined forces to seal the Demon Ancestor. The Primordial Ancestor was in charge of setting up the formation, the Burning Heaven Ancestor was in charge of burning through the demon armor, and the other Immortal Emperors each had their own duties. But the Ice Profound Ancestor had the most important task—he was responsible for using his Ice Profound Power to seal the most core piece of the Demon Ancestor's primordial spirit fragment within his own body."
His voice deepened slightly.
"This letter will last for 30,000 years."
At the center of the altar, the Ice Profound Immortal Emperor's eyelashes trembled slightly.