Soul Emperor Awakening

After briefly circulating his Elemental Power to recover a bit, Lin Xuan didn’t immediately head into the palace. Instead, he turned to face the membrane in front of him. Reaching out, he found his hand could easily pass through and touch the lake water on the other side.

When he pulled it back, his palm was dripping wet, proof that he had touched the water outside. The only problem was, he couldn’t leave. The Cyan-Scaled Python was lying in wait, and the moment he emerged, it would pounce. It would be certain death!

He had only two options. The first was to consume the Spirit-Breaking Pill, break through to the Spirit Refining Stage, and gain enough power to fight the Cyan-Scaled Python! This was, of course, assuming the battle took place on the surface of the lake, not in it. The difficulty of fighting underwater was too high; even with the Cyan Cloud Step, he couldn’t match the python’s agility in its natural element.

This was the innate advantage of a Demon Beast, far beyond what a human could hope to match. Victory was only possible if there was an overwhelming gap in Cultivation.

The second option was to investigate the palace’s interior and see if there was another way out. He didn’t actually need to enter, of course. He could just break through to the Spirit Refining Stage right here. But having come all this way, it felt like a waste not to at least take a look.

’I wonder what’s inside...’

Lin Xuan stepped inside. The moment his foot landed on a stone slab, a biting chill shot up from the sole of his foot, making him shiver. With his Cultivation at the Peak of Body Refining Stage, he was long since impervious to ordinary cold. He never expected such a plain-looking stone slab to possess a temperature cold enough to affect even him!

Clearly, this palace was no ordinary place. Whatever it held within was likely something extraordinary.

The palace had no great doors; its inner structures were visible from the outside. It all looked somewhat dilapidated, yet not a single plant grew anywhere. There was no sign of life, only an air of desolation.

The deeper he went, the colder it became, giving him the feeling that he might freeze solid. There were no valuables inside the palace; it was completely empty. If one had come here looking for treasure, they would have been sorely mistaken.

"This door..."

Lin Xuan reached the end of the palace, where he found a massive Stone Gate. The cold was radiating from within, far, far colder than it was outside. He had a feeling that if he stayed inside for any length of time, he would be frozen into a block of ice.

’Could there be a Demon Beast inside?’

Lin Xuan’s brow furrowed. Qing Liuyun had already shielded his senses; unless Lin Xuan actively tried to wake him, Qing Liuyun would remain dormant. It was the only way for him to preserve his consciousness. It might not even last until they could return to the Cloud Ascension Tower; by then, it might be too late anyway.

Such a disembodied soul was never meant to exist in this world and was destined to fade with time. What’s more, since he couldn’t casually possess another body, he was practically powerless.

Without his experienced senior to guide him, he was on his own.

He placed his hands on the gate and pushed with all his might. At first, it didn’t budge an inch. Only when he pushed his strength to its absolute limit did the heavy Stone Gate begin to creak open. A frigid current of air instantly poured out, making him shiver. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and kept pushing, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to slip through. He then turned sideways and squeezed inside.

He had barely stepped inside when a wave of cold air enveloped him, forcing him to rub his arms for warmth. When he finally looked up, he was left utterly speechless by the sight before him—

Before him stood an Ice Mountain, and encased within this colossal block of ice, towering more than ten meters high, was a young woman! She appeared to be floating in midair. She had azure-blue hair, beneath which her skin was delicate and fair. Her eyes were closed, her beautiful face peaceful, like a maiden lost in a deep slumber.

’How can such a massive Ice Mountain be in here? What is going on?’ Lin Xuan was staggered. To think that such a young woman was here inside this palace, seemingly slumbering for ages.

Other than the Ice Mountain, the room was completely empty. Forget precious treasures; there wasn’t even another door. His hopes of finding an alternate exit were clearly dashed. The entire palace had only two points of entry and exit: the main gate and the door to this very room...

This was more or less what he had expected. In any case, he still had another option. As long as he could break through to the Spirit Refining Stage, he would stand a fighting chance!

Still, the situation piqued his curiosity. He circled the area once, wondering aloud, "Is she sealed in here?" As he reached out to touch the Ice Mountain, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from within, piercing him to the very marrow of his bones. Startled, he yanked his hand back and scrambled away.

His hand was already covered in a thick layer of frost. ’So much for being curious!’ In that brief moment of contact, his palm had been frozen stiff. He had almost turned into a permanent ice sculpture right then and there.

"Who are you?" an ethereal voice came from overhead.

Lin Xuan looked up, his gaze meeting a pair of light-blue eyes. An indescribable Magic Power flowed from them, probing deep into his mind, as if trying to see straight through him.

Lin Xuan shuddered, snapping out of the strange sensation. He was shocked to his core. ’This woman... she’s an absolute powerhouse!’

A mere glance from her was enough to create immense pressure, like a queen gazing down upon her subject. It made him feel an uncontrollable urge to bow down in worship.

He had assumed the young woman was asleep, but to his surprise, she was awake, aware of everything happening outside, and even able to speak.

"I, uh, I just stumbled in here by accident. Please don’t mind me," Lin Xuan said with an awkward smile.

"Stumbled in by accident?" The young woman paused, then laughed. "A likely story. Do you think someone can just ’stumble’ through the Restriction outside? You’d need a Core Formation Stage Cultivation to even dream of getting in! And anyone who doesn’t understand Arrays wouldn’t even be able to see this Ice Sealed Palace in the first place. Your Cultivation is merely at the Peak of Body Refining Stage, yet you ’stumbled in by accident’? Who do you think you’re fooling!"

Hearing her words, Lin Xuan couldn’t help but gasp. The frigid air rushed into his lungs, making the expression all too literal.

’This Restriction requires Core Formation Stage Cultivation to get through? Then just how terrifyingly powerful must this young woman be, to be trapped by something of this level?’

"Speak! Did *she* send you?!" the young woman demanded, glaring at him with eyes full of unquenchable fury.

"Who’s ’she’?" Lin Xuan asked, startled. He quickly realized she had mistaken him for an enemy. Spreading his hands helplessly, he said, "Look, miss... you just said no one below the Core Formation Stage could get in here. I’m only at the Body Refining Stage, so how would that even be possible? I don’t know who this person you’re talking about is, but do you really think she’d send someone like *me* after you?"

The young woman faltered for a moment, then her gaze turned cold. Her stare was like an ice arrow shooting straight into his eyes, making him shudder inwardly.

"You dare to call me ’miss’?" she said, her voice like ice. "You’ve got quite a nerve! If I could move, you’d have died a thousand times over by now!"

Lin Xuan’s expression soured. ’Isn’t she missing the point here? The important thing is that I wasn’t sent by her enemy!’

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