C248 Dragon Cave Frost Wyrm

Whoosh!

A massive orb of blood, created from the lifeblood of numerous cultivators' corpses, followed Wu Xiting's movements. A torrent of scarlet blood burst forth from Wu Xiting's middle elixir field, gushing from his chest.

As the blood left his body, Liu Zaihe's once robust and flesh-filled form rapidly shriveled and withered, as if his life essence had been drained in an instant, aging him a hundred years. The once vigorous Liu Zaihe collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The scarlet blood that had erupted from his chest surged towards the moving orb of blood.

Simultaneously, Wu Xiting's Lunar Spirit, which had been hidden within the body for days, transformed into a streak of bloody light and shot out.

The bloody light and the scarlet blood merged into the orb of blood in quick succession.

With the entrance of the blood and the bloody light, the massive orb seemed to come alive, transforming from an inanimate object to a living entity.

Chen Qingyan, having witnessed the entire event in Gloomhollow, had her doubts instantly dispelled.

She recognized that the streak of bloody light was Wu Xiting's Lunar Spirit, while the blood was the essence of Liu Zaihe's vitality, infused by some unknown method by Wu Xiting.

Both the blood and the bloody light were of Wu Xiting.

These elements had taken over Liu Zaihe's body, using it as a conduit to perform the mystique spells of the Sunlit Order and the Colddeath Cult, giving the impression that Wu Xiting himself had been resurrected.

Yet, the Wu Xiting that had been recreated through Liu Zaihe was not truly Wu Xiting.

Liu Zaihe was too frail, his body insufficiently tempered, limiting the amount of power and Soul Power it could sustain. Consequently, Wu Xiting, in the middle period of his Spirit Walk, had been significantly constrained.

Until now, Wu Xiting had not been able to exert his full strength, his true capabilities and power hampered by the limitations of Liu Zaihe's body.

However, the enormous orb of blood appeared to be a far superior vessel that Wu Xiting had found, one that could better accommodate his Lunar Spirit and the essence of his vitality, enabling him to wield his combat prowess fully.

Thus, after his vitality and Lunar Spirit had entered the orb, Wu Xiting proceeded to burrow into the cave.

The colossal blood sphere transformed in the void like a nascent spirit. Driven by Wu Xiting's lifeblood, it miraculously sprouted limbs and a spine, followed by bones and internal organs.

As Wu Xiting approached the cave's entrance, a duplicate of himself, bare and newborn, materialized.

This freshly formed Wu Xiting, with the massive blood sphere as his base, sculpted his new form from nothingness using the Lunar Spirit and his own vitality as chisels.

A long crimson robe soared from Liu Zaihe's fallen body, enveloping Wu Xiting.

The reborn Wu Xiting radiated a pungent scent of blood, his bearing no longer that of a virtuous member of the Sunlit Order, but rather that of an upstart from the Colddeath.

He furrowed his brow and glanced back at the Primal Flame Mirror.

The sentient Primal Flame Mirror seemed to detect a strange, malevolent presence emanating from him, and it shifted away as if repulsed.

Wu Xiting let out a contemptuous snort.

Within the mirror, myriad blood clouds ignited furiously, filling the singular space and restraining the mirror's spirit, which was on the cusp of awakening intelligence.

"I'll have words with you later," he declared, dismissing the Primal Flame Mirror. Fulfilling Yu Yuan's expectations, he plunged headfirst into the cave.

Back in Gloomhollow, only Chen Qingyan and the rapidly recuperating girl, shrouded in the celestial miasma, remained.

Chen Qingyan's veiled face underwent a series of changes, her eyes betraying an odd glint. She suddenly realized that Wu Xiting, having reconstructed his body from the immense blood sphere, seemed mightier than before. Moreover, that unique physique appeared to instill Wu Xiting with tremendous confidence.

Unfazed by the Nightstorm, Wu Xiting would likely be able to confront Yu Yuan within the cave.

And yet...

Contemplating another possibility, Chen Qingyan's face turned ashen with mounting dread.

Wu Xiting's recent display revealed that the spells and arcane he practiced were undoubtedly the core teachings of Colddeath, indicating that Wu Xiting was not a traditional disciple of the Sunlit Order.

Instead, he must have originated from the very heart of Colddeath.

He must have been covertly dispatched to the Sunlit Order by Colddeath, becoming a part of Mensend Hill. There, he would practice the Sunlit Order's spells, concealing his origins and identity linked to Colddeath.

If he truly were a member of Colddeath, why would he collaborate with Mei Qiurong to exert pressure on Ann Jieshan?

Perhaps his presence in the Serpent Spine Mountains and his encounter with Mei Qiurong were orchestrated by Colddeath.

Wu Xiting's actual intent might have been to rescue Ann Jieshan, to return with this ancestor from Colddeath, from Aetherius back to the sacred grounds of their sect in the Land of Quiescence.

With this in mind, it's likely that Wu Xiting and Ann Jieshan had already formed a covert understanding.

Ann Jieshan, concealed in the subterranean cavern, had been in secret communication with Wu Xiting. Indeed, all actions taken in Gloomhollow were the result of their joint deliberations.

In this light, what advantage could Mei Qiurong, who fancied herself a hunter, possibly gain in the depths of the earth?

"Sunlit Order, Ebon Star, Colddeath..."

Chen Qingyan's heart soured with bitterness at the thought. She suddenly realized that every elder from these top-tier sects was an old fiend, full of cunning plans and deceit.

She, who had thought she could see through everything, found that with each twist in events, the truth drifted further from her grasp.

...

Deep within the cave.

Wu Xiting halted abruptly, his eyes catching the dazzling light within the spacious cavern.

A flood dragon lay coiled, its flesh stripped away, leaving only its verdant bones.

The dragon's head was proudly elevated, its body spiraling, filling the cavern.

The green dragon bones were riddled with countless finger-sized holes.

When the wind blew, a chilling wail emanated from the holes, the source of the fearsome Nightstorm.

Yu Yuan stood beneath the dragon's head, clutching a crimson short spear, his lips curled into a particularly irksome smile as he gazed over.

After a moment's reflection, Wu Xiting realized that the cave had been carved out by the flood dragon itself.

Observing the jade-like bones and the perforations upon them, sensing the currents of the Nightstorm, he drew a deep breath and said, "I never imagined that the legendary frost wyrm would be entombed here. I always sensed something odd about Gloomhollow but never grasped the full story. Now, seeing the skeletal remains of the flood dragon, everything becomes clear."

Yu Yuan's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Huh? You've heard the tales of the frost wyrm as well?"

"Of course," Wu Xiting replied with a light huff. "This frost wyrm has been rumored to dwell within the Frozen Hellscape, undergoing a gradual and transformative evolution. The Dragon Attendants from Dragon Lake, along with other dragons, once sought it out in secret, hoping to coax it into the world. But they were either slain or expelled by the creature."

"Three hundred years ago, the frost wyrm was an anomaly within Wintermaw, then it vanished without a trace."

"Given the enigmatic nature of the Frozen Hellscape, many believed the frost wyrm might have entered a state of hibernation to begin another cycle of metamorphosis. There are whispers that upon its return, it could emerge as one of the mightiest among the Nagas."

"It's truly unexpected that the frost wyrm would die, especially in such an unexplained manner within a cave in Gloomhollow."

Wu Xiting marveled with a tsk-tsk of his tongue.

"The Nightstorm issues forth from the skeletal holes of the frost wyrm," Yu Yuan said with a beaming smile. "Those below the Solar Spirit level have scant resistance to it. However..."

He gazed intently at Wu Xiting, sensing the extraordinary surge of vitality, and his brow creased slightly. "You are the exception."

"Exactly who are you?" Wu Xiting asked gravely. "You can't be the hand-chosen disciple of Lord Mo from Mount Solarian! Even if you practice the Nine Glories Wheel, it shouldn't be connected to Mount Solarian! From whom did you learn the Evil Body Refining technique? And how is it that you're so well-informed about the Colddeath?"

Yu Yuan's assertion that Wu Xiting was an exception indicated his recognition of Wu Xiting's unique physique, impervious to the Nightstorm.

Unfazed by the Nightstorm, Wu Xiting stood deep within the dragon's lair, before the skeletal remains of the deceased frost wyrm. How could he, a mere youth at the Golden Sanctum level, presume to speak so boldly?

Why wasn't Yu Yuan afraid or reverent?

What was the source of his confidence?

A flurry of thoughts raced through Wu Xiting's mind, deepening his perplexity.

Yet the sense of threat that had been his constant companion did not diminish, even as he stepped into the dragon's lair and confronted the scene before him.

Contrarily, the sense of threat only intensified upon seeing the skeletal remains of the frost wyrm and Yu Yuan standing before him.

"Do you know how this frost wyrm met its end?" Yu Yuan asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"How did it die?" Wu Xiting inquired, following along.

"The flesh and organs were completely corroded, dissolving into blood, leaving behind only this intact skeleton of the flood dragon," Yu Yuan said with a chuckle. "What do you think happened?"

"Poisoned to death!" Wu Xiting realized, his face suddenly turning pale with shock. "The frost wyrm lived in the depths of Wintermaw, immune to nearly all the world's deadliest toxins. How could it have come to such a fate?"

Without a single mark of a blade or axe on the frost wyrm's bones, and no remaining flesh or sinew, it was clear that poison had claimed its life.

Only a poison of extreme terror and corrosive power could have such an effect.

Wu Xiting's eyes darted around the dragon cave, taking in every detail with growing unease. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had walked into a den of danger.

"Huff!"

Suddenly, a gust of dragon's breath spewed forth from the maw of the deceased frost wyrm.

The chilling breath instantly enveloped Wu Xiting.

Countless ice crystals surged from the cold stream into Wu Xiting's body, which had been reconstructed from a massive orb of blood.

Wu Xiting had theorized that his new body would be impervious to the Nightstorm.

Yet, under the onslaught of the dragon's breath, this new incarnation of Wu Xiting didn't stand a chance. In a flash, he was frozen solid, transformed into a crystalline ice sculpture.

Specks of ice glimmered, imbued with the deepest chill from the heart of the Frozen Hellscape, penetrating his very bones and Lunar Spirit.

The Spirit Walk realm's remnant soul and the Lunar Spirit were both encased in ice.

​