Arctic Underground
*Chik chik!* The foraging Icy Jade Scorpion saw Leylin, and immediately lifted its two giant claws. The stinger of the large beast swayed as it positioned itself, ready to attack.
“Good timing!” Leylin laughed at the sight, and a fiery shadow appeared on the back of the Icy Jade Scorpion.
*Chik chik!* The scorpion tried to struggle, but a palm with a terrifying energy and intent covered its head.
The intent in the palm immediately smashed apart all resistance, and the large Icy Jade Scorpion crouched down. From this person’s body, it seemed to feel a familiar and amiable energy that belonged to an emperor.
“Let’s go!” Leylin commanded, and the Icy Jade Scorpion immediately stood up, carrying Leylin on its back and running ahead…
In the frosty world of ice, a green figure carried a black dot on its back as it moved forward at an extreme speed.
It had to be said that in this underground version of the Icy World, Icy Jade Scorpions were very useful tools for transportation. Not only did they have a high tolerance for icy radiation, their limbs were like hooks, every step digging holes in the steel-like icy ground. It did not slip at all.
The large Icy Jade Scorpion was intimidating and could avoid a lot of little inconveniences. At the very least, regular beings of the world of ice would not dare provoke it.
“Here! This is the limits of the map Celine gave me before.”
*Thud!* A large green figure jumped up and fell on the ground, its pincers sweeping across and opening a hole in the wall, revealing deep pathways inside that had obviously been altered with time.
Watching them Leylin’s eyes filled with pity. At that time, he had brazenly captured a bunch of Icy Jade Scorpions to treat the emotional instability stemming from his bloodline.
‘The icy radiation has been strengthened, and the Icy Jade Scorpions have mutated. I wonder if there’s anything now that can heal the emotional instability at Morning Star?’ Leylin thought as he touched his skin. Then, he had only used a peak rank 1 Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor to suppress his emotional instability until he became a Morning Star.
Now, even the regular Icy Jade Scorpions had strength equivalent to a rank 2 Magus, so the Icy Breath of a rank 3 elite or emperor would definitely be effective at dealing with the emotional instability of Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks at the Morning Star realm.
This was especially true for Leylin. The A.I. Chip managed to deduce that the Icy Breath of an Icy Jade Scorpion was very suitable for his Warlock physique, and therefore he would have no more issues in that aspect.
‘After I extract the bloodline of the female bronze giant, the world of ice underground will probably collapse due to losing the icy radiation. I should capture an Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor.
‘Of course, things don’t need to be so complicated! The bloodline of the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor comes from the Scorpion Man, and as long as I obtain his remains, the effects will definitely be better than from regular emperors. Perhaps it could solve the issue permanently…’
“Let’s go!”
The laboratory was completely empty. When Leylin left previously, he had brought everything inside with him. Now, he was only here to determine the coordinates.
After a brief moment recalling it, Leylin patted the head if the Icy Jade Scorpion under him.
*Chik chik…* The large Icy Jade Scorpion whined as it brought Leylin into the depths of the world of ice.
This place was out of the bounds of the map he possessed and had many dead ends filled with unknown mysteries. Of course, there was also danger!
*Whoosh…* The chilly gale howled as it accompanied the Icy Jade Scorpion deeper in, the surrounding temperatures lowering continuously. The ferocious icy radiation became even more violent.
A green luster began to form on the shell of the Icy Jade Scorpion; even it was starting to find it difficult to withstand the temperature.
The tremendous darkness completely shrouded the region, and only the green light from the Icy Jade Scorpion’s body could light up the path ahead.
Pairs of large eyes were filled with bloodthirst and greed as they appeared around Leylin like flames hidden in the night.
*Chik chik…* The large Icy Jade Scorpion did not really want to move forward anymore. It was merely a rank 2 creature, and while it was considered powerful in Twilight Zone, it was nothing in the world of ice that was deep within.
Any of the creatures shrouded in the darkness could capture and kill it easily. Normally, the Icy Jade Scorpion would scurry away in retreat, but right now it was quite confident. It was not alone now, and its owner possessed a terrifying power!
“Rank 2 and 3 creatures?” Leylin, who was sitting on the Icy Jade Scorpion’s back, suddenly laughed.
Though these creatures didn’t seem like much to him, they would definitely be a disaster for the Twilight Zone if they ever left the Icy Cave.
Rank 2 Magi were already considered powerful in Twilight Zone, while rank 3s were rulers. If they were to see the world of ice, this miniature version of the Icy World, their eyes would probably fall out of their sockets.
“Even Celine probably doesn’t know how dangerous the interior of the Icy Cave is.” Leylin shook his head, the void behind him distorting and exerting a terrifying pressure. The phantom of a terrifying snake that was tens of thousands of metres long came into view, producing loud snarls.
Winds surged, bringing with them the might of an ancient being at the top of the food chain as they spread in all directions.
The spying eyes were immediately filled with fear, and the sounds of footsteps and bumping sounded. Large numbers of eyes quickly retreated, bloody battles occurring in the darkness just for the escape route. Explosions and shrieks of horror sounded everywhere.
No matter how intense these battles were, none of the icy creatures dared take another glimpse in Leylin’s direction.
“You useless thing!” Leylin was annoyed at the incompetence of the Icy Jade Scorpion under him. It had lain on the ground the moment the Giant Kemoyin Serpent figure appeared, and would not get up no matter how he shouted at it.
*Hss…* The large Kemoyin Serpent phantom lowered its head and looked at the little green thing that could pass between the gaps in its teeth. It opened its mouth threateningly, revealing a crimson tongue and fierce teeth that were like little hills.
*Chik chik! Chik chik!* The Icy Jade Scorpion that had been lying on the ground suddenly got up, and began to run like lightning.
Strong winds constantly blew at Leylin’s ears, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “This scorpion is really…”
Explosions boomed as a large amount of icy rocks flew into the sky. A layer of ice broke from the top, and a large scorpion that was carrying a black figure jumped through the hole and landed firmly on the ground.
“Hah… Here!” Leylin led the Icy Jade Scorpion to higher ground, looking over the surroundings.
This was a world of ice! Ice and snow covered the place, leading the ground to sparkle. Even the hills and rivers were made of ice! The vegetation that was spread around the area was covered with frost as well. Flowers bloomed and trees bore fruit, all with a terrifying chill.
Things that looked like ribbons hung from large trees, with eyeballs that looked like longans on them, emitting a blue lustre.
‘This scene is so similar to the Icy World in the Scorpion Man’s memories!’ Leylin touched his chin, and a powerful soul force scanned over a large area.
The beings within hundreds of kilometers seemed to have met their natural predator. Whether it was the mountainous icy monsters or the tiny snowflake bugs, everything fell to the ground, trembling.
After a long moment, Leylin opened his eyes once more.
“Just from what I’m able to see, this place is already more than a tenth of the size of Twilight Zone. Could this be the second layer to the subterranean world?” There was naturally more than just one layer underneath the Magus World. It was rumoured that there were seven layers that the ancient Magi had taken over, and the further one went the more dangerous it was. There were even existences like Matriarch of the Abyss.
Of course, the resources there were more plentiful as well. They could be called places where risk met reward.
Twilight Zone was merely in the first layer, and it was quite a normal place. It was only a region which was isolated from the external world.
‘No, that’s not right! The distance is far too small, it can’t be the second layer. It should be in the empty space between the first two layers instead…’ Leylin stroked his chin.
‘When the Scorpion Man fell through the spatial rifts that popped up during that ancient battle, he was transported here. The continuous radiation from the blood of the female bronze giant had transformed this area until it grew similar to the Icy World. It even included the formation of a large number of creatures of the ice.’
Leylin’s expression turned solemn. Existences like these that had stepped across the two-thirds of realms and entered rank 7 were the most troublesome, as they had grasped laws.
Just a droplet of fresh blood from the original body had such a powerful effect. How powerful would the original body have been?
“With such a large area, I wouldn’t find it strange even if I found icy beings of the Morning Star level…” Leylin sighed. The Morning Star realm was a threshold, and if there were Morning Star icy beings here, the difficulty in exploring this place would increase severalfold.
To be direct, if Leylin had come here when he was rank 3, he would definitely have died. Even after he’d advanced to Morning Star, he might not have been able to completely unravel the mysteries of the Icy World.
Of course, Leylin was no longer the same as before. He had improved through his excursions to both the Lava World and Sky City. His true strength now far surpassed the Morning Star realm, and he could even rival Radiant Moons!
Hence, after entering the Icy World, he could use his soul force and probe the area without fear of inadvertently alerting any enemy. Power was enough to pulverise all conspiracies.
‘From the reaction to my soul force just now, the life undulations from here are the strongest!’ Leylin patted the Icy Jade Scorpion that was now seated, and it immediately budged. Jade green limbs began to move with rhythm, each step carrying them a good distance as it crawled in the direction Leylin pointed.