The Ice Soul Star lived up to its reputation. When
However, while these materials fetched astronomical prices across the Star Domain, they held little practical value for either Yang Kai or Su Yan. They were merely struck by momentary wonder, with no intention of gathering any.
The extreme cold of this place was something no ordinary person could endure for long. Yang Kai, with his formidable physique and extraordinary Cultivation, naturally paid no mind to such frigid conditions. As for Su Yan, rather than finding the environment uncomfortable, she felt a joyful sense of homecoming. In this world of ice and snow, she could clearly feel the power circulating through her body quicken. The freezing environment didn't suppress her strength in the slightest — if anything, it amplified her aura.
She practiced ice-attribute Cultivation techniques and had inherited the Ice Phoenix's primal essence. An environment like this was like a dragon plunging into the ocean, or a tiger returning to its mountain domain.
Had she Cultivated in such conditions from the beginning, her progress would likely have been beyond anyone's reach.
Yang Kai summoned his Stone Avatar and sent it ahead to clear the path, while he led Su Yan deeper, burrowing into the earth's crust in search of the Ice Soul Star's primal force.
The Stone Clan excelled at earth and stone techniques — it was a gift bestowed by nature. Carving tunnels through the earth was effortless for them.
A quarter of an hour later, the space ahead suddenly opened up into an underground cavern.
The surroundings grew even more frigid, drawing exclamations of wonder from Yang Kai. Though he wasn't particularly affected, he estimated that anyone who didn't practice ice-attribute Cultivation — even a Void King Realm Third Stage cultivator — wouldn't last long here.
The Ice Soul Star was virtually a death zone within the Star Domain. Only those who had surpassed the limits of the Void King Realm could come here and catch a glimpse of its secrets.
Yet the most powerful beings in the Star Domain were only at the Void King Realm Third Stage.
Inside the cavern, ice-blue flames flowed along the walls, radiating an intensely cold aura. A single glance seemed enough to freeze one's soul. This was clearly a type of exotic flame — an extreme cold fire that compelled one to marvel at the mysterious craftsmanship of heaven and earth.
At the center of the cavern, a conspicuous cluster of light writhed and shifted, constantly transforming, as though imbued with a will of its own.
"Primal essence?" Su Yan turned to Yang Kai and asked.
Yang Kai studied it for a moment, then grinned. "Fake."
"Fake?" Su Yan was taken aback.
"Fake," Yang Kai confirmed with certainty. Having encountered a considerable number of Stellar Primal Essences and serving as the Star Domain's master, he could see through the deception of that apparent "primal essence" at a glance. It was nothing more than a condensation of the ice-cold flame — not the Ice Soul Star's true primal essence, but a trap.
Yang Kai snapped his fingers, and brilliant light flooded the cavern.
One by one, lifelike ice sculptures came into view. Each figure was frozen in a seated, cross-legged posture, scattered throughout every corner of the cavern.
The dim lighting and the complete absence of any aura had drawn all of Su Yan's attention to the "primal essence," so she hadn't noticed any of them until now.
"These are..." Su Yan frowned.
"Probably fools who tried to refine the Ice Soul Star's primal essence."
Su Yan looked more carefully and discovered far more than a dozen ice sculptures — there were easily over a hundred. If Yang Kai was right, then over a hundred cultivators had perished here, all of them attempting to refine the Ice Soul Star's primal essence. And anyone qualified to enter this place and attempt such a thing could hardly have been weak — they were undoubtedly Void King Realm Third Stage cultivators, every last one.
They had died with extraordinary serenity, not a trace of struggle or pain on their faces, as though they had simply fallen asleep and never woken again.
In other words, they hadn't even realized death was upon them!
Never had a Star's primal essence proven so treacherous. The Ice Soul Star was surely unique across the entire Star Domain — it had claimed the lives of so many Void King Realm Third Stage cultivators without them ever knowing.
Taking in the clothing they wore, Su Yan immediately noticed that the garments belonged to distinctly different eras. These people had clearly not died in the same period. These Void King Realm Third Stage cultivators may have spanned thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of years.
A chill ran through her heart. Even with her current Dao Source Realm Second Stage Cultivation, had she come here alone to attempt refining that so-called "primal essence," the outcome would likely not have been pleasant either.
"The primal essence isn't here," Yang Kai said, shaking his head.
"Then where is it?" Su Yan asked.
Yang Kai's gaze shifted, locking onto a direction. He smiled. "Over there."
In that instant, he distinctly felt a consciousness probing them. It was well hidden, but how could it escape his perception? Following the trail, he immediately pinned down a location.
Under normal circumstances, a Star's primal essence — even as a manifestation of heaven and earth's will — was nothing more than an inert object, incapable of independent thought or movement. But the Ice Soul Star's primal essence was clearly different.
It appeared to have developed a will of its own.