The figure, as a former denizen of the Immortal Realm, naturally understood all too well how fearsome this Dazzling Light Heavenly Crystal Pagoda was. Realizing the gravity of the situation, desperation surged within him. Biting down on the tip of his tongue, he opened his mouth and spat out several clusters of vital blood.
The moment the blood left his lips, it erupted with a deafening boom into raging crimson flames, which then flickered and transformed into several fire serpents of blazing crimson, each over a dozen zhang long. Fangs bared and claws extended, they lunged toward the crystalline ice pagoda.
The figure understood perfectly — if these fire serpents, catalyzed through an Immortal Realm secret technique, could stall the ice pagoda even briefly, the Blood-Dripping Fuling would be able to undo the ice seal that had been suppressing it and unleash its full power.
At that point, once the Blood-Dripping Fuling's power was fully unleashed, not even the Dazzling Light Heavenly Crystal Pagoda could contain it.
But this move by the figure seemed to have been entirely anticipated by the white-robed elder.
With a cold sneer, the blue bead atop the ice pagoda suddenly spun of its own accord, emitting a piercing shriek through the air. Several beams of blue light, each as thick as a thumb, shot out from the bead and, in a flash, struck the fire serpents like bolts of lightning.
A series of sharp sizzling sounds erupted.
Those blue beams contained some manner of terrible power — the several enormous fire serpents, which had looked so ferocious moments before, were instantly annihilated upon contact, dissolving into wisps of greenish smoke.
The figure's expression changed drastically. He tried to execute yet another divine ability, but there was simply no time left.
The ice pagoda, rising over a hundred zhang high, had already descended upon him in a sweeping cascade of cold radiance, crushing the giant blood lotus and the figure together beneath it.
The crystalline surface of the pagoda flickered with an eerie light as countless golden runes surged from each tier in a torrent, raining down upon the target below like a storm.
The spectacle was nothing short of spectacular!
At the same time, the upper half of the white-robed elder's figure materialized with striking clarity atop the pagoda's summit. Without a moment's hesitation, he barked out a sharp command: "What are you all standing there for? Activate the Demon-Trapping Grand Formation at once — help me completely seal away this great enemy of our race!"
The white-robed elder was addressing the eight Holy Ancestors who had previously been scattering in panic.
Upon seeing that the ice pagoda had successfully suppressed the self-destruction of the giant blood lotus, the eight Holy Ancestors were torn between relief and elation. The moment they heard the elder's words, a jolt ran through them, and their streaks of light immediately reversed course.
As the figures shifted, the eight Holy Ancestors reappeared around the perimeter of the formation and resumed channeling their formation plates.
Immediately, runes surged forth within the formation. The ethereal rune chains that had been on the verge of dissipating solidified once more, flickering back and forth around the ice pagoda to weave a massive net that sealed everything beneath it.
At the same time, the colossal ice pagoda hummed as it expanded and contracted in an unsteady rhythm, growing ever larger.
Layer upon layer of crystalline mystic ice formed madly upon the surface of the towering pagoda.
The formation below blazed with brilliant flashes in harmony with the pagoda, as though the two resonated with each other.
In the span of only a few breaths, the ice pagoda had miraculously transformed into a colossal ice peak several thousand zhang tall, encasing the entire formation along with all the rune chains of varying colors in a single block of ice.
As for the figure and the giant blood lotus, they were naturally trapped at the very core of the frozen mass.
Seeing this, the eight Holy Ancestors who had been sustaining the formation finally let out a deep breath of relief, their faces breaking into expressions of wild joy.
But at that very moment, the white-robed elder's expression remained exceptionally grim. He called down to the eight Holy Ancestors below with an unmistakable tone of authority: "Listen well. Although I have used my true body to seal this great enemy away, the Blood-Dripping Fuling is a wondrous treasure that exists only in the Immortal Realm. It will likely take more than ten thousand years to gradually neutralize its power. Until then, you must not touch this ice peak in the slightest, and my Primordial Spirit cannot stray too far from my true body. Otherwise, the consequences will be catastrophic! As a precaution, you are to immediately set up several additional restrictive formations nearby, sealing my true body and the Demon-Trapping Formation under yet another layer of containment. This way, there will be no room for error. Once I have completely neutralized the Blood-Dripping Fuling, I will relocate the ice peak to a place with Nine Nether Earthfire and slowly refine the true soul into a pill. During this period in which I cannot afford any distractions, all affairs of the clan shall be jointly decided by the Elder Council. You must ensure that our race survives this devil tribulation! Once we endure this calamity, the prosperity of our clan will be just around the corner."
"As you command, Spirit King!" The eight Holy Ancestors dropped to their knees the instant they heard this, responding with the utmost reverence.
They then retracted their formation plates, their bodies flashing with spiritual light before each transformed into a streak of rainbow light and shot outward to relay the orders.
In the blink of an eye, the ice peak was left with nothing but the solitary figure of the white-robed elder.
"Do you truly believe that this incomplete Dazzling Light Heavenly Crystal Pagoda can seal me away? Once I exhaust the cold energy within this pagoda, I'd like to see what you'll use to contain me then!"
From beneath the ice peak, a deep, rumbling voice suddenly echoed upward.
"Hmph. You truly are someone who descended from the Upper Realm — to have identified the imperfection of my true body at a single glance. But even so, do you believe you are still a True Immortal possessed of limitless power? With your current cultivation base, exhausting my true body's cold energy is nothing but a pipe dream. However, I must admit that your true soul's power has been preserved remarkably well — to still be capable of speaking under such suppression. But this lucidity of yours is all you have left; it won't last beyond this brief moment." The white-robed elder lowered his gaze to glance at the base of the ice peak and let out a cold snort.
"What do you mean by that? I don't believe the Lower Realm possesses any means that could seal even my consciousness," the figure's voice dropped slightly, his tone carrying open disbelief.
"The Lower Realm indeed lacks the means to fully seal away the power of a true soul. But what if the means I am employing do not come from the Lower Realm?"
The white-robed elder's cold smile deepened. He then reached out with one hand into the void, and a talisman that radiated faint threads of cold light materialized with an eerie flicker between his fingers.
This talisman was equally crystalline and translucent, as though carved from solid ice, but its surface was inscribed with densely packed golden runes.
Had Han Li been present, he would have recognized them at a glance — they were none other than the Golden Seal Script unique to the Immortal Realm.