Chapter 116: Joy Turns to Sorrow

Over four hundred Frost Giants began to move almost simultaneously. According to their prearranged plan, they scattered in all directions, breaking away from entanglements with the powerful warriors. As if coordinated by some unspoken agreement, no fewer than four hundred Frost Giants dispersed at once, their bodies beginning to gather and concentrate yin-yang energy. The immense force they unleashed caused a shift in the celestial atmosphere; the sky darkened like ink, lightning flashed endlessly, and thunder roared as a heavy, oppressive aura descended.

Both Emperor Jun and his companions, as well as Patriarch Hanbing, were stunned by this sudden turn of events—entirely unexpected, yet it did not prevent them from feeling a mix of joy and anger.

Originally, with the Frost Giants obstructing their path, Emperor Jun’s group held the advantage but clearing the trouble was far from easy. To reach the Heart of the Ice Soul and annihilate the endlessly regenerating Frost Giants would take at least a month or two. Now that the troublemakers were fleeing on their own, it was nothing short of a great blessing.

Though puzzled by the Frost Giants’ sudden desertion during battle, their confusion did not dampen Emperor Jun’s party’s excitement. Several quasi-Saint warriors swiftly dealt with the remaining few dozen stubborn Frost Giants resisting fiercely, while the others combined forces to bombard the surface, intent on forging a path to the Heart of the Ice Soul.

"Damn it! How infuriating!" Patriarch Hanbing nearly fainted with rage as his divine spirit felt suffocated in his chest and abdomen. If he still had a physical body, he might have coughed up blood.

He wished to punish those traitors, but his current situation was dire. Summoning over four hundred Frost Giants in one breath had drained him greatly; after the previous skirmish, his reserves were nearly depleted. Now, he was truly powerless—desperate but unable to act. Moreover, Emperor Jun and his group were approaching rapidly.

Suddenly deprived of his laborers’ support, Patriarch Hanbing’s fury burned fiercely, yet his greater concern was his own predicament. At his peak, his divine spirit cultivation ranked at the very pinnacle of the quasi-Saint realm. But he had recently expended much energy setting up the teleportation formation to capture Qingxu, and summoning the Frost Giants was also costly. As a result, his remaining magical power was stretched thin.

He was confident he could handle three or four quasi-Saints in their early or middle stages combined, but now he faced over twenty quasi-Saints, including several in their late stages, supported by numerous Great Luo Golden Immortals and Taiyi True Immortals. Against such overwhelming forces, Patriarch Hanbing was hopelessly outmatched.

"The previous great battle severely damaged the Northern Abyss, and as a result, the Heart of the Ice Soul is beginning to collapse. Once those quasi-Saints arrive, they surely won’t miss this perfect opportunity. What should I do?" Patriarch Hanbing was not only a primordial divine being but also a peak quasi-Saint divine spirit. Most importantly, this divine spirit was unprecedentedly weak. To Emperor Jun’s quasi-Saints, he was nothing less than a prime delicacy. Whether to refine treasures, concoct immortal pills, or absorb into their own divine spirits, Patriarch Hanbing’s essence was a precious treasure.

Even a mere mortal who could assimilate his divine spirit instantly gained the power of a peak quasi-Saint. Without the cultivation foundation, they could still roam freely across the Primordial Era, dominating a region—far more potent than any immortal pill or treasure. Even the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill of the Supreme Sage paled in comparison.

Facing his impending fate, Patriarch Hanbing trembled with fear and despair, his expression anxious beyond measure. His mind raced for a strategy, leaving no time to worry about the betrayers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Streams of icy blue yin-yang energy beams thundered down, piercing through the surface’s profound ice layers. Like a hot knife through butter, they shattered the outer ice, the Arctic magnetic field, and the inner ice layers, connecting directly to the Heart of the Ice Soul’s mining site where the original body resided. This was all carefully planned in advance—everyone saved themselves, scattering to flee separately. Whether they succeeded was left to luck and skill.

Thanks to Qingxu and the others sacrificing the divine spirits of the Frost Giants, the combined force was terrifying. Even the energy beams unleashed by Frost Giants controlled by Taiyi True Immortals rivaled those of mid-stage quasi-Saints. As for the Great Luo Golden Immortals, each was at least equivalent to a late-stage quasi-Saint. Such formidable power, concentrated into a single strike, was enough to overcome even the sturdiest profound ice and the most chaotic magnetic fields.

Almost simultaneously as the underground and surface pathways were breached, the laborers’ original bodies began fleeing in a mad dash, life-or-death stakes driving them to desperate escape. There was no turning back now; running offered hope, while retreat or hesitation would mean no mercy from either Patriarch Hanbing or Emperor Jun’s group.

Although the path cleared by Emperor Jun’s forces was wide, the sheer number of people—quasi-Saints, Great Luo Golden Immortals, and countless Taiyi True Immortals—meant the passage was still not enough. Moreover, there were even more profound immortals. Thus, groups of Taiyi True Immortals and profound immortals readily exploited the escape route designed by Qingxu and others, adding numerous obstacles to the laborers’ flight.

“A chaotic swarm of frenzied Taiyi True Immortals and profound immortals pouring down—escaping alive won’t be easy for those laborers!” A sly smile mixed with schadenfreude curved Qingxu’s lips. This scenario was already part of Qingxu’s calculation, though he had not informed the laborers. In truth, now that matters had reached this stage, the “cooperation” was over, and the laborers had outlived their usefulness.

“Let the dogs fight among themselves. The messier the situation, the more it benefits me!” Unexpectedly, Qingxu did not flee upward but instead confidently headed toward the tool room within the Ice Soul mining site. He had long coveted those glaring profound ice shards and was eager to capture them all at once. His heart surged with excitement.

Such audacity bordered on recklessness—or rather, greed. Qingxu was gambling that amidst the laborers’ full focus on escape, they would pay little mind to the profound ice shards. Meanwhile, the strong warriors vying for the God-Slaying Spear would inadvertently help him sow chaos. Moreover, the twenty-plus quasi-Saints restraining Patriarch Hanbing provided him a perfect opportunity.

Time was tight. Without counting how many profound ice shards he collected, Qingxu stuffed them all into the first-level Xumi space of his tower, then transformed into a wisp of ice mist and drifted upward, choosing a relatively quiet and less chaotic small passage.

Inside the inner layer of profound ice beneath the Arctic magnetic field lay the sealing formation set by Patriarch Hanbing. Even early- or mid-stage quasi-Saints were forbidden to use divine arts—whether Immortal Dao, Demon Dao, Monster Dao, or Ghost Dao. Only the Divine Path was unrestricted, which was yet another boon for Qingxu.

(To clarify: the restriction on divine arts does not severely impact power under normal circumstances, since magical power remains usable. Otherwise, even the profound ice shards wouldn’t function. The limitation only means no flashy, varied techniques—combat becomes straightforward and direct, like a martial arts master relying solely on internal strength and weaponry. But here, the master is extremely skilled and wields powerful treasures.)

Along the way, Qingxu carefully avoided several Taiyi True Immortals and profound immortals stationed there. When the Arctic magnetic field came into view, he was overjoyed. Once through, he could barely unleash the power of the Ren Gui Xia Guang Sha, making escape much simpler.

One thousand zhang!
One thousand zhang!
Eight hundred zhang!
...

Drawing ever closer to the magnetic field, Qingxu’s excitement grew. Though he had suffered, he was fortunate to emerge unscathed and had gained a massive haul of profound ice shards—treasures capable of unleashing ultimate energy!

These profound ice shards were immensely valuable. The ultimate energy—yin-yang energy—was unique to quasi-Saints. Once injected into an enemy’s body, even Great Luo Golden Immortals couldn’t remove it, only suppress it. Without help from quasi-Saints, death was certain.

“This is a deadly weapon for assassination and ambush! With these profound ice shards, my strength will soar.”

Just as Qingxu’s heart blossomed with joy, a flash of blood appeared before him. A blood-robed Daoist descended head-on. Upon closer inspection, the man appeared around thirty years old, with blood-red shoulder-length hair and sharp, fierce features. His blood-colored robe looked soaked in blood, vividly dyed crimson, embroidered with raging lotus flowers, birds, fish, insects, and demonic spirits. In his hands, he wielded two three-foot blades—one gray-white, the other green—both ancient and simple in design.

“Yuan Tu Fierce Sword? Abyss Fierce Sword? Is this the Patriarch of the Nether River?” Qingxu’s keen eyes caught the blood-colored ancient scripts floating on the hilts of the two swords—the gray-white one was Yuan Tu, the green one Abyss. The killing aura from the swords was terrifying, and Qingxu immediately guessed the visitor’s identity, his face paling in shock.

“This is what they call ‘extreme joy turns to sorrow’!” He sighed bitterly in his heart and turned back without hesitation. With the Nether River Patriarch blocking the way, Qingxu lacked the courage to press onward and had no choice but to abandon the nearby Arctic magnetic field.

Almost simultaneously as Qingxu focused on the Nether River, the Patriarch also spotted him. Qingxu’s cultivation was still below the Patriarch’s detection threshold, but inside the magnetic field, even the Patriarch struggled to use divine arts. Qingxu, though only a low-level Great Luo Golden Immortal (though nearly there), could wield divine arts, which earned the Patriarch’s respect.

The Patriarch sensed Qingxu’s original intent to escape but was intrigued when Qingxu turned back upon seeing him.

“Interesting. Trying to run after being seen by the ancestor?” Driven by curiosity, the Nether River Patriarch resolved to capture Qingxu for closer study. Qingxu’s ability to use divine arts within a sealing formation set by a peak quasi-Saint was no small feat—enough to justify action.

Unaware he had become the Patriarch’s target, Qingxu sped back to the Ice Soul mining site. In the short time since, countless chaotic creatures had already taken up residence within the mine.

“Young one, leaving without even greeting your ancestor is quite rude!” A deep, sinister voice echoed in Qingxu’s ears, and a flash of blood light revealed the Nether River Patriarch standing before him.

Seeing the Patriarch so close, Qingxu was filled with terror, his face draining of color.

[Highly recommended classic Primordial Era novel: "White Dragon Chant of the Primordial Era." Direct link below!]