Chapter 237: Chapter 237 – A Gift from the Ice River Valley
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Falling God Ravine.
"I never expected the Calamity Poison Body could actually be controlled… sigh, I truly miscalculated."
A faint sigh echoed from within the twisted space. Gradually, an icy throne began to materialize within it. Seated atop the throne was a figure clad in white robes, who slowly stood up.
The chill in the air surged violently the moment the white-robed figure rose. Instantly, the temperature plummeted to its limit. Snowflakes began to fall from the skies, and within mere moments, the entire city of Ye was submerged beneath a sea of snow. From afar, the city looked as though it had been wrapped in silver, beautiful yet bitterly cold.
Xiao Yan, Little Doctor Fairy, and Xin Lan, who had been charging forward, froze in place. A sudden sense of imminent danger welled up in their hearts. In the next instant, their bodies instinctively retreated like lightning.
"That's… the Valley Master of the Ice River Valley, Bing He?"
"Heavens… that old monster actually came in person? Just for the Calamity Poison Body, he's mobilized so many resources. This is insane!"
"The Ice River Valley Master!"
When Xiao Yan heard this title, his pupils contracted violently, his heart thumped rapidly, and he muttered inwardly, Big Brother, why aren't you here yet?
Months earlier, he had received a letter from Liu Qing of the Liu Family in Tianhuang City, located in the Central Region. Without hesitation, he had rushed to their aid. Shortly after, he received news of Little Doctor Fairy and went to rescue her.
Due to a deal with Yao Chen, Qian Renhan was obligated to protect Xiao Yan until the end of the Alchemist Grand Competition.
Before Xiao Yan departed, Qian Renhan had been attempting to refine a seventh-grade pill. Before parting, he tossed Xiao Yan a Star Jade crafted by the Xingyun Pavilion. If danger ever arose, Xiao Yan only had to crush it, and Qian Renhan would arrive to help.
Later, when refining the Yin-Yang Fate Soul Pill for Little Doctor Fairy, in order to guarantee control over her Calamity Poison Body, Xiao Yan crushed the Star Jade. Yet even after aiding Venerable Tianhuo in reshaping his body and despite the arrival of the Ice Venerable, Qian Renhan still hadn't shown up.
At that moment, the black snowflake between the Ice Venerable's brows flickered. The surrounding white snowflakes suddenly turned jet black in an eerie transformation. With a casual point of his finger, he directed his attack toward Xiao Yan and the others.
Upon seeing the Ice Venerable launch an assault, Little Doctor Fairy and Venerable Tianhuo's expressions changed. They quickly stepped forward to shield Xiao Yan, unleashing their mighty Dou Qi in a roaring torrent that formed a towering wall of energy in front of them.
Ssshhh!
Countless black snowflakes transformed into two ferocious black dragons. With thunderous roars, they smashed through the Dou Qi wall, sending Little Doctor Fairy and Venerable Tianhuo flying backward.
In just one strike, he had overwhelmed the two. The Ice Venerable let out a faint smile and cast a cold glance at Xiao Yan. With a wave of his hand, the dissipated black dragons reformed and charged at Xiao Yan with renewed fury.
Seeing the incoming black dragons, Xiao Yan's eyes turned bloodshot. The strange flames within his body had already begun to fuse in anticipation. A faintly translucent fire lotus slowly took shape in his palm.
As the black dragons drew closer, the fire lotus in Xiao Yan's hand became increasingly solid. However, his face grew paler and paler.
Just as the fire lotus and the black dragons were about to collide—at the critical moment—Qian Renhan suddenly crossed a thousand miles in a single step and appeared on the battlefield. With a wave of his hand, the space around the black dragons and the fire lotus twisted violently, and the two terrifying attacks were casually banished to another dimension.
"What incredible mastery over space!"
Bing He's face, previously indifferent, twitched subtly due to this unexpected turn. His eyes locked tightly onto the newcomer: a white-haired, black-robed man who looked even more well-preserved than himself. His pupils shrank slightly in recognition.
Seeing Qian Renhan appear, Xiao Yan let out a bitter smile. "Big Brother, you finally came. If you'd been a moment later, I'd really be dead now."
Qian Renhan smiled faintly and replied, "Weren't you the one always showing up at the last second to save others? I realized how satisfying it feels, so I decided to try it for myself."
Hearing those words, the bitter smile on Xiao Yan's face froze. His expression turned serious as he warned, "Big Brother, you need to be careful. The Valley Master of the Ice River Valley is no weaker than the Valley Master of the Blazing Flame Valley. That man is a Five-Star Dou Zun expert!"
As for Qian Renhan's true strength, Xiao Yan had no idea. Yao Lao had only managed to vaguely sense it, concluding that Qian Renhan had likely reached the Saint level. However, he had deliberately withheld that information from Xiao Yan. If Xiao Yan knew he had a Saint protecting him, his mindset might become unstable, and the intended training effect would be lost.
"Who are you? This is an internal matter of the Ice River Valley,"
Bing He said coldly.
For someone to rise to become the Valley Master of the Ice River Valley and reach his current status, Bing He was certainly no fool. From Qian Renhan's earlier display of spatial mastery—so effortless and precise—he could tell that this man was not weak. But the Calamity Poison Body was simply too important to him. If he could obtain it and perfect his own acquired version of the body, then combined with the Ice River Valley's techniques and the power of the innate Calamity Poison Body, he could consume poisonous pills without worry and ascend easily, even lying down, to the Ninth-Rank Dou Zun. By then, the Ice River Valley would reach a peak that no one could even imagine.
"Ice River Valley, huh? I happen to be lacking in ice-type Dou Techniques,"
Qian Renhan said calmly. "You seem like a generous man."
With a simple motion of his hand, Qian Renhan exerted suction force—and just like how Venerable Feng once seized Han Feng's soul, Bing He, the Valley Master of the Ice River Valley, was lifted effortlessly into the air like a helpless chick. The black Dou Qi surging in Qian Renhan's palm overwhelmed the struggling Bing He, whose body was overflowing with poison-laced, ice-attributed Dou Qi. All of it, along with the Dou Qi that composed his acquired Calamity Poison Body, was completely devoured by Qian Renhan.
At the late stage of a Three-Star Dou Sheng, Qian Renhan's cultivation far surpassed Bing He's, who was merely at the peak of a Four-Star Dou Zun. The difference in strength was insurmountable. Bing He couldn't resist at all. All of his acquired Calamity Poison Dou Qi was drained and absorbed, transformed directly into Qian Renhan's own cultivation.
Moments later, Bing He's limbs hung limp, his eyes hollow as his breath ceased. Qian Renhan scooped his hand, extracting a transparent, ghostly figure identical in appearance to Bing He—none other than his soul. Without a soul, Bing He's body was now nothing more than a corpse.
With a wave of his hand, Qian Renhan tossed the corpse beside Xiao Yan and said, "This body is younger and stronger than the one Venerable Feng gave Yao Chen. I've already purged the toxins. Use it to help refine a new body for Yao Lao."
"Thank you, Big Brother," Xiao Yan replied with a respectful bow, then carefully stored Bing He's body.
"You… You're…"
At that moment, Soul Hall Elder Qing He and several Soul Hall experts stared at Qian Renhan in utter terror. They watched as he casually popped Bing He's soul into his mouth and began chewing. Horror froze their expressions.
They had long heard rumors of a mysterious individual—one even more terrifying than Soul Hall itself—who could freely devour souls to fuel his cultivation. He had destroyed the Soul Hall branches in both the Black-Corner Region and the Nether Soul Mountain Range, devouring all the soul globes within. They never expected they would come face-to-face with such a monster.
Faced with this man, who had obliterated the Nether Soul Mountain sub-hall and slain the Star-Plucking Ghost Elder, the Soul Hall cultivators had no intention of fighting. The only thought in their minds was to flee—flee before they suffered the same fate as the Ice Venerable.
(End of Chapter)