Swallowed Star: Lord of the Wolf

"Hmph, you dare to attack even after leaving the lake?!" Bai Jin sneered. Without him making any move, the temperature within a ten-zhang radius around him suddenly soared to a terrifying level!

The crimson-gold flame domain expanded once more, but this time, though smaller in scale, it was condensed to its extreme. The edge of the domain came into contact with the icy ripples, producing a violent hissing sound. Ice and fire clashed, sending up a cloud of white mist.

The flame domain remained firmly in place, and the icy ripples could not penetrate it even slightly.

At the same time, Gu You also made his move. His life essence transformed into a ring of cyan light that floated behind him. The light ring slowly rotated, emitting a warm and resilient life aura, silently dissolving the icy spiritual impact that was coming at him.

“These individual Frost Spirits are only at the first level of the realm, but their combined attack should not be underestimated. Moreover, they are almost immortal in this environment and can be reborn from the lake water quickly after being scattered.” Bai Jin quickly transmitted his voice. “We should rush into the center of the lake and explore as fast as possible. If there are Heart-Gathering Lotuses, we should pick them. If not, we should retreat immediately and not get entangled with them for too long!”

"Understood." Gu You nodded.

The two exchanged a glance and then erupted simultaneously.

Bai Jin transformed into a crimson-gold fire meteor, trailing a long tail of flame, and rushed straight toward the center of the lake at an astonishing speed! Wherever he passed, the Cold Soul Spirits that blocked his way were directly smashed into a sky full of icy mist, and the high temperature of the flames even melted the "living ice" on the lake surface, creating deep grooves, but they were quickly repaired by the extreme cold power.

With a flicker, Gu You transformed into countless blue light spots, like dandelion seeds or flowing stardust. With a seemingly slow but actually extremely fast, graceful trajectory, he bypassed the Han Po Ling blocking his way from the front and infiltrated the center of the lake from the side!
This is a "microscopic" form of life and spirituality, minimizing its own energy fluctuations and reducing the possibility of being targeted by concentrated attacks.

The Frost Spirit Clan was clearly enraged.

More Frost Spirits surged from the lake, quickly exceeding a thousand in number. They no longer attacked in scattered formations, but instead gathered and merged!
Buzz buzz—!
Hundreds of Frost Spirits merged into a colossal spirit body, a thousand feet tall, deep blue in color, resembling an ice crystal giant! The oppressive aura emanating from this "Frost Giant Spirit" had reached the peak of the second level!
It raised its enormous ice crystal hand and slammed it down hard on the fire meteor that the white ashes had transformed into!

Within his palm, countless intricate ice law runes flickered, forming a miniature absolute zero domain. Even before his palm arrived, the terrifying freezing intent had already caused the flame domain surrounding Bai Jin to fluctuate violently, almost extinguishing it.

“Interesting.” Bai Jin neither dodged nor evaded. The fiery meteor suddenly stopped in mid-air and reappeared. He rapidly formed hand seals, and the phantom of the fire deity appeared behind him.

"The Wrath of the Flame God·Burning Sky Palm!"

A gigantic hand made of incandescent flames appeared out of thin air and collided violently with the giant ice crystal hand.

Boom--!!!
The ultimate clash of ice and fire!

At the epicenter of the explosion, space shattered inch by inch, revealing a pitch-black void. Incandescent flames and deep blue cold light frantically eroded and eroded each other, neither giving way.

Just as the Frost Soul Giant was being held back by White Ash, the stream of cyan light spots transformed from Ancient Ghost silently seeped into the heart of the lake.

The temperature here is even lower, and the "living ice" of the lake has a deep blue color that is almost black, with a chill that could instantly freeze the soul of even a god-king. In the center of the lake, several crystal-clear lotus flowers, as if carved from blue crystal, with layered petals and a wisp of ice flame that constantly changes color burning quietly in the center, are faintly visible, rooted in the lake bottom.

These are indeed the Ice Soul Lotus. There are two in total, both fully mature!

However, the security measures have also become more stringent.

Around the center of the lake, thousands of Frost Spirits floated densely, their auras similar, and they seemed to have set up some kind of ice formation to protect the three Heart-Condensing Lotuses in the center.

As the stream of light that Gu You had transformed into approached the edge of the formation, it quickly reformed into his true form. Without any hesitation, he suddenly spread his arms wide, and an invisible and intangible spiritual wave, seemingly capable of penetrating the very essence of all things, erupted from him!

Om-!
Centered on Gu You, the space within a radius of 100,000 zhang seemed to have been paused.

The thousands of floating and swimming Frost Spirits froze in unison. The pale blue spiritual light flowing over their bodies became noticeably disordered and dimmed. The once seamless ice array suddenly stopped flowing with energy, and the array patterns flickered, like a faulty circuit.

Even the almost black "living ice" lake below was violently rippling, creating countless abnormal waves, as if its stable, extremely cold internal structure had been temporarily "loosened".

This moment of "delay" and "loosening" is enough for a battle at their level!
Without pausing, Gu You pushed his life force to its limit, his right hand forming a claw, and fiercely grabbed at the two Ice Soul Lotus flowers in the center of the lake below!
"Pick the stars."

A gigantic, jade-colored hand materialized out of thin air, ignoring the chaotic energy in the surrounding space and the Frost Spirits that were momentarily stunned, and swiftly reached the bottom of the lake.

Wherever the palm passes, a brief passage is formed.

Above, Bai Jin, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the Frost Soul Giant, also keenly noticed the sudden disorder of laws and energy fluctuations in the central area of ​​the lake below.

With his extensive combat experience, he instantly realized that this was an opportunity created by Gu You!

"Well done!" A fierce glint flashed in Bai Jin's eyes. Facing the giant ice crystal palm that roared down again, he no longer chose to confront it head-on. Instead, his figure suddenly became ethereal, turning into dozens of indistinguishable afterimages of flames, nimbly weaving through the gaps between the giant palm's fingers and the intervals between attacks.

At the same time, he flicked his hand back towards the center of the lake below, sending out a thin line of condensed crimson-gold flame.

"Flame Line - Heaven Opening!"

The flames, as thin as hair, possessed a terrifying penetrating power capable of burning through the void. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, they precisely sliced ​​across the edge of the passage laid out by the ancient ghostly palm.

Tsk-!
The "live ice" around the passage was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, and the passage was further widened and stabilized.

More importantly, the scorching aura of the laws attached to the thin flames caused secondary interference and burns to the surrounding Cold Soul Spirits that were trying to re-condense and attack.

"Good cooperation, hahaha!" Gu You's spiritual hand had already touched the roots of the two Ice Soul Lotus. With a thought, he gently clenched his hand, his power enveloping the lotus stem and the small piece of "Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow Base" that supported them, and was about to pluck them completely.

However, just when success seemed within reach—

Boom! ! !
The entire Bingxin Lake seemed to be in a complete rage!

The giant spirit of the Frost Soul, which had been temporarily freed by Bai Jin, let out a deafening roar. Instead of pursuing Bai Jin, it thrust its palms into the lake below!
Buzzing--! ! !
In the lake, tens of thousands of Cold Soul Spirits, including those originally scattered throughout the lake, surged madly toward the location of the Ancient Netherworld as if summoned by the strongest call.

They no longer maintained their individual forms, but instead, like a blue torrent, swept across the sky and layered upon layer, instantly engulfing Gu You and the spiritual hand he had condensed!
Within the torrent, the extreme cold energy and the power to freeze souls condensed to an unprecedented degree, as if to forever seal that space, along with the ancient abyss, within an ice prison of absolute zero.

Even more terrifying, from the depths of the lake came an even more ancient and chilling cry.

A massive, mountain-like shadow slowly rose from the deep black lake, emanating a terrifying aura that even Bai Jin felt his heart tremble!
That seems to be... the true ruler of Iceheart Lake, or rather, the "mother" that nurtured the Cold Soul Spirit Clan, is awakening.

"Not good!" Bai Jin's expression changed slightly. "Gu You, the situation has changed! There is an even more terrifying existence at the bottom of the lake. Forget about the Condensing Heart Lotus, retreat immediately!" But in the area submerged by the blue torrent, Gu You's aura seemed to weaken instantly, and he did not respond immediately.

A flicker of struggle crossed Bai Jin's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by resolute determination.

He was not an indecisive person, but if he retreated alone at this moment, Gu You would likely be in grave danger. Although their cooperation was only temporary, he was not a man of his word.

"Fine, let's give it our all!" Bai Jin gritted his teeth, and the flames around him suddenly erupted to their maximum. He no longer held back and directly revealed the complete Dharma Heaven and Earth.

The 50,000-foot-tall fire giant stood tall once more, its eight arms outstretched, and endless crimson flames surged like a volcanic eruption towards the blue torrent that had engulfed the ancient and secluded place.

"The Eight Arms of the Flame God·Burn the Sky and Boil the Sea!"

Eight different types of flames—exploding, penetrating, purifying, destroying, scorching, melting, burning, and warding off evil—transformed into eight giant fire dragons, roaring as they plunged into the blue torrent.

Chi chi chi——! ! !
The deafening roar of ice and fire clashing was ten times more intense than before!
Large numbers of Frost Spirits howled and perished in the flames, tearing open gaps in the blue torrent. But more Frost Spirits followed one after another, and the lake water continued to replenish the extreme cold energy. The fire dragon's advance was extremely difficult and consumed a great deal of energy.

"Gu You! If you're still alive, make a sound!" Bai Jin shouted sharply while maintaining his ferocious fire output.

at this time--

At the center of that blue torrent, a point of cyan light, like a seed struggling to sprout from beneath a thick layer of ice, stubbornly peeked out!

Immediately afterwards, the blue light surged!
"Spirituality...is immortal!!!"

The ancient, deep, and resolute voice pierced through layers of ice and the cries of the soul, and rang out clearly!
Suddenly, the azure light spread out, transforming into a slowly rotating azure lotus flower. As the lotus bloomed, each petal seemed to carry the life force of a small world, radiating boundless vitality and a sense of serene composure.

It is a defensive measure formed by the fusion of the two major life branches of the Ancient Netherworld.

Where the radiant light of the blue lotus shone, the speed of the surrounding blue torrent slowed down slightly.

At the center of the Azure Lotus, Gu You's figure reappeared. His face was slightly pale, and his breathing was somewhat disordered, clearly indicating that he had endured immense pressure during the moment he was engulfed by the myriad spirits. Although this Azure Lotus was not weak, it was ultimately just a defensive technique combining two branches, possessing only the power of the second level. The dream rules influenced by tens of thousands of Frost Soul Spirits would further weaken its power; therefore, Gu You had withstood the vast majority of the attacks thanks to his divine body and mental will!
Despite this, Gu You's eyes remained bright and sharp, and more importantly—in his right hand, he firmly grasped the two intact Ice Soul Lotuses. Even the small piece of the ten-thousand-year-old ice marrow base was perfectly sealed and protected by his spiritual power!

"Got it, let's go!" Gu You didn't linger in the fight. Taking advantage of the moment when the Azure Lotus protected him and the White Ember Flame cleared the way, he transformed into an extremely refined azure arrow and shot outwards along a gap torn open by the Flame Dragon.

Seeing this, Bai Jin was greatly encouraged. He waved all eight arms of his Flame God true form, violently blasting the remaining flame power in all directions, forming a brief fire storm to block the pursuit. At the same time, his true form quickly shrank, transforming into a fire meteor and merging with Gu You.

The two stopped looking at the terrifying shadow awakening at the bottom of the lake and the countless raging Frost Spirits, and increased their speed to the limit, fleeing desperately towards the vortex node they had come from.

Behind them came the roar of Ice Heart Lake boiling over and the endless, icy pursuers.

However, the two were ultimately faster and narrowly escaped entering the vortex node one after the other.

A flash of light, and it vanished.

……

Returning to the edge of the dark red world bubble, both of them were slightly disheveled and their breaths were undulating, but there was a look of relief and excitement in their eyes.

Gu You looked at the two intact Ice Soul Lotuses in his hand, each still exuding a refreshing fragrance and pure spiritual light, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Bai Jin also returned to his usual gray robe and mask, and looked at Gu You with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Gu You is indeed extraordinary. The timing and power of that interference and the final Azure Lotus protection were both exquisite. If it were someone else, they would probably have failed this time, and might even have been trapped inside."

“The key is that Fellow Daoist Bai Jin’s flames clear the way and cover the rear.” Gu You shook his head and handed one of the larger Condensing Heart Lotuses, along with a portion of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow, to Bai Jin. “As agreed, this one belongs to you.”

Bai Jin accepted the gift without hesitation, saying, "This collaboration was excellent! Although the trip to Ice Heart Lake was short, it was indeed thrilling, but the gains more than made up for it. Fellow Daoist Gu You, are you going to find a place to digest this Heart-Condensing Lotus and prepare to break through the chains of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree?"

Gu You nodded: "Exactly. Let's exchange contact information and then part ways here. Until we meet again."

"Alright, until we meet again!" Bai Jin cupped his hands and summoned a communication token. "I look forward to hearing good news from you, fellow Daoist, about breaking through the chains and obtaining the Enlightenment Ancient Tea. At that time, I might as well go and try again."

The two smiled at each other, then transformed into streaks of light, disappearing in different directions into the scorching sky of this dark red world.

……

After parting ways with Bai Jin, Gu You did not immediately head to the world where the ancient tea tree of enlightenment was located. The test of the "mind chain" was no small matter, and relying solely on his current state of mind and will, he had little chance of success.

"The Ice Soul Lotus is perfect for stabilizing my mind and cleansing my inner demons. The Heart of the Spring Breeze Tree Demon can help me get closer to the Great Dao of the origin of life. Combining the two may allow my spiritual will and understanding of the Great Dao to reach a higher level."

He needs a completely safe and undisturbed place to retreat in seclusion.

The depths of the Dream Realm are fraught with danger. Even in seemingly deserted world bubbles, one may encounter wandering Dream Realm creatures or other explorers.

Although palace-type grotto-heavens can be concealed, if exposed to the outside world, they may still be detected or attacked by powerful individuals.

Gu You began to travel purposefully through the void bubble sea.

He avoids world bubbles with violent energy fluctuations and obvious manifestations of laws, and specifically seeks out small world bubbles with peaceful energy and relatively simple or even barren environments.

A few days later, he identified a target.

This is a miniature world bubble, no more than tens of thousands of miles in diameter. The interior is monotonous—a gray sky, an endless plain composed of fine gray gravel, and a few low, twisted gray shrubs. The dream energy between heaven and earth is thin and inert, with almost no active fluctuations of laws; even dream creatures seem to disdain inhabiting this place.

"This is it, a dead dream world." Gu You passed through the membrane and entered this gray desert. His life force senses carefully scanned every inch of land and every grain of sand, confirming that there were no hidden dangers or treasures lurking within. (End of Chapter)