Douluo Continent: The Ice Dragon King Martial Soul, Ma Xiaotao is Addicted

Without hesitation, Ye Chen stretched out his palm, his fingertips covered with a layer of pure ice-attribute soul power, and carefully probed the base of the snow lotus's root, as if handling a rare treasure.

With a gentle twist of the wrist, a skillful force was precisely transmitted.

"Click~"

With a crisp sound, the 100,000-year-old snow lotus, which emitted a hazy blue light and absorbed the essence of countless millennia of ice plains, instantly detached from the ground it was rooted in and landed steadily in a specially made jade box that Ye Chen had prepared beforehand.

However, Ye Chen still left behind some roots.

Unlike ordinary plants, the 100,000-year-old snow lotus has an extremely strong vitality. Even if a few roots are left, it can still regrow decades later.

"pat~"

The jade box lid instantly and perfectly shut out all strange odors, as if they had never existed.

Ye Chen swiftly stored the jade box into his storage soul tool, his movements fluid and without the slightest hesitation.

The whole process was as fast as a phantom.

Ye Chen's gaze fell outside the cave, where he saw Huo Yuhao and the illusory image of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm chatting as they explored deeper into the cave.

Ye Chen smiled slightly, then his figure flickered and disappeared from the spot like a ghost, as if he had never stepped into the cave.

……

……

at the same time.

Inside the cave, two figures, one real and one illusory, were rapidly exploring deeper into the cave.

"Yuhao, hurry up!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm urged repeatedly.

"Brother Tianmeng, what's inside? Why are you so excited?"

Huo Yuhao asked curiously as he followed the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm leading the way.

"Hehe, Yuhao, you're really lucky! I sensed the aura of a top-tier rare treasure. It's deep inside the cave, and I have a feeling it will be of immense benefit to you!"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm chuckled, his face full of anticipation.

Upon entering the cave, it subconsciously released its spiritual energy to check for any dangers within, but unexpectedly sensed information about a top-tier ice-attribute natural treasure.

However, that rare and precious plant seemed to be very old and had self-protection capabilities, making it difficult to detect with spiritual perception.

It was only through its powerful mental strength and extensive knowledge that it was able to detect that faint aura.

However, it was certain that the rare and precious herb was located at the deepest part of the cave; it would only be known once it went inside.

"real!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up slightly. He had successfully quenched his thirst by imagining plums, and the fatigue in his mind and body was temporarily dispelled. He was full of energy and his pace quickened.

However, when Huo Yuhao finally rushed into the depths of the ice cave, panting, and reached the only corner blessed by the sunlight, he was completely stunned.

All that could be seen in the distance was the empty, solid frozen ground.

On a small mound of earth, only about five centimeters high, stuck out forlornly at an angle a root about the thickness of a little finger and one centimeter long, as if it had just been picked from a wild vegetable.

"Tian... Brother Tianmeng?"

Huo Yuhao turned his head blankly to look at the approaching illusory image of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, his eyes filled with intense confusion. He stammered, "This...this is the top-tier natural treasure you were talking about??"

Even Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was dumbfounded!
"No! Absolutely not!"

"I could feel that aura from a great distance, how could there be only this little thing left?!"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm darted to the mound of earth with a "whoosh," its beady green eyes fixed on the tiny root.

Its round body was almost touching the icy soil, and its insect eyes were fixed on the place where the roots met the soil. It quickly noticed that something was wrong.

"Yuhao, no, this is a gap! The real rare treasures have been intercepted by someone else!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm exclaimed in disbelief.

"what!"

Huo Yuhao subconsciously leaned down and looked closer.

The icy, crystal-like roots, near the soil, had broken off and appeared extremely fresh!
The edges of the break were sharp and clear, and there was even a trace of freshly oozing juice remaining, like ice crystals!
"Yes! They were absolutely freshly picked, and judging by their freshness, they were definitely no more than a minute old!"

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly raised its head, its insect-like body twisting and spinning restlessly in the air, like a fat cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Damn it! Which bastard did this? How could it be such a coincidence? How could he be just a tiny bit faster than us?!" "Yuhao, I told you to be faster! Now look what happened!!"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm looked at Huo Yuhao with a hint of speechlessness.

It's all Huo Yuhao's fault for procrastinating. If only Huo Yuhao had persisted a little longer, tried a little harder, and fought a little more desperately...

That might prevent them from snatching the prize.

The only opening here is a small crack at the top, not even big enough for a person to enter.

Clearly, this was not done by human intervention.

It must have been some passing spirit beast that accidentally fell in here, and then just happened to land on that rare and precious herb, gnawed it off, and carried it away!
That must be it!

"Just...one minute left?"

Huo Yuhao was completely dumbfounded and stood motionless.

Just a little bit more...

It was just a few minutes off...

He will then be able to obtain that unparalleled opportunity that even Brother Tianmeng was excited to the point of madness.

What if he hasn't run out of energy?

What if he hadn't stopped to catch his breath at the cave entrance?
If only his hands and feet hadn't frozen stiff from this awful weather...

If only he had rushed forward with all his might the first time Tianmeng urged him...

Countless "what ifs" surged wildly in his momentarily blank mind, each one like a poisoned needle, piercing his heart!

The immense impact made his vision go black, and his body swayed uncontrollably. A cold, stagnant feeling stuck in his chest, almost causing him to faint!

"Wow--!"

He could no longer hold back; an unprecedented mix of grievance and regret, along with extreme exhaustion, overwhelmed him in an instant.

Huo Yuhao's knees buckled, and he collapsed straight down beside the cold mound of earth, his face pressed against the icy ground, panting heavily like a fish out of water.

"Yuhao, are you...are you alright?!"

When Tianmeng Ice Silkworm saw Huo Yuhao looking like he was about to die, her heart tightened.

It was angry just now and spoke a bit harshly.

Now that they've realized it, nothing they say will help; the thing has disappeared and there's no way to track it down.

Moreover, it also knew that Huo Yuhao couldn't be entirely blamed.

This place is so harsh; it's a miracle that Huo Yuhao, a level 20 Soul Master, was able to find this cave alive.

Huo Yuhao's gaze was somewhat vacant as he lay there on the cold ground, saying nothing.

He always felt that the world was against him.

Everything went wrong when I was a child.

The same is true now.

Why is God doing this to him...?

Seeing Huo Yuhao's depressed and hopeless appearance, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm quickly said, "Yuhao, don't be too sad. Opportunities are a matter of fate. Besides, you did get something. Although that rare treasure is gone, it still left its roots!"

"root?"

Huo Yuhao turned to look at the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm and asked hesitantly, "You mean the grass roots are edible too??"

"Of course!"

Seeing that Huo Yuhao had cheered up, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm quickly pressed on, saying, "Based on my judgment, that rare herb is definitely a super-precious medicine of the 100,000-year level. Even a section of its root is worth a fortune. It's a rare treasure! While it's still fresh from being picked and its medicinal properties are still intact, quickly dig it up and eat it!"

The reason it judged that the item had been intercepted by a soul beast was because of this.

If a greedy human soul master encountered such a treasure, he would want to dig it up along with the roots and even the surrounding soil. How could he possibly leave any roots behind?

Only a soul beast with low intelligence would waste it like that.

(End of this chapter)