Monster Hunter, start with a wife!

The source energy flowed haltingly through the meridians, like a tangled ball of cotton thread, its circulation speed nearly 30% slower than outside, even blurring the senses of the summoned creatures.

He then tried to activate the source of the dead.

The dark blue soul flame flickered gently in his sea of ​​consciousness, flowing smoothly without the slightest stagnation.

As expected, the undead essence bestowed by the system was unaffected by the rules here.

He tried the ancient martial arts source qi again.

The method of the Two Elements Probing the Void Step circulated within the body, and the source Qi flowed steadily along the meridians.

"How is it?"

Gao Wang seemed to sense that he was circulating his source energy, and turned to look at him. Seeing that his expression was normal, he was a little surprised, "Your source energy isn't messed up?"

"It's a bit slow, but it's still usable," Cheng Zhuo said calmly.

Gao Wang glanced at him a couple more times, but didn't ask any more questions.

He had seen many seventh-level experts come in, and those who hadn't yet mastered the force field turned pale as soon as they stepped in, their source energy in complete chaos, unable to even form a simple protective shield.

This young man, at the sixth level of cultivation, only said "a bit slow".

He was able to single-handedly build up Redstone City and even defeat Bai Chizhe in the arena, despite being of a higher level, which shows he has real skill.

The group walked forward along the gray-white ice field.

The bronze compass in Gao Wang's hand swayed gently, always pointing in one direction.

He walked slowly, stopping every so often to check his location, being extremely cautious.

Elena was walking along when she suddenly frowned.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at the ice field on her left.

A blurry figure stood in the gray mist, wearing a traditional silver-patterned long dress of the Moon Clan, with her back to them, her long hair like a dark brown waterfall, reaching all the way to her waist.

Her figure and silhouette are about 70% similar to her mother, Isabella.

The shadow twitched slightly, its shoulders trembling as if it were crying, or perhaps about to turn around.

Elena's heart skipped a beat.

She knew her mother was still deep within the Land of Desolation and couldn't possibly be here.

But the figure looked so much like the person from behind that she almost couldn't control herself and wanted to go over and see their face.

Don't look back.

Cheng Zhuo's voice came at just the right moment, taking her hand, "It's an illusion."

Elena snapped back to reality, immediately averting her gaze, her fingertips feeling slightly cold.

Even though she knew it was fake, for a fleeting moment she almost couldn't resist going over to take a look.

This place is indeed strange; it creeps into people's hearts silently.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Cheng Zhuo squeezed her hand, but didn't say anything more.

We walked a little further ahead.

Ruan Qinghe paused in her steps.

She saw herself as a child standing not far ahead.

She was thin and small, wearing a faded cloth dress, squatting on the ground crying, her shoulders trembling, with cries and shouts all around her.

That was the day my mother died.

It was also the memory she least wanted to recall in her life.

The little girl seemed to hear the noise, raised her head, looked at her with teary eyes, pouted her little mouth, and softly called out "Sister".

Ruan Qinghe's fingers clenched slightly, hanging at her sides.

Just as she was about to say something, she felt a strong arm pull her into a hug.

She paused, speechless, calmly looked away, and continued walking forward without stopping.

The little girl's figure faded away slowly behind her, like smoke blown away by the wind, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Gao Wang, who was walking in front, also noticed the commotion behind him.

He held Cheng Zhuo in even higher regard.

This young city lord is indeed quite capable.

They walked for about another hour.

The fog ahead gradually thinned out.

A frozen lake came into view.

The lake was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see. The ice surface shimmered with a grayish-blue light, like a dusty old mirror. The lake was eerily calm, without even a crack.

Almost identical to the Wuji Sea that Cheng Zhuo saw in the Ice Ruins

A lone figure sat on the shore.

The man had his back to them, wearing a drab gray robe, with gray hair that was draped messily over his shoulders.

He held a fishing rod in his hand, the fishing line dangling below the ice, motionless.

Strangely, there was no ice hole where he was sitting.

The fishing line plunged straight into the ice, as if the thick ice didn't exist at all—it was quite eerie.

"That's the angler."

Gao Wang stopped and stood by the lake, not going any further.

He turned to Cheng Zhuo, his expression solemn. "I can only take you this far. Beyond this point is his territory; there's no point in me going in. Remember what I told you: don't touch his bait, don't sit on his chair, and if you haven't triggered any missions within ten minutes, come back immediately."

Cheng Zhuo nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Steward."

"Be careful," Gao Wang reminded them again, then stepped aside, sat cross-legged, and looked like he was waiting for them outside.

Cheng Zhuo turned around and looked at the seven people behind him.

"You guys wait here for me, I'll go alone."

The women didn't hesitate and all nodded in agreement.

"Be careful," Ruan Qinghe cautioned.

"rest assured."

Cheng Zhuo smiled, turned around, and walked towards the center of the lake.

The shore was very slippery, but he walked very steadily.

It seemed like a short distance, but it took him almost fifteen minutes to finally reach the angler.

The old man remained seated, fishing rod resting steadily on his knees, without even turning his head.

"You've arrived."

He spoke, using a tone that seemed very familiar to Cheng Zhuo, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"You... know me?" Cheng Zhuo asked suspiciously.

The angler didn't speak. He slowly reeled in his fishing rod, the end of the line empty, with nothing at all.

"Didn't catch anything again." He muttered to himself, as if talking to Cheng Zhuo, "After fishing for so many years, I still can't catch anything."

He slowly turned around.

Cheng Zhuo saw his face clearly.

His face was deeply wrinkled, with deep furrows, and his skin was a deathly gray, like a corpse that had been soaking for a long time.

His eyes were cloudy and yellowish, without pupils, making him look particularly eerie.

His robe was tattered, the edges worn down to a frayed state, and stained with what looked like mud or blood.

"Pass me some bait," the angler said, looking at him.

Cheng Zhuo glanced around and was surprised to find that a bamboo basket had appeared at his feet, with living creatures rummaging inside.

"Don't touch his bait..."

Gao Wang's instructions were still ringing in his ears, but for some inexplicable reason, Cheng Zhuo felt that he had to hand over the bait in order to trigger the mission.

Cheng Zhuo asked the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon in his heart, "What exactly is he?"

"Just a remnant soul, though it seems to have been tainted by a bit of the power of rules." The dragon's voice slowly drifted over.

"Can this bait move?" Cheng Zhuo asked.

"Move around freely, I'm here."

Shenlong's words reassured Cheng Zhuo, and he immediately bent down and reached for the bamboo basket.

From the shore, Gao Wang watched Cheng Zhuo's actions and was immediately shocked:

"Oh no! This young man, how could he ignore my words!"