Chapter 47 Ice Lake
It was an ice lake hidden deep within the folds of the icy peaks.
Though called a lake, it was more like a giant ice crystal forgotten by the heavens.
The surface was not completely frozen but existed in a strange state of semi-solidification and semi-thawing, covered by a layer of transparent thin ice so sheer that the dark blue, bottomless water beneath could be seen.
Between the ice layer and the water surface, tiny air bubbles slowly rose, freezing into minuscule ice flowers the moment they touched the ice surface.
The lake was vast, with a diameter of at least several hundred meters.
The shore was not made of ordinary soil or rock, but an ice forest composed of countless angular ice pillars.
But the most striking sight was in the center of the lake.
A massive ice pillar stood towering from the bottom of the lake, forcefully piercing through the ice layer and the snow mist above, becoming the absolute core of the entire ice lake.
The pillar was over ten meters in diameter and at least fifteen zhang in height.
The pillar was not a regular cylinder but covered in ferocious ice ridges and thorns, with claw marks of varying depths scattered across its surface.
The top of the ice pillar was relatively flat, forming a platform about thirty meters in diameter.
At the edge of the platform grew some strange structures formed from condensed ice crystals, resembling coral.
And in the center of the platform was an Ice Dragon.
Jiang Bai’s heart rate suddenly accelerated.
He had the Fire Dragon land on an ice peak far from the ice lake, then quietly climbed to the summit, lying in the snow and ice, observing from afar under the cover of ice ridges.
It was a giant dragon with an entirely ice-blue body.
Most of its body was curled up in the nest.
The nest was piled up from countless broken ice crystals, the bones of unknown giant beasts, and some kind of silver, moss-like substance, forming a sunken hollow on top of the ice pillar.
Only its long, slender neck could be seen extending from the nest, along with half of an ice-blue dragon tail lazily dangling over the edge of the nest, occasionally swaying gently.
The dragon’s neck was long and elegant, covered in layers of scales that seemed to be carved from the finest blue crystal.
Each scale was the size of a palm, with edges as thin as a cicada’s wing and a thick center, flowing with a cold, eerie blue light under the dim sky.
The thick tail vertebrae were clearly defined, tapering toward the tip, which bore three sharp, ice-cone-like tail spikes.
Jiang Bai concentrated his Mental Energy to the limit, probing cautiously.
Although he couldn’t see the full picture, Jiang Bai estimated that the age of this Ice Dragon was over eight thousand years.
Perfect!
This was exactly the fourth spirit ring target Jiang Bai had dreamed of: a pure-blooded Ice Dragon, with a suitable age and excellent attributes!
But beyond the surprise, Jiang Bai’s brain began to race.
How to hunt it?
The Ice Dragon held the absolute geographical advantage.
That ice lake was clearly its home turf, and the nest atop the ice pillar was easy to defend and hard to attack; to approach it, one had to face the disadvantage of attacking from below.
The Fire Dragon’s combat power was diminished in the extreme cold environment, and the Earth Dragon and Wind Dragon would also struggle to exert their full strength.
Jiang Bai lay on the ice peak, staring unblinkingly at the distant Ice Dragon nest, various plans flashing through his mind.
He needed a method that could subdue the Ice Dragon while minimizing risk.
His Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could allow a Spirit Beast to retain its Soul, continue to live and Cultivate after becoming a spirit ring, and even accelerate its growth.
If he could get this Ice Dragon to sacrifice itself willingly, it would naturally be a win-win situation.
But would a Spirit Beast—especially a proud, top-tier Spirit Beast like the Dragon Clan—listen to a human "reasoning"?
A Spirit Beast’s intelligence indeed grows with its cultivation. Once it achieves a Breakthrough of ten thousand years, its intelligence grows rapidly, even rivaling that of humans.
This Ice Dragon, with over eight thousand years of cultivation, should already possess considerable intelligence.
But in the world of Spirit Beasts, especially among the Dragon Clan, what is revered is the most primitive "Law of Power."
Without strength, there is no right to speak.
In the eyes of the Ice Dragon, perhaps only by defeating it first would one have the qualifications to "negotiate" with it.
Jiang Bai assessed his current strength.
After the tempering of the ten-thousand-year whale gel, his physical fitness had reached an astonishing level.
Looking purely at Physical Body strength, he was likely no weaker than an average Spirit King.
If he added the triple full-attribute boost from the possession of the three dragon beasts, he might not be unable to fight.
A trace of determination flashed in Jiang Bai’s eyes.
But even so, facing an eight-thousand-year-old pure-blooded Ice Dragon with home-field advantage, the odds of winning a head-on confrontation were still not high.
He needed some "extra means."
He took a small wooden box from his storage bracelet and opened the lid, revealing dozens of tiny golden particles that shimmered with a faint metallic luster under the dim sky.
Fa Jin, or rather, the raw Materials for the Dragon Beard Needle.
When he was at the Dragon City inn, besides Cultivating, he had also taken the time to process the crystal slabs he bought from Flender, smashing open the hard crystals with a heavy hammer. It hadn’t been an easy process to frantically collect this Fa Jin, which was as thin as cow hair and would automatically curl into particles once it left the protection of the crystal.
In the end, he had only collected a few small boxes.
Jiang Bai carefully pinched a few golden particles and injected his Soul Power into them.
Stimulated by the Soul Power, the particles quickly stretched and thinned, turning into several nearly invisible golden needles: the Dragon Beard Needle.
He tried to control these fine needles.
Without the Hidden Weapons techniques of the Tang Sect, he could only perform the most basic control.
To be safe, Jiang Bai dispersed his Soul Power, letting the Dragon Beard Needle curl back into particles, and then hid them in a secret pocket in his left sleeve.
With preparations complete, Jiang Bai took a deep breath, his eyes becoming as sharp as knives.
"Eldest, Second, Third, prepare for possession."
Hearing this, the three dragon beasts slammed into Jiang Bai’s body simultaneously!
"Boom—!!!"
Surging energy erupted within his body!
His muscles expanded instantly, his bones made a cracking sound, and dragon scale patterns interwoven in three colors appeared on the surface of his skin!
Jiang Bai looked toward the ice pillar nest in the center of the ice lake in the distance, his eyes igniting with Battle Intent.
He walked out from behind the ice peak where he had been hiding and slowly headed toward the ice lake.
At the top of the ice pillar, the sleeping Ice Dragon seemed to sense something, its dragon head lifting slightly, and its vertical ice-blue pupils slowly opened.
Jiang Bai didn’t stop, lifting his right hand with his palm facing upward. Scorching fire-attribute Soul Power gathered frantically, condensing into a massive fireball over one meter in diameter!
The flames were crimson-gold, the temperature extremely high, causing the surrounding air to distort and the falling snowflakes to vaporize instantly. "Go!"
Jiang Bai shouted in a low voice and thrust his right hand forward violently!
The crimson-gold fireball shot straight at the Ice Dragon atop the ice pillar!
This attack was sudden and extremely fast!
The Ice Dragon had just awakened from its slumber and was half a beat slow to react.
By the time it saw the incoming fireball, the fireball was already right in front of it!
"Roar—!"
The Ice Dragon let out an angry roar and opened its mouth to spew a blast of ice-blue breath!
The breath and the fireball collided violently in mid-air!
"Boom!!!"
A deafening explosion rang out!
Fire and frost intertwined and annihilated each other, erupting into a violent energy shockwave!
The surface of the ice pillar was blasted with countless cracks, large chunks of ice rock peeling off and falling into the ice lake below, splashing up monstrous waves!
The thick smoke and ice mist produced by the explosion temporarily obscured the view.
The Ice Dragon was enraged.
It spread its huge ice-blue dragon wings and soared into the sky from its nest!
Its massive body cast a huge shadow in the sky, its dragon might fully unleashed, the surrounding temperature plummeting, as if even the air were about to freeze!
"Tiny human!"
Jiang Bai pressed his hands to the ground, injecting Soul Power into the frozen earth beneath his feet.
A wall of earth, one meter thick and five meters high, rose from the ground, blocking in front of him!
Although this wasn’t true soil, but frozen earth and ice layers, under the earth-attribute Soul Power boost of the Earth Dragon, it was still exceptionally sturdy.
The Ice Dragon swooped down, its dragon mouth wide open, and a thicker, deeper ice-blue breath gushed out!
"Crack—crack—crack—"
Under the extreme low-temperature breath, the earth wall quickly froze, became brittle, and then shattered inch by inch!
At the very moment the earth wall shattered, Jiang Bai moved!
He didn’t retreat; instead, he charged forward to meet the Ice Dragon!
He spread the five fingers of his right hand, aiming at the Ice Dragon’s wide-open maw.
"Now!"
The few Fa Jin particles hidden in his sleeve quietly slid into his palm, and he injected his Soul Power instantly!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Three nearly invisible golden rays shot out from his fingertips!
In the instant before the Ice Dragon could react, they had already plunged deep into its wide-open dragon mouth!
The Dragon Beard Needle, specialized in breaking through Protective Aura and Soul Power defenses, would curl and tear as muscles contracted once inside the body, causing unbearable, excruciating pain!
"ROAR!!!"
The Ice Dragon’s movements instantly froze!
Its dragon eyes widened, and for the first time, clear pain and terror appeared in its pupils!