I'll stop thinking for now and wait for Xu Nianshuang to finish absorbing her spirit ring before exploring further.
Afterward, the group cleared the area. The corpses of the four Spirit Beasts couldn't be wasted; they were excellent materials for crafting spirit tools.
Two hours later, Xu Nianshuang successfully absorbed her spirit ring. The moment she opened her eyes, she excitedly pounced into Xu Tianyang's arms.
Seeing this, the surrounding crowd immediately broke into aunt-like smiles, looking at the two who seemed like a match made in heaven.
Xu Tianyang gently embraced Xu Nianshuang. From her expression, the result must have been perfect.
"Alright, alright, tell me about your gains this time?"
"Tianyang, my second Spirit Ability is Ice Blast, just as you predicted! And my spirit power has broken through to level twenty-three. I've caught up to you again!" The surrounding gazes made Xu Nianshuang realize her actions, and with a slight blush, she pulled away from Xu Tianyang's embrace, speaking with excitement.
Xu Tianyang was a little surprised by her words, then analyzed, "It should be the Dragon Marked Whale's whale glue, plus this Ice Devouring Ant was, after all, a two-thousand-year Spirit Beast, containing a considerable amount of energy. That's why your spirit power reached level twenty-three as soon as you broke through."
"It seems I need to work harder, otherwise, in a blink of an eye, you'll catch up to me again."
"Your Highness, the purpose of this trip has been achieved. Before night falls, we should head back." At this moment, Min Yingying walked over, looking at the sky as she spoke.
"No rush. I just made a new discovery. The valley ahead seems to have something that attracted these four Spirit Beasts. For them to fight over it, it must be a valuable treasure. Let's quickly investigate and return before dark," Xu Tianyang slowly stated his thoughts.
Min Yingying pursed her lips and exchanged a glance with Meng Tao. In the end, she didn't refuse. With their strength, they were more than capable of protecting the two in this outer area.
Once decided, the group didn't delay. They quickly took out their flying spirit tools and flew towards the distant valley.
In less than ten minutes, the group arrived in the valley. The entire valley was an irregular ellipsoid, with its longest ends reaching over two thousand meters.
The valley was a vast expanse of white, filled with many ice-attributed plants, a scene of vibrant life. There were no traces of Soul Beasts; it was an ownerless land.
To speed up the exploration, the group began to spread out. Xu Tianyang also released his spiritual sense as he walked deeper into the valley.
"Tianyang, that place seems a bit different." Xu Nianshuang, who was following Xu Tianyang, suddenly pulled him and pointed towards a cliff over fifty meters tall in the distance.
At first glance, the cliff seemed no different, but in a certain spot on the cliff, Xu Tianyang's excellent eyesight made him feel that the light there was somewhat unusual.
"Sister Yingying, let's go check it out."
Following the direction Xu Tianyang pointed, Min Yingying manipulated her flying spirit tool, bringing the two closer. At the same time, her Spirit was attached, ready to respond to any sudden situations.
Getting closer, the three discovered that it was a thick ice crystal, and within it, there seemed to be a huge cave.
Seeing this, Xu Tianyang's Sun Pupil Spirit attached, and two spirit rings, one yellow and one purple, floated beside him. As his spirit power circulated, scorching flames condensed in his eyes. The next second, two scorching flame rays shot out from Xu Tianyang's eyes, striking the ice wall.
"Chh chh chh..."
The terrifying temperature melted the ancient ice, revealing a massive cave. Entering the cave, they found its entrance was over ten meters in diameter, spacious inside, and emitting a deep blue glow.
"The ice-attributed energy here is much more active than outside!" Xu Nianshuang exclaimed with surprise after entering.
"It seems we've found the right place," Xu Tianyang said with a smile upon hearing her words.
The group searched the cave and soon found an ice crevice. The crevice was small, less than fifty meters long, less than a meter wide, and of unknown depth.
"The closer we get to this place, the more active the ice-attributed energy becomes. It seems this is the key to the anomaly here," Xu Nianshuang said slowly to the group after closing her eyes and sensing for a moment.
"Your Highness, I'll lead the way." Meng Tao's Spirit attached, and he took the lead, flying down into the ice crevice.
As they descended, the space within the ice crevice grew larger. After descending for ten minutes, the group landed, surprised to find that the small crevice above concealed a massive space nearly a thousand meters wide below.
The cave was filled with solid ice, and white cold mist permeated the air. The ground was uneven, and many ice stalactites hung from the ceiling, the longest almost touching the ground.
"The temperature here is incredibly cold." The cold mist enveloped the group, and Min Yingying and Meng Tao couldn't help but frown. Their Spirits were neither fire nor ice attributed, unable to resist the invasion of low temperatures, so they could only endure it with their superior cultivation.
"This is... there's actually Ice Extreme Divine Crystal here?!" An exclamation rang out. Meng Tao looked at the distant cave, a joyous expression on his face.
The distant ice cave was covered with azure crystal ore. The ore was crystal clear, and under the illumination of light, it possessed a dreamlike beauty.
"Ice Extreme Divine Crystal!" Xu Tianyang's expression stirred. Although Ice Extreme Divine Crystal was a top-tier material for crafting spirit tools, there was something even more precious: the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow.
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm reached the million-year level by directly absorbing the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow. The Snow Empress and Ice Empress even stated that as long as they had the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow, they could overcome their seven-hundred-thousand-year and four-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulations, respectively.
For ice-attributed Spirit Masters, the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow was a treasure equivalent to immortal-grade herbs.
And Ice Extreme Divine Crystal was precisely the associated ore of the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow. Judging by the situation here, it was possible that the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow truly existed.
"It's a pity that Ice Extreme Divine Crystal is difficult to mine, especially in this ice cave." After the initial excitement, Meng Tao thought of their current predicament and couldn't help but regretfully say.
"Note down this location and report it to Father when we return. There will be a chance to mine these Ice Extreme Divine Crystals someday," Xu Tianyang said to Meng Tao, who looked regretful.
Walking through the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal mine, Xu Tianyang released his mental power without reservation, not letting go of a single detail.
Seeing that Xu Tianyang seemed to be looking for something, the others dared not speak much, waiting quietly.
"Found it!" After a long while, Xu Tianyang's eyes lit up as he looked at an ice wall and said, "Sister Yingying, blast it open."
Min Yingying, hearing this, carefully released her Spirit. Her fourth spirit ring lit up, and a powerful attack landed on the spot Xu Tianyang indicated.
"Boom!" A muffled sound echoed. The group looked on in surprise; Min Yingying's attack had only created a half-meter hole in the ice wall.
Xu Tianyang's eyes peered through the hole into the interior. The coldness inside was even more terrifying, making one feel as if their soul was frozen, and even the surrounding air became viscous.
The ice elements contained within were extremely concentrated, so concentrated that low-level Spirit Masters couldn't absorb them at all.
A peculiar ice pillar stood within it. The ice pillar was pure white like jade, and within its pristine interior, a liquid faintly flowed. The terrifying coldness was emanating from this ice pillar.
"ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow!" Xu Tianyang gazed at the ice pillar, took a deep breath, and whispered.
"Let's go, we're leaving." After confirming, Xu Tianyang led the group back the way they came. As for why they didn't take the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow, it was because the few of them simply couldn't do it.
The terrifying coldness released by the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow prevented the group from even getting close, let alone taking it away.
Back in the valley, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside, Xu Tianyang solemnly looked at Min Yingying and Meng Tao and said, "Sister Yingying, Uncle Tao, I need you to immediately inform Father and ask him to come here personally. Tell him I have an important discovery, and he must come personally..."
"If Father cannot come, then Mother and Uncle Feng must come."
"Before Father arrives, send people to guard this valley and prevent any Spirit Beast from approaching."
Hearing Xu Tianyang's words, expressions of doubt appeared on their faces. Was this Ice Extreme Divine Crystal really that important?
So important that His Majesty had to come personally?
However, looking at Xu Tianyang's solemn expression, the two dared not be careless. What if there were secrets they didn't know? The orders they received were to obey His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in everything. Since it was His Highness's command, they would simply execute it.
Xu Yunxiao quickly arrived in Beihai. After Xu Tianyang's explanation, he finally understood what a treasure the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow was.
Without delay, the destructive attribute of the Titled Douluo-level Purple Emperor Sky Destroying Dragon was enough to solve the difficulties that had stumped Xu Tianyang and his group.
Xu Yunxiao personally took action, naturally successfully retrieving the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow, and he immediately took the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow and Xu Nianshuang back to Ming City.
He had only come by squeezing out time. The Sun Moon Continent had just been unified, and there were countless matters, all requiring him, the Emperor, to make decisions. This Emperor not only had endless state affairs to handle every day but also had to keep an eye on the major research projects Xu Tianyang had proposed.
Busy!
He was so busy every day that his feet barely touched the ground.
If Xu Tianyang hadn't repeatedly emphasized the importance of the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow, he wouldn't have come personally.
Now that the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow had been retrieved, and Xu Nianshuang had successfully broken through, the two did not stay long.
With the aid of the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow, Xu Nianshuang's path to becoming a Titled Douluo in the future was already clear, and she wouldn't encounter any major bottlenecks even when cultivating all the way to level ninety-five.