Everyone knew this was the central core of the entire ancient treasury, destined to be the most perilous place. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would need to seriously weigh the risk before daring to enter.

What's more, his strength was the weakest among them all. Although he possessed the three Nascent Soul-level raw materials taken from the reservoir chamber, these materials were unrefined and could not unleash much power; they were far inferior to the minor divine artifacts and talismans the Sun and Pang cultivators had obtained from the inner vaults, unable to directly boost his strength.

This was clearly positioning him as cannon fodder! Seeing Kong Shi’s extremely reluctant expression about entering, the complexions of the others immediately cooled.

“Brother Kong, everyone has contributed significantly; it’s your turn now. If you’re unwilling to go in, do you expect me to take your place?” Cultivator Fan’s voice was utterly devoid of warmth.

Hearing that chilling tone, Kong Shi’s body trembled slightly, though his heart seethed with resentment. Cultivator Fan had contributed precious little effort, yet he was being forced into this danger.

However, Fan’s methods were insidious and unpredictable, leaving Kong Shi afraid to retort. “I used a minor divine talisman without batting an eye, and you balk at such a small task!?

If Brother Kong is unwilling, then let’s turn back now. You won't get any share of the treasures from the treasury afterward!” Cultivator Pang scoffed and sneered coldly.

“Brother Kong, by rights, you should enter first.” Ye Qin looked calmly at Kong Shi. It was an established custom in the East Sea cultivation world for the weakest cultivator to act as cannon fodder, scouting the dangers ahead; this was not them deliberately bullying Kong Shi.

If Kong Shi refused to enter, that was fine—he could exit the passage, and Cultivator Fan could go in instead. Seeing how everyone was pressuring him, Kong Shi knew that any further delay might incite them to kill him outright.

He couldn't push back anymore. It was either go in or be driven out of the ice cavern passage, with no hope of benefiting from the strength of others.

“Fine, I’ll go! Do you really think Kong Shi is afraid of anything!” Kong Shi reinforced his protective shield, manipulated his magical artifact, gritted his teeth, and stepped through the icy, frosty light gate of the treasury.

The other cultivators waited outside the light gate for a few breaths. They soon saw Kong Shi return, his face covered in frost, shivering, as he reported, “It’s safe inside, you can enter.” With that, he led the way back in.

Only then did everyone else hesitate no longer and successively stepped through the light gate. Six streaks of white light flashed.

They appeared inside a massive ice treasury. Looking around, they all gasped in awe upon seeing the central treasury they had worked so hard to reach.

This central ice treasury was hexagonal, built upon massive, neatly cut Ice Soul Crystals, spanning hundreds of feet in circumference, resembling the ancient vault hall. These huge ice crystals circulated with countless ancient runes, faintly displaying dynamic, colorful, shimmering lights between them—a sight that immediately shook the spirit.

Unlike the other treasury chambers, the central vault lacked the terrifying Five Elements Thunder Orbs. The most shocking sight, however, was directly in the center of the treasury.

In the middle of the vault rested a ten-foot-wide lotus-shaped jade platform, constructed from mysterious Ice Soul White Jade. Upon the platform sat an Ice Lotus Seed radiating swirling spiritual energy, appearing incomparably brilliant and dazzling.

The entire platform was enveloped in swirling ice spirit mist, the light flowing over it, the ice spirit aura concentrated to the extreme. Though hundreds of feet away from the platform, they felt a suffocating spiritual pressure emanating from it.

The cultivators exchanged glances, their faces etched with horror. Just this terrifying aura alone made their hearts tremble, stirring an intense urge to turn and flee.

If they hadn't desperately suppressed this fear, they wouldn't have been able to remain in the treasury for a single moment longer. Engraved on the lotus-shaped jade platform were five wide-open lotus petals, each several feet large.

The lotus petals were further encircled by countless intricate restriction array runes, divided into five colors: golden light, cyan, deep blue, fiery red, and orange-yellow. Every few breaths, the ice spirit energy emanating from the Ice Lotus Seed could be seen infusing the lotus structure beneath it.

Then, the runes engraved on one petal would faintly ignite, transforming into brilliant light of another color, extending along the direction of countless runes, all the way to the base of the platform, and further towards the corresponding stone walls. “This is the hub controlling all the restrictions and arrays in the entire ancient treasury!

The formations within the vault are all maintained by this core!” Kong Shi, proficient in formations, instantly spotted the key and explained rapidly, “These restriction runes must not be attacked or damaged, or the consequences are unimaginable. As the nexus of this ancient treasury’s formation, the restrictions here are incredibly complex; if triggered, the spiritual backlash alone will mean certain death for us all!” The cultivators were not reckless people; knowing nothing about this central vault, they naturally did not act rashly, instead quickly observing the situation while fully resisting the icy cold within the chamber.

“In this ice vault, apart from this Ice Lotus Platform, there seems to be nothing special, not even Thunder Orbs—it’s simpler than the other vaults! How are we supposed to shut down the formations here?” Sun Xing couldn't help but feel puzzled.

“There must be a way to shut down this core. Let me examine these restrictions first to see how to deactivate the space,” Kong Shi said.

The other cultivators were not proficient in formations and could only remain stationary. Suddenly, rings of icy, snowy light spheres rippled out from the base of the lotus-shaped stone platform in the center of the vault, as if something was stirring.

“What is that!?” Everyone was startled. As Ye Qin watched in astonishment, the ground of the central ice vault immediately cracked open, pushing up a massive ice hole.

Ice crystals, ice spikes several feet long, erupted in massive sprays, sparkling with icy, brilliant cold light. Crack!

When the commotion settled and the ice shards scattered, a colossal Ice Crystal Demonic Spirit in the shape of a toad, nearly twenty feet tall, materialized in front of the jade platform’s lotus seat. This Water Toad Demonic Spirit, formed entirely of ice crystal, was translucent and crystalline, faintly swirling with an aura of light, resting there motionless.

But its pair of blood-red eyes, cold and piercing, glared furiously at the six Core Formation cultivators who had entered the vault. This was its territory, and in these ten thousand years, it hadn't seen another living creature enter this place.

‘It can transform into the shape of a toad, meaning it must be over ten thousand years old and has seen what a toad looks like, hence this form. Its pupils are blood-red, most likely due to being stained by the blood essence of other living creatures, which then solidified into blood-colored ice crystals.” The expressions of the cultivators turned to utter dread.

This suddenly appearing Nascent Soul-level Ice Toad Demonic Spirit was completely beyond their expectations; this toad was far more fatal than the vault's restriction arrays. After all, the restriction arrays wouldn't trigger a backlash unless deliberately sabotaged.

But this ice toad was not so easily reasoned with. A Nascent Soul-level Ice Toad Demonic Spirit was entirely different from a group of Core Formation-level ice crystal demonic spirits.

They had used every means to kill the group of Core Formation spirits, but against this Nascent Soul-level toad, it was a dead end with no chance of survival. For them now, the issue was no longer whether they could deactivate the vault’s formations, but whether they could leave this ice vault alive.

“Quick, retreat quickly—!” Kong Shi was terrified to the extreme, transforming into a streak of fiery rainbow, retreating at full speed. He already regretted following Cultivator Fan’s suggestion to enter this vault.

Before his words faded, he saw the Ice Toad Demonic Spirit’s blood-red eyes flash, and it suddenly moved. The toad remained motionless, then suddenly, a massive toad mouth shot out an ice-spiked tongue with lightning speed, striking towards Kong Shi, who was closest to it, carrying an intensely bone-chilling, sharp wind.

Puchi! In an instant, Kong Shi’s protective artifact and defensive light shield shattered simultaneously as he rapidly retreated.

Kong Shi’s body was pierced clean through by the Water Toad Demonic Spirit’s icy tongue. He didn't even have time to feel the pain before the terrifying ice spirit cold energy ejected from the tongue instantly froze him into an ice sculpture, his face frozen in an expression of terror and disbelief.

The Ice Toad Demonic Spirit flicked its tongue, and Kong Shi’s ice-sculpted corpse flew outward, crashing against the ice crystal wall near the light gate entrance, shattering into a pile of icy dust. Then, its eyes rolled, seemingly searching for the next target.

Instant kill!!! The other five treasure-seeking cultivators were utterly stunned in that moment.

A bone-chilling cold swept from the soles of their feet straight to their foreheads. Kong Shi was the cannon fodder.

Yet this cannon fodder, who had been speaking just moments ago, was instantly slain by this Nascent Soul-level ice toad. How could this not fill them with shared sorrow?

The terrible fate awaiting them was likely not much better than that of the cannon fodder. “Ice Toad, it has a weakness!

It only attacks moving targets, ignoring color or aura!” “Move and die!” Cultivator Fan’s placid expression suddenly shifted, and he roared. “Cultivator Fan is correct!

Fellow Daoists, everyone, do not move!” Sun Xing, after all, was older and possessed a higher cultivation base; his combat experience was also exceptionally rich. Upon hearing Cultivator Fan’s roar, he immediately recalled an incident a hundred years ago in an icy lake danger zone where he encountered a genuine Ice Toad demonic beast that shared this weakness.

Kong Shi’s swift death was likely because he fled too quickly. Suppressing immense fear, he reacted instantly, urgently warning the other cultivators.

This was not born of altruism. At this juncture, keeping one more cultivator alive meant one more chance for a combined escape; at the very least, a few more people could buy some time.

He certainly did not want anyone else to die on the spot like Kong Shi. Ye Qin, Huangfu Bing’er, and Cultivator Pang had all been intending to rush toward the light gate, but upon hearing the shouts from Cultivators Fan and Sun Xing, they immediately froze in place, daring not to move in the slightest, even suppressing their auras to the lowest possible level.