Both of them looked utterly travel-worn, clearly showing that the hardship of their journey was beyond what ordinary people could ever imagine.

Di Shitian turned his gaze and smiled, "So everyone has arrived. Old man and I are the last ones."

Bing Xiaotian burst into hearty laughter, giving orders for his disciples to bring clean water for them to wash up, and then had tables and chairs set so they could be seated.

The Qilin Holy Lord smiled faintly, "Sect Master Jimo, I heard you traveled all the way to the North Sea to capture the Snow Fox. I wonder if you succeeded?"

Jimo Fanshu calmly swept him with a glance, flicked his wrist, and a white object materialized out of thin air, which he tossed directly into the middle of the assembled group's seats.

He Yiming’s gaze swept over the item and he immediately recognized it: it was the corpse of another Snow Fox Sacred Beast.

He looked up in surprise, his apprehension of this old assassin’s capabilities deepening slightly.

Bing Xiaotian’s eyes brightened, and he chuckled, "When Sect Master Jimo makes a move, he certainly never returns empty-handed." He nodded slightly, "Li Xun already possesses twenty Snow Fox Spirit Pills. Adding twenty more will certainly be enough. The chances for this trip to Ice Island have grown considerably."

A flicker of joy crossed everyone’s eyes; for them, there was no better news than this.

Di Shitian let out a soft sound of surprise, "Brother He, you also managed to track a Snow Fox?"

He Yiming replied with an acknowledgement, "That Snow Fox was injured slightly by Sect Master Jimo, which is why I was fortunate enough to catch up." He said this naturally, hoping to prevent the focus from centering too much on White Horse Lightning.

Jimo Fanshu glanced at him but offered no explanation. He was certainly aware of the consequences of that sword strike, but he had no desire to engage in a war of words with He Yiming.

Bing Xiaotian reached out and picked up the Snow Fox, hesitating for a moment, "Brother He, you refined these Snow Fox Spirit Pills yourself, correct?"

He Yiming nodded slowly, "I refined two batches, and both were successful."

Liu Changju let out a long sigh and shook his head. Di Shitian and Jimo Fanshu exchanged a look of bafflement, but the rest of the Dao Peak experts fully understood his sentiment.

Not only was He Yiming’s martial cultivation clearly a step above them, but his skill in Forging and Pill Refinement also possessed a level that was unattainable by others. Facing such an individual naturally filled their hearts with countless emotions.

Bing Xiaotian waved his hand, "Brother He, since we are already troubling you, please handle the refinement of these Snow Fox Spirit Pills."

He Yiming accepted without hesitation, "Refining the pills is no problem, but we are short on auxiliary materials."

Bing Xiaotian let out an astonished laugh, "Although the medicinal reserves of our Northern Frontier are not as vast as those of the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, refining some Snow Fox Spirit Pills should not be an issue."

He Yiming grinned as he tucked the Snow Fox away. Jimo Fanshu was remarkably generous this time, not even extracting the Snow Fox's Inner Core. Clearly, in his eagerness to enter Ice Island, he was uninterested in anything else.

Bing Xiaotian’s gaze swept around the group, "Everyone, Li Xun might need three days to fully assimilate the Five Elements Feather Robe. And the date calculated by the Divine Calculator is also fast approaching. Therefore, I suggest we depart for the North Sea five days from now. What are your thoughts?"

Naturally, no one objected to this proposal.

He Yiming took Yuan Lixun’s hand and was the first to excuse themselves. Yuan Lixun, of course, needed to focus entirely on assimilating the Five Elements Feather Robe. She knew that while the robe’s defensive power could not compare to the Divine Beast Black Tortoise Shell, in the current era, it was still one of the most supreme defensive divine artifacts.

All the Dao Peak powerhouses had spared no expense to enhance her defensive capabilities. If she failed to assimilate it successfully, it would truly disappoint everyone.

Thus, over the following few days, she devoted herself entirely to the assimilation of the feather robe.

On the chest of this robe were five Inner Cores of Saint Beast Kings, each possessing a different attribute; one of these was a super Inner Core of the Water attribute. Under He Yiming’s guidance, she began with this core, slowly inducing resonance among the Five Energies, and finally, on the third day, she successfully achieved full assimilation of this divine weapon.

Upon receiving this news, everyone, including He Yiming, truly breathed a sigh of relief.

Jimo Fanshu and the others might not have taken Yuan Lixun’s life too seriously, but with He Yiming present, and having witnessed his current strength, no one was willing to make an enemy of him.

Therefore, everyone was very concerned whether He Yiming would cause unforeseen complications if Yuan Lixun failed to assimilate the divine artifact.

Fortunately, none of that transpired, leaving everyone with a sense of happy resolution.

Within these five days, He Yiming was not idle either. He took many rare medicinal herbs from the Ice Palace's pharmacy and refined the majority of the Snow Fox’s blood, producing fifty Snow Fox Spirit Pills.

He handed thirty of these over to Yuan Lixun, meaning she now possessed over fifty Snow Fox Spirit Pills in total. With such a massive supply, as long as she didn't treat them like candy, dealing with the Ice Island excursion would be more than sufficient.

As for the remaining twenty Snow Fox Spirit Pills, He Yiming did not hoard them; instead, he distributed two to each person, as a precaution for emergencies.

He had initially assumed that with the combined strength of the experts, the journey to Ice Island would not involve much danger. However, after conversing with the others, he learned that the location where Ice Island would appear this time was extremely unfavorable—it was within the North Sea, beyond the Ice Plain.

This was the conclusion reached after Bing Xiaotian ordered all his disciples to collect data on various anomalies across the entire Ice Plain, and the results were then compiled for the Divine Calculator to deduce. It was precisely because of this task that during the East-West War several years ago, not a single suitable disciple could be dispatched from the entire Northern Frontier Ice Plain into Ghost Cry Ridge, as all the Ice Palace’s forces were committed to this mission, leaving no excess strength.

The North Sea was far from a place where humans could survive. During the Age of the Divine Path, only those of the Divine Path could move freely; even experts at the Human Dao Peak dared not cross that boundary. However, after the disappearance of the Divine Path, those Divine Beasts also vanished.

As the saying goes: when the tiger is away from the mountain, the monkey becomes king; only then did these Human Dao Peak experts begin to venture into the area between the North Sea and the Outer Sea.

Upon learning of the danger there, He Yiming distributed the Spirit Pills—two Snow Fox Spirit Pills for each person, enough to restore true energy at a critical juncture. If faced with a siege by Saint Beast Kings, this could easily equate to two extra lives.

He Yiming firmly remembered Bing Xiaotian’s words: on this journey to the North Sea, they must act with one heart and one mind. Otherwise, no one could possibly escape with their lives under the siege of those Saint Beast Kings.

Everyone understood this principle. ※※※※ Five days later, He Yiming and the others finally departed the Ice Palace, heading towards the distant North Sea.

He Yiming yielded White Horse Lightning for Yuan Lixun to ride. Although this white horse was extremely proud, it was also exceptionally intelligent. Upon learning of Yuan Lixun’s identity, it showed no resistance. This greatly reassured He Yiming. With White Horse Lightning’s speed and strength, as long as Yuan Lixun remained mounted, her safety was absolutely guaranteed.

Before leaving, He Yiming gave White Horse Lightning a lengthy set of instructions, and the horse, understanding the gravity of the situation, seriously agreed to its duties. As for Hundred and Eight and the Divine Path Blood Coagulation Man, He Yiming hadn't seen where they were stationed. However, due to their mental connection, He Yiming was certain that the Divine Path Blood Coagulation Man was not far from them; he just didn't know what methods Hundred and Eight had employed to keep them hidden.

Several days later, the group crossed the Ice Plain in a grand procession and finally entered the desolate North Sea. Although it was called the North Sea, it was still a vista of ice stretching for ten thousand li. The sea surface was covered in thick, heavy ice floes. Not only could people walk across them unharmed, but even the colossal elephants of the Spirit Elephant Clan could not have broken the ice with their weight.

However, the North Sea housed an immense variety of species, many ferocious beasts and spirit beasts that were unseen and unheard of. Even Bing Xiaotian and others who had entered the North Sea multiple times were ignorant of some of the creatures here. For humanity, this was certainly a vast, undeveloped treasure trove, but those without sufficient power who ventured here had little chance of returning. The beasts here were inherently ferocious, and the spirit beasts cunning and deceptive, often launching surprise attacks from unexpected angles.

Although these self-destructive assailants did not inflict any true harm upon the group, they did cause some disruption, leading He Yiming to regard the local fauna with newfound respect.

Upon entering the North Sea, the weather abruptly turned incomparably cold. Even though everyone’s cultivation had reached the level of immunity to heat and cold, they still felt waves of bone-chilling cold. Yet, what surprised He Yiming was that Yuan Lixun was not only unaffected but rather her spirits were lifted, her face glowing with vitality. The Deep Cold Heart Method she practiced proved exceptionally useful at this moment; over the few days of travel, her true energy cultivation had subtly advanced to a new stage. As for the Treasure Pig, White Horse Lightning, and the Qilin Beast, they cared even less about this cold. After all, they carried the bloodline of Divine Beasts, and if they couldn't withstand this slight chill, that Divine Beast blood would be quite worthless.

Throughout the journey, Bing Xiaotian and Di Shitian discussed the route, and no one knew precisely what the Divine Calculator had instructed, but the deeper they ventured, the slower their pace became.

After several more days, smiles of joy appeared on the faces of Bing Xiaotian and Di Shitian, and everyone immediately understood they were not far from the location where Ice Island would appear.

However, the smiles on everyone’s faces did not last long, because immediately after they confirmed the exact direction, successive earth-shattering roars echoed from that location. One, two, three—an endless cascade, resounding through heaven and earth...

Ps: The first seven days of next month are double Monthly Ticket days. White Crane had planned for all updates to be ten thousand five characters, but my daughter wants me to spend a day playing with her, so it will be ten thousand five characters for six days, with one day at nine thousand characters, sigh... After midnight tonight, it will be October. Asking for the guaranteed monthly tickets in the hands of my brothers, thank you!