"Impressive," Jizang Chuan smiled with a strange, handsome curve of his lips. "You are the second high-ranking Emissary to learn this secret."

"The second?" Lian Guang frowned, turning his head toward the dead Tia beside him, sneering, "Did you think she would survive?"

"No," Jizang Chuan shook his head. "The first one I speak of wasn't her, but... the former Third Emissary. He was a monster too, but unfortunately, he was too careless, and I accidentally killed him..."

Lian Guang's pupils contracted violently, his throat feeling gripped by Death's invisible hand, rendering him speechless. A chill like plunging into an ice cavern enveloped his entire body.

"Rest in peace..." Jizang Chuan's expression was cold. The [Sky-Slaying Dagger] in his hand hovered above his head, like a sharp viper, sweeping its gaze over Lian Guang. He slowly raised his other hand, opening his palm, where something resembling a golden seed slowly began to sprout...

"Heart of the Earth!!!" Lian Guang's eyes suddenly shrank to pinpricks, filled with unbelievable shock. Because he knew that among the Seven Great Treasures of the Mind Realm, the Heart of the Earth ranked highest in the Ice and Snow Empire, at Dragon Mirror Lake.

The Heavenly Dao Divine Ark whistled from the distant sky, passing over the layered dense forest, arriving and stopping at the edge of Dragon Mirror Lake.

"Master!" Xiao Zhongsheng's horrified cry rang out urgently.

Ye Chen, seated on the sofa, felt his heart tighten upon hearing the urgent call. His figure flashed like the wind, and he instantly appeared next to Xiao Zhongsheng in the main control room. "What is it?"

"You... look..." Xiao Zhongsheng trembled, pointing a finger toward the lake outside the forward viewport.

Ye Chen followed her gaze and turned his head.

His pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinholes.

In the distance, the orange-yellow sunset illuminated the wind-rippled lake. Reflected on the water's surface was the warm yellow sun nearing the horizon. Within this golden lake shimmer, black tentacles, gnarled like old tree roots, were partially submerged in the water, while others curved out above the surface like arching bridges. The entire clear water of the lake flowed with a faint blackness, as if dyed pitch by some ink, and emitted a stench of blood and decay.

Above the lake water, sections of severed black tentacles floated. It was not hard to imagine the devastating war that had taken place here.

Ye Chen stared, momentarily stunned. He slowly lowered his head to look at the bio-energy readings displayed on the detector screen. He immediately noticed a solid red bar, representing the highest level detectable by the instrument—Undetectable!

Since the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark was a Void Heaven Artifact, being undetectable could only mean that the mysterious dead creature before them possessed strength at least at the Void Heaven Realm, or perhaps... even stronger!

Ye Chen suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but look back at the surroundings of the lake. His brow immediately furrowed. He saw no signs of the banks bursting around the lake, as if the corpse of this mysterious monster had been moved here from far away; there were no traces of a fierce struggle at the scene.

This could only mean that this mysterious monster had been instantly killed by an overwhelmingly superior enemy!

Ye Chen looked up toward the sky above the lake, his gaze not fixed on the distant horizon but on the air itself. He remained silent for a moment before raising his hand to summon thirty-six peak Divine Emperor experts, instructing them, "Go and dredge the corpse from the lake."

"Yes." The thirty-six experts accepted the order and vanished behind him in unison.

Then, thirty-six figures materialized out of thin air above the lake, standing in various positions. They then utilized their respective methods to haul the corpse out of the lake. Instantly, the lake water churned violently, as if some colossal beast was about to burst forth.

Ye Chen did not watch closely. He looked up at the void above the lake, his brow deeply furrowed.

Bai Yijun moved close to him and whispered, "Is something troubling you? This place should be the gateway to the Snow Domain, right? Are you concerned about who killed that mysterious monster below?"

Ye Chen nodded silently, glanced at her, and smiled faintly. "Nothing escapes your notice. I am indeed worried. According to my sensing, if I encountered this giant beast at its full strength, it would be certain death for me; at best, I could only flee. With the fundamental laws of the wind element, my escape speed is quite fast, but injuring it would be difficult, let alone attempting to kill it!"

"Now, looking at the situation, some monstrous entity must have entered the Snow Domain ahead of us..."

Bai Yijun was silent for a moment before taking his hand. "No matter where we go, I will be with you."

Ye Chen looked at her, his eyes flickering slightly, then slowly nodded. He looked ahead, his expression hardening with resolution. He raised a finger and shot out a streak of cyan aurora that pierced through the front window of the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark into the sky. Then, the seemingly empty air shimmered like disturbed water.

Following this, distorted ripples of light appeared.

The thirty-six experts who were currently dealing with the mysterious monster's corpse suddenly heard a deep, rumbling sound of opening—like an ancient, heavy stone gate slowly being drawn back, the sound of friction deafening. Immediately after, they saw needle-point sharp white light lines slowly emerging from the distorted light waves, growing larger, being pulled horizontally, expanding further.

This dazzling white light reflected in Bai Yijun's pupils. She stared, lost in thought. After a while, she couldn't help but ask, "Is this the Gate of the Snow Domain?"

Ye Chen nodded. "Indeed."

At this moment, the Gate of the Snow Domain fully opened. From the outside, one could see the distant icy peaks and snowy mountains within—a scene of profound cold. Faintly, they could see snowbirds occasionally streaking across the sky, letting out long cries that echoed among the thousands of peaks.

Ye Chen stared for a moment, his eyes subtly shifting. He then looked down at the thirty-six experts, who were accelerating their efforts to clear the remaining corpse fragments. A dozen or so experts gathered together, forming a large circle, each unleashing their chaotic power, condensing threads of grayish-white light that plunged into the lake water, like a dozen chains.

"Heave!"

With a loud shout, the dozen or so individuals roared, exerting all their strength, pulling and tightening the chains. The lake water below began to churn violently like boiling water, followed by a rumbling sound like an earthquake. Water sprayed high into the air, and then sharp black horns pierced through the spray. A monster, entirely covered in black carapace and covered in sharp spikes, was hauled out.

Ye Chen saw clearly that this monster had numerous tentacles on its belly, some of which were broken off, and a massive, blood-red cavity on its chest area above the belly.

Ye Chen's gaze flashed. His body moved abruptly, vanishing from the ship in an instant. The next moment he appeared, he was right in front of the monster's chest, which was being pulled up by the dozen Divine Emperor experts.

Ye Chen took a close look at the blood-red cavity, finding it to be nearly a hundred meters wide. Of course, compared to the monster, which was tens of thousands of kilometers long, it seemed insignificant.

A thick stench of blood flowed from the wound, and black, ink-like blood streamed out, mixing with the spray and darkening its underside.

Ye Chen examined it carefully, his brow gradually furrowing. His figure flickered, and he appeared high in the sky. He extended his palm toward the monster's body, which was slowly being pulled upwards below him, and with a slight clench of his finger, a black, vortex-like object materialized. A powerful suction force pulled the giant monster's corpse upward, causing the water in the lake to fluctuate violently, stirring restlessly.

A cold glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. He suddenly increased the power of the black vortex in his palm. The massive corpse shot upward abruptly and vanished into the black vortex, being stored within the broken universe of the Demon God Palace, suspended in the vast cosmos.

As his strength grew, Ye Chen's control over power became more proficient. He directly connected to the broken universe of the Demon God Palace, creating miniature black holes via his Devouring Talent to absorb the mass.

Having dealt with the main body, Ye Chen waved his hand, collecting the torn flesh and fragments obtained by the thirty-six Divine Emperor experts into his rune space, then led everyone back into the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark.

"Let's go," Ye Chen said coldly, staring at the Gate of the Snow Domain.

Xiao Zhongsheng pressed the third button with her finger. The Heavenly Dao Divine Ark floated forward, like a massive shark, crashing into the picturesque white world. As it entered, the air twisted like water waves, resembling quicksand, and the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark became completely submerged.

Only after the huge Divine Ark had fully passed through did the scroll-like gate slowly disappear, and the lake returned to tranquility.

Outside the small city of Wilman in the Ice and Snow Empire, on a hillside.

"Swish!"

A black light flashed, and the sharp [Sky-Slaying Dagger] shot out like lightning in the night, hurtling directly toward Lian Guang's forehead.

Lian Guang's expression was severe. He lightly pinched his fingers, and a circle of transparent energy undulated at his fingertips, causing three hard, golden walls to instantly spring up before him.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The three golden walls were pierced through like sheets of paper. The Sky-Slaying Dagger continued its charge unstoppably toward Lian Guang.

Lian Guang's expression did not change. Seemingly knowing these three walls could not withstand the swift strike, he rapidly manipulated his fingers. The Earth Divine Sword, embedded in Tia's skull, suddenly coiled back, meeting the Sky-Slaying Dagger. The two streaks of lightning collided, causing the entire sky to briefly brighten, emitting the grating sound of metal scraping against metal and scattering sparks.

The Sky-Slaying Dagger and the Earth Divine Sword recoiled but immediately struck back even more ferociously, without pausing. The two weapons collided like ancient enemies meeting again, instantly generating intense firelight as they battled from the ground before them up to the high sky, moving with lightning speed.

The sky had darkened at some unknown point, and a biting cold wind blew, stirring up the thick snow on the ground.

Neither Lian Guang nor Jizang Chuan moved an inch. Their eyebrows and eyes were fixed immovably on each other, their gazes locked only on one another. Between them, the sword and dagger, tumbling and dancing above, scraped out fierce sparks, resembling the silent, invisible collision of their sharp gazes.