At the peak of the snow mountain. Shi Yan, Di Shan, and the others stood with solemn expressions, intently listening to Cao Zhilan's explanation.

"Every generation's Saint Spirit Cult Master personally selects a pair of twins during a specific period. One infant is designated as the next Cult Master, while the other is nurtured through arcane refinement, their soul extracted. Using this soul as a catalyst, the Cult is refined through a bizarre method to create the Saint Spirit. When the new Cult Master ascends, the 'Saint Spirit' crafted from their twin brother will become the new Saint Spirit God of the Cult, receiving the worship, faith, and offerings of all disciples. Accumulating over time, the spirit gradually awakens consciousness and gains supernatural abilities, growing alongside the Cult Master."

"The worship and power of faith from the Saint Spirit Cult disciples are channeled into the Saint Spirit God, granting it peculiar abilities, allowing it to manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and continuously gather it. Consequently, the main sanctuary of the Saint Spirit Cult is invariably situated where the spiritual energy of the boundless sea is densest."

"The Saint Spirit God and the Saint Spirit Cult Master are twin brothers, their minds intimately connected. No matter where the Cult Master engages in battle, they can sense the Saint Spirit God, and at critical moments, even separated by billions of miles, the Cult Master can summon the Saint Spirit God to their side for aid."

"With the Saint Spirit God nearby, the Saint Spirit Cult Master's strength can surge twofold or threefold, allowing them to freely wield the surrounding spiritual energy and disrupt the enemy’s Sea of Consciousness—it is supremely formidable. This is when the Cult Master is at their peak; the Saint Spirit God is truly the sharpest weapon and greatest reliance of the Saint Spirit Cult Master."

"Beyond this, the Saint Spirit God possesses a unique function. Legend states that if a Saint Spirit Cult Master reaches the pinnacle of the Triple Heaven of Divine Attainment, they can devour the Saint Spirit God and, in a single leap, ascend to the True God realm. However, doing so results in the Saint Spirit God’s complete annihilation, soul and spirit utterly destroyed. Generally, the Saint Spirit Gods of previous generations meet this fate of being consumed. Its greatest value, in essence, is to help the Cult Master shatter the barrier to the True God realm."

"Each generation of the Saint Spirit Cult Master has a corresponding Saint Spirit God. This generation’s Saint Spirit God has remained at the Cult’s main sanctuary; the one beneath this Snow Dragon Mountain must belong to the previous generation."

Cao Zhilan spoke at length, detailing her knowledge of the Saint Spirit God to Shi Yan, Di Shan, and the others.

Shi Yan listened, dumbfounded. It was the first time he had learned of such an anomaly within the Saint Spirit Cult. He had only known that the Cult was mysterious and that its Master cultivated peculiar secret arts, but he never imagined there were so many hidden secrets within.

"The previous generation’s Saint Spirit God? Then why didn't the last Cult Master devour it?" Yi Tianmo asked in surprise.

"The previous Saint Spirit Cult Master died from qi deviation before reaching the peak of Divine Attainment. When the Cult Master perished, the Saint Spirit God, which had long resided at the Cult’s center, suddenly vanished without cause. It hasn't appeared in the boundless sea since. I never expected it to be hiding down here," Cao Zhilan sighed, gazing at the spiritual energy erupting endlessly from the earth below. "The boundless sea is vast; I don't know why it chose to come to Snow Dragon Mountain. What’s more incomprehensible is that it seems to possess an extremely potent ice-cold attribute, something a Saint Spirit God shouldn't naturally hold."

"It devoured the soul of the Ice Bone Crystal Dragon. The dragon crystal of the Ice Bone Crystal Dragon is precisely where it is currently resting," Yi Tianmo stated gravely.

Cao Zhilan's delicate face shifted slightly. "The Ice Bone Crystal Dragon was an Eighth-Tier Demonic Beast. Legend holds that this beast was terrifyingly fierce near Snow Dragon Mountain back then; even some God-Realm experts from the boundless sea failed to subdue it. For the Saint Spirit God to devour its soul and occupy its dragon crystal—it seems the Saint Spirit God has undergone changes beyond anyone's imagination. It's uncertain if the current Saint Spirit God still qualifies as a Saint Spirit God."

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Thick spiritual energy surged forth from the depths beneath Snow Dragon Mountain.

In moments, Snow Dragon Mountain was saturated with immense spiritual energy. This energy spread outward, making the entire Snow Dragon Island incredibly rich in vital force.

If not for the astonishing cold emanating from the mountain, Snow Dragon Mountain would have been an exceptionally suitable place for martial cultivators.

Thick white mist billowed, making Snow Dragon Mountain seem suspended in the clouds, severely impairing visibility.

Shi Yan pondered for a moment, unsure how to deal with the Saint Spirit God beneath the mountain. He turned to Yi Tianmo, Kaba, and Zhameng: "Has that entity emerged from below?"

"No," Kaba shook his head. "While underground, it sensed our soul probing and immediately launched an attack. However, once we retreated from below, it didn't pursue. It seems unwilling to leave the subterranean realm. We just don't know why it’s releasing so much spiritual energy."

"It might be brewing a counterattack…" Cao Zhilan's brow furrowed as she seemed to recall something. "The Saint Spirit God can manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to condense 'Spirit Energy Bombs.' These bombs are immensely powerful, but condensation takes time. Perhaps it is currently condensing Spirit Energy Bombs…"

"That's likely," Di Shan looked up at the sky, his expression growing grim.

Shi Yan’s heart tightened. He also perceived the unusual fluctuations in the heavenly spiritual energy and looked up, his face subtly changing.

The vast white mist gathered overhead, forming clumps.

The frigid, biting cold air transformed into sharp, chilling force that permeated the white fog. Soon, disk-sized, snow-white spheres began to condense in the void, like massive snowballs.

These spheres were not only filled with extremely chaotic spiritual energy but also with bone-chilling coldness. Their energy fluctuations were wildly unstable, threatening to detonate at any second.

Vast amounts of spiritual energy pouring out from beneath Snow Dragon Mountain rushed to gather upon these massive snowballs.

At a glance, the sky seemed adorned with numerous brilliant, luminous white orbs, dazzling to behold, yet radiating terrifying energy fluctuations that inspired dread.

"Order everyone at the foot of the mountain to evacuate!" Shi Yan suddenly barked.

Yi Tianmo’s figure flickered; he moved like a phantom, floating down lightly, vanishing in an instant.

Cao Zhilan's beautiful eyes suddenly brightened. She covertly watched Yi Tianmo’s retreating form, a dawning realization in her mind, reinforcing her certainty that Shi Yan could command the Shadow Clan and the Winged Clan. She was inwardly astonished.

"They're coming!"

Di Shan roared. Wings suddenly unfurled from his back, emitting clusters of interlocking black lightning that shot upward like an intricate net.

The Spirit Energy Bombs, amidst the startling cold, plummeted from the sky, carrying unparalleled momentum.

"Rumble! Rumble!"

The entire Snow Dragon Mountain began to roar. The disk-sized, luminous, dazzling Spirit Energy Bombs fell from the void, causing Snow Dragon Mountain to tremble and groan, its structure shaking as if on the verge of collapse.

There were dozens of these Spirit Energy Bombs, each saturated with terrifying energy.

When one bomb struck, a manor at the mountain's base disintegrated instantly, and many members of the Shadow Clan and Winged Clan screamed as they fled in all directions.

Due to the continuous drop in temperature on Snow Dragon Mountain, many low-cultivation members of both clans had evacuated earlier.

Those remaining at the base were mostly powerful cultivators who did not fear the mountain's cold. Thus, when the Spirit Energy Bombs crashed down, their speed in fleeing was extremely quick, and most escaped unharmed, quickly clearing the bombing range.

He Qingman and Pan Zhe were also among the evacuees. As young experts from the Heavenly Evil Cave Heaven and Penglai Sacred Land, they naturally understood the gravity of the situation. Seeing the danger, they immediately retreated with maximum speed, narrowly avoiding the barrage of Spirit Energy Bombs.

The dozens of Spirit Energy Bombs descending from the sky were primarily aimed at the area where Shi Yan and Di Shan stood.

As they watched the myriad Spirit Energy Bombs rain down, Di Shan and Yurou finally had no choice but to exert their full strength to counter the assault.

Shi Yan and Cao Zhilan stood to the side, protected by Di Shan, Yurou, and the others, thus avoiding the direct bombardment. However, from the flashing brilliance descending from above and the continuous explosions echoing from the mountain, Shi Yan understood that these Spirit Energy Bombs, refined by the Saint Spirit God, possessed ferocious power.

"Although the Saint Spirit God was forged from a human soul, it lacks a physical body, so it can't truly be considered human. Furthermore, it appears to have swallowed the soul of the Ice Bone Crystal Dragon. The current Saint Spirit God has likely transformed into some unique life form; I wonder if it possesses intelligence. This is truly problematic,"

Cao Zhilan stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Shi Yan, facing the dazzling light colliding in the sky, watching the mountain-sized Spirit Energy Bombs crash down. Showing no hint of fear, she spoke to Shi Yan in a soft, melodious voice about the Saint Spirit God.

The Profound Ice Cold Flame within the Blood Vein Ring suddenly unleashed an intense, bone-piercing chill that flooded Shi Yan's entire body, instantly suffusing him with icy energy.

Shi Yan shivered. Just as he was about to transmit a message to the Blood Vein Ring, he immediately detected another stream of icy energy quietly rising from the earth, seeping into his body through his soles, beginning to clash with the cold energy of the Profound Ice Cold Flame already within him.

Simultaneously, an incredibly strange spiritual wave spread through his body.

It felt as if hundreds of scattered soul fragments were distributed across every corner of his body, yet unable to reassemble immediately, still searching for a way to gather.

"That entity wants your body!" the Profound Ice Cold Flame urgently transmitted from the Blood Vein Ring. "It needs a physical form! It needs a body to truly attain rebirth! Your body has been tempered by my power, capable of enduring its coldness. It's just like my will from back then!"

Shi Yan's face darkened dramatically.

"Crack! Crack!"

The snow beneath Shi Yan's feet suddenly shattered, and a tunnel leading straight into the earth opened at a visible speed, swallowing Shi Yan whole like a gaping maw.

Cao Zhilan, standing right beside him, attempted to leap forward to save him, but the tunnel sealed rapidly after engulfing Shi Yan. By the time she reached the spot, the opening had vanished.

"Why must it seek you out?"

Cao Zhilan’s beautiful eyes were filled with astonishment. Her Martial Soul faintly sensed the Saint Spirit God's intentions below. "Could it be that there is something on you that attracts it? Shi Yan, just wait; I will uncover every secret you hold, piece by piece."

…………

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