The tremors from Black Mountain had not yet subsided when Xiao Wuchen arrived at the fault zone behind it, having trudged through the thick snow. The ice here had an eerie, deep purple hue, as if blood had congealed within the glacier below. Faint phosphorescence shimmered from the bottomless ice fissures.
"Master, there's a familiar stench down there." Chi Kui, who had met Xiao Wuchen on the outskirts of Black Mountain, peered down, his three eyes darting nervously. 'It's the stench of someone buried alive for three thousand years, still refusing to breathe their last.'
Without hesitation, Xiao Wuchen slammed his black iron boots against the ice edge and his heavy body plummeted into the darkness like a black meteorite. Passing through layers of mist, an ancient underground city, forcibly compressed and deformed by the glacier, appeared before him.
This was once the northernmost secret fortress of the Great Qian Dynasty, Soul Suppressor Pass, but now the entire city was covered in a translucent, blood vessel–like viscous substance connected to the ice walls. Inside the ice walls, thousands of warriors clad in flying fish robes and wielding embroidered spring knives were frozen solid.
Sensing the presence of an intruder, a dense, rustling sound of carapaces scraping emerged from the shadows of the ancient city. Hundreds of transparent 'Netherworld Erosion Aliens', covered in countless tentacles, crawled out from the ruins. These monsters were formed from the decaying flesh of ancient gods and the spiritual energy of the glacier. They were specifically tasked with guarding these 'soul-filled cradles'.
'You dare touch my people... you dare not?' Xiao Wuchen's eyes blazed with crimson light.
His right hand gripped the demonic sword, 'Rootless', and, sensing its master's rage, a layer of dark red ripples spread across its ebony blade.
'Arc Moon Slash — First Form: Flowing Light Slash (Mortal Iron Reforged State)!' Gone were the flamboyant, overwhelming sword shadows; this strike was incredibly fast, its force as heavy as a mountain. With a 'whoosh', the three leading aliens were cleaved in two at the waist. Their illusory blood splattered onto Xiao Wuchen's armour and was instantly absorbed and transformed by the cold iron core.
The three foremost aliens were cleaved in two at the waist, their blood splattering onto Xiao Wuchen's armour and being instantly absorbed and transformed by the cold iron core.
Xiao Wuchen rampaged through the alien horde, his fighting style becoming ferocious and primal. His shoulders shattered walls and his fists shattered spirits. Each swing of his sword was accompanied by the resounding clang of the ebony cold iron.
He charged towards the ice wall imprisoning the lieutenant, Leng Wuxue, and pressed his left hand, covered in metal armour, firmly against her chest through the thick ice.
"Captains and above... return to your ranks!" The 'Unwilling Soul' within him surged wildly through the ice; this pure will was not only an order, but also a deadly poison. To the Netherworld Worms parasitising the alien body, Xiao Wuchen's will was like molten iron.
'Hiss—!' Countless parasitic worms writhed and exploded in agony within the ice. A faint but resolute pulsation emanated from the ice wall, which had remained silent for three thousand years.
'Thump,' followed by a second, a third... Cracks began to densely appear across the entire underground city's ice, and Leng Wuxue's frozen eyelashes trembled slightly.
His Embroidered Spring Blade, long since fused with the glacier, trembled with an indomitable spirit.
'Master, they're coming back to life!' Chi Kui screamed, using three hands to lift an alien and slam it heavily to the ground. 'But there's not enough oxygen here; they need energy!' Xiao Wuchen turned sharply and looked at the enormous, eerily blue Mother Root of the Netherworld in the centre of the ancient city.
'Then let's use this Old God root as the first meal for my brothers!'
Xiao Wuchen stepped onto the translucent slime, his boots sizzling and corroding as they touched the ground. The sound echoed through the silent underground city. These frozen Imperial Guards had once been the Great Qian Dynasty's sharpest blades. Rather than cultivating immortality, they specialised in "killing techniques". At the beginning of Lu Qingyun's reign, they penetrated the heart of the immortal sects and assassinated countless pseudo-immortals who tried to interfere in politics. Lu Qingyun hated them for this, wanting not only to kill them, but also to turn them into 'nursery tanks' for the parasites of the old gods in the most humiliating way.
'Master, look over there... that's the flag of the "Blood Robe Camp",' said Chi Kui, pointing to a broken pole embedded in the ice wall not far away. Even after three thousand years of freezing, the tattered red flag still had a dark red hue. The embroidered python patterns on the flag looked fierce and desolate under the phosphorescent light of the Netherworld Worms.
The surrounding Netherworld Aliens didn't rush to attack. As if receiving commands from some kind of collective consciousness, they began slithering rapidly through the ruins.
[Body as an Array: Willpower Shock]
Rather than releasing demonic energy, he adjusted the frequency of his [Unwilling Soul] to resonate with the wavelength of the standard Imperial Guard armour.
'Buzz—!' A dark red ripple spread visibly across the ice, striking the Nether Eclipse aliens preparing to launch a sneak attack as if they had been struck by lightning. Their transparent bodies convulsed violently in mid-air. Inside the ice, the warriors felt a faint ripple in their dormant consciousness due to this familiar fluctuation.
Xiao Wuchen arrived at the frozen body of Qianhu Leng Wuxue.
Even though he was unconscious, the former number one assassin of the Great Qian Dynasty still gripped the hilt of his Embroidered Spring Blade tightly in his right hand. Due to the parasites frantically draining his energy, his face had collapsed, making him look like a skinned skeleton. 'Leng Wuxue, wake up.'
Xiao Wuchen pressed his forehead against the cold ice wall and the cold iron core of his black gold armour began to frantically reverse its energy output. This wasn't saving a person, but rather a 'will infusion'.
'Your blades aren't broken yet!' With Xiao Wuchen's low roar, the Netherworld Worm embedded in Leng Wuxue's spine sensed the threat and suddenly sprang from the crack in the ice wall. It transformed into a blood-red spear covered in barbs and aimed straight at Xiao Wuchen's face.
The crimson light in Xiao Wuchen's eyes constricted at that moment. His right hand shot out like lightning and grasped the slippery worm out of thin air. 'Since you like to suck, then suck to your heart's content!'
'Demon Sword – Rootless: Second Form Preload – Raider!' The short spike in Xiao Wuchen's hand instantly disintegrated into countless tiny metal fragments which coiled around the Netherworld Worm on his arm before flowing upstream and plunging directly into the Mother Root Network deep underground. The alien creature, which was originally a predator, had now become a conduit for Xiao Wuchen to absorb energy through.
Deep within the underground city, the enormous 'Mother Root of the Netherworld' let out a shrill, infant-like scream. The entire ancient city shook violently and the sound of cracking ice echoed everywhere. Pairs of bloodshot eyes slowly opened within the ice fissures.
The ancient underground city was trembling, on the verge of collapse. Xiao Wuchen gripped the blood-red worm tightly in his right hand. Metal fragments from the demonic sword, 'Rootless' — [Raiders] — flowed upstream along the worm's meridians like a greedy swarm of ants, frantically probing the thick network of the mother root.
[Willpower reconstruction: High-purity life essence detected (Old God's remnant poison).'
[Judgement: extremely dangerous; direct absorption not recommended.]
'Shut up, I'm not in a position to be picky now,' said Xiao Wuchen.
His feet sank deep into the ice and his black-gold cold iron armour groaned and twisted under the immense energy surge from the depths of the mother root. A black-red light flowed down his right arm and into the cold iron core in his chest. There, it transformed into the purest Unwilling Soul will and surged like a tidal wave into Leng Wuxue's body through his left hand, which was pressing against the ice wall.
Deep underground, the Mother Root of Erosion sensed its life force being frantically plundered by this lowly mortal.
'Bang!' The ice covering the entire underground city shattered simultaneously. Without its mother root to maintain it, the ice collapsed instantly, and countless figures in tattered flying fish robes plummeted from the walls. Their pale faces, imbued with Xiao Wuchen's will, quickly regained a hint of colour.
Leng Wuxue was the first to land, moving stiffly like a rusty machine. The instant he touched the ground, he instinctively held his embroidered spring knife horizontally across his chest. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the tall, armoured warrior, which gleamed with a cold, dark gold light, standing before him.
"... Leng Wuxue ..." His voice was hoarse and almost inaudible, bearing the weight of three thousand years of dust and vicissitude. "Greetings, General."
'Greetings, General!' Behind him, hundreds of elite Imperial Guards slowly rose in the cold wind. Despite their battered bodies and rusty armour, the moment they knelt, the iron-blooded military spirit that had been absent for three thousand years was reignited in this cold underground city.
Xiao Wuchen, leaning on his 'Rootless' armour, now restored to its short-spiked form, stood before the vast army. His black iron armour, having absorbed the energy of the Mother Root, was adorned with strange dark red cloud patterns. His condition wasn't ideal, but the flames in his eyes burned brighter than ever. "Lu Qingyun thought that by freezing you, he could erase the shadow of the Great Qian," he said.
Xiao Wuchen turned to look at the faint light above the ice fissure. 'Leng Wuxue, pass down the order: we must turn this far northern ice plain into the first graveyard of these false gods of the heavens.'
[Legion Status Update]
Commander: Xiao Wuchen (Black Iron Body, Synchronisation Rate 52%)
Core Retainers: Leng Wuxue (Thousand-Household Level, 30% Combat Power Restored), Three Thousand Remnants of the Imperial Guard (Will Awakened, Lacking Physical Equipment).
Loot: Remnants of the Netherworld
Corrosion Mother Root (can be used to forge standard weapons).