Chapter 249: Ice Crystal (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 249: Ice Crystal (2)
"Normally, we replenish the cold energy every four to five years. But since we're slightly past that deadline, we need to hurry."
"The deadline passed? Did something happen?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
"I just didn't feel like doing it."
"Good grief..."
What a grand reason indeed.
Seo-jun clicked his tongue, carefully observing the Ice Crystal floating above a waist-high pedestal.
It truly lived up to its reputation as the sacred object of the Ice Palace. According to Baek Seol-hyang, its output was currently lower than usual, yet the sheer cold energy radiating from the Ice Crystal was already far beyond the ordinary.
‘So they use this cold energy to achieve mastery in the Ice Soul Divine Art.’
Seo-jun understood the principle immediately.
Dyeing one's internal energy a specific color wasn't as simple as it sounded. How could a third-rate martial artist, someone who had just stepped onto the path of cultivation, possibly dye the energy of nature with their own mental imagery?
This was where heart methods came in. The oral chants and mental imagery contained within a heart method guided an inexperienced martial artist's path. As they gradually grew accustomed to it, they would eventually build their own mental imagery.
As a result, a martial artist’s mental imagery was naturally influenced by their heart method.
However, in the case of the Ice Soul Divine Art, which handled extreme cold, there was a strict limit to how much Ice Soul Divine Energy could be refined through heart methods alone.
The Ice Crystal supplemented that deficiency.
By coming into contact with the Ice Crystal, cultivators refined their mental imagery to be even more frigid. Any remaining gaps were filled by directly infusing the Ice Crystal’s pure cold energy into their own internal energy.
Simply put, the Ice Soul Divine Art was a martial art designed to refine Ice Soul Divine Energy itself.
Since the internal energy was the divine art, a martial artist of the Ice Palace boasted power far exceeding most other martial arts simply by unleashing their qi.
‘But that’s not all.’
Seo-jun’s eyes narrowed. His acute senses saw right through the true nature of the Ice Crystal.
There was a hidden function inherent in the Ice Crystal itself.
Presumably, this was an artifact created directly by a martial artist of the Profound Realm. Even if one found another object possessing similar cold energy, it would be nearly impossible to train the Ice Soul Divine Art with it.
If someone attempted to master the Ice Soul Divine Art without the Ice Crystal, even a martial artist who had reached the Transcendent Realm would have to abandon everything they had built and start learning from scratch.
Yeah, that was complete nonsense.
Anyone who had reached the Transcendent Realm would have already elevated their own martial arts to the level of a divine art. They would have to be completely insane to give all that up just to learn the Ice Soul Divine Art.
This meant the Ice Crystal was everything to the Ice Palace... which naturally meant it shouldn't be shown to just anyone.
Yet Baek Seol-hyang had revealed it to him without a second thought. From a common-sense perspective, Seo-jun found it utterly absurd.
"Is it really okay to show this to me? Where is this trust coming from?"
"Did I not tell you? I am the Palace Master."
"No, I understand perfectly well that your will stands above all laws in the Ice Palace. I'm asking what basis you used to make that judgment."
"What a stiff man."
Baek Seol-hyang clicked her tongue.
"I'm telling you I'll take care of everything as long as you keep your mouth shut. Why insist on asking for a reason? What if you questioning me makes me change my mind?"
"I’m saying this because I’m genuinely worried. If you show the sect's sacred object to just anyone like this, you’re going to face serious trouble later."
He meant it sincerely.
It was worrying enough that she was a bit of a pushover, but perhaps she had been lonely after the former Palace Master passed away, because she was far too trusting of others.
Usually, the standard fate for someone like this was to give their heart and soul to a villain, only to end their life in lonely misery.
It wasn't exactly Seo-jun's place to worry, given his grudge against the North Sea Ice Palace, but lately, he felt so sorry for this woman that he could practically weep.
‘How is she going to survive in this harsh world?’
As Seo-jun clicked his tongue again, Baek Seol-hyang laughed as if she found him ridiculous.
"What do you take me for? I am the Palace Master of the Ice Palace and a martial artist of the Transcendent Realm. My eye for people is absolute."
"I really don't think so..."
"Shut it. Besides, the Ice Crystal is useless anywhere outside the North Sea."
Baek Seol-hyang snorted. But Seo-jun still didn't understand.
Taking the Ice Crystal and running away might be meaningless for the thief, but wouldn't its absence be a disaster for the Ice Palace?
If the Ice Crystal disappeared right now, the next generation of the Ice Palace wouldn't be able to learn the Ice Soul Divine Art.
Seo-jun looked at Baek Seol-hyang with a strange expression, but she just waved at the Ice Crystal as if he were being annoying.
"Anyway, you understand what I’m asking you to do, right?"
"You want me to replenish the Ice Crystal’s cold energy?"
"Yes. There is a place in the North Sea where that cold energy naturally concentrates. I’ll give you the location; go there and meditate for a while."
Baek Seol-hyang rummaged through a corner of the secret chamber, pulled something out, and held it out to Seo-jun.
"It’s a map. It’s not far, so this should be enough."
As Seo-jun took the map, Baek Seol-hyang continued her explanation.
"The Ice Crystal is a massive mass of qi in itself. It cannot be interfered with by techniques like Void Object Grasping, so carry it carefully in your hands and wait for about a week... Wait. What are you doing...?"
Baek Seol-hyang stared at Seo-jun with a blank expression. Seo-jun scratched his head, looking back at her with an equally blank look.
"Well, I didn't want my hands to get cold..."
Baek Seol-hyang’s jaw dropped. The Ice Crystal was floating in the air, leisurely circling around Seo-jun.
She had just said it couldn't be moved with Void Object Grasping. Yet this guy had casually lifted the Ice Crystal with it as if it were nothing.
It was utterly embarrassing.
Baek Seol-hyang’s face flushed bright red.
"You...! Are you challenging the authority of the Palace Master right now?! A man who has mastered the Ice Soul Divine Art is worried about his hands getting cold?!"
How on earth did he do it? Even as she fumed, Baek Seol-hyang’s mind swirled with confusion.
Seo-jun, who had simply used Void Object Grasping as he always did without much thought, felt incredibly wronged.
"Anyone can see that touching this would freeze their hands."
"Shut up...!"
"Sigh... Fine, I’ll be going then."
"Going where?! It’s already night, so leave tomorrow morning!"
"Hmm, I suppose you're right. I'll do that."
And so, the next morning, Seo-jun left the Ice Palace with the Ice Crystal in tow.
*
Seo-jun walked through the air, keeping the Ice Crystal floating beside him using Void Object Grasping.
‘The location is...’
He spent a long time squinting at the map. Finally figuring out the path he needed to take, Seo-jun kicked off the air with explosive force.
Whoosh!
His figure blurred into a long streak across the sky.
He traveled roughly five times the distance between the Ice Palace and the nearby village. Soon, Seo-jun could feel the piercing cold energy seeping through his collar.
However, he had achieved Cold and Heat Immunity long ago. Following the trail of cold energy without a care, it didn't take long for him to find the place Baek Seol-hyang had mentioned.
"Wow..."
It was quite a sight.
This was the nexus where all the cold energy of the North Sea gathered. The snowfield, which could rightly be called the holy land of the Ice Palace, was a dazzling, pure white.
The snow was frozen so solid that it seemed not a single footprint would remain, even if someone who hadn't mastered light-footwork walked across it. Occasional ice pillars rose from the ground, stretching out long branches like crystalline trees.
Seo-jun stood in the center of the field and released his Void Object Grasping.
Hummm—
The Ice Crystal floated on its own and began to passively suck in the surrounding cold energy. At this rate, it would take about a week, just as Baek Seol-hyang had said.
Impatient, Seo-jun decided to take control of the surrounding cold energy himself, forcefully shoving it into the Ice Crystal.
Rumbleeeeeee!!
The ambient cold energy of the North Sea aggressively poured into the Ice Crystal. It was a somewhat insulting way to treat a sect's sacred object, but the efficiency was undeniable.
‘At this rate, it should only take about four hours.’
It was a revolutionary reduction in time. Seo-jun smiled proudly as he watched the Ice Crystal diligently gorge itself on the cold energy.
"Hmm?"
Just then, Seo-jun sensed a presence. Nearby, two mounds of snow began to rise.
Crack!
The frozen snow shattered as two figures leaped out.
"Who are you? The Palace Master of this generation should be Baek Seol-hyang."
A man wearing a pure white robe approached with a leisurely stride. He brushed the frozen snow off his body and stared at Seo-jun with icy eyes.
"I heard only the Palace Master can touch the Ice Crystal. Did the leadership change while we were waiting?"
Beside him, a man with a long scar running from his forehead to his cheek shuddered from the cold. Judging by their appearance, they seemed to have been hiding under the snow for at least several days.
Just as they had mentioned, the only person likely to visit this holy land was Baek Seol-hyang.
In other words, they had endured the freezing temperatures for a significant amount of time, going through the trouble of burying themselves in the snow, just to ambush her. No matter how you looked at it, these were not righteous men with good intentions.
Seo-jun’s eyes narrowed.
‘They were hiding while completely cutting off their presence.’
Once a martial artist reached the Transcendent Realm, it was possible to perfectly control all bodily functions. If they buried themselves in the snow and cut off all qi resonance with the outside world, it wouldn't be easy for even Seo-jun to detect them in advance.
As Seo-jun scrutinized the two men, they began to murmur between themselves.
"That’s impossible. A man requires many specific conditions to master the Ice Soul Divine Art. Not enough time has passed for that."
"Then what? Did this guy steal the Ice Crystal and run away?"
"Hardly. The Ice Crystal is useless once it leaves the North Sea. It’s also difficult to hide such a massive lump of energy. If he carried the Ice Crystal outside the North Sea, the entire surrounding area would freeze over. He wouldn't be able to escape the Ice Palace’s pursuit."
"Then what are we looking at? We have a man who has mastered the Ice Soul Divine Art holding the Ice Crystal."
"That... is what we’ll have to find out."
The man in the white robe turned his attention back to Seo-jun.
"I am Baek Yun. I am likely your distant ancestor, so show your respect immediately."
Seo-jun ignored Baek Yun’s arrogant demand and simply stared at him. His nose twitched. A thick, cloying scent of blood hung in the air. Seo-jun's brow furrowed.
"Well, I am Baek Seo-jun... but I have one thing to ask you first."
Baek Yun’s eyebrow arched at Seo-jun’s insolent attitude, which was a far cry from showing respect.
"What is it?"
"I’m just asking to be sure, but are you perhaps a woman?"
"...What?"
"You absolutely reek of blood. It’s fine, just tell me. If you claim to be a woman, I'm prepared to accept it."
Baek Yun exchanged a glance with his companion and let out a hollow laugh.
"Neung Wol."
"Yeah, he seems to have lost his mind."
The scarred man, Neung Wol, chuckled and unstrapped the spear from his back, gripping it tightly.
Simultaneously, the oppressive momentum of both Baek Yun and Neung Wol surged forward, attempting to crush Seo-jun.
Seo-jun calmly let their killing intent wash over him like a gentle breeze and looked at Baek Yun.
"Right, so you're not a woman."
Seo-jun’s eyes turned a deep, blood-red. Suddenly, the freezing wind howling across the snowfield came to a dead halt.
Whooooooooosh!!
The surrounding space was dyed a murky, abyssal black. It was the physical materialization of pure killing intent.
Baek Yun’s eyes widened as he stared at Seo-jun. Seo-jun met his gaze, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a wicked grin.
"Then you're the one, aren't you?"
The traces of the Ice Soul Divine Art left in Chun-bong’s body. The God-Destroying Association that had stolen the Blood Arts. The thick scent of blood radiating from the man before him.
All the evidence pointed to one truth. The man standing in front of him had played a part in the massacre of the Geum family.
"I’m in luck."
He had planned to hunt them down one by one, but the target had walked right into his lap.
Seo-jun thrust his clenched fist forward. The freezing wind that had briefly paused began to violently swirl around him.
All the cold energy of the North Sea fell under Seo-jun’s absolute control. Soon, all emotion vanished from his face, leaving behind a mask of cold fury.
"I’ll commend your courage for not having committed suicide yet."
Sensing the ominous momentum, Baek Yun and Neung Wol grew highly wary of Seo-jun.
Seo-jun didn't care. No matter what they tried, the outcome was already decided.
— Aaaaaaaargh!!
The Giryeon Sect Leader was still screaming in agony deep within his mental imagery. Seo-jun had prepared a nice new spot right next to him.
"Now, die."
He opened his hand. The surrounding space instantly froze solid. Under the white-stained sky, Seo-jun whispered.
"Eight Cold Hells."
CRAAAAAAAAACK!!