“Father, since Xueying and I have come here, we’ve never cared about the dangers. Besides, we’re only using avatars, so there’s no need to worry about us,” Jing Qiu messaged. “And we’ve also discovered a place called the Bloodfire Gate.”
Jing Qiu explained in detail, which Dongbo Xueying had permitted.
After all, there was no need to hide anything from his father-in-law.
“Passing the screening means no attacks in the ordinary zones, and unintentionally entering restricted areas only results in expulsion first? Only resistance leads to execution?” Orland was startled, immediately realizing just how crucial this guest status was!
“Good.” A glimmer of hope for survival ignited in Orland’s heart.
With his son-in-law’s help, he might truly escape and even have a chance to reincarnate and fight for a new life!
“Daughter, I’ve ventured too deep into the Heartlake Island. I can only roughly determine my location through karmic senses. Moreover, while fleeing, I entered some extremely dangerous zones and barely survived to reach this place! The path I took—Xueying can’t follow the same route,” Orland messaged. The main reason was that the Nine Suns Palace Master and his forces had pursued him relentlessly at first, forcing Orland to charge into the most perilous areas. The Nine Suns Palace Master and his group wouldn’t dare gamble their lives like that.
“Father, first tell me your location,” Jing Qiu replied.
—
*Whoosh.*
Traveling through the depths of Heartlake Island, where everything was frozen under layers of ice, Dongbo Xueying moved with ease, encountering no attacks.
“This feeling is truly exhilarating,” Dongbo Xueying smiled.
Last time, he had cautiously fought his way through battles. If not for Emperor Qiu Yu, neither he nor Jing Qiu would have reached the hidden location of the True God artifact—and even that was in a relatively safe area deliberately chosen by Orland.
“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying received the map sent by his wife.
“So deep in?” He frowned.
The straight-line distance between Orland and the outer edges of Heartlake Island exceeded two hundred billion miles! And that was just the direct distance—the island’s intricate layout meant the actual path was far longer.
“Let’s take it slow.”
Since he was completely safe, Dongbo Xueying could use the simplest method: continuously advancing toward Orland’s location. If one path was blocked, he’d simply take another!
Time passed.
One day, two days, three days…
This time, Dongbo Xueying had ventured over a hundred times deeper than his first visit, yet not a single battle had occurred.
“Truly peculiar.” He gazed ahead at the end of the passage—a spatial vortex. Without certainty, he dared not recklessly enter. Who knew where it might teleport him? Clearly, it was a spatial passage leading somewhere.
“Turn back.” Without hesitation, Dongbo Xueying retraced his steps and took a previously discovered branching path.
The interior of Heartlake Island was vast beyond measure.
The number of Four Heavenly Realm Gods and mighty experts from the Divine Realm and Abyss who ventured here was minuscule—Dongbo Xueying hadn’t encountered a single one! Still, as he passed through countless areas, he meticulously recorded detailed maps.
—
A month had passed in the blink of an eye. Despite frequent detours, Dongbo Xueying maintained his top speed, avoiding seemingly dangerous or peculiar zones. Staying within ordinary areas, he faced no trouble. By now, the distance between him and Orland had narrowed to fifty billion miles.
*Whoosh.*
Flying at high speed through an entirely black passage, Dongbo Xueying observed the thick ice layers covering the walls. Beneath the ice, the dark material of the corridor was faintly visible.
*Boom!*
With a wave of his hand, a streak of white light shattered a large section of ice, revealing the shadowy black corridor walls adorned with simple yet profound patterns exuding an enigmatic charm.
“The deeper I go into Heartlake Island, the more structures I see,” Dongbo Xueying mused. Now, all of them were encased in ice.
“What’s that?”
He abruptly halted, turning to look back at the thick ice layer he had just passed.
Within the ice, a faint silhouette of a figure sat cross-legged.
“No armor?”
“Seated in meditation?”
Hovering mid-air, Dongbo Xueying scrutinized the figure through the ice. The layer was thick, but he could make out a gray-robed man sitting in meditation, completely frozen.
“In over a month of venturing deep into Heartlake Island, I’ve seen countless ice sculptures—but every single one wore armor,” Dongbo Xueying thought. “This is the first one without any.”
An urge to investigate surged within him.
“Whatever.”
“Even if this gray-robed man is some formidable figure within Heartlake Island, my guest status should prevent him from outright killing me for an accidental disturbance.” Resolved, Dongbo Xueying flicked his fingers, releasing countless white streaks that shattered the ice layers effortlessly.
*Crash!*
The ice, nearly a hundred meters thick, collapsed entirely. His Taihao Force meticulously avoided harming the gray-robed man, instead precisely shattering the surrounding ice to reveal his form.
The man sat cross-legged, devoid of any aura.
“Dead?” A quick sensory sweep confirmed it. “Not even a trace of his divine heart remains?”
Dongbo Xueying guided a wisp of Taihao Force into the corpse. It was hollow inside, but the body itself made his expression shift. As the force entered through the nostrils, it detected muscles, bones, and even internal organs of terrifying resilience.
“Definitely a mighty expert—one who cultivated his body to an extreme level,” Dongbo Xueying concluded.
“But who is he?”
He examined the man closely. “Judging by his body’s aura, he should be a mighty expert from the Divine Realm, not the Dark Abyss. And among the Divine Realm’s historical mighty experts—including the deceased—I should know them all. Yet, I don’t recognize him.”
Frowning, Dongbo Xueying studied the unfamiliar gray-robed man—a mighty expert unrecorded in history.
“Then again, historical records aren’t infallible. Even the master of Heartlake Island isn’t documented,” he mused.
His gaze fell on the man’s wrist, where a crimson bracelet rested. With a wave, the bracelet detached and flew into his hand—the only treasure on the corpse aside from the robes. Dongbo Xueying had no intention of stripping a dead cultivator’s clothing, even if it was top-tier World God gear.
The crimson bracelet was both a storage treasure and a unique World God artifact for combat.
“Interesting. Though it’s a World God artifact, its power seems immense.” Dongbo Xueying’s expression shifted as he refined the bracelet and discovered the ancient formations within. The vast, unfathomable arrays sent a chill down his spine. Inside was a fixed spacetime. “This is a weapon capable of sealing enemies into a spacetime. Just by activating it, foes can be trapped inside.”
“The craftsmanship behind this weapon… Even the Red Rock Mountain pocket dimension pales in comparison,” he muttered. “And this gray-robed corpse—I can’t even identify him.”
“Never mind.”
Unable to unravel the mystery, he set it aside for now. Regardless, this enigmatic man had died long ago in the deepest reaches of Heartlake Island.
“Perhaps the items inside can reveal his identity.” His consciousness probed the bracelet’s internal spacetime, divided into nearly a hundred layers. One of them stored various objects.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage