This place was indeed the most secret royal treasury. Even a freezer was protected with the strictest security measures. Although Yang Hao used his superb skill in controlling objects to disable alarms and other devices, there was still a solid alloy steel layer more than ten meters thick, leaving him momentarily at a loss.
If another thief had come here, they would probably have had to give up. Their best option would have been to use a laser sword to cut through the freezer door. However, the laser would generate intense heat, which would surely damage the precious items stored inside.
Fortunately, Yang Hao had an ice blade. Not only was it extremely sharp, but its icy nature also ensured the freezing conditions continued, preserving the treasures inside without any damage.
After a while of hard work with his flying sword, Yang Hao, drenched in sweat, finally opened the freezer. However, what lay before him was so shocking that he was taken aback.
Inside the freezer, contrary to his initial assumption that there would only be a few treasures, was completely filled with large ice blocks. These ice blocks, each about fifty centimeters thick and square in shape, were stacked layer upon layer like bricks.
As Yang Hao stepped closer, he discovered that these were no ordinary ice blocks. Inside each transparent block swam a small淡blue fish, no thicker than a finger, gliding gracefully. Each fish had long tail fins, resembling淡blue silk scarves drifting through water.
If the ice blocks merely contained fish, it wouldn’t have been so shocking. The real surprise was that the blocks were not completely frozen—inside were still liquid water, and the fish were swimming alive and well within.
To maintain liquid water at temperatures below freezing was simply against the laws of physics.
“That’s right! This is the Frostfish,” said Hun Yuanzi, as if sensing Yang Hao’s confusion. “The Frostfish’s greatest ability is to melt the ice around it into water, so no matter how cold the environment, it can swim comfortably.”
“But…” Yang Hao’s mouth was wide open in disbelief. “There are so many Frostfish here.”
As Yang Hao saw, the entire warehouse was stacked with thousands of icy blocks, each containing a Frostfish.
“What the hell!” Hun Yuanzi exclaimed excitedly, almost incoherently. “I’ve searched for thousands of years and couldn’t find one, yet here they are in abundance. This is unbelievable!”
Yang Hao shrugged. He could already sense Hun Yuanzi’s rising greed. To prevent the old ghost from pushing him into doing something wrong, Yang Hao quickly snapped out of his shock, grabbed one ice block, and shut the freezer door.
Sure enough, Hun Yuanzi muttered, “If we could take all these Frostfish out, we could make a fortune.”
“Make a fortune? We already stole one block. Do you want to steal all of them?”
“What’s the difference now that we’ve already stolen one?” Hun Yuanzi chuckled. “There’s no difference between stealing once or a hundred times.”
“You’re missing the point,” Yang Hao stopped and said solemnly. “I had no choice but to come here to find treasures. If I get the chance in the future, I will find other Frostfish and return them. So, I absolutely am not a thief.”
“Tsk!”
“I’m learning cultivation from you, not how to be a person,” Yang Hao said meaningfully. “With your rotten character, no wonder you were labeled as a heretic sect. Just watch me promote the Double Cultivation Sect into a prestigious orthodox sect ruling the world.”
“Betraying your master…” Hun Yuanzi cried out in despair. “How did I end up with such an upright disciple?”
“Anyway, now that we have the Frostfish, where’s the Fire Child?” Yang Hao changed the subject.
“The Fire Child lives in a hot place, so of course you need to find a furnace.”
Yang Hao continued scanning with his keen perception technique, but after searching the entire palace, he couldn’t sense any furnace at all.
“Looks like we lost this one; it doesn’t seem to be here,” Yang Hao began to feel discouraged.
“Without finding the Fire Child, there’s no way to cultivate the Nine Heavens Ice-Fire Technique…”
“I know!” Yang Hao replied moodily. “Thanks for the reminder.” He searched the area carefully once more. There was indeed no furnace. He had already spent quite some time sneaking in here, and if he continued to linger, he might eventually be discovered. Helplessly, Yang Hao decisively turned back, preparing to escape the palace first with the Frostfish.
However, just as he was about to leave, Hun Yuanzi mumbled, “What’s that red glow in the corner?”
Hun Yuanzi was referring to a constantly glowing red spot in one corner of the storage palace. Since Yang Hao had plunged the entire place into darkness, only that corner still faintly emitted light.
Yang Hao was just about to leave and only glanced briefly, casually saying, “Looks like an electric oven.”
“An electric oven?” Hun Yuanzi repeated. His era probably had modern technological products too, but his mind was always a bit slow to adapt.
“Electric oven!” Yang Hao suddenly realized. “Why would an electric oven be on all the time? These things only turn on when heating, right?”
“Heating!!” Hun Yuanzi shouted. “We’re so stupid. This isn’t ancient times anymore; why are we still looking for a furnace?”
Exactly. What era were they in now? Spaceships could travel thousands of light-years across galaxies. Except for those primitive, backward planets, who would still use something as outdated as a furnace?
Yang Hao swiftly employed the Flying Blossom Shadow technique, moving extremely fast, and pulled out a bright red root from the oven. This was indeed the Fire Child Hun Yuanzi had been seeking. Although it was supposed to resemble a child, it looked nothing like one—just a shriveled, dried-up plant root, as brittle as a dried herb when held in the hand.
Yang Hao was prepared. He took out a fireproof box, placed the Fire Child inside, and exhaled a stream of true energy to seal it tightly in the box.
“Mission accomplished!!” After putting both treasures into his backpack, Yang Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had originally thought today’s treasure-stealing mission would be full of obstacles, but it turned out to be surprisingly smooth.
But Yang Hao’s optimism was soon to fade because, as he joyfully rushed out of the palace gates, there was no gentle breeze or empty surroundings as he had imagined.
Quite the opposite—someone was standing there like an iron tower, arms folded, seemingly waiting for Yang Hao to walk straight into his trap.
Yang Hao recognized this person—it was Jin De, the vice-captain of the swordsman group, whom he had briefly encountered in the Lingfei Star Sea. This man was tall and powerfully built, wearing a bejeweled long sword, his eyes radiating cold, murderous intent.
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