The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

“Of course, we’re going. This journey wouldn’t be worth it otherwise.” Fang Lin immediately voiced his stance.

Yang Pojun nodded as well: “I also think we should take a look. We don’t necessarily have to enter the Ice Palace. We can decide based on the situation at the time.”

Seeing that both of them wanted to go, Qing Jianzi sighed internally. These two were truly fearless. The Ice Palace was a very dangerous place. Not to mention the palace itself, it was hard to estimate how many Demon Beasts they would encounter on the way.

Moreover, no one knew what was inside the Ice Palace because everyone that had ever set foot there had never come out again.

In other words, those who had entered the Ice Palace had all died inside.

However, Qing Jianzi was curious to see it for himself. However, since he wasn’t acting alone this time, he had to consider the safety of others as well, hence his hesitation.

The crew rested for ten hours. The injuries that resulted from the conflict between Fang Lin, Yang Qingyao, and the Human-faced Eight-Armed Monkey also healed during this time.

At that moment, everyone began their journey, searching for the legendary Ice Palace.

The environment inside the Ice Valley wasn’t complicated. Plus, both the Purple Mist Sect and the royal family had learned a lot from the survivors of their previous expeditions, so they knew how to find the Ice Palace.

On their way, they encountered many Demon Beasts, even an Arctic Tiger. It had reached the first level of the Three Transformations, comparable to a Heavenly Origin Martial Artist.

The Arctic Tiger could breathe out cold wind and moved very quickly on the ice. Even if Fang Lin used the Nine Heavens Step Skill, he could barely keep up.

This Arctic Tiger posed a great threat to everyone. Although it wasn’t as terrifying as the Human-faced Eight-Armed Monkey, it was still a handful.

Fortunately, upon realizing the difficulty of dealing with the Arctic Tiger, Fang Lin drew out his crimson longsword and thrust it deeply into the beast.

Afterwards, the group had no worries. The red longsword, like Bone Maggots, sucked the lifeblood out of the Arctic Tiger. In a few breaths, the robust tiger was dried up, leaving only a shriveled carcass on the ice. Although it wasn’t dead, without its lifeblood, it certainly couldn’t survive.

Fang Lin, sticking to his tradition of extracting every ounce of value, happily dissected the Arctic Tiger’s carcass with a dagger, removed two pieces of tiger bone, and threw them into his Nine Palace Bag.

According to Fang Lin, the tiger bones of the Arctic Tiger have great strengthening effects and are excellent for Pill Refining. Naturally, he couldn’t pass up such an opportunity.

Other disciples from the Pill Sect rubbed their hands together in excitement. Gathered around the carcass of the Arctic Tiger, they each took turns to extract a piece, resembling a band of thieves dividing their loot.

In the end, when the Arctic Tiger exhaled its last breath, not even a whole corpse was left behind. It was riddled with cuts and almost nothing remained of the bones, meridians, and Inner Organs.

After tasting the sweetness of their exploits, everyone hoped to encounter more Demon Beasts during their journey. As long as Fang Lin retrieved his peculiar crimson longsword, they could easily kill the beasts and gather a bunch of materials.

Along the way, the Demon Beasts suffered bitterly. The crimson longsword was invincible; whoever it touched, died.

The crimson blade seemed like an insatiable creature in itself, it was never satisfied with the blood it consumed. This piqued Fang Lin’s curiosity.

Qing Jianzi and Yang Pojun shared odd expressions. The journey had been a bit too smooth, thanks to Fang Lin’s crimson longsword, which was an unbeatable killing machine.

Figuring the Li Family could likely arrive at the Ice Palace, the group picked up their pace, reluctant to delay, hoping to secure the palace before the Li Family arrived.

Along the way, they saw numerous bodies, those left from people who previously entered the Endless Dungeon and were frozen into icy corpses in the Ice Valley.

But being frozen was a better fate. Many people who died here were eaten by Demon Beasts before they could freeze. Their tragic deaths didn’t even leave corpses behind.

“We should be careful when moving forward, apparently Ice Puppets obstruct the path ahead.” Qing Jianzi warned.

Fang Lin and Qing Jianzi nodded, slowing their pace as they continued forward, remaining vigilant.

After a short while, a bone-chilling wind grew fiercer, coming constantly from ahead. Fang Lin’s Soul Commanding Pill Fire never ceased, but even so, he could not completely resist the cold. Many people began to shiver.

“Here, I have Against Cold Pills, everyone take them quickly,” Yang Qingyao suggested.

On hearing this, everyone was overjoyed. They each received an Against Cold Pills, and after ingesting it, they felt a warm current gush through their bodies, greatly easing their chill.

Fang Lin turned his head and asked Yang Pojun, “Your cousin can refine pills?”

Yang Pojun nodded and replied, “Yes, she can refine pills, and like you, she is a Second Cauldron Pill refiner, her ranking is even higher than yours.”

Fang Lin was lost for words. He only asked if she could refine pills. Why did he need to say all those unnecessary things? And why bring up the ranking? Was he intentionally trying to provoke him?

Advancing a bit further, the snowstorm up ahead suddenly intensified. Several figures suddenly burst forth from the ice, blocking their path.

“Those must be the Ice Puppets they warned us about!” Qing Jianzi alerted.

Observing closely, they saw nine silhouettes, expressionless towering men clothed in ragged garments, faces deathly pale, and eyes devoid of any life.

“They’re corpses, but they’ve been made into puppets!” Fang Lin thought to himself.

Using corpses as puppets was condemned and rejected by Martial Artists everywhere, as such actions were against the order of nature. The dead were to rest in peace. Disturbing their rest post-mortem was highly disrespectful.

“Ice Emperor’s Tomb, intruders will be met with death!” The cold, dull voices of the nine puppets echoed simultaneously, creating discomfort among the listeners.

Fang Lin’s eyebrows knitted together, the Ice Emperor? This title was impressive. As only those of high standing dared to hold such a title.

“Be cautious. These nine puppets are extremely sturdy, each at the Seventh Layer of the Earth Element. If you’re going to fight them, make it swift. Otherwise, their cold energy will infiltrate our bodies and gradually freeze our Inner Strength,” Qing Jianzi quickly informed, emphasizing essential details.

Nine entities of the Seventh Earth Element, were indeed a challenge. But good thing Fang Lin’s group was sizable. Any deficiencies in individual power could be compensated by fighting several against one.

“Charge!”

Yang Pojun roared, spear in hand, and led the charge.