Everyone’s gaze locked on Liu Wuxie, a mix of shock and fear visible on their faces. They had spent over a day guarding the area, waiting for the perfect opportunity to break in, yet Liu Wuxie had managed to secure the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus before any of them.

"There must be another passage!" Deng Yong exclaimed, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes. The sight of the treasure, so close yet beyond his grasp, only stoked the flames of his rage. His chest burned with frustration, and an overwhelming urge to charge forward and kill Liu Wuxie consumed him.

Not only could the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus help him reach the second level of the Nascent Transformation Realm, but it could also enhance his innate talent greatly.

"That’s impossible! How could there be another passage without us knowing?" The disciples of the other sects had doubts. They had scouted every inch of the mountain and couldn’t find any passage.

Deng Yong said nothing. He had a suspicion lingering, but it was unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, the snowmen slowly advanced toward Liu Wuxie, forcing him to retreat into the passage. But oddly enough, the snowmen hesitated when Liu Wuxie entered and no longer dared to go further.

"The snowmen are afraid to come in," Liu Wuxie murmured to himself. If that was the case, he might have a chance to escape.

The snowmen stood at the entrance, roaring in frustration. Their voices echoed throughout the peak, causing chunks of ice to fall.

"They must be afraid of damaging the embryos," Liu Wuxie reasoned. His guess was spot on, as the snowmen feared damaging the embryos if they entered, which would be devastating to the snowmen’s lineage.

Those embryos were the future of the snowmen, and destroying all the embryos would be a fatal blow to the snowman’s lineage. They slowed their pace when they advanced, not daring to cause any commotion, fearing alarming the infant snowmen.

Liu Wuxie slowly retreated to the depths of the underground chamber. It didn’t take long before three snowmen appeared before him, standing only ten meters away. When they raised their heads to look at the opening in the ceiling, they finally understood how Liu Wuxie had come in.

However, they were curious how he managed to discover the underground chamber. The chamber was roughly a few hundred meters deep, and ordinary people couldn’t enter. Yet, Liu Wuxie managed to accomplish it.

The three snowmen surrounded Liu Wuxie with their hands extended out, using their gesture to demand the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

"I’ll burn this place down if you take another step forward," Liu Wuxie warned. The opening was right above him, but if he attempted to fly up recklessly, the snowmen could easily grab his legs and drag him back. With that, a standoff ensued, and neither dared to make a move.

This wasn’t a viable solution; the snowmen had already discovered the route Liu Wuxie had used to enter. They had alerted their comrades, and more snowmen were moving to seal off his escape, intent on trapping him with no way out.

If the exit were blocked, Liu Wuxie would be helpless prey at their mercy. Determined to take a bold risk, he summoned a ball of demonic flame. If the snowmen refused to let him leave, he would burn this place down and take them with him.

The demonic flame’s temperature was high, and the surrounding ice began to melt, leaving the three snowmen in terror.

"Wooo...woo..." the three snowmen frantically gestured, crying and pleading for Liu Wuxie to stop. The embryos would be destroyed if the temperature was too high.

"Back off!" Liu Wuxie gestured for them to retreat to the entrance. With a motion, the three snowmen understood his meaning but weren’t willing to back off. If they did, Liu Wuxie could escape through the hole.

Seeing that the three snowmen refused to budge, Liu Wuxie’s resolve hardened. With a wave of his hand, he flung the demonic flame toward the icy wall, the heat searing dangerously close to the embryos.

The snowmen panicked as they retreated, not daring to stay any longer. The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus might be important, but their lineage was more important.

Even if they lost the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus, the snowmen’s lineage could endure, allowing them to cultivate another one. Among the many Snow Lotuses they guarded, at least one was bound to evolve into a Snow Lotus King—the coveted ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

Just as animals have a king to lead them, so too did Snow Lotuses. The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus held that role, and with Liu Wuxie seizing it, it wouldn’t take long for another Snow Lotus to evolve after absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.

Even after the three snowmen retreated far away, Liu Wuxie still wasn’t satisfied and motioned for them to move farther away. He only put the demonic flame after they retreated a hundred meters away.

"Time to leave!" Liu Wuxie shot out like a comet before the snowmen could block the exit from the outside, rising through the passage and returning to the icy mountain in the blink of an eye. When he appeared, over a dozen snowmen were storming over to block his path of retreat.

Behind the snowmen was a group of humans, and their goal was also the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus in Liu Wuxie’s possession.

Liu Wuxie knew he had no chance of facing so many snowmen and humans, and he chose to flee without hesitation. He executed the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance and soared like an arrow, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Enraged, the snowmen roared and chased after him. Their heavy strides caused massive snowballs, as large as houses, to rumble down.

Liu Wuxie weaved and dodged, evading the falling snowballs and ice. With every step, he neared the foot of the mountain.

Ultimately, Deng Yong shot past the snowmen and approached Liu Wuxie.

"Liu Wuxie, let’s see where you will run now!" Deng Yong’s voice rang with murderous intent. He couldn’t allow the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus to slip away from his hands. If he could obtain it, he could sweep through everyone and become the Southern Province’s strongest prodigy.

"Someone like you thinks you can catch up with me?" Liu Wuxie roared as he increased his speed. His physique, already comparable to the Nascent Transformation Realm, combined with his robust true essence, doubled his speed.

Deng Yong’s expression changed. He realized that Liu Wuxie had hidden his true strength as the distance between them grew with each passing moment.

As for the snowmen, speed wasn’t their forte, and they could only roar in frustration after falling behind in their pursuit. They were rallying their fellow snowmen to prepare for a massacre against the humans.

When Liu Wuxie returned to the foot of the mountain, he scanned his surroundings before darting toward the distant mountain without any pause. He planned to lose Deng Yong first before finding a safe place to make a breakthrough, relying on the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

His speed increased, and he shot out like a comet and vanished before everyone in the blink of an eye.

Deng Yong continued the pursuit, barely managing to keep up, thanks to his cultivation in the Nascent Transformation Realm. However, Liu Wuxie showed no signs of slowing down as time went on.

On the contrary, Deng Yong had exhausted much of his true essence through his fight with the snowmen. By the time he chased after Liu Wuxie, his true essence had been greatly exhausted, and he could be in danger if he continued his pursuit.

"Liu Wuxie, I’ll find you even if you flee to the ends of the earth!" Deng Yong yelled as he came to a stop, gasping for breath. He watched as Liu Wuxie vanished, but he couldn’t figure out how Liu Wuxie could possess such a robust true essence.

After losing Deng Yong, Liu Wuxie slowed down significantly. His true essence was also greatly exhausted, and it was a test of endurance to see who would give up first.

Liu Wuxie scanned the surroundings before he entered a peculiar valley. There wasn’t much snow and ice, and the ground was bare with gray rocks.

The surrounding temperature was warmer, and unusual plants dotted the terrain. He executed Ghost Eye to examine his surroundings to ensure there wasn’t anyone within a radius of a thousand meters.

He finally relaxed and sat down with his legs crossed, taking out high-grade spirit stones to replenish his true essence. The entire process took an hour before his true essence was fully restored.

"I have to find a secluded place to refine the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus," Liu Wuxie murmured. He knew the snowmen would retaliate against the humans for losing their treasure, and he needed to grow stronger to face what lay ahead.

He constantly executed Ghost Eye scouting to find a suitable place. After searching several kilometers, Liu Wuxie finally discovered a small cave hidden among a pile of rocks. The cave was just large enough for five people to sit and perfectly suited for him to make his breakthrough.

He retrieved the array flags from his interspatial ring and began setting up a spiritual array in the surroundings. He knew he would cause a phenomenon after reaching the fourth level of the Astral River Realm.

After finishing everything, Liu Wuxie entered the cave and took out the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

Nine-petaled lotuses were extremely rare. Legends spoke of ancient immortals using them as their meditation platform, allowing them to cultivate with unrivaled efficiency.

The cave was filled with dense energy, and Liu Wuxie could feel his bottleneck shaking when he took a deep breath. He could reach the fourth level of the Astral River Realm at any moment.

"What terrifying energy!" Liu Wuxie marveled. He couldn’t believe a nine-petaled lotus would contain such terrifying energy. He couldn’t imagine how much heaven and earth essence the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus had absorbed.

He circulated the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to devour the surrounding energies, and a faint tearing sensation came from his meridians. The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus hinted at a potent ice energy that an ordinary person couldn’t withstand.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron appeared and devoured the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. To save time, Liu Wuxie planned on using the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to help him refine it.

Through the refinement of the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, the energy that fed back to him would be extremely pure. However, this method came with a flaw, as the cauldron would consume a portion of the lotus’s energy for its growth.

There was no way around it, as the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron was still growing, and he couldn’t predict its ultimate form.

Dark green liquid hovered above the cauldron, and it was essence refined from the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

"Time to make a breakthrough!" Liu Wuxie couldn’t afford to delay as time was precious. He knew it wouldn’t take long for the news of his obtaining the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus to spread throughout the Heavenly Mountain, and countless people would be hunting for him.

Even those with no prior grudges against Liu Wuxie might be tempted to hunt him down. The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus was a heaven-defying treasure, requiring an immense amount of time to grow, and they were unaware that Liu Wuxie possessed a cheat like the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

In just two hours, the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus was nearly fully refined. All that remained was for Liu Wuxie to assimilate its energy to complete his breakthrough.

When Bai Yuan heard the news that Liu Wuxie had obtained the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus, he was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood in fury.

Yu Tianyi’s expression turned grim. Their plan to kill Liu Wuxie had not only failed, but they had also allowed him to obtain the invaluable ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. Frustration gripped everyone, their faces dark and sour as if they had just swallowed a rotten egg.

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