Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword

The group hurried over to inquire, each showing a look of concern.

Zhou Heng smiled slightly at the group, indicating he was fine, but his mind was racing.

It couldn't be ruled out that such a coincidental thing happened in the world, where the ice layer suddenly collapsed just as he, the Black Donkey, and Little Fire passed by. However, Zhou Heng was more inclined to believe someone deliberately shattered the ice, intending to kill him!

Of those capable of such, the seven people ahead of him were all suspects.

Naturally, Jin Haochen was the most suspicious, but one couldn't rule out the possibility of others either. Precisely because Jin Haochen was the most suspicious, someone could frame him and clear themselves.

Zhou Heng treated this incident as an accident, yet his heart was filled with vigilance.

He had indeed been careless before, because while this seemed like an impasse, a dead end to others, with the Fire Divine Furnace balancing out the cold and heat for him, it was nothing significant.

Even if he were to truly fall into the sea, the Fire Divine Furnace could instantly release heat, protecting him from cold currents.

He couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have stopped the Black Donkey from acting, letting the others think he had perished beneath the sea. Then, by following in the shadows, he might have spotted a clue.

He could only wait for the next time!

Everyone present was suspicious. Despite Zhao Heqi and Yang Xudong calling him brother, who knew what plans they harbored in their hearts? Even Liu Shishi was a suspect, because if Zhou Heng died, Hongyue might fall out with the Jin Family, making her marriage more likely to fall through.

If it were possible, Zhou Heng would like to take everyone down and interrogate them one by one. But with a Comet Realm expert in the background, it made Zhou Heng abandon this idea.

— Though they were in the same team, just look at the distance of over ten feet between each person when walking, clearly showing their wariness of others. In such circumstances, how could he possibly get close enough to that Comet Realm expert to strike?

Besides, if in the end it proved that the "accident" had nothing to do with Jin Haochen, it would be quite embarrassing.

Wait!

If this wasn't an accident, then the perpetrator would surely act again.

The group continued onward, the area a sheet of white, with howling winds sweeping vast snowflakes; heaven and earth were desolate, and despite most of them being high-tier Milky Way Emperors, the visibility was extremely poor.

Even their Divine Sense dared not extend, as it would be harmed by the strange cold! If harmed by the Divine Sense, the trouble would be significant!

Little Fire, a Fire Attribute Divine Beast, was extremely averse to this environment, and its mood appeared restless, but suddenly, it began barking wildly.

"What's wrong?" everyone stopped to ask.

"There might be an enemy!" Zhou Heng said.

"Enemy?"

This time, the Seven Great Countries joined forces to explore the ancient tomb, and those big figures had already stated that no conflicts were allowed on the way over; as for what happens inside the tomb, that depends on one's own ability. Since those big figures had spoken, who would dare defy?

Thus, the group's "enemy" along the way was actually the natural environment.

But with Little Fire barking wildly like this, it was clearly not because the environment ahead was harsh, but because it smelled something!

With both sight and Divine Sense almost completely blocked, only the sense of smell could play a role here, for which the impact is minimal.

What could it be?

The group stopped moving for just a moment, and they were already covered in white snow, looking like eight snowmen, plus an icy donkey and an icy dog.

In front, a white shadow appeared and rapidly moved closer!

It was a white bear!

Not taller than ten feet, and only about thirty feet long; if judged by the Demon Beast's size, it was pitifully small!

Most Demon Beasts' size corresponds to their strength; the stronger they are, the larger! Of course, Demon Beasts can also consciously shrink their size, like Little Fire, which was adept at shrinking to look cute and endearing.

But this white bear was clearly not here to be cute!

It was a predator!

Its small size was because the environment here was too harsh. The larger the size, the more terrifying the cold it endured, so it must have shrunk its size to reduce the invasion of cold air.

This was a Comet Realm Demon Bear!

In the team, that Comet Realm Guardian immediately stood out, with a spear in his hands. After twirling it in a circle, the accumulated snow around him instantly fell off shakingly. His entire body sent energy soaring skyward, leaving no snow within three zhang of him.

This consumed Spiritual Power, something he wouldn't typically do so wastefully, but in facing an enemy, he had to restore himself to his best state; otherwise, this dead end could really become his dead end.

The white bear's icy eyes fixed on the Comet Realm expert, not in a hurry to make a move.

Such a Demon Beast naturally didn't lack intelligence, clearly knowing that dragging it out only worked in its favor, so why rush to attack?

It was born and grew up here, long accustomed to this environment! But how could these outsiders possibly adapt? In this place, it naturally stands in an unbeatable position.

Launch a vigorous assault, then weaken, and finally exhaust!

The Guardian cannot just stand there after activating spiritual power, otherwise, over time, he will fall into a state of exhaustion—the environment here is indeed harsh, and to maintain a defense circle of three zhang in size consumes too much.

"Get lost!" The expert was the first to strike, thrusting out his spear with the force of ten thousand jun.

Martial Artists of the Comet Realm can already utilize runes, indeed, as soon as he thrust out the spear, a green rune formed at the spear's tip, though severely damaged.

"Roar—" The White Bear bellowed angrily as well, immediately swiping its paw towards the spear, and unexpectedly, a broken rune appeared on the paw!

Boom!

A strong gust swept across, countless ice shards shot out like bullets, at an absurdly fast speed.

Zhou Heng, Liu Shishi, Zhao Heqi and others backed off quickly, but even so, their bodies showed numerous bloody holes, just from the aftershocks of the battle between the two Comet Realm experts, they were severely wounded!

Firstly, it was because the environment here was too harsh, greatly amplifying the power of the cold, and secondly, it was because both of these Comet Realm beings used runes!

Zhou Heng's expression was grim; only now did he realize how lucky he was to have killed the Comet-level demon beast during the hunting competition!

Firstly, it was because that demon beast was heavily wounded, and secondly, because it hadn't entered the Comet Realm for long, and hadn't yet mastered the power of the runes!

Otherwise, with the runes in operation, who knows who would kill whom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Guardian and the White Bear were in a fierce battle; from the realm perspective, the Guardian had reached the height of a Comet Sovereign, while the White Bear was only a Comet King, so it seemed the Guardian should have the upper hand.

But one must first understand the divisions of the Comet Realm, within nine comets is a King, within eighteen comets is a Sovereign, beyond that is an Emperor!

That is to say, there's only the difference of an extreme nine's power between a Comet King and a Comet Sovereign!

Of course, a Comet Sovereign is definitely stronger than a Comet King, but in this cursed place... that Guardian has to expend part of his power on resisting the extreme cold, whereas the White Bear, having grown here for generations, has long naturally developed the ability to resist the cold.

Coupled with the innate robust physique of demon beasts, encountering a Comet Sovereign in the outside world might not necessarily suffer a loss, let alone here?

Not long into the battle, the White Bear grasped the key to victory, which was to engage in a tough fight with the Guardian, trading injury for injury. Anyway, its hide was thick, being struck a few times wasn't painful or itchy, at most just break some skin or bleed a little.

This method was effective, yet the Guardian also had no choice but to fight brutally!

Because the environment here was too harsh, greatly limiting movement techniques, making it impossible to completely dodge, the only choice was to fight head-on.

The Guardian's spiritual power was ample, initially not losing ground in a power struggle, but the key was, how long could he last?

"Your Highness, take the others and leave first, this old one will hold them off for you!" The Guardian couldn't continue consuming like this, decisively saying.

Jin Haochen was also a resolute person, said, "Elder Xuan, please take care, and may you meet with me safely at the destination!"

"Your Highness, please go ahead!" The Guardian laughed loudly, fighting the White Bear more fiercely.

After exchanging glances, everyone continued onward.

They couldn't achieve much staying here—actually, as the most outstanding progeny of noble families, more or less each of them carried a few forbidden artifacts, but if they used them here, they'd lose some authority once entering the ancient tomb.

Without them as burdens, the Guardian could naturally choose to fight or leave as he wished, unlikely to die here.

This was the best choice.

Zhou Heng didn't plan to draw attention either, he could use the Sky-soaring Nine Forms to help the Guardian slay the White Bear, but that would also put himself at risk. One must know, just not long ago, an "accident" had occurred, so he had to be more cautious.

The seven of them moved quickly; after advancing a mere hundred zhang, the battle between the Guardian and the White Bear was completely out of sight, only the trembling ground indicated the fierce ongoing battle.

After traveling several dozen li, there was no longer a trace of the battle's impact.

Having lost a Comet-ranked protector, the atmosphere within the team became quite oppressive, the appearance of the White Bear made everyone realize the dangers of this deadly land far exceeded their initial imagination.

On the contrary, Zhou Heng felt a sense of relief, previously with the Guardian present, an invisible restraint seemed to be upon him, even slowing his mental processes by a few beats.

"Since a demon beast appeared, it indicates there's some life in this place, who knows what kind of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures might be born?" The Black Donkey was only focused on treasures, similarly unaffected by the loss of the Guardian, its face full of excitement.

"Possible!" Zhou Heng nodded.

If a medicinal herb were indeed born in this icy and snowy land, what rank would it reach? At least it would be a high-tier Immortal Herb, maybe even a Minor Holy Medicine could appear!

Upon hearing this discussion between the person and the donkey, Liu Shishi and others also displayed excitement; they were all proud and determined young individuals, how could a small setback keep them troubled for long?

However, even if there truly was a Holy Medicine here, how could it be found in such a vast snowy wasteland? (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)