However, Hun Changqing ignored Hai Bodong's plea for mercy. The ice spikes continued to rain down on him relentlessly, without pausing.
Hai Bodong watched as the icy rain approached, about to pierce him. He could tell that these ice spikes were completely different from the ones he had just released.
The ice spikes had changed from crystal blue to grayish-white, and the icy aura they possessed had become even more sinister, like the most eerie, cold, terrifying, and evil yin energy from the depths of hell.
Hai Bodong knew that his ice cone had been altered by the person before him. This person was an incredibly powerful expert, possibly a great being capable of manipulating ice attributes just like himself. His meager icy aura was like a child's toy in the other's eyes.
Hai Bodong looked at the ice cone, now greatly enhanced and impossible to resist, about to pierce him. Despair filled his face. His life experiences flashed through his mind. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and quickly spoke up.
"Wait...wait...you're also an ice attribute cultivator, right? I have a clue about an ice treasure!"
"Buzz..."
Hai Bodong swallowed hard, looking at the ice cone less than an inch from his brow. His whole body was soaked in cold sweat, and he trembled involuntarily.
Hun Changqing waved his hand, and all the ice cones transformed into specks of silver light, gradually dissipating. The silver light fell from above, like moonlight scattered by the bright moon, which resembled a silver platter, drifting throughout the shop.
If it weren't for the old man sitting on the ground shivering, ruining the atmosphere, the scene would have been like a dream, beautiful and moving.
Hun Changqing's figure, like black mist, slowly appeared before Hai Bodong, his body shrouded in black energy. He spoke to Hai Bodong in a hoarse, old man's voice,
"Hehehe, you're lucky. I'm very interested in that icy treasure you mentioned. I'll give you ten seconds. If what you say next doesn't satisfy me, you know what will happen."
Hearing the black-robed man's shrill, ghostly voice and his sinister aura, Hai Bodong could already picture the man's aged, gaunt face hidden beneath his hood, his hideous features and deeply sunken eyes—a face like that of a vengeful ghost.
Shivering, suppressing his fear, Hai Bodong hurriedly said,
"Senior! Since childhood, I've loved making maps, so in my youth I traveled far and wide, traversing theJinma Empire and the surrounding empires.
At the border of the Jinma Empire, the Izumo Empire, and the Naro Empire—what is now the Black Corner Region—I accidentally discovered a valley within the Black Plains of that region.
That valley was eerie and terrifying, with a biting wind and an extremely cold atmosphere. Anyone below the Dou Ling level who entered would be corroded by that cold and die instantly." It was extremely terrifying, and the deeper one went into the valley, the more terrifying the cold became! "
I am an ice-type cultivator myself, and I'm very interested in that icy place. I believe there are some treasures there, so, confident that I, as an ice-type cultivator, could withstand the cold, I went to that valley at the Seven Star Dou Wang level."
Hai Bodong suddenly stopped, not because he dared to keep Hun Changqing in suspense, but because the ten seconds Hun Changqing had mentioned had passed. Hai Bodong glanced weakly at Hun Changqing, wanting to know if Hun Changqing, who now held his life in his hands, was satisfied with the news, and whether he could survive.
"Continue." Hun Changqing spoke coldly.
Hai Bodong was overjoyed and quickly continued,
"After entering the canyon, I discovered that the icy energy within was extremely concentrated, and it all converged in one direction. I realized I had encountered an opportunity, so I immediately headed in that direction.
However, what I saw along the way astonished me. Logically, such terrifyingly low temperatures should have formed enormous ice crystals, but in the canyon, let alone ice crystals, there wasn't even a thin layer of..." I hadn't seen any snow or frost.
Just as I was about to reach the interior of the valley, a small, pure black river blocked my way. A terrifying chill emanated from the river, and I couldn't understand why such a terrifying chill hadn't frozen into ice.
I tried to cross the river, but was instantly and severely injured by its icy chill. The terrifying chill frantically eroded my internal organs, and I could only forcefully suppress my injuries before retreating immediately.
And I succeeded... After escaping, I returned to my clan to recuperate. Although the chilling energy within me had severely injured me, after recovering, I refined that energy, allowing me to break through from the initial stage of Seven-Star Dou Wang to Two-Star Dou Huang. Furthermore, my icy Dou Qi became even more terrifying than before, which enabled me to become one of the ten strongest warriors in the Gama Empire.
Even though I had advanced to Dou Huang, the thought of the chilling energy in that valley still filled me with a deep sense of powerlessness, and I dared not... "I went to investigate again, until later, because of this fragment of the map, I was sealed by Queen Medusa in the desert to my current level of Dou Spirit cultivation. I dared not think about that valley anymore, and could only keep it hidden in
my heart." After Hai Bodong finished speaking, he waited anxiously for the final judgment of this powerful person of unknown realm. He silently prayed that this powerful person would have mercy on him and let him go after seeing how cooperative he was!
He still had things to do. He wanted to take revenge on Queen Medusa, and he also wanted to go back to the Mittel family.
This frail old man, who had been away from home for decades, finally felt homesick after experiencing that life-or-death moment... He really wanted to go home and see his family...
After listening to Hai Bodong's story, Hun Changqing's eyes narrowed slightly. After hearing Hai Bodong describe the situation in that canyon, he knew that there was definitely some kind of extremely yin and cold treasure there, which should be located in the very center of that canyon.
"I thought that accidentally entering this shop and finding this fragment of a map was already a pleasant surprise, but I didn't expect you to bring me another big surprise. You... are very good."
Hearing Hun Changqing's slightly pleased words, Hai Bodong was overjoyed, feeling that he might have a way out. He quickly said,
"I'm glad you're satisfied, sir. I only beg you to spare my life. I was blind and ignorant just now, and offended you. Please forgive me! This is a map I made to record that location; please accept it!"
Hai Bodong's demeanor was extremely humble, but in the world of Dou Qi Continent, where the strong reign supreme, the weak bowing to the strong was a matter of course.