Chapter 10: The Great Migration, The Gate of Frozen Hell
The decision to abandon the ancestral estate sent a shockwave through the Ye Clan that even the death of the Second Elder hadn't managed to provoke. To a cultivation clan, their land was their soul—it was where their spirit veins ran and where their history was etched into the very soil.
"Patriarch, the Forbidden Frozen Wastes are a death sentence for the younger disciples," an elderly deacon pleaded, his voice trembling. "Even the Spirit-Sea experts of the Empire don't dare to stay there for more than a week. The cold doesn't just freeze the flesh; it freezes the spiritual energy in the meridians."
Ye Chen stood on the steps of the main pavilion, his gaze cold and unwavering. "The Empire is coming. If we stay, we are a target in a cage. In the Wastes, the cold is our shield. Those who follow me will survive and become stronger than they ever imagined. Those who stay... can explain their loyalty to the High Chancellor's executioners."
The logic was brutal, but it was the logic of a man who had survived the cutthroat world of corporate takeovers and a decade of being a "waste." Under Ye Chen's absolute command, the Ye Clan moved with a speed that bordered on frantic. Wagons were loaded with ancient scrolls and spirit stones; horses were traded for thick-furred frost-beasts.
By dawn the next morning, a caravan of thousands stretched out from the northern gates of Blue Cloud City. At the head of the column rode Ye Chen, his silhouette framed by the rising sun. Beside him, Ye Ling rode a silver-maned horse, her expression resolute despite the biting wind that had already begun to pick up.
As they traveled further north, the lush green of the Empire faded into a desolate, iron-gray landscape. The temperature plummeted, and the air grew thin. On the third day of the trek, they reached the edge of the known maps.
Standing before them was a natural wonder of terrifying proportions: two massive, jagged pillars of ice that rose thousands of feet into the sky, forming a narrow pass. This was the Gate of Frozen Hell, the threshold between the civilized world and the chaotic, frozen void where the War God, Ye Tianlang, had vanished.
"Stop the caravan," Ye Chen commanded.
He dismounted and walked toward the center of the pass. The wind here didn't just howl; it screamed with a thousand ghostly voices. The ground was not dirt or stone, but "Eternal Ice"—frozen for so long it had become as hard as diamond and as dark as the night sky.
[Ding! Detection: Host has arrived at 'The Gate of Frozen Hell'.]
[Status: Grade 4 Danger Zone / Ancient Battlefield.]
[Would the host like to Sign-In?]
Sign-in.
[Ding! Congratulations! Sign-In successful!]
[Reward: The 'Eternal Frost-Heart' (Extreme Yin Essence)!]
[Reward: 'Chaos-Ice Armor' (Passive Defense Technique)!]
[Reward: Map of the 'Frozen King's Hidden Path'!]
As the rewards integrated, a crystalline blue light erupted from Ye Chen's chest. The Eternal Frost-Heart settled into his Spirit-Sea, its extreme cold clashing with the chaotic gray energy. For a normal cultivator, this would have resulted in immediate internal combustion. But for the Chaos Physique, it was merely a change in flavor.
The gray ocean in his dantian began to swirl with shards of black ice. His skin, already shimmering with a metallic luster, now gained a layer of invisible, crystalline protection. He could no longer feel the cold; in fact, the freezing wind felt like a warm summer breeze to him.
Ye Chen looked at the Map of the Frozen King's Hidden Path that had appeared in his mind. It showed a route through the blizzards that bypassed the lethal "Soul-Freezing Zones," leading toward a hidden valley rich in spirit energy.
"Patriarch?" Ye Ling approached him, her breath hitching in the cold. Even with the Dragon-Blood Marrow, her lips were turning blue.
Ye Chen turned and placed a hand on her shoulder. A surge of Chaos-Ice energy flowed into her, instantly warming her blood and creating a protective barrier around her.
"Don't fear the cold, Ling'er," Ye Chen said, his voice carrying over the wind. "From this day on, the cold is our ally."
He raised his hand, and a pillar of gray-and-blue energy shot into the sky, parting the thick blizzard clouds for miles. The path forward was clear.
"The Ye Clan is no longer a clan of the Empire!" Ye Chen shouted to the thousands of people behind him. "We are the masters of the North! Follow me into the Wastes, and we will build an empire that the sun never touches!"
As the caravan began to move through the Gate of Frozen Hell, Ye Chen looked back one last time toward the south. Far in the distance, he could see the faint glint of Imperial scouts.
"Go back and tell your master," Ye Chen whispered to the wind. "The wolf has entered the forest. Don't follow him unless you want to be eaten."