"No need to be so hostile towards me. My target is Keleji, and I have no interest in the Everfrost Ice!"
"Besides, without me, the poison gas traps Keleji set at the entrance would be enough for you to deal with!"
Yue Miao glanced at Ye Feng calmly. Her head returned to a mass of water and she moved towards a crevice in the rock. Instantly, Yue Miao transformed into a pool of water and flowed into the gap, disappearing without a trace.
"No wonder... And the one who told us that Keleji was about to obtain the Everfrost Ice and to come quickly was also him!"
Ye Feng suddenly understood.
"Ye Feng, are you alright? Where is Keleji?"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao, Ling, Liu Lao Shai, and Lei Jian ran over.
Except for Xiao Xiao, the other three were visibly tired and in low spirits. They kept their eyes half-closed, looking extremely sleepy.
"There! Turned to ashes!"
Ye Feng pointed at the constantly flowing, scorching hot lava.
"Ah~ Ow~ Quack~..."
Suddenly, a strange cry rang out. It was the Snow Ghost.
Forcibly awakened by Keleji and then breaking free from his control, the Snow Ghost had completely lost its mind. Like a wild beast, it crawled on the ground on all fours, raised its head, and lunged at Ye Feng and the others with its mouth agape.
"Bang!"
Ye Feng stepped forward and kicked the Snow Ghost into the lava with one foot. After a few screams, the Snow Ghost met the same fate as Keleji.
"Uh, where's Old Xu?"
Ye Feng scanned the surroundings and, not seeing Xu Wenqiang, inquired.
"Big brother, that old grandpa fainted behind the corner of the stone wall. You can't see him from here!"
Xiao Xiao quickly replied.
"Alright~"
...
After a brief respite, Ye Feng and the others shifted their attention to the Everfrost Ice suspended above the lava pool.
"If we take this Everfrost Ice away, the lava below will lose a stable cooling source. Won't that cause a volcanic eruption or something?"
Ye Feng asked after observing for a moment.
"No!"
Lei Jian, who had been keeping his hand on the ground to sense, spoke up. "The terrain here is very special, and the mountain structure is unique. The entire lava channel will continuously flow with lava. There's no danger of volcanic eruption, it's as if it was designed deliberately!"
"Is that so!~"
Immediately, Ye Feng looked at Ling.
Since she clearly knew more about the Everfrost Ice, Ye Feng felt it would be better to let her retrieve it.
Ling blinked slightly, then nodded and stepped forward. She took the palm-sized Everfrost Ice into her hand and finally placed it into a box.
"Uh..."
Seeing this, Ye Feng was speechless. He had thought retrieving the Everfrost Ice would require a more special method.
"Ye Feng, the Everfrost Ice is quite special. The ice-attributed arcane energy it emits is gentle. If it were anything else, it couldn't be collected like this!"
"Some treasures containing abundant arcane energy emit very violent arcane energy. They need a counteracting elemental energy to suppress them before they can be collected!"
As if sensing Ye Feng's confusion, Ling explained.
"Oh, alright~"
Ye Feng nodded.
"Mr. Ye... Mr. Ye, may I ask who gave you this notebook?"
At this moment, Xu Wenqiang finally woke up from his coma. He held a thick notebook and asked Ye Feng.
"Notebook?"
Ye Feng patted his pocket and found that the notebook Chen Jindong had given him was missing.
"Did it fall out during the fight with Keleji just now?"
Ye Feng recalled for a moment and remembered.
"A friend gave me that notebook, but he in turn received it from a deceased old explorer!"
Ye Feng paused before replying.
"He... his name is Xu Wuqiang, my brother. We were separated over twenty years ago. I never expected to see him again only through this notebook..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Wenqiang's eyes welled up with tears.
After calming his emotions slightly, Xu Wenqiang took a deep look at the faded writing on the notebook and handed it back to Ye Feng, who, however, blocked it.
"Mr. Ye, this?"
Xu Wenqiang looked puzzled.
"Keep it as a memento. I've already obtained the information I need!"
Ye Feng smiled slightly.
"Tha... Thank you!"
Xu Wenqiang was taken aback, then nodded vigorously, tears welling up in his eyes again.
"Ye Feng, can you use your Tang sword to cut off a small piece of this Everfrost Ice? Just about the size of two thumbs is enough!"
"Ordinary blades probably can't cut through this kind of pure arcane energy crystal~"
At this moment, Ling approached with a box that was already frozen on the outside.
"Oh, sure!~"
Although Ye Feng didn't know why Ling wanted to do this, it was a simple favor, and he naturally wouldn't refuse.
With a swift movement of his hand, he cut off a piece about two thumbs in size from the palm-sized Everfrost Ice.
"Here, Ye Feng, this bigger piece is for you!"
While Ye Feng was contemplating who the mysterious woman in white was, Ling handed the larger piece of Everfrost Ice to him.
"Ling, you..."
Ye Feng was very surprised.
After hearing Ling explain the use of the Everfrost Ice earlier, Ye Feng had guessed that she was here for someone very important, and that person was likely severely injured and in great need of this item...
"To tell you the truth, I'm here to get this Everfrost Ice to treat my grandfather's injuries. He was injured by a cultivator with very strong fire-attributed arcane energy!"
"Only the Everfrost Ice, which we've only heard of in legends, can heal his injuries!"
"Honestly, I was quite lost at first when searching for this. No one had ever seen it before, and there was only a vague location..."
Ling let out a sigh of relief, feeling quite emotional. The entire process of obtaining the Everfrost Ice felt unreal, like a dream.
"Ye Feng, please accept it. Two thumb-sized pieces are more than enough to treat the Old Chairman's injuries!"
"Besides, without you along the way, we probably wouldn't have been able to get here on our own~"
"Moreover, the arcane energy emitted by the Everfrost Ice is too conspicuous, easily attracting covetous eyes. We came here discreetly, and we need to be discreet when we leave!"
"Please, just take it!"
Liu Lao Shai also spoke, his expression sincere.
"Brother Feng, accept it. Although you don't have any arcane energy fluctuations on you now, it doesn't mean you won't in the future, right? You don't necessarily have to awaken your innate arcane energy before the age of ten!"
"Oh, no, I saw you boxing earlier, and your fists contained arcane energy... but now I can't sense it from you..."
Seeing Ling and Liu Lao Shai's expressions darken, Lei Jian scratched his head sheepishly.
"Haha~"
Ye Feng smiled slightly, not minding it.
Through their interactions so far, he understood that this burly man named Lei Jian was straightforward and sincere, someone who said whatever he thought.
"Ye Feng, my full name is Wu Ye Ling!"
Suddenly, Ling spoke to Ye Feng, her cheeks flushed red, seeming somewhat embarrassed.
...