Ten of us with the gold elemental spiritual root were frantically attacking the stone platform.
The others on the other side had already cried out in alarm.
"Look quickly, the ice surface has broken open..."
"Not good, it's the ice monsters!"
"Heavens! It really is ice monsters."
"..."
The sudden exclamations also drew my attention.
I glanced sideways and saw that the ice surface nearby had broken, and a humanoid ice crystal monster covered in ice thorns had crawled out of the mud.
This creature was entirely made of ice crystals, covered in ice thorns.
It had four eyes, no visible nose, and its large mouth continuously spewed white mist.
This was my first time seeing such a demonic creature, and I frowned, unsure of its abilities.
"Old Qin, what the hell is this monster? It looks so disgusting?" Mo Lao asked while attacking.
I shook my head.
"How would I know? I've never seen one before!"
But as soon as I spoke, Li Chunlong, the senior disciple of the Wudang Sect, chimed in.
"These are Tibetan Buddhist Ice Demons, each one forged from living sacrifices. The process is similar to the corpse-raising techniques of Xiangxi. These ice demons move relatively slowly and can spew ice cones..."
No wonder there was such heavy corpse energy; it turned out they were made from living sacrifices.
Hearing this, I pressed further.
"Brother Li, does this thing have any weaknesses?"
Li Chunlong did not hesitate and continued.
"Its weakness is the back of its head. The rest of its body is extremely tough."
"..."
After Li Chunlong's explanation, we had a better understanding.
We would be able to deal with them effectively when the fighting started.
But at this moment, the ice monsters around us were becoming more numerous.
Monsters were continuously crawling out from around the stone platform and were approaching it.
Seeing this, I quickly said to everyone present.
"Fellow Daoists, we need to speed up. These things are likely going to surround and attack us."
As I spoke, I slashed down with my sword again.
With a "boom," a crack appeared in the profound ice of the stone platform.
Even with the continuous attacks of ten of us, we had only managed to carve out a small pit.
"Alright!"
"Everyone, don't hold back."
"Go all out!"
"..."
Everyone spoke up.
We all nodded and no longer hesitated.
Each person instantly unleashed their strongest aura, gold elemental energy surging.
Mo Lao roared.
"Break!"
"Boom!"
With an axe strike, the profound ice cracked open again.
I followed closely, forming a hand seal and growling.
"Heaven and Earth without limit, Heaven and Earth have laws, Break!"
A sword strike.
The power of the 'Break' technique reverberated, a roaring sword.
The profound ice creaked, and this time, I cleaved off a large chunk of profound ice.
Seeing how powerful my sword strike was, everyone showed a hint of surprise.
But they did not hesitate for long, nor did they want to be outdone or lose face.
They then unleashed their signature moves, each striking out.
"Yin Yang Sword!"
"Profound Yang True Method!"
"Seven Stars Gang Qi!"
"Four Symbols United!"
"..."
In an instant, various ultimate skills appeared.
Although they were all used to smash the profound ice, each of these ultimate skills had its unique characteristics.
I stood aside, my eyes wide with astonishment.
But just then, a huge roar suddenly echoed.
"Roar..."
Accompanying this roar, the ice monsters that had crawled out of the ice surface began to howl.
"Roar, roar, roar..."
"Wail, wail, wail..."
In an instant, they all charged madly towards us on the stone platform.
As they approached, they opened their mouths and spat out ice cones.
Each one was half a meter long and moved swiftly.
If it were a one-on-one situation, it would be easy to dodge.
But now, with ice monsters coming from all directions, hundreds of ice cones were flying at us.
Combined with the small size of the stone platform and limited maneuvering space, dodging became much more difficult.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Ice cones flew.
Senior Bai Daozi saw this and immediately flashed in front of us, protecting the ten of us who were chipping away at the ice.
"Block the ice monsters, don't let them get close to the formation."
After speaking, he raised his hand and threw a punch.
"Crack!"
The Maoshan Thunder Fist struck again, and with one punch, an ice monster ten meters away was blown into ice shards.
The surrounding cultivators also rushed over.
Completely encircling us.
And the ice monsters kept charging forward with "roars."
From their mouths, ice cones were spat towards us.
Fellow Daoists struck out one after another, unleashing various magical artifacts and talismans.
"Boom, boom, boom," explosions continued.
In an instant, ice cones, shattered ice, splashed everywhere.
However, due to the sheer number of incoming ice cones.
Some fellow Daoists were still injured, pierced by the ice cones, and some were even directly impaled and died on the spot, spitting blood.
"Senior Brother!"
"Go to hell, you ice monsters, die!"
"..."
The battle was fierce, with ice monsters swarming in.
Soon, it devolved into close combat.
The surroundings of the stone platform were filled with ice monsters, biting at the cultivators from the front.
The cultivators fought back, and the battle was exceptionally intense.
Meanwhile, we were still chipping away at the ice.
The profound ice was too solid, and everyone was panting from exhaustion, yet the profound ice was not completely broken.
But none of us rested, as everyone was well aware.
The sooner we chipped away the profound ice and broke through the Vermilion Bird's core position, the sooner the path to survival would appear, and everyone's pressure would be reduced.
Under these circumstances, we gritted our teeth and persevered.
It took nearly ten minutes, and with the sacrifice of several fellow Daoists, we finally cooperated to pierce through the profound ice, reaching the upper layer of the stone platform and seeing the Vermilion Bird's core.
It was an ice cone.
It emitted a cold light and chill that spread outwards.
This was also the core of the Vermilion Bird's phase. Once it was broken, the Vermilion Bird's phase would be shattered.
"Damn it, we finally reached the Vermilion Bird's core."
"Brother Qin, you have the highest cultivation, you do it!" Li Chunlong said.
The others also looked at me, awaiting my action.
At this moment, I did not delay. I nodded.
"Alright!"
With that! I fiercely raised my long sword, and the twenty-two strands of true energy in my dantian circulated madly.
The gold elemental spiritual energy erupted, quickly transforming into gold elemental Dao energy.
I roared.
"Heaven and Earth without limit, Heaven and Earth have laws, Break!"
"Boom!"
With a resounding crack, my sword strike fell.
It struck the Vermilion Bird's core.
With a "crack," the ice cone shattered, ice shards scattering, and ripples vibrating.
The moment the ice cone broke, the ice monsters around us let out a piercing wail.
"Owoo, owoo..."
They charged towards us even more frantically.
But as the ice cone, the Vermilion Bird's core, shattered, the Vermilion Bird's phase was broken.
The Vermilion Bird stone platform began to shake, "creak, creak, creak," cracking and spreading.
On the ice surface not far away, a stone path appeared, which was the path to survival.
"Hahaha, the path to survival has appeared!"
"It's broken, the Vermilion Bird's phase is broken."
"Fellow Daoists, charge through!"
"..."
The fellow Daoists were greatly emboldened, immensely excited, and began to charge forward.
The ice monsters around also madly lunged at us, beginning a fierce assault!
"Kill!"
Senior Bai Daozi shouted, leading the charge.
And the ten of us, at this moment, breathed a sigh of relief.
But we did not rest for a moment. Turning around, we followed the others and rushed towards the path to survival.