The Cangjiang Clan

The demonic script carved into the transparent ice stele revealed the sole path to survival within the entire Ice Prison.

“Since the last great slaughter, approximately twelve thousand alien immortal beings have been confined within the Ice Prison. Each prisoner holds a unique token! Any who can collect ten thousand such tokens… will be granted safe passage out of the Ice Prison. All other failed prisoners will be mercilessly exterminated. This is the great slaughter… One such event has already transpired, and a human expert once managed to escape the Ice Prison unscathed.”

“Alien beings!”

“This is your only chance at survival. If you wish to leave, then fight! Seize the tokens from other powerful beings. Only one of you shall escape!”

Each character pulsed with a formidable, terrifying divine power, its oppressive aura crashing against the surroundings like a colossal wave. Even a Universe Venerable himself couldn't force Luo Feng into submission, let alone mere written words.

“What a ruthless Qingdoukou Venerable,” Luo Feng murmured. “Offering the prisoners a sliver of hope, yet completely severing their escape route! Twelve thousand alien immortal beings, but only one will have a chance to leave; all others are doomed to die! True experts refuse to bow to fate; they will struggle, they will fight.”

“And so, there are endless battles, schemes, and suicides born of despair after countless failures.” Luo Feng shook his head inwardly.

The Zidoukou Venerable and Qingdoukou Venerable imprisoned those who were captured while venturing into the ‘Ice Prison Star Belt’ over countless ages—mostly Sector Lords or beings possessing unique abilities. It's presumed that any expert with significant backing or highly valued by their race would have been retrieved by their race's supreme beings long ago. Those confined here… are largely without such connections.

“Their races have forgotten them.”

“They can only struggle.”

“To determine the sole victor.” Luo Feng sighed inwardly. “I wonder if the one who supposedly escaped truly did, or if… they were simply killed by Qingdoukou Venerable the moment they stepped out.”

The Ice Prison cannot contain true prodigies.

Prodigies like Ke Di, Luo Feng, Seven Swords King, or Life-Ender King, who are highly valued by their races, possess emergency rescue protocols. The supreme beings of their races, certain ‘Universe Masters,’ would personally intervene to retrieve them. How would Qingdoukou Venerable or Zidoukou Venerable dare to defy a Universe Master?

“Teacher Zuoshanke,” Luo Feng murmured. “Sending me to the Ice Prison Star to steal the black metal plate was already an extremely perilous task, risky and offering little in the way of true tempering—quite unlike your usual methods.”

“Perhaps, this Ice Prison is where you truly intend to hone me.”

“To make me feel the struggle of the strong?”

“To make me understand more clearly the most fundamental principle of the universe—the law of the jungle?” Luo Feng mused.

…

Luo Feng stood silently before the colossal ice stele.

Approximately seventy thousand kilometers from Luo Feng, a transparent leaf slowly emerged from the snow, subtly orienting itself towards him.

“Human.”

“It's a human, the only human in the Ice Prison. Humans definitely possess devices connected to the Virtual Universe, and very likely ‘unregistered account’ connectors.” The expert hidden deep within the snow instantly grew excited. Previously, the Soul-Devouring Beast had been too cautious to engage Luo Feng in battle, and the deceased Katu Clan expert had simply sought death.

“Unregistered account, Virtual Universe.”

“The human's Virtual Universe!”

The expert deep within the snow could no longer suppress his anticipation. Life in the Ice Prison was unbearably lonely. These alien races could also utilize human ‘unregistered account’ sensors, making them an absolute treasure that countless experts in the Ice Prison would vie for, as they offered a means to alleviate ‘loneliness.’

“Kill.”

“Kill him, I want to connect to the Virtual Universe.”

A blurry, eighty-meter-tall transparent shadow suddenly erupted from the snow, then instantly vanished with a teleportation.

…

Luo Feng stood silently before the colossal ice stele.

Behind him, a towering, eighty-meter-tall, entirely transparent, peculiar life form, resembling a twenty to thirty-story building, materialized from thin air. The strange being was covered in leaves, each as clear as glass. Its thick, vine-like arm grasped an exceedingly long black chain. *Whish!* The black chain, like a venomous serpent, violently whipped and coiled towards Luo Feng.

Luo Feng's wings beat, leaving a winding trajectory in mid-air, and he had already flashed behind the peculiar life form.

The chain missed Luo Feng, instead slamming into the snow.

The snow vibrated, splitting into a chasm, yet the ice stele before them remained utterly unscathed.

“Human,” the transparent life form roared, “No matter how fast you flee, it's useless.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The black chain shimmered with a faint black glow, its speed accelerating to an extreme. For a moment, Luo Feng's vision was filled with countless afterimages of the chain… This forced Luo Feng to concede that when his opponent unleashed their full power, his own flight speed was indeed a step behind the weapon's velocity.

“Hmph.” Six black spheres, faintly shimmering with a purple aura, emerged from Luo Feng's left palm. He flicked them casually.

“Roar~~”

In mid-air, the law secret patterns on the six black spheres intertwined into countless golden threads, instantly stirring the universe's fundamental laws. A hundreds-of-meters-long Beast God phantom materialized in the sky, roaring and swinging its right hoof-claw to pounce on the transparent life form. The transparent life form dared not be careless, controlling the black chain to intercept.

“Bang!” The Beast God's right hoof-claw slammed heavily onto the black chain, directly knocking it away. It crashed onto the distant snow, causing the ground to fissure and the chain to plummet deep into the snow's depths.

“Roar~~~”

The Beast God roared, striking directly at the transparent life form itself with a hoof-claw.

“Whoosh.” The transparent life form vanished into thin air, evading the strike.

The transparent life form reappeared behind Luo Feng, its thick arm reaching out directly from beneath its countless transparent leaves to seize him.

“Space Lock.” Luo Feng activated the ‘Sky-Locking Arm’ on his armguard. The fluctuations of the vast space around them instantly ceased. Yan Ji Continent native script flickered in mid-air, while Luo Feng flapped his wings, unleashing the ‘Mingyue Strategy.’ His wings, like battle blades, whistled as they sliced through.

“The transparent life form felt only a strange power slicing through its arm.”

Whoosh!

A massive transparent arm plummeted from mid-air, crashing into the snow.

“Die.” Luo Feng, hovering in the distance, gazed at the transparent life form. The Beast God phantom roared as it charged towards the transparent life form.

The transparent life form shrieked, attempting to burrow into the ground to escape, while simultaneously swinging the chain to block the Beast God. However… Luo Feng, guided by his absolute will, could wield his psychic energy to fully match a peak Sector Lord. Coupled with the power of the supreme treasure ‘Star Chart,’ even an ultimate Sector Lord would be completely suppressed and ravaged, let alone this transparent life form whose strength was merely at the peak Sector Lord level.

“Bang!”

The Beast God once again knocked the black chain away, and then its thick right hoof-claw… directly snatched downwards in mid-air!

Tear!

It tore into the transparent life form's body, and the six black spheres coated with Feimo venom all penetrated its form.

“No!!!” The transparent life form let out a terrified scream. Its strength was considered among the weakest of the Ice Prison survivors, yet its survival capabilities were exceptionally potent. Firstly, it could teleport, and secondly, its divine body was immense. Even if it desperately burned its divine power, it could endure far longer than many other life forms. But now, those six black spheres… destroyed nearly half of its divine body the instant they pierced through it.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The six black spheres transformed into six streaks of light, returning to Luo Feng, settling into his palm before vanishing.

“Human,” the transparent life form looked at Luo Feng.

“You should know that your divine body is now half depleted.” Luo Feng said, though inwardly marveling at the opponent's formidable vitality. After all, even when used against an ultimate Sector Lord, the six poison beads could typically deplete around 30% of their divine body in a single strike. Yet, against a peak Sector Lord whose divine body was considerably weaker, it had only managed to destroy about 50%.

“Your strength is now only a tenth of what it was; you're no match for me.” Luo Feng gazed at the transparent life form.

The transparent life form, still in the snow, stared at Luo Feng. “Human, say what you will. I admit… with space locked, my speed inferior to yours, I cannot escape. My strength is also far beneath yours; everything is within your control. But you must understand, few in the Ice Prison fear death. If you push me too far, I will choose to self-destruct.”

“I just witnessed a self-destruction,” Luo Feng said with a faint smile. “Don't be so quick to self-destruct; it poses no threat to me. I have something to ask you. If you answer honestly, I can spare your life.”

“Spare me?” The transparent life form couldn't believe its ears.

“My word is my bond.”

Luo Feng slowly descended from mid-air, landing in the snow. “I've given you a chance; don't squander it.”

“Human, ask away,” the transparent life form said.

“What kind of life form are you? Among the billions of races in the universe, there are almost none I don't recognize.” Luo Feng asked directly. He was genuinely curious. With his immense knowledge, to encounter a life form he didn't know was rare. If it were a ‘special life form,’ that would be one thing, but from their battle, it didn't appear to be.

“I am of the ‘Cangjiang Clan’,” the transparent life form replied. “A type of plant-based life form, but I encountered peril while adventuring in a cosmic secret realm, and my life underwent a mutation, transforming me into my current state.”

“Mutation?” Luo Feng was surprised, then enlightened.

Indeed, using a ‘Xueluo Crystal’ to become a Black Warrior, where bloodline genes and physique are altered by Xueluo Power, is a form of mutation. Similarly, the ‘Nine Tribulations Secret Manual’ repeatedly elevates genes, which is also a mutation, though the ‘Nine Tribulations Secret Manual’ is far more perfect, with almost no visible external changes.

“I ask you again, why did you come to kill me, without any certainty of success?” Luo Feng pressed.

“Human,” the Cangjiang Clan life form said in a low voice, “While most in the Ice Prison yearn for life, their prolonged existence has caused many to lose their caution. Perhaps, deep down, they even harbor a desire for death. So, sometimes, upon encountering strangers, they don't bother to gauge the opponent's strength, but instead engage directly in battle. Success is welcome, but failure is also a form of release.”

“Don't compare the ways of the outside world with those of the Ice Prison.”

“In the Ice Prison… the five great giants are all formidable, and there are many other beings, some special life forms, possessing immense power. Those who can survive for endless ages, peak Sector Lords like myself, are at the very bottom, with no real chance, merely unwilling to give up and still struggling.” The Cangjiang Clan life form looked at Luo Feng. “As for why I came to kill you, it's because I desire an unregistered account sensor. I wish to connect my consciousness to the Virtual Universe; I yearn to experience the outside world.”

“Consciousness sensor?” Luo Feng was taken aback.

“Loneliness! Struggling between life and death, not for ten thousand years, not for a hundred million years, but for endless eras, with no end in sight. To be able to enter the Virtual Universe—what an unimaginable luxury that is.” The Cangjiang Clan life form looked at Luo Feng.