Chapter 241: nine heavens dao lotus, Vanished Without a Trace

Jiang Zhiwei and Ying Tianji were held back by the Ice Dragon, and the others were also watching the battle from the periphery; no one noticed this side at all.

"Now is the time!"

Zhou Chen moved cautiously through the snow layers, approaching the Dao Lotus bit by bit.

The snow was very thick, a full several dozen feet deep. But for Zhou Chen, it wasn't an issue; by slightly covering his body with Samadhi True Fire, he could come and go as freely as a fish in water.

The amount of evaporation from this little bit of snow could not attract any attention at all in the face of an avalanche.

Soon, he arrived near the Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus.

As expected, there was a transparent Formation barrier around the Dao Lotus, isolating the snow outside.

Inside the barrier, the Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus bloomed quietly, its nine petals emitting a strange light; Zhou Chen could even smell the refreshing scent of the Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus.

Just a trace of the escaping energy made one feel their cultivation base becoming restless.

"Good stuff."

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up, and his Divine Thought began to slowly touch the barrier to investigate.

The barrier was very sturdy, a Low Grade Imperial Rank defensive Formation. A normal Quasi-Emperor's attack couldn't break it at all, and even if it were broken, it would trigger the Formation's warning System.

However, Zhou Chen, who possessed the Array Emperor Legacy, quickly found a way to crack it.

This Formation was integrated with the underground Qi veins; a forced attack could not break it. Because in such a cold environment, the Formation Master had not considered the damage that high temperatures might cause to the Formation.

Therefore, the loophole was also very obvious; one only needed high temperatures to forcibly burn through the weak points to break the Formation without alerting the Formation core.

"It seems this Formation Master also didn't expect that someone would be able to condense such terrifying high temperatures."

Zhou Chen took a deep breath, Chaos Spiritual Energy surging within his body, condensing into a small cyan flame.

Samadhi True Fire!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The flame landed on the weak point of the barrier and began to burn wildly, slowly spreading from small to large.

The barrier vibrated violently, emitting a piercing hum.

However, in the midst of the intense clash outside, this little bit of noise was nothing at all.

"Continue!"

Zhou Chen increased his output, and the Samadhi True Fire burned brighter and brighter.

A quarter of an hour later, the barrier finally couldn't take it anymore, and a fist-sized pitch-black hole appeared. The Formation core showed no sign of alerting anything; instead, it continued to absorb earth vein Spiritual Qi to repair the damaged opening.

However, how could Zhou Chen let it have its way? The Samadhi True Fire continued to swirl around Zhou Chen's arm, constantly keeping the opening stable.

"Alright, that should do it!"

Zhou Chen did not continue to enlarge the hole. Once the Formation stabilized, he reached in and grabbed the Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus.

[Ding! The Host has intercepted the Opportunity of the Ancient Ice Dragon—Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus, triggering a ten-thousand-fold return. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the nine heavens dao lotus.]

The moment the System prompt sounded, an additional Dao Lotus appeared in Zhou Chen's hand.

This Dao Lotus no longer had nine petals, but twelve. Every single petal contained profound Dao rhythms.

"nine heavens dao lotus?!"

It seems the opportunities of Yao Beasts can also be intercepted? Zhou Chen sucked in a breath of cold air.

This Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus was originally supposed to be the Ancient Ice Dragon's Opportunity, which it would have eventually swallowed by force after being unable to defeat the two men and risking injury. Now, it had been intercepted by Zhou Chen.

But he had no time to check carefully and immediately put both Dao Lotuses into the System space.

The System space was independent; the outside world could not sense or track anything inside it.

The very moment the Dao Lotus disappeared—

On the periphery of the Frost Dragon Abyss, the fighting Ice Dragon suddenly stopped.

"Roar—!"

It let out a long cry toward the sky, its voice filled with rage and indignation.

"What's going on?!"

Jiang Zhiwei was stunned.

Ying Tianji also looked bewildered.

The Ice Dragon twisted its body frantically, the flames in its eyes turning blood-red. It felt it—the aura of that Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus… had vanished!

"Roar, roar, roar!"

The Ice Dragon completely lost control, madly attacking everything around it.

Its massive tail swept across, shattering an iceberg into pieces. The iceberg fragments were sent flying in all directions, triggering an even larger-scale avalanche.

"Damn it! This beast has gone mad!"

Jiang Zhiwei's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly retreated.

But the shockwave of the avalanche was too fast, instantly sweeping through the entire Frost Dragon Abyss.

Although Zhou Chen was right within the range of the avalanche, he was prepared and immediately dove into the deeper snow layers further away.

The thick snow, hundreds of feet high, covered all of his traces.

"Hmm? It seems I've alerted that Ancient Ice Dragon!"

Zhou Chen moved quickly through the snow layers, accelerating his escape toward the periphery of the Frost Dragon Abyss.

The periphery of the Frost Dragon Abyss.

The battle had entered its most brutal phase.

After the Ice Dragon lost control, its attacks became even more frenzied. Jiang Zhiwei and Ying Tianji were forced to respond with everything they had.

"Jiang Zhiwei! We can't hold back anymore!"

Ying Tianji gritted his teeth and took out an ice-blue longsword from his storage ring.

That longsword emitted a terrifying pressure; it was none other than a Low Grade Imperial Rank Spiritual Artifact—the Ice Soul Sword!

"I know that!"

Jiang Zhiwei also took out his trump card—a fiery red shield, a Low Grade Imperial Rank Spiritual Artifact—the Flame Dragon Cauldron!

The two of them simultaneously activated their Spiritual Artifacts, their power surging.

"Slash!"

Ying Tianji swung his sword, an ice-blue sword light slashing toward the Ice Dragon.

"Block!"

Jiang Zhiwei sacrificed the Flame Dragon Cauldron, blocking the Ice Dragon's counterattack.

With the cooperation of two Imperial Rank Spiritual Artifacts, they finally suppressed the Ice Dragon.

But the price was also extremely heavy.

More than half of the Disciples from the Jiang Family and Ying Family were dead or injured, their blood staining the snow red.

Jiang Zhiwei and Ying Tianji were also significantly injured, blood constantly seeping from the corners of their mouths.

The battle lasted for a full hour.

Ultimately, the Ice Dragon was no match for the combined force of the two Imperial Rank Spiritual Artifacts. Covered in wounds, it let out an unwilling long roar and escaped into a crack deep within the Frost Dragon Abyss.

"We won…"

Jiang Zhiwei panted heavily, his entire being almost on the verge of collapse.

But a look of vigilance quickly flashed in his eyes as he turned to look at Ying Tianji.

Ying Tianji also looked at him; the two of them locked eyes, both seeing killing intent in the other's gaze.

"Jiang Zhiwei, the Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus belongs to my Ying Family now."

Ying Tianji sneered, tightening his grip on the Ice Soul Sword.

"In your dreams!"

Jiang Zhiwei roared, activating the Flame Dragon Shield.

The two of them began to fight once more.

But this time, Jiang Zhiwei clearly had the upper hand.

Ying Tianji had consumed too much in the previous battle, and although the Ice Soul Sword was strong, Jiang Zhiwei's Flame Dragon Cauldron was both offensive and defensive, clearly making it superior.

A half-quarter of an hour later, Ying Tianji was sent flying by a strike from the cauldron, spitting blood as he was thrown back several hundred feet.

"Retreat!"

Ying Tianji gritted his teeth and led the remaining Ying Family Disciples in a retreat.

Jiang Zhiwei originally wanted to pursue them, but he himself was not lightly injured and could only watch helplessly as the other party led his people away.

"Hmph, old fox, consider yourself lucky to be alive."

Jiang Zhiwei snorted coldly and turned to walk toward the center of the Frost Dragon Abyss.

"The Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus… ultimately belongs to my Jiang Family…"

A hint of excitement and greed flashed in his eyes.

Having paid such a heavy price and lost so many people, he was finally going to obtain the Heavenly Heart Dao Lotus!

Jiang Zhiwei quickened his pace and rapidly arrived at the original location of the Dao Lotus.

The thick snow had already been cleared away, revealing the ice stone beneath.

But on the ice stone… the Imperial Rank Formation was perfectly intact.

However, the inside was empty.

There was nothing there.

"Where is the Dao Lotus?!"

Jiang Zhiwei's eyes widened in disbelief.