Chen Tian slowly left the old man's room. When he reappeared, he was already outside the city. Chen Tian's purpose was clear: to head to the snow mountain. According to the old man, only by awakening the soul of the snow mountain could Chen Tian enter the sun and awaken another leader of the half-human race. This had to be done step by step. Besides, Chen Tian couldn't directly fly towards the sun; how could he know which was the real sun and which was an illusion? The only way was as the old man said: after resolving the problem with the snow mountain, the problem with the sun could be addressed.
Chen Tian set off towards the snow mountain. Stepping into the snow mountain once more, Chen Tian was already accustomed to the ban on flying. Walking through the snow mountain, even though it was said to be formed from the corpse of a leader, Chen Tian's magic only had a five-percent chance of summoning soul fragments, not a hundred percent. Chen Tian needed to find places within the snow mountain where soul fragments were abundant. The more fragments he condensed, the greater the help he would receive. Chen Tian walked along the outer edges of the snow mountain, as entering its depths would take time. When he had left the snow mountain before, it had taken him half a day of full-speed running to get out.
The snow mountain was vast. Chen Tian searched slowly, which would take a long time. If it weren't for the system's meddling, Chen Tian wouldn't have accepted this mission. As he walked on the snow mountain, he felt it was different this time, though he couldn't quite explain why. Chen Tian proceeded slowly along the mountain paths, taking his time to sense the soul aura. He didn't want to miss any concentrated areas. He had plenty of time to search leisurely.
Just as Chen Tian was about to step a bit further into the snow mountain, the entire mountain began to shake. Chen Tian braced himself, his body stable. The snow mountain had undergone a change. The violent shaking made Chen Tian vigilant. This had never happened before. Chen Tian dared not be complacent or relaxed. He didn't know what kind of abnormality had occurred in the snow mountain and felt it was best to be cautious. He sensed a danger emanating from the mountain.
As Chen Tian walked along the path, countless white snow needles suddenly shot out from the snow. Needles made of snow erupted from the ground, aiming directly for Chen Tian's face. Chen Tian reacted swiftly, dodging left and right. The myriad of snow needles was evaded, but their sheer number was overwhelming. Chen Tian decided he couldn't just keep dodging. His entire body erupted in a fierce flame, enveloping him like a coat of fiery armor.
The countless snow needles struck Chen Tian's flames. A strange phenomenon occurred: the snow showed no sign of melting. The snow actually resisted the flames. It was known that fire countered ice and snow, and any ice or snow would melt before fire. Of course, there was another possibility: the quality of the ice and snow was far superior to the quality of the flame. If the levels were different, then there would be no effect. But Chen Tian couldn't comprehend how the ice and snow controlled by a leader of the Elf race on the Starfall Continent could be more powerful than the flames on his body.
After all, the flames covering Chen Tian's body were converted from the power of heaven and earth. With his mastery of energy reaching level two, Chen Tian could freely convert the power of heaven and earth into any form of energy. He had converted it into flame energy to envelop himself. The power of heaven and earth was the ultimate energy in the world. Yet, here was the power of ice and snow resisting it.
Chen Tian suspected that the old man might still be hiding some secrets. Chen Tian's current plan was to escape the coverage of the snow needles. The vast sea of snow needles continued to erupt from under his feet, and Chen Tian's flames had no effect against them. Fortunately, the snow needles caused little damage to Chen Tian, but their sheer number was relentless.
Chen Tian closed his eyes. The attack couldn't be without a source. Chen Tian was searching for it. Once the source was dealt with, Chen Tian would be safe. Chen Tian's senses delved into the ground, and within his perception, a creature deep underground slowly stirred its body.
Chen Tian opened his eyes. He had found it. It was hidden quite deeply. Chen Tian stomped his foot, causing the ground to vibrate and crack. Earth spikes emerged from the ground, and along with them, a figure appeared from beneath the earth.
The figure that appeared before Chen Tian was a colossal creature clad in white snow armor. Its appearance resembled a human, but its arms were those of a giant animal. Its entire body was covered in armor made of snow and ice.
Chen Tian looked at the creature before him. His Divine Eye provided information: this being was called a Snow Demon Spirit, a creature that lived in the snow mountain. Chen Tian hadn't encountered it before because it had been in hibernation underground. He didn't know why it had awakened now that Chen Tian had entered the snow mountain and why it was attacking him so ferociously.
Logically, a hibernating creature wouldn't awaken unless Chen Tian disturbed its slumber. Chen Tian had entered the snow mountain and done nothing, yet it was attacking him aggressively and had awakened. This was rather peculiar.
Chen Tian observed it carefully and finally noticed something different. The Snow Demon Spirit had a faint aura of the Heavenly Dao about it. Chen Tian suddenly thought of the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao on the Starfall Continent was still breaking free from its seal, but that didn't prevent it from monitoring this world and Chen Tian.
Indeed, it was the Heavenly Dao that had awakened the Snow Demon Spirit. As a human, the Heavenly Dao wouldn't easily let Chen Tian go. If it could have other beings eliminate Chen Tian, the Heavenly Dao would save itself a lot of trouble.
"You promised not to interfere?"
Chen Tian sighed mournfully. The Heavenly Dao's words had all been lies. It had promised not to act.
Upon reflection, the Heavenly Dao hadn't actually acted. It had merely awakened a creature. Moreover, it wasn't the Heavenly Dao directly fighting Chen Tian. Strictly speaking, the Heavenly Dao hadn't intervened.
It was just words. Chen Tian looked at the Snow Demon Spirit. Knowing that this creature had been awakened by the Heavenly Dao to cause him trouble, Chen Tian had no intention of letting it off the hook.
His fists clenched with power, and his entire body entered a combat state. The Snow Demon Spirit was not an easy opponent. The information from Chen Tian's eyes warned him not to underestimate this creature.
The Snow Demon Spirit roared. This insignificant being had woken it up, and it intended to smash it into pieces with a single punch. It swung its arm, and terrifying power surged forth. Chen Tian met it head-on, deciding it was a good opportunity to test his strength. He swung his fists, gathering power in them. Their fists collided, and shockwaves continuously spread from the center of the impact between Chen Tian and the Snow Demon Spirit. Chen Tian and the Snow Demon Spirit were evenly matched in their collision. The Snow Demon Spirit's greatest strength was its raw power, and Chen Tian could actually contend with it in a power struggle.
Chen Tian knew very well that without channeling energy to cover his fists, he wouldn't be a match for the Snow Demon Spirit. The Snow Demon Spirit's punches were pure power, whereas Chen Tian had to draw upon the energy within his body to cover his fists just to barely match it. The Snow Demon Spirit's greatest asset was its strength, followed by its abilities. As long as there was snow around it, and it stood on snowy ground, it could manipulate the snow at will and even amplify its own strength.
The Snow Demon Spirit's snow armor was proof of this. Chen Tian and the Snow Demon Spirit were evenly matched. Chen Tian increased his strength slightly, and the Snow Demon Spirit staggered back a step. Even with just that one step back, Chen Tian felt that defeating it would not be easy.
Chen Tian sprinted forward, launching the first attack. Knowing the creature's immense strength, Chen Tian acted decisively, not giving it a chance to strike.