"Crack..."
"Crack, crack..."
Just as Bai Zihe was startled.
The solid ice became even more bone-chillingly cold.
Even at the peak of the Tribulation Realm, even after comprehending the power of weak water, Bai Zihe still felt the power emanating from this bone-chilling cold.
This was a kind of…
A power of cold that had long surpassed his comprehension.
"This cannot continue!"
A sense of urgency arose in Bai Zihe's heart.
He could already sense that this level of coldness posed a threat to him, forcing him to take it seriously.
"Buzz..."
His true essence began to circulate throughout his body.
This was true essence that had integrated the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Even a wisp of power overflowing from it was extremely formidable.
The true essence was applied to the surface of his body.
"Whoosh..."
Guided by the power of karmic fire, in the blink of an eye, the outermost layer of solid ice surrounding Bai Zihe melted into vapor.
"It's effective!"
Karmic fire still had an effect on this thing.
This put Bai Zihe a little more at ease.
Now, all he had to do was slowly melt all the solid ice, and there would be no great danger.
However...
As Bai Zihe continued to circulate his true essence, he discovered a new problem.
The solid ice outside was continuously increasing, and its rate of increase was much faster than the rate at which it was melting!
This meant…
At the current speed, the solid ice encasing Bai Zihe's body would only grow thicker and thicker, until Bai Zihe inside could no longer endure it!
After all, human strength has its limits!
"Hmph..."
Bai Zihe snorted coldly and had to increase the intensity of his true essence circulation to speed up the melting of the ice.
"Crack!"
"Crack crack..."
Indeed, the ice was melting faster.
"Alas..."
But at this moment, a sigh echoed in Bai Zihe's mind.
It was the little pagoda.
"Bai Zihe, you truly possess a treasure mountain but don't know how to use it."
Bai Zihe was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"
The little pagoda explained, "You have already integrated the five elemental powers. Any two, three, or four of the five elements can be merged together."
"The power of fusion…"
"Is obviously much stronger than a single element, and its destructive power is even more astonishing. Why are you so stubbornly focused only on the power of karmic fire?"
Bai Zihe was taken aback.
It seemed to make sense.
"Swish..."
The next moment, a golden color appeared around Bai Zihe, which was the purest golden flowing power, extremely firm and strong.
It melted a space of a decent size in front of him.
Bai Zihe was no longer completely frozen, only enveloped by the solid ice from all sides, but he could still move.
Immediately, he struck the solid ice with a punch using the golden flowing power.
"Crack!"
With a crisp sound, a long crack visibly appeared in the solid ice.
From this, it could be seen.
Although it was not the power of karmic fire, power of the same level could still break this solid ice, as long as it was sufficiently strong.
Bai Zihe's mind became active.
"Swish!"
"Crack!"
"Boom!"
The five elemental powers took turns, and except for the power of weak water, most of them could cause damage to this massive block of solid ice.
This made things much simpler.
The next moment.
Bai Zihe decisively summoned the Heaven Punishing Sword and integrated the five elemental powers, concentrating them on the sword's body, and directly slashed down at the solid ice.
"Rumble..."
Roaring sounds continuously echoed in the cave.
This solid ice, which had appeared for unknown reasons, was also instantly destroyed in a large chunk, and countless ice fragments splattered everywhere, eventually falling to the ground, forming puddles of water.
"Again!"
Bai Zihe swung his sword repeatedly.
Although the solid ice was constantly increasing, it was already far inferior to the speed at which Bai Zihe was destroying it now.
A few minutes later.
With a final earth-shattering roar, Bai Zihe finally broke free from the ice.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
"Kid, you're doing very well!"
The moment Bai Zihe broke free.
A voice of indescribable feeling suddenly sounded in Bai Zihe's ear.
It seemed to come from the edge of the sky.
Or, it was as if it was right before his eyes.
"Who is it?"
Bai Zihe frowned slightly and scanned his surroundings.
At the same time, his powerful divine sense instantly surged out, spreading in all directions, trying to find the instigator behind this.
However.
No matter how Bai Zihe probed.
He couldn't sense anything within his range.
"Peak Tribulation Realm..."
"Such a powerful divine sense, and you've mastered the five elemental powers..."
"Kid, you're quite a talent."
"It's a shame."
"Your application of the five elemental powers is so rudimentary that it's unbelievable. I really don't understand how you reached this stage!"
That voice…
There was even a hint of disappointment in its tone, as if it regretted that the talent was not being utilized properly.
Bai Zihe couldn't help but frown.
It seemed.
This hidden entity, although extremely powerful, did not have much hostility towards him, otherwise, it would not have spoken like this.
"Swish..."
The next moment, Bai Zihe suddenly raised the Heaven Punishing Sword and slashed towards the depths of the cave.
The sword energy was extremely sharp, yet it was colored in five hues, a result of integrating the five elemental powers.
"The power of the five elements..."
The voice from inside sounded quite disdainful.
"Buzz..."
As its words fell, a blizzard of extreme cold suddenly spread out from within.
Even from a distance, Bai Zihe felt the boundless chill and couldn't help but gather his true essence to resist.
"Crack!"
"Crack crack..."
The next moment, something bizarre happened.
The sword energy that Bai Zihe had unleashed was frozen in mid-air by this chilling intent, unable to advance even an inch further.
"This..."
Bai Zihe couldn't help but gasp, and his heart was instantly filled with immense shock.
Truly, what kind of terrifying existence was this!
The most powerful individuals Bai Zihe had encountered so far were the Immortal of Penglai, Sword Immortal Long Bai, and his Eighth Senior Sister, Ji Xian Yuan.
Sword Immortal Long Bai could easily shatter his sword energy, but he could not freeze this sword energy, which integrated the power of the five elements, in mid-air!
He hadn't fought Eighth Senior Sister, but she should be about the same.
This.
What kind of existence was behind this?
Of course, the half-saint ancestor of the Lin family could also achieve this.
But he wouldn't come here to play such a prank on him...
"See?"
"This is the ultimate power of water."
"It can freeze even sword energy with ease!"
"Let alone..."
"A magical artifact, or, a person!"
"Once frozen, do we still need to discuss the outcome of the battle? It's basically a foregone conclusion!"
The voice from inside was steadily approaching.
As it approached, it kept explaining.
Bai Zihe fell into thought.
Such ultimate power was indeed desirable and something he had never paid attention to before. It seemed to offer a new direction.
Any power, when cultivated to its extreme, possessed incredible abilities!
"Who exactly are you?"
After his thoughts raced, Bai Zihe looked up.
"Me..."
The next moment, a colossal being suddenly appeared before Bai Zihe.
Its body was emerald green, with a sheep's head, wolf's hooves, the body of a deer, and the tail of a dragon.
It was actually a Water Qilin!