Chapter 653 - Snatching

As Liu Wuxie carefully put away the Heretic Blade, he reached out to touch the crystal wall.

The thudding sounds grew larger, resembling a heartbeat that gave off a rhythmic sound. As he moved closer to the crystal wall, he saw the embryos within, infant snowmen still developing within their shells.

Unlike humans, the snowmen laid eggs and kept them warm, using a secluded environment to hatch them. Hundreds of embryos were hanging on the wall, and more than half had taken shape, with thumping sounds coming from them.

"This is the snowman's inheritance ground!" Liu Wuxie murmured, withdrawing his head with a hint of shock. The snowmen had dug this mysterious chamber, which was warm, unlike the biting cold outside, making it convenient for embryos to develop.

After determining that there was no immediate danger in the surroundings, Liu Wuxie turned and began to make his way toward the exit. His goal wasn't to destroy the snowmen's lineage, as he had no grievance with them.

The exit wasn't far away, and he walked for roughly five minutes before the passage slowly became narrow, with icy wind blowing in. He wasn't in a hurry to go out and scanned the surroundings with his divine sense to examine if there were any dangers outside.

"Running water?" He could hear the sounds of flowing water, and this surprised him. He couldn't figure out how flowing water could be on the icy mountain.

When Liu Wuxie executed the Ghost Eye to scan the surroundings, the cave's terrain began to appear in his mind, and there was a vast open space outside the passage.

"What a beautiful place!" Liu Wuxie was shocked. He couldn't believe such a paradise was hidden in the Heavenly Mountain.

When he stepped out of the cave, he was greeted by a vast lake covered with lotus leaves. But these weren't ordinary lotuses but Snow Lotuses. Though they hadn't reached ten thousand years of age, consuming them could still bring immense benefits to the body.

These Snow Lotuses served as the staple food for the snowmen, and it was no wonder why they forbade outsiders from setting foot there.

The lake was fed by water flowing down from the mountain, likely from melted snow, which accumulated to form the lake.

The lake was roughly a few thousand meters wide, occupying half the summit. There was a bizarre statue on the lake engraved with ice. This statue resembled a woman, but her proportions were far too enormous to be human.

The statue's crystalline body shimmered under sunlight, exuding a faint glow. It was translucent. Apart from the absence of flesh and blood, it looked like a vivid person.

The statue's feet were on the lake, and water flowed down from her mouth, drawing an arc in the air and landing in the lake.

A small pool atop the statue radiates immense spiritual energy. Water flowed from the pool into the statue before pouring out of her mouth, forming a cycle.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The lotus leaves gave off a dense fragrance, and Liu Wuxie felt invigorated when he took a deep breath. It felt as though all his pores had opened up.

However, Liu Wuxie's goal was the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. While these ordinary Snow Lotuses were highly precious, they were nothing compared to the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

He didn't act in a hurry as several snowmen patrolled, and a female snowman plucked a Snow Lotus and carried it back to the cave to prepare for dinner. This was the snowmen's sacred ground, heavily guarded day and night. If Liu Wuxie revealed himself now, the patrolling snowmen would surely attack him.

"If I'm right, the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus should be in that pool atop the statue," Liu Wuxie said confidently. He halted his divine sense just before the statue, unwilling to risk venturing too close.

"What a beautiful figure," Liu Wuxie marveled; his divine sense circled the statue. The craftsmanship was exquisite. While it resembled a human, its exotic features set it apart if one looked at it closely. It gave off an ethereal aura as though it was untouched by the mortal world.

Liu Wuxie's divine sense ventured further with great care to the pool, where he saw a nine-petaled Snow Lotus. A dense mist enveloped the Snow Lotus, making it look hazy and otherworldly.

The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus!

Liu Wuxie exclaimed inwardly, restraining himself before his voice escaped his mouth. After all, the consequences would be dire if the snowmen heard him.

Although Liu Wuxie was powerful, facing an entire clan of snowmen, especially the thirty-meter-tall giant, would be a death sentence.

"It won’t be easy to harvest the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus," Liu Wuxie muttered, his expression tense. Remaining in this spot wasn’t an option. If the snowmen entered the chamber to inspect the embryos, as was their habit, his hiding place would be discovered. Time was running out.

"There's about 1,500 meters between me and the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. If I push myself to my limit, I can reach it quickly. I still have a high odds of escaping before the snowmen react," Liu Wuxie murmured, calculating his odds. The patrolling snowmen showed no sign of suspecting his presence, which worked in his favor.

He decided to seize the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus while they patrolled farther away before escaping through the path he came in. He still had a high chance of success.

But just as he was about to move, a violent tremor shook the entire mountain, and sounds of battle erupted from the snow caves.

"Someone has intruded!" Liu Wuxie withdrew himself. Many had gathered outside, wanting to break in forcibly to harvest the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. He decided to wait and act amidst the chaos.

Rumbling sounds echoed, and a large hole appeared on the mountain. The snow caves showed signs of collapsing, and a snowman fell into the lake.

Dozens of humans forced their way over, and more people charged in from the other snow caves.

"The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus is over there!" The dozens of people who came in pointed at the statue before rushing toward it. There were two snowmen guarding there, who leaped into action and blocked the intruders.

"You hold them off! I'll harvest the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus!" Deng Yong yelled, and he charged at the statue.

"Okay!" replied several disciples from the Indigo Cloud Gate. Their objective was to buy time for Deng Yong to harvest the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

Just when Deng Yong moved, another figure darted ahead of him. With no snowmen obstructing him, Liu Wuxie pushed his speed to the limit.

Deng Yong was fast, but Liu Wuxie was faster.

In less than a minute, Liu Wuxie had already appeared at the pool's edge, waving his hand and collecting the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

"Liu Wuxie, it's you!" Deng Yong roared. He could only watch as Liu Wuxie collected the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

The dozen people holding off the snowmen faltered upon hearing Liu Wuxie's name, which caused them to retaliate and send them flying away.

More snowmen emerged from the snow caves, along with many human cultivators.

"The ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus is with Liu Wuxie!" someone yelled, prompting the human cultivators to give up fighting the snowmen and charge at Liu Wuxie, but the snowmen soon obstructed them. After all, the snowmen couldn't allow the humans to leave, slamming down with their palms and killing the disciples with lower cultivation.

The ground trembled as the thirty-meter-tall snowman emerged from a snow cave, unleashing a violent shockwave.

"Run!" Deng Yong yelled, urging everyone to leave as the snowman was too powerful. As for Deng Yong, he pounced in Liu Wuxie's direction, wanting to seize the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus.

"Liu Wuxie, the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus isn’t something you can claim! Hand it over!" Deng Yong roared as he pursued Liu Wuxie.

Chaos ensued in the outer region, and humans and snowmen battled. The human cultivators fought as they retreated, but Liu Wuxie had collected the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus, so they did not need to stay here any longer.

When the thirty-meter-tall snowman appeared, its massive palm formed a violent gale that sent over a dozen human cultivators flying and smashed several humans into smithereens.

When humans fell into the freezing lake, they trembled uncontrollably from the unbearable cold. Snowmen stationed at the lake's edge wasted no time, charging forward to kill those who had fallen in.

Within moments, the battle claimed the lives of several human cultivators, striking fear into the survivors and forcing them to flee.

Meanwhile, Deng Yong continued his relentless pursuit, rapidly closing in on Liu Wuxie and unleashing a powerful palm strike.

"Fuck off!" Liu Wuxie suddenly stopped and turned around, retaliating with a palm strike that created a swirling gust of wind.

When the two palm strikes collided, a powerful explosion occurred as Liu Wuxie used the momentum to fall at the entrance of the underground passage.

As for Deng Yong, his face had turned grim after losing the opportunity to catch up with Liu Wuxie, not to mention many snowmen were flocking over from the surroundings. He had to leave immediately, or they would besiege him.

It was naturally impossible for Deng Yong to face the snowmen by himself, and he glared at Liu Wuxie before returning to the snow cave. But he didn't leave immediately and waited, preparing to leave immediately the moment there was danger.

Those who escaped death also gathered, converging with Deng Yong, looking at Liu Wuxie at the edge of the lake, with no path of retreat.

The largest snowman slowly walked towards Liu Wuxie, reaching out with its palm to demand the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. Snowmen couldn't speak the human language, so they could only express their intentions through gestures.

However, Liu Wuxie knew the snowmen wouldn't let him leave even if he handed over the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus, as he could sense boundless ferocity emanating from these snowmen.

He recalled the brutal methods they had employed earlier, and he turned around, heading to the underground chamber.

This immediately made the snowmen panic, and they had no idea how Liu Wuxie had discovered that underground chamber.

As the largest snowman couldn't enter the passage, he could only let the smaller snowmen chase after Liu Wuxie.

"Senior Brother Deng, how is Liu Wuxie even here?" asked the other Indigo Cloud Gate disciples. They had expended tremendous effort to make it over, losing many of their comrades.

Yet, Liu Wuxie had appeared ahead of them and effortlessly harvested the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus. Not only did they fail to seize it, but Liu Wuxie had obtained it instead. Thus, anyone could imagine their bitter resentment.