Chapter 157: Where Is the Ice Dragon? Such a Massive Ice Dragon!
Profound Frost City, City Lord's Mansion.
Zhang Mo sat cross-legged, deep in cultivation.
Bai Ziyue stood by his side.
Suddenly, a stream of light appeared from the sky, rapidly descending beside Zhang Mo.
It was none other than Long Tao, who had been responsible for communicating with the Demon Armor faction.
"Reporting to the sect master, something major has happened!" Long Tao said urgently.
Zhang Mo frowned. "Why the panic? No matter how big the matter is, there's no need to lose your composure!"
Long Tao quickly replied, "A group of twenty cultivators at the Core Formation stage suddenly appeared at the northwest border of our Heavenly Water Sect. They are all dressed in the robes of the Storm Rain Sect's elders!"
"What?"
Zhang Mo stood up abruptly, his brows furrowing deeply.
She was well aware of the surrounding sects and their situations.
The Storm Rain Sect, though a top-tier sect, was relatively weak.
Even with all their Core Formation stage cultivators combined, they only had twenty-five.
How could they suddenly dispatch twenty Core Formation stage elders to pressure the border?
Though those individuals were wearing the Storm Rain Sect's elder robes, they were most likely not from the Storm Rain Sect.
"This must be the work of the Verdant Vine Sect."
"But why would the Verdant Vine Sect assist the Qingxuan Sect?"
Zhang Mo frowned in thought.
She had already investigated; there was no alliance between the Verdant Vine Sect and the Qingxuan Sect.
At most, the Storm Rain Sect and the Qingxuan Sect had some ties.
But that was only because they had once teamed up against the Flying Frost Sect.
"The Verdant Vine Sect has always been cautious. Why suddenly get involved now?"
Zhang Mo paced back and forth, unable to figure it out.
There was clearly no vested interest, yet they had jumped in to help the Qingxuan Sect.
Why?
The foundation of the Five Sects of Xuanjing River was well known. Logically, no treasure from the Qingxuan Sect would be enough to tempt Mo Hanshan.
"We can't afford to be careless with this..."
"Relay my command: immediately deploy twenty Core Formation stage elders to guard the nearby cities and be on alert for the Storm Rain Sect."
"If we don't have enough people, pull reinforcements from the White River Sect!"
Zhang Mo ordered solemnly.
"Understood!" Long Tao accepted the order and left.
"Master, doesn't this mean we will have fewer people to deal with the Qingxuan Sect?" Bai Ziyue couldn't help but ask.
"Also, I heard that Murong Yue is already at the peak of the Core Formation stage. If you were to fight her, wouldn't it be a close match?"
Zhang Mo remained confident. "Ziyue, do you know why I chose to attack Profound Frost City first?"
Bai Ziyue pondered deeply before replying, "The only thing I can think of is the Xuan Frost Cave nearby."
"It produces Xuan Frost Amber, which is valuable, but it doesn't seem particularly important."
Zhang Mo smiled slightly. "No, it is important, extremely important!"
"Today, we will seize Xuan Frost Cave."
"By then, what does it matter if Murong Yue is at the peak of the Core Formation stage? She will still be no match for me."
...
That night, just as Zhang Mo had expected, the Qingxuan Sect decided to retreat from Xuan Frost Cave.
The Heavenly Water Sect took control of the cave without a fight.
Zhang Mo ordered Long Tao and the elders to guard the entrance, while she and Bai Ziyue ventured deep inside, reaching the cave's innermost layer.
This was the fifth layer, the deepest part of the Xuan Frost Cave.
With Zhang Mo's protection, Bai Ziyue didn't feel too cold and curiously observed his surroundings.
He asked, puzzled, "Master, is there something here?"
Zhang Mo frowned slightly. "Something's wrong... The cold energy here isn't strong enough."
She didn't answer Bai Ziyue's question but instead hurried toward the center of the fifth layer.
There, a massive, deep hole was revealed!
Due to the intense cold of the fifth layer, only Core Formation cultivators could explore it.
As a result, this large hole had remained undiscovered by the Qingxuan Sect cultivators.
"Such a big hole?"
Bai Ziyue froze for a moment and looked down.
It was empty, with nothing in sight.
Zhang Mo leaped into the hole with him, and they soon reached the bottom.
"Where's the Ice Dragon?"
"Such a massive Ice Dragon—where is it?"
Zhang Mo widened her eyes, scanning the surroundings.
There was no Ice Dragon here.
However, there was a faint mark on the ground, vaguely outlining the shape of the Ice Dragon.
On the ground, a palm-sized scale remained.
The surrounding frost even showed signs of melting.
"The Ice Dragon? A sixth-rank demon beast?" Bai Ziyue's eyes widened.
He quickly realized what was going on.
No wonder Zhang Mo had been so confident.
A sixth-rank demon beast, from its blood and fur to its scales, bones, and demon core, was a treasure trove!
But now…
He could tell from Zhang Mo's reaction that something had gone wrong.
"Master…" he cautiously asked.
Zhang Mo took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a bit unsteady on her feet.
Bai Ziyue quickly stepped forward to support her.
"There should have been an Ice Dragon's corpse here, but now it's gone," Zhang Mo pointed to the trace on the ground.
Her usually sharp, confident gaze had now turned to one of confusion.
"Could the Qingxuan Sect have taken it?" Bai Ziyue asked.
Zhang Mo shook her head. "Impossible... The Ice Dragon's hiding place was extremely well concealed. It couldn't have been found so easily."
"Moreover, that was a sixth-rank demon beast, equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even in death, its body wouldn't melt away so easily."
"Even if the Qingxuan Sect had discovered the Ice Dragon's corpse, it would take them decades to melt it down and take it away."
Bai Ziyue frowned.
"At least there's still one Ice Dragon scale left, and I have another one in my possession," Zhang Mo muttered.
"Ice Dragon scales are indestructible. Even with a simple modification, incorporating them into the Green Lotus Armor will significantly boost its defensive capabilities."
Staring at the remaining scale, Zhang Mo's mood soured.
There should have been a complete Ice Dragon's corpse.
Now, things had changed.
All that was left was a single scale.
It was a wonder she hadn't spat blood from sheer anger.
"Master, what should we do next?" Bai Ziyue cautiously asked.
Zhang Mo took several deep breaths. "What about Yin Xuege's body?"
"It's still preserved, undiscovered by anyone," Bai Ziyue replied respectfully.
"You know what martial technique Shen Mo uses, right?"
"I do."
Zhang Mo spoke calmly, "Mark up the body and make sure others find it. Then, insist it was Shen Mo's doing."
"I'll go invite the Thunderfire Sect."
"After all, I helped them get rid of that traitor Lu Ren. They owe me a favor."
"Understood, Master!" Bai Ziyue acknowledged.
...
The next day.
A rogue cultivator suddenly discovered Yin Xuege's corpse in a cave near Profound Frost City and reported it to the Heavenly Water Sect.
The corpse bore charred marks from fierce flames scorching its surface.
The surrounding vegetation and rocks had been nearly melted by the heat.
Additionally, the body showed sword wounds with traces of faint lightning energy within.
The nature of the wounds immediately brought to mind Shen Mo's tamed Heavenly Flame of Creation.
The Heavenly Water Sect adamantly claimed that Yin Xuege had died at Shen Mo's hands.
Once this news broke, it sent shockwaves through the southern region of Xuanjing Prefecture.
Although Yin Xuege had become the weakest of the Six Supremes of Xuanjing, having yet to condense his Core Formation, he was still the young master of the Heavenly Water Sect.
For the prestigious young master to die on the Qingxuan Sect's territory, Qingxuan would have to provide an explanation to the Heavenly Water Sect, regardless of whether Shen Mo was the killer or not.
After all, it was impossible that Yin Xuege had been killed by the Heavenly Water Sect itself.
After all, many elders, stewards, and disciples of the Heavenly Water Sect believed that the bond between Zhang Mo and Yin Xuege was quite profound.
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