Although my Extreme Cold Domain is good, the shortcoming is also obvious; its range is too short, and I can’t move while it’s active.
But it can still save my life at critical moments!
Zhang Chen watched the surging cold wave, the chilling aura was endless, like rivers converging towards his body, making him not worried about his points problem at all.
Even if upgrading from the sixth tier to the seventh tier requires 100 billion points, so what?
Judging by the power of this mysterious hand, reaching 100 billion is just a matter of waiting a few more days for him.
Not to mention the mere seventh tier, Zhang Chen felt this might be the first skill he could possibly upgrade to the twelfth tier!
The power of that hand was overwhelmingly strong! It was terrifyingly strong!
Just as Zhang Chen’s thoughts flickered about maxing out all his skills to the twelfth tier to become a top-tier expert in the world, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon beside him suddenly exclaimed, "Zhang Chen, something’s not right! Did my eyes deceive me? How come I feel like that hand just moved?"
"What?" Zhang Chen was startled, feeling his hairs stand on end. He fixated his eyes on the mysterious hand in front of him, "Old man, you better not be joking around, this isn’t something to joke about. It could scare people to death!"
Zhang Chen promptly warned the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, his words filled with displeasure.
"I really seemed to have seen that hand move," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon also seemed uncertain, standing before the hand, suspiciously looking around but seeing nothing unusual.
Zhang Chen, filled with doubt and suspicion, glanced at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon and then turned his head to carefully observe the hand before him. The hand still appeared lifeless, showing no sign of a living form, so he turned and asked, "Didn’t you say that after the great changes in Heaven and Earth, all beings beyond the twelfth tier had perished?"
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied, "Theoretically, yes, but isn’t that just a theory? There are also extraordinary circumstances, like how I’m only half-alive yet still persist in this world."
Zhang Chen turned pale upon hearing the Great Freedom Celemon’s response: "You assured me earlier that all the old guys were dead, and now you’re bringing up special cases, you really are a scoundrel!"
Though he cursed in anger, Zhang Chen wasn’t panicked; he had the Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing skill, so even if an ancient old guy revived, he’d probably still fall into Zhang Chen’s hands nine times out of ten.
While the two were arguing, Zhang Chen suddenly paused his words and fixated his eyes on the crystalline hand in front of him, as he seemed to have indeed noticed a slight tremor in the skin of the hand.
Then Zhang Chen’s face turned a bit pale, and he hurriedly activated his Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing skill, but only saw the skill flicker, followed by a line of text that left Zhang Chen’s heart cold:
[Target: Unknown existence]
[Status: Soul Hooking not possible]
For such a situation, there were two possibilities: "First, the hand before him was still alive, and its lifespan hasn’t been exhausted. Second, he could be wrong in what he saw."
Of course, he couldn’t be wrong!
"Damn it! This is big trouble!" Seeing the Soul Hooking skill fail, Zhang Chen felt completely numb and quickly turned to look at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon. Upon making eye contact, Zhang Chen asked, "Did you see it?"
"Of course, I saw it!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon gasped: "There’s still a remnant soul in this hand, not completely dead! It seems like this hand controls the law of the entire Third Heaven, transforming itself into a part of the Third Heaven, with its remnant soul entrusting itself to the order of the Third Heaven’s law, achieving a state of longevity coexistent with heaven, perhaps exploiting a loophole to preserve a sliver of its remnant soul."
Zhang Chen turned pale, his eyes gazing into the vast and snowy world before him, and after a long while, he took a sharp breath: "What should I do now? If I alarm the existence of the Third Heaven, I probably won’t be able to return to the Third Heaven anymore."
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon also frowned.
Zhang Chen didn’t want to become hostile with the great terror of the Third Heaven, so he racked his brains, glancing at his Golden Finger Interface. After scanning through all his skills, his eyes suddenly halted on ’Ice Hell’: "I wonder if my Ice Hell skill can confine the hand before me?"
He felt his Ice Hell couldn’t confine the hand before him, but he also had the Six-Word True Mantra Seal and the Nine Bends Yellow River Array. If he could lure it into the Ice Hell and then use the Nine Bends Yellow River Array to seal it, there might be a chance to suppress it.
Moreover, he also possessed the Six-Word True Mantra Seal, whose power has been increasingly enhanced under the Yellow Heaven Dao’s Incense Faith, giving Zhang Chen a fighting chance.
Besides, he still had the Sealing Rune, and with so many points at hand, it was enough to upgrade his Sealing Rune to Great Perfection.
Once I suppress this hand, there will be an endless production of points. This transaction is quite worthwhile.
So Zhang Chen set his sight on the massive, mountain-sized hand, pondering how to pull it into the Ice Hell.
His Nine Bends Yellow River Array certainly cannot cover the entire hand, but as long as the hand is pulled into the Ice Hell and confined, its size will shrink with the distortion of space, allowing him to use the Nine Bends Yellow River Array to lock it up with ease.
The key is how to bring that hand into the Ice Hell, which is the most challenging step.
Zhang Chen couldn’t solve it on his own, so he turned to the Great Freedom Celestial Demon: "I have a divine technique called Ice Hell. Within it, an endless void is opened up, and perhaps we can try to seal and suppress that hand within it, slowly stripping it over time. Do you have a way to move this hand?"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon sized up the hand before scratching his head: "You give me too much credit! I can’t even handle you, how could I have the ability to move this hand?"
"What a waste." Zhang Chen said irritably.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon remained silent, unwilling to waste words with Zhang Chen. Why be bothered by a few insults? He’s already set Zhang Chen up in such a predicament, gaining advantage is the true path, only children worry about such petty matters.
"So you have such skills? How come I didn’t know?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon leaned forward curiously, surveying Zhang Chen.
"There are many things you don’t know. I can withstand the cold, you didn’t know that either, did you?" Zhang Chen retorted grumpily.
Despite Zhang Chen’s words, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon was not annoyed. Instead, curiously, he said: "Let me see your Ice Hell. I’ll assess whether it can seal that hand. Perhaps I can find a way to guide the hand in based on your Ice Hell’s actual situation. We can’t move that hand, but maybe we can find a way to lead it into the Ice Hell itself."
Upon hearing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s suggestion, Zhang Chen found it sensible. He couldn’t move the hand himself, but if he could guide the hand to enter the Ice Hell on its own, wouldn’t the effect be the same?
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon wanted to enter the Ice Hell for observation, and Zhang Chen didn’t refuse but pointed to the Mish Void before him: "Step forward, don’t resist; I’ll send you into the Ice Hell to see. If you can truly guide the hand into the Ice Hell, you’ll have done a great deed, and I might grant you some freedom."
Upon hearing this, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon plunged into the Ice and Snow World before Zhang Chen, and the next moment, Zhang Chen’s heart stirred the void inversion, seeing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon already in the Endless Ice Hell’s void.
"This place? It’s simply unbelievable!" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon stood in the endless void, eyes fixed on the direction of the void, filled with speechlessness.
The endless void was Zhang Chen’s trump card, which he could manipulate with a thought to create independent small worlds. Seeing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon standing in place, he inquired: "How is it? Do you have a way to attract that hand over?"
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon shook his head: "Your Ice Hell cannot confine that hand."
"What about with the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array?" Zhang Chen asked.
"That would be passable," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon replied.
"I also have the Six-Word True Mantra Seal," Zhang Chen added.
"That might seal the opponent," the Great Freedom Celestial Demon said after calculating.
"But the key now is how to bring the opponent into the Ice Hell," Zhang Chen remarked.
He actually had a contingency plan, storing a void within his Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror. If he could confine the hand in it and then transfer it to the Ice Hell, it would be perfect.
But the times have changed; ancient gods are gone, and innate spiritual treasures are in peril. To activate them would cost a life. Although he possesses magical power, five hundred years’ worth isn’t sufficient to retrieve the hand. He would have to rely on the self-recovery of the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror.
Once the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror recovers autonomously, it consumes stored power. If overly depleted, it would harm its origin, irreversibly damaging the mirror, something Zhang Chen wouldn’t want. As his cultivation advances, he will better control and master the mirror, preventing such occurrences.
Zhang Chen’s keen eyes watched the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, hoping he’d devise a solution.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon pondered the Ice Hell’s void for a while before saying: "If you can infuse the entire Third Heaven into your Ice Hell, this will surely succeed! The hand would then follow the Third Heaven into your control."
"Refine the Third Heaven?" Zhang Chen’s eyes brightened upon hearing this: "Do you have a way to help me refine the Third Heaven?"