Douluo Continent: The Eye of Truth

Chapter 131 Artificial Ice Cave

Amidst the swirling snow, only the Snow Emperor danced alone, with the wind, snow, and frost becoming mere backdrops to her presence.

As a large amount of ice elements continuously converged and were drawn to this place during the Snow Emperor's dance.

A crude array began to gradually take shape according to Huo Yuhao's design.

Within a radius of a hundred miles, the snowstorm that had raged for tens of thousands of years without ceasing for even a few days gradually dissipated.

Even the sky, which is usually covered with snow clouds, revealed a sliver of sunlight, shining on the land at the very center of the magic array set up by Huo Yuhao.

At this moment, the snow that had accumulated year after year in the far north has completely disappeared in this area, gradually revealing the lifeless, dark permafrost that few people have ever seen in the far north.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow that was originally falling on the snow surface did not fall to the ground, but instead floated in mid-air, tens of meters away from the actual ground. This was due to the formation of the array, which caused the melting of the surface snow.

At the same time, mysterious patterns composed of ice elements began to appear gradually within the circle formed by ten strands of ten-thousand-year-old mysterious ice marrow.

They intertwined and connected, forming a link between the ten strands of Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Marrow. As these mysterious patterns took shape, the Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Marrow, which served as the core of the formation, was gradually submerged within them.

Then, using the location of the ten ancient ice marrows as a base, thick ice pillars rose from the ground amidst the convergence of ice elements, reaching straight into the sky and connecting with the permafrost layer to form ice pillars that were nearly a hundred meters high.

These icicles are not made of pure ice crystals. Through the transparent ice crystals on the outside of these ten thick icicles, you can clearly see that they are filled with tiny crack-like lines.

These cracks in the ice were intentional on Huo Yuhao's part, because even if a magic array had formed its own diagram and pathways, it would never be able to survive for long in the unchanging snow and wind of the far north.

Now, these ice pillars, formed by the condensation of ice elements and based on the Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Marrow, are the best carrier for the array diagram that Huo Yuhao needs, and these cracks are the basic structure of the array here.

By utilizing the direction of the cracks within the ice crystals, Huo Yuhao could ensure that even if the ten ice pillars continued to grow, they could repeat the current process, continuously expanding the original array diagram without requiring manual rearrangement.

Through the continuous generation of new array patterns within the ice pillars, and the repeated absorption of new ice element energy, a process is formed that continuously strengthens and expands the array used to attract and gather ice elements.

In addition to the natural ice element energy provided by the vast天地 (heaven and earth), the soul power of soul masters and soul beasts with ice attributes can also contribute to the continued expansion of this formation.

However, if the base number is too small, its effect will naturally not be significant.

As the formation took shape, a circular ice shell covered the top of the ten ice pillars, allowing light to pass through faintly, but ultimately leaving only pure cold.

Although the ice shell is only one meter thick, it continues to spread downwards until it touches the snow that has formed on the surrounding ground, at which point its speed gradually slows down.

Meanwhile, a thicker layer of ice gradually forms from the base of the icicle, eventually forming opposite the ice layer above and spreading to the snow layer on the ground, thus sealing off the area.

The strength of this ice shell is that of the ultimate ice, and it is not ordinary ultimate ice. It is difficult to break through by ordinary means, and it will also trigger the backlash of the formation, arousing the cold air invasion of the ultimate ice level.

With such power, even a typical Limit Douluo wouldn't stand a chance. Furthermore, the pure ultimate ice also creates a spatial seal to a certain extent, thus preventing the effects of spatial manipulation.

Within the area enclosed by these ten ice pillars, there is only a circular hollow area with a diameter of about one meter, which is rather cramped even to accommodate one person for meditation and cultivation.

This is also the core of the formation. Now, only extremely pure ice elements remain here. All other miscellaneous elements and energies have been squeezed out by the dense accumulation of ice elements caused by the formation.

However, judging solely from the cultivation environment of ice attribute users, this place has undoubtedly reached the level of a ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Cave.

However, such a small environment, even though it is filled with pure ice elemental energy at all times, cannot support high-intensity cultivation. For long-term cultivation, it probably wouldn't be of much use to even the strongest cultivators.

However, this is only the beginning. Currently, the ten ice pillars are still serving as the hub of the formation, continuously drawing ice elemental energy from the surrounding environment.

The temperature outside this ice layer has also dropped to an extremely low level, and the concentration of ice elements accumulated there is no less than that of the water in the Ice God Lake.

Meanwhile, outside the formation, the land that was originally covered with snow gradually began to be covered with a layer of ice crystals with formation patterns that were constantly spreading and growing. Then, these ice crystals continued to extend and thicken outward.

However, this process was extremely slow. Even after an hour had passed, the thickness of the ice layer was barely perceptible. It was so thin that Huo Yuhao would not have been able to detect it unless he was fully focused and using his Eye of Truth to see through it.

However, Huo Yuhao could also observe that as these ice crystals gradually formed and thickened, the efficiency and quantity of ice element energy that this formation could draw upon were constantly increasing at a slight rate.

Along with this slight growth, the core space inside the formation is also expanding steadily at a very slow pace. However, according to Huo Yuhao's estimation, even if it takes another ten thousand years, even with the ever-increasing absorption rate, it can only expand by a maximum of one cubic meter.

However, this so-called slowness is only relative. At least for humans like Huo Yuhao, if no improvements are made, he probably won't live to see this man-made ice cave reach the scale of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave.

However, the significance of this for soul beasts is absolutely indescribable. For soul beasts with long lifespans, the efficiency of cultivation in this environment can be described as progressing by leaps and bounds.

Moreover, it can be expected that even without cultivation, simply waiting for the ice elements here to condense into new Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow would be a sure-fire way for soul beasts to make money.

After all, a single strand of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow can increase the success rate of a ferocious beast's tribulation by at least 10%. Moreover, as the ice layer expands, the available space within this formation and the generation efficiency of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow will continue to increase.

Even if the effect is not as good on the ferocious beasts at the original level of the Snow Emperor, it is still enough to look forward to. After all, according to the lifespan of a soul beast, the amount of ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Marrow that it can accumulate during the tribulation is far more than one strand.

Moreover, compared to the naturally formed Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave, the efficiency and speed of the expansion and growth of this man-made Ice Cave are far greater than that of the other two. As its radiation range expands, its expansion speed will also be faster.

However, all of this requires a necessary condition: a very large amount of natural ice elemental energy. Otherwise, due to the overall energy environment of the far north, the expansion of the artificial ice cave will inevitably be constrained.

However, precisely because of this, the formation initially had such a small space; otherwise, it would have occupied too much of the ice element energy from the far north.

This is also related to Huo Yuhao's choice of location, since the place he chose was not the main node for energy to flow into the Ice God Lake in the far north, but a place near the icy sea.

After the dance ended, Xue Di's face was somewhat pale, and Huo Yuhao was not feeling well either, because the adjustments to the nodes and details in the just-conducted deduction and formation required him to expend a lot of mental energy.

Compared to Xue Di, he was expending far more energy at this time, but the results were also gratifying.

Looking at the hollow within the ice layer, where a deep blue, liquid-like ice elemental energy flowed, Snow Empress's eyes were filled with joy.

"I can sense through the ice and snow that the birth of this region has not had any negative impact on the far north. In fact, its existence has stimulated the active birth of many new ice elemental energies."

Within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, a spiritual essence of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm quietly unsealed and then merged into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, replenishing his depleted spiritual power and simultaneously increasing Huo Yuhao's spiritual foundation.

After pausing for a moment, Huo Yuhao did not immediately respond to Xue Di's words, but instead continued to use his Eye of Truth to examine the loopholes and flaws in the formation.

After all, although it was built under the guidance of Huo Yuhao, the actual executor was Xue Di, so it was inevitable that there would be some minor errors in their cooperation.

As the saying goes, a small mistake can lead to a huge error. Although these errors may not have any immediate impact, they will certainly have a negative effect on the future evolution of this man-made ice cave.

After repairing over a hundred loopholes, Huo Yuhao dispelled the possessing martial spirit, then plopped down on the ground before explaining to Xue Di.

"You can't look at it that way. Although the creation of an artificial ice cave will lead to a significant increase in the activity of ice elements in the vicinity, the larger the expansion range of this artificial ice cave, the more it will ultimately crowd out the overall energy of the far north."

"After all, with its expansion, both the demand for ice elements will increase and the remaining area of ​​the far north will be affected to some extent."

"However, the node I chose is close to the Ice Sea. With the expansion of the man-made ice cave, it will eventually radiate overseas, thereby reducing the pressure on the far north."

Upon hearing this, the Snow Empress thoughtfully said, "However, I remember that there is also a group of mermaids with considerable strength living in the icy sea. Moreover, because they are sea spirit beasts, they have little interaction with our far north region as they have only worshipped the sea god for generations."

Huo Yuhao nodded: "That's right, but given the overall strength of the far north, I think we wouldn't be at a disadvantage even if we clashed with them."

"Moreover, in my expectation, this man-made ice cave will eventually become the second core of the far north, similar to the Ice God Lake."

"Ultimately, its ice element energy in the far north should be second only to the Ice God Lake. At the same time, it will also use the natural energy in the ocean to continuously transform water elements into new ice elements, thereby increasing the area and element concentration of the far north."

Upon hearing this, the Snow Empress smiled slightly: "If it can really be as you say, Yuhao, then this man-made ice cave will be of extraordinary significance to the overall development of the far north."

As for the so-called possibility of the Ice Sea encroaching on the Mermaid Clan, or the feud with the Sea Spirit Beasts? As the ruler of the far north, the Snow Empress is naturally decisive. The relationship between the Sea Spirit Beasts and the Land Spirit Beasts is not close to begin with.

In addition, the two sides believe in different things. The merfolk have always considered themselves superior to other soul beasts. Now that the Emperor Beast has arrived, it has relieved the ferocious beasts in the far north of their urgent needs. Naturally, the far north is now closer to Huo Yuhao and the Star Dou Great Forest.

So what if conflicts arise? As Huo Yuhao said, would they, from the far north, be afraid of sea spirit beasts?

Moreover, compared to land-based spirit beasts, sea spirit beasts have a larger living area and enjoy richer resources in the sea. However, they are divided into factions and are even less united than land-based spirit beasts.

As the ruler of the far north, the Snow Empress naturally only had to consider the future of the soul beasts in the far north. As for the future of the sea soul beasts, what did that have to do with her?

Huo Yuhao shook his head and didn't say anything more. This pilot experiment went very smoothly, and he still needed to go back and organize his findings.

"To enter and exit this place, all you need to do is..." Huo Yuhao told Xue Di the secret method of controlling the formation here and passing through the ice shell to enter the artificial Xuanbing Cave.

This also utilizes some space-related capabilities, and only in this way can the good energy circulation of the artificial ice cave be guaranteed.

The secret technique involves spatial manipulation and is not simple, but since the formation here relies on ice elements, it is naturally not difficult for the Snow Empress, who has a strong control over ice elements, to enter it.

"This place can also serve as your training ground, Snow Empress. As for the rest, let me finish organizing what I've learned first." After saying this, Huo Yuhao hurriedly entered a meditative state.

At the same time, the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul also appeared beside Huo Yuhao. Although the environment outside the artificial ice cave contained less ice element energy than the interior of the artificial ice cave.

However, its concentration is by no means inferior to the ice spring in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire. It protects Huo Yuhao while absorbing the free ice element energy in the vicinity to strengthen itself, and at the same time nourishes Huo Yuhao's body.

(End of this chapter)