Key to the Icebound Secret Realm

Deep within the dense forest lay a small clearing, in the center of which was a tiny pool of water.

The surface of the pool was extremely calm, and the water was crystal clear, yet it also appeared profoundly deep.

The strangest thing was that there were absolutely no demonic beasts near this pool, which was a stark contrast to the journey here, where demonic beasts had been everywhere.

Lin Xiao did not let his guard down. Keeping a vigilant watch on his surroundings, he slowly walked toward the small pool.

When he reached the pool's edge, there was still no trace of any demonic beasts nearby.

So, he crouched down to observe the water. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he reached out and gently touched the surface. To his surprise, he discovered that, just like the ice lake outside, he could not use his spiritual power in this pool!

This led him to wonder: Could this place be connected to the ice lake on the other side of the mountain?

If that was the case, the cultivators who had entered this place in the past probably noticed this as well. Thinking there were no treasures here, they must have left empty-handed.

Even if there was some treasure here, the inability to use spiritual power meant that if there were any dangers underwater, it could easily be fatal. Therefore, everyone preferred not to go down rather than take such a risk.

Lin Xiao did not dare to either.

He stood up, preparing to leave.

However, a system notification suddenly rang out in his mind:

Ding. Detected the Key to the Icefield Mystic Realm. You may proceed to acquire it.

Hearing this, Lin Xiao froze for a moment and could not help but ask the system, "Didn't you say this mystic realm already has a master? How can there still be a mystic realm key available to acquire?"

According to the system's preliminary appraisal, the Key to the Icefield Mystic Realm is currently in a completely independent state. From this, it can be inferred that the master of this mystic realm has not fully refined the Heart of the Mystic Realm, leaving the key in an ownerless state.

Hearing the system's answer, in a flash of insight, Lin Xiao suddenly thought of something and asked, "Could those ice caves that only allow entry but no exit also be a result of the mystic realm's master failing to completely refine the Heart of the Mystic Realm?"

Theoretically speaking, if the master of a mystic realm fails to completely refine the Heart of the Mystic Realm, certain areas within the realm will be independently controlled by the Heart. These areas are completely outside the master's control and are used by the Heart of the Mystic Realm to absorb nourishment for its own upgrades.

Now, Lin Xiao understood.

So this was why the Icefield Mystic Realm, despite having a master, was left open for the vast number of fellow cultivators to enter. It turned out the master simply did not have the mystic realm key and could not control the location of the realm's entrances and exits.

Who knew how this master had even obtained the Heart of the Mystic Realm to refine it in the first place...

The Heart of the Mystic Realm, an existence with little consciousness of its own, solely focused on upgrading itself since it was not fully refined. As a result, it spawned these gray areas to trap cultivators and use them as nutrients to supply itself.

Just because of this master's incomplete refinement, so many people had been harmed over the past century.

There was so much to complain about that Lin Xiao did not even know where to begin.

Looking at the pool, although Lin Xiao really wanted to go down and get the mystic realm key, he had no confidence in his ability to survive in this unknown underwater environment without the use of his spiritual power. Thus, he still planned to leave.

Unexpectedly, right at that moment, Senior Liao suddenly sent him a telepathic message:

"I'm back. How are things on your end?"

So, Lin Xiao told him everything that had happened here.

After listening, Liao Pantu thought for a moment and said to him, "Let me give it a try."

Lin Xiao was a bit surprised. "Can you guarantee your safety? Don't force yourself."

Liao Pantu floated out from his chest like a wisp of smoke, shooting him a highly dissatisfied glare. "Who are you looking down on, kid? I didn't practice this Soul Refining Art for nothing! Just watch."

Before his voice had even faded, his entire soul body shot out of the Soul-Nourishing Pendant, leaving only a thin thread of soul connected to it. Then, he turned and plunged straight into the bottomless little pool.

Seeing how fast he moved, Lin Xiao could not even stop him before his soul figure disappeared into the water.

Left with no choice, Lin Xiao sat on a rock by the pool and waited silently.

He looked down at the thin soul thread extending from the Soul-Nourishing Pendant in his chest all the way into the pool, and let out a soft sigh.

Who knows if Senior Liao even knows what the mystic realm key looks like before jumping down in such a rush...

The time it takes an incense stick to burn passed.

Then two.

During this time, still no demonic beasts appeared near the pool.

Seeing that Senior Liao had been down there for so long without any activity, Lin Xiao could no longer sit still. Just as he was about to tug on the soul thread, he saw Senior Liao's soul body float to the surface.

Liao Pantu looked somewhat exhausted. With his eyelids slightly drooping, he raised his hand and tossed something to Lin Xiao.

"Catch."

Then, with a whoosh, he darted back into the Soul-Nourishing Pendant.

"Don't call me for three days."

After receiving this telepathic message, Lin Xiao heard nothing more from him.

He was a bit worried, but since the senior had told him not to disturb him for three days, he could only wait until then to ask about his condition.

However, Senior Liao was someone who had lived for over five hundred years; he should know his own limits. It probably wasn't a major issue.

At the same time, the system's voice rang out in Lin Xiao's mind once again:

Ding. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Key to the Icefield Mystic Realm. Rewarding the host with one Icefield Mystic Realm Entrance Connection Point.

Lin Xiao opened his private inventory and, sure enough, found a small icy pool inside named Icefield Mystic Realm Entrance Connection Point.

He then looked down at the object Senior Liao had just tossed to him.

It was a square ice stone that felt cold to the touch, only about the size of a palm and less than a centimeter thick.

This ice stone was rather peculiar. Despite being held in his hand for a while, it showed no signs of melting.

Thinking of Senior Liao's exhausted expression just now, he wondered what he had experienced at the bottom of the pool and how he had managed to find this mystic realm key...

Looking at the mystic realm key in his hand, Lin Xiao thought of the Green Wilderness Mystic Realm Key the system had given him previously.

It seemed that the functions of all these mystic realm keys were the same.

Possessing the mystic realm key only allowed one to freely enter and exit the mystic realm.

To completely control the entire mystic realm, one had to refine the Heart of the Mystic Realm.

However, for his current purpose of saving someone, having this key was enough.

Moreover, with this mystic realm key, if the members of his sect wanted to come to this Icefield Mystic Realm for experiential learning in the future, they would no longer need to use the teleportation array to get here!

Didn't this mean that as long as he collected more mystic realm keys in the future, the people of his sect could visit major mystic realms without ever leaving their home...

Ah, he suddenly felt that returning to the village could wait a bit. After he left this mystic realm, it wouldn't be too late to collect a few more mystic realm keys before heading back.