Chapter 12: Whispers in the Ice
**Ice Phoenix City – The Frosty Lantern Inn**
The wind outside howled like a wounded beast, slamming against the thick ice walls of the inn. Inside, however, the air was warm, filled with the scent of roasted meat and spicy wine. Cultivators from all over the continent sat at wooden tables, their breath visible in the cool indoor air, boasting about their exploits in the Frozen Wasteland.
Chen Feng and Lin Yue sat in a corner booth, hidden partially by shadows. Chen Feng had pulled his hood low, obscuring his face, while Lin Yue wrapped herself in a thick white fur cloak she had bought upon arrival.
"This city is... intense," Lin Yue whispered, sipping hot tea to warm her hands. "Everyone here feels strong. Even the waiters are at least *Qi Gathering Level 5*."
"Cold breeds resilience," Chen Feng murmured, his eyes scanning the room without moving his head. His *Void Sense* was active, mapping every spiritual signature in the building. "Only the strong survive here. The weak freeze and become part of the landscape."
He placed a few low-grade spirit stones on the table to pay for their meal. They weren't trying to draw attention with wealth today.
"We need information," Chen Feng said quietly. "The token brought us to the city, but the 'Ruins of Eternal Frost' aren't on any standard map. We need a guide or a rumor."
Lin Yue nodded. "I heard some merchants talking earlier about a 'Black Market Auction' tonight. They said rare items from the Wasteland often surface there. Maybe we can find a map or hear something about the Frozen Sect."
"Good instinct," Chen Feng approved. "Finish your tea. We move at dusk."
---
**Nightfall – The Underground Auction**
The entrance to the black market was hidden beneath a frozen lake on the outskirts of the city. A massive formation array masked the heat signatures of the hundreds of people gathering below.
Inside, the cavern was vast, lit by glowing blue crystals embedded in the ceiling. Stalls lined the walls, but the main event was the central stage where high-value items were auctioned off.
Chen Feng and Lin Yue blended into the crowd, wearing masks provided by the auction house to ensure anonymity. It was a rule strictly enforced: *No names, no faces, no grudges inside.*
"The first item," the auctioneer, a hunched old man with a voice like grinding stones, announced, "is a **Frost Wolf Core**, Grade 4! Perfect for water-attribute cultivators!"
The bidding started immediately, prices soaring. Chen Feng ignored it. Wolf cores were common.
Then, the second item was brought out.
"A fragment of an ancient map! Recovered from the body of a Frozen Sect disciple who wandered too far south!"
Chen Feng's eyes narrowed behind his mask. *Finally.*
The auctioneer unrolled a piece of yellowed parchment on a display stand. It showed a jagged coastline of ice, marked with a red 'X' near a location labeled "The Silent Grave."
"That's it," Lin Yue whispered, her hand trembling slightly. "I can feel it. My necklace... it's pulling toward that direction."
"Quiet," Chen Feng warned. "Bidding starts now."
"Starting bid: 5,000 Spirit Stones!"
"6,000!"
"7,500!"
"10,000!"
The price climbed rapidly. Chen Feng didn't bid. He watched the crowd. He noticed a group of men in the VIP box above, dressed in dark blue robes with a snowflake emblem. *Frozen Sect spies,* he deduced. They were watching the bidders intently, their hands resting on their weapons.
"They want someone to buy it so they can follow and kill them," Chen Feng realized. "Classic trap."
"15,000!" shouted a wealthy merchant in the front row.
"Sold! To bidder number 42!" the auctioneer slammed his gavel.
The merchant cheered, grabbing the map. As he turned to leave, the group in the VIP box stood up silently and slipped out through a side exit.
"Fools," Chen Feng muttered. "They just signed their death warrant."
"Should we help him?" Lin Yue asked.
"No," Chen Feng said coldly. "But we can use the chaos. Wait for the next item. If they have one map, they might have more info."
Suddenly, the auctioneer raised his hand. "And now, a special surprise! A prisoner captured near the Ruins! He claims to know the secret of the 'Dragon Scale Pearl'!"
A cage was wheeled onto the stage. Inside huddled a man, barely alive, covered in frostbite and chains. His clothes were tattered, but the symbol on his chest was clear: A broken sword.
"The **Broken Sword Sect**," Lin Yue gasped. "They were wiped out fifty years ago! I thought they were extinct!"
The prisoner looked up, his eyes delirious. "The Pearl... it's not a treasure... it's a key... to the Prison... Don't let them... wake him..."
Before he could say more, a dark shadow shot down from the ceiling.
A figure in a black mask landed on the stage, silencing the crowd with a wave of killing intent.
"This auction is over," the figure announced, his voice distorted. "The Frozen Sect claims this prisoner and all maps related to the Ruins. Anyone who interferes... dies."
Panic erupted. Cultivators scrambled for the exits. The auctioneer fled behind his counter.
Chen Feng didn't move. "So they make their move openly. Bold."
"We have to save him!" Lin Yue urged. "He knows about the Pearl!"
"Patience," Chen Feng said. He watched as three more Frozen Sect members dropped down, surrounding the cage. They began to slaughter the guards who tried to resist.
"Now," Chen Feng whispered.
He didn't rush the stage. Instead, he tapped the ground lightly.
"**Void Step: Shadow Walk.**"
In the chaos of fleeing crowds and flickering lights, Chen Feng and Lin Yue moved like ghosts. They bypassed the main fighters and appeared directly behind the cage, hidden by a pillar.
The leader of the Frozen Sect team raised his sword to execute the prisoner. "Silence the witness."
"Not today," Chen Feng said softly.
He extended his finger.
"**Void Needle.**"
An invisible spike of compressed void energy shot through the air, piercing the leader's throat instantly. The man gagged, dropping his sword, and collapsed without a sound.
His subordinates froze. "Leader? What happened?"
Before they could react, Chen Feng stepped out of the shadows.
"Looking for this?"
He held up the keys to the cage, which he had plucked from the dead leader's belt using a tiny vortex of wind.
"Who are you?!" one subordinate screamed, raising his weapon.
"Your nightmare," Chen Feng replied.
He snapped his fingers.
"**Void Explosion.**"
The remaining three members exploded into clouds of icy mist, their bodies unable to withstand the internal pressure of the void.
The entire cavern went silent. The fleeing crowd stopped to watch. The prisoner in the cage stared at Chen Feng in disbelief.
Chen Feng walked to the cage and unlocked it.
"Can you walk?" he asked the prisoner.
The man nodded weakly. "Y-yes. Thank you, senior."
"Tell me about the Dragon Scale Pearl," Chen Feng demanded as he helped the man up. "And tell me fast. More will come."
"The Pearl..." the man coughed, blood staining his lips. "It is inside the **Heart of the Glacier**, deep within the Ruins. But it is guarded by a **Frost Dragon Spirit**, a remnant of the ancient war. Only someone with... with *Fire* that isn't fire... can approach it."
He looked at Chen Feng's eyes, where a faint purple glow lingered. "You... you have the Void Flame. I saw it in the legends."
"You know of the Void Flame?" Chen Feng pressed.
"My sect... we were guardians of the secret," the man whispered. "The Six Sovereigns... they sealed something evil in the North. The Pearl is the lock. If they get it... they can release the **Demon God of Winter**. One of their generals."
Lin Yue gasped. "A general of the Six Sovereigns? Here?"
"Yes," the man nodded. "You must stop them. Go to the Heart of the Glacier. But beware... the Frozen Sect Master is already there. He is... *he* is not human anymore. He has been possessed."
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Ice cracks spread across the floor of the cavern.
"They found us," the prisoner warned. "The Sect Master is coming!"
A massive burst of cold energy erupted from the tunnel entrance. A giant figure emerged, twenty feet tall, made entirely of living ice and dark shadows. Its eyes burned with green fire.
"**WHO DARES DEFY THE FROZEN SECT?**" the monster roared, its voice shaking the stalactites loose from the ceiling.
Chen Feng pushed the prisoner toward Lin Yue. "Get him out. Use the emergency exit I marked."
"What about you?" Lin Yue cried.
"I need to test something," Chen Feng said, stepping forward to face the giant. "If this guy is possessed by a general's servant, then his core should be delicious."
He cracked his knuckles, black flames erupting around his arms.
"Hey, popsicle!" Chen Feng shouted at the monster. "Over here! Let's see if you taste as cold as you
look!"
The monster roared and charged, smashing through stalls and sending cultivators flying.
Chen Feng smiled.
"Perfect."
---
**To be continued...**