Chapter 13: The Frost Giant's Core**
**The Underground Auction – Collapsing Cavern**
The twenty-foot Frost Giant roared, a sound that shattered every crystal lamp in the cavern, plunging the chamber into darkness save for the eerie green fire burning in its eyes. Ice spikes erupted from the floor like spears, forcing the remaining cultivators to scatter in panic.
"**DIE, INSECT!**" the monster bellowed, raising a fist the size of a carriage. It slammed down toward Chen Feng with the force of a falling meteor.
Chen Feng didn't flinch. He stood his ground, his black robes whipping violently in the icy wind generated by the attack.
"Lin Yue, go!" he shouted without looking back. "Get the prisoner out! I'll handle this ice cube!"
"But—" Lin Yue started, hesitating as she dragged the wounded prisoner toward a side tunnel.
"Go!" Chen Feng's voice cracked like a whip, laced with spiritual authority that left no room for argument.
As the massive fist descended, Chen Feng finally moved.
"**Void Step: Blink.**"
In a flash of distorted space, he vanished from beneath the fist and reappeared on the giant's shoulder. The fist smashed into the empty spot where he had been standing, creating a crater that sent shockwaves through the entire underground complex. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling; large chunks of ice began to fall.
"You're slow," Chen Feng taunted, balancing effortlessly on the shifting ice shoulder. "And your form is sloppy. Who taught you to fight? A frozen statue?"
The giant swiped at him with its other hand, claws of razor-sharp ice tearing through the air.
"**STOP MOVING!**"
Chen Feng laughed. He jumped off the shoulder, flipping backward through the air. As he fell, he raised both hands.
"**Void Scripture: Black Hole Maw.**"
A swirling vortex of absolute darkness, three meters wide, appeared directly in the giant's path.
The giant tried to stop, but its momentum was too great. Its swinging arm plunged straight into the black hole.
*Crunch.*
The sound of shattering ice echoed loudly. The giant's arm didn't just break; it was *erased*. The void energy ate through the magical ice, consuming the spiritual energy that held the creature together.
"**MY ARM! MY POWER!**" the giant screamed in agony, stumbling back. Green fluid leaked from the stump, sizzling as it touched the ground.
Chen Feng landed gracefully a few meters away. "Delicious. High-quality ice essence. But not enough."
He looked up at the trembling giant, his eyes glowing with predatory hunger.
"Now, let's see what's inside that core of yours."
The giant, realizing it was outmatched, tried to flee. It turned and charged toward the tunnel where Lin Yue had escaped.
"**THE PRISONER MUST DIE!**"
"Not on my watch," Chen Feng muttered.
He stomped his foot.
"**Void Chains: Bind.**"
From the shadows on the walls, dozens of chains made of pure dark energy shot out. They wrapped around the giant's legs, torso, and remaining arm, anchoring it to the spot. The giant roared, struggling with immense strength, cracking the ice floor beneath it, but the chains held firm, tightening with every second.
"You can't hold me!" the giant shrieked. "I am the vessel of General Frost! I am immortal!"
"Immortal?" Chen Feng walked slowly toward the trapped monster, black flames dancing around his fists. "Let's test that theory."
He stopped right in front of the giant's chest, where a pulsating green core was visible through the translucent ice.
"**Void Technique: Soul Devour.**"
Chen Feng plunged his hand directly into the giant's chest.
The ice burned against his skin, but the Void Flame protected him, melting a path straight to the core.
"**NO! STOP! IT HURTS!**" the giant wailed, its voice changing from a monstrous roar to a human scream of terror. "I am... I am Master Feng! Please! I didn't want this! They possessed me!"
Chen Feng paused for a split second. "Master Feng? The Sect Master?"
"Yes! They forced me! The Six Sovereigns... they promised power... but they took my soul!" the man sobbed within the monster's form. "Kill the body, free my soul! Please!"
Chen Feng's expression remained cold, but a flicker of pity crossed his eyes. "Your sins are your own. But your suffering ends now."
"Grip tight," Chen Feng whispered.
He clenched his hand around the green core.
"**Rip.**"
With a sickening tear, he ripped the core out of the giant's chest.
The giant froze. The green fire in its eyes flickered and died. The massive ice body began to crumble, turning into harmless snow that piled up on the floor.
In the center of the snow pile, a faint blue spirit floated up—a translucent figure of an old man. He bowed deeply to Chen Feng.
"Thank you, young hero. My soul is free. Take this... it is the key to the Heart of the Glacier. Go... before *He* wakes up..."
The spirit handed Chen Feng a small, glowing blue crystal, then dissolved into particles of light, ascending to the afterlife.
**[System Notification]**
**[Enemy Defeated: Possessed Frost Giant (Equivalent to Golden Core Level 9)]**
**[Core Absorbed: Pure Ice Essence]**
**[Cultivation Progress: 85% to Qi Gathering Peak (Breakthrough Imminent)]**
**[Item Acquired: Key to the Heart of the Glacier]**
Chen Feng pocketed the key just as the cavern shook violently again. This time, it wasn't from the fight. It was coming from deeper below.
A deep, rhythmic thumping sound echoed through the tunnels.
*Thump... Thump... Thump...*
Like a giant heart waking up.
"Chen Feng!" Lin Yue's voice came from the tunnel entrance. She had returned, her face pale. "The prisoner says the entire Ruin is shifting! The seal is breaking!"
Chen Feng nodded, sensing the disturbance. "The death of the vessel triggered the defense mechanism. The 'Demon God of Winter' is trying to break out early."
"We have to go back!" Lin Yue urged.
"No," Chen Feng said firmly, grabbing her hand. "We go forward. The only way to stop it is to reach the Heart of the Glacier and secure the Dragon Scale Pearl before the enemy does. The exit is collapsed anyway."
He pointed to a new tunnel that had opened up beneath the pile of snow, emitting a blast of freezing wind so intense it frosted their eyebrows instantly.
"That leads down. To the Heart."
"But the pressure..." Lin Yue stammered. "It feels like... death itself is down there."
"Good," Chen Feng smirked, his black flames flaring brighter, pushing back the cold. "Then we're in the right place."
He jumped into the tunnel. "Stay close. Don't let go of my hand."
Lin Yue gripped his hand tightly, feeling the warmth of the Void Flame protecting her. Together, they slid down the icy chute, descending into the depths of the earth, toward the awakening nightmare.
---
**Deep Below – The Hall of Eternal Frost**
They landed in a vast, cathedral-like cavern. In the center stood a massive glacier, towering hundreds of feet high. Embedded within the ice, suspended in a cage of golden runes, was a figure.
A man, naked from the waist up, with skin as blue as ice, horns curling from his forehead, and chains binding his wrists and ankles. His eyes were closed, but dark energy radiated from him, freezing the very air around the glacier.
And floating in front of the glacier, hovering above a pedestal, was a pearl.
It was scales of azure blue, shimmering with an inner light that seemed to contain a storm.
**The Dragon Scale Pearl.**
But they weren't alone.
Standing between them and the pearl was a figure cloaked in shadows. He turned slowly, revealing a face that was half-human, half-ice.
"So," the figure spoke, his voice echoing with multiple tones. "The boy with the Void Flame arrives. And the Starlight Goddess too. Perfect. Two sacrifices to wake my master."
"Who are you?" Chen Feng demanded, stepping in front of Lin Yue.
"I am the High Priest of the Frozen Sect," the man smiled, revealing rows of sharp icicles for teeth. "And I have been waiting ten thousand years for this moment. The seal weakens. My master stirs. And you... you will provide the final spark to break these chains."
He raised his staff, which was topped with a skull made of diamond.
"Die, and serve the Demon God of Winter!"
Dozens of ice warriors rose from the ground around them, weapons drawn.
Chen Feng cracked his neck. His cultivation base trembled, on the verge of exploding outward. The Ice Essence he had just absorbed was reacting to the pressure, pushing him over the edge.
"Lin Yue," he said calmly, his voice vibrating with power. "Get the pearl. I'll clear the trash."
"But—"
"Go!"
Chen Feng exploded forward.
"**Qi Gathering... BREAKTHROUGH!**"
A pillar of black and white energy erupted from his body, blasting the nearby ice warriors into dust.
"**Foundation Establishment... Achieved!**"
His aura skyrocketed. The air around him warped. He was no l
onger just a talented junior; he was a true expert.
"Now," Chen Feng grinned, his eyes turning completely black. "Let's dance."
---
**To be continued...**