Under the glacier, after the ruler's heir fused into the nail on his third brother's forehead, he no longer emitted any aura.
The nail didn't show any changes.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Xu Qing sat cross-legged in the distance and stared at the glacier under his feet with a hint of contemplation. A while later, he slowly stood up and carefully retreated.
Although he didn't encounter any danger on the way with the other party, this didn't mean that everything that might happen in the future would proceed as smoothly in the future.
Hence, Xu Qing felt that now was the best time for him to leave.
As for the subsequent events, it was better not to participate with his current cultivation.
However, just as Xu Qing retreated less than ten steps, the nail on the giant's face under the glacier suddenly shone. A deep voice echoed in Xu Qing's mind.
"Little kid, it's not time to leave yet. Wait for me."
Xu Qing stopped in his tracks. Just as he was rapidly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, the deep voice rang out again.
"I won't force you to stay. In reality, the current me doesn't have the strength to make you stay here."
"However, you once told me that the Crimson Goddess is our common enemy. This time… I'm prepared to do something big. If you help me, my success rate will be even higher, but I'll do it even if you don't help."
"The road is at your feet; you decide for yourself."
The voice no longer echoed.
Xu Qing was expressionless. He glanced at the giant's figure in the glacier. A long time later, he cupped his fists and bowed. He then turned and sped away at full speed, disappearing from sight very soon.
The cave fell into silence. After a long time, a soft sigh echoed from under the glacier.
Eight hours later, in the pitch-black distance, Xu Qing's figure suddenly appeared. After verifying that the other party really didn't stop him from leaving, he chose to return. The moment he returned, he sat down cross-legged and calmly spoke.
"I'll wait for you for a day!"
"Thank you!" The deep voice echoed.
Xu Qing closed his eyes and waited silently.
At the same time, under the glacier some distance away, another major event was unfolding.
The heir who had brought Xu Qing here didn't lie to Xu Qing.
The ancestor of the Nether Race who lived on the Unmelting Glacier was indeed a subordinate of the ruler. It chose to betray the ruler when the Crimson Goddess arrived.
After that, it was suppressed by the ruler and its body collapsed. Its great worlds shattered into pieces and most of it turned into dust. Only a core fragment landed here and was buried under the glacier.
In that core fragment, there were countless souls. They were muddle-headed and had no intelligence. Most of them were in deep sleep.
Because their actions back then were considered to be meritorious, the souls in this world fragment were allowed to possess bodies and leave. Hence, the Nether Race was established later on.
However, the barrier between death and life wasn't so easy to cross.
There were many restrictions inside, so although many Nether Race members had returned over the countless years, most of them died tragically in the Moon Worship Region.
Some said that this was formed by the resentment of the ruler merging with the Heavenly Dao.
The place the vortex under the lake led to was the fragment of the great world.
Although it was a fragment, the range of this place, which was buried deep under the Unmelting Glacier, was similar to a small world.
The weak ghost fires under the glacier were the source of light here.
Black snowflakes scattered down from the sky, covering the ground layer by layer. Eerie wind blew over here, emitting whimpering sounds like wild shrieks and howls.
A mortal would shiver with fright if they heard these sounds.
It was like the underworld.
In the dimness, one could vaguely see that the black ice glaciers in this world had formed the land and mountains, while strands of unconscious souls drifted and wandered both inside and outside the glaciers.
To them, there was no concept of time. In their muddle-headed state, only hunger was left.
All living creatures were their targets.
At that moment, at the edge of the great world fragment, a different light suddenly flashed in the void. This light was red at first, then blue, yellow, and finally it turned the color of the rainbow as it spread in all directions.
Under the flickering of this rainbow light, countless souls in this world instinctively locked onto this place. Even some sleeping souls buried under the glaciers showed signs of awakening.
After that, streams of light appeared from the rainbow vortex. They wrapped around crystal coffins like tentacles and stretched out, placing them on the black glacier one by one.
After the hundreds of coffins were placed properly, these rainbow streams of light slowly retracted until they fused into the vortex and disappeared.
However, the vortex was still there, waiting.
Not long after, a sharp and eerie howl filled the air, and the drifting souls in the vicinity began to rush over like hungry wolves.
It was as though those coffins were lambs in their perception.
The life force from the coffins caused them to instinctively go crazy.
These souls instantly arrived closed and pounced toward the coffins.
There were so many of them that they formed a black storm.
The coffins were clearly specially made. They could seal the disciples inside but they wouldn't stop the souls from entering them. Hence, very soon, at least 10,000 souls entered these coffins.
The sealed bodies inside had all been treated. Their souls had long been extinguished, leaving only their shells.
This would make it easier for them to be possessed.
However, the muddle-headedness and disorder of the souls caused them to not choose to possess the body immediately. Devouring was their first thought. This was also one of the reasons why not many members of the Nether Race successfully left this world fragment.
