Martial Peak
chapter-2946

Chapter 2946, Frozen Tide

The trio moved together and soon removed all the snow covering the area. At once, the huge marks left behind by the Great Dragon appeared in front of them.

As Li Jiao said before, there were only traces left here, but not the Great Dragon’s corpse. The reason for that was because the Great Dragon’s physical essence and even bones had become nutrients for the Dragon Blood Flower.

There were no traces left by Zhu Qing here, so none of them knew whether she had been here before.

Yang Kai sensed the area silently for a long time and shook his head, “The Source isn’t here.”

Even though he wasn’t a member of the Dragon Clan, the Golden Divine Dragon Source had truly begun to merge with his body ever since he began cultivating the Dragon Transformation Secret Art that Zhu Qing passed to him. Both his bloodline and physical body were gradually transforming towards being that of a Dragon. So, if there was a Dragon Source here, he would surely be able to sense it.

Zhu Lie glanced at him and said, “I’m going to perform a Dragon Clan Secret Technique. Stand guard for me.”

Yang Kai nodded and stepped aside. Li Jiao’s face also changed, and he looked over at Zhu Lie with both curiosity and eagerness.

The Dragon Clan’s Secret Techniques were a type of profound Secret Techniques that could only be performed by those with the Dragon Clan bloodline. Yang Kai could suppress Zhu Lie and Zhu Qing in Bloodline Power, but not through systematic study. Still, he couldn’t perform the Dragon Clan’s Secret Techniques because they involved the use of Dragon Essence and the Dragon Language.

Li Jiao had a hint of the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, so he was naturally curious and eager to learn about this.

Closing his eyes, Zhu Lie focused his mind.

A few moments later, he opened his eyes. Like a knife, he drew his fingers over his palm, breaking the skin with his sharp nails. Immediately, the air was filled with the rich smell of blood.

Zhu Lie clenched the hand with the wound and raised it high. Dragon Essence surged within his body as a quiet incantation spilled from his mouth. The spell was both profound and complicated. To the ears of others, it sounded very difficult and awkward to pronounce, as if Zhu Lie were speaking with his mouth full.

Li Jiao who had pricked up his ears had a bewildered face, and he scratched his ears anxiously. It was such a rare chance for him to encounter a Pureblood Dragon performing a Dragon Clan Secret Technique in front of him, so he had the heart to learn. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even figure out what he was saying, so how could he learn anything?

Yang Kai couldn’t understand it either, but he felt that this Dragon Clan Secret Technique that Zhu Lie was performing had some similarities to the Shamanic Spells performed by the Shamans of ancient times. Both of them required incantation and circulation of strength.

Under the gazes of the two, drop after drop of fresh blood dripped down from Zhu Lie’s palm. His Dragon Blood was different from normal blood and, just like a ball of hot flame, it gave off a scorching aura.

When it landed on the ground it began to sizzle before melting into the ground and disappearing.

The wind rose and the snow flew. Zhu Lie’s incantations grew higher and higher in pitch until they gradually began to resemble a dragon roar or rolling thunder. It shook one’s eardrums until they hurt and the way his red hair danced wildly and his robes fluttered, the world seemed to be filled completely by this dragon roar.

All of a sudden, Zhu Lie’s voice stopped. As he climbed to the very peak of his momentum, he seemed to deflate like a ball, instantly losing much of his spirit. Some sweat had also gathered on his face.

Even though it was not known what sort of Dragon Clan Secret Technique he performed, it undoubtedly consumed a lot of his energy.

Both Yang Kai and Li Jiao were looking at him with anxious eyes, but Zhu Lie just lowered his gaze and stared at the ground.

After his fresh blood had been poured onto the ground, the surrounding area had been dyed red, and as the burning energy collided with the cold air around them, it began emitting a steaming heat.

Then, Zhu Lie’s eyes flashed, while at the same time, Yang Kai and Li Jiao were also able to sense a change.

The earth that was dyed with Zhu Lie’s fresh blood was writhing, as if something was going to break out from the ground.

Under the watchful gazes of the trio, a little bit of the crimson red sprouted from the ground and quickly rose up, spreading out branches and leaves. In just a moment’s time, a one-third-of-a-meter-tall plant appeared on the ground that looked red as if it were made of fresh blood. No matter how they looked at it, this thing looked just like a blood coral.

Zhu Lie sucked the blood coral into his hand. A dense red glow gathered at its crown, and it began to drift towards one direction as if it had a mind of its own, like a red string that was tied to the top of the plant.

Strangely enough, the direction in which the red band drifted was completely different from the direction of the wind.

Zhu Lie pointed in the direction the red band was moving and said, “Zhu Qing is there. She’s still alive.”

Even though they had no idea how he could possibly figure that out, it was undoubtedly related to the Dragon Clan Secret Technique he just performed.

Without a word, Yang Kai summoned his Flowing Clouds Shuttle and shouted, “Get in!”

Li Jiao, however, stood in place and did not move. He looked at Yang Kai and said in a fawning tone, “Palace Master Yang, this Li has already brought you to this place. For the rest of the journey… Hey, gentlemen use words not fists! This Li is at least…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was grabbed by Zhu Lie and tossed into the Flowing Clouds Shuttle directly, and his expression instantly twisted into one of bitter resentment.

He had no idea why this Dragon was still unwilling to let him go. He had already completed his task of bringing Yang Kai and Zhu Lie to their destination, so what happened next should have nothing to do with him. He should be able to leave this damned place and return to Fire Dragon Palace, but things just didn’t work out how he hoped they would.

As a Third-Order Emperor, it had been many years since he had tasted this feeling of powerlessness. Li Jiao made a vow in his heart that if he made it out of this trip alive, he would never have any dealings with a True Dragon ever again. They were simply unreasonable bullies.

The Flowing Clouds Shuttle broke through the air, but its speed became slower and slower the further they went.

After performing the Secret Technique, Zhu Lie became very weak, so Yang Kai was the one holding the blood coral and using the direction of the drifting red light to lead them to Zhu Qing.

After entering only two thousand kilometres into the Frozen Earth, the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, which was in flight, suddenly shook violently and plunged headlong into the ground.

Yang Kai was stunned. He thought it was some sort of attack, but he soon realized what had happened. While kicking Li Jiao out, he woke up Zhu Lie who was sitting cross-legged and meditating to restore his energy.

Then, he put away the Flowing Clouds Shuttle and stood in the air.

The cold wind that blew over enveloped them with a chill that could seemingly freeze their Souls.

In such a treacherous environment, even Masters who had cultivated Ice Principles may not be able to last long.

Li Jiao flew over, shivering and asking in a sullen face, “What happened?”

When they were taking shelter in the Flowing Clouds Shuttle, they at least had a layer of protection around them. Now that his body was making direct contact with Frozen Earth’s environment, he could clearly feel his vitality slowly flowing away. Even though staying here was no problem for a short time, staying here for any longer may just reduce his lifespan.

“It’s nothing. We just have to walk the rest of the way ourselves,” Yang Kai glanced at Zhu Lie as he spoke.

A flying Emperor Artifact like the Flowing Clouds Shuttle was actually frozen in this place and unable to function properly. If one did not experience it for themselves, then one probably would not be able to believe it.

Zhu Lie was unperturbed, but Li Jiao’s face became snow-white in an instant. He hesitated for a while before speaking up, “Two Sirs, this Li has a presumptuous request!”

Zhu Lie looked at him, his expression even colder than the coldness of Frozen Earth, causing the words in Li Jiao’s mouth to change at once, “This Li will cover the rear.”

“Very good,” Yang Kai smiled. Holding the dragon blood coral in one hand, he led the way in front.

Zhu Lie reached out and grabbed Li Jiao, throwing him forward so he could follow closely behind Yang Kai while he took up the rear himself.

Flying in the Frozen Earth definitely wasn’t a pleasant experience, but soon, Yang Kai noticed an interesting phenomenon. That is, the higher he flew, the more energy it consumed, and the more terrifying that vitality-extinguishing cold became.

After noticing this, he immediately flew down. When he stuck close to the ground, the resistance he felt was much weaker.

Only, their trip was much slower this way, though it was also much safer in relation.

After a full day’s work, the three of them had only moved several kilometres forward, which was simply unbelievable for a group of Emperor Realm Masters.

During that one day, all three of them were shivering, and both their hair and faces were covered in frost. No matter how the three of them circulated their Qi, they could not resist the invasion of coldness into their bodies.

There were many times when Li Jiao wanted to leave, but as soon as he met Zhu Lie’s gaze, the courage that he tried so hard to build up would fall apart again. Unable to say a word, he could only try his best to keep up with Yang Kai’s pace.

He could not understand how Yang Kai could withstand this cold for long, being only a First-Order Emperor. It was reasonable to say that he, as a First-Order Emperor Realm cultivator, should have frozen to death long ago, and yet, it seemed that among the three of them, he was in the best condition. Even Zhu Lie, a member of the Dragon Clan, could not compare with him.

Another day later, Yang Kai, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped and perked up his ears to listen.

He vaguely sensed something.

Li Jiao, who was behind him almost bumped into him, and when he saw Yang Kai’s grave expression, he couldn’t help but feel nervous, “What’s wrong, Palace Master Yang?”

Yang Kai’s eyes crossed over Li Jiao and looked straight at Zhu Lie, “Something’s coming!”

Zhu Lie nodded lightly. He noticed it too. There was in fact something coming at them and the air and the chill around them were showing less-than-normal signs of fluctuation.

“What is it, what is it?” Li Jiao asked with a pale face. The Frozen Earth was devoid of life, so what could possibly be approaching them? However, with how serious Yang Kai and Zhu Lie looked, he couldn’t help but worry.

“It must be that!” Yang Kai raised his head and squinted into the distance.

Li Jiao followed his gaze and gulped.

Something dark had suddenly appeared on that side of the sky, like a curtain that covered the horizon and was rapidly moving towards them.

“Frozen Tide!” Li Jiao seemed to have recalled something and called out in alarm while quickly backing away at the same time.

In a life or death crisis, he finally suppressed his fear of Zhu Lie and ran back the way they came without even looking back. He just wanted to get as far away from the so-called Frozen Tide as soon as possible.

Yang Kai and Zhu Lie were right behind him though, as the fear of death offset any other disadvantages. This time, Li Jiao took the lead and ran faster than anyone else.

“What’s the Frozen Tide?” Yang Kai asked as he fled.

“A Heavenly Manifestation!” Li Jiao answered with a hideous expression. He could only grieve that his parents birthed him with only two legs and caused him to run so slow, “It’s a Heavenly Manifestation specific to the Frozen Earth!”