Chapter 6: The Chill of the Ghost Clan

Chapter 6: The Chill of the Ghost Clan

A large horde of ice slaves rushed past, chasing Ona as they disappeared into the cold mist.
Compared to Zuiyasi, Ona was in no way inferior in other aspects, but when it came to being an old schemer and being shameless, she couldn't compare.

Inside the alternate space, Su Xiao watched the monster horde disappear into the distance and decided to wait a moment before leaving the alternate space.
It was too cold here, so cold that even space was affected. Additionally, Baha was being affected by the "Soul Freeze," so while it could move through the alternate space on its own, it couldn't allow Su Xiao to move freely within it. They could only remain in a fixed area of the alternate space to avoid risks.

As for Wood's whereabouts, Su Xiao estimated that the other party would catch up before long. The reason was simple: although this continent seemed completely open, the initial places one could go were actually quite limited.

To the west and east were oceans. Even if there were islands, their exploration value was too low.
Around the central "Yada Ancient Capital," the fog walls that had previously blocked participants' paths hadn't disappeared. They had only opened on the north and south sides, allowing participants to leave the central area.

If one took the northern passage from "Yada Ancient Capital," they would leave the ancient capital's range and enter the "Cold Cemetery." Although dangerous, this was a necessary path.
If one took the southern opening in the fog wall from "Yada Ancient Capital," they would enter the "Hot Jungle." Theoretically, that side was no safer than the "Cold Cemetery."

One could either stay in "Yada Ancient Capital," which had been thoroughly scoured by generations of participants, or take the risk and leave through the "Cold Cemetery" or "Hot Jungle." Going north meant cold, going south meant sweltering heat.

Whether going north or south, at the end of either direction, one could find an initial tree.
Su Xiao was currently heading north. According to known intelligence, the Soul Severing Shadow Stone was in the north. How far he needed to go was unclear. If he could reach the initial tree at the far north, the [Dark Stone] he had obtained earlier could be put to use. By awakening the initial tree there, he could obtain the Light Secret Method.

What the Light Secret Method did, Su Xiao didn't know. He would decide whether to exchange it later. He was actually more inclined to go to the far south to find the other initial tree and exchange the [Dark Stone] for the "Soul Arena Key."

Inside the alternate space, Su Xiao saw the outside world in black and white. The surroundings were like being filled with cyan liquid; just raising his hand could create ripples in space.

"Boss, it should be about right. Zuiyasi's wife runs pretty fast."
"..."

Just as Su Xiao was about to leave the alternate space, he paused. He saw dozens of figures approaching from the west.

This group totaled 80 people, led by Xian Ji. Flanking her were Ming Lang, Tie Shan, Shou Hao, Feng, and others.
Ming Lang wasn't particularly close to these people, but from the positioning, it was clear that Xian Ji trusted Ming Lang the most.

Actually, this was normal. Although Ming Lang was often called a mad dog, he always kept his promises. Therefore, among the violator alliance, Xian Ji was more willing to cooperate with Ming Lang, as she didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back.

At this moment, Tie Shan wasn't walking at the very front. From his dazed expression, one could see how traumatized he had been earlier. As an eighth-rank main tank, he had been beaten to the point of crying for help at the very start. Thinking about it afterward, he almost suffered social death.

Besides Xian Ji, Ming Lang, Tie Shan, Shou Hao, and Feng, the remaining 75 violators also had formidable auras. It seemed they had selected the strongest echelon from the violator alliance.

Previously, Su Xiao's strength was inferior to Xian Ji's. But now, in a one-on-one fight, he would definitely win, especially since he had reaped a large amount of resources in the last world progress. However, Xian Ji hadn't been standing still either.

If Su Xiao went all out, he was confident he could take on Xian Ji's five-person group alone. The remaining 75 violators would be troublesome. With this calculation, this violator force was indeed formidable.

As for joining forces with Wood and Ona to deal with these violators, those two weren't fools. They wouldn't put themselves in danger for Su Xiao's personal grudges.

Honestly speaking, if Su Xiao were asked to go deep into a deadly dangerous area with Wood to deal with the Abyssal Jar, he wouldn't go either. Unless there was an enemy that would benefit all three after being defeated, like the Sun Bird Taihakak.

Watching these violators cautiously moving through the thin mist, Su Xiao estimated that these people weren't going to the far north to find something; they were tracking him.

Xian Ji's team was a formidable force that couldn't be ignored. Fighting them head-on wasn't wise. The good news was that Shenfu wasn't among them. That made things much easier.

Sometimes, to eliminate enemies, one didn't have to charge in recklessly. Besides, Su Xiao really didn't want to eliminate them. Having them scout ahead in the "Cold Cemetery" was a great help. Su Xiao was just worried that his "good teammates" had all scattered.

What Su Xiao needed to determine now was whether Xian Ji and her group had a way to track him. If they did, that would be troublesome.

A blue light sphere floating beside Xian Ji caught Su Xiao's attention.
This sphere was about the size of a fist. Just looking at it gave Su Xiao a sense of resonance, or rather, the Cyan Steel Shadow Energy within him resonated. This made his heart sink, preparing for a fierce battle.

But soon, he noticed that Xian Ji and her group weren't heading in his direction. The blue light sphere didn't have the ability to track him.
This puzzled Su Xiao. That sphere had such a strong resonance with his Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, yet it wasn't tracking him. It was truly confusing.

Soon, Su Xiao figured out what was going on. If he wasn't mistaken, the blue sphere floating beside Xian Ji had over a 90% probability of sensing the Soul Severing Shadow Stone. This was Hui Shenshi's open scheme, forcing Su Xiao to go north.

Although Su Xiao had four pieces of [Soul Severing Shadow Stone (Incomplete)], he hadn't tried whether they could be shattered. He estimated that although the Soul Severing Shadow Stone was precious, it wasn't indestructible.

The reason this was called an open scheme was that once Xian Ji's team found the [Soul Severing Shadow Stone (Incomplete)] first, they would destroy it.
This would semi-coerce Su Xiao into finding the northern Soul Severing Shadow Stone faster than Xian Ji and her group.

This would hold Su Xiao back, preventing him from affecting Hui Shenshi's arrangements on the other side.

Fighting head-on with these violators in a chaotic battle was very unwise. Su Xiao could confirm that these violators must have brought powerful lethal props given by Hui Shenshi. Although they appeared to be an 80-person team, the destructive power they could unleash was far from what it seemed on the surface.

Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang, who was integrated into the environment, through the team channel, asking him to blend into Xian Ji's team.

Ten minutes later, Su Xiao left the alternate space, exhaling cold air as he took out a monitoring device from his storage space.
The terminal in his hand showed the image transmitted by Bubu Wang. Xian Ji and her group's voices came through, with the following conversation:

Shou Hao: "How much further? The potions are almost gone."
Tie Shan: "That fast?"
Xian Ji: "Thirty portions of potion for eighty people, of course the consumption is fast. We need to reach the Ghost Clan's settlement as soon as possible. Once there, we won't have to worry about the Soul Freeze's erosion."
Shou Hao: "Xian Ji, we've mobilized so many people just to deal with one person. Is it worth it?"
Xian Ji: "It's not a question of worth. We have to follow Hui Shenshi's plan now. You've seen his plan with your own eyes. Can you refuse? Are you willing to refuse?"
Shou Hao: "To be honest, I've never admired anyone, but this time I admire Hui Shenshi."
Xian Ji: "Speed up. Once we pass through the monster horde ahead, we'll reach the Ghost Clan's settlement. Everyone, suppress your auras. According to the intelligence, this monster horde is in hibernation. If we're careful enough, there won't be any risk."

Hearing Xian Ji's words, Su Xiao's mood turned from cloudy to sunny. Monster horde, suppressing auras, hibernation—these keywords had too much room for manipulation.

From these words, Su Xiao also learned a piece of intelligence: Xian Ji and her group had topographical intelligence of the north. Although this area had been sealed off before, batches of participants had come to the Treeborn World over time. Inevitably, one or two slipped through, luckily passing through the fog wall into the Cold Cemetery. Naturally, intelligence had been passed on.

Just as Su Xiao was about to follow Xian Ji and her group, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Ona, whose white robe was slightly damaged. Her originally fair skin now had a hint of paleness on her face.

"You run really fast."
Su Xiao's words almost made Ona lose her composure. She showed a sweet smile on her face and said:
"Bai Ye, my Soul Freeze level has exceeded 50%. Can I buy a cold resistance potion from you?"
"Consider it a gift."
Su Xiao tossed an injection gun to Ona. Ona was momentarily stunned, and the sweetness on her face faded a bit. This feeling of a true teammate made her very uncomfortable.

"Is there one for me?"
Wood spoke up. Truly a "good teammate"—faster than a dog when encountering danger, but when there were benefits, he came sniffing around.

Su Xiao had a total of 8 Soul Freeze Resistance Potions, with 5 remaining. Considering that he might need these two "good teammates" to draw aggro in future dangers, Su Xiao tossed one to Wood.

Not to mention anything else, although Ona usually appeared as a slow, ladylike figure, she had run really fast just now. No wonder Zuiyasi and her Ancient God High Priestess mother dared to let her come to the Treeborn World.

At this moment, the formation in the Cold Cemetery was: Xian Ji's team in front, with Su Xiao and the others half a kilometer behind. Given the terrain here, even Wood, who had powerful perception, could only rely on secret treasures to predict danger. The suppression on perception here was predictable. So Su Xiao wasn't worried about being discovered by the violators ahead.

The cold around them grew more intense. The advantage of high soul strength showed itself now. Su Xiao's Freeze Value had only risen to 12%.

After traveling for over half an hour, the image transmitted back by Bubu Wang ahead showed that Xian Ji and her group had arrived in front of the monster horde.

It was a snowy landscape, with wind carrying flying snow. On a large, bright ice surface, various "ice sculptures" stood there. Most were ice slaves, but there were also small giant-like monsters. Their hands were bound behind their backs with large shackles, their necks wore thick wooden cangues covered in frost, and their heads were wrapped in dirty cloth strips.

Besides ice slaves and ice giants, there were many ice demons with semi-transparent bodies, like ice crystal sculptures.

As the cold wind howled, Xian Ji took off her high heels and walked barefoot on the ice. Her aura was suppressed to the limit, and she even held her breath.

Witnessing this scene through the monitoring device, Su Xiao felt that if he didn't do something, he wouldn't be worthy of his identity as a Law Destroyer.

Su Xiao took out a piece of flesh from his storage space. As soon as this flesh was taken out, Wood and Ona beside him both cast their gazes over.

Ona asked: "This is... the aura of an evil god?"
"Bai Ye, where did you get that?"
"Fished it."
"As expected of you."
Wood understood instantly.

"Fished it?"
Ona didn't react immediately. Could evil gods be fished?

After taking out about two jin of evil god flesh, Su Xiao took out [Condensed Resentful Blood (Holy Spirit Rank Item)], which he had obtained in the Demon Sea. Pouring it onto the flesh would emit an aura that resentful spirits and dark creatures couldn't resist.

Ice slaves, ice giants, ice demons, etc., clearly fell into the categories of resentment, darkness, and madness. The [Condensed Resentful Blood] had considerable attraction for these monsters.

"Wait."
Wood motioned for Su Xiao to temporarily hand over the [Condensed Resentful Blood] and [Evil God Flesh] to him. Su Xiao didn't think Wood would embezzle these items.

Wood took out the Abyssal Jar and put both the [Condensed Resentful Blood] and [Evil God Flesh] into it. A few seconds later, he poured out a petroleum-like viscous liquid from the Abyssal Jar.

"The effect has been enhanced several times at least."
Wood tossed over a glass bottle containing the black liquid. This was his thanks for the [Soul Freeze Resistance Potion].

Su Xiao put the glass bottle into the team storage space and then contacted Bubu Wang.

Meanwhile, on the ice surface where the monster horde was, Xian Ji and her group were slowly walking among the "ice sculptures." Bubu Wang, who had been following behind Xian Ji, began looking for a target.

Xian Ji was ruled out first; her vigilance was too strong. Ming Lang was also ruled out; he ran too fast. Bubu Wang's gaze wandered among Tie Shan, Shou Hao, and Feng, finally settling on Tie Shan. The slow-running, simple-minded one—it was decided to be you.

Bubu Wang, integrated into the environment, quietly came behind Tie Shan. He took out the glass bottle from the team storage space, held it in his mouth, and with a full-force swing of his dog head, there was a shattering sound as the glass bottle exploded on Tie Shan's back. After doing this, Bubu immediately played dead.

[Bubuteni Skill 7: Ah, I'm Dead (Passive, Self-Learned Skill): After Bubuteni integrates into the environment, he can enter a feigned death state, greatly enhancing the environmental integration effect (hidden rank +1).]

The shattered glass bottle and black liquid exploded on Tie Shan's back. In the quiet ice field, this sound was particularly noticeable. Everyone's gaze turned to Tie Shan, who was also dumbfounded.

Tie Shan touched his back. The petroleum-like viscous liquid stuck to his hand. He realized he had been ambushed.

The ice field fell silent again. Xian Ji didn't even dare to breathe heavily at this moment. The monsters in this world were ridiculously strong. If the monsters here were awakened, they would be in big trouble. If it weren't absolutely necessary, she wouldn't have chosen to pass through this damn place.

Crack~
A crisp sound came. The ice layer on the upper body of an ice giant shattered. As it awakened, it sniffed with its rough, pus-covered nose. An irresistible "fragrance" entered its nasal cavity.

After a series of continuous cracking sounds, most of the monsters on the ice surface broke free from their ice.

"Run!"
Xian Ji shouted. Her skirt ribbons coiled together, forming a pair of huge wings as she soared into the sky.

Ming Lang fully wolf-transformed, turning into a black wolf as he charged forward. Shou Hao, being a technique-type, had no problem with charging speed. Feng was more straightforward; her eyes rolled back as she immediately fell down, playing dead.

"Roar!!"
"Giggle~"
Dense roars and strange sounds came one after another. Tie Shan almost soiled himself as he took large strides to run.

Behind him, several ice giants, like strange runners from a giant world, chased with bizarre running postures. The ice slaves were as ferocious as ever. The floating ice demons let out area-wide howls, accelerating their kin while slowing down enemies.

Tie Shan didn't care about anything else. He immediately chose Shou Hao, who was running at the front, and activated his charge ability on him.

Was Tie Shan betraying his teammates? He was just a tank. He just wanted to survive. What wrong had he done?

"Don't come over here, dammit!"
Shou Hao, charging ahead, was furious. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape Tie Shan, who had locked onto him with a charge skill.

"I'm sorry!!"
Tie Shan's mentality was completely broken as he shouted this to Shou Hao.

"I ******..."
Shou Hao offered his most sincere regards to the female members of several generations of Tie Shan's family behind him.

A comical scene appeared. Xian Ji flew in the air. Below, Shou Hao was far ahead, charging at the front. Even a great swordsman fleeing looked so cool. Slightly behind him was Tie Shan, who had locked onto him with a charge skill, his legs moving at a ridiculous speed.

Further back were the other violators scattering in all directions. At the very back was an army of tens of thousands of various monsters. Among these monsters were those that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, and drifted in the air—a complete set.

On a distant iceberg, Su Xiao witnessed this scene through binoculars, feeling that these violators really could run fast. As expected of eighth-rank violators.

Jumping down from the iceberg, Su Xiao walked across the endless ice surface to where Feng had been playing dead. He stabbed down with his knife.

Clack~
The long knife pierced into the ice layer. Su Xiao pulled it out. There was no blood on it. It seemed Feng had already slipped away.

Only a few dozen "ice sculptures" remained on the ice surface. These were monsters that were completely dead. No need to pay attention to them.

"Woof."
Bubu Wang ran over. Halfway there, he turned in panic, his dog claws sending broken ice flying.

A figure with only an upper body floated over. Her silver-white hair was disheveled, longer than her upper body, thick and smooth.

Although this ice woman only had an upper body, her body length was over 2 meters. Presumably, when her body was complete, she would be nearly 5 meters tall.

She wore a long dress and a dim golden crown on her head. From the aura, this was definitely a big boss.

The Ice Queen's figure flickered, and she appeared in front of Ona. She spoke in the Ghost Clan language: "Password."

Ona hadn't heard of any password. Her gaze turned to Su Xiao and Wood.

"Cold. Dark."
Su Xiao spoke. The Ice Queen shifted her gaze. Those radial blue pupils looked at Su Xiao. After staring for a few seconds, her figure gradually dissolved into the wind and snow.

The reason Su Xiao didn't choose to fight was that he sensed the Ice Queen's aura was too illusory. This was just her illusion. Continuing north, they might encounter her again.

"How did you know the password?"
Ona couldn't figure this out. In response, Su Xiao pointed to a stone tablet not far away, on which was written: "Password: Cold. Dark."

Seeing this, Ona was speechless. This password came so easily.

From the clues, Su Xiao learned quite a bit of intelligence. This stone tablet was likely erected by the Ghost Clan, which also meant that the Ghost Clan wasn't the kind of race that liked to be hostile to other intelligent beings as imagined.

Su Xiao came near the stone tablet with the password and found three arrows at the bottom, pointing into the depths of the wind and snow.

Three directional indicators. No need for further words. Su Xiao, Wood, and Ona decided to split up. Su Xiao would follow the middle arrow, Wood the left arrow, and Ona would explore the direction indicated by the right arrow.

Su Xiao followed the instruction forward. Although the wind and snow grew stronger, and the snow on the ground thickened, crunching under his feet, the Soul Freeze effect was decreasing.

Following the withered tree markers along the way, Su Xiao traveled for less than an hour when a sloping cave entrance, several meters wide, appeared ahead. Warm air drifted out from the cave.

Entering the sloping cave, a wave of warmth greeted him. When Su Xiao stopped, he was in a vast underground space.

Although it was underground, the soil layer above was covered with many glowing vines, so it wasn't dark here.

On both sides of the underground space were many rock buildings. These rock houses were stacked together, looking like a beehive, with fixed climbing ladders crisscrossing.

This warm underground space was eerily quiet. This should be the Ghost Clan's settlement, but not a single Ghost Clan member was seen.

Moving deeper into the slightly elongated underground space, Su Xiao hadn't gone far when he saw a figure hanging from the vines above. This figure was 70% similar to humans, with pointed ears, handsome features, and eye shadows-like markings on both sides of the eyes.

On the nearby stone wall, counting marks were drawn. The last line read: "Queen, please take me with you too."

The empty houses around and the hanged Ghost Clan member all showed a scene of despair. What made the Ghost Clan so desperate? Because of those monsters outside?

Continuing to explore deeper into the underground space, a stone house on the right side at the bottom caught Su Xiao's attention. The door of this stone house was tightly closed, and the windows were sealed with wooden boards and withered vines.

Thump thump~
Su Xiao knocked on the wooden board on the window. A voice came from inside.

"Outsider, leave 'Siyi.' All the residents here are dead, or have fled to the neighboring 'Qiuli.'"
The voice of the Ghost Clan member inside was hoarse, sounding weak.

"There's nothing to be curious about. It was the Queen's decision. She gave up 'Siyi' to save 'Qiuli.' We Ghost Clan living in 'Siyi' no longer blame her. She has already paid the price for this. We cut her into two pieces, hehehehe..."
The Ghost Clan member inside laughed somewhat crazily. He clearly hadn't met a living person for a long time and opened up on his own.

"I've been 'frozen.' I can't leave 'Siyi.' You saw those monsters when you came, right? If I continue to be exposed to the cold mist, I'll turn into that kind of monster too."
"..."
"Outsider, do you have any food?"
"No."
Su Xiao didn't think that thing inside still had the ability to eat.

"Any wine?"
"..."
Su Xiao took out a bottle of strong liquor. As if sensing his action, a bony hand reached out from the gap between the wooden boards and withered vines. It was covered in frost patterns, and the skin showed a frost-white color.

After a while, the sound of drinking came from inside, gulp, gulp.

"Ha~, refreshing." The Ghost Clan member inside let out a long breath of alcohol and continued: "Outsider, how should I repay you?"
"..."
"Come to think of it, I don't have much to offer. Go further inside. The old guy in the 'Sealed Hall' might be able to sell you something. But don't kill him. If he dies, the things he's 'suppressing' will crawl out from underground."

After saying this, the Ghost Clan member inside stopped talking and just kept drinking.

Su Xiao took out another bottle of wine and placed it on the windowsill before continuing deeper into the underground settlement. The intelligence given by the other party was certainly worth two bottles of wine.

When Su Xiao reached the innermost part of the underground settlement, a palace appeared ahead.

The two huge metal doors of the hall were engraved with intricate patterns and covered with paper talismans covered in tadpole-like characters, stacked several layers thick.

These two huge doors had been forcibly rammed open. From the edges of the metal doors, Su Xiao saw deep claw marks and traces of frost damage.

Entering the hall, it looked like a typhoon had swept through. The walls and ceiling were crisscrossed with ravines. A fierce battle had taken place here. A Ghost Clan arm bone was deeply embedded in the wall.

At the innermost part of the hall was a towering stone throne. This throne was pitch black, with slight signs of melting at the bottom.

On this wide stone chair were two long legs, tightly bound with chains. The two long legs were covered in ice crystals.

"The smell of a living person."
A small old man sitting beside the stone chair opened his eyes. This old Ghost Clan member had sparse hair, few teeth left, and his eyes were completely white. Several chains from the stone chair beside him were embedded into his back.

"Long time no see, a living person..."
The old Ghost Clan member's words were cut short. He was first puzzled, then suddenly understood.

"You're here for that stone and that iron lump, Law Destroyer Shadow."
Hearing this, Su Xiao quickly stepped forward. For so long, he had basically never benefited from being a Law Destroyer. Every time someone recognized him as a Law Destroyer, they would shout: "Brothers, kill this Law Destroyer! He's with Green Gillian and Mawen Hua'erzi! Kill him!!"

Arcane Eternal Star was a sworn enemy. Among them, Mage Sage Seraphilia had a deep hatred for Law Destroyers. It was understandable. The young Seraphilia had not only been played by Green Gillian but also had her feelings deceived. Afterwards, she was told: "I'm a Law Destroyer. Surprised?"

If it were just factional hatred, it would be one thing. The problem was that Seraphilia's entire family had been killed by Law Destroyers.

Now, Su Xiao seemed to see the benefits of being a Law Destroyer.

The old Ghost Clan member seemed to have made a decision. He said: "Law Destroyer, according to the records of my Ghost Clan, after the Dark Age ended, a Law Destroyer Shadow came here."

"And then he helped you?"
Baha couldn't help but ask.

"No. As soon as that Law Destroyer arrived, he was besieged by my Ghost Clan."
Saying this, the old Ghost Clan member showed a mysterious smile.

"And then?"
"Then my Ghost Clan was slaughtered by 80 or 90 percent. We became much more obedient."
"Damn."
Baha silently stepped back. Slaughtering 90% of a race, almost driving them to extinction—this was too great a grudge.

"Later, my Ghost Clan reestablished friendship with the Law Destroyer."
"The process?"
"Ahem, many things happened. There's no point in talking about those old debts."
A hint of anger flashed in the old Ghost Clan member's eyes, meaning for Baha to stop bringing up unpleasant topics.

"I don't have much trust in Law Destroyers. However, you Law Destroyers are strong, very strong. That's enough."
The old Ghost Clan member patted the stone chair beside him and continued:

"Let's make a deal. Bring back the Ghost Clan Queen. The benefits can be paid in advance."

The old Ghost Clan member briefly explained the situation. The general idea was that due to the external Soul Freeze, the Ghost Clan had been plagued by alienation for generations. But they couldn't leave the Cold Cemetery. It wasn't that they didn't want to; all paths to "Yada Ancient Capital" were sealed by a kind of fog wall.

As for the "White Swamp" north of the "Cold Cemetery," the Ghost Clan also wanted to migrate there to escape the Soul Freeze. Unfortunately, they couldn't defeat the races inhabiting the "White Swamp." They could only occasionally go there to steal some resources, like food.

Generations of survival in the "Cold Cemetery" had turned countless Ghost Clan members into ice slaves. A long time ago, the number of ice slaves had far exceeded that of the Ghost Clan.

Before the situation became uncontrollable, the Ghost Clan built deep underground tombs. Through years of effort, they managed to trap the massive number of ice slaves in these tombs using traps. Since they couldn't defeat them, this was the only way.

The underground settlement "Siyi" where Su Xiao was currently located was above the deep underground tombs. Over the years, at least hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of ice slaves had been thrown in. The problem was that these ice slaves had undergone severe alienation in the deep underground tombs, where the residual Abyss energy was more concentrated.

The Ghost Clan royal bloodline had no choice but to build this hall at the innermost part of "Siyi" and use the power of strong individuals to suppress the cold emitted by the millions of ice slaves below.

This stone chair was the key to the suppression. When a powerful Ghost Clan member sat on it, they would absorb the cold like "charging." When the cold overflowed, they would basically die. Then, someone else would take over, and the cycle would continue.

The Ghost Clan royal bloodline wasn't passed down through bloodline. Instead, the strongest were chosen to bear the underground cold, preventing this cold from encroaching on the Ghost Clan's remaining settlements.

This had been the case for generations of the Ghost Clan, until the Ghost Clan Queen appeared. She firmly refused to sit on the stone chair, saying: "I became this strong not to be used as a container."

The Ghost Clan Queen's intention was to lead the invasion of the "White Swamp."
The Ghost Clan high-level agreed. The result was a disastrous defeat. They were almost beaten to a pulp. They simply couldn't defeat the inhabitants of the "White Swamp."

After returning from the defeat, the Ghost Clan Queen still refused to sit on the stone chair. The old Ghost Clan member and others discovered this and started a battle with the Ghost Clan Queen in this hall. After losing her legs, the Ghost Clan Queen escaped.

This led to the current situation. The Ghost Clan Queen's legs could still be used. They were tied to the stone chair, allowing the underground cold to seep into them.

Since the legs had no subjective consciousness, they couldn't fully absorb the underground cold. Therefore, the old Ghost Clan member embedded the chains from the stone chair into his own body to absorb the remnants.

The old Ghost Clan member's meaning was for Su Xiao to bring back the Ghost Clan Queen, or at least bring back her crown.

[Prompt: You have triggered a side mission.]
[Side Mission: Choice.]
Difficulty Level: Lv.76 ~ Lv.78
Mission Information: Bring back the Ghost Clan Queen or the Ghost Clan Crown.
Mission Time Limit: 5 natural days.
Mission Reward: Prepaid.
Mission Penalty: None.

This mission was quite strange. Not only was the reward prepaid, but there was also no penalty.

Su Xiao looked at the old Ghost Clan member. The other's face was already covered in cracks. He clearly couldn't hold on much longer. If this mission failed, the other would lose hope and might not be able to hold on, causing the suppression to fail. The "Underground Settlement Siyi" would be blown away by the cold from below, and millions of ice slaves heavily eroded by Abyss energy would swarm out.

At that point, it would be like pushing the Treeborn World into ultra-nightmare difficulty. No wonder this mission had no penalty.

Su Xiao chose to accept this side mission. Even if the situation here exploded, it would have to wait until after he found the Soul Severing Shadow Stone and the talent awakening device. How could he refuse a reward that could be freeloaded now?

As soon as Su Xiao accepted the mission, a prompt appeared.

[Prompt: As you have accepted the side mission "Choice," the faction shop here will be opened to you (this faction shop only represents the Underground Settlement Siyi, not the entire Ghost Clan).]
[As you have accepted the side mission "Choice," the prices of items in this faction shop will be reduced to the minimum. This faction shop has a total of seven remaining items. You can make the following exchanges.]