Chapter 255: Traces of Gu Hanshan
On the portrait, the figure was none other than Gu Hanshan.
Fang Lin had been worrying about Gu Hanshan for a long time. He had no idea where the man was now, but unless he saw Gu Hanshan die with his own eyes, Fang Lin would not feel at ease.
The Ice Emperor glanced at the figure on the portrait, nodded slightly, closed his eyes, and then opened them again.
“I have ordered the Ice Puppet to start searching in the Ice Valley. If it finds the person from the painting, I will know immediately, so please rest assured,” the Ice Emperor said.
Fang Lin nodded and put away the portrait. With the Ice Emperor’s assistance in searching the Ice Valley, if Gu Hanshan was in the Ice Valley, it would be hard for him to escape.
As for the other people present, Fang Lin didn’t ask the Ice Emperor to wake them up. After all, Qing Jianzi and the others were not in life-threatening danger.
Suddenly remembering something, Fang Lin promptly asked: “In the Ice Valley, has a Thousand-year Ginseng ever appeared?”
The Ice Emperor paused, furrowed her brows slightly, and said: “I once sensed a ginseng enter the Ice Valley, but it seems that the ginseng always goes to the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard at the other end of the Ice Valley.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Lin was overjoyed but then immediately asked: “What’s the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard? Elaborate.”
The Ice Emperor explained, and Fang Lin understood.
It turned out that there existed a vast space at the end of the Ice Valley, filled with countless demon beast skeletons and filled with soaring Demon Qi, terrifying roars of demon beasts could always be heard from there, thus it was called the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard.
The existence of the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard seemed to be even older than the time the Ice Emperor had been in slumber. She had already sensed its existence when she first woke up.
Of course, the Ice Emperor couldn’t investigate further as her body couldn’t leave the Ice Palace, let alone going to the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard at the other end of the Ice Palace.
As for the Thousand-year Ginseng, it seemed to go the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard at regular intervals. Because to reach the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard, it had to pass through the Ice Valley, so the Ice Emperor had the movements of the Thousand-year Ginseng under control.
Listening to this, a hint of contemplation appeared on Fang Lin’s face. The Thousand-year Ginseng and the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard, what’s the connection between them?
The Thousand-year Ginseng was a divine medicine with a conscious mind, capable of seeking wealth and avoiding disaster. Since it frequently visited the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard, it meant that there must be something valuable there for the Thousand-year Ginseng.
Fang Lin made up his mind. As soon as they got out of here, he would rush to the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard. Not only did he want to get his hands on the Thousand-year Ginseng, but he also wanted to see what the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard was all about.
The Ice Emperor was carefully observing Fang Lin. She was curious about which powerful person Fang Lin was, but she didn’t dare ask and could only bury her doubts in her heart.
“By the way, what’s the deal with those five statues outside?” Fang Lin asked again.
The Ice Emperor replied: “Those were five powerful individuals that I once subdued. They became my strongest servants. After I was seriously injured, they were refined and sealed into those five ice sculptures by my clansmen. If someone tries to harm me, those five ice sculptures will awaken to drive off the intruder.”
Fang Lin nodded, so that’s how it was. No wonder he felt that he was being watched when he looked at the five ice sculptures. The five ice sculptures housed the five most formidable subordinates of the Ice Emperor.
Fang Lin marveled. Fortunately, he didn’t tamper with those five ice sculptures, otherwise, they would probably be dead by now.
Not long after, the Ice Emperor sensed something and immediately told Fang Lin: “Senior, the Ice Puppet has found the person from the portrait. However, it seems he too, is heading to the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Lin was pleased. This would make things easier. Since Gu Hanshan was also heading to the Ten Thousand Beast Graveyard, he would deal with him along the way.
“In that case, I won’t stay longer. Please wake all of them up,” Fang Lin said.
Upon hearing this, the Ice Emperor nodded her agreement. She wished that Fang Lin would leave as soon as possible. His presence made her feel nervous.
The Ice Emperor flew back to the ice coffin and resumed lying down. Fang Lin also stood among the others, pretending to be dazed.
Within a short while, one after another, people began waking up. They opened their eyes, looked around in surprise, completely clueless about what had happened.
Qing Jianzi, Yang Pojun, and Li Youbing also woke up one after another. As soon as they woke up, they appeared cautious, scanning their surroundings with serious expressions.
Fang Lin also pretended to look dazed as if he had just woken up, looking around like the others.
“Is everyone alright?” Qing Jianzi asked.
Everyone responded, all of them were safe and sound, feeling dizzy as if they had just woken up from a deep sleep.
“What happened?” Fang Lin said, rubbing his head and pretending to be confused.
Of course, no one could answer him. No one knew what had just happened. Qing Jianzi and the others were all in a state of confusion.
“Look up there!” someone exclaimed, and everyone looked up to see the ice coffin and the figure lying in it.
Everyone’s expression changed. Having a coffin hanging in such a ghostly place, and inside it, a body, it all felt very eerie.
“Huh? Isn’t this Li Tongtian? What happened to him?” another person noticed the withered corpse of Li Tongtian and exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone looked again, and then the faces of Qing Jianzi, Yang Pojun and the others turned pale.
“Not good! Li Tongtian’s Qi and blood seem to have been dried up by the corpse in that coffin!” Fang Lin exclaimed.
Everyone looked panicked after hearing this, quickly realizing why no one had ever been able to return from the Ice Palace. They all had been drained by the corpse in the Ice coffin.
“Are we going to end up like Li Tongtian, drained of our Qi and blood one by one and die?” one of the royalty’s offspring said, fear written all over his face.
Everyone remained silent, an atmosphere of terror filled the air. Fang Lin also put on a grave face, but inside, he was laughing his head off.
The Ice Emperor lying on the ice coffin was speechless, wondering why Fang Lin was still here putting on this show. If he wanted to leave, why wouldn’t he leave? What was the point of it all?
Indeed, Fang Lin didn’t intend to stick around. Immediately, he called everyone to try and leave this place. After that, he led the group out of the Ice Palace with ease.
Everyone was somewhat in disbelief after leaving the Ice Palace. They had managed to walk out of the Ice Palace so easily? It seemed too unreal.
Even Qing Jianzi, Yang Pojun, and the others doubted if they were still in some illusion, believing everything around them, the people and objects, were all illusory.
“We made it out!” Fang Lin shouted, appearing quite excited.
“Really…we made it out?” However, the others were still somewhat confused. They were all prepared for the worst and never expected to get out of the Ice Palace so effortlessly. It took some time for them to process.
After calming down for a while, the group realized they had truly made it out. They all celebrated as if they had narrowly avoided calamity.
“Fang Lin, where should we go next?” Qing Jianzi asked.
Fang Lin stroked his chin: “Let’s go check out the other end of the Ice Valley. We can’t leave empty-handed after coming all this way.”