Chapter 65: The Eyes of Ice and Fire! Foundation of Godhood!
"Jiang Chen, you'd better give me an explanation!"
The tone of the Snow Empress was cold as frost. It had already been three entire days—three days of wandering aimlessly in this cursed forest.
"Impossible," Jiang Chen muttered, head buried in a map. "The Eyes of Ice and Fire should be here in the Sunset Forest."
"That's what the map says…"
After settling the matter with Tang Wulin, Jiang Chen had turned his attention to his next goal—preparations for becoming a god. His current target: the Eyes of Ice and Fire—a sacred land of immortality, beneath whose twin lakes slumbered the corpses of the Fire Dragon King and the Ice Dragon King.
But after three days of searching, there wasn't a single trace—no energy fluctuations, not even the faintest poisonous mist.
"That doesn't make sense! It's not like the entire place could grow legs and walk away!" Jiang Chen muttered helplessly.
The Snow Empress finally snapped. Her patience broke, and she reached out to twist his ear sharply.
"Do you hear me? I asked what on earth you're doing!"
Three days ago, he had come to her at dawn, claiming he'd help her ascend to godhood. She'd agreed without hesitation—and now here they were, lost in a forest for three days straight.
"Ow, ow, ow! Let go! I said I'm doing this for your sake!"
Jiang Chen rubbed his sore ear, looking pitiful. Seriously… it's for her own good, and she still hits me?
The Snow Empress gave him a long, lingering look before releasing her grip.
"Tell me the truth. What else are you hiding from me?"
He had once used ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Essence to bind her into this plan of godhood together. After so many years, she had surpassed the tribulation of seven hundred thousand years—she could have lived peacefully for another hundred thousand without worry. But she had never forgotten that old promise: to ascend together.
And based on his proposal, she had resolutely transformed into human form. Success meant divinity; failure, utter annihilation.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
"Have you heard of the Eyes of Ice and Fire? It's a land nourished by immortality herbs—a resting place formed from the buried remains of the Fire and Ice Dragon Kings."
"To forge godhood," he continued, "you can rely on your prestige in the Extreme North and the relic of the Ice God—the Heart of Ice. But that alone isn't enough to rebuild the Ice God's divine seat. With the Ice Dragon King's power, however, it's different. Once a god-king-level being, even its long-dead bones still contain divine energy."
His plan was simple: fuse the Ice Dragon King's legacy with the Heart of Ice to forge a true divine artifact—and then use that artifact to recreate the Ice God's position.
The Snow Empress frowned. The Ice Dragon King?
She knew well the legends of the Dragon God. The Ice Dragon King had been stronger than the Ice God itself—a god-king among dragons. The Ice God was only a first-class deity by comparison.
"But…" she said, narrowing her eyes, "if Di Tian or the surviving dragons find out you're using their ancestor's corpse as crafting material, they'll kill you."
Jiang Chen only shrugged. "They won't find out if you don't tell them. Besides, you're the only one I've told—and right now, you're the only one I trust.
Unless, of course," he smirked faintly, "you don't actually want to become a god."
The Snow Empress rolled her eyes. He definitely didn't need to say that last part.
"Anyway," Jiang Chen said, glancing around, "help me look for the Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flower. Once we find it, we'll locate the Eyes of Ice and Fire."
He summoned the Dark Spirit Sphere. A flicker of black light appeared, and from it stepped a barefoot woman with flowing blue hair—Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Emperor.
For plant-type soul beasts, the longing for life was ingrained in their very souls. The pure vitality of the Eyes of Ice and Fire was irresistible even to her.
As expected—even without full consciousness—Ah Yin moved instinctively, like a compass, guiding them deeper into the forest.
"Snow Empress, come on!"
Before she could question who this woman was, Jiang Chen had already grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
In this era, the Eyes of Ice and Fire were under Tang Sect control—accessible only to those granted the dual-seal marks of Ice and Fire.
But since the Federation had already bombed the Tang Sect headquarters to rubble, its regional divisions were easily purged. Only their leader, Cao Dezhi, remained—and the Federation would take care of him.
Jiang Chen had no interest in human conflicts. He only cared about one thing: achieving godhood.
Every move—his rivalry with Shrek, his dealings with Ah Yin—was for this outcome alone.
And with the Tang Sect's ruin, controlling the Eyes of Ice and Fire would be child's play.
Following Ah Yin's lead, they arrived at a radiant field of color.
"What… deadly poison?"
Before them stretched a valley bursting with dazzling hues—a paradise of vibrant flora cloaked beneath dense, rainbow-colored miasma so thick it had nearly become liquid.
This was a world of seven-colored death. Poisonous vines and flowers blanketed the land so completely that not even the ground was visible. Bone fragments littered the soil beneath them, preserved even after countless years.
The Jade-Scaled Sevenfold Flowers.
Planted personally by the Tang God King to safeguard the Eyes of Ice and Fire, they served as its eternal guardians—an impenetrable living barrier. After tens of thousands of years of evolution, empowered by the celestial energies of the twin ponds, their toxins had become unimaginably potent.
Even a demi-god wouldn't dare take a single step inside.
The Snow Empress's skin prickled. She'd seen the Ice Empress's venom, but this was something else entirely. Even her own powerful body trembled under the corrosive miasma.
"How… how do we get in?"
Jiang Chen smiled. "I've got it handled. Go, Ah Yin."
As the sovereign of plant-type beasts—and a deity-level being even in her weakened state—Ah Yin's presence alone made the poisonous blossoms hesitate. Among all plant spirits, hierarchy was absolute, and none outranked the Blue Silver Emperor.
With Ah Yin in the lead, they proceeded. Jiang Chen clasped the Snow Empress's hand with his left, Ah Yin's with his right, and stepped into the valley.
At every step, blue-silver grass rose beneath their feet, glowing faintly in the dim light.
Surrounding plants bowed in reverence, parting to clear their path. The deadly miasma was drawn back, absorbed obediently by the Sevenfold Flowers.
As they progressed deeper, the colors grew more vivid, surreal—almost like walking into another dimension.
Jiang Chen could feel it: one wrong move, and he'd be disintegrated by the elemental toxins around them.
The valley held no tall trees—only endless, creeping flora. Beneath it all lay countless bones, fading reminders of the past.
He sighed softly. "Tang God King, you really didn't spare anyone, did you?"
Once, Dugu Bo had wished only to be buried here after death. The Tang God King had granted that wish—literally.
The Emerald Phosphor Snake Emperor, once sovereign of poison, now eternally guarded the Eyes of Ice and Fire as countless Jade-Scaled Flowers.
In its own way, Jiang Chen thought, perhaps this too was a form of immortality.
(END CHAPTER)
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