Myriad Daos of the Heaven

Jiang Jichen stood on the platform, gazing out at the world of ice and snow.

It was a vast, endless canyon, blanketed in ice and snow. Flurries filled the sky, and even through the mysterious curtain of light, he could almost hear the howling of the frigid wind.

This curtain of light was the Ice Dragon Valley’s Barrier. It appeared transparent, yet faint patterns of light flowed across its surface.

But if one were to walk forward, they would be blocked by this nearly transparent Barrier. Only by opening it could one step into the Ice Dragon Valley.

The mountain platform wasn’t the only entrance to the Ice Dragon Valley. As long as the Barrier was breached, one could enter from many different places.

Of course, it seemed all the adventurer squad members had chosen this platform, waiting quietly for a powerful expert to come and break the Ice Dragon Barrier.

In truth, besides the Ice Dragon Flower, the Ice Dragon Valley held many other Rare Treasures, enough to drive people mad.

For example, the Ten Thousand Year Snow Lotus Flower, Cold Spirit Grass, Ice Heart Fruit, and more. Although they couldn’t compare to the Ice Dragon Flower, they were all Rare Treasure-level Spirit Medicines. Obtaining even one would be considered a great stroke of fortune.

This was why these adventurers would risk everything to come here and enter the Ice Dragon Valley, despite knowing the immense dangers of Red Fire Mountain.

Jiang Jichen studied the Ice Dragon Valley carefully. The great, snow-covered canyon looked like a slumbering ice dragon, an awe-inspiring and intimidating sight.

He retracted his gaze, only to suddenly realize that every adventurer’s eyes were fixed on him!

"Su Fei, are you telling me that Seventh-level Mortal Warrior kid led you here? Oh, come on, you can’t be serious!"

"Hou Han, are you sure you’re not lying to me? That kid actually managed to avoid the Fire Ape Spirit Fiends? He’s... he’s only at the Seventh-level Mortal Warrior Realm!"

"If that’s true, that’s just heaven-defying! If we’d known earlier, we should have had him lead us. Then our younger members wouldn’t have croaked!"

...

A number of people stared at Jiang Jichen, breaking into discussion.

When Jiang Jichen arrived, he had already gauged the Cultivation of these adventurers with a single thought.

The strongest among them was a single person at the Innate Fourth Realm. Two were at the Innate Third Realm, and the rest were all below the Innate Second Realm.

There were over two hundred adventurers on this platform.

’Their strength is too weak; they’re no real force,’ Jiang Jichen thought as he observed the adventurers. ’Once they enter the Ice Dragon Valley, they’ll be nothing but fodder for the Noble Families and Sects to annihilate.’

Adventurers were different from the Noble Families and Sects. Their organizations were very loose, composed of Spirit Cultivators from various nations. They traveled between different countries, crossed thousands of mountains and rivers, and journeyed through the vast mortal world. Although their Cultivation wasn’t astonishing, most of them possessed extraordinary knowledge and experience.

However, in this world, strength decided everything.

Su Fei walked over to Jiang Jichen with a charming smile. "How does it feel to be the center of attention? Aren’t you enjoying it?"

Jiang Jichen rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "I admit I’m outstanding, but I’m a low-key person. Su Fei, with you acting like this, it’s hard for me to stay low-key!"

Su Fei couldn’t help but roll her eyes back at Jiang Jichen, her flirtatious charm intoxicating.

"They just discussed it. They feel that even if all our adventurer squads team up, we’d be no match for those Family Sects. What’s more, there are terrifying Ice Snake Spirit Fiends in the Ice Dragon Canyon. They figure that since you could sense the Fire Ape Spirit Fiends, you must be able to sense the Ice Snake Spirit Fiends too. So, they want you to lead the way!" Su Fei said, relaying the crowd’s intentions.

In reality, the stronger experts among the adventurer squads saw that Jiang Jichen was just a Seventh-level Mortal Warrior and a mere boy, so they couldn’t be bothered to come over and speak with him themselves.

"Ice Snake Spirit Fiends? What are those?" Jiang Jichen asked with a frown.

"They’re similar to the Fire Ape Spirit Fiends, but even stronger and more terrifying. They’re formed from the ice snakes in the Ice Dragon Valley, which transform after being infected by the Ice Dragon’s deathly aura. They’re completely white and hide within the ice and snow. Most people can’t spot them at all, making them impossible to guard against!"

Su Fei whispered in his ear, her breath as fragrant as an orchid.

Jiang Jichen could smell Su Fei’s sweet fragrance, a sensation he found quite pleasant.

However, after hearing Su Fei’s words, Jiang Jichen refused outright. "No. My Divine Sense Secret Technique won’t be very effective against the Ice Snake Spirit Fiends inside the Ice Dragon Valley."

Jiang Jichen’s Divine Sense was too extraordinary, so he could only lie and claim he possessed a Spiritual Sense Secret Technique.

Su Fei seemed to have expected Jiang Jichen’s answer, but she still feigned a heartbroken expression. "You refused without even thinking about it. Don’t you know how much that hurts a girl’s pride?"

Faced with Su Fei’s somewhat demoness-like personality, Jiang Jichen felt a headache coming on. He could only ask, "Fine. What’s in it for me if I agree to lead?"

Of course, no matter what benefits were offered, Jiang Jichen had no intention of agreeing to lead. He was just playing along with Su Fei.

"Leading the team is your honor. How dare you ask for benefits?"

However, no sooner had Jiang Jichen spoken than a handsome, blue-robed youth walked over. His gaze first swept over Su Fei, a flash of obsession in his eyes, before landing coldly on Jiang Jichen as he spoke.

The youth looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, yet he already possessed the Cultivation of the Innate Second Realm Perfection Realm. He was truly outstanding among these adventurers. His gaze toward Jiang Jichen was filled with disdain.

Seeing this youth, Su Fei’s brow furrowed. Just as she was about to speak, Jiang Jichen beat her to it. "I can tell you clearly right now: even if you offered me every benefit imaginable, I refuse to lead the team!"

The moment Jiang Jichen’s words fell, everyone’s expression changed. Even the few Innate Third and Fourth Realm experts among them frowned slightly.

’This Seventh-level Mortal Warrior boy is far too arrogant!’

Many of them already looked down on Jiang Jichen. Now that he was acting so conceited, they felt even more displeased.

Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words, the blue-robed youth laughed in fury. "Excellent! Do you really think we can’t get by in the Ice Dragon Valley without you? How naive and ridiculous! As for you, a piece of trash at the Seventh-level Mortal Warrior Realm... without our protection in the Ice Dragon Valley, you can just wait to become a frozen corpse. And you’d better hope you don’t run into me in there!"

Jiang Jichen asked lightly, "Am I to understand that you’re threatening me?"

The blue-robed youth gave an arrogant smile. "You can think of it that way. Of course, if you bow your head, admit you’re wrong, and agree to lead the team now, I can protect you inside the Ice Dragon Valley!"

Jiang Jichen couldn’t help but look at the blue-robed youth as if he were an idiot. "Are you sick in the head?"

He had expected his threat to work, for Jiang Jichen to get scared, back down, and bow his head to him. He never expected to hear those words instead!

"You’re courting death..."

The blue-robed youth flew into a rage and was about to strike Jiang Jichen down, but Su Fei had already drifted in front of him. She looked at the youth and said coldly, "Lan Ning, he’s a member of my Spirit Moon Adventurer Squad. Are you trying to make a move on him?"

However, before the blue-robed youth could speak, Jiang Jichen had already pulled Su Fei aside and walked up to Lan Ning. "Fighting is forbidden here. However, if you want to kill me, I’ll be waiting for you in the Ice Dragon Valley. You’re welcome to try anytime. If you don’t show, you’re nothing but a pig who breaks his word!"

His words fell, shocking everyone present!