Chapter 257: The Ice God Sub-Hall in Spirit Hall City
The remainder of the journey went smoothly, and the group soon arrived in Hanhai City.
After confirming the direction by the sea, Ning Bei led the three others toward the Deep Sea Demon Spider.
Several hours later, they stopped on the surface of the sea, 1000 kilometers away.
Bibi Dong, along with Ju and Gui, all turned their gazes to Ning Bei, their meaning clear—"Come on, show us!"
Ning Bei didn't hesitate, summoning Da Ming and pointing toward the depths of the sea.
Da Ming nodded, immediately transforming into his original form and swallowing the group, diving toward the ocean. This action left Bibi Dong, Ju, and Gui dumbfounded. It took them a while to regain their senses.
"That's...?"
"The Sky Blue Bull Python?"
"This guy's like a treasure chest, pulling out something that shocks everyone just like that."
Several minutes later, Ning Bei returned to the surface with a massive ice block nearly fifty meters in diameter. He summoned a large, several-thousand-square-meter ice island and threw the block onto it with a loud crash.
"Done, we're good to go."
After regaining their senses, Bibi Dong and the others landed on the floating island and examined the ice block. Inside the ice was a spider-shaped soul beast, over twenty meters long, with a body covered in coral, trapped within the ice.
Bibi Dong paced back and forth for several minutes, continuously tapping the ice but failing to find a way to break it. She could only helplessly look at Ning Bei, who was watching them with a playful expression.
"How am I supposed to deal with this?"
"Tsk, still calling yourself the Pope of Spirit Hall? Pathetic."
Seeing that Bibi Dong was about to blow up, Ning Bei stopped teasing her. He walked over to the ice and melted the frost on the Deep Sea Demon Spider's forehead, revealing a palm-sized ice hole.
"How about now?"
Yue Guan and Gui gave Ning Bei a thumbs-up, clearly impressed.
Bibi Dong immediately summoned her Death Spider Emperor martial soul and manifested it. Unlike the ugly spider legs she usually had, her human body remained intact, but her back extended eight spider-like legs, resembling spears.
Ning Bei snickered. He didn't expect the Pope to have a cosmetic makeover for her martial soul in the middle of everything. But with this new look, was that you, Iris?
Bibi Dong didn't care about the others' expressions. She immediately used her soul skills and launched an attack from the ice hole.
After a few seconds, a blood-red soul ring slowly rose. Bibi Dong glanced around, frozen in place. The Death Spider Emperor martial soul lacked a soul ring, and if she had known, she would have given it a makeover first.
Seeing Ning Bei holding back his laughter, Bibi Dong shot him a fierce look, then sat down in front of the ice block, summoning her second martial soul to absorb the soul ring. The ugly body and horrifying spider legs appeared, and the soul ring slowly attached to her.
Ju and Gui finally showed normal expressions. Now that was more like it. What was that earlier martial soul?
Several hours later, as the sky darkened, Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes.
After storing the Deep Sea Demon Spider's body in her soul tool, she looked at the three with satisfaction and spoke.
"It's done. Let's go."
"Pope, how's your soul skill?"
In response to Ning Bei's question, Bibi Dong raised her eyebrows.
"Sorry, exposing soul skills is a taboo for soul masters, so I can't tell you."
Hey, this woman really changes her tune quickly. Just now, she said I could ask for anything, and now suddenly revealing soul skills is a big deal?
"Fine, fine. I'll give that Soul Sculpting Flower to my mother. She's not very satisfied with her martial soul's appearance either."
"You dare!"
Bibi Dong immediately flared up, glaring angrily at Ning Bei, causing Ju and Gui to turn their backs in a "I don't see, I don't hear" manner.
"Hmph, you want two soul skills, huh?"
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening! Exposing soul skills is a taboo for soul masters, so you keep your soul skills hidden. As for the Soul Sculpting Flower, I'll just put it in the Seven Treasure Auction."
"Seventh Soul Skill: Soul Devouring Sea Demon Spike."
"Wait, what? Are you the Black Widow biting people randomly?"
Dodging Bibi Dong's attack, Ning Bei scolded her angrily.
"Hmph, now you know my soul skill? If you dare mess with that Soul Sculpting Flower again, see what happens."
"Tsk, not worth joking about."
After finishing the soul hunt, the group didn't delay, setting off on their journey back to Spirit Hall City that very night.
"Do you think Xiao Xue will forgive me?"
"Hmm?"
After a moment of surprise, Ning Bei looked at Bibi Dong's troubled expression with amusement.
"Just clear everything up with her. She's not unreasonable. Maybe you could wait for her to come find you for a conversation."
Now it was Bibi Dong's turn to be stunned. In disbelief, she asked:
"Do you think she'll actually come to me to talk?"
"Who knows? If she doesn't come looking for you the next time she's in Spirit Hall City, then you go find her."
Bibi Dong's eyes shifted as she thought deeply, but she didn't speak on the matter again.
Upon returning to Spirit Hall City, Bibi Dong informed the group that a location for the Ice God Hall had already been found. Ning Bei, along with Yue Guan, arrived at an empty piece of land to the west of the city.
This area had previously been a refugee settlement, but it had already been cleared. As for the remaining refugees, that wasn't Ning Bei's concern.
With the Ever-Frozen Domain activated, an Ice God Hall rose up from the ground, standing tall in the corner of Spirit Hall City's western side. The steps, ice tablets, domain markings, and the interior decorations all came together perfectly.
Yue Guan, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. Could a human even do this? He certainly couldn't.
"Young Master Ning, you've truly opened my eyes."
Ning Bei smiled without responding. Instead, he took out some Ice Spirit Grass and threw it to Yue Guan.
"Ice Spirit Grass?"
As a herb expert, Yue Guan immediately recognized it. However, seeing so many Ice Spirit Grass at once was still a huge surprise. This spirit herb only grew in extremely cold areas and could appear only once every thousand years.
"Correct. When someone manages to reach the top of the Ice Steps, you can reward them with the Ice Spirit Grass."
"Also, this 99th-level Ice Step allows ice-attribute soul masters to gain a chance to comprehend the Cold Ice Domain. Please help spread the word about this."
"I understand. Don't worry, Young Master Ning, I'll take care of it. Old Gui will help with running errands too."
Having received enough benefits, Ning Bei wasn't worried about Yue Guan mishandling things. After handing over the responsibility of the Ice God Hall to Yue Guan, he left Spirit Hall City with peace of mind.
Returning to the sect, the busy period finally came to an end. From now on, he only needed to wait for the results of the Ice God's Sixth Trial after a year. If luck was on his side, he might even directly receive the content for the Seventh Trial.
In the meantime, Ning Bei occasionally guided the younger ones on their cultivation and soul skill usage.
When he had free time, he would go visit Du Guling to refine the Nightlight Soul Bone or go to the Ice God Hall to practice some choral techniques with the little angel.
Life was very comfortable. As for his own cultivation, at his level, relying on meditation alone was no longer enough for progress. Improvement now depended on moments of inspiration or breakthroughs, as well as increasing his soul rings.
Ning Bei still had three vacant soul ring slots, and when the time came, he could easily reach level 99. Once the Ice God's Nine Trials were completed, he would step into the realm of the gods and consider whether he could create a divine position using the Pill Tower.
Time passed slowly, and before long, a year had passed.
(END CHAPTER)
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