Tang Xiaoqi had just concluded a brief journey into the mortal world, returning to Qingxu Temple's Heart-Keeping Cave to continue work on the "Scripture of World Purification." The cave remained tranquil, accompanied only by the soft glow of the jade slips and the solemn dao rhythm surrounding him.
Yet, before he could fully immerse his spirit, an extremely faint fluctuation, carrying a bone-chilling chill and breath of despair, like a candle flame in the wind, stubbornly penetrated the layers of prohibitions, lingering at the edge of his perception.
This fluctuation wasn't communicated through conventional transmission talismans or spiritual contact; it was more like a lament and plea originating from bloodlines or some ancient pact, directly acting upon his Green Lotus source, carrying a same-source pure snow-ice aura, and… a pain of being eroded and annihilated by some deeper darkness.
"North Plains… snow wolves…" Xiao Qi's eyes snapped open, a flash of surprise crossing them. This aura was not unfamiliar to him—it came from that extreme northern land, the Snow Plains Giant Wolf tribe that he had once helped, who worshipped the spirit of ice and snow! Back then, he had purified the demonic fire, saved the tribe's sacred ground, and formed a profound friendship with them.
He immediately focused his senses, pursuing the source of that faint fluctuation. Gradually, fragmentary, pained, and urgent information coalesced in his sea of consciousness, like a giant wolf's dying cry and plea:
"...World Purification… Venerable One… Save… the Sacred Ground…"
"...Cold tide… gray… death… not snow… not ice…"
"...Originating from… despair… human hearts'… cold…"
"...Devouring life force… Freezing souls… The elders… cannot hold…"
"...The Sacred Ground's light… is extinguishing… The tribe… hangs by a thread…"
"...Only your… Purification Light… might… dispel… this… heart-originated… extreme cold…"
"...We beg you…"
The information cut off abruptly there, and that thin thread of connection snapped like a burned-out wick. But the despair and urgency it contained weighed heavily on Xiao Qi's heart.
"Annihilation Cold Tide? Originating from human hearts' despair?" Xiao Qi's brow knit tightly as he slowly stood.
He recalled Tianjizi's prophecy and the various scenes he had witnessed during his mortal journey—human hearts' dark aspects spawning demonic hearts. Could the crisis in the extreme north actually be a materialized, regional outbreak of demonic hearts?
The sacred ground of the Snow Plains Giant Wolf tribe contained ancient and pure ice-spirit power, inherently sensitive to negative emotions and energy. If the entire tribe, or even a broader range of northern life, had accumulated massive amounts of despair due to trauma from the demon calamity, harsh environmental pressures, or other reasons, these emotions gathering and transforming could have triggered some kind of heavenly law backlash, forming this bizarre "Annihilation Cold Tide"—this was entirely possible!
This was no longer an ordinary natural disaster or demonic energy erosion, but a force directly acting upon the mind and vitality. Conventional purification methods targeted tangible energy pollution; for this formless, root-planted-in-collective-subconscious despair cold tide, the effects would likely be limited, or could even backfire.
The situation was critical, allowing not a moment's delay. Xiao Qi immediately sent a spiritual message, briefly informing Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng, who was handling Alliance affairs, that he needed to depart immediately for the extreme north.
"Extreme north? Annihilation Cold Tide?" The senior brother's voice carried shock and concern, "This is unprecedented! Xiao Qi, should we dispatch Alliance reinforcements? Or ask Fairy Mu Xue to accompany you? Her ice techniques might be useful."
"Unnecessary." Xiao Qi refused, "This thing is bizarre; more people won't solve it. I'll go scout the situation first. If needed, I'll contact you. The sect and Alliance, I'll leave in your hands for now."
He acted decisively, saying no more. One step out of the Heart-Keeping Cave, his form transformed into a faint, nearly invisible azure streak, soaring into the sky, racing northward. His speed far exceeded his journey to the western regions—almost tearing through space with consecutive short-range teleports. With cultivation at the Great Circle of the Late Nascent Soul stage fully unleashed, plus his nascent comprehension of spatial laws, traversing rivers and mountains was like a leisurely stroll.
In merely half a day's time, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply, the land below gradually covered by endless ice and snow, the sky that eternal blue-gray, biting cold wind cutting like knives—here was the Extreme North.
The closer he drew to the territory of the Snow Plains Giant Wolf tribe, the more his heart sank. He keenly sensed that the air no longer carried purely bitter cold and ice-spirit aura, but also added an extremely uncomfortable, gray, deathly and annihilating energy field.
This energy field was formless and intangible, yet seemed to permeate everything. Where it passed, even howling winds became stagnant and silent. Falling snow was no longer pure white, but carried a withered gray hue. The ice plains below lost their former crystalline luster, becoming dim, and even the most resilient Arctic moss had withered and turned to ash in the cold.
When he finally arrived at the sacred mountain region of the Snow Plains Giant Wolf tribe, the scene before him shocked him even more.
He saw that centered around that majestic mountain, which should have radiated pure blue-white holy light, an area of several hundred li in all directions was shrouded by a thick, living, slowly writhing and rolling gray mist! This gray mist was precisely the "Annihilation Cold Tide"!
Within the cold tide, all was utterly silent. No wind, no snow falling, space itself seemed frozen and congealed. The vital spiritual light that originally surrounded the sacred mountain had completely extinguished; the snow covering the mountain's surface was covered by a thick layer of ash. Faintly visible, the giant wolf tribe's camp at the mountain's foot had many ice houses already collapsed, no active life signs to be felt—only a suffocating despair and deathly stillness emanating from that gray domain.
Several particularly large, yet now with dull fur, glazed eyes, and covered in gray ice crystals, Snow Plains Giant Wolves lay prostrate at the edge of the gray domain, facing the sacred mountain, emitting silent wails. They were the tribe's last elders, who had clearly tried every method, but couldn't stop the erosion of the Annihilation Cold Tide, themselves also seriously affected.
One particularly ancient giant wolf, seemingly sensing Xiao Qi's arrival, lifted its head with difficulty. Murky eyes flickered with a trace of weak hope, emitting a low, soul-vibrating whimper:
"Venerable One… You've… finally come…"
"The cold tide… originates from… our tribe's warriors losing kin… seeing no future… despair… and also… from further away… converging… death thoughts…"
"It's… devouring… the Sacred Ground's heart… The ice spirit… is wailing…"
"Save… us…"
Xiao Qi hovered above the gray domain, feeling that bone-deep, soul-freezing, hope-annihilating extreme chill wash over him, his expression unprecedentedly grave.
This "Annihilation Cold Tide" was indeed the terrifying manifestation of the demonic heart affliction from Tianjizi's prophecy under specific conditions! It wasn't an external enemy, but the aggregation of the deepest despair originating from living beings' hearts in this realm! Conventional methods truly couldn't resolve it.
He took a deep breath; the Green Lotus halo around him naturally brightened, blocking the attempting-to-erode cold tide outside. He knew this would be a battle entirely different from any before—more arduous.
The opponent was formless despair. The battlefield was in living hearts.