Chapter 170: The Hidden Underground Chamber

The entire ice cavern spanned approximately two thousand meters in diameter. Over the past two days, Yuan Zhiyun had carefully explored every corner of it but found nothing of significance. Today, however, she stumbled upon a hidden underground chamber by accident.

The entrance to this chamber was covered by a thin layer of ice, with scattered ice fragments on top. If she hadn't noticed a small bird landing on the spot and then suddenly freezing in place, she might never have thought to investigate further. Out of curiosity, she used her spiritual sense to carefully probe the area and discovered the concealed entrance.

After capturing the bird and shattering the thin ice layer, the bird suddenly struggled free from her grip and flew directly into the underground chamber. Yuan Zhiyun hesitated for a moment, but seeing that nothing unusual happened inside, she decided to follow the bird into the small entrance.

The passage was narrow, just wide enough for a single person, and it spiraled downward into the depths. After descending for some time, she arrived in a small, square underground chamber. It was pitch dark.

Sensing no immediate danger and after scanning the area with her spiritual sense, Yuan Zhiyun took out four torches from her storage ring, lit them, and placed them around the chamber to illuminate it.

With the room lit, she could finally see what was inside. The walls of the chamber were made of thick, solid ice, and the room itself was mostly empty except for two skeletons lying in one corner. The centerpiece of the room was a completely opaque ice coffin.

As for the bird that had flown in, it had vanished without a trace.

She glanced at the two skeletons but saw nothing of interest, not even a storage pouch, so she turned her attention to the ice coffin in the center of the room.

Though it was made of ice, the surface of the coffin was blurry and far from transparent, making it impossible to see what was inside. Yuan Zhiyun attempted to use her spiritual sense to peer inside, but it was blocked entirely.

Determined, she approached the coffin and, relying on her protective artifacts, used her spiritual energy to wrap around her hands and attempted to push the coffin lid off. Despite using all her strength as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the lid remained immovable.

Frustrated, she wondered if this strange place might be the exit from the ice cavern. If so, it could be her way out. Excited by the possibility, she pushed even harder.

However, no matter how much force she applied, the lid wouldn't budge, as if something inside was holding it firmly in place. She even resorted to using her sword, striking the coffin with all her might, but it left no mark.

Not willing to give up, she unleashed her most powerful spells one after another, yet the ice coffin remained pristine, without even the slightest scratch.

Panting from exhaustion, Yuan Zhiyun stared at the untouched coffin, feeling as though it was mocking her efforts.

Suddenly, she recalled something her father had often told her:

"Zhiyun, an excellent head of a family cannot always try to accomplish everything alone. Indeed, as a leader, you must be capable of handling various situations, but at the same time, you cannot ignore the power of a group. That is the core of what it means to lead a family and survive in this world.

As a cultivator, you are exceptional, but as a future head of the family, you are far behind Shangpu. Although his intentions may not always be pure, one cannot deny that he knows how to leverage the power of others. If you truly wish to inherit the Yuan family, you must demonstrate that you can effectively lead and harness collective strength."

As she stood before the unyielding ice coffin, Yuan Zhiyun murmured to herself, "Could it be that Father's intention wasn't for me to compete with Yuan Shangpu directly, but rather to train me in leadership?"

She had always prided herself on doing things alone, believing that true strength came from solving problems independently, even if it meant facing difficulties alone. She had thought herself far superior to her scheming cousins, who did nothing but conspire against each other. But now, she realized that perhaps her father was right. Maybe she had been missing an essential aspect of leadership all along.

For the first time, she considered seeking help from others to achieve her goal.

Putting aside her chaotic thoughts, Yuan Zhiyun decided to find others to help her push open the ice coffin. She made her way back up the passage she had come from.

However, not long after she left, the previously quiet underground chamber, lit only by the flickering torches, witnessed an unexpected movement.

The ice coffin, which had resisted all of Yuan Zhiyun's efforts, suddenly and silently cracked open. A small gap appeared in its lid, and a translucent head peeked out.

Seeing that the room was indeed empty, the ghostly figure wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from its forehead. "Phew, that girl finally left. She may be young, but she sure packs a punch. If she had kept pushing, I would've run out of strength to hold the lid."

Yes, the one hiding inside the ice coffin was none other than Liao Pantou's other soul fragment, with a strength equivalent to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Because his soul had been divided into several fragments, and to avoid too many conflicting thoughts, he typically kept only one soul fragment fully conscious at a time, while the others remained in a semi-dormant state of cultivation.

Normally, each fragment resided in different secret realms with different activation times, so he had never had to worry about this before. But now, with one soul fragment needing to remain awake for an extended period, the situation was different.

Thus, this particular soul fragment in the Icefield Secret Realm had mostly stayed in a semi-dormant state until the tracking soul sparrow found him, signaling him to wake up. He hadn't expected a strong-willed follower to come along with it.

After briefly inspecting the tracking sparrow, Liao Pantou decided to retreat back into the coffin.