Chapter 70 – The Ice Phoenix Hall and the Whispering Vaults

"When frost touches divinity, only silence remains."

Chaos Sect – Inner Core Realm

The Chaos Sect's Inner Core was not just a territory—it was a living realm. It floated above the main sect grounds, tethered by thirteen divine chains of origin law, each linked to the Sect's foundational Daos.

Asha Rani stood at the threshold of the Core's second level: The Hall of Eternal Frost.

Flakes of glimmering frost drifted down from a sky painted in pale blue and white auroras. Towering glacial spires surrounded her, each one inscribed with ice runes so old they resonated with her very bloodline.

At the entrance stood a graceful beast.

The Ice Phoenix.

Its feathers shimmered with soul-bound ice, each plume radiating condensed divine power. Its gaze was ancient, proud, and unmistakably sentient.

❖ [Chaos Beast Guardian: Ice Phoenix – Rank: Divine Beast – Bound to Core Disciple Trials]

❖ [Lineage Connection Detected: Ice Spirit Body – SSS-Rank]

❖ [Direct Blood Resonance: 98.7% – Inheritor Qualification Confirmed]

The phoenix lowered its head.

Asha Rani of the Frost Bloodline… you have come.

Her heart trembled slightly—not from fear, but reverence. She bowed deeply.

"I wish to walk the path of ice to its peak."

Then prepare yourself. The ice does not forgive. It remembers everything you've ever feared.

The phoenix flapped its wings, releasing a blizzard that coiled around Asha's body. In that moment, time froze.

Inside the Hall of Eternal Frost

She found herself walking across an endless bridge of glass. On both sides: memories—her darkest, most vulnerable moments. Her mother's death. Her failure during her first core breakthrough. Her isolation.

She did not flinch.

Each memory shattered into ice, absorbed by her body.

At the end of the bridge, a single floating jade scroll hovered within an orb of divine snow.

❖ [You have obtained: Frozen Void Sutra – Divine Rank Ice Cultivation Technique]

❖ [Description: This technique draws upon the silence between stars and the breath of eternal winter. It halts time for 1 second per stage and freezes soul attacks.]

❖ [Warning: Cultivation pain level: Extreme. Mental strength requirement: Very High]

Asha took the scroll into her core sea. Immediately, her dantian erupted with frost qi.

Her bloodline rejoiced.

Her cultivation base surged—Mortal Stage Peak → Foundation Stage → Foundation Stage Level 5.

❖ [Breakthrough Achieved – Qi Amplification Enhanced by 4x]

❖ [Body Constitution Strengthened – Ice Resistance MAXED]

Above, the Ice Phoenix let out a cry that echoed through the skies of the Chaos Sect.

Elsewhere – Zero Watches Silently

From a hidden mountain peak within the Core Realm, Zero stood beside Elder Su Yin, gazing down at Asha's awakening.

"She's beginning to integrate with the Hall's law," Su Yin murmured.

Zero didn't speak. His eyes, however, never left Asha.

She doesn't know who I am yet… but she remembers something. I saw it in her eyes.

"Should we reveal your identity to her, Sect Master?" Su Yin asked.

Zero shook his head. "Not yet. She needs to grow on her own path."

"Do you care for her?"

Zero was silent for a long time.

"…I owe her," he finally said.

Tour of the Inner Core – The Vaults and Peaks

Later that day, Asha was given access to parts of the Inner Core as a formally recognized disciple. She followed a guide—an Elder named Mei Yao, one of the sect's senior women with frost elemental affinity.

They visited:

The Vault of Frozen Arts: Housing ancient ice techniques, dao fragments, and memory crystals of past Sect Matriarchs. The Blue Lotus Pool: A divine-grade spiritual pool infused with regenerating cold qi, used for refining soul arts. Glacier Forge Hall: Where weapons were crafted from ice cores harvested from extinct primordial beasts. The Frozen Mirror Path: A meditation trail where walking 10 steps without breaking concentration can unlock a new divine perception. So far, no one had reached the 10th step in 800,000 years.

Asha was silent during the entire tour, absorbing everything.

She could feel the legacy calling to her. As if this place had been made for her return.

Arya Kapoor – In the Core Arrays Section

Meanwhile, Arya Kapoor was taken to the Vault of Chaotic Arrays—a spiral tower that floated in time-locked formation. Inside, she was shown ancient texts that even her Kapoor family hadn't known existed.

Elder Qin Dae stood beside her.

"These were made by the Sect's Array Patriarch. Only three people in history have unlocked all nine floors."

Arya's mind was already scanning the glyphs.

"I'll be the fourth," she whispered.

Elder Qin smiled faintly. She reminds me of someone from long ago…

Demonic Transmission Confirmed – Emergency Council

At the highest level of the sect, Zero met with all five Supreme Elders.

A new report arrived via a Chaos Raven: encrypted black scroll marked with the Sect's Void Seal.

❖ [Message Received – Decoding…]

❖ [Demonic Forces Detected in the Abyssal Veins]

❖ [An unknown entity is forming contracts with broken sect remnants]

❖ [A Cult known as "Ashen Crown" is reawakening across hidden domains]

Elder Yulin growled. "Ashen Crown… they served the Abyss Lords during the war that ended the Primordial Era."

Elder Lin nodded gravely. "If they've returned, we'll need to activate the Heaven Piercing Network."

Zero spoke quietly. "No… not yet. First, we watch. Then we strike."

"But what if they target our new disciples?"

"They already have," Zero said. His hand clenched. "But this time, we're ready."

Asha's Final Scene – A Silent Promise

That night, Asha stood beneath the frozen moon of the Core Realm.

She looked up at the palace peaks, where the masked Sect Master likely dwelled.

"I don't know who you are yet," she whispered. "But I will find you. Because everything I've become… is because of you."

A breeze swept her hair. A snowflake landed in her palm—shaped like a Chaos sigil.

Far away, Zero stood watching. Silent. Unseen.