Gu Jianlin shuddered in shock. If the old monster were to descend here, it would be beyond terrifying.

With the terrifying power of the Candle Dragon Venerable, he wouldn't even need to deliberately target these ants. Just the aftermath of his supreme divine might would be enough to annihilate all living creatures within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, leaving no chance of survival.

"I've been hiding here for many years. Only Old Gu followed the marks I left to find me. Old Gu said that one of our Night Watchers' veteran officials was being framed and needed critical evidence. That Order of the Hidden is also eying us covetously. I have to stay hidden here a bit longer until it's safe outside, and then he'll take me away."

Lin Lan sighed. "I never thought I'd be waiting for you instead. Old Gu is already gone."

Gu Jianlin's heart stirred slightly. "The veteran official you mentioned, is it Mu Feng?"

Lin Lan's eyes widened again. "You know about that? Is Uncle Mu still alive?"

"He's alive."

Gu Jianlin briefly recounted what happened at Black Cloud City.

Of course, he left out the part where he blasted his superior to death.

"So that's it. The people from the Judgement Court are just full of bullshit!"

Lin Lan said angrily, "Back then, we received a mission from Lin Dong. We entered the Qilin Immortal Palace through a dimensional rift to gather some strategies. Unexpectedly, we ran into a few stranded individuals, including two Independent Awakened. Considering the mission, we brought them back to the camp for questioning, but that very night, all of them committed suicide!"

"These people died in a strange ritual, and none of us knew what was happening."

He gritted his teeth as he continued, "Our Night Watcher candidates suddenly turned traitor. It was like they became entirely different people, indiscriminately attacking teammates, causing heavy casualties among us."

Gu Jianlin thought to himself that this scene felt eerily familiar.

Those traitorous Night Watchers were probably members of the Order of the Hidden.

"Uncle Mu's mind also faltered. To cover our retreat, he stayed behind, but during that exact moment, we were attacked by an Ancient God Seed. In the end, I was the only one who escaped alive."

As Lin Lan spoke, his expression grew noticeably gloomier.

Gu Jianlin asked urgently, "So, Uncle Mu did kill people, but they were members of the Order of the Hidden?"

Lin Lan nodded emphatically.

Gu Jianlin took a deep breath. "Was there any evidence left behind at that time?"

Lin Lan pointed at his own head.

His very existence was the evidence.

"Got it. I'll take you out."

Gu Jianlin said firmly, "Uncle Mu is still in prison awaiting trial. It's about to begin. You're a crucial witness. No matter what happens, I'll get you out."

Lin Lan was stunned by what he heard.

Even the Charming Ladies were astonished, having no idea where this young man's confidence came from.

"I appreciate the intention, but I already said, this place is covered by an Alchemy domain. If you can't break the domain here, no matter how far you try to walk, you'll never leave this Ice Field."

Lin Lan sighed. "The most critical issue is that this place is also home to an Ancient Ancestor! I just heard its roaring. I don't know which unlucky fool provoked it, but the temperature here has dropped from minus twenty degrees to below minus fifty. Even we can't step outside now!"

"Is that so? Truly unlucky."

Gu Jianlin remained expressionless, but he inwardly considered giving Lin Lan a punch.

"Any Alchemy matrix becomes invalid once destroyed, right?"

He looked toward the outside of the wooden house. "So, destroy the core, and that's it."

Lin Lan fell into silence again.

"First of all, we're not even talking about the possibility of the arrival of the Candle Dragon Venerable, who is overwhelmingly powerful and violent. If someone of that level descends, ants like us will surely perish. Meanwhile, the Ancient Ancestor lurking here hasn't even fully revealed itself yet. I don't even know its name, and its subordinate Ancestor is still hovering near the Sea of Eternal Life."

Lin Lan explained, "On top of this, this place undoubtedly hosts the Ancient Ancestor's Divine Servants. We don't know their exact ranks, but they're definitely not small-time players. Our combat capabilities are woefully inadequate. I only just recently ascended to Sixth Rank, but my body is still eroded by the Penglai Ascension Array, making my endurance a persistent issue."

"To cross the Ice Field, you need transportation. We only have three Samoyeds."

Ah Lan said softly, "Without transportation, none of us can hold out."

Ah Yue also spoke apologetically, "Surviving here itself is already a struggle. The environment keeps worsening, and the food supplies keep dwindling. No one even expects to survive this winter."

Gu Jianlin analyzed, "So, we're looking at severely lacking combat capability and resources."

"Exactly. It's not that people haven't tried breaking in here. Most of them had ulterior motives, and I killed them. Recently, I even captured a Divine but failed to train him up to become a Fourth-Order Cloud Monarch. I wanted to use Corpse Ghost Skill to drive the corpse as a replacement for dog sledding. I prepared quite a bit of advancement material, but I couldn't complete the ritual."

Lin Lan spat angrily, "That useless fool had no fighting spirit at all. He couldn't even elevate his spirit by fighting me, and he ended up dead anyway."

At this moment, he noticed the young man's gaze becoming strange.

"Do you need Corpse Ghost Skill?"

Gu Jianlin frowned. "Funny enough, I happen to be a Third-tier Fate Master."

The Charming Ladies were stunned.

Lin Lan was also taken aback. "You're a Third-tier Fate Master?"

Gu Jianlin nodded. "Moreover, I've already completed the ritual. The last materials I need are the rhizomes of the Roaring Tree Root and strands of hair from the Charming Ladies."

At this moment, he felt fortunate to have exchanged his Merit for ample supplies before setting out, all stored in the Qilin's Wedge Fragment, ready to be accessed at any time.

If the supplies in the Qilin's Wedge Fragment were depleted, he had one more card to play.

He could directly utilize the Pharmacist and Scholar stationed outside the Ancient God Realm to transfer resources remotely.

"If you all…"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Lan had already turned around and walked off.

He pulled up a floorboard and revealed a cellar underneath.

From the cellar, Lin Lan pulled out bundles of ice-blue plant rhizomes bound with hemp rope, looking like an old farmer hauling giant leeks from the field, slamming bundle after bundle onto the table.

"Is this enough?"

With a loud crash, the wooden table wobbled.

Then he turned to his two wives, grabbed a Tachi, and swung it with a sharp chopping sound!

As Ah Lan and Ah Yue stared in despair, their lengthy waist-long hair was reduced to shoulder-length.

Lin Lan threw a hefty handful of hair onto the wooden table. "Is this enough!"

"This is enough."

Gu Jianlin looked at the two Charming Ladies. "My apologies."

Finally, the materials were complete.

The ritual was already prepared.

Next up was the advancement.

Fourth-Order Cloud Monarch!

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