Shi Feiyang had subdued two Demon Monks and turned them into Divine Demons, he asked them, "Near here lies the Jade Capital Pool; where exactly is it?"

The two Demon Monks had already humbled themselves and immediately pointed out the direction.

Indeed, not far off, after leaving Qingluo Valley and crossing several snowy ridges to a main peak, there was an ice lake at the top thousand meters high. The water within was frozen thoroughly, and the surface was covered with thick snow. Around the mountain walls hung glaciers like suits of armor.

"Master, this is the Jade Capital Pool," they reported.

Shi Feiyang looked at the sky and the earth's veins, made some calculations, and ordered the two monks, "From here, dig seven thousand three hundred meters downward into the crust's core of ice and snow, where a millennia-old Snow Soul Pearl, formed from the essence of ice and snow, resides. I want you to bore through the solid ice and fetch it for me."

Since their subjugation, the two monks had been prepared to toil unremittingly. When they heard they were to dig through ice and not confront Orthodox Sect cultivators or high-ranking Buddhist monks in a duel—situations they feared most since those cultivators were usually resolute in spirit, either proficient in Demon-suppressing Great Techniques or in possession of Magical Treasures that could counter Demon Lords—they felt relieved. A single mishap could lead to their annihilation.

The two Demon Monks stood atop the ice lake, each exhibiting the manifestation of their Lifebound Demons.

These manifestations were the corporeal forms of the malice in their subconscious, cultivated through years of Demon Skills. The bodies of the two Demon Monks swelled to over nine meters tall, with blood-red eyes, blood-permeated skin, and disheveled hair—one red, one white. They each had pronounced fangs, one with four long tusks protruding from their lips, the other's teeth interlocking like saw blades. Their lower bodies were especially robust, partly due to their frequent hedonistic revelries with disciples, with thighs muscled and bulging, hook-like nails on their feet, and on their hands a pair of wheel-sized Demon Claws, sharper than steel.

Wrapped in Demon Light, the two Demon Lords were about to let out a roar to the heavens.

Shi Feiyang held the Nine Heavens Yuan Yang Ruler in hand and struck the heads of the two demons from a distance. They suffered heavy blows, with sparks of Demon Light bursting forth from their eyes and ears.

"Don't make a sound! Do you not know how many meddlesome monks and nuns are around here? Calling them here, I won't be able to protect you. Get to work at once!"

The two demons clutched their heads and ducked, not daring to make a sound. They each spread their Demon Claws and began to dig downwards. The claws penetrated the ice layer, lifting upwards, crackling and shattering large chunks of solid ice. The Varnagyin II even tore off an entire block of ice the size of a field. With their claws digging furiously downwards, Demon Claws and ice chips flew together, with red light dancing alongside the sunlight.

Although they were not mighty Divine Demons of supernatural strength, they were endowed with the power of the Flower Evil Divine Gang and proved nearly as strong. Moreover, they were more rational than those beings, working swiftly and efficiently. In the time it takes to eat a meal, they had dug nearly a hundred meters down, as bits of broken ice were continuously propelled out of the ice hole by the Demon Light and scattered down the mountain.

Unsatisfied with their speed, Shi Feiyang spurred them on several times using a Demon-suppressing method from the Red Lotus Secret Manual, and released the Falcon Crane from the Yu Ding to join them in the digging.

The Falcon Crane had two long legs, thin but ending in extremely sharp claws. Ostracized by its kind in the past, it often used its claws to dig up graves to feed on the corpses within, gradually mastering the art of breaking stone and splitting earth. Once commanded, it spit out three inner cores and used Yin Phosphorus Ghost Fire to refine the solid ice. The fire was so peculiar that, once burned, the ice would not melt in the slightest, but instead turned brittle. With its claws, it would then scoop and shatter large chunks with ease.

One demon bird and two demon monks worked tirelessly, digging deeper and deeper, and after a full day and night, they had dug over five hundred meters.

Shi Feiyang let the Falcon Crane rest and captured two Tibetan sheep, fed their blood to the two Demon Lords, and consumed the meat himself. After having their fill, they continued working.

After two days of continuous digging, a sword light suddenly approached from a distance. Though it wasn't from the Mysterious Sect, the speed was exceedingly fast, shooting like a comet and arriving nearby in the blink of an eye.

The light from the sword dissipated, revealing a Daoist nun about twenty years of age, tall and elegant, beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal. She was dressed in a long black gown, delicately embroidered with gold thread in a pattern that resembled many evil ghosts and monsters. On her head, she wore a hairpin with a full set of fangs on a black jade evil demon, dangling a string of dark red Demon Pearls resembling flames.

There was a thick aura of evilness around the woman's eyes and brows, which made people dare not look directly at her.

Upon seeing Shi Feiyang, the astonishment flickered in the woman's eyes. She sized him up and, with an icy tone, said, "May I inquire who you are, esteemed Daoist? Are you aware of the disaster goddess, Deng Bagu?"

When Shi Feiyang had calculated the cause and effect involved in acquiring the Snow Soul Pearl, Deng Bagu was the person with the greatest connection to it. In the original story, Deng Bagu made her entrance already having deviated in her cultivation, tormented by inner fiery cold for many years, becoming a gaunt, weather-beaten figure. Thus, he knew that Deng Bagu was coming, but upon her arrival, he mistook her for another female immortal from a minor sect until she spoke, revealing her identity. Before her deviation, Deng Bagu was incredibly beautiful.

He then said, "I am an Independent Immortal from overseas, my secular surname being Long."

Deng Bagu looked at him, thinking to herself that this youth, despite his young age, carried an upstanding divine aura, free from evil, much like that of a Mysterious Sect grandmaster. She had dominated the world since the Southern Song era, creating a formidable reputation for herself as the disaster goddess. After retreating and closing herself off for some years, she was surprised that the Orthodox Sect had such a character in their ranks.

She glanced at the ice cave beside her, "May I ask if you, Daoist Long, are here to take the Snow Soul Pearl from below?"

Shi Feiyang nodded, "Indeed, I am."

Deng Bagu said, "I learned of this Snow Soul Pearl's existence many years ago. After much planning and calculating, I determined its location. To pierce through the more than seven thousand zhang of solid ice rock, I especially spent several years of effort to refine an Earth-Penetrating Divine Needle. Now that I've returned to claim the treasure, it turns out you have beaten me to it."

Shi Feiyang smiled and said, "That would simply mean this object is fated for me, not for you."

With an icy expression on her face, Deng Bagu's tone grew even colder, "It's too early to say such things. Whoever ends up possessing it is the one who is fated to have it."

Shi Feiyang nodded, "That is so. I have calculated that it will inevitably end up in your hands."

Deng Bagu was taken aback and thought she had misheard, "You're saying it will end up in my hands? Do you intend to concede this treasure to me?"

Shi Feiyang said, "Though the bead is useful to me, it's not that important. I could take it or leave it. But since two short-sighted Barbarian Monks took it upon themselves to provoke me, wanting to gouge out my eyes, cut off my tongue, and refine me into a demon, I captured them to use as forced labor in obtaining the treasure. No, I cannot simply concede it to you because I have foreseen that you will become my disciple, and then I will confer the bead to you…"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Deng Bagu couldn't bear to listen any longer and rudely interrupted him, "What capabilities do you have? You're dreaming in broad daylight, dreaming that I would become your disciple?"

Shi Feiyang said, "If you do not become my disciple, you will face an imminent tribulation of deviating in your cultivation. If you wish to restore your body in the future, you will need my Yuan Yang Ruler and Spirit Pills; otherwise, you are destined to fall into tribulation."

Hearing his words, Deng Bagu felt a tremor of shock. She did have a recent premonition of an impending disaster, but when she tried to calculate it, she could not discern anything as it concerned her directly. Despite concentrated introspection, she found no signs, yet there was an ominous feeling deep in her subconscious.

Moreover, although she had a Cultivation Technique that could lead to becoming a Heavenly Immortal, her years of cultivation had not been smooth. In the past, she had made an enemy of Yan Yingmu's disciple, Jiang Xuejun, and was pursued and severely injured by Jiang Xuejun, along with Bai Mei Zen Master's senior disciple, Caiwei Monk. Her Magical Treasures were destroyed, and she nearly perished both in body and soul. Later, the Buddhist You Tan intervened to mediate and enlighten.

Chen Yufeng returned to the Buddhist sect, but because of her stubborn nature, she refused to concede and continued to pursue immortality with her own techniques. Although she succeeded in cultivating a Nascent Soul, she could never purify it. The Demon Skills she practiced in her early years now drew a Yin Demon that constantly tormented her like a bone-attached maggot.

Her mana continued to increase, but her Dao Level remained stagnant. If she forced her cultivation further, her spiritual energy threatened to become uncontrollable.

The Divine Nun You Tan once told her that she would face a great tribulation in the future but didn't specify what it would be. Calculating the time, it seemed it should fall within these years.

She stared at Shi Feiyang, utterly puzzled, wondering what his origins could be to see through the hidden dangers in her so clearly.

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