Chapter 824: Sword Energy Snow Lotus

As Max held it, a delicate chill surged into his palm, immediately biting through his flesh and crawling into his bones. It wasn’t painful, just powerful—pure sword energy mixed with natural cold, a phenomenon unique to this kind of spiritual flower.

But despite its beauty and potency, Max’s excitement dulled slightly when he realized it hadn’t yet reached the fabled thousand-year mark. A true Millennium Sword Energy Snow Lotus was a rare seventh-rank treasure that could cause sword comprehension to skyrocket, sometimes even pushing to the next level.

This one, while valuable, was likely still a few decades short of that legendary age. Even so, Max was far from disappointed. He knew that with his Dimension of Time and his understanding of sword concept, even this slightly younger lotus could help refine and possibly push his level 2 Severing Sword Concept from intermediate to the advanced stage.

That alone made the trip worth it.

Just as Max was about to store the lotus carefully, a sharp, primal sense of danger erupted through his body like lightning. His Three Dimensional Body instantly went on high alert, and his perception scanned the area in every direction.

That’s when he noticed it—the cold air, already dense and bone-chilling, suddenly surged like an incoming tide, no longer passive but violent, as if it were alive. Max’s expression darkened. He lightly stepped back, shifting his weight just in time.

Then—

"Swish, swish, swish."

The entire canyon erupted. A violent storm of icy wind roared upward, and the cold air condensed so rapidly that frozen mist turned into solid frost in an instant. Below his feet, the energy he’d been using to keep himself light and mobile solidified, froze, and cracked like thin glass, sending him momentarily plunging before he leapt back.

"Bang!"

From beneath the canyon, a louder, more vicious blast resounded. The frozen cold exploded outward like shrapnel, and in the next instant, dozens of sharp, gleaming, diamond-shaped ice cones burst from the ground below—each one a spear of death, seeking to pierce through Max like he was prey caught in a trap. They were fast and vicious, spiraling upward in a deadly wave.

Max’s pupils shrank. His figure blurred. In the same breath, he raised his Blue Dragon Sword and poured both black flames and the power of his Severing Sword Concept into it. The blade howled as black flames wreathed its edge, slicing down with crushing heat and aggression.

The contrast between fire and frost created a violent clash—ice cones hissed and cracked under the intense heat, steam exploding from the impact as they shattered midair into glistening shards.

The force of his strike pushed the cold back for a brief moment, breaking the ambush and giving him just enough space to breathe. His face, though composed, showed a flicker of fury.

"What is it? Hiding in the dark, trying to take what’s mine?" Max’s voice was low, dangerous, as his sharp gaze cut into the foggy canyon. "If you want this, then come take it from me."

"Roar!" A deafening cry split through the air as a silver-white blur erupted from the canyon floor like a lightning bolt of frost. It coiled in mid-air, its massive body nearly ten feet long and as thick as a bucket, glistening under the pale mountain light. Its scales shimmered like polished silver, flashing as it moved, reflecting both cold and fury.

The creature’s body rippled with barely-contained strength as it hovered in the air, its long serpentine form undulating with tension. A thin, forked silver tongue lashed out again and again, tasting the frigid wind, while its eyes—dark, predatory, and full of venomous rage—locked onto Max.

That thing was no ordinary beast. It radiated the pressure of a 3rd level Legend Rank, and its killing intent was as sharp as ice spikes.

"Ice snake?" Max muttered, his gaze narrowing as recognition dawned. His voice remained calm, but inwardly, he was already analyzing the situation. Ice snakes were rare, cold-type beasts that nested only in eternally frozen places, and this one had clearly made Azure Wolf Mountain its home.

But this wasn’t just any territorial guardian. With his insight, Max quickly pieced it together—the Sword Energy Snow Lotus he had picked must have been under the snake’s watch. It was likely acting as the guardian beast, waiting for the lotus to mature into a full thousand-year-old treasure, which it would then consume to trigger its own breakthrough into a higher realm.

But Max had harvested it early, cutting off that path. No wonder the snake was livid. Its eyes practically screamed vengeance.

Max narrowed his gaze, held up the lotus, and addressed the creature coldly. "Little snake, I wanted the lotus, and now it’s mine. I’ll say this once—leave, and I’ll let you go. Stay, and I won’t show mercy."

His tone was cold and firm, filled with calm confidence, but the Ice Snake was beyond reason. Its entire body quivered with killing intent.

With a chilling hiss, it opened its wide maw and unleashed a barrage of deadly ice cones, each one sharp enough to puncture steel and infused with terrifying freezing energy. The icy barrage flew toward Max like a rainstorm of spears.

"Heh," Max sneered. His body moved before the attack even landed. With a single fluid motion, he raised the Blue Dragon Sword, already glowing with the power of the level 2 Severing Sword Concept. Black flames erupted from the blade like a wild dragon, burning fiercely even amidst the overwhelming cold.

In the next instant, Max slashed down without hesitation. His sword tore through the oncoming ice barrage, evaporating it midair in a burst of fire and steam, before continuing forward in a single straight arc.

The black flame-cloaked sword cleaved through the air—and through the Ice Snake itself. Its scaled body split in two cleanly from head to tail, collapsing onto the icy canyon floor with a muffled thud as black flames devoured what remained of its life force.

Max’s expression remained cold, his sword still humming softly in his hand. "I warned you."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay