Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

This discovery immediately made Zhou Chun give up the idea of escape and instead he began to explore this completely new underground ice cave.

The underground ice cave passage was likely created by melting ice water, with frozen soil mixed with gravel and stone chunks beneath, and a hard layer of blue ice above. The height between the ceiling and the floor was not constant, but the difference was not too great.

The temperature inside was very low as well, but since no new vapour was entering, the place couldn't form more ice to block the passage.

Zhou Chun walked along the passage, and after about two hours, the path ahead suddenly came to an end.

At this point, he seemed to be on the edge of a cliff, facing a thickness of solid ice that was of unknown depth.

If the underground ice cave was indeed formed by the rush of melting ice water, then that water must have poured down below the cliff at this spot and then solidified into ice.

This conclusion left Zhou Chun somewhat disappointed, as he had hoped to discover a natural, permanent ice cave above the earth's surface.

"However, it should be easier to dig an escape route upward from here!"

Zhou Chun looked up at the solid ice ceiling and thought to himself with some comfort.

The solidified blocks of ice would ensure that a passage carved out wouldn't collapse easily, no matter how deep.

But as soon as Zhou Chun took out his magic artifact and began to dig, his expression quickly changed.

It was incredibly hard!

After he had dug upward for roughly ten meters, the ice suddenly became extremely hard, and even the Sun Glare Wheel had difficulty cutting through the solid ice at that point.

This finding made Zhou Chun's mood turn quite heavy.

He now had a very bad hunch.

If he was not mistaken, the thickness of the ice layer above him was possibly more than a thousand meters!

Generally speaking, only with such a depth of ice could the hardness reach the level he was experiencing.

And even across the entire expanse of the plains, places where the ice layer was a thousand meters thick were extremely rare.

"Could it be that I am now at the bottom of Sunken Sun Lake?"

Zhou Chun recalled the location of the entrance to the ice cave where he first started exploring and realized it wasn't too far from the famous Sunken Sun Lake on the plains.

And he had walked a considerable distance inside the ice cave, and after being buried by the collapse, he had traveled along this ice cave for more than two hours.

Considering the distance covered, it was indeed possible that he had entered Sunken Sun Lake.

Speaking of Sunken Sun Lake, there was also a legend.

The legend said that Sunken Sun Lake was once the largest non-freezing lake on the plains, with a depth reaching a thousand meters and many fish and shrimp living within. Its shores were lush with vegetation, making it the largest human habitat on the plains and known as the holy lake in the tales of the Human Clan.

Standing on the eastern mountains by Sunken Sun Lake, one could clearly see the sun sinking into the lake at dusk, hence gaining the name "Sunken Sun Lake".

But for reasons unknown, even the non-freezing Sunken Sun Lake eventually froze over, leaving only legends of the lake on the plains, the so-called holy lake of the legend was no longer visible.

At this moment, realizing that he might be at the bottom of Sunken Sun Lake, Zhou Chun couldn't help but worry.

Without a doubt, to get from the lake bottom to the surface, it would be necessary to carve a tunnel through the thick ice above, which would be a huge project requiring several months to complete.

And turning back to the previously collapsed area to dig upwards seemed like a good method, but the ice layer there was unstable due to the collapse, and digging was likely to cause another collapse.

"Wait, if this is the bottom of Sunken Sun Lake, then what is the situation ahead?"

Suddenly, Zhou Chun seemed to have thought of something and turned his gaze toward the ice wall blocking his way.

After a brief contemplation, he took out his magic artifact and attacked the ice.

As expected, the ice easily gave way to his magic artifact, just like cutting through the ice underground on the plains.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun immediately began to dig forward.

He dug where it was fragile, and when his mana was depleted, he would sit down and recover on the spot. Relying on his persistence, he managed to appear in another ice cave after three days and nights of relentless digging.

The ice cave on which Zhou Chun stood was similar to the previous one, formed as though carved out by water.

Zhou Chun followed this ice cave and walked straight ahead. After about half a day, suddenly, a narrow opening appeared in front of him.

He commanded his Magic Artifact to strike the ice near the entrance, easily shattering all the chunks of ice, revealing a stone cave over ten feet high and several feet wide.

This stone cave was precisely the Eternal Ice Cave that Zhou Chun had been searching for!

Looking at the ice cave before him, Zhou Chun did not rush in, but first projected his Divine Sense into it to explore its depths.

As he expected, the ice cave was incredibly deep and filled with thick frost, but he detected no signs of life.

So, he rested outside of the cave for half a day, adjusting his state to its peak, before finally stepping into the ice cave to explore.

He walked for an unknown amount of time when suddenly, his expression changed, and his eyes revealed a clear joy.

Then he levitated off the ground and glided forward silently and swiftly.

Before long, as he cast a beam of golden light with a flick of his hand, he captured a Snow Crystal Worm and brought it in front of him.

And the appearance of this Snow Crystal Worm was just the beginning of something wonderful.

In less than two hours, Zhou Chun caught three Snow Crystal Worms one after another inside the ice cave.

This unprecedented bounty excited him immensely.

He felt that the thing he had been tirelessly pursuing might indeed be encountered this time.

Not much time had passed when Zhou Chun spotted another Snow Crystal Worm. He quietly approached, ready to capture it in the same manner.

But just as he was about to act, a powerful aura burst forth mere feet from him. Before he could get a clear view of what it was, a torrent of white icy air struck him, instantly freezing his entire body.

At that moment, the intensely cold chill encased Zhou Chun, heading straight for his heart veins.

If his heart veins were frozen, even as a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhou Chun would unmistakably perish!

However, at this time, Zhou Chun himself had no means of resistance. His mana was no match for the icy air and could not fend off its onslaught.

A sense of unprecedented despair arose in his heart, and he believed his death was inevitable.

But just as he was resigning himself to his fate in despair, a sudden, powerful suction emerged from his Dantian. Then, the chilly air from all around his body, as if called by something, was sucked into his Dantian.

In the blink of an eye, the frost on Zhou Chun's body shattered with a loud crack, and he instantly regained his ability to move.

At this moment, he also saw the creature that had ambushed him: it was a salamander-like white Demon Beast, its aura indicating that it was a third-tier creature, possibly even a high-grade third-tier Demon Beast!

Facing such a powerful Demon Beast that resorted to such tactics to ambush him, Zhou Chun was truly speechless at its slyness.

Fortunately, the mysterious Jade Bead he had acquired from the Wasteland Territory suddenly exerted its power and saved his life.

Otherwise, today would have indeed been his last, becoming food for the Demon Beast.

But the danger had not yet passed.

After the salamander Demon Beast had frozen Zhou Chun, it opened its huge, fanged maw and bit down on him.

It had intended to swallow Zhou Chun, who was meant to be frozen by its chill, directly. However, it did not expect Zhou Chun to be unharmed by the icy breath it had exhaled.

So when the frost on Zhou Chun's body shattered, the Demon Beast was taken aback and even paused for a moment in its lunge.

This pause gave Zhou Chun the chance to escape.

His figure shifted, quickly moving a few feet to the side to dodge the gaping maw, then he prepared to slap his Storage Pouch to summon his Magic Artifact.

But at that moment, a strange roar suddenly sounded from within him.

Upon hearing this roar, both Zhou Chun and the salamander Demon Beast paused slightly, experiencing a momentary daze.

Then, just as the Fire Divine Jackal and the Golden Winged Tiger had reacted to the strange roar before, the salamander Demon Beast was scared stiff. Before Zhou Chun could comprehend what was happening, the beast transformed into a white phantom and disappeared into the cave, moving with inconceivable speed.