The Snow Lady flew over to his side just then. She looked at the ruined gray color all over the mountain and said worriedly, “This snowy mountain has already been corroded by the Bramble Bone Dragon’s death energy. I don’t have any way of getting rid of such strong death energy. Do you have a way?”
She'd seen that the attacks Zu An used carried a white light that seemed to be good at countering the Bramble Bone Dragon, which was why she looked on expectantly.
Zu An nodded and said, “Let me give it a try.”
He landed on the mountain, then used his skills to transfer the primordial ki of the world. His cultivation was now much stronger, so vast amounts of primordial ki quickly covered the entire snowy mountain. The ash-gray death energy was like a mouse fleeing from a cat as it quickly retreated. After an hour, he fully cleaned out the death energy, and the snowy mountain recovered its sparkling jade-like luster.
The Snow Lady was really happy to see that, exclaiming, “Thank you so much!”
“It’s not a big deal,” Zu An said.
Suddenly, he thought of something. He took out the Soul Capturing Jade and saw the surface shine slightly and even tremble a bit, as if there was something summoning it. He unfolded his hand, and the Soul Capturing Jade flew into the sky on its own, eventually suspending itself above the mountain peak. Then, it erupted with sparkling radiance that surrounded the entire snowy mountain.
In response, the mountain seemed to have been summoned as well. It gradually began to tremble and shine. In the end, a few profound runes appeared on its surface.
Zu An’s skill in formations and runes had already reached a completely different level of proficiency, but he still couldn't understand the meaning of the runes. They seemed a bit similar to some of the runes in the great tomb he had visited with Jing Teng. It seemed they had been used to seal and restrict this place. He really wondered just who could have been so incredible, that they could use so few runes to achieve such a powerful suppressive effect.
The Soul Capturing Jade spun in place for a while. Then, it descended with extraordinary speed, entering straight through the snow covering the mountaintop. Zu An released his divine sense and was shocked to discover that it hadn’t stopped in the snow, rather entering straight into the mountain. His divine sense couldn't reach inside.
The Soul Capturing Jade and the mountain became one, and the entire peak blossomed with golden light. Then, an invisible wave spread out in all directions, extending far into the distance. Even though there wasn’t any concrete proof, Zu An could vaguely sense that this region seemed to have become a bit more stable.
When he saw that, he finally understood a bit of what was going on. Sometimes, no matter how hard one looked for something, one wouldn’t be able to find it; and yet, after one stopped trying, it would come effortlessly. He had been wondering how to use the three sealing objects, but now, it seemed they were to be used for none other than the three peaks. He hadn’t expected that helping the Snow Lady would so perfectly line up with his own goals.
The Snow Lady arrived at his side and said with a sigh, “I never expected that the snowy mountain would have such secrets, and yet I had no idea at all.”
When he saw the sunlight shine on her, covering her in a faint golden glow, Zu An felt that she looked even more beautiful. He quickly focused and asked, “Where are the other two snowy mountains? We should hurry over, or else things will get really bad if those monsters refine them.”
The Snow Lady turned around and gave him a look, asking, “Is there something on my face?”
“No.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“Uh… I just get a familiar feeling from you somehow.”
“You humans always use these flowery words to fool women. Frankly, you should try harder.”
“...”
Zu An really hadn’t expected things to turn on him so quickly.
…
Under the Snow Lady’s guidance, they quickly arrived at the second peak's location. Sure enough, it was the same spot Zu An had previously suspected. Before he even approached, he heard waves of rumbling coming from the distance, and felt the mountain shaking.
All of that was coming from a rock giant smashing the majestic mountain with its fists. The giant was dozens of meters tall, but compared to the snowy mountain, it still looked small in comparison. Even so, whenever its fist smashed against the mountain, the entire peak rocked back and forth and the snow covering its surface fell away to create huge avalanches. However, even though they would be lethal natural disasters for ordinary cultivators, they didn’t do a thing to the giant. Whenever the snow crashed down on its body, a yellow barrier appeared and deflected it off to the side.
Zu An noticed that a crack had already appeared on the mountain. Endless piles of snow and rocks were starting to fall. Even though the crack wasn’t that large compared to the entire mountain, if that rock giant continued to batter it with attacks, it could still potentially collapse.
As expected, this wasn’t an ordinary mountain! Otherwise, with the rock giant’s power, it would have long since been flattened.
“Stop!”
The Snow Lady and the Great Snowy Mountain had a deep connection. She could sense the mountain's pain and could no longer hold herself back. Countless sharp swords formed from ice and snow attacked the rock giant.
Sharp noises filled the air. When the icicles approached the rock giant, the yellow radiance around its body shone brightly, revealing its armor made of stone sheets.
The giant suddenly turned around. When it saw the Snow Lady, it laughed in a low and muffled voice, saying, “I was wondering who it was. So it was you! Last time, you ran away on your own, but who would have expected that you would deliver yourself into my hands of your own free will?”Zu An had a strange expression.
The rock giant raised its hand. Its thick and strong fist fired out like a missile, traveling extremely quickly. The injured Snow Lady couldn't dodge in time at all, and could only raise her hands in front of her.
Wind and snow flew everywhere, and the Snow Lady was blown back. The giant fist continued to go after her, as if it would stop only after she was smashed into pieces.
When he saw that, Zu An quickly flew over to support the Snow Lady. The fist returned to the rock giant’s arm. as it exclaimed, “Hm? I was wondering why you had the gall to return. So you called over your lover!”
The Snow Lady was a bit embarrassed to hear that. She quickly pushed Zu An away. At the same time, she found it a bit strange. She had never liked anyone being close to her, but why was it that she didn’t feel that much disgust even though this person had already carried her several times?
Zu An felt the leftover chill on his hand. He looked at the rock giant with a displeased expression.
He waved his hand, sending a streak of sword ki at it. The rock giant’s yellow armor lit up again, blocking the enormous blast of ki.
“Nothing more than a tickle!” the rock giant exclaimed, roaring with laughter. Then, its fists smashed into the ground. Dozens of massive rock spikes erupted from the ground beneath Zu An and the Snow Lady!
Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and took the Snow Lady away from the area.
“Be careful, it seems to be able to absorb and redirect your attacks,” the Snow Lady said.
Zu An nodded. He also sensed a familiar aura coming from those spikes. The rock giant’s aura seemed to be able to absorb and neutralize his attacks, and use that to increase the power of its retaliation. However, it wasn't the same as the ability used by the Bramble Bone Dragon. The Bramble Bone Dragon had been capable of threefold reflection, while the rock giant absorbed a portion of the attack before transforming it into a counterattack.
At the moment, the giant's ability didn’t seem as tricky as the Bramble Bone Dragon’s. After all, it would still receive a portion of the damage itself. But comparatively, it didn’t need to pay as big of a price as the Bramble Bone Dragon either. Its ability could probably be maintained longer.
“It tickled? Then what about now?” Zu An harrumphed. Golden ripples appeared in the sky, and countless glowing golden weapons appeared from within before flying at the rock giant. He didn’t need to hold himself back the way he had against the Bramble Bone Dragon. He could now attack with everything he had.
The rock giant’s body was fairly heavy and clumsy, so it couldn't evade the countless weapons. The armor around it surged with light to stop the attack. Unfortunately, it had still underestimated Zu An's power. At first, its armor blocked all the attacks, but as the endless weapons continued to crash down, the armor began to crack. In the end, it couldn't hold on anymore and completely shattered.
The giant roared madly and brandished its fists at those weapons, but how many volleys of the rain of swords could it block? Its body completely crumbled to pieces, scattering shattered rock across the ground.
“This attack…” the Snow Lady murmured, her eyes wide with fascination.