I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield Chapter 634 - 481: Frostglow Boundary Stele, Seeking Allies (Part 2)

Silently sighing, Qin Tian cast his gaze across the wreckage pile's depths, where the Ice God Treasure Vault's entrance lay concealed beneath.

Rashly drawing near was not an option; he first scanned the surroundings, extending his sensory field multiple times. No signs of humans appeared. Right now, he alone held knowledge of this Ice God Treasure Vault.

Still, he kept his guard up. Should his aura slip even slightly, certain monster corpses ahead would surely stir and assault him.

A single slip could doom the treasure vault's opening and injure him in the process.

"Let’s give it a try first."

Decision made, Qin Tian gradually dropped his stealth mode, grasping the Frost Boundary Stele in his hand and softly channeling spiritual energy into it.

Once more, ice-blue radiance erupted from the stele, beaming from Qin Tian’s fingers to strike the ground.

Instantly, the earth rippled like liquid, with ancient runes surfacing from the iced soil, harmonizing with the stele's inscriptions as subtle spatial waves emanated outward.

This marked the initial phase of unlocking the treasure vault, where the ice stele's rune needed to sync with the vault's energy signature—like a multi-layer password check—demanding several minutes at minimum.

Yet right as the runes neared full illumination, the ground trembled fiercely.

"Crack—crack—"

Monster carcasses dormant for a millennium started rising sluggishly.

Some lacked half their forms, others had lolling heads, dark flames flickering in empty sockets while hurling sickly green energy orbs; more, clad in shattered scales, lunged straight at Qin Tian, their numbers swelling into thousands.

Even more monsters stirred to life.

"It’s indeed not possible!" Qin Tian shook his head faintly, swiftly halting the spiritual energy flow.

Unlocking the treasure vault demanded full focus; any break not only wasted efforts but risked energy rebound.

Left hand clutching the Frost Boundary Stele, he tucked it into his spirit space; right hand swung the Black Frost Blade, unleashing a violet lightning sword qi to fend off nearby monsters, as his Demon King’s Wings beat sharply behind, triggering spatial blink to reappear behind an ice boulder scores of kilometers distant.

The monsters lunged fruitlessly, throwing back their heads in frenzied howls, black mist thickening rapidly, hinting at further awakenings amid the debris.

Leaning on the ice rock, Qin Tian's eyes gleamed.

Activating the treasure vault took time and forbade interruptions, so assistance was essential.

Undoubtedly, only Zhuge Yu, along with recent allies Taishi Feng and Hou Yuansheng, earned his trust.

Luckily, prior to relic entry, he had imprinted marks on all three.

Qin Tian pinpointed the marks' locations; remarkably, Zhuge Yu and Taishi Feng traveled together, though both signals raced swiftly—chasing or fleeing, unclear.

Without dwelling, Qin Tian summoned the Gate of Space for instant teleportation.

......

Howling gales whipped snowflakes into razor-sharp ice shards, carving across the snowfield like drills seeking bone gaps to shatter flesh into frozen bits.

Amid the blinding blizzard limiting sight to under ten meters, two silhouettes dashed desperately onward.

Zhuge Yu's blue robes billowed wildly, hems ripped in multiple spots, disheveled black hair plastered to ashen face, yet his perpetually narrowed eyes betrayed no fear—only hints of composed scheming.

At his side strode the robust, fierce Taishi Feng, black iron armor frosted thinly, crimson blood oozing from armor joints, signaling serious wounds.

Nevertheless, the sturdy warrior held his posture rigid, one hand gripping the Heaven-piercing Halberd with its tip angled toward the earth. Each stride remained rock-steady, frequent backward glances piercing like drawn icicle blades, fixated on the pursuing blood-red form.

That crimson silhouette closed in relentlessly, bloodglow reeking foully, slashing a vivid red gash through the storm to expose a grotesque visage within.

Asaki Luoho grinned wickedly, scarlet eyes like serpent slits pinning Zhuge Yu, his rasping tone cutting through gale and flurry with malicious glee: "Zhuge Yu, you can’t escape."

Prior to stepping into the relic, his cousin Inzaghi Luoho had commanded him to slay the individual called Qin Tian, whereas the family elders directed him to wipe out Zhuge Yu of the Zhuge Clan.

Bitter political rivals, the Luoho Clan and Dongfang Clan clash fiercely, with the Zhuge Clan standing as the Dongfang Clan's staunchest supporters. For years, they've repeatedly sabotaged the Luoho Clan by leveraging Zhuge Jin's role as Senate chief.

This occasion stood out especially, as Zhuge Jin capitalized on Inzaghi's capture of Gao Shiniang and his hiding of the relic, inflicting heavy resource losses on the Luoho Clan and even stripping them of two relic entry slots relative to other Holy Blood Clans.

Such a grudge demanded savage retribution without fail.

A subtle crimson glow pulsed from the Blood Shadow Jade at Asaki’s chest; beyond warding off the Zhuge Clan’s famed celestial arts to blind Zhuge Yu to his intentions, it clamped onto Zhuge Yu’s aura like a magnet, dooming any flight attempt regardless of his maneuvers.

Upon breaching the relic, he wasted no time and pursued Zhuge Yu straightaway.

True, when he spotted his mark, Zhuge Yu traveled with an armored companion, yet anyone outside the Holy Blood Clan sporting cultivation shy of Tier Seven amounted to insignificant fry in his view.

Asaki snapped his wrist, unleashing blood-red sword qi that ripped across the heavens akin to a bloodthirsty scarlet serpent, howling shrilly, zeroed in on Zhuge Yu and Taishi Feng.

Zhuge Yu's gaze sharpened intensely, foreseeing the assault, his hands rapidly weaving a dharma seal. The frigid earth below heaved abruptly, erecting a three-meter-thick ice barrier from the soil to thwart the sword qi.