Chapter 3206: A Greater Ice Elemental (Bonus Chapter)

The Elemental moved, its massive arm of ice rising slowly, and with that motion, a wave of frost exploded outward.

Trees froze solid, and the ground cracked under layers of ice. The shockwave of cold slammed into them, forcing even Cattaleya to step back as her protective flames flickered weakly.

Lin Mu’s Qi flared instantly. His Burdenless Dominator Physique and Omnicore Ascendancy surged to life, circulating pure vitality and elemental energy through his body as he layered defense upon defense. The cold barely touched him.

He looked at his companions and shouted through the storm, "Prepare yourselves! This thing is not alive, but it will not stop until everything here is frozen!"

Little Shrubby growled, lightning sparking through his fur, his legs wreathed in streaks of blue and red light. "Let’s see how much it likes fire and thunder!"

The storm intensified, the howling wind carrying shards of ice sharper than blades. The Ice Elemental’s glowing eyes fixed upon Lin Mu and his group, and for the first time, they felt the true presence of an ancient and merciless force of nature.

The battle for Birchwind had begun.

Lin Mu gazed up at the Greater Ice Elemental, and his mind filled with a hundred thoughts on how to deal with it. From what he had read about Elementals, he knew it was not going to be a simple task.

Elementals were essentially natural spirits born from the elements themselves. They came in various grades, ranging from Minor to Grand Grade, though dealing with a Greater Elemental was exceptionally difficult.

Minor and Lesser Grade Elementals were rather weak and did not even have a physical form, mostly existing as pure energy. They did not harm people either, as they simply lacked that level of power.

For example, a Minor or Lesser Grade Ice Elemental could at most make people feel a bit cold, but nothing beyond that. The majority of people could not even sense them, and even cultivators were not an exception to this. One needed a natural ability to sense Elementals to even know they existed.

This affinity was usually called affinity to spirits and was something only a few races possessed. One such example was the Elves, who were said to have the best affinity toward Elementals. Of course, humans could also have such an affinity, but it was incredibly rare.

Those who possessed this affinity were known as Druids.

From the Great Grade onward, however, Elementals could be perceived by normal people as well, since they developed a physical form at that point. Because Elementals did not have true intelligence, they did not know right from wrong.

They only followed their natural instincts, acting in accordance with the nature of their element. Ice Elementals spread cold, Fire Elementals burned, Wood Elementals made plant life thrive, Earth Elementals nurtured the ground and created more minerals, while Metal Elementals enhanced ores or lived as sentient weapons.

There were countless types of Elementals, each representing their respective element. The only difference was that some elements were more common in developing them. The five mortal and four heavenly elements, for example, almost always had Elementals in every world.

However, most of these were limited to Minor and Lesser Grades. For a Great Grade Elemental to be born, there needed to be a great concentration of its element, along with a catalyst powerful enough to trigger its birth.

A Fire Elemental, for instance, could be born in a volcano during an eruption or in farmlands when a wildfire broke out.

Still, while Great Grade Elementals could pose a threat to both commoners and cultivators, they were not too difficult to deal with. Though immune to their own element, they could be fought with the opposing one. A Fire Elemental, for example, could be restrained or destroyed using water techniques, which naturally countered its essence.

A Greater Grade Elemental, however, was an entirely different kind of trouble. Not only did it require a massive amount of elemental energy to be born, but the catalyst for its formation also needed to be far more potent.

Most Greater Grade Elementals were born during the birth of powerful herbs or treasures of the same element.

For example, many Greater Grade Wood Elementals were born during the emergence or evolution of divine herbs. The most famous instance of this was the World Tree that most Elven races worshiped.

It was said that when even a single leaf of the World Tree grew, a Minor Grade Wood Elemental would be born. A Small twig gave birth to a Lesser Grade Elemental, a Branch a Great Grade elemental, a Flower a Greater Grade Elemental, and when an entire fruit was form, it was accompanied by the birth of a Grand Grade Elemental itself!

For a Greater Grade Ice Elemental to be born here meant that something immensely powerful had been used or corrupted to create it. And something that strong was certainly not something an average immortal could even handle.

Lin Mu could only be thankful that it was a Greater Grade Elemental and not a Grand Grade Elemental.

Those were beings that could threaten even Transcendent Immortals.

This was not merely because of their raw power, but because Grand Grade Elementals developed intelligence.

In addition to this, most Grand Grade Elementals also evolved into humanoid or bestial forms, often making them indistinguishable from humans or beasts.

At that level, even their elemental weaknesses no longer worked against them unless the opponent had an overwhelmingly strong cultivation base.

Thus, upon hearing the Saintess’s words, Lin Mu felt both anxious and relieved.

He had never seen an Elemental before, which made it hard for him to recognize one.

But now that he knew what it was, he could at least begin to form a strategy against it. Thankfully for them, they had plenty of strong allies, and several among them possessed the Fire Element, which could counter the Ice Elemental.

Both Lin Mu and Little Shrubby were well-versed in fire-based techniques and would be able to fight against it directly. Now all he needed was for the others to restrain the Elemental and ensure that it did not escape or cause the deaths of the loggers who were still staying in the nearby camps.