"They were prepared," Lin Mu said darkly. "Someone among the Ephemera Sect sacrificed themselves or planted a hidden agent."

Elyon's expression was unreadable, but his aura rippled with anger. "If the nest falls, the Ice Drake line could be crippled."

Lin Mu felt torn. Every instinct screamed at him to rush south and save the Elder, but if the main nest was attacked, the future of the Ice Drakes would be lost. The weight of two impossible choices pressed on him like a mountain.

The Elder's strained voice came again, weaker this time. "Go to the nest. The young must be protected. We can endure this for now. Save them."

Cattaleya immediately spoke through the talisman. "Lin Mu, go. We'll head to the Elder. Monk Hushu can try to suppress the poison. If it's a spiritual toxin, his purifying techniques might help."

Daoist Chu added, "We'll assist him. I have hundreds of healing and detoxifying pills. It can at least delay the poison. You handle the intruder before they destroy everything."

Lin Mu hesitated for only a moment more, then nodded firmly, his decision made. "Understood. Keep him alive. If anything happens, send word immediately."

He reached into his robes and pulled out a shimmering talisman etched with runes of silver light, the emergency return talisman they had crafted before the operation began. Activating it required only a touch of his spiritual energy.

"Elyon, with me," Lin Mu said.

But Elyon shook his head. "No. I'll stay. Someone needs to coordinate the others and monitor the formation network. Plus we don't know if there's more enemies hidden. We cannot be sure."

Lin Mu gave him a brief nod of trust. "Then observe and hold the line." KACHA

He crushed the talisman between his fingers.

HUALA

A brilliant pillar of light erupted around him, enveloping his body. The world blurred into streaks of blue and white as the teleportation array activated, pulling him through the fabric of space itself.

The last thing Lin Mu heard before vanishing was the distant roar of the Elder Ice Drake, echoing through the mountains, a sound filled with pain, fury, and a desperate plea.

The battle might have ended, but the true danger had only just begun.

The moment Lin Mu emerged from the teleportation light, he was already moving. The biting cold of the main nest struck him, but his body, still thrumming with immortal essence and strong vitality, did not flinch.

The great cavern stretched before him, its walls made of layered blue ice that shimmered with the glow of ancient runes.

SHUA

Countless smaller tunnels branched off into different chambers, but Lin Mu's immortal sense swept across all of them instantly, searching for even the faintest disturbance.

"There!" He found it almost at once.

A sinister energy pulsed from deep within the nest, just outside the hatchery chamber where dozens of crystalline eggs were kept.

Each one contained the unborn form of a young Ice Drake. Their shells gleamed with faint frost, radiant with life essence. And standing before the sealed entrance of that sacred place was a lone figure dressed in black.

His presence radiated calm cruelty, the air around him twisting faintly with distorted ripples of space.

Lin Mu's expression hardened. His senses sharpened as he realized the depth of the Ephemera Sect's depravity. Their goal had not simply been to weaken or destroy the Ice Drakes.

They wanted their future.

"They were after the eggs..." Lin Mu muttered coldly. "So that's what this was all about."

It made sense now.

If the Ephemera Sect could harvest the eggs of the Ice Drakes, they could raise and enslave them from birth, molding them into obedient tools. The Ice Drakes would become nothing more than livestock, drained for their essence and bloodline. The thought alone ignited a fire within Lin Mu's chest.

His fury erupted like a volcano.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

With a low growl, Lin Mu released his power.

The Longgui Bulwark armor manifested around his body, plates of black rock streaked with molten veins locking into place with thunderous force. His aura expanded outward, causing the ice around him to crack and melt under the heat.

At the same time, crimson magma tentacles surged from his back as he entered the Magma Asura form.

HISS HISS HISSS

The temperature in the cavern spiked violently. The floor hissed as steam

exploded upward.

Thick plumes of vapor swirled around him as the once-freezing chamber transformed into a blazing inferno. Even the runes embedded in the icy walls flickered uncertainly, as if they were struggling to resist the sudden invasive

heat.

The black-robed man, sensing the change, turned his head slowly.

His face was mostly covered, only the faint outline of his eyes visible beneath the dark fabric. Lin Mu's appearance caught him off guard. The man's aura trembled, and a flicker of surprise passed through him.

But Lin Mu did not give him time to recover.

WHOOSH

In an instant, Lin Mu burst forward.

CRACK

The ground beneath his feet shattered, sending chunks of melting ice flying in every direction. His Immortal essence surged through his veins as he activated one of his core body cultivation techniques: the Tyrant Bull Marrow Secrets. "The first skill," Lin Mu growled, his voice echoing like thunder through the cavern. "Tyrant Lift!"

His arms bulged, muscles expanding to inhuman proportions.

The armor around them grew thicker, and his immortal essence fused with his

searing energy, forming blazing horns of molten stone around his forearms. But these were no longer the ordinary horns of the tyrant bull... they glowed with

intense magma light, pulsing like the heart of a volcano.

The very air warped around them from the sheer heat.

The Ephemera Sect cultivator tried to raise a barrier, but Lin Mu was already

upon him. His horned arms clashed together with the force of a collapsing mountain, aiming to crush the enemy between them.

SHUA

But just before impact, the man vanished.

Lin Mu's eyes narrowed. The rippling afterimage left behind was unmistakable.

"Spatial Qi?" Lin Mu muttered.