CHAPTER 485: FROZEN SPIRE CONDUIT TOWER

"Here, master. Take this. It’s a useful sticker seal. Just slap it anywhere in your body, and the characteristics of the illustrated image within will enhance you." Shang Shuiyin handed a pack of [Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seal] to her master whose eyes remained transfixed to Yu Qingyan, who had just taken her first step into the boundary of the contained valley.

"Huh?" Elder Frost frowned as he glanced down at the peculiar packaging in his disciple’s hand. It was brightly colored, depicting a cartoonish illustration of a rampaging white bear. It looked like a child’s plaything, something a street peddler would sell for a few copper coins, not a cultivation resource.

"Shuiyin, this is no time for games," He scolded. "Emissary Yu may have cleared the skies, but the ground swarms with these... monstrosities. We need to conserve our spiritual energy for the formation, not play with... stick papers."

"It’s not a game, Master! Please, just trust me! Or trust the Emissary!" Shang Shuiyin pleaded, her usual timidity replaced by the desperate urgency of a convert. "You saw the fire! You saw the sonic wave! The Divine Convenience Store doesn’t sell toys!"

Before Elder Frost could slap the offending object away, a screech cut through the air. An ice-bone gargoyle, one that had evaded Yu Qingyan’s initial assault, dove from the mist, its ice-bone claws aimed directly at the distracted elder’s back.

"Master!"

Elder Frost sensed the killing intent. He spun, raising his ice-sword to block, but he was a fraction too slow. He gritted his teeth, knowing that he’d at least sustain an injury.

But then...

Slap!

In that split second of vulnerability, Shang Shuiyin moved. She didn’t block the attack. She took one of the stickers from the packaging and slapped it onto her master’s shoulder.

WHOOSH!

A bestial roar erupted from Elder Frost’s body. Then, a phantom image of a colossal, white spirit bear materialized around him, overlapping with his own form. His spiritual energy surged, taking on a wild, heavy, and unstoppable quality.

His muscles bulged beneath his robes, and his bones cracked with power as it became filled with a primal, overflowing vigor.

The incoming gargoyle didn’t stand a chance.

Elder Frost hacked it with his sword, along with a roar. A sound that echoed the phantom bear’s own cry. He executed a technique of the Arctic Sea Palace, but beneath its icy-cold grace, it also took on the raw, crushing power of an avalanche.

CRACK-BOOM!

The ice-sword, reinforced by the bear’s phantom aura, smashed through the gargoyle’s bone armor, through its frozen flesh, and shattered its core. The creature exploded into shards of ice and dust, instantly obliterated.

Elder Frost stood panting, staring at his own hands. The phantom bear faded, but the residual strength coursed through him, intoxicating and terrifying.

"This... this power..." He murmured, his voice trembling. "A physical enhancement of at least fifty percent? And a spiritual resilience boost? From... a piece of sticky paper?"

He looked at Shang Shuiyin, then at the colorful packet in her hand. The disdain in his eyes had evaporated, replaced by a profound, hunger-like curiosity.

"Give me more," He commanded with a hoarse voice. "And distribute them to the disciples. Now!"

Shang Shuiyin beamed, her faith vindicated. "Yes, Master!"

With the Elder’s endorsement, the hesitation of the other disciples vanished. They tore open the packets Shang Shuiyin had distributed.

Stickers of tigers, tortoises, falcons, and bears were slapped onto chests, arms, and foreheads.

The defensive line of the Arctic Sea Palace transformed into an offensive one. Add the recovery from the [Energy Replenishing Candies] and more enhancements from the [Basic Card Talismans], the place became

a menagerie of glowing, phantom avatars.

Disciples who were just preparing to defend against the swarm of foreign monstrosities suddenly roared with renewed vigor.

Ice walls were reinforced by tortoise avatars. Sword strikes were hastened by falcon speed. The tedious, desperate defense turned into an aggressive counter-charge.

"Push forward!" Elder Frost bellowed, leading the charge with his bear-enhanced strength. "Support Emissary Yu! Do not let the Verdant Sky Pavilion look down on the Arctic Sea Palace!"

Ahead of them, Yu Qingyan heard the roar of the disciples and allowed a small smile to grace her lips. She didn’t need to look back. The sound of renewed battle was proof enough.

"It seems they have accepted the convenience," She noted, her flute spinning in her hand as she deflected a gargoyle’s strike. Beside her, the [Sapphire Melody] continued her song, a shimmering aria that kept the path clear.

Compared to the creatures she fought when the Jade Hollow Conduit Tower appeared, the ice-bone gargoyles were truly stronger. At least they’re as strong as a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. Not only that, the foreign energy they were emitting could disrupt the flow of spiritual energy. It was also competing with it.

Still, it was manageable for her. In fact, the Arctic Sea Palace was just too cautious. They could also clear these creatures on their own, just that, they were wary of the foreign energy.

Clearing her thoughts, Yu Qingyan focused on the objective.

The Frozen Spire Conduit Tower loomed in the center of the valley, a twisted spire of black ice with an otherworldly architecture. It was far shorter than the one in the Jade Hollow Plains but the energy radiating from it was more volatile.

The red light of the imminent Tower Break countdown seemed to seep from its walls.

"We’re close," She whispered as she reached into her spatial ring and pulled out the Distributor Token Lin Mo had entrusted to her.

It pulsed in her hand, resonating with the foreign energy of the tower, eager to establish its dominion.

Seeing as the prompt hadn’t been triggered yet, she knew she had to get closer.

"Cover me!" She shouted to the advancing Arctic Sea disciples.

Elder Frost and Elder Xue, now fighting side-by-side with a synergy they hadn’t possessed in years, nodded. "We will hold them! Go, Emissary!"

They sounded a little bitter but what else could they do? If they didn’t follow her and she succeeded, she would’ve taken all the credit. Even if she failed, the fault would lie in their palace.

Furthermore, given that they already stopped maintaining the sealing formation, the gargoyles could fly out of the valley and terrorize the nearby city. They have to prevent that.

Setting as an example, they unleashed a combined blizzard of ice shards and wind blades, shredding the swarm of gargoyles that tried to intercept Yu Qingyan. Meanwhile, their elite disciples spread around hunting the scattered flying creatures like picking off birds in the sky.

With her path opened up, Yu Qingyan dashed to the base of the tower.

The ground here was corrupted, covered in slick, black frost that tried to sap her warmth. But her Golden Core burned like a sun, repelling the chill.

She found a relatively flat surface near the tower’s sealed entrance and jumped towards it. And just as she predicted, the Distributor Token glowed and the notification prompt appeared in front of her.

[Distributor Yu Qingyan has entered the Conduit Tower’s effective range]

[The Divine Jade Token has activated the Divine System Interface’s Tower Integration Protocol. As an Official Distributor, you are authorized to deploy a Store Beacon within the Conduit Tower.]

A graceful smile appeared on her lips as she shouted to those behind her, "I’ll have to approach the sealed door. I’ll leave them to you, Elders."

"I understand! We will hold the line!" Elder Frost roared back, his voice booming with the borrowed power of the spirit bear.

He swung his ice-sword, creating a glacier wall that smashed three diving gargoyles into powder. Beside him, Elder Xue, empowered by a [Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seal] depicting a swift falcon, moved like a blur as his sword strikes left trails of frozen air that bisected the enemies.

The disciples, seeing their elders fight with such ferocity, rallied. The fear that had gripped them moments ago was replaced by the thrill of power. The [Basic Card Talismans] that empowered their basic stats lifted their strength a notch higher.

Yu Qingyan didn’t look back. She trusted them. Or rather, she trusted the products she had given them.

She reached the glowing door of the Frozen Spire. The cold here was absolute, a temperature so low it threatened to freeze the spiritual energy in her meridians despite her Golden Core. The black frost on the ground seemed to writhe, trying to crawl up her boots. But she ignored all of it and pressed on.

[Store Beacon Deployed]

[Conduit Tower - Frozen Spire is now linked to the Divine System Interface]

The moment she touched the door, the Distributor Token in her hand pulsed rapidly.

[Conduit Tower - Frozen Spire]

[Status: Active - 5 hours 59 minutes before Tower Challengers can be admitted inside]

[Current Threat Level: Low - Next Tower Break in 14 hours 11 minutes unless a floor has been cleared]

[Number of Floors: 5]

[Accessibility: Nascent Soul Stage and below]

The red, pulsing light that seeped from the tower’s walls flickered and died, replaced by a steady, inviting blue glow.

Above, the swarm of ice-bone gargoyles screeched in confusion. The maddening signal that had driven them into a frenzy, the call of the agitated Cryo-Phoenix, was suddenly cut off. Without the constant influx of chaotic energy to sustain their aggression, they faltered.

"Now! Push them back!" Elder Frost seized the opportunity. "They are weakening!"