Chen Fan ignored the crowd’s murmurings and kept walking. It was only normal to be recognized by others. Being recognized was only natural; too many people had seen him back then. Even though he escaped quickly, martial artists could spot a mosquito’s wings from kilometers away, let alone a person. The surface of the ice river of death splashed as the crowd advanced. Gradually, the distance between people widened: those with strong bodies or high cultivation moved ahead quickly; the weaker ones struggled with each step, as if treading thin ice. Many who had entered with smiles now wore grim expressions. No one knew how far they had come. The river stretched endlessly. They had to conserve their strength and energy, or risk being trapped here with no way out. Fortunately, everyone who made it this far had already endured the blazing mountain’s trials. Everyone’s physique had improved by a large degree, at the level of Grade-6 or 7 treasures at the very least. They couldn’t help but be grateful to the flaming mountain range for tempering their physiques. Without that, even with strong cultivation, they wouldn’t have lasted more than a kilometer or two before turning into ice statues. “I wonder just how long this river is. It looks endless. How far are we even going to walk?” “Shut up! Save your strength. Otherwise, you really won’t make it out.” “I just hope there aren’t any other dangers in this ice river. If monsters like those in the flaming mountains show up, we’re screwed.” “That’s right. We have to use most of our power to resist the cold. If something ambushes us now, we might not make it out alive.” “Haaa, why couldn’t I have a physique like that freakish kid? If I could just resist the cold like he does, this wouldn’t be so stressful.” Silence returned to the ice river. The further they went, the more uneasy the crowd felt inside, like something terrifying was watching, ready to strike. Chen Fan had also slowed down by now, his gaze vigilant. His divine will was incomparably powerful, making his danger sense more acute. The tension was so intense that his hair nearly stood on end. Suddenly, he heard the sound of water rippling. He stopped abruptly and roared, “Stop!” The people behind were startled and stopped one after another. The sound of rushing water grew louder. Whoosh! Thɪs chapter is updated by N0velFire.ɴet “Listen! There’s movement!” Everyone’s nerves instantly tightened. They heard the faint, but unmistakable splashing. Suddenly, a miserable scream rang out from behind. Another scream rang out. “Inside the water, there’s... ah!” Panic spread like wildfire. “There’s something! There’s something in the water!” “What the hell is this?” Cries rang out chaotically. Suddenly, the water ahead of Chen Fan rippled violently, like something swimming toward him. Suddenly, the water before him exploded. A fish-shaped monster with razor-sharp teeth lunged at him, ferocious and fast. Chen Fan was shocked but remained composed. He sent a palm strike at the fish demon spirit, sending it flying out and crashing. It exploded with a bang, revealing its true form. This fish demon spirit was actually a treasure! “My god, what exactly are these things? They’re transformed treasures!” “It’s a treasure demon spirit. Treasures that’ve soaked in the ice river for millions of years and turned into monsters. They don’t know martial arts, but their attacks are deadly.” The crowd regained their composure and counterattacked, forcing the monsters to reveal their true forms, each one a transformed treasure. All across the river, water exploded upward. It was like the entire horde of treasure demon spirits had awakened; the surface churned wildly, as if some giant beast was stirring below. Chen Fan was attacked by a treasure demon spirit again. A swordfish shot out from the river, mouth wide open, spewing streaks of sword qi. He slashed sideways, shattering the oncoming sword qi into pieces. Simultaneously, he grabbed the swordfish, crushed it in his hand. The swordfish dissipated, revealing its real appearance. It vanished, revealing its original form: a Grade-7 sword treasure. No wonder it could unleash sword qi. Thankfully, the treasure demon spirits were not strong. After the initial panic, the crowd got itself together. Aside from the few unlucky ones who were killed before they could react to the situation, the others only sustained superficial injuries. “Continue!” shouted someone as they beat a treasure demon spirit back to its true form, grabbed it, and put it away before continuing forward. Though the treasures were low-grade and of little personal use, they still held value. Whether handed over to their sects or sold elsewhere, profit was profit. Chen Fan grabbed the sword treasure, and a strange look flashed across his eyes. There was treasure qi on these treasure demon spirits. Chen Fan discovered that after absorbing and refining the treasure qi, his Hegemonic Golden Body improved faster than before. This is good stuff! Whether my Hegemonic Golden Body can break through to level 45 depends on these treasure demon spirits. Chen Fan was overjoyed inside. The river could also help his Hegemonic Golden Body advance to level 45, but it was too slow. Absorbing the treasure qi made him progress much faster. Chen Fan was in a great mood, wishing for all of these treasure demon spirits to pounce at him. “All of you, come to me!” Chen Fan grabbed at the void, immediately capturing the treasure demon spirits nearby. These treasure demon spirits struggled frantically, emitting incomparably fierce auras to break free from his large hand. However, it was all futile. He exerted his strength ruthlessly, crushing the treasure demon spirits back to their original forms and absorbing the treasure qi contained within them, feeling extremely happy. When the others saw this scene, they were flabbergasted. At first, some thought he was helping them by intercepting the attacks. Was he trying to be a good person? “Has that guy gone crazy from poverty? He’s chasing even the low-grade ones.” “How should I put it? He’s probably really gone crazy from poverty! After all, he detonated even immortal artifacts to escape disaster. I’m afraid he has nothing on him right now. How can he not be flat broke? Although these treasures aren’t worth much, a mosquito’s flesh is still meat, after all.” “Damn, that’s true. All of you, come to me!” One after another, others started following Chen Fan’s lead, grabbing treasure demon spirits for themselves.