Chapter 1356 Descent Liam felt his pulse quicken as the icy abyss opened beneath him, the frigid water rushing upward like a breath from the underworld. The oppressive cold gnawed at his energy reserves, testing the limits of his Dao control. For a fleeting moment, he questioned whether to proceed—whether this mysterious spirit, if it even existed, was worth the risk. He then felt another blast of cold aura that took away a chunk of his health despite the three dao domain. Something this powerful was definitely worth taking the risk, especially since he was already here. With a focused breath, he steadied his mind and let his dao energies flow through his body like a warm current, pushing back the cold that threatened to freeze him solid. He glanced back at the crack he had made, the jagged ice gleaming like shards of glass, before plunging into the dark depths below. The descent was immediate, the current strong as the freezing water swirled around him. He channeled the Dao seeds, keeping his movements smooth and controlled, propelling himself downward. The deeper he went, the darker it became, the light from the surface quickly swallowed by the abyss. His breath came in controlled bursts as he braced himself for whatever lay ahead. His health was quickly depleting, almost fifty percent of it gone in seconds. But Liam did not enter the depths without preparation. He took out a white pearl-like bead from his spatial artifact. It's a medium-grade soul bead he had purchased from Talia. The soul power inside thrummed alive as he clutched it tightly, feeling the rage and resentment of the souls. Liam immediately sucked out the soul power forming a thin, fragile barrier around his body. The next second his health stopped dropping. This fragile soul barrier was more than enough to hold off the biting cold allowing him to head deeper. However, he was quickly burning through the bead. The rate of consumption was too high and the cost kept skyrocketing. This was going to be an extremely expensive endeavor. But… In for the penny, in for the pound. Liam did not hesitate and shot down to the cold frosty hell at full speed. The intense cold still bit at him, but the barrier held, preventing the icy waters from draining the last of his strength. Each second felt like an eternity as the abyss deepened, the weight of the water above pressing down on him, but the thin protection from the soul bead granted him a precious reprieve. He continued descending further in complete darkness making as little movement as possible at the same time going as fast as he could. A couple of times he felt something pass him by. Something that made a considerable impact on the icy waters sending waves of aftermath but the entity did not engage him. Liam did not know why but if it did not bother with him, then he was not going to bother with it. After what felt like hours but could have only been minutes, Liam finally reached somewhere deep down where he could see a faint flickering glow. The water was thick with cold, every movement like wading through molasses, but the soul barrier around him continued to stave off the worst of it, albeit barely. His soul bead was burning away at an alarming rate, the energy dissipating faster than he'd hoped, leaving him with little time to spare. He was already on his fifth bead. Liam quickly moved to the target. The glow below wasn't just a light—it pulsed with a rhythm, almost as if it were alive. As Liam descended further, the flickering grew stronger, illuminating a massive structure buried deep beneath the ice. Towering pillars of frozen water jutted upward like skeletal remains of an ancient, forgotten temple. The structure was encased in jagged, crystalline ice, and at its heart, the source of the light: a large, pulsating sphere of energy, its surface crackling with power. Dark tendrils of energy radiated from it, sending ripples through the surrounding water. The entire area seemed alive with an ancient, malevolent force, and the cold emanating from the sphere was far beyond anything he had encountered so far. Liam could feel the soul bead in his hand rapidly depleting as it struggled to shield him from the overwhelming energy. The barrier around him flickered, growing thinner with each passing second. He knew he didn't have much time left before the protection would fail completely, leaving him vulnerable to the biting cold and the dangerous forces that lurked in the depths. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺 Liam clenched his jaw, determination flooding his mind. There was no turning back now. He cautiously moved closer to the glowing sphere. His breathing remained steady, though the frigid cold gnawed at his core despite the soul bead's protection. The pulsing energy from the sphere seemed to react to his presence, the tendrils shifting toward him as if aware of his approach. "Come on," Liam muttered under his breath as he prepared to engage the entity. He had no idea what to expect, but his instincts screamed that he was in mortal peril. Suddenly, the water around him surged violently, and the tendrils of dark energy lashed out, coiling toward him like living shadows. They snaked toward him, faster and more aggressive than he anticipated. They moved with an unnatural fluidity, cutting through the water like serpents of shadow, each one crackling with raw, malevolent energy. He only had a split second to react. He thrust out his hand, forming a barrier of swirling energy between him and the approaching tendrils. The first of the dark coils smashed into his shield with a crackling sound, sending shockwaves through the icy waters. Liam gritted his teeth as the impact reverberated through his body, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the gathered souls. The tendrils weren't just mindless energy—they were probing, searching for a weakness. His shield flickered under the immense pressure, barely holding up. He couldn't afford to stay defensive. The entity had sensed him long before his arrival, and it wasn't going to let him leave without a fight. But what attack could he possibly use here? As if reading his mind, a familiar voice sounded from behind him. "You can't really fight that thing, duh… you need to prove your path."