Fairy Mei Lin of the Profound Ice Palace proved to be a more challenging target than Wang Lei. Unlike the Thunder Fist's crude aggression, she possessed the calculated paranoia of someone who had survived numerous assassination attempts. Her temporary residence in Heavenly Cloud City was warded with formations specifically designed to detect spiritual intrusions.
Wei Liang spent two days observing her patterns before attempting an approach. The Ice Fairy maintained irregular schedules, varied her routes through the city, and traveled with rotating security details that changed daily. More frustratingly, her ice-based techniques created an ambient aura that would flash-freeze any blood droplets attempting to penetrate her defenses.
Clever, Wei Liang admitted, watching from a tea house across from her current lodgings. She understands that her beauty makes her a target, so she's developed appropriate countermeasures. I'll need a more direct approach.
The opportunity came when Fairy Mei Lin attended a cultivation resource auction at the city's Treasure Pavilion. The event was public, with hundreds of attendees, and her ice aura would be muted to avoid interfering with other bidders. More importantly, the auction's layout would force her into predictable positions during the evening.
Wei Liang purchased a bidding paddle using his accumulated wealth, positioning himself three rows behind the Ice Fairy's reserved seat. From this vantage point, he could observe her techniques while appearing to focus on the auction proceedings.
Fairy Mei Lin was indeed beautiful in the otherworldly way of high-level cultivators, but Wei Liang's interest was purely predatory. Through Chen Haotian's memories, he understood that her ice techniques were among the most feared in the region—absolute zero attacks that could freeze souls as well as bodies, creating preservation effects that transcended normal death.
Useful abilities, Wei Liang thought, watching her casually bid on a Thousand-Year Ice Crystal. Her soul-freezing techniques could provide excellent preservation options for future cultivation resources.
The auction proceeded through various treasures before reaching the evening's centerpiece—a fragment of Primordial Ice that supposedly contained the essence of the first winter in creation. The bidding became heated as multiple ice-path cultivators competed for the unique resource.
Fairy Mei Lin's participation was methodical rather than passionate, her bids calculated to discourage competitors without revealing her maximum capacity. But when a mysterious cultivator in black robes began matching her offers, her composed facade showed its first cracks.
"The Primordial Ice Fragment is mine by right," she declared coldly, her voice carrying enough menace to frost the surrounding air. "Perhaps the friend in black would prefer to seek treasures more suited to his... particular needs?"
The black-robed cultivator's laugh was like grinding stone. "The Profound Ice Palace grows arrogant in its isolation. Perhaps the fairy needs reminding that ice melts before sufficient heat?"
Wei Liang's attention sharpened as he recognized demonic cultivation signatures from the challenger. This was perfect—two powerful cultivators with conflicting interests, their confrontation providing cover for his own activities.
The bidding war escalated until Fairy Mei Lin finally secured the Primordial Ice Fragment for an astronomical sum. But the black-robed cultivator's parting words carried clear threat: "Enjoy your purchase, fairy. We will discuss its transfer at a more... private location."
Demonic sect involvement, Wei Liang noted with interest. They'll likely attempt to ambush her during transport back to her residence. Perfect opportunity to harvest multiple targets simultaneously.
As the auction concluded, Wei Liang shadowed both parties as they left the Treasure Pavilion. Fairy Mei Lin's security team had been reinforced with additional ice cultivators, but the demonic sect representatives were also moving in force. The collision was inevitable.
The ambush occurred in the commercial district's warehouse section, where narrow alleys provided concealment and reinforced buildings could contain battle damage. Wei Liang positioned himself on a nearby rooftop where he could observe the conflict while remaining undetected.
"Surrender the Primordial Ice Fragment," the black-robed leader demanded, his cultivation revealing itself as peak Soul Transformation realm. "The Burning Heart Sect has greater need of its power than palace maidens playing with pretty trinkets."
Fairy Mei Lin's response was to activate her bloodline abilities, her form becoming wreathed in ice so cold it burned the air itself. "The Burning Heart Sect oversteps its boundaries. Return to your volcanic caverns before I demonstrate why ice endures while fire merely flickers."
The battle that followed was genuinely spectacular. Fairy Mei Lin's ice techniques created a winter wonderland in the middle of the warehouse district, absolute zero attacks flash-freezing entire buildings while her opponents responded with demonic flames hot enough to melt steel. The conflict transcended normal cultivation battles, becoming a clash between opposing fundamental principles.
Both sides weakening themselves, Wei Liang observed with satisfaction. Perfect timing for harvesting the survivors.
He waited until the battle reached its climax—Fairy Mei Lin trapped within a prison of demonic flames while the Burning Heart Sect cultivators struggled against her absolute zero domain. Then he struck.
Blood Sovereign Technique—Mass Consumption Protocol!
Wei Liang's blood-avatar form exploded into hundreds of individual attackers, each one targeting a different combatant with surgical precision. The Heavenly Demon Blood Spear multiplied to match, creating a forest of crimson blades that pierced friend and foe alike.
The surprise was total. Both sides had exhausted themselves fighting each other, leaving them vulnerable to a third party intervention. Wei Liang's consumption techniques activated simultaneously across multiple targets, draining cultivation bases even as his victims tried to understand what was happening.
"Impossible!" Fairy Mei Lin gasped as blood-spears pierced her ice armor. "No one else was present! How did—"
"I am always present where power is to be consumed," Wei Liang replied, his voice emerging from dozens of blood-forms simultaneously. "Your conflict provided perfect cover for my harvest."
The demonic cultivators fared no better, their flame techniques proving inadequate against an opponent who could exist as living blood. Wei Liang's absorption abilities had been enhanced by consuming Wang Lei's lightning resistance, allowing him to neutralize both ice and fire attacks while claiming their power for himself.
Conceptual Consumption—Elemental Opposition Integration!
As he drained the battling cultivators, Wei Liang absorbed not just their individual techniques but the conflicting principles they represented. Ice and fire, preservation and destruction, absolute zero and burning heat—all of it flowed into his cultivation base as complementary rather than opposing forces.
Through Fairy Mei Lin's fading consciousness, he gained access to the Profound Ice Palace's secret techniques and political intelligence. The demonic cultivators provided knowledge of the Burning Heart Sect's operations and planned activities throughout the region.
Most importantly, both factions had been tracking Lin Feng's movements for their own purposes. The ice cultivators wanted to recruit him, while the demonic sect planned to eliminate him as a potential threat. Their combined intelligence provided a complete picture of the Chosen One's current activities and future plans.
Excellent, Wei Liang thought as the last of his victims crumbled to ash. Not only have I gained ice and fire techniques, but I now know exactly where to find my ultimate target in this region.
He collected the scattered spatial rings and the precious Primordial Ice Fragment, adding them to his growing collection of treasures. Each successful hunt not only increased his power but also provided resources and intelligence for future operations.
The systematic harvesting continues, Wei Liang concluded, dissolving back into blood mist as city guards finally arrived to investigate the disturbance. Soon I'll have consumed enough of this region's talents to challenge even Saint-level opponents. Then we'll see how systematic advantages perform against absolute predation.