The burly man's military saber twitched slightly, and Old Hu's neck was sliced open.
"Tell me, why are you looking for the Ice Dragon?"
Long Xiao chuckled, "The Ice Dragon belongs to everyone. Anyone has the right to hunt it, of course, provided you don't freeze to death or get killed by others who desire it."
The burly man laughed heartily at Long Xiao's threat, "With just the three of you, you think you can kill us, the Five Fiends of Minnan?"
Long Xiao knew nothing of the martial world, nor had he ever heard of the Five Fiends of Minnan.
"I don't know what the Five Fiends of Minnan are, but I do know you have two paths now. One, cooperate with us and help us catch the Ice Dragon. The other, I'll send you on your way to the West."
"Kid, you've got some nerve. How dare you threaten us, the Five Fiends of Minnan?"
As soon as the burly man finished speaking, he felt a blur before his eyes, his grip loosened, and the military saber was in Long Xiao's hand.
With a bang, Long Xiao kicked the burly man in the stomach, sending him flying back five or six meters before crashing to the ground.
The burly man scrambled to his feet and roared, "Kill them! Leave none alive."
The more than a dozen men brought by the burly man, brandishing their military sabers, charged at Long Xiao and his companions.
Old Hu cowered back in fear, while Xiao Ming grinned and charged forward. With a series of cracking sounds, more than a dozen men were left lying on the ground with broken limbs.
Long Xiao watched Xiao Ming finish, then walked over to the burly man, whose legs were broken, and crouched down, asking softly, "Do you believe me now? Tell me what you know."
The burly man no longer dared to speak of other matters and revealed all he knew to Long Xiao.
The Ice Dragon had last appeared ten years ago, on a stormy night near this small hill. Someone passing by had encountered the Ice Dragon coiled on the hill, breathing clouds and exhaling mist.
The person who saw the Ice Dragon was terrified and fled in a panic. Two slower individuals were affected by the Ice Dragon's frigid aura and died the day after returning home.
When these two men died, cold mist emanated from their bodies, and they gradually turned cold. Even their blood eventually turned to ice.
The Five Fiends of Minnan had prepared for five years to capture the Ice Dragon. They had gathered a group of people for training and acquired many herbs that replenished yang energy, which they used for daily bathing and internal consumption.
According to eyewitness accounts, the Ice Dragon had last vanished to the northwest of the small hill. Therefore, to find the Ice Dragon, one should head northwest from this hill.
After listening to the burly man's account, Long Xiao, Xiao Ming, and Old Hu returned to the car to rest.
That night, there were some grumbling noises outside the car, but Long Xiao paid them no mind. When morning came, the burly man and his men departed. All of them had been crippled, forcing them to abandon their search for the Ice Dragon.
Long Xiao knew that the so-called Ice Dragon was the large snake guarding the 'Ice Marrow'. What Long Xiao worried about most was that even if he could defeat the large snake and find the Ice Marrow, he might not be able to take it.
The five elements' energies interacted in a cycle of creation and destruction. Because wood energy was the energy of life, it could be absorbed in large quantities by the human body.
While water energy and other energies were also essential for the human body, absorbing large amounts of water energy without any restraint would surely overwhelm the body.
Long Xiao pondered for a long time and consulted the 'Dragon Scripture' for information. He learned that to absorb large quantities of the five elements' energies, one needed all five elements to be present simultaneously to achieve absorption.
The vast amount of water energy contained within the 'Ice Marrow' could not be absorbed, and even if the 'Ice Marrow' were found, its preservation would be a challenge.
After much deliberation, Long Xiao felt that it would be better for the Ice Dragon to continue guarding the 'Ice Marrow'. However, he had to find the Ice Dragon and see the 'Ice Marrow' so that he could retrieve it at any time in the future.
In the morning, following the direction indicated by the burly man, Long Xiao and his companions walked for two hours with their backpacks before hearing the sound of a surging river in the distance.
"We're close to the river. Dragons rely on water to live, so the Ice Dragon might be nearby," Old Hu said, looking around.
There were no trees in the vicinity, and even the grass was sparse. The ground was covered with pebbles and a very hard, white soil.
Long Xiao dispersed his energy to sense the surroundings and detected a very pure water energy. He knew they were on the right track.
"Old Hu, if the Ice Dragon appears, you should leave here quickly. We won't be able to look after you during a fight."
Old Hu nodded and said, "Don't worry, A'Long. I'm very fast and will be fine."
Long Xiao dispersed his five-elemental energies and began to search. He followed the direction from which the water energy emanated and soon arrived at the riverbank.
Standing by the river, Long Xiao felt a sense of grandeur. The water energy was right beneath his feet, and it was pure, definitely not originating from the river water.
Long Xiao pointed to the ground and said, "Xiao Ming, the Ice Dragon's lair we are looking for is right beneath my feet."
Xiao Ming came to Long Xiao's side and looked around, seeing no difference from any other spot.
"How can I not see it?" Xiao Ming asked, puzzled.
Long Xiao smiled and said, "You need to carefully sense the flow of energy. You won't see it like this."
Xiao Ming closed his eyes and remained silent for a minute. Suddenly, he exclaimed happily, "I sense it! The energy is truly flowing, very strong energy."
Long Xiao looked at Xiao Ming with satisfaction and nodded, "Your sensing ability is stronger than mine. You will surely be very formidable in using energy in the future."
Xiao Ming puffed up with pride when Long Xiao praised him. "I, Xiao Ming, will definitely be formidable in the future. I will follow Brother Long to conquer all and become the second strongest in the world."
"Why second strongest in the world?" Old Hu asked curiously.
Xiao Ming looked at Long Xiao and said, "My Brother Long is the number one in the world."
Having found the location, Long Xiao and his companions took off their backpacks, retrieved their equipment, and began searching for an entrance.
According to the information provided by Zhao Lingyan, the 'Ice Marrow' was in a cave on a cliff. The large snake resided in the cave, guarding the 'Ice Marrow'. To obtain the 'Ice Marrow', they had to find the cave entrance first.
Xiao Ming opened a box and took out a pile of parts, quickly assembling a small drone.
After launching the drone, Xiao Ming operated it while Long Xiao and Old Hu watched the screen.
The small drone flew down along the cliff face by the river. The surging river water was below, and the rising steam from the water made the image somewhat blurry.
The drone descended about thirty meters along the cliff, and a dark cave appeared.
"Found it. This should be it," Long Xiao said, pointing to the dark cave.
Xiao Ming maneuvered the drone closer to the cave. The cold wind from within the cave caused the drone to tremble uncontrollably.
Suddenly, two objects resembling red lanterns appeared. Xiao Ming, startled, quickly maneuvered the drone backward. The two red lanterns followed the drone out of the cave.
A massive python's head emerged, and the two red lanterns were the python's eyes.
The python's head had a single long horn, and its coin-sized scales shimmered with a cold light under the sun, exuding an icy aura.