I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 679: Chapter 500: Life-Bound Mirror Demon, Demon Finger (Part 2)

Qin Tian could clearly sense that the spirit patterns inside the Mirror Artifact were being reshaped—the originally obscure lines were being washed by Golden Light, becoming increasingly clear, even extending small runes on the original basis, perfectly aligning with the Empire’s energy trajectory.

The strengthening of the Mirror Artifact was akin to injecting a stimulant into the Mirror Demon.

In the Mirror World, the once ethereal Mirror Demon suddenly stopped calling, a golden and silver glow of the same origin as the ancient mirror spread across its body.

It excitedly twisted its translucent body, waving its illusory limbs, sending waves of joyful resonance towards the source of the golden light hanging from the Mirror World’s sky, its spiritual closeness and dependence growing stronger.

With the continued infusion of Golden Light, the little demon’s figure visibly solidified, although its originally vague features were still unclear, one could now distinguish the contours of its eyebrows, and the black hole-like eyes shone with a bit more lively Golden Light.

It was no longer in its immature form at birth, the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from its body were several times stronger than when it was first born.

The Mirror World also underwent dramatic changes—the vast silver-white land began to extend outward, the light dust at the borders receding like a tide, revealing more smooth mirrored surfaces; the sky’s glaze color deepened, and the scattered light dust condensed into tiny star-like specks.

Outside, the patterns on the mirror body became increasingly mysterious, the mirror patterns intertwining with the newly derived runes, as if forming a miniature star map, each flow causing a slight tremor in the surrounding spiritual energy.

Qin Tian slowly withdrew the power of the Divine Weapon Emperor, the Golden Light in his palm gradually fading.

He looked at the ancient mirror in his hand, its glow gradually receding, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth—the grade of the Mirror Artifact had steadily improved, the little demon’s growth speed far exceeding expectations, at this rate, in less than half a month, this Mirror Demon could reach the level of Beitiao Hezi’s, and with the nourishment of the Emperor’s power, it would definitely go further in the future.

"Little demon, let me see what you can do."

Qin Tian placed the ancient mirror flat on his palm, and with a thought, the Mirror Demon transformed into a silver gleam and drifted out from the mirror, landing lightly on the edge of the mirror surface.

Its form remained ethereal, facial features blurred as if shrouded in a thin mist, yet Qin Tian could clearly sense the excitement transmitted on a spiritual level—a kind of eagerness to display its abilities, as if saying "watch me."

"First, help me scout this ice cave, see if there are any treasures or potential dangers."

As soon as Qin Tian finished speaking, the Mirror Demon nodded slightly, then leaped, integrating into the ice walls of the cave like a fish into water.

This was the core advantage of the Mirror Demon—its intangible form allowed it to freely shuttle through any reflective medium.

The ice cave’s walls were smooth like mirrors, becoming the perfect "channel" for it.

Through the spiritual connection with the Mirror Demon, Qin Tian shared its vision, feeling his perception instantly expand: the little demon sped through the ice wall like a silver line, encountering forks and splitting a wisp of light to simultaneously investigate, its speed astonishingly fast.

In just a few minutes, Qin Tian’s mind suddenly received an urgent spiritual call.

"Did I really find something good?" he raised an eyebrow, his gaze immediately returning to the bronze ancient mirror—the lights and shadows on the mirror surface quickly flowing, finally freezing on the image of a concealed cave.

It was a naturally formed ice cave, stalactites of translucent ice hung from the walls, ice crystals dripping from the top, making crisp sounds upon hitting the ground.

In the center of the cave stood an ice platform, one person tall, carved from a whole piece of Thousand-Year-Old Profound Ice, four thick ice chains hanging from the cave ceiling, securely locking the four corners of the platform, the chains covered in spider-web-like frosty runes, glowing a faint blue hue, slowly circulating like living entities, obviously serving as a sealing constraint.

And at the very center of the ice platform, a finger lay quietly—that finger was completely black, its skin rough like bark, joints prominently thick, several times thicker than an ordinary person’s finger, and its surface was covered with dense patterns.

Even through the mirror, one could sense a strange and heavy aura.

Qin Tian immediately flashed over, as there was a big difference between observing through the mirror and up close.

The next moment, he appeared at the target location.

There was a thirty-meter distance between him and the ice platform, as soon as he steadied himself, a sinister aura ten times more intense than through the mirror surged like a tide, instantly enveloping him.

This aura was cold and piercing, yet carried an indescribable majesty, causing his spiritual energy to involuntarily stall for a moment.

Qin Tian squinted to observe closely, only then noticing the previously ignored detail—the surface of the pitch-black finger was full of dense ice-blue patterns, those patterns did not stay still but moved like living snakes beneath the rough skin.

As if sensing a living presence, the black finger on the ice platform suddenly trembled violently, the resounding vibrations resonated with the constraint runes on the platform, causing the surrounding chains to emit an ear-piercing friction sound.

The next second, the pitch-black Demonic Qi seeped out from the joints like ink, intertwining with the ice-blue cold air into a twisted mist, from which a faint crackling sound of bones rubbing could be heard.

"Help me...help me..."

Two vague thoughts invaded Qin Tian’s mind without warning, the voice hoarse like rusty metal, filled with extreme pain and longing.

This thought had tremendous penetrating power, directly impacting his soul; Qin Tian only felt his temples throb, a strange irritability flooding his mind, even causing his grip on the Black Frost Long Saber to tighten slightly.

"Something’s wrong!" Qin Tian bit down sharply on his tongue, the sting instantly clearing his chaotic consciousness.

He quickly circulated spiritual energy to build a barrier in his mind, isolating the external thoughts.

Upon looking at the finger again, Qin Tian’s eyes were filled only with calmness and vigilance, cold sweat breaking out on his back—this was merely a finger segment, strictly speaking, not even a full finger, yet it could actively release a spiritual shock, precisely stirring human emotions, even he, usually calm, was affected.

"This must be the core reason for the Ice God Race’s destruction."

Qin Tian thought silently while gazing at that finger.

In the Ice God Race’s greatest treasure trove, a finger segment was sealed, showing how terrifying this finger was to the Ice God Race.

And the finger’s complete form was an unimaginable existence.

"Destroy it, and I will give you a deserved reward."

A deep, resonant voice suddenly echoed in his mind, with the penetrative power of an ancient bell.

Qin Tian’s eyes narrowed, as expected, in the depths of this icy mountain treasure trove lay the true master, and they, the Empire talents, were just carefully placed pieces—scattered everywhere, but in reality, using the Empire’s power to eliminate these lurking "demons."

"Okay!" Qin Tian agreed without hesitation, swiftly and decisively.

Agreeing readily was not only to help Lan settle the Sea of Blood revenge of the Ice God Race but also because he knew: without eliminating this strange finger segment, he might not even be able to leave this ice cave, let alone reunite with Zhuge Yu and others.

After speaking, Qin Tian stepped towards the ice platform.

The ice beneath his footsteps trembled slightly with each step, as if treading on taut bowstrings.

As the distance closed, the black finger on the ice platform struggled more and more violently—the finger, which was only lightly shaking before, was now twitching vigorously like a fish out of water, the black skin at the joints cracking open, more ink-like thick Demonic Qi gushed out, intertwining with the ice-blue cold air into a twisted vortex, fiercely crashing inside the constraint light shield.

The greed and hunger in that aura were almost breaking free, pouncing in front of Qin Tian.

Like a Fierce Beast caged and starved for days, suddenly spotting live prey outside, all the madness and desire concentrated on this small finger segment.

Qin Tian gripped the Black Frost tightly, approaching step by step, ready to slash the finger, and if one cut wasn’t enough, he would slash multiple times, slicing it into pieces.

However, before he could make a move, a mutation occurred.

The black finger segment on the ice platform suddenly emitted a piercing shriek. With a loud "boom," the finger segment seemed to become a fountainhead of Demonic Qi, the originally thick ink-like Demonic Qi suddenly surged.

A blurred figure slowly emerged in the Demonic Qi.