The ice dragon's body was struck by the spear's edge, sending up a spray of ice shards. However, it only paused briefly before continuing its charge towards the group. Although the scorching spear's edge left a charred mark on its body, the damage did not seem fatal.

The female general was sent flying backward by the force of the ice dragon's impact. Seeing this, Ling Yun flashed and caught her in mid-air. After landing, Ling Yun asked with concern, "How are you?" The female general wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said through gritted teeth, "I'm fine. This ice dragon is too powerful. We must think of a way."

Seizing the opportunity, the Blood Shadow Sect woman moved like a ghost behind the ice dragon, her dagger gleaming coldly as she thrust it towards the gaps in the dragon's scales. The ice dragon seemed to sense the attack from behind; it whirled around, its massive tail sweeping across. The Blood Shadow Sect woman couldn't dodge in time and was struck by the tail, flying away like a kite with a broken string.

Ling Yun, Lin Feng, Xuan Fengzi, and the sect leader exchanged glances. They knew that if they didn't go all out, they would likely all perish today. The sect leader clasped his hands together, chanting an ancient incantation. The golden light emanating from his body intensified as he gathered all his spiritual power into a golden pillar of light, shooting it towards the ice dragon. Lin Feng, meanwhile, mobilized all the surrounding ice and snow power, forming a massive ice prison around the ice dragon, attempting to confine it. Xuan Fengzi waved his staff, summoning bolts of lightning that flickered within the ice prison, relentlessly striking the ice dragon.

Ling Yun took a deep breath and channeled the remaining spiritual energy into his longsword. Having just taken the female general's elixir, his injuries had improved somewhat, but his spiritual energy recovery was limited. At this moment, he unleashed his signature sword technique, "Soaring Void Sword Shadow." His figure transformed into several afterimages, attacking the ice dragon from different directions, each afterimage carrying a sharp sword aura.

Trapped in an ice prison, the ice dragon roared furiously at the combined attack of the group. It twisted its body violently, trying to break free of the ice prison's restraints. Cracks appeared in the ice prison as it struggled. The ice dragon opened its mouth and spewed out a mouthful of blue ice flames, which swept towards the golden pillar of light. The golden pillar of light gradually dimmed under the impact of the ice flames. At the same time, the ice dragon's scales stood on end, blocking Ling Yun's sword energy. Only a few sword energies managed to pierce its scales, leaving a few shallow wounds on its body.

Despite the ice dragon's formidable defense, the group's attacks were not entirely ineffective. As time passed, the ice dragon's movements became sluggish, and its wounds multiplied. However, the group's spiritual energy was also rapidly depleting, especially the sect leader, whose forehead was covered in sweat and his face had turned deathly pale as he struggled to maintain the golden pillar of light.

Just as everyone was locked in a stalemate with the Ice Dragon, the Blood Shadow Sect woman struggled to her feet. Looking at the fighting crowd, she silently made up her mind. She pulled a small black bottle from her bosom, containing a green liquid that emitted a pungent odor. This was a poison she had secretly developed within the Blood Shadow Sect, extremely potent, specifically designed to combat powerful enemies.

Ignoring her own injuries, the Blood Shadow Sect woman charged at the Ice Dragon once more. Spotting a large wound on the Ice Dragon's body, she took advantage of a moment when the Ice Dragon's attention was diverted by the attacks to pour the poison from the bottle into the wound. The Ice Dragon immediately let out a painful roar, its body began to tremble violently, and the ice prison shattered completely in its struggle.

The ice dragon unleashed its fury on the Blood Shadow Sect woman, opening its gaping maw to bite her. The Blood Shadow Sect woman, too weak to dodge, closed her eyes in despair. At that critical moment, Ling Yun rushed forward without hesitation, blocking the ice dragon's attack with his longsword. The ice dragon's teeth gripped the sword, the powerful force numbing Ling Yun's arm and causing cracks to appear on the sword.

Seeing Ling Yun in peril, the female general was frantic with worry. Suppressing her pain, she raised her spear once more, unleashing the "Dragon Flame Sky-Splitting Spear." This time, the spear's light was even more intense and powerful than before, carrying the female general's determination to fight to the death, as she thrust it towards the ice dragon's eyes. Sensing the threat to its eyes, the ice dragon had no choice but to temporarily abandon its attack on Ling Yun and the Blood Shadow Sect woman, turning to evade the female general's attack.

Lin Feng and Xuan Fengzi seized the opportunity. Lin Feng manipulated the surrounding ice blocks, condensing them into a giant ice sword, which he thrust towards the ice dragon. Xuan Fengzi, on the other hand, gathered all his lightning power into a thick pillar of lightning, which struck the ice dragon fiercely. The sect leader also used his last bit of spiritual power to amplify the power of the golden pillar of light, shooting it towards the ice dragon once more.

Under the combined attack of the group, the ice dragon finally succumbed. Its body swayed a few times, and its massive form slowly sank to the bottom of the icy abyss.

As the ice dragon slowly sank to the bottom of the icy abyss, everyone remained vigilant, their eyes fixed on the abyss, fearing the ice dragon might suddenly reappear. After a long while, the icy abyss returned to calm, without any unusual activity. Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and collapse to the ground.

After these two fierce battles, everyone felt as if they had just escaped death. Ling Yun lay half-reclined on the ice; although the wound on his shoulder had stopped bleeding after being treated with medicine, the intense fighting had reopened it, and trickles of blood seeped out, staining his clothes red. The female general was also covered in blood; she had a deep wound on her arm, a cut from the scales of the ice dragon, which was now turning bluish-purple, clearly indicating that she had been affected by the ice dragon's icy poison.

Lin Feng's spiritual energy was almost completely exhausted; his face was ashen, and he didn't even have the strength to speak, only gasping for breath. Xuan Fengzi was equally weak; his hair was disheveled, and his staff had several cracks, caused by the impact of the ice dragon's power during the battle. The sect leader's condition was also not optimistic; his once ruddy complexion had turned ashen. In order to cast a powerful spell, he had forcibly overdrawn his spiritual energy and was now resting with his eyes closed, large beads of sweat constantly rolling down his forehead.

The Blood Shadow Sect woman sat to one side, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth and several abrasions on her body. Just now, in order to poison the Ice Dragon, she had recklessly approached it, and if Ling Yun hadn't rescued her in time, she would likely have perished. Looking at the exhausted state of everyone, a complex emotion welled up within her. Within the Blood Shadow Sect, she was accustomed to working alone, using any means necessary to achieve her goals, rarely fighting alongside others, let alone risking her life for a common objective like today.

After resting for a while, Ling Yun struggled to sit up and looked at everyone, saying, "Is everyone alright? This time, it's all thanks to everyone's concerted efforts, otherwise we would all have perished here." Everyone nodded, their faces showing tired smiles.

"This whole thing is too strange. What is the origin of these men in black? And what about the ice dragon in the icy abyss? It seems like it was deliberately placed here to stop us." Lin Feng frowned, forcing himself to stay alert as he spoke.

“That’s right, that mysterious token and other strange things must be hiding some secret,” Xuanfengzi agreed.

The sect leader slowly opened his eyes, looking at everyone with a profound gaze: "It seems that our journey has not been simple. The forces involved behind this fragment of the token are probably beyond our imagination."

Everyone fell into deep thought, knowing full well that the danger of this journey had only just begun. Just then, the woman from the Blood Shadow Sect suddenly remembered something. She took out the strips of cloth with strange runes and the materials for refining special pills that she had found on the man in black earlier, and said, "These things might give us some clues."

Ling Yun took the strip of cloth and examined it carefully. The runes on the cloth were crooked and twisted, like some kind of ancient script, but he had never seen them before. He circulated his spiritual power, trying to perceive the mysteries of the runes through his spiritual power, but the runes did not react at all.

The female general also came over, looked at the strip of cloth and said, "I have seen many strange things in the army, but this is the first time I have seen runes like this."

Lin Feng took the strip of cloth and compared it with the various ancient rune texts he was familiar with, but unfortunately he still had no clue. Xuan Fengzi picked up the materials for refining pills and carefully examined them: "Some of these materials are extremely rare. I have only seen them recorded in some ancient books. They are said to be able to refine pills that can enhance one's cultivation. But there are also some materials that I can't recognize at all."

Just as everyone was racking their brains over these clues, the sect leader suddenly said, "I remember there is an ancient book about ancient runes deep in our sect's library. Perhaps we can find the answer there. However, that book is classified as the sect's top secret and cannot be consulted easily."

"We shouldn't delay, Sect Leader. Let's hurry back to the sect and consult the ancient texts. Perhaps we can find clues about those men in black, as well as the secret of these fragments of the token," Ling Yun said urgently.

The sect leader nodded: "Alright, but we must be careful when we return this time. Those men in black may still be watching us from the shadows."

The group packed their belongings and carefully left the Ice Abyss. Along the way, they cautiously observed their surroundings, fearing another enemy might suddenly appear. However, they returned to their sect safely without incident.

Upon returning to the sect, Ling Yun and the others eagerly headed to the Scripture Pavilion. The sect leader led them deep into the pavilion, where they found the ancient book about ancient runes on a dusty bookshelf. The book's cover was tattered and worn, bearing the four ancient characters: "The Secret Codex of Runes."

The sect leader gently opened the ancient book; the pages were yellowed and exuded an old, worn scent. Everyone gathered around him, their eyes fixed intently on the text. The sect leader...