Faced with the powerful icy aura spewed by the exceptionally large ice beast, the team members reacted swiftly. The experts from the Spirit Harmony Merchant Guild hurriedly cast defensive spells, forming a thick spiritual energy shield around the team. The icy aura struck the shield, producing a hissing sound, and a thick layer of frost instantly condensed on the shield's surface, dimming its light.

Under the elder's command, the sword cultivators of the Spirit Sword Sect unleashed their fierce sword techniques in an attempt to break through the ice beast's defenses. Streams of sword energy shot towards the ice beast like dragons emerging from the sea. However, the ice layer on the ice beast's body was extremely hard; the sword energy only splashed up some ice shards when it struck, failing to cause any substantial damage.

The disciples of Wanbaoge manipulated their magical artifacts, intensifying their attacks. The flames spewed from the "Flaming Dragon Cauldron" grew even more fierce, attempting to melt the ice layer on the ice beast's body; the lightning released by the "Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl" continuously bombarded the ice beast's body. However, the ice beast seemed to have a certain resistance to the flames and lightning; it only paused slightly during its attack before continuing to charge towards the team.

"This ice beast is too powerful; we must find its weakness!" shouted a member of the Linghe Merchant Guild while maintaining a spiritual energy shield.

Amidst the fierce battle, the team members began to carefully observe the ice beast's movements. One of the sword cultivators from the Spirit Sword Sect noticed that each time the ice beast attacked, a tiny gap would briefly appear on its belly, suggesting that the ice layer there was relatively thinner. He quickly informed the others of this discovery.

"Concentrate your attack on its abdomen!" shouted the elder of the Spirit Sword Sect. The sword cultivators immediately adjusted their attack direction, concentrating their sword energy towards the ice beast's abdomen. The disciples of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion also manipulated their magical artifacts, gathering the power of fire and lightning on the ice beast's abdomen.

Under the combined attack of everyone, cracks began to appear in the ice layer on the ice beast's belly. Sensing the threat, the ice beast roared angrily and increased the frequency of its attacks. Powerful waves of cold air crashed against the spiritual energy shield, making it teeter on the brink of collapse.

The experts of the Linghe Merchant Guild were channeling their spiritual energy to maintain the stability of the shield. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, but their eyes were filled with determination. "Hold on! Just a little longer, and we'll defeat it!" a guild expert shouted.

Just as the spiritual energy shield was about to shatter, the sword cultivators of the Spirit Sword Sect unleashed their strongest sword techniques. A sword aura imbued with powerful spiritual energy, like a sharp blade, pierced the crack in the ice beast's abdomen. The ice beast let out a painful roar, its body trembling violently.

Immediately afterward, the flames spewed from the Wanbaoge's "Flaming Dragon Cauldron" seized the opportunity to penetrate the crack and ignite within the ice beast's body. The ice beast's body began to melt, and its power gradually weakened. Finally, the ice beast collapsed to the ground with a crash, turning into a puddle of icy water.

After defeating the powerful ice beast, the team members breathed a sigh of relief. But they knew that the dangers ahead might be even greater. After a short rest, they continued their journey into the Dark Abyss.

As they ventured deeper, the surrounding environment grew increasingly eerie. A layer of black mist hung at the entrance to the Dark Abyss, within which flickered an eerie light. The experts from the Linghe Merchant Guild retrieved their detection artifacts, attempting to sense the danger within the mist. However, the moment the artifacts touched the mist, they trembled violently, their light flickering erratically, and they became completely ineffective.

"This fog is strange, everyone be careful," said the expert from the merchant guild.

The sword cultivators of the Spirit Sword Sect drew their swords and cautiously stepped into the mist. As soon as they entered, they felt a powerful sense of oppression wash over them, as if countless eyes were watching them from the darkness.

Suddenly, a group of dark figures appeared from the mist. These figures, resembling ghosts, drifted erratically through the fog, lunging towards the team. The sword cultivators of the Spirit Sword Sect quickly formed a sword formation, their sword energy crisscrossing, attempting to slay the figures. However, the figures were ethereal, and the sword energy passed through their bodies without causing any real damage.

The disciples of Wanbaoge launched attacks using their magical artifacts. The flames spewed from the "Flame Dragon Cauldron" burned the shadowy figures, but only made them pause slightly. The lightning released by the "Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl" flickered among the shadowy figures, but it was also ineffective.

Seeing this, the experts from the Linghe Merchant Guild unleashed various spells. They tried to bind the shadowy figures with a "binding spell," but found that the figures could easily break free. Just as everyone was at a loss, one of the guild's experts had a flash of inspiration and said, "These shadowy figures seem formless, but perhaps they react to some kind of special spiritual energy fluctuation. Let's try changing the frequency of the spiritual energy."

The disciples of Wanbaoge immediately adjusted the frequency of spiritual energy output from their magical artifacts. At the same time, the sword cultivators also circulated their spiritual energy, altering the fluctuations of their sword energy. This time, when the sword energy and magical artifact attacks made contact with the shadowy figures, the figures cried out in pain, and their forms began to dissipate.

With the combined attack of the group, the number of shadowy figures gradually decreased. However, even more shadowy figures emerged from the mist, seemingly endless. The team members were caught in a fierce battle. Whether they could break through the barrier of these shadowy figures and successfully enter the Dark Abyss to uncover the conspiracy of the "Shadow Society" remained uncertain.