Chapter 6561 - 6570

 

A thick layer of icy mist shrouded the ice plain, flowing slowly in mid-air and refracting the rays of the three blazing suns into countless colorful beams, casting dappled light and shadow on the ice surface.

These beams danced and swirled on the ice, seemingly alive, or perhaps some ancient formation at work.

Kai’s divine sense probed into the mist, but upon contact, it was immediately repelled by an extremely powerful force of ice.

This force wasn’t offensive; it was pure, primal, and devoid of any will.

It wasn’t directed at anyone; it simply existed there, unchanging through the ages.

Anything that entered the mist’s range, whether living or inanimate, would be eroded, frozen, and assimilated by this cold force, ultimately becoming part of the ice plain.

“The temperature here…”

Jiang Xuelan gasped, “is much lower than I imagined. I’ve cultivated in the Ice God Palace’s icy chambers; the temperature there is already extreme, but compared to this, it’s like the difference between a hot spring and an ice cellar.”

“Can you withstand it?” Kai asked.

Jiang Xuelan nodded. “The Ice God lineage’s techniques have a natural affinity for cold. Although the cold here is strong, it won’t harm me. On the contrary, it will accelerate my cultivation speed.”

She paused, then turned to look at Kai. “But you, while your chaotic power can isolate the cold, its intensity will increase exponentially once you enter the core area. How long can you hold out?”

Kai didn’t speak, but instead stretched out his hand, condensing a ball of purple chaotic fire in his palm.

The flame burned in his palm, dispelling the surrounding cold and forming a cold-free area several feet in radius.

“Chaotic power restrains all elements,” Kai said, “including ice.”

Jiang Xuelan looked at the purple flame in his palm and remained silent for a moment.

Chaotic power does indeed restrain all elements, but there’s a prerequisite: the user’s cultivation level must be high enough, and the chaotic power must be sufficiently refined.

If the intensity of the cold exceeds the chaotic power’s tolerance, restraint will turn into being restrained.

But she didn’t say it aloud.

She trusted Kai.

“Let’s go.” Kai extinguished the Chaos Fire and stepped onto the icy plain first.

The moment he stepped onto the plain, a bone-chilling coldness surged from his feet.

That coldness penetrated through his shoes, his skin, his muscles, and directly into the depths of his bones.

The power of chaos automatically circulated, forming a purple protective shield in his meridians, repelling the cold.

Jiang Xuelan also stepped onto the icy plain, but her reaction was completely different from Kai’s.

The cold air on the icy plain was not a threat to her, but nourishment.

She could clearly sense that every wisp of cold air on the icy plain contained the aura of the Ice God lineage, left behind by powerful members of the Ice God lineage hundreds of thousands of years ago, and had become one with this icy plain.

Her Ice God bloodline boiled within her, as if responding to this call from ancient times.

Kai sensed the changes in Jiang Xuelan’s bloodline, and a trace of relief flashed in his eyes.

At least, Jiang Xuelan’s decision to come to the Northern Netherworld Abyss was the right one.

The frigid air here could nourish her bloodline and cultivation. Perhaps if she stayed in the Northern Abyss for a while, her cultivation could break through to the Golden Immortal realm.

The two walked on the ice plain at a moderate pace.

The ice was slippery, and every step had to be taken with care, lest they fall.

Kai noticed that the auras of the demonic cultivators were also beginning to enter the ice plain.

However, their speed had noticeably slowed down. Those True Immortal realm cultivators were almost at their limit; two of them had their auras fluctuate shortly after entering the ice plain, the frigid air eroding their ultimate fire shields.

Su Yuqi’s aura remained stable, but Kai could sense a trace of strain in her aura.

Her ultimate fire could resist the frigid air, but the level of frigid air in the Northern Abyss was too high, greatly consuming her.

Kai withdrew his divine sense and continued forward.

After walking for about another hour, the ice fog on the ice plain grew thicker and thicker, and visibility dropped to only a few dozen feet.

Kai’s divine sense was also affected. The icy power within the mist continuously eroded his senses, shrinking its coverage from fifty miles to less than ten.

“Something’s not right here,” Jiang Xuelan suddenly said.

Kai stopped and turned to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I sensed it…”

Jiang Xuelan closed her eyes, her Ice God bloodline operating at full power, sensing the aura deep within the icy plains. “There’s a very strong aura of the Ice God lineage ahead, very strong… much stronger than I expected.”

She opened her eyes, a flicker of excitement in them. “That’s not the aura of ordinary clansmen, it’s… it’s the aura of a supreme treasure of the Ice God lineage.”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “A supreme treasure?”

Just then, an aged and weak voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

“The Northern Abyss… we’ve finally arrived…”

It was the Northern Abyss.

Kai was overjoyed. “Senior, you’re awake?”

“I sensed it…”

Bei Mingyuan’s voice was broken, as if he were speaking with his last breath. “The Ice God lineage’s supreme treasure… the Heart of the Cold Abyss… lies deep within this icy plain…”

“The Heart of the Cold Abyss?” Kai asked. “What is that?”

“The Ice God lineage’s inherited treasure… I forged it with my own blood essence… it contains the purest power of the Ice God lineage’s laws of ice…”

Bei Mingyuan’s voice carried an undisguised excitement. “If… if I could obtain it… my remnant soul could use its power to reshape my physical body… the Ice God lineage… could rise again…”

Reshape his physical body!

Kai’s heart trembled.

Bei Mingyuan’s remnant soul had been dormant in his sea of ​​consciousness. Although it usually had little presence, it had repeatedly come to his aid at crucial moments.

If Bei Mingyuan could reshape his physical body, it would not only be a great favor to the Ice God lineage but also a great favor to Kai himself.

An ancestor of the Ice God lineage who has lived for countless millennia, if he could regain his physical body, would become one of his most powerful allies in all the heavens and myriad realms.

“Senior, rest assured,” Kai responded in his sea of ​​consciousness, “I will definitely find the Heart of the Frost Abyss and help you reshape your physical body.” ”

Be careful…”

Bei Mingyuan’s voice grew weaker and weaker, “The Heart of the Frost Abyss is the supreme treasure of the Ice God lineage… countless forces are coveting it… here… it’s not just you…”

Before he finished speaking, Bei Mingyuan’s aura subsided once more.

Kai opened his eyes, a trace of solemnity flashing in his purple pupils.

Not just them.

Bei Mingyuan’s words confirmed his guess.

Those demon cultivators following them into the Northern Cold Abyss wasn’t accidental; they were after the Heart of the Cold Abyss.

“What did Senior Bei Mingyuan say?” Jiang Xuelan asked anxiously.

Kai repeated Bei Mingyuan’s words.

After listening, a complex emotion flashed in Jiang Xuelan’s eyes. The Heart of the Frost Abyss, a supreme treasure forged by the Ice God Ancestor with his own blood essence, contains the purest power of the laws of ice.

If Bei Mingyuan could obtain it, he could reshape his physical body, and the Ice God lineage could rise again.

This was her purpose in coming to the Frost Abyss of Bei Mingyuan, and also the hope of the Ice God lineage for tens of thousands of years.

But at the same time, the Demon Clan also coveted this treasure.

And, it might not be just the Demon Clan.

“We must find the Heart of the Frost Abyss before the Demon Clan.” Jiang Xuelan’s voice carried an unprecedented determination.

“Yes.”

Kai nodded, his gaze fixed on the depths of the icy plain. “Senior Bei Mingyuan said that the Heart of the Frost Abyss is deep within this icy plain. He didn’t know the exact location, but he said there was a secret passage here, built by the Ice God lineage, leading to the core area where the treasure was stored. The entrance to the secret passage… according to his memory, should be under an ice peak.” ”

An ice peak?” Jiang Xuelan looked around; the icy plain stretched as far as the eye could see, without any ice peaks in sight.

“Keep going.” Kai turned and walked deeper into the icy plain. “Senior Bei Ming said that the ice peak is in the central area of ​​the icy plain, at least a hundred miles from here.”

A hundred miles.

On ordinary land, a hundred miles would be the distance of an incense stick burning for Kai.

But on the icy plain of the Bei Ming Cold Abyss, every step felt like walking through mud. The slippery ice, the corrosive cold, and the obstruction of the icy mist greatly reduced their speed.

A hundred miles would take at least two hours.

Kai quickened his pace, with Jiang Xuelan close behind.

The aura of the demon cultivators continued to follow behind, but their speed had slowed down. The burden on those True Immortal Realm cultivators was becoming increasingly heavy, and the auras of several of them were beginning to become unstable.

Kai stopped paying attention to them and focused all his energy on getting there.

Two hours later, a huge ice peak appeared ahead of the icy plain.

The ice peak was hundreds of feet high, entirely ice-blue, and its summit was hidden in the icy mist, its top invisible.

The surface of the ice peak was covered with icicles and pillars, like countless sharp swords piercing the mountain, gleaming coldly in the icy mist.

Below the ice peak lay a massive fissure, about three zhang wide and bottomless. The chilling air emanating from the fissure was several times more intense than on the ice plains. The ice at the fissure’s edge was a deep, almost blackish blue, a color that only appeared after hundreds of thousands of years of erosion by extreme cold.

“This is it,”

Kai said, standing before the ice peak, his gaze fixed on the fissure. “The entrance to the secret passage is below this fissure.”

Jiang Xuelan walked to the edge of the fissure and looked down.

The fissure was bottomless; only a layer of icy blue light could be seen shimmering below, as if something was glowing deep within.

She sensed it; the aura of the Ice God lineage’s treasure emanated from the depths of the fissure.

“I’m going down,” Jiang Xuelan said, about to jump into the fissure.

Kai grabbed her. “Wait.”

He took out a rope from his storage bag. The rope was woven from golden silkworm silk, incredibly strong, capable of withstanding tens of thousands of kilograms of pulling force.

He tied one end of the rope to a thick icicle at the edge of the crevice, and the other end to Jiang Xuelan’s waist.

“I’ll go down first, you wait up here. If anything happens, pull the rope up immediately.”

Jiang Xuelan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing Kai’s unwavering gaze, she finally nodded.

Kai grabbed the rope and leaped into the crevice.

The cold air inside the crevice was several times more intense than outside, and even Kai’s chaotic power began to feel strained.

Purple chaotic fire burned around him, dispelling the cold air, but Kai could feel that his chaotic power was being consumed more than twice as fast as outside.

He descended rapidly, the icy blue light growing brighter and brighter, illuminating the ice walls on both sides of the crevice.

The ice walls were covered with ancient ice god runes, which flickered in the icy blue light, as if they were still alive.

Kai’s divine sense swept over the runes, sensing the power of laws within them.

Those were the inherited runes of the Ice God lineage, each rune containing a piece of the Ice God lineage’s history, recording the achievements and glory of the Ice God’s ancestor.

The rope wasn’t long enough, and after descending to a depth of about two hundred zhang, Kai’s feet finally touched solid ground.

At the bottom of the crevice was a passage paved with ice crystals, about two zhang high and one zhang wide, its walls all made of ice-blue crystals, emitting a soft light.

At the end of the passage was a huge ice door, engraved with the mark of the Ice God lineage:

a six-petaled snowflake, each petal inscribed with an ancient Ice God rune.

Kai stood before the ice door, placing his hand on it.

Chaotic power surged from his palm, the purple light colliding with the ice-blue light of the ice door, producing a buzzing sound.

The ice door remained unmoved.

Kai frowned, increasing the output of chaotic power.

Purple chaotic fire burned in his palm, attempting to devour the icy power on the ice door.

However, the icy power on the ice gate was extremely strong, not ordinary icy power, but the primordial icy power condensed from the Ice God Ancestor’s own blood essence. Its level was so high that it even exceeded Kai’s understanding.

Although the power of chaos could restrain the power of ice, when the level of the icy power far exceeded the level of condensation of the power of chaos, the restraint would fail.

Kai withdrew his palm, and the icy blue light on the ice gate stabilized again, as if it had never been disturbed.

He turned around and looked up at the exit above the crack.

Jiang Xuelan’s figure at the exit was like a small black dot.

“Xuelan!” Kai called out, his voice echoing in the crack.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Xuelan’s voice came from above.

“The ice gate can’t be opened! Can you come down?”

After a moment, Jiang Xuelan grabbed the rope and slowly descended.

She landed at the bottom of the crack and saw the ice gate in front of Kai, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

“The seal of the Ice God Ancestor.” She walked to the ice gate, placed her hand on it, closed her eyes, and activated the Ice God bloodline at full power.

A blue light surged from her palm, resonating with the blue light on the ice gate.

The six-petaled snowflake runes on the ice gate began to rotate, each petal slowly turning and making a clattering sound, as if some ancient mechanism had been activated.

Jiang Xuelan opened her eyes, a hint of joy flashing in them, “The Ice God’s bloodline is the key to opening this gate.”

She continued to channel icy blue spiritual energy from her palms, causing the runes on the ice gate to spin faster and faster, the six-petaled snowflakes growing brighter and brighter, and the entire ice gate trembled.

Boom—

the ice gate slowly opened inwards, and an even more intense chill surged out from behind it, enveloping Kai and Jiang Xuelan simultaneously.

Kai’s Chaos Fire surged upwards, forcing back the chill.

Jiang Xuelan took a deep breath, inhaling the surging chill into her body; the color drained from her face instantly, but a glint of wild joy flashed in her eyes.

This chill was nourishment for her cultivation, a boost to her power. Behind the ice gate was a deeper passage, at the end of which the outline of an ice crystal palace could be vaguely seen.

“Let’s go.” Kai stepped into the passage first, followed closely by Jiang Xuelan.

They had barely walked ten paces when a series of hurried footsteps sounded behind them.

Kai turned sharply, a cold glint flashing in his purple eyes.

At the entrance of the passage, more than a dozen figures filed in, their bodies engulfed in dark red flames, illuminating the icy blue passage in a crimson glow.

Leading them was a dark red figure, tall and slender, with long, ink-black hair, an exquisitely beautiful face, and a complex dark red marking on her forehead.

Su Yuqi.

Kai’s heart pounded, his purple eyes reflecting that familiar figure.

His hand involuntarily tightened on the hilt of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, wanting to rush forward, wanting to call out her name.

But his foot had barely taken a step when he was nailed to the spot by an invisible force.

It wasn’t Jiang Xuelan holding him back, but Su Yuqi’s gaze.

Those dark red eyes looked at him, devoid of any emotion, as if looking at a stranger.

No, colder than a stranger.

Like a high and mighty saint looking at an insignificant ant.

“Su…” Kai opened his mouth, his voice slightly hoarse.

Su Yuqi’s brows furrowed slightly, as if trying to recognize him.

Her gaze lingered on Kai’s face for a moment, then on the Dragon-Slaying Sword at his waist, before she looked away.

“It’s you?” Her voice was soft, tinged with uncertainty, “Kai?”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but Kai understood.

She remembered him.

But only “remembered.”

It was from their first meeting in the Fourteenth Heaven.

She didn’t remember anything before.

Or rather, she had never experienced those things.

The Su Yuqi who appeared before Kai was not the one who came to the Celestial Realm with him, the one who had faced life and death with him.

She was a Su Yuqi with amnesia, a Su Yuqi whose memories had been reshaped after being taken away by the Demon Clan, a Su Yuqi who no longer remembered any of their past.

Kai stood motionless.

Something shattered in his purple eyes.

“You’ve also come to retrieve the Heart of the Cold Abyss?” Su Yuqi spoke, her voice as calm as if she were asking about the weather.

Kai took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions. “Yes.”

“You can’t open that door.”

Su Yuqi’s gaze passed over Kai, landing on the already opened ice door behind him. A glint of light flashed in her dark red eyes. “Ice God bloodline…you are a descendant of the Ice God’s lineage?”

The last sentence was directed at Jiang Xuelan.

Jiang Xuelan stood beside Kai, her ice-white dress standing out starkly against the ice-blue light.

Her eyes held no fear, only vigilance.

“Yes,” Jiang Xuelan’s reply was brief.

Su Yuqi nodded, as if confirming something.

“I don’t want to fight you,”

she said calmly. “The Heart of the Frost Abyss is very important to our Flame Demon lineage. I need it to activate an ancient artifact. You’re here, presumably for the inheritance of the Ice God lineage.

But I sense that behind that door lies not only the Heart of the Frost Abyss, but also other things from the Ice God lineage. The Heart of the Frost Abyss is mine, and the rest are yours. How about it?”

Kai remained silent.

He knew how important the Heart of the Frost Abyss was to Bei Mingyuan.

It was the Ice God lineage’s most precious heirloom, Bei Mingyuan’s only hope for rebuilding his physical body.

He couldn’t possibly give the Heart of the Frost Abyss to anyone, not even Su Yuqi.

But Su Yuqi had lost her memory; she didn’t remember him, didn’t remember anything between them.

In her eyes, he was just a stranger, an obstacle between her and the treasure.

“The Heart of the Frost Abyss is very important to me,”

Kai’s voice was low but firm. “I can’t give it to you.”

Su Yuqi’s brows furrowed even more, a hint of impatience flashing in her dark red eyes.

“Then leave.”

A hint of coldness crept into her voice. “I don’t want to fight here, but if you insist on taking it, I don’t mind showing you what the difference in strength is.” As

soon as she finished speaking, the demon cultivators behind her stepped forward simultaneously, dark red flames surging from their bodies, illuminating the entire passage in a crimson glow.

Two Golden Immortal Realm Rank 3 cultivators stood behind Su Yuqi, one wielding a dark red battle blade, the other a chain burning with intense fire, their entire bodies radiating a violent killing intent.

Kai’s hand rested on the hilt of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, chaotic fire burning in his palm, purple light clashing with the dark red flames in the passage.

Jiang Xuelan also drew her silver-white longsword, icy blue light swirling on its blade.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Su Yuqi looked at Kai, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

She didn’t know why she had glanced at this True Immortal Realm Rank 8 youth.

Perhaps it was the light in his eyes, a light she had never seen in anyone else’s eyes before.

That light wasn’t fear, nor anger, but something… indescribable.

Like sadness, yet also like longing.

Like looking at someone long gone.

“Do you know me?” Su Yuqi suddenly asked again.

She had asked Kai this question back in the Fourteenth Heaven.

Kai’s hand trembled slightly.

He wanted to say “I know,” wanted to say “You’re a very important person to me,” wanted to say “Don’t you remember? We’ve walked so many roads together.”

But the words that came to his lips were just one: “Yes.”

A flicker of emotion crossed Su Yuqi’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by calm.

“I have amnesia. I don’t remember most of the past. You know the past me, not the present me. The past me…”

She paused, a self-deprecating smile curving her lips, “is probably dead.”

Kai’s heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

“The past me is dead.”

These words were like a knife, piercing his chest.

He wanted to retort, to say, “You’re not dead, you’re alive, you’re standing right in front of me,” but he knew it was useless.

The amnesiac Su Yuqi wouldn’t believe him; she would only see him as a stranger trying to get close.

He took a deep breath, swallowing back the words that rose to his throat.

“The Heart of the Cold Abyss…” he began, his voice hoarse, “I really can’t let it.”

A flicker of disappointment flashed in Su Yuqi’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

“Then there’s nothing more to say.”

She raised her hand, a ball of dark red supreme fire condensing in her palm. The temperature of the supreme fire was so high that the ice crystals on both sides of the passage began to melt, water droplets sliding down the ice walls, making a dripping sound.

Kai drew his Dragon-Slaying Sword, purple sword energy condensing on the blade. Chaos Fire and supreme fire clashed, the two completely different flame powers colliding in the passage, producing crackling and popping sounds.

Just as the two sides were about to make their move, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the entrance of the passage, accompanied by a golden light.
“Halt!”

A majestic voice echoed from the entrance.

All eyes turned to the entrance simultaneously.

A dozen figures filed in through the passage.

They wore white robes embroidered with golden sun symbols, each ablaze with golden holy flames, illuminating the icy blue passage with dazzling light.

Leading them was a middle-aged man with a handsome face, a long beard, a golden robe, and a crown of light. He held a golden scepter, topped with a fist-sized stone of light that emitted blinding holy light.

His cultivation was at the fourth rank of the Golden Immortal realm.

Behind him followed a dozen or so people, the lowest being at the first rank of the Golden Immortal realm, including two at the third rank and three at the second rank.

People from the Hall of Light.

Kai’s heart sank.

Su Yuqi was already difficult enough to deal with; now, people from the Hall of Light had arrived.

And led by a fourth-rank Golden Immortal, their force far superior to the team sent by the Flame God Palace.

The treasure within the Northern Abyss had indeed attracted more than one force.

“I wondered who it was, but it’s just the Holy Maiden of the Flame Demon lineage.”

The middle-aged man’s gaze fell on Su Yuqi, a contemptuous smile curving his lips. “You think you can come to the Northern Abyss to steal treasures with a bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals? Are all demons so overconfident?”

Su Yuqi frowned, a hint of killing intent flashing in her dark red eyes. “When did the people of the Hall of Light learn to sneak around and follow others?”

“Sneak around?”

The middle-aged man laughed, his smile icy. “The Northern Abyss has always been within the Hall of Light’s sphere of influence. When did it become your demon territory? I came here openly and aboveboard. It’s you demon brats who trespassed into the Hall of Light’s forbidden area; that’s a capital offense.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the crowd in the passage, lingering for a moment on Kai and Jiang Xuelan, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes.

“A True Immortal Realm Eighth Grade and a True Immortal Realm Ninth Grade? And they’re even accompanied by a remnant of the Ice God lineage?”

His smile grew even more contemptuous. “It seems these young people really don’t know the meaning of death.”

Kai didn’t speak, but a cold glint flashed in his purple eyes.

He remembered this face.

A Golden Immortal Realm Fourth Grade was indeed considered a top expert in the Eighteenth Heaven.

But for Kai, a Golden Immortal Realm Fourth Grade was not invincible.

It was just that now was not the time to act.

There were too many people from the Hall of Light, more than a dozen of whom were above the Golden Immortal Realm. Adding Su Yuqi’s demonic forces, it was a three-way battle. He and Jiang Xuelan were caught in the middle, and

their chances of survival were slim. The best strategy was to sit back and watch the tigers fight, let the Hall of Light and the demons fight first, and then seize the treasure when they were both exhausted.

But would Su Yuqi let him have his way?

The middle-aged man clearly didn’t intend to waste any more words with Su Yuqi.

He raised the golden scepter in his hand, and the Light Stone at the top of the scepter burst out with dazzling holy light, illuminating the entire passage.

“I’ll give you ten breaths,”

his voice was cold and authoritative. “Take your people and get out of the Northern Abyss. Anyone still here after ten breaths will be killed without mercy.”

Su Yuqi’s face darkened.

The demon cultivators behind her instinctively took a step back, a flicker of fear in their eyes.

The hatred between the Hall of Light and the Flame Demon lineage was long-standing. The holy light of the Hall of Light had a natural restraining effect on the demons’ supreme fire. At the same cultivation level, demon cultivators rarely defeated those of the Hall of Light.

Moreover, the Hall of Light’s team included one fourth-grade Golden Immortal, two third-grade, three second-grade, and the rest were all Golden Immortals.

On the demon side, the strongest, Su Yuqi, was only at the peak of the third-grade Golden Immortal. Although there were two third-grade Golden Immortals, there was only one second-grade, and the rest were only ninth-grade True Immortals.

The difference in cultivation level, coupled with the elemental advantage, made the outcome of this battle, which hadn’t even begun, a foregone conclusion.

But Su Yuqi did not retreat.

A stubborn flame burned in her dark red eyes, and the supreme fire in her palm burned ever brighter, evaporating the melting water droplets from the surrounding ice crystals into white steam.

“Ten breaths?”

Her voice was as cold as ice. “No need for ten breaths. I can tell you now, the Heart of the Cold Abyss is mine. You people of the Hall of Light, either get out or die.”

The middle-aged man’s smile froze.

A murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he pointed his golden scepter forward sharply. “Seeking death!”

Before his words even finished, the dozen or so cultivators of the Hall of Light behind him attacked simultaneously, golden holy light transforming into blinding beams of light that blasted towards the demon cultivators.

Su Yuqi snorted coldly, and the supreme fire in her palm exploded violently, transforming into a dark red fire shield that blocked the incoming beams of light.

Boom!

The moment the beams of light collided with the fire shield, the entire passage trembled violently.

Large chunks of ice crystals broke off from the dome, shattering into dust upon impact with the ground. The icy blue fragments danced in the air, refracting golden holy light and crimson flames, illuminating the entire passage as a dreamlike realm of death.

Su Yuqi was thrown back several steps, her feet carving deep furrows into the ice beneath her.

Her hands split open, dark red blood dripping from her fingertips onto the ice with a hissing sound. The flames within her blood melted small, smoking pits in the ice.

But she did not yield.

Her crimson eyes were fixed on the middle-aged man before her. The flames in her palms reformed, burning even more intensely than before. Within the crimson flames, faint dark red patterns of light could be seen flowing—a sign that appeared only when the Flame Demon bloodline was activated to its extreme.

“Interesting.”

The middle-aged man looked at the re-condensed supreme fire in Su Yuqi’s palm, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. “A peak third-grade Golden Immortal, able to withstand my holy light impact without falling… the Holy Maiden of the Flame Demon lineage does indeed have some skill.”

He paused, a cold smile curving his lips. “But only ‘some skill’.”

The golden scepter was raised again, the light stone at its tip erupting with an even more dazzling holy light than before.

This time, the holy light was no longer a scattered beam, but condensed into a fist-sized golden sphere at the top of the scepter. The surface of the sphere was covered with dense holy light runes, each rune radiating a terrifying aura capable of incinerating the heavens and destroying the earth.

“Holy Light – Judgment.”

The middle-aged man murmured these four words, and the golden sphere flew out of his hand, trailing a long golden tail of flame as it hurtled towards Su Yuqi.

Wherever the sphere of light passed, the air was completely ignited. The ice crystals on both sides of the passage vaporized instantly upon contact with the sphere, without even melting, turning directly into white steam and dissipating into the air.

A trench several feet deep was carved into the ice surface, and the ice layer at the edge of the trench was burned into glassy black crystals by the high temperature.
Su Yuqi’s expression turned solemn.

She could sense the power contained within the golden sphere of light. It wasn’t an ordinary attack from a fourth-grade Golden Immortal cultivator; it was a killing move condensed from the core inherited laws of the Bright Palace, powerful enough to kill any third-grade Golden Immortal cultivator.

But she didn’t dodge.

Not because she couldn’t, but because she didn’t want to.

Behind her were her clansmen. Those True Immortal demon cultivators couldn’t withstand the aftershocks of an attack of this level. If she dodged, the shockwave from the sphere hitting the passage would be enough to severely injure everyone, or even kill those demon cultivators with lower cultivation levels.

Su Yuqi took a deep breath, her Fiery Demon bloodline surging wildly. Dark red flames erupted from every pore of her body, condensing into a several-foot-thick armor of flames around her.

She crossed her hands in front of her, the flames in her palms condensing into a dark red fire sword, its blade covered in dense Fiery Demon runes. Each rune burned, roared, and yearned to incinerate everything before it.

“Flame Demon Slash!”

Su Yuqi shouted, her dark red fire sword slashing out fiercely, colliding head-on with the golden sphere of holy light.

Boom!

This explosion was several times more powerful than before.

The golden holy light and the dark red flames clashed violently at the point of impact, the two opposing fire powers mutually restraining and annihilating each other, releasing an unimaginable energy shockwave.

The shockwave spread in all directions, cracking the ice walls on both sides of the passage, and large chunks of ice crystals broke off from the dome, crashing to the ground and scattering ice shards everywhere.

A crater several meters wide was blasted into the ground, the ice layer at the bottom completely gone, revealing the dark rock beneath.

Su Yuqi’s body was thrown backward by the shockwave, tumbling several times in the air before crashing heavily into the ice door at the end of the passage with a dull thud.

Dark red blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, dripping down her chin onto her ice-white dress, staining the hem dark red.

Her arms trembled, the gash between her thumb and forefinger deepened, and dark red blood dripped from her fingertips, pooling on the ground.

The intense fire in her palm dimmed considerably, and the deep red patterns within the flames became faint, a sign of depleted spiritual energy.

Yet, she did not collapse.

She slowly rose, leaning against the ice gate, wiping the blood from her lips. Her dark red eyes remained fixed on the middle-aged man before her, the stubbornness and killing intent in them undiminished.

“My lady!”

came the anxious cries of the demon cultivators behind her.

The demon cultivator at the third rank of the Golden Immortal realm rushed to Su Yuqi’s side, trying to help her, but she pushed him away.

“I’m fine,”

Su Yuqi’s voice was hoarse, but her tone remained firm. “You all retreat, do not approach the battlefield.”

“But my lady, you are injured…”

“I said retreat!”

Su Yuqi’s voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an undeniable authority.

The demon cultivator gritted his teeth, ultimately leading the other demon cultivators to retreat to the corner of the passage, leaving the battlefield to Su Yuqi and the people of the Hall of Light.

The middle-aged man looked at Su Yuqi, his surprise turning into solemnity.

His move, “Holy Light Judgment,” was enough to kill any Golden Immortal Realm Third Grade cultivator, and could even pose a threat to a Golden Immortal Realm Fourth Grade cultivator.

But this demon girl, only at the peak of the Golden Immortal Realm Third Grade, had actually withstood it head-on, and although injured, she had not lost her fighting ability.

“I take back what I just said.”

The middle-aged man’s voice held a hint of approval. “You don’t just ‘have some tricks,’ you ‘have a lot of tricks. Unfortunately…” He paused, his killing intent intensifying, “No matter how many tricks you have, you will die here today.”

The golden scepter was raised again, and the Light Stone at the top of the scepter once again condensed holy light.

This time, the condensation speed was faster, the holy light was more refined, the size of the light sphere was smaller, but the power contained within was even more terrifying.

Su Yuqi gritted her teeth, her Fiery Demon bloodline surging wildly, squeezing out the last bit of spiritual energy to condense into a fist-sized ball of dark red flame in her palm.

She knew she couldn’t hold on much longer.

Her spiritual energy was depleted, her essence blood was more than half gone, and the injuries to her arms made every movement excruciatingly painful.

But she couldn’t retreat.

The Heart of the Cold Abyss lay behind the ice gate, the last hope of the Fiery Demon lineage.

She took a deep breath, compressing the flame in her palm to its limit, preparing to meet the middle-aged man’s next attack.

Just then, a scream came from the other side of the battlefield.

Su Yuqi’s heart sank. She turned sharply and saw a scene that made her eyes widen in horror.

The three Golden Immortal level demon cultivators were engaged in fierce combat with the cultivators of the Hall of Light, but they were outnumbered and surrounded by the Hall of Light cultivators, already on the verge of death.

The demon cultivator at the second rank of the Golden Immortal realm was besieged by three cultivators from the Hall of Light.

His body was covered in countless charred wounds from the holy light, which burned on his skin, suppressing the intense fire within him layer by layer. His movements grew slower and slower, like a tiger surrounded by wolves—fierce but overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“Ah—”

He finally succumbed, a golden longsword piercing his chest.

Golden holy light surged into his body from the wound, completely extinguishing the intense fire within him.

His body stiffened for a moment, then slowly collapsed, dark red blood gushing from the wound, staining the icy blue ground dark red.

His eyes remained open, frozen with resentment and rage, but his pupils were already dilating, his life force rapidly fading.

“Third Brother!”

The demon cultivator at the third rank of the Golden Immortal realm, wielding a dark red battle blade, roared in fury upon seeing this, frantically swinging his blade at the Hall of Light cultivators surrounding him.

The intense flames on the battle blade surged upwards, turning from dark red to deep crimson—a testament to the extreme power of his burning essence.

With a single strike, a first-grade Golden Immortal cultivator from the Hall of Light was caught off guard and cleaved in two from the shoulder, golden blood and entrails splattering everywhere.

But this strike had exhausted his last reserves of strength.

He staggered, and several Hall of Light cultivators rushed up from behind, seizing the opportunity to unleash a barrage of holy light beams upon his back.

His back was blasted into a bloody mess, the sound of his spine snapping clearly audible.

He coughed up dark red blood, collapsed forward onto the ice, struggled a few times, and never got up again.

“Second Brother!”

The last demon cultivator at the third rank of the Golden Immortal realm, the one wielding the burning iron chain, saw his two companions fall one after another, and tears of blood welled up in his eyes.He swung his iron chain wildly, forcing the Light Temple cultivators surrounding him back several steps, but he was quickly surrounded by more Light Temple cultivators.

Golden holy light bombarded him from all directions. He dodged left and right, but was still struck by several beams. The golden holy light burned on his skin, charring his flesh and emitting a pungent, acrid smell.

He roared, and the iron chain lashed out, wrapping around the neck of a Light Temple cultivator. With a forceful pull, the cultivator’s neck snapped, his head flying off. The headless body swayed twice and crashed to the ground.

But this was his last attack.

Several beams of holy light simultaneously struck his chest, blasting a fist-sized hole in it.

Dark red blood and shattered internal organs gushed from the hole. His body stiffened for a moment, then slowly knelt down, the iron chain slipping from his grasp and clanging against the ice.

His eyes were still open, staring in Su Yuqi’s direction. His mouth opened as if to say something, but only a spurt of dark red blood escaped, and then he breathed his last.

All three Golden Immortal level demon cultivators were dead.

Su Yuqi watched this scene, tears welling in her dark red eyes.

They weren’t tears of sorrow, but tears of rage.

Her people fell one after another before her, and she was powerless to stop it.

Her fists clenched so tightly they cracked, her nails digging into her palms, drawing dark red blood.

She wanted to rush forward, to fight those Bright Hall cultivators to the death, but her body wouldn’t allow it. Her

spiritual energy was exhausted, her vital essence was more than half depleted, and the injuries to her arms made even clenching her fists difficult.

Rushing forward now would only be suicide.

But she didn’t care.

She would rather die than watch her people being slaughtered before her eyes and do nothing.

Su Yuqi gritted her teeth and struggled towards the battlefield, each step leaving a bloody footprint on the ice.

“My lady, no!”

The few remaining True Immortal Realm demon cultivators rushed forward, desperately pulling her back.

“Let go!” Su Yuqi’s voice was hoarse and trembling.

“My lady, you can’t go! You are the Holy Maiden of the Flame Demon lineage. If you die, the Flame Demon lineage will be completely finished!”

A young demon cultivator’s eyes were filled with tears. “Please, go quickly! We’ll cover you!”

“I said let go!”

Su Yuqi abruptly shook off their hands, but after taking only two steps, she stumbled and almost fell.

Her body had reached its limit; even walking had become difficult.

The middle-aged man looked at Su Yuqi, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

“The Holy Maiden of the Flame Demon lineage, a peak third-grade Golden Immortal, is indeed a formidable opponent.”

His voice carried a cat-and-mouse-like pleasure. “Unfortunately, you brought too many burdens. If you had come alone, you might have been able to fight me to a draw, and even have a chance to take the Heart of the Cold Abyss. But you brought this bunch of trash…” He shook his head, “You deserve to die.”

He raised his golden scepter, and the luminous stone at the top of the scepter once again condensed holy light.

“Now, it’s time to send you on your way.”

The golden holy light condensed at the top of the scepter, growing brighter and denser, finally forming a golden sphere the size of a human head, containing enough power to completely annihilate Su Yuqi.

Su Yuqi stood still, neither dodging nor blocking.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but that she had no strength left.

She simply raised her head, her dark red eyes looking at the golden sphere, her eyes devoid of fear, only a sense of relief and calm.

Was it really over?

Perhaps.

She should have died long ago.

From the day she lost her memory, the Su Yuqi of the past had already died.

Now, she was nothing more than a puppet whose memories had been reshaped by the demons, a tool living for the benefit of the Flame Demon lineage.

Dying here might be a release.

She closed her eyes.

Then, she heard a sword’s cry.

The cry was crisp and long, like something tearing through the air, or something awakening from slumber.

It wasn’t an ordinary sword cry, but one imbued with some ancient law, each tremor resonating with some primal power of heaven and earth.

After the cry, a deafening roar followed.

Boom—

the golden sphere of holy light exploded less than a foot away from Su Yuqi, but not on its own; it was cleaved in two by a purple sword aura.

The instant the purple sword aura collided with the golden sphere, the two completely different forces tore at each other wildly in the confined space, releasing unimaginable energy shocks.

The golden holy light and the purple chaotic power intertwined, collided, and annihilated in the air, forming visible shockwaves that spread in all directions.

Where the shockwave passed, several deep furrows, several feet deep, were carved into the ice surface. The ice at the edges of the furrows was riddled with holes by the intense heat and chaotic power.

Su Yuqi’s body was jolted back a few steps by the shockwave, but she didn’t fall because she was supported by a strong hand.

It was a hand that wasn’t particularly large, but it was exceptionally strong.

Su Yuqi suddenly opened her eyes, and what came into view was a purple back.

The back wasn’t tall, even somewhat thin, but standing there, it was like an unshakeable mountain.

Purple chaotic power flowed around him, shimmering with a cold luster in the light of the ice-blue passage.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword was held horizontally in front of him, its blade burning with purple chaotic fire, the flames flickering and dispelling the surrounding chill.

Kai.

Su Yuqi looked at his back, a complex emotion flashing in her dark red eyes.

She didn’t understand why Kai, who was only at the eighth level of the True Immortal Realm, would save her.

Was there some past between them that she didn’t know about?

She wanted to ask, but the words fell into silent contemplation.

Her gaze fell on his shoulder, where a scar scorched by holy light lay, the flesh charred black, still emitting wisps of white smoke.

It was from the aftershock of his sword strike that had cleaved the golden orb of light.

He had shielded her from the deadly holy light with his own body.

Su Yuqi’s eyes suddenly stung with tears.

She didn’t know why.

Perhaps it was because it had been too long since anyone had protected her like that.

Since losing her memory, she had always been the Holy Maiden of the Flame Demon lineage, a high and mighty being, the protector, not the protected.

She was used to facing everything alone, used to shielding her people from all danger, used to silently licking her wounds after being injured.

She had never imagined that one day a cultivator at only the eighth rank of True Immortal would use his own body to shield her from a fatal blow.The middle-aged man’s killing intent intensified as he looked at Kai, who had suddenly appeared.

“A mere eighth-grade True Immortal dares to block my holy light?”

His voice carried an angry rage at being offended. “Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish.”

The golden scepter was raised again, holy light gathering at its tip.

Kai didn’t look at him, but turned to Su Yuqi behind him.

“Can you still stand?” His voice was soft, so soft that only Su Yuqi could hear it.

Su Yuqi nodded, remaining silent.

Her throat felt blocked, unable to speak.

“Step back.”

Kai withdrew his gaze, slowly raising the Dragon-Slaying Sword, its tip aimed at the middle-aged man’s throat. “Leave this to me.”

Su Yuqi opened her mouth, wanting to say, “How could an eighth-grade True Immortal possibly be a match for a fourth-grade Golden Immortal?” But she didn’t speak.

Because she saw Kai’s eyes.

In those purple eyes, there was no fear, no hesitation, only an indescribable calm.

That wasn’t the calm of ignorance, but the calm of absolute confidence in one’s own strength.

Like the calm of a hunter watching its prey walk into a trap.

Su Yuqi took a few steps back, leaning against the ice door, her dark red eyes fixed on Kai’s back.

She wanted to see what trump cards Kai, only at the eighth level of the True Immortal Realm, possessed that allowed him to dare face a fourth-level Golden Immortal Realm expert from the Hall of Light with his mere eighth-level True Immortal cultivation.

The middle-aged man’s holy light sphere had been fully condensed, larger and brighter than the previous two, containing even more terrifying power.

“Holy Light – Annihilation!”

the middle-aged man uttered a low shout, and the golden sphere shot out, trailing a long golden tail of flame as it hurtled towards Kai.

Wherever the sphere passed, the air was completely ignited, the ice crystals on both sides of the passage vaporized, and a trench a foot deep was plowed into the ground. The ice at the edge of the trench was melted by the high temperature, and crimson magma flowed in the trench, emitting a pungent sulfurous smell.

This attack was more than twice as powerful as the one aimed at Su Yuqi.

The middle-aged man was clearly enraged by Kai’s “offense”; he wanted to obliterate this arrogant ant in one strike.

Kai stared at the oncoming golden sphere of light, his purple eyes utterly calm.

He didn’t retreat, dodge, or even parry.

He simply thrust out his sword.

The instant the tip of the Dragon-Slaying Sword collided with the golden sphere, purple chaotic fire exploded violently, transforming into a massive purple flame that completely engulfed the golden sphere.

The golden holy light struggled frantically within the purple flame, like prey caught in the jaws of a beast, twisting, struggling, and roaring desperately, but unable to escape the overwhelming power of chaos.

Kai flicked his sword tip slightly, and the golden sphere, consumed by the chaotic fire, changed direction, flying towards the crowd of Bright Hall cultivators.

“Not good! Get out of the way!”

The cultivators of the Hall of Light were terrified and scattered in all directions.

But the ball of light was flying too fast, and after being devoured by the chaotic fire, it became even more unstable. It exploded with a bang when it reached the crowd.

Boom!

The golden holy light and the purple chaotic fire exploded simultaneously, transforming into countless tiny pillars of light that shot in all directions. Each pillar contained enough power to kill a Golden Immortal cultivator.

Several slow-moving cultivators of the Hall of Light were struck by the pillars of light, their bodies instantly blasted into pieces. Golden blood and shattered limbs flew through the air, landing on the ice with a pattering sound.

The golden blood flowed on the ice, intertwining with the dark red blood left by the demon cultivators, creating a bizarre and bloody scene.

The middle-aged man’s face changed completely.

“Chaotic power?”

His voice was filled with disbelief and shock. “You are…you are Kai?!”

He had heard of this name before.

Elder Yan Po of the Flame God Palace led thirty Flame Dragon Guards to hunt down a young man named Kai, but they were all wiped out. Yan Po was killed with a single sword strike, and Flame Tiger and Flame Leopard fled back in disarray.

At the time, he had mocked the people of the Flame God Palace for being useless—a peak third-grade Golden Immortal leading thirty elite first-grade Golden Immortals, yet they were all annihilated by a cultivator at the eighth grade True Immortal level.

Now he understood.

It wasn’t that the people of the Flame God Palace were useless, but that this young man named Kai was too terrifying.

An eighth-grade True Immortal, wielding the power of chaos, killing a peak third-grade Golden Immortal with a single sword strike.

This kind of cross-level combat power could no longer be measured by ordinary standards.

Kai remained silent.

His purple eyes coldly stared at the middle-aged man, the chaotic fire on his Dragon-Slaying Sword burning ever brighter, illuminating the entire passage with a purple light.

He didn’t need to speak.

His sword was his answer.

Cold sweat beaded on the middle-aged man’s forehead.

He was a fourth-grade Golden Immortal, a whole major grade higher than Kai.

Logically, with such a difference in cultivation level, he should have crushed Kai.

But the truth is, Kai’s sword strike not only easily neutralized his “Holy Light – Annihilation,” but also used the force to bounce the light sphere back, killing several of his subordinates.

This control over power, this judgment of the battle situation, this reaction made in the blink of an eye—this is not something a True Immortal Realm Eighth Grade cultivator should possess.

This is practically the fighting style of a battle-hardened Golden Immortal Realm Peak expert.

“I’ll see just how much you’re worth.”

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, his golden scepter swinging wildly. The light stone at the top of the scepter erupted with unprecedented holy light, illuminating the entire passage as bright as day.

The holy light condensed on his body, forming a set of golden holy light armor. The surface of the armor was covered with dense holy light runes, each rune operating wildly, maximizing his defense and attack power.

This is the Hall of Light’s secret technique—”Holy Light Armor,” which condenses holy light into solid armor, greatly enhancing not only defense but also amplifying the power of holy light spells.

The middle-aged man clearly now considered Kai a true opponent and no longer underestimated him.

Kai looked at the golden holy light armor on the middle-aged man’s body, a cold glint flashing in his purple eyes.

His chaotic power could counter all holy light, but only if the degree of condensation of his chaotic power was not lower than that of the holy light.

The middle-aged man was a fourth-grade Golden Immortal, and the degree of condensation of his holy light far surpassed that of Yan Po, a peak third-grade Golden Immortal.

Although Kai’s chaotic power could suppress holy light, its effectiveness was greatly reduced against holy light of this level.

However…

a slight smile appeared on Kai’s lips.

He had plenty of ways.

The middle-aged man moved.

His figure flashed through the air, disappearing from his original spot, and reappeared behind Kai the next moment, his golden scepter carrying enough power to shatter a mountain as it smashed towards the back of Kai’s head. The scepter was enveloped in compressed holy light, its color shifting from gold to blazing white, so intensely hot it seemed to ignite the air, crackling and popping.

Kai didn’t turn around.

He slightly shifted his body, the scepter grazing his ear, lifting a strand of black hair.

At the same time, the Dragon-Slaying Sword swung upwards, its purple sword energy slashing towards the middle-aged man’s wrist.

The middle-aged man coldly snorted, retracting his scepter to block the sword energy.

The sword energy struck the scepter, producing a piercing metallic clang, sparks flying.

The middle-aged man was forced back half a step, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

Kai’s power was far greater than he had imagined.

How could a True Immortal Realm Eighth Grade cultivator possess such strength?

He had no time to think further, for Kai’s second sword strike was already upon him.

This strike was no longer a test, but a true killing blow.

The purple chaotic fire on the Dragon-Slaying Sword condensed into a three-zhang-long sword aura. Wherever the sword aura passed, the air was torn apart, the ice surface was cleaved, and even space itself trembled slightly under its sharpness.

The middle-aged man dared not take it head-on and dodged to the side.

But the sword aura was too fast. Although he dodged the direct attack, his right arm was still grazed by the sword aura. His

golden holy light armor was like paper in front of the sword aura, easily torn apart. The sword aura left a deep, bone-revealing wound on his right arm, and golden blood gushed from the wound, splashing onto the ice surface with a hissing sound.

The middle-aged man groaned and retreated dozens of zhang, widening the distance between himself and Kai.

He looked down at the wound on his right arm, a trace of horror flashing in his eyes.

His holy light armor was broken by a junior at the eighth level of the True Immortal Realm with a single sword strike?

How could this be?

His holy light armor could even withstand the full-force attack of a fourth-level Golden Immortal Realm expert.

“Who exactly are you…” The middle-aged man’s voice trembled slightly, “Who are you?”

Kai didn’t answer.

His purple eyes coldly stared at the middle-aged man, and the Dragon-Slaying Sword slowly rose, its tip aimed at the man’s throat.

Purple chaotic power condensed at the sword tip, forming a thin, hair-like purple thread of light.

It was his strongest attack, compressing all his chaotic power into a single point, the same move he used to kill Yan Po.

But compared to when he killed Yan Po, this purple thread of light was more refined, purer, and contained a more terrifying power.

After the continuous battles in the Fallen God Wasteland and the outskirts of the Azure Cloud Mountains, his chaotic power was purer than before, and his understanding of the laws of chaos had deepened.

The middle-aged man looked at the purple thread of light, his pupils suddenly contracting.

He sensed the power contained within it.

That wasn’t the power a True Immortal Realm Eighth Grade cultivator should possess.

It was a terrifying power capable of threatening his life.

“Retreat!”

The middle-aged man made a decisive decision, shouting as he turned and ran.

He wasn’t a reckless fool; he was an elder of the Hall of Light, having lived for tens of thousands of years and experienced countless battles, deeply understanding the importance of assessing the situation.

This young man before him was too strange. A True Immortal of the eighth rank could force him to this point; if he broke through to the Golden Immortal realm, what would become of him?

If they didn’t run now, they might not be able to escape later.

Seeing their elder flee, the cultivators of the Hall of Light also turned and ran, each faster than a rabbit, their golden holy light leaving long trails of flame in the passage.

Su Yuqi leaned against the ice door, watching the disarrayed retreating figures of the Hall of Light cultivators, a complex expression flashing in her dark red eyes.

A Golden Immortal of the fourth rank elder of the Hall of Light, forced to flee in disarray by a True Immortal of the eighth rank.

Who would believe such a thing if word got out?

But Kai had no intention of letting them escape.

His figure flashed, disappearing from the spot, a purple streak of light streaking through the passage, so fast that even his afterimage was invisible.

The next moment, he appeared behind the slowest-running cultivator from the Temple of Light. With a gentle flick of his Dragon-Slaying Sword, a purple sword aura slashed across the cultivator’s neck.

The cultivator’s head flew off, and his headless body continued running forward for several steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Golden blood gushed from his neck, staining the icy blue ice surface a dark gold.

Kai didn’t linger; his figure flashed again, appearing before another cultivator from the Temple of Light.

The cultivator stared in terror at Kai, who had suddenly appeared before him. His mouth opened, as if to beg for mercy, but before he could utter a word, Kai’s sword had already pierced his chest.

Purple chaotic fire surged into his body from the wound, devouring his holy light, essence blood, meridians, and bones, one by one.

His body stiffened for a moment, then slowly collapsed, his eyes still open, frozen in fear and resentment.

Kai’s figure weaved through the passage, each flash accompanied by the fall of a cultivator from the Temple of Light.

His sword wasn’t fast, in fact, it was quite slow. Each strike was precise and clear, without any frills or unnecessary movements.

But it was precisely this extreme simplicity of swordsmanship that left the Bright Hall cultivators no chance to react before they were killed with a single blow.

This wasn’t a battle; it was a massacre.

Kai harvested the lives of the Bright Hall cultivators one by one, like reaping wheat.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Bright Hall cultivators lay dead in pools of blood, golden blood flowing on the ice, forming dark golden streams. Only

the middle-aged man at the fourth rank of the Golden Immortal realm remained.

He stood at the entrance of the passage, looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, watching Kai slowly walk towards him, his face deathly pale, his hand gripping the scepter trembling.

“You…you can’t kill me…”

His voice trembled, all his previous dignity and arrogance gone. “I am an elder of the Bright Hall. If you kill me, the Bright Hall will not let you off…”

Kai stopped in front of him, only three steps away.

The purple eyes looked down at him, devoid of any emotion, like an executioner watching a prisoner about to be executed.

“The Hall of Light?”

Kai finally spoke, his voice soft but exceptionally clear in the silent corridor. “Do you think I care?”

The middle-aged man’s body trembled violently.

“You…”

He tried to say something, but Kai didn’t give him the chance.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword was raised, its tip aimed at the middle-aged man’s heart.

Purple chaotic power condensed at the sword tip, forming a thin, hair-like purple thread of light.

“Wait!”

the middle-aged man shouted suddenly, “You can’t kill me! I know a secret! A secret about the Heart of the Cold Abyss! A secret about the Ice God lineage! Let me go, and I’ll tell you!”

Kai’s hand paused.

He turned to look at Jiang Xuelan behind him.

Jiang Xuelan stood beside the ice gate, her ice-white dress covered in ice shards and dust. Her face was pale, but her eyes shone with a resolute light.

Upon hearing the words “the secret of the Ice God lineage,” her body trembled slightly. Kai withdrew his gaze and looked at the middle-aged man.

“Speak.”

“You must first swear you won’t kill me!”

A cunning glint flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes. “Swear on your Dao Heart, or I’d rather die than speak!”

Kai was silent for a moment.

Then he smiled.

The smile was cold, so cold it chilled the middle-aged man to the bone.

“You think you have the right to negotiate with me?”

Kai’s voice was as cold as ice. “You only have two choices now—either speak, and I’ll give you a quick death. Or don’t speak, and I’ll cut your flesh piece by piece and slowly burn it with Chaos Fire, letting you experience what it means to wish you were dead.”

The middle-aged man’s face turned completely pale.

He knew Kai wasn’t bluffing.

A person who could kill more than a dozen Bright Hall cultivators without batting an eye was absolutely capable of such a thing.

“I’ll talk…I’ll talk…”

His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, “While the Heart of the Frost Abyss is the supreme treasure of the Ice God lineage, it is also the key to opening the Ice God Palace headquarters in the twentieth heaven. Sealed within the Ice God Palace headquarters is the complete legacy of the Ice God Ancestor.

Whoever obtains the Ice God Ancestor’s complete legacy will control the entire Ice God lineage. The Hall of Light has been searching for the Heart of the Frost Abyss precisely to open the Ice God Palace headquarters in the twentieth heaven and seize the Ice God Ancestor’s legacy.”

The twentieth heaven.

The Ice God Palace headquarters.

The Ice God Ancestor’s complete legacy.

These words exploded in Kai’s mind like a bombshell.

He turned to look at Jiang Xuelan.

Jiang Xuelan’s expression became extremely complex, her eyes churning with shock, excitement, disbelief, and other emotions.

If the Heart of the Frost Abyss truly is the key to opening the Ice God Palace headquarters in the twentieth heaven, then the hope for the Ice God lineage’s revival is not just in the eighteenth heaven, but in the twentieth heaven—the twentieth heaven where the God Clan’s headquarters is located.

What does this mean?

This meant that the Ice God lineage had never truly perished. Their main altar in the twentieth heaven still sealed the complete legacy of their ancestor. As long as they obtained the legacy, the Ice God lineage could rise again.

“Finished?” Kai withdrew his gaze and looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man nodded vigorously. “Finished, finished. Can you let me go now?”

Kai didn’t answer.

He simply raised the Dragon-Slaying Sword again.

“You…you’re not keeping your word!” The middle-aged man retreated in terror, but behind him was the rock wall of the passage; he had nowhere to go.

“When did I say I would let you go?”

Kai’s voice was terrifyingly calm. “I only said, ‘Say it, and I’ll give you a quick death.’ I mean what I say.”

Purple light shot out from the sword tip, silent and fast as lightning.

The middle-aged man tried to dodge, but the light was too fast. Before his body could react, the light pierced his forehead. His

body stiffened for a moment, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Golden blood slowly flowed from the wound on his forehead, dripping down his nose and cheeks.

His body slowly fell backward, crashing onto the ice with a dull thud.

The golden scepter slipped from his hand, clattering and rolling a long distance, the luminous stone at its tip dim and lifeless, no longer emitting any holy light.

Kai sheathed his Dragon-Slaying Sword and turned back to Su Yuqi and Jiang Xuelan.

He was covered in golden blood, his purple robes stained with spots, but his expression remained calm, as if he had just returned from a stroll, not from having just slain more than a dozen Golden Immortal cultivators.

The passage was silent, save for the faint sounds of ice crystals shattering and the whistling of the wind blowing through the cracks.

Su Yuqi leaned against the ice door, her dark red eyes fixed on Kai, filled with shock.

She had witnessed the entire process of Kai killing the cultivators from the Hall of Light.

From the first sword strike that neutralized “Holy Light: Annihilation,” to the reaping of the lives of the Bright Hall cultivators one by one, to the final strike piercing the middle-aged man’s forehead with a purple light thread—

every sword strike was clean and swift, without any superfluous movements or hesitation .

This was not the swordsmanship of a True Immortal Realm Eighth Grade cultivator.

It was a killing technique honed through countless life-or-death battles, honed amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Su Yuqi suddenly felt a sense of relief that Kai hadn’t attacked her.

If he had, she would likely be lying on the ground, a cold corpse, just like those Bright Hall cultivators.

“You…” Su Yuqi began, her voice hoarse, “Who exactly are you?”

Kai turned to look at her, a complex emotion flashing in his purple eyes.

“I am Kai.”

His voice was soft, as if answering a simple question, “Someone you once knew.”

Su Yuqi remained silent for a moment.

There must be a past between this Kai and her that she didn’t know about.

“I have amnesia,”

Su Yuqi said. “Except for our first meeting at the Fourteenth Heaven, I don’t remember anything else. So… what you’ve said about the past is like a story that happened to someone else to me.”

Kai was silent for a long time.

A hint of sadness flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

“It’s alright,” he said, his voice calm. “Whether you remember or not, you are still you.”

Su Yuqi looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in her dark red eyes.

She didn’t know how to respond.

“You’re injured,” Kai suddenly spoke, his gaze falling on the wound on her shoulder. “It needs some treatment.”

He took out a healing pill from his storage ring and handed it to Su Yuqi.

Su Yuqi took the pill, hesitated for a moment, and then put it in her mouth. As soon as

the pill entered her stomach, a warm power surged from her dantian, stabilizing her injuries, and the wound on her shoulder began to heal slowly.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice soft.

Kai shook his head and turned to walk towards Jiang Xuelan.

Jiang Xuelan stood beside the ice gate, her long, white dress covered in ice shards and dust. Her face was somewhat pale, but the light in her eyes remained resolute.

“You heard everything?” Kai asked.

Jiang Xuelan nodded.

“The Heart of the Cold Abyss is the key to opening the main altar of the Ice God Palace in the twentieth heaven; the complete legacy of the Ice God Ancestor is sealed there.”

Her voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement. “If this is true, then the Ice God lineage…”

“Whether it’s true or not, we’ll find out by going in.” Kai turned to look at the massive ice gate. “Let’s go in.”

Jiang Xuelan took a deep breath, walked to the ice gate, and placed her hand on it.

Her Ice God bloodline activated at full power, and icy blue light surged from her palm, resonating with the six-petaled snowflake runes on the ice gate.The ice gate slowly opened, and an even more intense chill surged out from behind it, enveloping all three simultaneously.

Kai’s Chaos Fire automatically activated, repelling the chill.

Jiang Xuelan took a deep breath, inhaling the surging chill, her face regaining some color, a glint of wild joy flashing in her eyes.

Su Yuqi’s body trembled slightly, dark red supreme fire appearing on her skin, keeping the chill at bay. Her injuries had not yet healed, her face still pale, but her dark red eyes remained resolute.

The three stepped through the ice gate, entering a deeper passage.

The ice walls on both sides of the passage were covered with Ice God runes, flickering in the icy blue light, as if recounting the rise and fall of the Ice God lineage over hundreds of thousands of years.

At the end of the passage was a massive ice crystal palace.

The palace was tens of meters high, its dome densely covered with ice crystals, which refracted the outside light, illuminating the entire palace.

The palace floor was a single, translucent slab of ice crystal, a deep blue, revealing ancient runes flowing beneath the surface.

In the center of the palace stood a high ice crystal platform, upon which floated a ball of ice-blue light. Within this light, a fist-sized bead was faintly visible, its surface covered in densely packed ice god runes, radiating an extremely powerful force of the laws of ice.

The Heart of the Frost Abyss.

The three stopped simultaneously.

Kai gazed at the ball of ice-blue light, his purple eyes reflecting the flowing ice-blue halo.

He could sense that the bead contained an immense power of the laws of ice, a power pure to the extreme, powerful to the extreme, and ancient to the extreme.

It was a power beyond the reach of even a Golden Immortal cultivator, let alone a cultivator at the Void Realm.

It was the primordial power condensed from the Ice God Ancestor’s own blood essence, the core of the Ice God lineage’s inheritance for hundreds of thousands of years.

“The Heart of the Cold Abyss.”

Jiang Xuelan’s voice trembled slightly. She sensed the aura of the Ice God lineage within the bead, causing her Ice God bloodline to boil wildly, as if responding to some ancient call.

Su Yuqi looked at the Heart of the Cold Abyss, a complex expression flashing in her dark red eyes.

She had come to the Northern Cold Abyss for this bead.

But now, she was injured, her spiritual power depleted, and more than half of her essence blood consumed. She had no strength to compete with Kai.

Moreover, even in her prime, she wasn’t confident she could snatch the Heart of the Cold Abyss from Kai.

Someone capable of killing a fourth-grade Golden Immortal was not someone she could handle.

Su Yuqi was silent for a moment, then turned and walked towards the palace exit.

“Where are you going?” Kai’s voice came from behind.

Su Yuqi stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“I’m injured, I don’t have the strength to fight you for the Heart of the Cold Abyss.”

Her voice was calm, devoid of any emotion. “You take your treasure, I’ll go my own way. We’re strangers.”

“What if you go out now and encounter reinforcements from the Hall of Light?”

Su Yuqi’s body stiffened slightly.

Kai was right.

So many people had died in the Hall of Light, they would definitely send reinforcements to investigate.

She was currently overdrawn on her spiritual power, her essence blood was more than half depleted, and her injuries had not yet healed. If she encountered reinforcements from the Hall of Light, she wouldn’t even be able to run away.

“Stay here, heal your injuries before you leave.” Kai’s voice came from behind her. “We’ll talk about what happens outside when you’re healed.”

Su Yuqi remained silent for a long time.

She stood there, her back to Kai, motionless.

Her dark red dress appeared somewhat dim in the icy blue light, her ink-black hair hanging down her back, swaying gently in the cold air.

After a long time, she finally spoke.

“Okay.”

This one word was very soft, almost inaudible.

But Kai heard it.

The corners of his mouth slightly curved into an imperceptible arc.

Su Yuqi turned around, walked to a corner of the palace, sat down against the ice wall, took out a pill from her storage ring, swallowed it, closed her eyes, and began to regulate her breathing and heal her injuries.

Her ultimate fire slowly burned on her body, the dark red light standing out conspicuously in the ice-blue palace.

Kai looked at her profile, a soft light flashing in his purple eyes.

But he quickly withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the ice crystal platform.

The Heart of the Cold Abyss hovered three feet above the platform, ice-blue light flowing across its surface, like a star frozen for hundreds of thousands of years.

Kai walked to the platform and reached into the ice-blue light.

Chaotic power circulated in his palm, the purple light colliding with the ice-blue light, producing a faint resonance.

He could feel that the Heart of the Cold Abyss contained an extremely vast power of the laws of ice, a power that was pure to the extreme, powerful to the extreme, and ancient to the extreme.

But that power was not hostile to him; it could even be said to be friendly.

Because his chaotic power is the source of all elements, the power of ice, as an element, has a natural affinity for chaotic power.

Kai took the Heart of the Abyss from the light and held it in his palm.

The Heart of the Abyss was cool to the touch, but not piercing; instead, it had a warm, jade-like feel.

The ice god runes on the surface of the bead glowed faintly in Kai’s palm, as if welcoming his arrival.

Just then, an old and weak voice suddenly rang in Kai’s sea of ​​consciousness.

“The Heart of the Abyss…finally…found…”

It was Bei Mingyuan.

Kai was overjoyed, “Senior, you’re awake?”

“I have been waiting…”

Bei Mingyuan’s voice was intermittent, as if he was speaking with his last strength, “Place the Heart of the Abyss…on the Ice God Altar…I want to…use the power of the altar…to reshape my physical body…”

Kai looked around and saw an ice crystal altar on the north side of the palace.

The altar was about ten feet high and three feet wide, entirely ice-blue, its surface covered with densely packed ice god runes. The runes flickered in the ice-blue light, as if breathing.

In the center of the altar was a recess, its shape identical to the Heart of the Frozen Abyss.

Kai walked to the altar and gently placed the Heart of the Frozen Abyss into the recess.

The instant the Heart of the Frozen Abyss entered the recess, the entire palace trembled.

Simultaneously, the ice god runes on the altar lit up, illuminating the entire palace with an ice-blue light.

In the light, a phantom emerged from Kai’s sea of ​​consciousness and slowly landed before the altar.

It was an old man with white hair, a pale face, and an ethereal figure, as if a gust of wind could disperse him. This was

Bei Mingyuan.

His remnant soul stood before the altar, gazing at the Heart of the Cold Abyss on it, tears welling in his eyes.

“Hundreds of thousands of years…” His voice was hoarse to the extreme, “I… have finally returned…”

He reached out, and the instant his ethereal fingers touched the Heart of the Cold Abyss, it erupted with a blinding icy blue light, completely enveloping Bei Mingyuan’s remnant soul.