Above the ice plains, the cold wind still blew, but that oppressive Golden Core pressure had dissipated, leaving only the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, slightly thinner after losing three petals, yet still stubbornly emitting a soft white glow. Tang Xiaoqi carefully placed the cold jade box containing the petals into his robes, feeling the pure cold energy and vitality transmitted through the jade, his heart settling. The main objective of this journey had been achieved, and he had even formed a good connection with that Ice Crystal Phoenix—truly a complete success.
Just as he was about to signal Zhao Tiezhu and the rabbit spirit to leave this place of trouble, a sudden change occurred!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
Several extremely sharp sounds of splitting air arose without warning from all directions! The sounds didn't come from the wind and snow, but from some kind of sharp weapon tearing through the air with astonishing speed!
Almost by instinct, Xiaoqi's spiritual sense, which had never fully relaxed, suddenly gave a warning. Without thinking, the "Swimming Dragon Nine Turns" movement technique beneath his feet instantly activated, his body sliding backward like a fish by over ten feet.
"Thud thud thud!"
Right where he had been standing, three completely dark blue ice cones emitting bone-piercing cold energy deeply embedded into the ice surface that was harder than refined steel. The tails of the ice cones still vibrated violently, producing a teeth-grating hum. These ice cones weren't ordinary cold ice; the spiritual power within them was sinister and condensed, clearly from a cultivator who specialized in ice-attribute techniques. If Xiaoqi hadn't dodged in time, he would have been seriously injured instantly!
"Brother Seven!" Zhao Tiezhu roared, his reaction equally fast. His burly body burst with golden light as the "Vajra Subduing Demons Divine Art" was pushed to its limit. With a single stride, he positioned himself in front of Xiaoqi, both fists punching out simultaneously. His fist winds were fierce and unmatched, shattering several other ice cones heading toward Xiaoqi in mid-air, sending ice shards flying everywhere!
The rabbit spirit was even more alert. The moment the sound of splitting air rang out, it transformed into a blurred white shadow. Instead of retreating, it whooshed behind a nearby ice spike formation, only revealing a pair of vigilant red eyes scanning in all directions.
"Who are you, hiding like rats!" Xiaoqi steadied himself, his face solemn, his gaze like lightning sweeping toward the direction the ice cones came from. His heart was wary—the opponent had chosen the timing perfectly, launching the attack right at the moment when his mental guard was most relaxed after completing the transaction with the Ice Phoenix. Moreover, they went straight for lethal moves, clearly having lain in ambush for some time with a clear purpose.
"Heh, your reactions aren't slow." A sinister voice rang out, carrying a hint of arrogance and coldness.
Following the voice, figures in uniform white robes with blue trim emerged from behind the surrounding ice walls and snow piles. There were eight of them, faintly forming an encirclement that trapped Xiaoqi, the other person, and the rabbit in the center. Each of these people had formidable auras—at minimum Foundation Establishment middle stage. The three leading ones had even reached Foundation Establishment late stage. Especially the pale-faced, sinister-eyed young man with a long face in the middle, whose aura was already at Foundation Establishment late stage peak, seemingly just one step away from Golden Core. On their robes' cuffs and hems, they all had a snow-covered mountain peak pattern embroidered—the symbol of the Northern Wastes' hegemon-level sect, the "Mysterious Ice Pavilion."
"Mysterious Ice Pavilion?" Xiaoqi's pupils contracted slightly as understanding instantly dawned. The Northern Wastes was the Mysterious Ice Pavilion's sphere of influence. They had probably long regarded the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus as their property, and must have secretly witnessed his transaction with the Ice Phoenix. Now that the Ice Phoenix had departed, they immediately jumped out, wanting to be the beneficiaries of others' efforts.
That long-faced young man, named Han Li, was the Mysterious Ice Pavilion's core disciple leading this search for the snow lotus. His greedy gaze swept over Xiaoqi's chest (though the jade box had been put away, he was certain it must be there), then glanced at the snow lotus missing three petals, finally fixing coldly on Xiaoqi. "Kid, you have good luck to actually make a deal with that beast. However, things that my Mysterious Ice Pavilion has set eyes upon—are they something you can touch? If you know what's good for you, hand over the snow lotus petals, plus everything valuable on your bodies, including that broken pot that could withstand the Ice Phoenix's pressure. Perhaps then we'll leave you with whole corpses!"
His tone was arrogant, completely disregarding Xiaoqi and Zhao Tiezhu. After all, they had superior numbers, overall cultivation advantage, and in this extremely cold environment, their Mysterious Ice Pavilion techniques held the advantage of terrain with doubled power.
Zhao Tiezhu, hearing this, was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead. He roared, "Bullshit! Brother Seven obtained these things through his own ability—what right do you have to take them? You want them? First ask if Grandpa Zhao's fists agree!" His fists crashed together with a metallic sound, and the golden light on his body grew even more intense, like a wrathful vajra guardian.
Xiaoqi's eyes turned cold as killing intent gradually rose in his heart. The other party not only wanted to rob the snow lotus but was even coveting his frying pan, and spoke of taking lives at every turn—clearly, this couldn't be resolved peacefully. He secretly circulated his spiritual power. Though the Crimson Flame Sword hadn't been drawn, sword intent was already brewing. At the same time, his spiritual sense communicated with the rabbit spirit hiding behind the rock, signaling it to act according to the situation.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a penalty!" Han Li snorted coldly, a cold light flashing in his eyes. He wasted no more words, waving his hand and shouting, "Form the array! Capture them, dead or alive!"
Behind him, seven Mysterious Ice Pavilion disciples responded in unison. Their figures flashed as they stepped in mysterious patterns, their hand seals channeling power. In an instant, the eight people's ice-cold spiritual power surged forth and interwove in the air, actually condensing into a simple yet formidable ice formation. Once the array was formed, the surrounding temperature plummeted again. Countless tiny ice crystals condensed in the air, spreading like dense fog. This not only greatly obstructed vision but also carried an intense freezing and slowing effect, as if wanting to freeze people's blood and spiritual power together.
"Mysterious Ice Spirit-Locking Array!" Han Li stood at the array's core, sneering. His hands pushed forward, and the array's power gathered, transforming into dozens of arm-thick, rune-glowing dark blue ice chains that snaked toward Xiaoqi and Zhao Tiezhu from all directions like venomous snakes! These ice chains weren't only incredibly hard but also carried an extremely strong freezing effect. Once wrapped by them, spiritual power circulation would immediately become sluggish.
"Tiezhu, protect your whole body, use brute force to break through!" Xiaoqi called out lowly, not panicking in the face of this combined attack array.
Zhao Tiezhu roared, not retreating but advancing. His fists swung like windmills, sending out waves of fierce and domineering fist qi that bombarded the several ice chains shooting toward him, shattering them into flying ice shards. But he was also affected by the cold energy attached to those ice chains, his movements visibly slowing by a fraction, and the golden light on his body dimming somewhat.
And more ice chains, as if having life, cleverly bypassed Zhao Tiezhu, mainly winding toward Xiaoqi. Clearly, in Han Li's eyes, this seemingly weaker cultivator (Xiaoqi habitually suppressed his aura), who could communicate with the Ice Phoenix, was the primary target.
Xiaoqi's eyes flashed with light. Facing the winding ice chains, he neither dodged nor avoided until the moment the ice chains were about to reach him—then he moved!
"Buzz—"
A soft sword hum sounded, not from the Crimson Flame being drawn, but from an extremely condensed, incomparably blazing crimson-red sword intent erupting from his fingertip! This sword intent wasn't corporeal, yet it carried a trace of the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword's true fire characteristic, and also integrated Xiaoqi's understanding of "guarding" and "breaking evil."
"Sizzle!"
The sword intent cut like a hot knife through butter, precisely striking the nodes of the first few arriving ice chains. Those dark blue ice chains, sufficient to freeze spiritual power, before this sword intent containing fire essence and the Purification Origin, acted as if meeting their nemesis—instantly breaking and dissolving, turning into wisps of white vapor!
Xiaoqi's figure was ghost-like. With the enhancement of the "Swimming Dragon Nine Turns" movement technique, he weaved through the gaps of the sky-full of ice chains. His fingertip's sword intent crisscrossed—every point he made, an ice chain would surely break in response. His movements flowed like water, appearing dangerous but actually handling it with ease. This array, though clever, had disciples of uneven cultivation levels participating, and their coordination wasn't seamless. Under his powerful spiritual sense perception and exquisite sword intent, the flaws were clearly visible.
"What?!" Han Li's face changed. He hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary fellow to have such sharp sword intent that seemed to faintly counter their Mysterious Ice spiritual power. How was this possible?
"Change formation! Ice Roar!" Han Li decided immediately, changing tactics.
The eight disciples' hand seals changed again. The spreading ice crystal fog suddenly contracted and rotated, transforming into a massive ice and snow vortex emitting mournful howls, simultaneously enveloping Xiaoqi and Zhao Tiezhu! Within the vortex, countless sharp ice blades formed, storming toward the center like a slaughter! The power was more than ten times greater than the previous ice chains!
Zhao Tiezhu's pressure increased greatly. He roared continuously, his fist qi protecting his whole body as he constantly shattered the incoming ice blades, but small wounds began appearing on his body. Blood, the moment it flowed, was frozen. His movements grew slower, and his golden light protection wavered precariously.
Xiaoqi, at the vortex's center, feeling that terrifying shredding power sufficient to tear apart late Foundation Establishment cultivators, completely hardened his eyes. He no longer held back. His fingers came together like a sword, spiritual power surging within him, about to draw upon the Crimson Flame Sword to forcefully break this array.
However, just as he was about to strike—
"Squeak—!"
An ear-piercingly sharp screech suddenly rang out from behind one of the Mysterious Ice Pavilion's mid-stage Foundation Establishment disciples! That disciple was fully focused on maintaining the array, caught completely off guard, only feeling his eardrums pierced by severe pain. His spiritual sense violently shook, and his hand seals instantly faltered.
It was the rabbit spirit! Somehow, relying on its small size and strange speed, it had silently crept near that disciple and launched its unique spiritual impact innate ability!
Though this impact wasn't enough to seriously injure a Foundation Establishment cultivator, at the critical moment of maintaining a precise array, this interference was fatal!
That disciple's hand seals faltered, and his part of the array's nodes instantly lost balance. The entire "Ice Roar" vortex suddenly stalled, its operation showing an extremely subtle yet unmistakable hesitation!
"Good opportunity!"
Both Xiaoqi and Zhao Tiezhu were experienced fighters—how would they miss this fleeting chance?
"Break!"
Xiaoqi's sword-fingers thrust forward, the Crimson Flame sword intent he'd been brewing fully erupting. A condensed sword barrier of crimson red shot up into the sky—not aimed at a person, but directly piercing the energy-weak point exposed by the ice vortex's hesitation!
"Open for me!" Zhao Tiezhu also seized the opportunity, gathering all his strength into his right fist. The golden light became dazzlingly brilliant, like a small sun, as he savagely punched toward the ice blade storm before him!
"BOOM—!!!"
The crimson sword barrier and golden fist qi, one skillful and one forceful, almost simultaneously struck the array's flaw! Under the combined attack from inside and out, that massive ice vortex let out a groan of unbearable burden and exploded!
Violent ice-attribute energy mixed with blazing sword intent and fierce fist qi swept madly in all directions! The eight Mysterious Ice Pavilion disciples caught the brunt, all spitting blood and staggering backward, the array instantly broken!
Han Li, as the array's core, suffered the strongest backlash. His face went pale, and he retreated several steps before steadying himself. His gaze toward Xiaoqi was filled with shock, anger, and disbelief. He never imagined that the Mysterious Ice Spirit-Locking Array deployed by eight of them would be so quickly and forcibly broken by just two people and one beast!
The scene was in chaos, ice shards flying everywhere. Xiaoqi stood with sword intent, his robes flapping in the turbulent airflow, his eyes coldly locking onto the grim-faced Han Li. Zhao Tiezhu panted heavily, wounded but with fighting spirit still high, like an injured fierce tiger. The rabbit spirit hopped back onto a higher ice rock, little paws akimbo, squeaking proudly.
The atmosphere, in this moment, solidified. An even more tragic slaughter was imminent.