Empress of Beiming Meng Wanshu! Thunder Lord Li Guanqi!

Boom! Sword light collided, unleashing a violent roar that echoed across the heavens! Nangong Zhou and his companions joined the fray one after another, but their objective was crystal clear: buy time for Li Guanqi! *Pfft!* Dugu Chongming was nearly disemboweled by that strike. He could not fathom how Xuan Ji had unleashed such terrifying might. Pondering it, the man suddenly burst into loud laughter. "A whore will always be a whore—sucking primal yang dry to counteract the cold poison in your body and boost your own strength! "How many years has it even been? Yet you've reached such heights... "Hahahahaha! You wretched woman, you must keep quite a few male consorts at home, don't you?" Xuan Ji showed no emotion. Glancing down at her bleeding arm, she raised her head and said softly, "It matters not. After today, I shall be the Ice Lord! "When that time comes, the entire Beiming Glaciers will bow to me, Xuan Ji!" Boom! The aura of the mid Mahayana realm erupted without restraint, and the very void began to freeze solid. Her long hair whipped in the wind, her gaze piercingly cold. By contrast, Dugu Chongming had only just recovered his cultivation. Struck by Xuan Ji's sword qi, cold poison invaded his body, turning his complexion ashen. Suddenly! A cheeky voice sounded beside his ear: "Come on, chew a piece! Good for stamina! Open up wide, ahh—" Before he could react, his jaw was forcibly pried open, and a chunk of something was shoved inside... *Crunch, crunch.* A crisp sound rang out, and Dugu Chongming's eyes widened in utter disbelief. The frozen wound thawed instantly. His flesh was no longer a bruised purple-black, as a potent surge of vitality violently expelled the cold poison from his body. Through Dugu Chongming's divine sense, he saw the big radish standing straddle-legged atop the formation's glow, scratching its backside. Its fingers... there were only four... "*Blech—*" Pengluo kept its eyes closed, mouth slightly parted, pursing its lips as it sighed contentedly. "Ah... that hits the spot..." *Rumble!* "Xuan Zhèn! You dared release the prisoners from the dungeon on your own?!" "Where is my son?!" *Clang!* A vicious sword light cleaved outward in an instant! The moment Xuan Zhen spotted Dugu Chongming, he realized something was terribly amiss, for he could not sense the slightest trace of his son Xuan Lan's aura. Xuan Zhèn was startled as well. Dugu Chongming's imprisonment had been planned between him and Xuan Zhen; he had never expected the man to break free. Yet on second thought, he simply cursed back in fury. "Hahahahaha! That's right! I'm the one who let him out! "Your son? Your son is naturally in my hands! "Hand over the inheritance, or your son won't live to see tomorrow!" Xuan Zhèn was no fool. Having seen Dugu Chongming, he already suspected the presence of a third faction! Yet... Xuan Zhen had no idea! In that case, he might as well spin a lie to seize the inheritance first. If the third party showed up, he could always negotiate an alliance! Had Xuan Zhèn kept silent, it might have worked; the more he talked, the more Xuan Zhen sensed something was off. Setting aside Dugu Chongming... Nangong Zhou and his companions were not differentiating between the Northern and Southern Branches at all. They were entirely focused on blocking the path toward the ice cellar. The stern-faced man suddenly sneered. "Heh, I see..." "None of this commotion was caused by you!" With that, Xuan Zhen fought fiercely to disengage from Xuan Zhèn's pursuit. With a cold snort, he gathered his strength into a glowing palm imprint hundreds of zhang wide and hurled it down from above! As Xuan Zhèn watched in stunned disbelief, Xuan Zhen bellowed, "Li Guanqi! Get the hell out here!" *Rumble!* Many cultivators paused, startled by the name, wondering why Xuan Zhen was so certain of calling it out. Yet how could Xuan Zhèn allow him to have his way? Cold light flickered beneath his feet, and his figure flashed directly beneath the palm imprint, driving a fist upward! "Hmph! Trying to keep it all for yourself?" *Thud!* Fist met palm. Space caved inward, and the howling blizzard came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly! Every battling cultivator froze in midair. The temperature plummeted sharply within a thousand-li radius. The world fell into dead silence, and countless ribbons of ice-blue luminescence streamed across the sky like glowing silk, drifting toward the mountain peak. Immediately after, an unimaginably vast pressure slowly radiated outward! Xuan Zhen's eyes lit up with wild delight, and he laughed frantically. "Hahahahahaha! The Ice Lord is decided! "The Empress of Beiming has appeared! I, Xuan Zhen, can finally ascend! "Hahahahahaha!" The winds and clouds shifted across heaven and earth, plunging the atmosphere into stifling tension as the firmament was gradually frozen over. High above the glacial peak, a rift gently tore open. Frost paved the way as a pair of pristine jade feet stepped forward. Beneath the hem of an ice-blue skirt, half of a slender, pale calf showed in subtle glimpses. A tall, graceful woman stepped through. The surrounding wind and snow seemed to freeze still, as if fearful of disturbing her presence. Three thousand dark tresses floated softly in the air. Her eyes, filled with disdain for all living things, looked down upon the heroes of the realm. Everyone sensed the terrifying aura radiating from her. Ultimate Ice! A divine-grade ice spiritual root! The sole divine-grade spiritual root across both water and ice affinities—the current Ice Lord of this generation! Mid Mahayana realm. A faint smile graced Meng Wanshu's flawless face. Her slender waist swayed gently as she turned. The cold aloofness in her eyes melted into water-like tenderness as she looked behind her. Next, a tall, handsome youth stepped leisurely out of the rift, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. Xuan Ji hung frozen in midair, gazing blankly at the scene. Feeling the surging ice-attributed aura radiating from Meng Wanshu, she lost her senses entirely. Her pale lips trembled as she muttered incessantly, "No... impossible... the Bingqi inheritance is mine... it's mine!" *Boom!* Xuan Ji snapped completely. Her hairpin shattered, and her ice-blue hair whipped wildly in the wind! Meng Wanshu glanced indifferently at Xuan Ji, her gaze no different from looking at an ant. Brandishing her longsword like a madwoman, Xuan Ji charged straight toward Meng Wanshu. It happened too fast—far too fast for anyone to react. To have casually injured Dugu Chongming with a single slash, Xuan Ji's strength was undeniably formidable! A terrifying frost energy locked down thousands of zhang of empty space. Just as Meng Wanshu prepared to strike back, a man's figure suddenly stepped across to shield her. Gazing at the broad back now standing before her, Meng Wanshu quietly dispersed the primal energy circulating within her. By the time the crowd registered what was happening, Xuan Ji's sword was already inches away from Li Guanqi. Dugu Chongming moved to intercept, but it was already too late. "Dammit! Little friend is no match for Xuan Ji!" Xuan Zhèn roared even louder, "Daughter! Kill her!" Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, a glint of chilling sharpness flashing deep within them. Xuan Ji's heart suddenly leaped with an ominous foreboding. The blood inside Li Guanqi surged with a roar. In an instant, the cry of thunder echoed from beneath the earth across a hundred li. Winds rose and clouds gathered as countless thick bolts of lightning plunged from the firmament, looking like divine retribution itself! A crimson-tinged bolt of lightning sword light flashed between heaven and earth! "Apocalypse · Dark Moon!" *Boom!* Purple lightning blazed violently in Li Guanqi's eyes! His hair whipped wildly, and his white robes snapped fiercely amid the shrieking thunder! The frozen space was instantly ripped apart, filled with an aura of terrifying destruction. A severed arm still clutching a sword spun into the air, spraying fresh blood. Xuan Ji's pupils constricted. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined this man could be so formidable... What domineering power... Her throat was caught in Li Guanqi's dragon-scaled hand, hoisting her straight into the air. Xuan Zhèn stared dumbfounded at the sight, muttering in disbelief, "Thunder... Thunder Lord..." "How... that's impossible..."