Mystic Ice Plain

Sword light flared brilliantly, transforming into a sword wheel that slashed swiftly at the puppet beasts! Controlling his spirit sword, Qin Sang tangled in fierce combat with the puppet beasts. Surrounded by the puppets, everything Qin Sang perceived was walled off by sword qi. He comprehended the sword momentum contained within the puppet sword formation while attacking with all his might to draw out its true power, awakening the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to deconstruct the formation. Within the span of a single stick of incense, thoroughly comprehending this sword formation was impossible, but committing as many of its variations to memory as he could would allow him to integrate them into his sword wheel later on. The puppet sword formation was exceptionally formidable. Without a doubt, the creator of these puppets possessed an extraordinary mastery of sword dao to integrate an entire sword formation seamlessly into puppets. After an incense stick's worth of time passed... The sky full of sword light abruptly vanished. Qin Sang sheathed his sword and stood still, left wanting more. Who knew what kind of power the Hall of Seven Kills had been in its prime. The Sword Path and the puppet sword formation were nothing short of the finest teachers for a sword cultivator. If one could cultivate in an environment like this indefinitely, even if one's sword dao didn't advance by leaps and bounds daily, comprehending sword momentum would at least be well within reach. It truly deserved to be called a holy land for sword cultivators. Bai, who had been standing in the corner all along, walked forward and asked Qin Sang for a blank jade slip. A moment later, he handed the jade slip back to Qin Sang. "This is a bit of what I gathered from observing the sword formation just now. With you on the inside and me on the outside, only then could we see its full picture. Once you thoroughly synthesize it, you should be able to recreate most of the sword formation. This puppet sword formation is quite peculiar; it feels like a simplified version of some top-tier sword formation. If you can comprehend it thoroughly, you will reap considerable benefits." Taking the jade slip, Qin Sang was delighted by the words. He offered his thanks and stowed the jade slip away. Now was not the time to meditate on the sword formation. Bai glanced around and pointed toward the rear. "That should be the entrance to the next trial. Fellow Daoist, you mentioned earlier that Soul-Washing Liquid benefits the divine soul; perhaps it could be of help to me as well. Could Fellow Daoist...?" Qin Sang's eyes lit up. Without waiting for Bai to finish, he immediately made a promise without hesitation. If Bai could advance to the corpse king realm, it would be an immense boon to Qin Sang as well. If there were a chance to obtain a second portion of Soul-Washing Liquid, he would certainly strive for it with everything he had. After the puppet beasts vanished, two doors appeared on the sides of the hall. Evidently, one led to the next trial, while the other returned to the entrance of the Inner Hall. Bai returned to the corpse puppet bag. Qin Sang stepped toward the next trial. The moment he crossed through that door, the previous sensation returned—darkness descended. The next moment, Qin Sang froze in surprise, finding himself standing amid a vast frozen expanse. "The Mystic Ice Plain?" Qin Sang surveyed his surroundings—a crystalline, translucent world. "It really is the Mystic Ice Plain. This trial is fairly standard: one must constantly circulate true essence to ward off the chill, and stay alert for attacks from ferocious beasts that appear from time to time. Other than that, there isn't much danger." A biting wind howled. Qin Sang raised his hands, and the next moment, a thin layer of frost crept upward from his fingertips. It chilled to the bone. "The farther one goes, the colder it gets. Ordinary cultivators have frail physical bodies; merely fending off the encroaching chill consumes massive amounts of true essence. Once too much is depleted, an ambush by ferocious beasts would prove fatal. However, this chill means nothing to me." Qin Sang muttered softly to himself, his tone brimming with confidence. Then, green light flashed across his body, and wings sprouted from his back as he activated the Heavenly Demon Transformation divine ability. With the Heavenly Demon Transformation active, it was even less possible for the cold of the Mystic Ice Plain to harm him. Qin Sang tested the sensation, a faint smile surfacing on his face as he looked straight ahead. "Supposedly, there are several places in the Mystic Ice Plain where rare spirit herbs hard to find in the outside world grow. The other trial realms also contain similar treasure lands, reserved for those of great karmic fortune. Those participating in the trials aren't all here for the final reward; many come specifically for opportunities like these. With the strength of my physical body, I could remain in the Mystic Ice Plain until I uncovered all those spirit herbs without issue. But lingering too long would mean missing out on the Soul-Washing Liquid." With these thoughts in mind, Qin Sang flapped his phoenix wings and sped forward, skimming low across the ice. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly was also using its Heavenly Eye divine ability to monitor beneath the ice sheet. Most of the ferocious beasts emerged from under the ice. Sure enough. Before he had flown far, the ice ahead suddenly collapsed. A streak of white light broke out and shot toward him; within the white light was an ice python merely the thickness of an arm. A foul wind assaulted his senses. The ice python opened its gaping maw, revealing vicious fangs in an exceptionally ferocious display. Suddenly, sword light flashed. The ice python instinctively sensed danger, but by the time it tried to flee, it was already too late. The ebony sword was as swift as lightning. It plunged into the ice python's maw, cutting short its roar in an instant, and sliced smoothly from head to tail, easily cleaving the ice python's body in two. *Whoosh!* Drawing back the sword light, Qin Sang did not even spare a glance at the ice python's carcass, sweeping past it in a flash. ... In another part of the Mystic Ice Plain. A young man's figure materialized out of thin air. His face had originally been somewhat pale, but upon seeing the ice plain, an expression of pleasant surprise suddenly broke across it. "The second trial is the Mystic Ice Plain! Fantastic!" The young man's cultivation was only at the mid Core Formation stage. He had exhausted every measure just to pass the first puppet battle and thought he had little hope this time, yet to his surprise, the second trial turned out to be one of his primary objectives. "Nether Crystal Flower, here I come!" The young man licked his lips. Forming an incantation hand sign, his true essence surged, and a cloak of flames suddenly formed around his body—evidently some kind of secret art to ward off the cold. At the same time, he retrieved an unusual red crystal that radiated waves of warmth, another treasure for resisting the cold. The young man had clearly come well-prepared. Looking around, he fixed upon a direction and swiftly darted off. ... Somewhere in the Mystic Ice Plain. Here, a large hole pierced the ice. Beside the shattered ice, two translucent ice lizards lay stiff on the frozen surface, resting in a pool of blue blood that had already congealed into ice. They were dead. Beside the two ice lizard corpses stood a young maiden—it was Su Nü. The ice lizards had died by her hand. Having slain the two ice lizards, Su Nü showed not the slightest trace of injury. She wore a red vestment of exceptional quality that warded off the chill; amidst this world of ice and snow, she did not feel the cold in the least. Su Nü looked toward the horizon of the ice plain, but she was in no hurry to depart. Clutching a black token in her hand, a contemplative look spread across her face. After a while. Gritting her silver teeth, Su Nü seemed to make a difficult decision. She patted her mustard seed bag lightly. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...* Several streaks of flowing light flew out, revealing several identical jade bracelets. Looking at the jade bracelets, Su Nü muttered incantations under her breath. Before long, the jade bracelets sank into the ice beneath her feet with soft swishing sounds. The jade bracelets were equally translucent, and hidden within the ice amidst the chaotic battlefield, nothing looked amiss to the naked eye. After setting the jade bracelets, a ruthless gleam flashed across Su Nü's eyes. She suddenly raised her palm, true essence shimmering across it, and struck her own chest with a reverse palm blow. *Pfft!* Su Nü let out a muffled grunt and spat out a mouthful of blood, starkly and dazzlingly crimson. She had actually injured herself. Still feeling it wasn't enough, Su Nü secretly injured several meridians as well, turning her face deathly pale. Then, she produced a prayer mat. Waving her hand, she set up a few warning restrictions around herself, sat cross-legged upon it, and remained right there, making no move to leave.