Midwinter Talisman

Beneath the surface of the sea. After receiving Elder Mei's warning, Shi Xue raised her guard to the utmost. Escape arts alone did not reflect an opponent's full combat prowess, but the target's flight speed was astonishing enough to stun both elders—more than enough reason for her to treat him as the most formidable foe of her life. Fortunately, Elder Mei's order was only to harass the opponent and stall for time, not fight to the death. Just then, Shi Xue saw a streak of light appear on the horizon. Knowing it had to be the person Elder Mei had spoken of, she was about to make a move when an inexplicable sense of dread gripped her, and her pupils contracted violently. In the next instant, a furious power crashed down from the heavens. Shi Xue's scalp prickled with numbness. She looked up in terror, her entire body stiffening instantly as her vision was engulfed by silver-white lightning. The vast, open sea. Across ten thousand li of cloudless sky, without the slightest warning, a thick bolt of lightning coalesced from nowhere. With an earth-shattering thunderclap, it struck the sea in an instant, like divine retribution. *Boom!* A deep crater blasted open across the surface of the sea, and countless arcs of lightning scattered in all directions, weaving into a dense web of thunder across the water. A woman's figure was revealed. Her face was deathly pale, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Frozen half-tilted backward, she stared upward with eyes full of sheer horror. Suspended above her head was a phoenix crown sculpted from ice crystal. Its patterns were enigmatic and exceptionally exquisite, carved entirely from a single block of transparent mystic ice, reflecting a prismatic halo under the daylight and lightning glare. Yet at this moment, a hairline crack had appeared upon the phoenix crown, visible to the naked eye. Its luster had dimmed considerably as well. Shi Xue's heart still pounded in shock. Had she not been cautious enough to set up an extra layer of defense beforehand, that bolt of heavenly thunder would likely have left her severely wounded—or even dead. Subconsciously looking toward the newcomer, an intense foreboding welled within her. Gritting her teeth, she could not afford to mourn her damaged magic treasure. Without a second's hesitation, a talisman concealed in her palm quietly dissolved. *Whoosh!* Heaven and earth suddenly grew dim. A biting chill spread with blinding speed. The waves kicked up by the heavenly thunder froze directly in midair, and the sea solidified into an undulating plain of ice. Feather-like snowflakes fluttered from the sky. A vast expanse of the sea was engulfed in a howling blizzard, plunged into deep winter, with its epicenter positioned right where Qin Sang was flying in. *** When Qin Sang saw the figure of the woman in the long green gown emerge, he was not surprised by the outcome. He had his own reasons for leading with a bolt of heavenly thunder. At the trade fair, he was confident he had shown no flaws. Nor had his spiritual senses detected anyone spying on him. The odds of this person being Old Man Hunmo's lackey were slim, leaving only two possibilities: someone from Xuantian Palace, or an opportunistic rogue looking to murder for treasure. If she was here for wealth, dying to a thunderbolt was no more than she deserved. If she was from Xuantian Palace, capable of sensing the mysterious ice chest and realizing how extraordinary his flight speed was, she would certainly be alert and well-guarded. She wouldn't die so easily; at most, she would be gravely injured and stripped of combat strength. And that was precisely the outcome Qin Sang wanted. He intended to return the mysterious ice chest in exchange for other benefits from Xuantian Palace. Since the other party had acted so overconfidently, he certainly wouldn't refuse an opportunity to pry out what was sealed inside the ice chest—or even obtain the method to open it. Furthermore, negotiations required strategy. There was an essential difference between being forced to return the mysterious ice chest out of inferiority and displaying one's might so that Xuantian Palace would tread warily and offer terms on their own initiative. If Qin Sang wanted to extract the maximum value from the mysterious ice chest, he first had to let Xuantian Palace know what kind of opponent they were dealing with. An initial clash was unavoidable. *Only one person came?* Qin Sang had detected no other ambushers in her vicinity and felt somewhat puzzled. Could she really be a rogue bandit trying to rob him along the way? Xuantian Palace dominated an entire realm. Even if their palace master could not make a move, they should have at least dispatched a middle Nascent Soul expert. This woman was merely at the early Nascent Soul stage—she probably couldn't even pin down their traitor. Right at that moment, Qin Sang felt a sudden chill. Without warning, the surrounding area turned into a snowy domain, and his figure was swallowed by blizzard winds. Qin Sang's face darkened slightly. He was certain this was not the power of a spirit array; neither he nor the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had perceived any fluctuations of array power. At the same time, Qin Sang felt the surrounding chill grow heavier and heavier, as if he were walking naked into a world of ice and snow. Not only did the cold gnaw at his body, but it also congealed into near-tangible shackles. Swept up with countless blade-sharp snowflakes, it continually coiled around him, forming layer upon layer of restraints in the void in an attempt to freeze him solid. *So this is their plan?* Qin Sang's figure flickered in and out of sight within the blizzard. His doubts cleared, and he understood why the green-robed woman was the only one nearby. By now, it was practically certain that this woman hailed from Xuantian Palace. There were certainly quite a few people from Xuantian Palace. Fearing Old Man Hunmo, they had dared not strike near Hunmo Island, so they had dispersed in different directions. Her mission was clearly to stall for time and wait for reinforcements. *From the looks of it, the seal of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire failed to completely block Xuantian Palace's sense of the mysterious ice chest. However, this sensing must have a range limit. Fearing they might miss their window and that I would disappear with the ice chest again, they were willing to risk alerting Old Man Hunmo just to make a move here. Otherwise, they could have simply followed me in secret to locate my cave dwelling...* Based on the woman's actions, Qin Sang had deduced the truth with near-perfect accuracy, clearly appraising the situation. However, expecting to trap him with methods like this was far too naive. Qin Sang's sleeves fluttered as a wisp of demonic fire seeped out soundlessly, weaving into a fiery coat of armor beneath his robes. The bone-piercing chill was immediately shut out. They were not far from Hunmo Island; getting entangled here too long risked drawing the old devil over, so Qin Sang exercised extra caution when manipulating the demonic fire. Otherwise, provoking both Xuantian Palace and Old Man Hunmo at the same time would be more than even he could stomach. *Clang!* A streak of sword light leapt from his fingertips, its arc shimmering as it flew aloft. Accompanied by a crisp, resonant sword chime, the radiance flared dramatically, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive sword that cleaved savagely forward! Wherever the giant sword struck, the freezing air scattered and the snowflakes melted away. With a single stroke, it carved out a vacant swath right through the blizzard. Seeing that Qin Sang seemed entirely unaffected, Shi Xue was dumbfounded. Her eyes twitched violently, and she spun around to flee. First injured by the sudden bolt of heavenly thunder, she had then used her precious Midwinter Talisman to trap her opponent, drastically depleting her true essence. Once he broke free, she had zero confidence in enduring even a few exchanges against him. Her greatest fear was becoming a captive before reinforcements could arrive. *What on earth is going on? How did the sacred relic end up in the hands of such a terrifying monster?!* Shi Xue lamented bitterly. *Quite vigilant, isn't she!* Stroke after stroke, the sword carved open a smooth thoroughfare through the sky-blotting blizzard. Sensing Shi Xue's movement, Qin Sang let out a cold snort. Deducing that more adversaries were likely on their way, Qin Sang had no intention of lingering to fight them. Still, before fleeing into the distance, he could try to capture this woman; he should be able to pry some information out of her. If the treasure proved useless to him, he could always trade both the captive and the mysterious ice chest back to them together.