The cauldron of icy jade stood on square legs, topped with upright handles. Its four faces were carved with distinct manifestations of wind and snow, ranging from bone-corroding yin winds to heavy, fluttering blizzards.
As Hall Master Jiang struck, all four manifestations projected into reality.
The howling wind set nerves on edge. These gusts were grey, visible to the naked eye. Far from ordinary winter gales, they bore the lethal might of a magic treasure, sharper than blades and swords.
The grey wind blanketed the sky and insinuated itself into every gap, yet it was immediately engulfed by a raging blizzard. Billowing sheets of snow whipped up in a surging cascade, carrying the momentum of an avalanche.
The clash unfolded right at the edge of the dark mist. The surrounding gloom was already deep, and with the swirling storm of wind and snow, everything within sight blurred into an expanse of grey and white.
All manner of anomalous phenomena emerged alongside the cauldron of icy jade.
Amidst the howling gale and swirling snow, the giant cauldron blazed with brilliant radiance. Wherever its power reached, the surrounding space seemed subdued under its immense weight, and even the dark mist showed signs of solidifying.
Hall Master Jiang had eyes only for Shang Lu, ignoring everyone else. Forming an incantation with one hand, he barked, "Subdue!"
With a resounding *clang*, the manifestations on the four faces rapidly converged toward the center, their powers instantly compounding. Appearing alongside the giant cauldron directly above Shang Lu's head, they crashed down in thunderous fury.
Confronted by Hall Master Jiang's desperate, all-or-nothing assault, Shang Lu's face contorted in shock and fury. He had no choice but to retaliate.
A jade ruler abruptly snapped upward, striking second yet arriving first. Its face thrust straight up, immediately conjuring an endless phantom panorama of mountain ranges, as though the boundless weight of the mountains was infusing the ruler itself.
*Thud!*
A muffled explosion rang out.
The storm phenomena above and the phantom mountains below slammed violently into each other!
In an instant, the mountains turned stark white with frost.
Both phenomena disintegrated almost simultaneously, their illusory fragments tangling and fusing together in total chaos.
Amidst the chaotic fallout, the two magic treasures repeatedly clashed with deep, resonant vibrations, like the steady thrum of war drums rattling the soul.
The jade ruler stubbornly held back the giant cauldron. Though it appeared slender and fragile, it proved remarkably resilient.
The two magic treasures seemed evenly matched.
Yet at this crucial juncture, a burst of white light flared across Shang Lu's chest, projecting the phantom image of a heart-protecting mirror—his treasure capable of acting automatically in defense of its master.
The white light rushed to gather behind Shang Lu's head, coalescing into a mirror of radiant brilliance.
The intense white glow instantly drew countless eyes, the mirror surface clearly reflecting the unprecedented horror on Shang Lu's face.
At this sight, Hall Master Yin and the others felt their hearts drop.
Before they could react—
With a sharp *crack*, a dainty, translucent green flying sword that resembled chalcedony materialized out of thin air, halted only by the mirror of light.
The small sword pressed against the center of the mirror. Its glow was subdued, but its power was extraordinary. The mirror creaked frantically under the strain, covered in a web of cracks and threatening to pierce through at any moment.
"The Qingxiao Sword!"
Hall Master Yin and the others paled in disbelief.
This sword was Tong Lingyu's life-bound magic treasure. After she became Grand Elder and earned the right to wield a spirit treasure, she had rarely brandished it.
Naturally, they all recognized its origin.
In that single breath, a solitary thought consumed everyone, including Shang Lu: *How is this possible?!*
Tong Lingyu had been captured by the Palace Master and was supposed to be refined into a blood servitor; there should have been no chance of turning the tables.
Had the Palace Master succeeded in crossing the tribulation, the outcome would have needed no explanation.
Even if the Palace Master had failed, Tong Lingyu should have perished all the same. Hall Master Jiang's faction would likewise have lost their great cultivator, leaving them powerless against Shang Lu's side. At worst, they could have parted ways upon returning.
The ways of the world dictated that what was united would eventually divide, and what was divided would eventually unite.
In any case, internal strife in Xuantian Palace was nothing new; it was how the sect had always operated.
Shang Lu had believed himself to be in an invincible position, never imagining that Tong Lingyu would emerge alive from the sinkhole and launch a sneak attack from behind.
*Damn it!* Shang Lu cried inwardly. It proved to be his final thought.
Jerking his wide sleeve, he scrambled to deploy his other defensive treasure, the snow scarf. But just as his arm began to lift, his entire body stiffened.
Out of nowhere, an intangible, bone-chilling cold enveloped him.
The Ice Soul Divine Light!
Qin Sang's trio naturally had not overlooked Shang Lu's self-activating defensive treasure. A simple trick had easily achieved their goal. Shang Lu had tested Liuli during the wedding ceremony, but in doing so, he had exposed his trump card; otherwise, he might have been able to struggle a bit longer.
*Crack! Crack!*
The Ice Soul Divine Light froze Shang Lu along with the surrounding pocket of void.
Immediately afterward, a sword light far more brilliant than that of the Qingxiao Sword, accompanied by a ringing metallic chime, shot forth from the depths of the dark mist, tearing through Shang Lu's flesh!
*Whoosh!*
The sword light was blinding, soaring like an agile dragon.
The Jinchen Sword seemed to be venting its master's suppressed frustration from facing Yin Changsheng earlier.
Shang Lu lowered his head, staring blankly at the gaping bloody wound in his chest and abdomen. The light in his eyes faded at an astonishing speed. He did not even have the chance to let his nascent soul flee before his insides were shredded to paste by the sword qi, extinguishing his life on the spot.
Working in flawless coordination with Hall Master Jiang, Qin Sang's trio had slain Shang Lu with effortless ease.
*Thump!*
Shang Lu's corpse collapsed heavily to the ground.
The turn of events had come without warning.
The cultivator surnamed Yue stared at Shang Lu's corpse, thoroughly dazed.
*Boom!*
A sudden clap of thunder detonated beside his ear, jolting him from his stupor.
Seeing the dire turn of events, Hall Master Yin had swiftly retrieved a fist-sized transparent sphere of water from his mustard seed bag and hurled it outward without hesitation.
The sphere of water was a single-use treasure akin to a thunder bead, inside of which Verdant Wood Divine Lightning was condensed. It was a rare prize Hall Master Yin had acquired by chance.
Once detonated, the Verdant Wood Divine Lightning unleashed immense power, serving as one of Hall Master Yin's hidden trump cards.
Yet he did not fling this treasure behind him to counter the ambush, nor did he use it to rescue his allies. Instead, he aimed it straight at Elder Mei and the others.
Hall Master Yin was a veteran of countless battles. The moment he glimpsed the Qingxiao Sword, he had realized disaster was imminent. Unlike the sluggish cultivator surnamed Yue, he had executed the single most correct choice with astonishing speed—flee!
Regardless of how Tong Lingyu had survived, it signaled the utter failure of the Palace Master's plans.
Tong Lingyu would never spare them.
There were at least three people concealed within the dark mist.
With Shang Lu dead, Hall Master Yin knew he stood no chance whatsoever.
The Verdant Wood Divine Lightning had been refined into a sphere that resembled pure, flawless water, showing not the slightest hint of lightning.
The moment it left his hand, the sphere expanded at terrifying speed, finally revealing fine, faint threads of azure lightning within.
In a flash, the Verdant Wood Divine Lightning wove into a net of lightning, which then snapped inward, condensing in that single pulse into an azure bead the size of a pearl.
Taking the brunt of the assault, Elder Mei froze momentarily, her expression shifting drastically. She hastily flicked her fingers; the path of frost upon the ground vanished without a trace, while a single drop of water gathered at her fingertips and bloomed into a sturdy shield.
Just as the pearl violently detonated, the sturdy shield barely solidified before it was enveloped in azure lightning, its surface instantly fracturing under countless fissures.
Elder Mei felt as though struck by a heavy sledgehammer. Letting out a muffled groan, she staggered backward, her face turning deathly pale.
The others blocking Hall Master Yin's path were blasted aside along with Elder Mei. Though none were killed, they were no longer in any position to stop him.
Hall Master Yin shot forward like an arrow. Feeling that his speed was still insufficient, he slapped a yellow talisman onto himself. His flight speed surged, carrying him out of the mountain's perimeter in an instant, fleeing headlong toward the exit of the Sacred Ground without ever glancing back.
Unexpectedly, before he could even clear the Floating Mountain, a calm question sounded right beside his ear.
"Where does Fellow Daoist Yin think he is going?"
As the voice rang out, a bolt of lightning tore through the dark mist, tearing through the air at blinding speed. Even bolstered by the talisman, Hall Master Yin was outmatched, overtaken in the blink of an eye.
*Swish!*
Qin Sang stepped out from the lightning, the phoenix wings behind him slowly folding away, effortlessly barring Hall Master Yin's path.
"It's you!"
Hall Master Yin's mental fortitude was far beyond that of ordinary men. Calming himself rapidly, his eyes flickered as he said coldly, "The Palace Master was murdered by you and the rebel Tong in collusion?"
"Did Fellow Daoist fail to see the heavenly tribulation just now?" Qin Sang remarked playfully. "Yin Changsheng failed his breakthrough and perished under his own heavenly tribulation. What does that have to do with this humble Daoist?"
Hall Master Yin scoffed, choosing not to argue. Casting a quick glance back toward the dark mist, he spoke in a hurried tone, "With the Daoist master's divine abilities, are you truly content to serve under another, driven by a mere woman? With the Palace Master gone, I am the rightful head of the Xuantian lineage. Once Shang Lu and the others are dead, the Tianshan lineage will be nothing more than scattered sand, unworthy of concern. The Snow Listening Tower lineage shares deep ties with you. If we work together from inside and out, joining hands to eliminate the rebel Tong and seize the spirit treasure, won't the story be ours to write however we please once we return? At that time, all four lineages will be in our hands. One of us shall be Palace Master, and the other Grand Elder, ruling the paramount sect of the North Sea—would that not be glorious? Not only will the spirit treasure be yours, but I can also promise never to interfere in any matters outside the Xuantian lineage..."
The corner of Qin Sang's mouth curved slightly, and he chuckled. "Fellow Daoist's proposal is indeed quite tempting. Unfortunately, this humble Daoist has little interest in authority. Moreover, you sang the same tune as Shang Lu during the wedding ceremony, scheming alongside Yin Changsheng against me from the start. That is something I cannot forgive."
Hall Master Yin's face fell, all hope of compromise extinguished.
"Then let me see just how capable you are, daring to block my path alone!" Hall Master Yin barked. Opening his mouth, he spat out a ball of blue light he had been preparing in secret.
The cluster of light split into ten, shooting into midair and transforming into ten blue halos suspended overhead.
Each halo was the size of a human head. Upon dividing, they wriggled rapidly, transforming into ten ice mirrors. The face of every mirror was carved with intricate talismans, all turning to align straight toward Qin Sang.
"The Nether Falling Divine Restriction..."
Qin Sang swept a glance across the ice mirrors, his expression entirely unperturbed.
The moment Hall Master Yin unleashed that ball of light, Qin Sang had felt a familiar ripple of power.
Having witnessed the might of the Nether Falling Divine Restriction moments ago, he certainly would not forget it.
However, when Yin Changsheng employed this restriction, he had commanded thirteen ice mirrors. Hall Master Yin could manifest only ten, and the talismans etched upon their surfaces were far less intricate than Yin Changsheng's; its power fell short by more than a single notch.
Strange beams of light shot from the mirror faces, coalescing into diagrams of the restriction, crashing down ruthlessly toward Qin Sang.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
Frosty peaks manifested one after another, and the brilliance of the divine restriction engulfed Qin Sang in an instant.
At the sight, the fleeting look of triumph on Hall Master Yin's face abruptly gave way to sheer horror.
From within the divine restriction, a potent aura of demonic fire violently erupted, and a dark silhouette surged forth—a fiery dragon forged entirely of demonic flames!
The restriction diagrams shattered one after another.
Before Hall Master Yin's horrified gaze, the fire dragon tore through layer upon layer of diagrams like rotten wood, coiled its serpentine body, and surged unhesitatingly toward the ice mirrors above.
*Crash!*
The ice mirrors shattered on the spot, swept clean by the demonic fire.
Qin Sang's figure remained standing where he had been. With a flick of his paired fingers toward Hall Master Yin, the demonic fire dragon swooped down.
The Nine Nether Demonic Fire had managed to resist the Nether Falling Divine Restriction deployed at full strength by Yin Changsheng himself, let alone this inferior imitation!
In his panic, Hall Master Yin brushed his hand over the crown of his head. White vapor steamed forth, condensing into a great hand of profound qi. Its power surpassed that of the cultivator surnamed Yue, yet it remained inferior to Yin Changsheng's.
Xuantian Palace possessed only so many supreme divine abilities of this caliber.
Hall Master Yin was essentially a diminished version of Yin Changsheng, his arts and abilities drawn from the exact same lineage.
For Qin Sang, facing two similar opponents felt entirely different; dealing with Hall Master Yin was noticeably far easier. At this moment, he did not even need to employ the Heavenly Eye Divine Light.
*Boom!*
The great hand of profound qi snapped open and closed, clutching toward the fire dragon.
The demonic fire lacked solid form, scattering in an instant.
Enveloped by the raging flames, the great hand immediately showed signs of destabilizing.
Gritting his teeth, Hall Master Yin detonated the great hand of profound qi without hesitation to buy himself time. Simultaneously, his right wrist gave an imperceptible tremor, and a flash of silver vanished into the air.
In the next instant—
The silver flash reappeared, less than ten feet before Qin Sang.
The object proved to be a silver needle as slender as a strand of hair. It flew without the slightest sound or fluctuation, deeply vicious and treacherous. By the time an opponent sensed something amiss, it would already be too late to defend.
Yet no matter how concealed it was, it could never escape Qin Sang's notice.
He had far too many ways to counter it.
The phoenix wings on his back shuddered and snapped wide. Qin Sang was about to transform into lightning to displace himself elsewhere.
Just then, he heard two light barks in rapid succession.
*"Heng!"*
*"Ha!"*
The sounds of *heng* and *ha* were not actual spoken shouts.
Even if someone were standing right beside Qin Sang, they would not have heard them, for these cries struck directly at the primordial spirit!
A divine consciousness attack secret technique!
Qin Sang's eyes lit up.
He had always harbored a keen interest in such secret techniques, but had never found one of sufficient power; possessing formidable divine consciousness, he had never been able to bring out its full advantage.
With Yin Changsheng perishing in the heavenly tribulation, Qin Sang had assumed that his divine consciousness secret technique had accompanied him to the underworld, just like the latter half of the Treasure-Connecting Formula.
Yet Hall Master Yin knew it as well!
It felt somewhat similar, yet distinct from Yin Changsheng's. It was hard to tell whether Hall Master Yin's mastery was simply unrefined, or if Yin Changsheng had later modified it.
Yin Changsheng had sealed himself in the ice coffin for hundreds of years, giving him ample time to polish his secret techniques.
"Showing off your meager tricks before an expert!" Qin Sang sneered.
Showing not the slightest sign of distress, he transformed into lightning, effortlessly dodging the silver needle. His arc of flight snapped in a sharp angle, lunging straight for Hall Master Yin.
The lethal trap had been dismantled.
To make matters worse, the great hand of profound qi had perished within the demonic flames, completely unable to halt the fire dragon.
Hall Master Yin's soul trembled in terror. He hurriedly tossed out a square seal. Ancient characters flared from the seal, each brimming with divine majesty as they burst forth in succession, putting up a stubborn defense.
Yet before Hall Master Yin could breathe a sigh of relief, his surroundings plunged into sudden darkness, saturated with sharp, ubiquitous danger.
Within his field of vision, nothing remained but countless threads of sword light.
"A sword formation!" Hall Master Yin gasped, barely able to defend himself.
The shattering of the ancient characters sounded like rolling thunder, plunging him into ever deeper dread.
*Bang!*
The square seal completely exhausted its power.
Hemmed in from above and below by the demonic fire and the sword formation, the scene within dissolved into utter chaos. Observers from outside could no longer see Hall Master Yin or Qin Sang, hearing only a barrage of deafening crashes.
Using the chaos as cover, the external incarnation quietly appeared behind Hall Master Yin.
By the time Hall Master Yin sensed the anomaly behind him, it was already too late.
*Squelch!*
The external incarnation's palm morphed into razor-sharp talons of ice, thrusting deep into the back of Hall Master Yin's heart.
A flash of light flared atop Hall Master Yin's skull as his nascent soul attempted to flee.
Unexpectedly, the moment the nascent soul surfaced, a tongue of demonic fire surged forward as if it had been lying in wait. Hall Master Yin's consciousness fell into a momentary daze, and before he could execute a teleportation, he was thoroughly bound!
Chapter 1502