Wuxin Pavilion

The main complex of the Ice Palace. Shadows of ethereal blue sky-light fell into every corner of the Ice Palace. For ages, the scenery of the Ice Palace had remained unchanged, resting silently within the ruins of the immortal sect. With no intruders, the blue sky-light hardly wavered at all. Only wherever the scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling passed did the sky-light's blue hue abruptly deepen, with power from the remnant formation ceaselessly lashing out at them. *Bang!* *Boom!* The gate of one of the ice palaces was blasted off, slamming heavily to the ground and shattering into pieces. A surge of green ripples washed out from the palace; the surrounding runes dispersed, and the restrictive ward power sustaining them collapsed with it. Immediately after, the two walked out through the empty doorway. Before the scar-faced man's chest floated a cluster of green light—a wooden bead. The wooden bead had just reined in its spiritual radiance; it was this very treasure that had blasted away the palace gate and shattered the restriction here. As they stepped outside the palace, they felt the pressure mount precipitously. Both looked up simultaneously to see the sky-light bearing down upon them, gloomy and suffocatingly heavy. Breaking the palace gate had evidently triggered a chain reaction in the remnant formation. Cave Master Qiling unhurriedly formed an incantation gesture. The red flower magic treasure hovering above his head trembled slightly, releasing a gentle force that lifted upward to prop up the descending sky-light. Rather than clashing head-on with the remnant formation, Cave Master Qiling countered hardness with softness. After holding out for a moment, the sky-light settled on its own, and the crushing pressure vanished. The spirit formation was incomplete. Among the various ice palaces, some were intact while others were severely dilapidated. The remnant formation was fragmented and could not form a unified whole. They only needed to deal with the residual power within a certain radius around them. So long as they were careful not to make overly drastic movements, handling it was not particularly difficult. To the two of them, the threat in the Ice Palace was far less than that of the Qilin screen wall. "There aren't many palaces left ahead. Judging by the layout of the Wood Element Hall, the rest should all be core palaces akin to a Patriarch Hall..." Cave Master Qiling estimated the distance they had covered inside the Ice Palace. They were already nearing its core, yet the scar-faced man still had not found that unknown precious wood. "Its aura is still ahead," the scar-faced man said with growing certainty as his senses sharpened. "It can't be too far!" Cave Master Qiling rubbed his hands together. "It seems that precious wood is of immense value and highly regarded by the Water Element branch. Following its aura, not only can we claim the wood, but we might also find the Water Element branch's treasury and make a fortune—truly killing two birds with one stone!" "If we find the treasury, the precious wood belongs to me, and you, Cave Master, may take first pick of the other treasures." The scar-faced man was not overly greedy. For the upcoming trip to Mount Dishou, Cave Master Qiling would be an indispensable helper, so falling out over the Water Element branch's treasury was not worth the cost. "Then I thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist." Cave Master Qiling laughed heartily and briskly kept pace with the scar-faced man, entering the next palace. Not long after their departure. A silhouette flickered and solidified before the shattered gate—it was Qin Sang's true body. He stood openly beneath the sky-light, yet suffered not a single attack. *A pity. It seems neither intends to split up. Otherwise, picking them off one by one would be much easier...* Watching the direction they had gone, thoughts raced through Qin Sang's mind. A cold glint surfaced in his eyes, having already stirred with murderous intent. The scar-faced man's divine ability was simply too bizarre; even with his avatar concealed in the secret hall of the Ice Palace, the man could still sense it. What was more, this person coveted the avatar's body relentlessly, posing an ongoing threat for the future. Previously, the scar-faced man's attention had been focused on the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. Once things here concluded and he had his hands free, he would inevitably move against the avatar. If he gained benefits here in the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, his future strength would be hard to fathom. Qin Sang could not possibly hand over the Dao Manifestation Tree, nor could he stay perpetually on guard, never allowing the avatar to leave his true body. One coveted the spirit tree; the other sought to protect his avatar. The grudge between them was beyond reconciliation! Qin Sang understood the principle of striking first to gain the upper hand; he would never sit idly by and wait for doom. At this moment, the enemy was in the light while he was in the shadows. Even though the opponent had a helper by his side, this was an opportunity not to be missed and well worth the attempt! Qin Sang's figure flickered and vanished. Meanwhile. Inside the secret hall. The avatar sat cross-legged beside the ice altar, his entire mind focused on the remnant formation. Through the remnant formation, the avatar could perceive the movements of those within the spirit array, keeping track of the scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling with complete clarity. As expected, the two were heading straight for the Patriarch Hall, drawing closer and closer! The true body trailed behind them. None of their actions could escape the avatar's perception. With the avatar's aid, the true body shadowed them with ease, unconcerned about his tracks being discovered. *Almost there...* the avatar murmured to himself, his expression growing ever more solemn. The remnant formation governed by the treasure banner and the remnant banners lay near the Patriarch Hall, ahead of the scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling. Qin Sang planned to lay an ambush there; at this moment, they were separated from the two by only two rows of palaces! A fierce battle was on the verge of erupting. In this fight, the scar-faced man had to be eliminated at all costs; Cave Master Qiling was secondary. Naturally, if he could slay both, Qin Sang would not hesitate in the slightest. Taking on two top-tier masters single-handedly, even with the advantage of timing and terrain, Qin Sang dared not relax in the least. Tense in mind and spirit, he had already deduced every scenario countless times in a short span. A tense atmosphere permeated the secret hall, the air almost congealing. The cloth of the treasure banner was taut, its spiritual radiance flickering between light and shadow. After lying dormant for ten thousand years, it finally had another chance to march into battle and slay enemies! In the blink of an eye. The scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling crossed another palace. They were now only a single row of palaces away from the ambush site! Qin Sang's true body abandoned his previously relaxed pace, his speed surging dramatically as he crossed row after row of palaces as fast as possible to close in on the enemy! Battle was poised to erupt! At this critical juncture. As the scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling crossed the ice garden between two rows of palaces and were about to enter the main hall of the final row, the scar-faced man suddenly noticed a pavilion in a corner of the garden. He let out a light exclamation: "Wuxin Pavilion!" The two halted, stopping short before the final row of palaces. Qin Sang and his avatar nearly cursed out loud. "Do you recognize this pavilion, Fellow Daoist?" Cave Master Qiling looked over. The scar-faced man nodded. "I recall reading an ancient text that recorded anecdotes of brilliant seniors from the five branches. Among them, the Water Element branch had a Venerable Wuxin. The Wuxiang Immortal Sect did not confine itself to Daoism, Buddhism, or any single path. It is said this individual was a Buddhist cultivator who once sealed his own cultivation, took a single alms bowl and a kasaya, and entered the mortal realm as an ascetic. Upon his return, he constructed a Wuxin Pavilion within Bingyi Palace, went into seclusion for a hundred years, attained profound enlightenment, and stepped into the Deity Transformation stage upon emergence—a legend passed down through ages!" "This Wuxin Pavilion is the dao sanctuary of a Deity Transformation master?" Cave Master Qiling's eyes gleamed. Scanning it from top to bottom and seeing that Wuxin Pavilion was intact, he lunged forward eagerly. The scar-faced man hesitated for a moment before darting after him. Compared to the other palaces, Wuxin Pavilion was not grand, standing a mere two stories tall in a corner of the ice garden. Plain and unremarkable, it was likely this very lack of prominence that had spared it from destruction. Arriving before Wuxin Pavilion. The scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling searched for a moment and found the flaw in the entrance's restriction. One commanded the wooden bead while the other summoned a wooden thorn, joining forces to breach the door. Golden light flared abruptly. Buddhist radiance formed a wall of light, yet parts of the barrier were thick while others were thin. The two possessed sharp eyes and targeted the weakest points of the Buddhist glow. *Crack!* Worn down continuously by the two, the barrier's Buddhist light grew dimmer until it tore open amid fracturing sounds. A vine shot into the light barrier, pushing open the doors of Wuxin Pavilion. Seeing nothing amiss, the two stepped inside. But soon, they emerged from Wuxin Pavilion with looks of sheer disappointment. Inside the pavilion lay only a single prayer mat, an incense burner, and a burner full of incense ashes—where were any Deity Transformation relics? That Venerable Wuxin had embraced the mortal world so thoroughly that even the prayer mat and incense burner were mundane household utensils of ordinary material, not even qualifying as magic tools. A Deity Transformation sanctuary in name only! Having labored for nothing, their gaze swept across the row of palaces, their interest greatly diminished; seeking the precious wood and the treasury was the real business. Leaving Wuxin Pavilion, they did not return to the main hall, but instead chose an adjacent path, breaking restrictions along the way as they crossed this row of palaces. A seemingly ordinary move, yet it caused the faces of both Qin Sang's true body and his avatar to change. Behind this row of palaces lay an ice lake. Frigid mist drifted across the lake, where several jade bridges spanned between the shores. Combined with the islets and pavilions in the lake drifting in and out of view through the cold vapor, it resembled an immortal realm. Though damaged in places, the flaws did not obscure its jade-like splendor. Strangely, within the very same lake, certain sections were frozen solid while others rippled with clear water. This ice lake was precisely the area governed by the treasure banner! The frozen sections were caused by flaws in the spirit array leaking formation power outward. Those unfrozen, seemingly tranquil water surfaces were actually where the spirit array remained most intact and could be manipulated via the treasure banner; under the avatar's deliberate concealment, there was not the slightest ripple of formation power across the lake. The jade bridge connected to the main hall ran almost directly through the center of the water—the undisputed prime choice for an ambush. Had the two not been distracted by Wuxin Pavilion and abruptly altered their course, they would certainly have crossed that bridge and fallen straight into the trap. Qin Sang could have fully leveraged the spirit array's might to divide the pair and defeat them one by one. Yet they had taken a side path and stepped onto a different jade bridge! No matter how well-laid a plan was, unforeseen accidents were inevitable. Having cultivated for many years, Qin Sang had long understood this truth; his composure was not shaken, and his mind worked at lightning speed to devise a countermeasure. In a flash, their figures appeared on the shore of the ice lake. They paused briefly, and seeing that the ethereal blue sky-light around the lake was no different from elsewhere and devoid of abnormalities, they picked a jade bridge and stepped onto it. This bridge was not far from the one linked to the main hall. Yet the conditions beneath the two bridges differed vastly. Beneath the bridge they had chosen lay solid ice. Fortunately, the icy expanse on the right was not broad and bordered the water, placing it right on the perimeter of the treasure banner's control. However, top-tier powerhouses like them possessed lightning-fast reflexes. Once the avatar triggered the array and caused an anomaly, they would react instantly; dragging both of them into the formation would be nearly impossible. Within breaths, the two were nearing the middle section of the jade bridge. Once across the lake, the Patriarch Hall would be just a short distance ahead, leaving no further opportunity for an ambush. Qin Sang had to decide immediately. On the jade bridge. The scar-faced man and Cave Master Qiling walked side by side—the scar-faced man on the left, Cave Master Qiling on the right, closest to the water. If Qin Sang struck, he could only drag Cave Master Qiling into the formation; the scar-faced man would most likely break free. *To be safe, I can only deal with one first! He's the one!* Qin Sang made a swift decision. Unwilling to squander such a golden opportunity, he chose to act. Even if he couldn't keep the scar-faced man here, clipping his wings was still worthwhile, and he could figure out how to deal with the man afterward! Inside the secret hall. The avatar pressed his palm firmly against the ice disc, ready to activate the remnant formation at any second. Qin Sang's true body had also crept up to the shore of the ice lake. "Most of the structures here are well preserved, and the traces of battle are fewer..." Cave Master Qiling observed the scenery around the lake, conversing with the scar-faced man. The scar-faced man grunted in affirmation, looking down at the lake. He grew a bit more wary of the frigid ice sheet, opening his mouth to say something when suddenly an instinctive alarm told him something was wrong. In the next instant. The ice lake suddenly boiled. ... Inside the secret hall. The avatar slammed his palm downward as true essence surged wildly from his whole body, pouring into the ice disc. The illusory landscapes within the ice disc shifted by the millisecond, and cold fiend qi visible to the naked eye rushed through the disc at breakneck speed. As its aura leaked outward, a layer of thin ice crept up the ice altar, threatening to freeze the avatar solid along his arm. Just then, the ice altar flashed brilliantly, its light instantly exploding to a blinding glare. The chilling radiance lit up the entire secret hall like broad daylight. A powerful suction erupted from within the altar. *Crack, crack, crack...* The newly formed thin ice shattered. All the cold fiend qi was instantly swallowed clean by the altar, causing the chill in the secret hall to plummet. The ice altar could draw from the spirit vein to replenish the ice disc's energy, while also serving as the medium between the ice disc and the Ice Palace's grand array. Triggered by the avatar, the altar's function shifted into suction; cold fiend qi was drawn continuously from the ice disc, flowing downward along it and ultimately pouring into the formation core. In an instant, runes of the spirit formation flared in succession. Channeled by the avatar, the cold fiend qi converged into streams, rushing toward the location of the treasure banner. He didn't even spare the remnant banners. Qin Sang had always been like this: once he resolved to strike, he held nothing back! He would not hesitate even if it caused the entire grand array of the Ice Palace to collapse, activating both the treasure banner and all the remnant banners! *Flap, flap...* The cloth of the treasure banner snapped taut as cold fiend qi poured into it via the spirit array. The banner underwent a drastic transformation, turning into cold fiend banners dripping with frigid chill and overwhelming majesty. At the same time, ringing clangs resounded. These sounds came from the other remnant banners. Some lacked any fabric, reduced to bare poles; as soon as cold fiend qi surged into them, the poles violently shuddered, clear fractures spreading across their shafts. Dividing his mind among multiple tasks, the avatar did his utmost to control the cold fiend qi, keeping those remnant banners intact for as long as possible. And at that moment, atop the ice lake, the spirit formation's power erupted! *Rumble!* The calm lake surface was abruptly torn apart. Waves surged layer upon layer as water spouts vaulted into the heavens. Under the avatar's manipulation, all the power of the remnant formation converged on this place. Ethereal blue sky-light gathered madly above the ice lake; blanketed by the dense light, the lake actually grew dim and gloomy. *Boom!* Water spouts crashed into the sky-light. In areas that were distinctly unfrozen, an endless freezing gale blew from nowhere, white currents of icy wind raging visibly over the water's surface. Anomalies flickered and dissipated as cold fiend soared to the heavens! In an instant, the ice lake turned entirely into a domain of extreme frost. Cave Master Qiling was standing right on the edge of the freezing gale! "Watch out!" The scar-faced man roared, inwardly crying out in alarm. Along the way, they had triggered the remnant formation's counterattacks countless times and had thoroughly grasped its patterns. A phenomenon like this was clearly not something the remnant formation produced on its own.