He had just furrowed his brows when he noticed that something about the entire Ice Soul felt off.

 

At that moment, Bai Ke, who had been unconscious and unresponsive, suddenly trembled.

At first, Junxiao thought it was his imagination. His vision was already blurry, his gaze unfocused even at such a close distance, making it difficult to see Bai Ke clearly. Frowning, he forced himself to stay conscious and pulled away from Bai Ke's lips. Just as he was about to figure out what was happening, the person in his arms suddenly began to struggle violently, so much so that Junxiao nearly lost his grip.

After a couple of intense struggles, Bai Ke abruptly curled up, his whole body trembling. His brows furrowed tightly, and his lips pressed firmly together. From the strain visible on the tiger bone at his jawline, it was clear that he was clenching his teeth hard, seemingly enduring an unbearable pain.

Junxiao grew anxious in an instant. Bearing the heavenly lightning striking down on his back, he held Bai Ke closer, took a deep breath, swallowed the blood welling up in his throat, and said hoarsely, "Master, wake up. What—cough, cough—what's happening?"

“Mm...” Bai Ke clutched his chest tightly and let out a muffled groan, his entire body curling up as he shuddered slightly. In his hazy state of consciousness, it seemed he heard Junxiao’s voice. Weakly and indistinctly, two words escaped his lips: “Seven Stars…”

Junxiao froze, and then the realization hit him—it was the Seven-Star Pill inside Bai Ke acting up.

The original reason they had sought out the Ice Soul was because of this Seven-Star Pill. To extract it while ensuring Bai Ke's survival during the process of weaving threads, they needed an immense amount of spiritual power—several times the usual amount, or even more. This level of power wasn’t something achievable by just one or two cultivators working together; their only option had been to gamble on the boundless spiritual energy of the Ice Soul.

It had taken so long for anything to happen that Junxiao had nearly lost hope of protecting Bai Ke.

Now that it was suddenly activating, the timing matched perfectly—it must be the pill reaching its weaving stage. Junxiao’s brows furrowed as he forced himself to stay focused, his eyes fixed on Bai Ke’s every movement.

Bai Ke, who was clutching his chest, suddenly began emitting golden threads, each as fine as silk. They extended outward, one by one, from his body, attaching themselves to the Ice Soul and linking Bai Ke to it.

As the golden threads multiplied, they encased Bai Ke until he appeared to be wrapped in a glowing golden cocoon.

The situation atop the Ice Soul suddenly shifted. The spiritual energy emanating from the Ice Soul, which had been flooding outward, abruptly reversed course. It surged back into the Ice Soul, then flowed along the golden threads into Bai Ke’s body in waves.

The golden threads continued to spread, reaching farther and farther until they encompassed Junxiao as well, and then expanded further.

It was as if the golden threads were devouring the Ice Soul like silkworms consuming mulberry leaves. The immense, luminous blue Ice Soul began to show patches of gold, which quickly spread outward. Before long, the dense web of golden threads enveloped the entire Ice Soul, encasing it completely.

The Ice Soul’s deep, endless spiritual energy continued to pour into Bai Ke’s body in a ceaseless stream.

Just as they had anticipated, the vast spiritual energy required for the maturation of the Seven-Star Pill, and the even greater energy needed to suppress it, all came from the Ice Soul.

As the pill absorbed this overwhelming energy, it posed no immediate danger to Bai Ke. However, the pill’s volatile activity during its maturation caused Bai Ke to experience excruciating pain.

With the spiritual energy from the Ice Soul now flowing back into itself, the immense pressure on the surrounding area suddenly eased. Even the heavenly lightning drawn by the Ice Soul diminished, and the black claws, which had been writhing furiously, lost much of their power. These changes granted Junxiao a brief moment of respite, allowing him to catch his breath.

Seeing the black claws weaken, Junxiao summoned all his remaining strength, his spiritual energy surging to a new height. Controlling his life soul, he unleashed a powerful attack. The projection of Junxiao, hovering in mid-air with his robes billowing, pulled its hands apart forcefully. Countless sword-like streams of energy burst from its hands, slicing through the black claws, dispersing them into void.

The dissipated black mist condensed into black droplets of rain, falling to the ground and scorching it black, emitting burst of white smoke. A thin layer of mist rose over the land, lingering for a moment before gradually dissipating.

Once the black claws were destroyed, the oppressive force weakened, and the heavenly lightning stopped slightly. The assembled sect leaders and elders froze in surprise but quickly recovered and resumed their chaotic battle. However, the other sects, having suffered heavier losses under the heavenly lightning and spiritual pressure, now found themselves at an even greater disadvantage against Hengtian Sect.

Bit by bit, some of the sects began to falter under Hengtian’s assault, their lines breaking apart.

Blood rained down in all directions. The Hengtian Sect’s sect master and elders, already steeped in dark, sinister energy, now looked as though they had emerged directly from a battlefield in the underworld, bathed in blood.

The other sects had relied solely on their numerical advantage for any chance of victory. Once part of their force began to crumble, the rest followed like a collapsing mountain. Several elders from smaller sects were killed on the spot, their sect masters severely injured. Even the major sects did not make it much better. In the end, only a handful remained standing: the sect master and an elder from Qingyun Sect, along with the sect master of Shaoyang Sect.

But even they would not last much longer.

However, while the others were anxious, the Hengtian Sect’s sect master and elders were even more so. Their sect’s treasured artifact, nurtured for over a thousand years, was now enveloped in mysterious golden threads and behaving abnormally, which made them deeply concerned. After all, the fact that the core members of the Hengtian Sect possessed cultivation levels far surpassing other sects was inseparable from their connection to the Ice Soul.

Over the years, they had devised countless methods to harness the Ice Soul’s power during its dormant periods to enhance their cultivation. In this regard, their understanding of the Ice Soul likely surpassed that of Yu Xian and Junxiao.

The Hengtian Sect’s sect master realized that something major had changed with the Ice Soul and that they couldn’t afford to delay any longer. His attacks grew increasingly sinister and murderous, each move more ruthless than the last, and before long, the three defenders were overwhelmed, unable to keep up.

As the tide of the battle shifted, the Hengtian sect master barked at the other elders, "Set up the formation!"

They immediately moved into their assigned positions, summoning their treasures and following the sect master’s instructions to construct a formation. The array wasn’t born of extensive research—it was wicked and ominous. The evil aura was soaring. Each time a formation node was established, the golden threads surrounding the Ice Soul trembled violently, as if unable to withstand the strain. Cracks began to form, and it seemed as though the threads might snap at any moment.

At this critical juncture, Junxiao and Yu Xian were completely occupied, unable to spare any effort to stop the array.

When the Hengtian Sect activated the final node of the formation, a fierce wind swept through the area, full of malevolent energy. Thunderclouds gathered once more, and the golden threads surrounding the Ice Soul vibrated intensely, emitting a loud buzzing sound. Then, with a series of crisp snaps, some of the golden threads suddenly broke. This marked the beginning of a chain reaction, and the sound of snapping threads grew increasingly frequent and urgent.

Just then, a figure passed rapidly across the sky from the distance, radiating immense pressure that shook the battlefield. With a light shout, the newcomer unleashed a blast of sword energy that tore through the air and struck directly at the core of the Hengtian Sect’s array.

With a deafening crash that sounded like the collapse of mountains and earth, the Hengtian Sect’s carefully constructed formation was utterly destroyed. The massive shockwave slammed the Hengtian Sect elders to the ground, shattering their chest bones. Even the sect master was thrown violently against a boulder by the backlash of the formation’s collapse.

He turned his head, coughing up a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest as he gasped for breath. His brows knitted tightly as he stared in shock at the rapidly approaching figure. He opened his mouth and managed to utter, “Who—” before abruptly falling silent.

Because the figure had landed precisely at the point where the sword energy had struck. The man wore a deep blue robe, and with a dramatic sweep of his broad sleeves, he drew a long sword without a word and drove it straight through the Hengtian Sect’s sect master, pinning him firmly to the boulder.

Afterward, the man moved to Yu Xian’s side and spoke in a deep, hoarse voice, “Shizu (NT: Grandmaster).”

His voice was rough, as if he hadn’t spoken in many years.

“Ah-Nan, boy!” Yu Xian’s expression shifted from surprise to joy. Without a trace of blame, he exclaimed twice, “Good! Good! You’ve awakened—it’s good that you’ve awakened! My trip to Wangtian Cliff wasn’t in vain; it seems that flower really worked.”

“This disciple... was lost in illusion for more than five millennia. Truly—”

Yu Xian cut him off, saying, “The past is behind us. It’s enough that you’re back! No one blames you!”

The one who had arrived just in time was none other than Wu Nan, who had fallen into inner demons and been trapped in a dream for 5,000 years. His face was as refined and gentle as ever, but his aura carried a profound depth and melancholy tempered by the passage of millennia.

With Wu Nan’s destruction of the Hengtian Sect’s sinister formation, the golden threads on the Ice Soul stopped breaking. The thunderclouds began to dissipate again, and the boundless spiritual energy of the Ice Soul flowed back to its center—where Bai Ke was.

After a while, Junxiao, who had been guarding Bai Ke, noticed cracks forming in the golden cocoon surrounding him. The cracks spread, revealing Bai Ke inside.

At this moment, the excruciating pain within Bai Ke’s body began to subside. His curled-up frame gradually relaxed. Junxiao’s pupils contracted sharply as he saw a faint golden pill gradually emerging from Bai Ke’s chest.

Junxiao fixed his gaze on the pill, his brow twitching. He knew this was the most critical moment—because the Seven-Star Pill had completed its formation. Under the suppression of the Ice Soul’s spiritual energy, it was slowly changing outside Bai Ke’s chest.

As long as the pill was removed the instant it left the body and Bai Ke’s heart meridian was promptly protected, the task would be complete.

Junxiao gathered sword energy in his palm, his gaze fixed firmly on the pill that was gradually emerging, waiting for the precise moment it left the body to strike and knock it away with a single slash.

As the pill was about to completely emerge, Junxiao raised his hand, ready to act, but suddenly, the Seven-Star Pill was abruptly pulled away by a powerful suction force. It tumbled directly onto the Ice Soul and was instantly swallowed, vanishing without a trace.

"What—" Junxiao withdrew the sword energy in his palm, momentarily stunned by this unexpected development.

Just as his brows furrowed in confusion, he sensed a dramatic shift in the aura of the Ice Soul, its entire presence suddenly becoming strange and threatening.

 

Translator : DarNan