They said Xie Bai was cold and emotionless, but in his understanding, Yin Wushu was actually the one with the least emotions. Or rather, even if this person does have emotions, they are controlled to the minimum. On the surface, he remains calm and indifferent, rarely giving reactions at inappropriate times that could be taken advantage of.

In Xie Bai's eyes, Yin Wushu was never the kind of person who would react to someone else's words, but rather, he was the one who could provoke reactions from others with precision. Just like Xie Bai often found himself provoked by a single sentence from Yin Wushu, feeling the urge to retaliate, yet a single sentence from Yin Wushu could instantly quench the fire.

But this time, when the Icebound Man on the opposite side finished saying that sentence, Xie Bai saw Yin Wushu's index finger, hanging by his side, twitch subconsciously. It was an extremely subtle movement; if Xie Bai hadn't been standing so close to him and if his peripheral vision hadn't caught it, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.

If they weren't currently in the midst of a tense deadlock, Xie Bai would almost not be able to resist turning around to see Yin Wushu's expression.

Yin Wushu actually reacted?!

It meant that this sentence had truly struck at the most crucial point with pinpoint accuracy.

On one hand, Xie Bai was extremely surprised, and on the other hand, he had to suppress his expression as usual, making himself appear as calm and indifferent as Yin Wushu, because now he was really unsure whether Yin Wushu was in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one.

The sentence the Icebound Man had just said kept flashing through his mind—Even digging out your heart is useless...

What does it mean that digging out your heart is useless?

Xie Bai remembered that Yin Wushu had once told him that while the heart was extremely precious to ordinary people, it was useless to him. Not only was it useless, but it could also be a burden and cause trouble if left for too long. That's why every hundred years or so, he would dig out this burden and bury it in a suitable place to avoid trouble.

But he had never explained why his heart was a burden, or why it could cause trouble. He just casually said, "It's hard to explain in a few words," and brushed it off. After that, Xie Bai never witnessed him digging out a heart, and after asking a few times without getting any results, he stopped asking altogether.

Now, listening to the Icebound Man's tone, it seemed that digging out his heart was related to the power struggle between the two of them—Yin Wushu kept digging out hearts to maintain a slight advantage in the standoff.

But now Yin Wushu's advantage was gone... even digging out the heart was useless. Why?

Having been deceived by Yin Wushu since childhood, Xie Bai habitually reserved a certain amount of suspicion towards others' words, especially when the other person, to some extent, was a semi-replica of Yin Wushu. It was even harder for him to fully believe what they said.

In an instant, several thoughts churned in his mind, but he still didn't show any expression on his face. However, the Icebound Man on the opposite side could clearly sense his suspicion, and he smiled, "What's wrong? Do you think I'm just bluffing? If I were really bluffing, he would have attacked by now. Why are we still at a standoff here, with no sign of him making a move..."

Although his words were directed at Xie Bai, his gaze remained fixed on Yin Wushu. Because of the smile, it seemed somewhat provocative, as if he was truly confident and unafraid.

Xie Bai frowned, feeling a surge of worry, because he realized that the Icebound Man was not bluffing at all.

Based on Xie Bai's understanding of Yin Wushu, if he had the upper hand, he wouldn't give the other party a chance to say another word, because he wouldn't bother listening. But now, despite the Icebound Man saying so much and clearly none of it being what Yin Wushu wanted to hear, Yin Wushu remained silent and didn't act rashly, which indicated a problem.

However, just as this thought arose, Yin Wushu, who stood in front of him, suddenly uttered a casual "Oh—" and said, "Since you're not bluffing, then you must have the upper hand. Why not just come at me directly instead of standing there wasting energy on a monologue..."

Xie Bai: "..."

He almost forgot, the one standing in front of him was Yin Wushu, and the one on the opposite side, who wasn't much different from Yin Wushu, wasn't fond of hearing nonsense. Neither of them was the type to engage in idle chatter. Yet here they were, thunder without rain, which definitely indicated a problem.

If it hadn't been for Yin Wushu's timely interjection, Xie Bai might have been led astray by the other party.

From this perspective, Yin Wushu indeed wasn't in an advantageous position, but he wasn't in a disadvantageous one either. The two of them were evenly matched at the moment, but if it were merely a stalemate, there would be no need to stand here. Yin Wushu wouldn't recklessly waste energy just to stare down the other party.

So the current standoff was purposeful.

Yin Wushu was waiting for a certain opportunity, and the Icebound Man on the other side was waiting as well.

Thinking of this, Xie Bai felt that there was another layer of complexity between these two individuals, making it unclear where to start helping.

The Icebound Man didn't mind Yin Wushu's exposure of his intentions; instead, he smiled even deeper, "That's why I said even digging out your heart is useless now. In the past, even if I talked all day long, you wouldn't have responded. But now you can't help it. Why is that?"

His gaze flickered ever so lightly, almost negligible, but Xie Bai felt that he glanced at him.

Actually, his behavior seemed somewhat strange to Xie Bai. When most people were delaying time waiting for an opportunity, they tended to stabilize the other party's emotions, causing them to relax or dampening their fighting spirit. Nobody would keep provoking the other party with each sentence, as if afraid that the other party wouldn't get angry or excited...

Stiring up Yin Wushu's emotions, what benefit would that bring, other than escalating the conflict into a more merciless battle?

Unless...

A thought flashed through Xie Bai's mind: unless Yin Wushu's emotions were directly linked to his combat power, unless the balance of power between them was affected by emotions, and it was a negative influence, which happened to be connected to the so-called digging out the heart. Digging out the heart was for being devoid of desire, unaffected by emotions. A person without emotions had no weaknesses, they were invincible, and wouldn't give anyone an opportunity. But with emotions...

The Icebound Man seemed to click his tongue with a hint of regret, "I still remember how tiny he was, skinny arms and legs, hardly any flesh on him. Indeed, he could tug at one's heartstrings. I only hoped that such a small thing could have some impact on you, not much, just a little more caution in your actions than before."

He chuckled, "For the first two years, I didn't feel any change at all. I almost thought I failed. It wasn't until the third year that I finally relaxed, but just when I felt relieved for a decade, you dug out your heart again."

Xie Bai knew on one hand that what the Icebound Man said was meant to disturb their emotions, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but recall those events from hundreds of years ago because what he said, especially about digging out the heart, Xie Bai knew too well.

And now, thinking back, after Yin Wushu dug out his heart, his emotions indeed became much lighter, more languid. Xie Bai had worried for a while back then, fearing that because of the heart extraction, Yin Wushu would be physically weakened and lacking in spirit. That feeling lasted for about two years before gradually fading away.

As Xie Bai was thinking, he suddenly felt an extremely slight movement under his feet—a sound coming from deep beneath the heavy ice, as if a light breeze passed through the holes in a window screen.

That sound, buried under a hundred meters of solid ice, distant and faint, lasted only a moment, easily overlooked with a distracted mind.

His gaze shifted, glancing at Yin Wushu and the Icebound Man on the opposite side, but he found that they hadn't changed their expressions at all, as if they were completely unaware of the movement underground.

The Icebound Man even continued trying to disrupt Yin Wushu's emotions incessantly. After mentioning the heart extraction incident again, he lifted his chin slightly, his smile deepening, and said to Yin Wushu, "Not only were you too confident, even I thought it was going to be a failure at the time. Do you regret it now? Do you regret digging out your heart to start anew? If you hadn't dug it out, after watching him grow up for over a decade, even if you raised him for another hundred years, it would've been nothing more than a master-disciple relationship, with slight differences in depth. It wouldn't be—"

He paused suddenly, only the smile at the corner of his mouth remained, as he looked meaningfully at Yin Wushu. His abrupt halt in speech made Xie Bai's heart skip a beat, and an indescribable feeling slowly surged up, like a rising tide, filling up his chest until it was full.

After standing still for several seconds, he felt his fingers holding the cat stiffen, his spine stiffen, realizing that he had tensed his nerves and body along with the Icebound Man's words, even failing to notice the reappearance of the sound under the frozen ground.

This time, the sound was much stronger than before, coming in waves like a fierce wind stirring under the ice, growing louder and transforming into a howl, so loud that it was impossible to ignore. At this moment, if Yin Wushu and the Icebound Man still couldn't hear it, they would be deaf.

Yet they remained unmoved.

Suddenly, Xie Bai understood that what these two individuals had been waiting for might be this moment.

In the instant this thought flashed, the eight hundred miles of frozen tundra beneath his feet suddenly began to crack, emitting a continuous series of crisp cracks, and even the shining mountains in the distance began to burst open one after another.

For a moment, the scene was filled with large chunks of ice and scattered powder flying everywhere. These ice and snow carried a bone-chilling coldness, making the already chilly air even colder. With every breath, the air felt dry and icy, piercing the nostrils and throat.

Even though Xie Bai no longer had a physical body, he still felt the bone-chilling coldness, as if his entire soul were immersed in extremely cold water.

In an instant, dense and intricate cracks spread across the eight hundred miles, covering the entire frozen tundra. Then, suddenly, with a loud sound of collapse, the frozen ground split apart into pieces, and large quantities of ice water gushed out from the underground, instantly submerging most of the broken ice, leaving only a height of less than a meter, floating and sinking in the deep and chilling water.

Although this sudden change came with great momentum, Xie Bai was not unprepared. In the instant when the frozen tundra exploded, he gently floated up into the air.

However, this avalanche of collapsing mountains and the fragmentation of the eight hundred miles of frozen tundra were just the prelude.

The ice floating on the surface melted at a visible speed, as if the original layer of ice on the tundra was a complete seal, and now that seal had been broken, leaving no trace of even a complete corpse. In just the blink of an eye, the large and small pieces of floating ice had disappeared, and the distant mountains were nowhere to be seen.

Looking around, there was only endless black water underfoot.

The water was extremely deep, its color so black it was extremely abnormal, without a hint of blue light, as if it were dripping ink that had been thoroughly drained.

When the black water covered the entire land without leaving any space, Xie Bai suddenly felt a tremendous pulling force under his feet. Subconsciously, he looked down and saw that the boundless black water was roiling and surging without wind, with a momentum that seemed to swallow the sky and earth. Directly beneath him, a whirlpool formed by the black water appeared, deep and bottomless, and the overwhelming suction force came from deep within that whirlpool.

In the blink of an eye, the whirlpool grew taller and taller, enveloping Xie Bai's feet with unstoppable force.

In that instant, the hundred-mile black water also moved, and countless black water dragons, accompanied by bursts of splashes, suddenly soared into the sky, rushing straight towards the three figures in the frozen tundra.

Yin Wushu and the Icebound Man, who had been facing each other in confrontation, suddenly erupted at that moment.

But the actions of the two were completely different.

The Icebound Man's black robe fluttered like a flag, his sleeves billowing, and with a whistling wind, he rushed forward like a ghost. Yin Wushu, on the other hand, turned around without hesitation, leaving his back to the Icebound Man, and directly embraced Xie Bai, shotting away the black water entwining Xie Bai's feet with a flash of sword light. In that moment, water splashed everywhere, and countless wails came from the black water, followed by the entire water dragon quickly rolling back.

When Yin Wushu embraced him, Xie Bai was still somewhat dazed. He blinked, only then realizing a sharp pain in his feet. The burning sensation surged up from the area wrapped and rolled by the black water, as if it was burning his soul clean. But he couldn't care about this pain because the moment Yin Wushu embraced him, he pressed him towards the boundary, and in the blink of an eye, Xie Bai felt a pushing force against his back.

Yin Wushu leaned close to his ear and said in a deep voice, "Here lies the Ghost Army of a Hundred Thousand Spirits, devouring souls. You can't get involved. Go back!"

His tone sounded calm, as if everything the Icebound Man had just said was irrelevant to him. However, his speech was much faster than usual, as if he urgently wanted to send Xie Bai away. Just as he spoke, countless giant black water dragons gathered around the Icebound Man, but they showed no intention of attacking him. It seemed they were under his control.

Before Yin Wushu finished speaking, the Icebound Man's hands slightly spread, each finger holding several black dragons. Amidst the howling wind, the dragons surged forward with him, his faint laughter mixed with the roaring water, coming closer and closer: "If you hadn't dug out that heart back then, maybe you wouldn't have loved him."

Xie Bai's pupils shrank in an instant.

The deafening sound of rushing water reached them in no time, and the arrogant black dragons, with their huge bodies arched, suddenly charged behind Yin Wushu, almost face to face with Xie Bai.

Xie Bai's hands hanging at his sides slid through Yin Wushu's ribs, and with a swift movement, he summoned a black mist, which spread out dozens of meters like a screen, hovering in front of the black dragons, attempting to block their attack.

However, just before the black dragons reached his mist barrier, when they were only a few feet away, their movements suddenly froze. The parts of their heads lowered abruptly, and their massive bodies began to convulse and struggle frantically, chaotic in the world between heaven and earth.

It looked as if they were being forced to the ground to be executed.

Xie Bai was stunned. He then noticed that while Yin Wushu had one arm around him, his other hand was behind his back. Moreover, several strands of golden threads had somehow wound around the necks of the black dragons. Although these threads looked as thin as hair and seemed like they could break at any moment, Xie Bai, who was bound by them, knew full well how difficult they were to deal with and that they couldn't be cut.

Perhaps because the Icebound Man had directly exposed his thoughts, Yin Wushu no longer concealed anything. He lowered his gaze to glance at Xie Bai, then gently touched the corner of Xie Bai's eye with a quick motion, and suddenly pushed him with force, pushing him into the misty area away from the frozen tundra.

Xie Bai felt the world turn upside down for a moment. He opened his mouth, wanting to say "no," but by the time the word "no" came out, he was already outside the mist, unable to see Yin Wushu's figure anymore, greeted only by the startled Aoyin.

The force that had previously blocked his path played its biggest role at an inopportune moment, pushing him hundreds of meters away the moment he emerged.

Xie Bai looked somewhat bewildered at the ferocious Aoyin blocking the entrance and the hazy mist. For a moment, he didn't know what to do— the words of the Icebound Man and Yin Wushu kept repeating in his mind.

He didn't want to leave Yin Wushu alone inside, even though Yin Wushu was so powerful that hardly anyone could touch him. But he didn't know whether going in would really help Yin Wushu or would become a greater obstacle, burdening him. If the black water really contained the Ghost Army of a Hundred Thousand Spirits, devouring souls, Yin Wushu would inevitably be distracted to protect him.

"Xiao Bai!" A clear voice suddenly sounded.

Xie Bai turned around abruptly and saw Lou Xianyue and the merman rushing towards him from a distance. Behind them, the dark clouds still lingered, and the demonic energy surged, with countless different spiritual powers mixed within, causing chaos. Amidst the chaos, two vaguely visible air currents were entangled in battle, seemingly trying to swallow each other completely.

"The old demons have gone mad. There's nowhere peaceful along the way; it's chaos everywhere." Lou Xianyue stopped abruptly in front of Xie Bai, her voice urgent. "Where's Yin Wushu?"

Yin Wushu...

Xie Bai subconsciously glanced back at the misty barrier. "He's inside."

His tone was as cold as ever, but with an inexplicable emptiness. Hearing this tone, Lou Xianyue frowned, looking at him with concern. "Xiao Bai, are you okay? How's Yin Wushu inside? Have you been in? This realm is hardly visited by anyone. It's extremely dangerous with a hundred thousand demon mountains and the frozen tundra, controlling extremely dangerous entities, right?"

Xie Bai: "Yes."

Lou Xianyue patted his shoulder. "Even Gongyang Street is in chaos. No wonder Yin Wushu warned Li Dong and Feng Li not to leave Tai Xuan Dao for a moment. Now they're relying on them and Luo Zhusheng to keep things under control; otherwise, it would be disastrous. What's wrong with you? Did you go in and then get kicked out by Yin Wushu again? What nonsense did he tell you? His mouth is full of lies. Don't..."

Knowing Xie Bai's personality, Lou Xianyue guessed that he must have gone in already. Besides being kicked out by Yin Wushu, there couldn't be any other situation. After all, Xie Bai was stubborn; even if Yin Wushu said something himself, he might not listen, especially when he was putting everything on the line.

Xie Bai frowned slightly, still staring at the mist, not answering Lou Xianyue's questions or making any other moves.

"Don't scare me, Xiao Bai. This is so unlike you. You seem absent-minded, like you're dreaming." Lou Xianyue subconsciously grabbed his shoulder and shook it, then looked down at the little black cat circling around his feet, not knowing what to do.

The merman also seemed puzzled. "Hey," he called out to Xie Bai. "What's wrong with you? Did your soul leave your body and now you can't remember things? I heard that after the soul leaves the body, you become forgetful, and you forget what you've said and done in the blink of an eye. Did you forget something important? Luckily, I'm here. Shall I help you remember by creating a dream for you to recall?"

Xie Bai was subtly pricked by the term "creating a dream." Even he felt that everything that happened on the frozen tundra just now felt like a dream, unreal. For a moment, he even felt that the life of the past hundred years was extremely unreal, like a dream.

Subconsciously, he replied to the merman, "What's the use of dreaming? It's all fake."

Unexpectedly, the merman retorted, "Who says it's fake? Our merman clan has many branches, you know? Although we're all good at bewitching people, our methods are different. The largest branches indeed use fabricated dreams to bewitch people, but our branch has always created real dreams."

He shook his head and explained in a different way, "No, strictly speaking, our branch doesn't create dreams. We just extract the most beautiful or important moments from your life, even if you've forgotten them yourself. But of course, when I mentioned creating a dream earlier, it wasn't like the one at Peacock Lake. It was just using the dream's method to help you remember something important that you've forgotten recently. Or if you've been disturbed by other factors too much, I also have a way to temporarily shield you from those disturbances. But you have to pay some price for that. How about it? Are you really becoming forgetful after your soul leaves your body? If so, hurry up!"

At first, Xie Bai didn't react. After staring at the mist for several seconds, he suddenly turned back and stared at the merman. "What did you just say?"

The merman exploded, "I wasted so much breath giving you suggestions, and you didn't listen to a single word?!"

"What did you say just now? Your branch doesn't create dreams? It's all real?" Xie Bai's pitch-black eyes stared at the merman, his eyes filled with inexplicably strong emotions, like a brewing storm. Seeing this, the merman was a bit intimidated, subconsciously taking two steps back, and said, "Uh, yes, we don't create dreams. Fake things are the worst in our eyes. We disdain fabricating lies. Actually, real dreams have more texture, don't they?"

Xie Bai wasn't in the mood for theoretical discussions. He interrupted, "What do you mean, even if you've forgotten, if it's really important, how could..." He was about to say, "how could you forget," but before he finished, he thought of something.

The merman continued explaining, "Why not? There are plenty of possibilities. What if you suffered head trauma, or memory loss from aging, or someone drugged you?"

Yao Zhu San...

Legend has it that Yao Zhu San can modify memories, altering them seamlessly, making them feel as if they've always been that way, without any traces of tampering.

Xie Bai felt like his heart was suddenly gripped. He couldn't tell if it was shrinking in pain or swelling with overwhelming emotions. He gently asked, "The dream you created for me at Peacock Lake that night, was it also real?"

The merman replied, "I don't know what you dreamt of, but I swear by the honor of our branch that it was absolutely real. So real that if there's anything fake, I'll let you use my head as a football!"

Lou Xianyue exclaimed, "...you disgusting child."

Xie Bai didn't care to talk to them anymore. His mind was filled with the word "real."

Everything was real. The entire dream, all of it was real. His memories were the ones that had been tampered with. So, when he was trapped in the golden threads that day, he didn't push Yin Wushu away. And Yin Wushu really...

Luo Zhusheng said Yin Wushu had two doses of Yao Zhu San, both of which were taken by Yin Wushu.

Now Xie Bai knew. One dose had been used on him a hundred years ago, and one was still in use... He didn't know why Yin Wushu erased those memories back then, but now he could guess.

To make him forget all of this.

Yin Wushu wanted to resolve everything himself and then erase everything from his mind. It wasn't surprising that when the ice man on the frozen tundra shook off everything Yin Wushu had hidden for years, Yin Wushu remained calm.

Because, in his view, Xie Bai only knew temporarily. Once everything was resolved, Xie Bai would, under the influence of Yao Zhu San, forget everything, regardless of whether he lived or died, was injured or not, he wouldn't be involved with Xie Bai anymore.

But who gave you the right? Who gave you the right to decide whether I remember or forget...

Xie Bai couldn't tell whether he was angrier or sadder because of Yin Wushu, or whether he felt more frustrated and heartbroken.

The only thing he could be sure of was that he didn't want to continue standing outside the battlefield, unable to do anything.

There must be a way, there must be a way to help Yin Wushu!

Xie Bai suddenly turned to Lou Xianyue and asked, "Auntie Lou, is there any formation that can bring someone back from the dead, truly revive them, not reanimate a corpse or possess a soul?"

Lou Xianyue was taken aback by his question and said, "What do you mean? Are you saying Yin Wushu might die?"

Xie Bai shook his head. "It's hard to say. You're proficient in various formations. Have you heard of anything like this?"

Lou Xianyue frowned, pondered for a moment, and then looked up with some difficulty, saying, "How should I put it, matters of life and death are the most inviolable, so everything related to reversing life and death is forbidden. Moreover, each one requires a huge price to be paid, and the results obtained are often not satisfactory. For example, what you mentioned about reanimating corpses or seizing souls, all have flaws and alterations. Truly bringing someone back to life... I haven't really seen that—"

"Oh!" Lou Xianyue said halfway through, then her tone suddenly changed, and she continued, "Actually, there is one! It's not really resurrecting the dead, but it's more in line with what you said than anything else. This formation fundamentally binds souls, but it has been modified slightly. Essentially, it intercepts the soul at the moment of death, at that critical point, and brings it back. Logically, there's a sequence, where the person dies first, and then the formation takes effect. However, because the time interval between the two is almost negligible, it's practically simultaneous. So, it's basically like opening the door and then immediately being blocked back in by someone. Do you understand what I mean?"

Xie Bai nodded and asked, "How is this formation set up?"

Lou Xianyue looked troubled again and said, "Actually, I can draw the formation, but I don't have enough spiritual power to support it. So even if I complete it, it won't have any effect. Moreover, this formation requires an enormous amount of spiritual power, so much so that it's almost unbearable for a single person to bear. Even if it's me, let alone Yin Wushu, he can only barely form it."

Xie Bai's eyes dimmed. If even someone as powerful as Yin Wushu could only barely form the formation, then there was no hope for the three of them present. Xie Bai, although strong, was limited by his physique and still had a long way to go to match Yin Wushu's power.

Just as he hadn't fully come up with a plan, Lou Xianyue suddenly looked up at the thin mist and said, "It's collapsing."

Xie Bai was taken aback. Lou Xianyue's premonitions were always accurate. Sure enough, just as she finished speaking, Aoyin, who was guarding outside the mist, suddenly became restless and began to roar frantically. He paced anxiously at the entrance for a few steps, but before he could step on solid ground, there was a thunderous explosion, and the sky, shrouded in mist, suddenly collapsed into countless fragments, falling down.

With a deafening roar, accompanied by a sudden howling wind, it was as if another world had suddenly burst in.

A vast tide of black water surged forth, with dozens of huge black dragons simultaneously soaring into the sky, surging like mountains and directly rushing towards Xie Bai and the others.

Lou Xianyue and the merman were stunned. Xie Bai grabbed them both and leaped into the air, creating a gust of wind that was like a sudden peak rising from the ground, then dissipated in an instant.

It wasn't until now that Xie Bai could see clearly that the so-called black water was actually not water at all, but a densely packed army of ghosts gathered together. They were extremely sensitive and intangible, and the flowing mist was all the yin energy emanating from them.

These ghostly soldiers were heavily burdened with yin energy and had been suppressed for tens of millions of years. Once the black energy came into contact with an ordinary person, it could devour their spirit and soul.

Yin Wushu wasn't bluffing when he said that.

Perhaps because the icebound man was extremely yin in nature, this tide of ten thousand ghost soldiers and dozens of black dragons, although terrifying, did not attack or harm him. Instead, they were under his control. Xie Bai didn't know what method he used, but these ten thousand ghost soldiers were probably the chips he used to suppress Yin Wushu. Originally, the two sides were evenly matched, but now one side suddenly gained this kind of assistance, doubling their chances of winning.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Yin Wushu passed by them, pushing out a thick wall of air to block the icebound man, while urging Xie Bai and the others further away. He frowned and said, "Don't add to the chaos! Go back!"

The icebound man slid a wide sleeve, sending them hundreds of meters away, and his laughing voice came through the wind, "Isn't it ironic? Our biggest disagreement back then was here. I kept my heart, while you dug yours out clean. I thought the Great Dao encompassed all, with no restrictions, rolling through the world of mortals without care, at least it's refreshing and carefree. But you treated all these things as external, indifferent to them, seeking absolute purity, avoiding even a speck of dust from the mundane world. You seemed to control countless spirits, but in reality, you were indifferent to the world. What a big joke."

As he spoke, the two continued to fight without stopping, each move faster than the last, directly attacking each other with black dragons covering the sky, black water flooding the ground, and golden threads weaving through the darkness like lightning, restraining both the ice man and the king of the underworld.

Upon hearing the icebound man's words, Yin Wushu finally responded without reservation, "Excess leads to a backlash."

"So, you want to start over?" The icebound man snorted.

 

Yin Wushu didn't respond verbally, but his movements didn't slow down in the slightest. The gradually accelerating assault was enough to answer the question.

"As luck would have it, I was thinking the same..." The icebound man smirked maliciously, and then the overwhelming black ghost army, under his control, suddenly converged, violently enveloping them within.

For a moment, darkness engulfed everything, with not a speck of light penetrating through, surrounded by nothing but deathly silence and danger. Even the slightest movement could lead to a more terrible situation.

Just as everyone was panicking in the darkness, a sharp, piercing cry suddenly tore through the air, clear and resonant. The airtight black cage was suddenly split open by a several dozen-yard-long gap, allowing the long-blocked sunlight to flood in.

"Bi Fang?!" (NT: one legged mythological bird) The icebound man's voice suddenly tightened, sounding surprised.

Xie Bai looked up in response and saw a massive bird flying through the sunlight. It had not a shred of flesh left on its body, only a hollow skeleton emitting a pale light. Yet with each flap of its wings, it ignited a trail of flames, enveloping the skeletal frame as if it were forged from fire.

Its beak was long and sharp, and beneath its body, there was a foot with sharp claws half-curled. It was this bird that had split open the cage just now with its beak and claws.

"When did you summon Bi Fang?! Its flesh and bones have turned to ashes. How could it be summoned again?" The icebound man furrowed his brow and retreated dozens of yards, barely restraining the black tide with his hand.

Although the hundred thousand ghost army here did indeed possess formidable strength and could serve as a significant boost when evenly matched, due to their large number, they could effectively divert Yin Wushu's attention. But these hundred thousand ghost soldiers originally belonged to Bi Fang, and it was only after Bi Fang 's death that they were sealed beneath this ice field to prevent them from causing havoc in the mortal world.

Now that Bi Fang had been summoned again by Yin Wushu, even though only its bones remained, it still had a significant impact on the ghost army.

"If I show my cards in every move and lay everything out, wouldn't I be giving you all the advantages?" Yin Wushu sneered coldly, beckoning with his hand. Bi Fang's skeleton began to circle around him, flapping its wings.

Indeed, Bi Fang belonged to fire and the sun naturally, so it could be controlled by Yin Wushu.

With Bi Fang in hand, he had no intention of giving the icebound man another chance to regroup. He raised his hand and attacked.

The hundred thousand ghost army, originally completely under the control of the ice man, began to gradually lose control, wandering aimlessly between heaven and earth, in utter chaos.

At this point, it was too late for the ice man to try to rein it in again. The situation had completely reversed, and it was no longer within his control. He had been trying to make Yin Wushu emotionally unstable, to expose more vulnerabilities and weaknesses. But in the end, it was he who became disoriented first in this situation.

As Bi Fang let out another clear cry, Yin Wushu raised his hand, and all the black tide suddenly reversed direction, surging toward the icebound man, completely enveloping him in an instant. Countless golden threads radiated from Yin Wushu's wrist, like a barrage of arrows, piercing straight into the black tide.

Xie Bai seemed to hear the sound of those golden threads piercing through flesh and bones directly.

A few seconds later, the black tide suddenly dispersed, raining back down to the ground like a downpour, once again forming a vast expanse.

In the sky above, the ice man was pierced through by countless golden threads, with hardly a patch of intact flesh left. At first, he gasped a few times, struggling to maintain the faint smirk on his lips. But moments later, blood suddenly began to spurt from his body.

Xie Bai heard a sigh of relief from Lou Xianyue, who had been blocking him behind her. "It's good, it's good. I told you, Yin Wushu wouldn't just die so easily..."

But as soon as she finished speaking, something fell from Yin Wushu's body, dripping along his robe.

The pitter-patter of liquid responded to the icebound man's increasingly flowing blood.

Xie Bai had known Yin Wushu for over two hundred years, seen many wounds on him, but it was the first time he had seen him bleed.

In that instant, he almost didn't believe his own eyes. He absentmindedly waved away the black mist, scooped up a handful, and upon opening it, he found a dark red bead, some large and some small. The moment it touched his hand, it became brittle, just like the ones he had picked up before...

This was the icebound man's blood, as well as Yin Wushu's blood.

Once the floodgates of blood opened, there was no stopping it.

Xie Bai felt himself growing cold all over, that familiar chill to the bone, the heart-wrenching pain was about to come again.

People always tended to suddenly remember things in the moment of pain.

Xie Bai, enduring the pain, turned his head to Lou Xianyue and said, "Draw the array."

Lou Xianyue was startled by the ice man's blood and worried by Xie Bai's seemingly fading soul state. She panicked for a moment, "But the spirits—"

"That's enough, just go and draw it." Xie Bai said in a low voice. By the time he spoke, the pain had overwhelmed his entire body. He felt like something was pulling him away, pulling him away from this place. He instinctively felt he should stay in Tai Xuan Dao's body.

The icebound man's life was running out, Yin Wushu as well, and Xie Bai couldn't escape either.

Lou Xianyue hurriedly responded, hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Alright! Let's try it!"

She reached into a small pouch at her waist and carefully cut a wound on each of her index fingers. Flowing blood gushed out from the cuts.

She silently recited the incantation, recalling the array she had seen before, while using her hand to draw the runes of the array in the void.

As she dropped the first bloodline, Xie Bai raised his hand, and a black tree full of dead branches suddenly grew out of the black tide. From the moment it touched the ground, several roots began to absorb the black water beneath them as if they were alive.

That was the Ten Thousand Souls Tree, moving with the Yin Guest.

One branch grew rapidly before the eyes, then shook out a thin line that wrapped around Xie Bai's wrist.

With a flick of his wrist, the surging black mist rushed towards Lou Xianyue, enveloping her fingers as she drew the array.

A clear, metallic clang rang out from Lou Xianyue's hands, and a huge, heavy spiritual power flowed out of Xie Bai's body, then was used by Lou Xianyue. With each stroke she drew, a fiery light was left behind.

But the amount of spiritual power consumed by each stroke was so enormous that it was staggering. Just halfway through the array, Xie Bai felt like all the spiritual power he had accumulated over two hundred years had been drained. His already extremely cold body was barely holding on.

The pain, coupled with the dizziness brought on by the surging spiritual power, made him suffer greatly. The merman beside him couldn't bear to watch any longer and emitted a strange, slow, deep sound from the depths of their throats. This sound was like the water in a hot spring pool, slowly enveloping Xie Bai.

"Hold on, Xiao Bai, it's almost over..." Lou Xianyue couldn't help but say.

Xie Bai couldn't even speak anymore, he knelt down on one knee, but still continued to transfer spiritual power to Lou Xianyue through the Wailing Tree. The moment he knelt down, the icebound man, who had been pinned down by thousands of golden threads, finally couldn't hold on any longer, and his head, completely devoid of color, drooped down.

"Hurry..." Xie Bai's vision became blurry due to the pain, but he could still discern Yin Wushu's figure and couldn't help but say.

Faster, or it will be too late...

The golden threads that pinned the icebound man were fading, almost to the point of disappearing. Without the support of the golden threads, the icebound man fell straight down from the sky like a falling leaf, plunging into the black tide.

Xie Bai's soul had become so faint that it was almost invisible. He could almost feel that as the cold intensified, the connection between his soul and his body became weaker and weaker, almost imperceptible.

And not far away, Yin Wushu, too, as soon as the golden threads disappeared, he bowed his body and fell sideways.

In that critical moment, Lou Xianyue stopped, and the complete array finally took shape. With a quick movement, she directly slapped the array onto Yin Wushu as he fell. In that split second, she was suddenly startled: What about Xiao Bai!

Xie Bai curled up his body, his will gradually dissolving in torment. He struggled to maintain his last trace of consciousness, trying to open his eyes, and just happened to see the blood-red array falling directly under Yin Wushu, catching him.

He sighed lightly, finally closing his eyes in peace.

Surrounded by boundless darkness, as life drained away, Xie Bai could no longer feel even the pain. He felt that he was about to die, because he was beginning to forget things, everything, whether it was what had just happened or earlier, seemed to be forgotten.

He felt even memories were starting to disappear along with the pain, his mind was blank, filled only with endless exhaustion and drowsiness, just wanting to close his eyes and never wake up again.

He felt like he was having the last dream of his life, a dream of utter darkness, with nothing but a soft, faint meow, like a lament.

He saw a pitch-black kitten slowly appearing in the darkness, swaying unsteadily toward him. Golden threads flowed on its body, and after a few turns, it climbed onto Xie Bai's chest and entered his heart.

The cold chest gradually felt a little warmth, much more comfortable than the previous pain.

The little cat rubbed its head against his neck and then lay down, gradually becoming motionless.

When all the golden threads entered Xie Bai's heart and no new ones overflowed, he couldn't help but pat the head of the little black cat, only to find a dark red puddle under its drooping head—that was a puddle of red, differently-sized beads...

In the dream, Xie Bai was stunned. He felt like he had seen these beads before, but because of the loss of memory, he couldn't recall. However, upon seeing them, he felt inexplicably sad. Just as he couldn't resist the urge to touch the puddle of beads, the little cat suddenly emitted a faint light, and in that faint light, it turned into something the size of a fist, flesh-red, covered with a layer of white membrane.

It was a heart...

 

Fin de l’arc 2

 

Translator : DarNan