The middle-aged man looked at Bai Qingxue.
The ice was transparent, and through that clarity, Bai Qingxue's appearance was fully reflected in the man's eyes.
At this moment, those pale eyes met his calmly—without fear, without pleas for mercy, without even a ripple of emotion.
The woman before him was as calm as a stagnant pool.
And nothing could be reflected in stagnant water.
The middle-aged man frowned.
He did not like that look.
He then raised his hand and spread his five fingers wide.
Seeing this, the black-robed men behind him retreated like a receding tide, standing with their hands at their sides, withdrawing all their offensive stances.
The ice path fell silent, save for the wailing of the wind squeezing through the fissures, sounding like someone crying in the far distance.
Dark gray spiritual power surged from his palm, but this time it was no longer in the shape of chains.
The spiritual power gathered above his head, condensing into a giant hand.
Its five fingers were distinct, its knuckles thick, and dark gray patterns flowed across the palm like the blood vessels of a living creature.
The giant hand pressed down toward Bai Qingxue and Lu Xueqing.
The ice walls above the path could not withstand the pressure; they split down the middle, cracks branching out like lightning in all directions.
Ice shards fell in a pitter-patter against the ground, sounding like something within the ice and snow was shattering and collapsing.
Seeing this, Bai Qingxue could only push her ice lotus to its absolute limit.
Within her dantian, the ice lotus spun frantically, its petals opening and closing. Every single petal trembled, emitting a faint, high-pitched hum.
A surge of coldness erupted from her body, condensing into ice walls before her.
One layer, two layers, three layers, four layers.
Layer upon layer stacked together, like the petals of a lotus flower closing in front of her, shielding the three of them within the heart of the flower.
The giant hand descended.
The first ice wall shattered, sending ice fragments flying.
The second ice wall shattered even more thoroughly; not even a fist-sized chunk of ice remained.
The third layer cracked, but it had not yet shattered. Cracks spread from the center like a spiderweb across the ice surface. As the giant hand pressed against it, the ice wall bent inward, curving until it nearly touched the top of Bai Qingxue's head.
Bai Qingxue gritted her teeth, continuously drawing spiritual power from her dantian and forcing it into the ice wall.
The third ice wall barely held.
Then, the giant hand stopped.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man simply pressed his palm down another inch.
The third ice wall shattered. It broke silently, like a mirror falling from a height and smashing into a thousand pieces on the floor.
The fourth ice wall stood before them, but it was as thin as paper and so transparent it was nearly invisible.
As the giant hand pressed down, the ice wall dented inward, cracks spreading from the center to the edges.
But at this moment, Bai Qingxue's dantian was empty. Once her spiritual power was exhausted, her body became incredibly heavy, as if it had been filled with lead. Even lifting a finger required every ounce of her strength.
Strangely, she felt that this sensation was not unfamiliar.
It seemed there had been a time like this long ago.
How had she survived it back then?
She couldn't remember. Perhaps her memory was failing, or perhaps her body had hidden those memories away in a place where she could not find them.
People always forget things that are too painful; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to go on.
Just as Bai Qingxue's thoughts began to drift, a hand wrapped around her waist.
Lu Xueqing grabbed her and rolled to the side.
Lu Xueqing's movements were sudden and clumsy.
Her shoulder was still wounded, and as they rolled, the wound struck the hard ice. The pain caused her vision to flicker with darkness.
A dark tide surged from the edges of her vision, spreading like ink dropped into water, nearly swallowing her consciousness whole.
Yet, Lu Xueqing never let go.
She held Bai Qingxue as they rolled out of the giant hand's reach, not stopping until her back slammed against the ice wall.
Lu Xueqing let out a muffled groan at the impact. The back of her head hit the ice, and her ears rang incessantly.
The giant hand slammed into the spot where they had just been standing.
The ice surface shattered, fragments flying everywhere as a deep crater was blasted into the ground.
The bottom of the crater revealed black rock, pitted and scarred by the corrosive dark gray spiritual power. A chill surged from the pit, mixed with a scorched, acrid scent.
Bai Qingxue leaned in Lu Xueqing's arms, her silver-white hair spilling over her shoulders. She still gripped the Shuanghua sword, though the white frost on the blade had mostly faded.
Her complexion was equally poor; her lips were completely devoid of color, making her look like a porcelain doll on the verge of breaking.
The middle-aged man withdrew his hand.
The dark gray spiritual power dissipated from the crater. The giant hand vanished, turning into wisps of black smoke that circled above the ice path for a moment before disappearing.
He looked at Bai Qingxue, his gaze changing.
"Ice Spirit Physique," he said, his voice lower than before. "Are you from the Xuantian Sect?"
Bai Qingxue did not answer, simply leaning quietly in Lu Xueqing's embrace.
The middle-aged man turned his head toward Ning Qinghan.
Ning Qinghan stood not far away, the ice mist surging behind her and shrouding her figure in a hazy blur.
The man looked at Ning Qinghan. Although he still wore that same half-smile from before, the mirth in his eyes had vanished.
"Lady Saintess, you didn't think," he said slowly, emphasizing each word, "that a mere Ice Spirit Physique could help you break the seal?"
Ning Qinghan did not speak.
Seeing this, the man shouted harshly, "Ten years! You still haven't given up!"
Ning Qinghan's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
The middle-aged man wasted no more words.
He raised his hand, palm upward, his fingers slightly curved as if he were holding something very heavy.
Dark gray spiritual power surged from his palm. This time, it did not dissipate but condensed into a sphere.
The sphere was small, only the size of a fist, but the spiritual power within was compressed to the extreme. Dark gray electric arcs danced across its surface, emitting a faint crackling sound.
Bai Qingxue's pupils contracted slightly.
She held the Shuanghua sword horizontally before her, once again forcing every bit of the spiritual power she had just managed to gather in her dantian into an ice wall.
An ice wall rose before them.
But.
Bai Qingxue knew herself that this was like a mantis trying to stop a carriage.
At the same time, Lu Xueqing stood behind Bai Qingxue and reached out, pressing her hand against Bai Qingxue's shoulder.
What remained of Lu Xueqing's spiritual power flowed from her palm, traveling through Bai Qingxue's meridians and into her dantian. Instantly, the ice wall became several degrees sturdier.
The dark gray spiritual sphere slammed into the ice wall.
The ice wall dented inward, cracks spreading from the point of impact like a net being torn apart.
Bai Qingxue gritted her teeth, pouring in the spiritual power Lu Xueqing had given her along with the very last shred of her own.
At the moment of impact, a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of Bai Qingxue's mouth.
The streak of blood ran down her chin and dripped onto her collar, blooming into a small, dark red stain.
Ning Qinghan watched that back.
After a long silence.
She spoke.
"Don't you want to know why I was waiting for you?"
Bai Qingxue did not look back.
At this moment, she didn't even have the strength to look back.
All her concentration was on the ice wall, on the waves of dark gray spiritual power crashing against it.
The only things in Bai Qingxue's ears were the cracking of the ice wall and the roar of her own blood rushing.
Ning Qinghan's voice sounded as if it were coming through a layer of water—blurry and indistinct.
"Because this bell is the key to the seal." Her finger pressed against the bronze bell at her waist.
Ning Qinghan's fingertip traced the surface of the bell.
The bronze had been polished to a shine, a mark left by the countless times she had touched it over the last ten years.
Every touch was a moment of waiting, and every moment of waiting had yielded no result.
But now, the result was standing right in front of her.
"Only someone with the Ice Spirit Physique can trigger it. By triggering it, my seal can be undone."
She paused.
"That is why I waited for you. I waited for ten years."
The dark gray spiritual sphere struck again. The cracks in the ice wall deepened, and another trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Bai Qingxue's mouth.
She had blocked another wave of attack.
But the ice wall could no longer hold. A crack tore through from the center to the edge, and the entire wall shattered with a roar, shards of ice flying everywhere.
With no obstacle left, the dark gray spiritual power surged toward the three of them.
The middle-aged man stepped forward.
His palm was already raised, dark gray spiritual power re-condensing within it. The next strike was about to fall.
Ning Qinghan rushed forward.
She shielded Bai Qingxue.
Her bare feet stepped onto the shattered ice, her old grayish-blue Daoist robe billowing backward in the turbulent air.
Her arms spread wide, like a bird spreading its wings. The bronze bell at her waist shook violently, the clapper striking the bell's body in a rapid, urgent rhythm.
Ding-ling. Ding-ling. Ding-ling.
The dark gray attack struck her body.
Ning Qinghan let out a muffled grunt as she collapsed to her knees. Her knees hit the shattered ice, sending shards flying.
Blood overflowed from her mouth and ran down her chin, dripping onto the ice. Against her grayish-blue robe, the sight was jarring.
The middle-aged man was stunned.
His hand stopped in mid-air, the dark gray spiritual power still swirling in his palm, but he did not let it fall.
"Are you mad?"
Ning Qinghan looked up.
Her pale face was flecked with ice and blood, and a crimson streak still hung from her lips.
She looked at the middle-aged man, her lips curving slightly.
"I told you, didn't I?" Her voice was very soft, almost as if she were speaking to herself.
"All I ever wanted was freedom."
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