# Chapter 2035: Contesting the Nine Characters
Wang Jian and Zhuo Qing, those top genius figures, all showed expressions of disappointment, silently cursing the Yan Imperial Dynasty for being impulsive. Now that Lin Feng had been taken away by the Tianci Dynasty, here in Qi Tian Holy Capital, there was almost nothing left for them to do. They could only forget about the sacred artifacts on Lin Feng's body.
These people were all very decisive individuals. Seeing that there was no hope for the items on Lin Feng, they turned around to look at the vast ruins. The demon chained by the iron chains had calmed down and was no longer enraged. Since Lin Feng had been able to find the saint's artifacts, it proved that there were indeed many sacred artifacts hidden within these ruins.
Back then, the many saints were not just one or two. Turning around, they flickered toward the ruins, preparing to continue searching for the traces of ancient saints, hoping to find something.
As for Prince Yan, aside from the Tianci Dynasty, others at most felt regret. Who would truly care about his life or death?
Prince Yan's abilities were indeed formidable. However, Lin Feng cultivated the ancient saint's techniques, a power imbued with an ancient aura, a force that suppressed heaven and earth, crushing Prince Yan to death. This only intensified their desire to find the ancient saint's ruins.
As for those Saint Emperor figures, they were still scheming against each other over the Heavenly Soul Saint.
It was at this moment that three figures stepped into a world of glaciers. This glacier world was hidden underground, following an inconspicuous path down a mountain valley. They had stumbled upon this glacier by accident. For Langxie and Hou Qinglin, this was pure coincidence. After watching Lin Feng being pursued into the distance, Meng Qing had separated from Langxie and Hou Qinglin.
Within the ruins, Langxie and Hou Qinglin encountered Chu Chunqiu. Chu Chunqiu had already made a move against Hou Qinglin once, so he didn't hesitate to do it a second time. He even wanted to target Langxie, who had saved Hou Qinglin before. Langxie and Hou Qinglin's combined combat power was extremely formidable, but Chu Chunqiu was too sinister. They found themselves at a disadvantage. According to Langxie's estimation, with Chu Chunqiu's strength, if he had chosen to challenge Ying Cheng, who had one foot in the Emperor Realm, he could have won. Now, Chu Chunqiu's strength was definitely not inferior to those top-tier monstrous geniuses.
Fighting and chasing all the way, they stumbled into this glacier world and saw the figure chained to the glacier.
At this moment, Langxie, Hou Qinglin, and Chu Chunqiu were all shivering violently. Their bodies were covered in frost, which they continuously dispelled with powerful force. But even so, as they trudged forward with difficulty, the feeling that their very lives were freezing grew stronger. Every step they took was extremely arduous.
"Chu Chunqiu, if you make another move against us, I won't mind being frozen here with you. As for who has a chance to escape, that depends on fate," Langxie threatened coldly. Chu Chunqiu's domineering and indifferent pupils swept over Langxie and Hou Qinglin, then his gaze fell ahead, a terrifying determination shining in his eyes.
Around the three of them, there were many figures, but they were all corpses. Frozen in the ice, their features remained as if one could feel the elegance of their past. Some even had their eyes open, revealing a strong will to live and an obsession. But their lives had long since faded away.
These people had entered these ruins a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, or even in more ancient times. Unfortunately, they had all died here, unable to cross this terrifying frozen ancient path.
Ahead, the giant figure chained to the icy wall had brows like frost, his entire being exuding a sharp, knife-like coldness. His calm, unruffled eyes simply watched the three before him. There was a hint of mockery in his indifferent gaze. Every hundred years, someone would come here, struggling to move forward—that was his only form of entertainment. Other than that, no one disturbed his loneliness. Watching the struggles of these three little fellows was, in a way, a rather pleasing thing, though his eyes did not reveal this joy.
Chu Chunqiu and the others knew that in his eyes, they were like ants, mere seasoning for his loneliness. But they didn't care. In fact, they risked their lives to continue forward. If he changed his mood, he could easily crush them. Or if the cold grew stronger, it could swallow them at any moment. Yet none of the three gave up moving forward. This was a nearly insane obsession.
Ahead of them, in front of the giant figure chained by iron chains, there was an icy wall hanging upside down in the void. On it were carved nine ancient characters, each one seeming to exude an unparalleled power. It was as if only because these nine characters remained did the cold air of these ruins not spread beyond them.
"Lin · Bing · Dou · Zhe · Jie · Zhen · Lie · Zai · Qian!"
The nine ancient characters were imprinted there. Even after countless years, they still brimmed with that mysterious and wonderful power, as if by plucking the characters, one could obtain their essence.
It was precisely because of these nine characters that Chu Chunqiu and the others had stopped fighting and were now resolutely taking those incredibly difficult steps forward.
"Seven more steps and we'll be there." Langxie and Hou Qinglin walked side by side. On the other side, Chu Chunqiu was one step ahead of them, with six steps remaining. But those six steps would be even harder to take.
"These nine true words were carved with the saint's life force. As long as you can touch them, you will obtain the essence of the characters, making them your power," the chained giant figure said calmly, his voice carrying a hint of temptation, luring Chu Chunqiu and the others forward.
Most geniuses died in these final seven steps. The frozen corpses were the best proof. Some had even reached the last step, as if they could touch it, but were frozen there.
Chu Chunqiu erupted with his strongest will. At this moment, he seemed more dazzling than the sun. That supreme will enveloped his body in a layer of holy light. His spiritual power and combat power seemed to be strengthening. The frost around him was crushed to dust, and no force could stop his will.
The nine true words contained nine kinds of terrifying power, which would be of great use to him. Today, he had to obtain them.
"Thump!" Chu Chunqiu took a step, and the ground seemed ready to crack.
In front of Langxie, the light of his realm swallowed the cold, frantically absorbing it into his domain. He also released a terrifying realm power, destroying and resisting the cold. In front of Hou Qinglin, there seemed to be the light of reincarnation. His sword kept slashing as he moved forward. The three of them were getting closer and closer to the wall inscribed with the nine true words. Chu Chunqiu stopped two steps away, the pressure immense. Langxie and Hou Qinglin each reached four steps away. Their souls and hearts felt as if they were about to freeze. At this moment, if anything unexpected happened, they would surely die. But their eyes remained clear, burning with a crazy obsession.
Countless geniuses had entered for the saint's ruins. If they missed this opportunity, they might never have such luck again.
"Langxie, he will reach it before us. I will gather all my power to clear the way for you. Once you obtain the true words, immediately use the realm coffin to open a path and take me away," Hou Qinglin said to Langxie.
"Isn't that too risky? If something unexpected happens when you obtain the true words, we'll both be in danger."
"Bet our lives. Do you dare?"
Langxie heard this crazy voice, was silent for a moment, then steeled his heart and sent a telepathic message: "Fine. Since you're entrusting your life to me, I'll stake mine here too."
At this moment, Chu Chunqiu unleashed his supreme kingly will. Behind him, an ancient king appeared, shaking the world. He took the first of the final two steps, leaving only one step to reach the ancient characters. Even the chained figure was slightly shaken.
At the same time, Langxie and Hou Qinglin gritted their teeth and also took a step, leaving three steps to the ancient characters.
Chu Chunqiu went mad at this moment, roaring as his long hair danced wildly. At this moment, he was truly a king.
Hou Qinglin cleared the way one step ahead of Langxie. His sword danced, unleashing the strongest reincarnation, swallowing everything, turning into a reincarnation storm that swept forward. His sword also flew out of his hand. At the same time, Hou Qinglin stomped heavily, blocking all the cold. His spiritual temperament and reincarnation power were released without reservation, destroying everything.
Langxie also moved. With Hou Qinglin clearing the way, this step was very easy. Then he took another step, almost catching up to Chu Chunqiu, leaving only the final step. Chu Chunqiu had already lifted his last step.
"Roar!" Langxie let out a final roar. The light of his realm twisted space. His figure seemed to step through the void, directly surpassing Chu Chunqiu, who still had half a step left, and touched the wall. At the same time, Hou Qinglin's body froze, turning into a block of ice.
"Kill!" Chu Chunqiu roared, his terrifying killing intent surging toward Langxie ahead. But Langxie's palm directly pressed onto the ancient characters. In an instant, everything in heaven and earth seemed to be annihilated. The cold, the frost—all were destroyed. The frozen world made cracking sounds. Nine rays of light frantically poured into Langxie's body. Chu Chunqiu was blasted away, almost thrown out of this world, spitting a mouthful of bright red blood onto the ice.
Langxie finally moved again. Nine auspicious lights enveloped his body. He stepped toward Hou Qinglin, directly shattering the frost on him. Then, the realm coffin appeared. He took Hou Qinglin's body and used the realm coffin to teleport away. In truth, if he had used the realm coffin earlier, he could have touched the ancient characters. But without this gradual buildup of momentum, he dared not imagine what terrible situation would arise the moment he emerged from the realm coffin—whether he would be frozen to death instantly.
"Interesting trio," the chained giant figure said indifferently, his brows like frost. Chu Chunqiu let out a roar, shouting, "Langxie, Hou Qinglin, I will surely kill you!"
The ancient characters that were within his grasp had been snatched away by Langxie, and he had been injured in the process. This was a great humiliation. He would devour them both and make their wills serve him!
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