Chapter 360: Phoenix Flame, Ice God (Part 2)
Xia Qingyue replied, "It is both my personal wish and the intention of my sect. After all, he is my husband, and as his wife, I cannot stand by indifferently. He has many connections with my palace and has done favors for my palace. The Palace Master anticipated that after the fall of the Fen Tian Gate, Senior would certainly take action, so she insisted that I come. I ask that Senior grant my palace some face. The Palace Master has said that in the future, she will personally visit the Tian Jian Villa to express her gratitude."
Ling Tianni's face showed a flash of surprise. He had not expected that the Bing Yun Fairy Palace would try to protect Yun Che in the name of their sect. However, after his exchange with Yun Che, his heart had trembled several times, and he had decided that Yun Che absolutely could not be left alive, otherwise the consequences would be endless.
"Of course I will not treat your palace's face lightly, but Yun Che's sins are heinous, and he absolutely cannot be spared."
Xia Qingyue sighed softly. The Ice Phoenix Glazed Silk descended from the sky and lightly danced around her icy body. "Since Senior insists, then please forgive my impertinence."
As Xia Qingyue's voice fell, the Ice Phoenix Glazed Silk suddenly swept out, throwing an ice rope dozens of zhang long, and her body descended with bone-piercing cold air.
That ice rope danced toward him like a flying ice snake. Given Ling Tianni's level, such an attack, though fierce, was entirely not a threat to him. But as he watched the approaching ice rope, his expression fluctuated repeatedly. When the ice rope was about to wrap around his body, he stretched out his arm. Instantly, golden light erupted from his body. Golden profound energy and intangible sword intent poured out. He did not swing his sword, but in front of him, a golden sword aura appeared… and the sword body was actually his own body.
Ling Tianni used his body as a sword and slashed forward. His calm, well-like eyes burst forth with a light even sharper than the sword's gleam. Wherever the sword tip passed, space was compressed inch by inch, and the ground below was impacted into an increasingly deep gully.
Such a sword momentum caused everyone to hold their breath. They felt that even though they were several li away, their bodies were almost crushed into powder by this terrifying sword momentum. The terror of the Sword Saint was completely beyond what they could comprehend.
Could Xia Qingyue take this sword strike?
With a series of cracking sounds, Xia Qingyue's ice rope was completely shattered, turning into fragments of ice filling the sky. Facing the Sword Saint's golden sword light, Xia Qingyue's snowy face was calm. Blue light suddenly rose from her entire body. Thousands of ice spirits suddenly left her body, interweaving into a huge ice-blue light barrier that sealed the incoming sword light together with Ling Tianni inside.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Ice power and sword intent erupted simultaneously. Golden and blue light clashed and tangled chaotically in the air. The air was violently pushed aside, and the overflowing chaotic currents stirred up raging storms. At first, the golden sword light had the upper hand, shredding the blue ice spirits piece by piece. But then, the speed of the sword light's impact slowed down, and more and more of the sword light was directly frozen and shattered.
Boom!!
The profound energy of the two erupted simultaneously, and then both retreated dozens of zhang. The ground beneath them sank exaggeratedly. The broken ice crystals in the sky fell rapidly, covering the sunken ground with a thick layer of ice.
Ling Tianni's head, shoulders, and even his sword were covered with a thick layer of frost, making him look somewhat disheveled. He moved his profound energy, shaking off all the ice crystals. When he looked at Xia Qingyue again, his gaze was completely different from before, and his expression showed undisguised shock and admiration from the bottom of his heart. "Indeed, this is not the Ice Cloud Art! Could it be… that you have actually cultivated… the Ice God Divine Art?"
As soon as the four words "Ice God Divine Art" were uttered, everyone present looked bewildered, while Ling Jie's body trembled, and he showed an extremely shocked expression.
Everyone in the world knew that the core profound art of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace was the Ice Cloud Art.
But few people knew that the Bing Yun Fairy Palace also had a supreme ice profound art that far surpassed the Ice Cloud Art in power… the Ice God Divine Art.
As the heir of the Tian Jian Villa's manor lord lineage, Ling Jie clearly knew a secret… His ancestor from a thousand years ago, who was also the founder of the Tian Jian Villa, had once been defeated by a person in Cang Feng—and had only ever been defeated by that one person.
That person was the founder of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace—Mu Bingyun!
In those days, the Heavenly Sword Founder's profound strength was at King Xuan Level 8, and his Heavenly Sword Divine Art was at its peak. Mu Bingyun was only at King Xuan Level 6, two minor levels lower than him… Yet he fought Mu Bingyun three times and lost each time to her Ice God Divine Art.
According to the records left by the Heavenly Sword Founder, the Ice God Divine Art was a supreme profound art far beyond the Heavenly Sword Divine Art, and even not inferior to the level of the Sacred Grounds. The Ice Cloud Art cultivated to its extreme could freeze all things, even freeze profound energy and force, but Mu Bingyun's Ice God Divine Art could even freeze his sword intent, sword heart, and even his soul.
However, to cultivate the Ice God Divine Art, one not only needed the Ice Cloud Art as a foundation but also possessed extremely strong comprehension. After Mu Bingyun founded the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, a thousand years had passed, yet no one else had been able to cultivate the Ice God Divine Art. This powerful profound art, which the Heavenly Sword Founder had lamented as surpassing the Heavenly Sword Divine Art, gradually faded from the world's memory over the millennium, with only records remaining in the other three great sects.
Faced with Ling Tianni's astonished gaze, Xia Qingyue did not speak… and her silence meant tacit confirmation!
The reappearance of the Ice God Divine Art stirred Ling Tianni's heart greatly. He sighed, "I never thought I would witness the legendary Ice God Divine Art with my own eyes. With a successor like you, the Bing Yun Fairy Palace is destined to rise brilliantly. If your Ice God Divine Art could reach a level of proficiency, reaching the legendary state of freezing sword intent and soul, perhaps even I would not be your match today. But you are clearly only a novice. As you are now, you cannot possibly be my opponent… Withdraw."
Ling Tianni's body shot forward, and the green sword in his hand slashed out lightly. In an instant, the sword momentum soared into the sky, swallowing the world. The golden sword light blotted out the sky and the sun, tearing space apart, as if it would cut the very heavens in two. Under the might of this sword, people felt as if heaven and earth were about to be severed.
The Ice Phoenix Glazed Silk trembled slightly, letting out a moan as if under unbearable strain, and even the dance of the ice spirits slowed down.
Xia Qingyue's expression remained unchanged, like a daughter of ice and snow that would never melt for ten thousand years. She spread her arms, and her face suddenly turned completely pale white, and even her flying hair turned into an ice-crystal-like light blue in an instant. An icy and enchanting ice lotus bloomed magnificently before her.
Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack…
The blooming ice lotus fiercely collided with the Sword Saint's sky-splitting sword. Golden and blue light once again chaotically interweaved, but the stalemate lasted only ten breaths. Suddenly, the golden sword light grew even stronger, violently suppressing and devouring the ice-blue glow.
As Ling Tianni had said, although Xia Qingyue had cultivated the Ice God Divine Art, she had only just begun to grasp its basics. After all, only half a year had passed from her comprehension to her practice. In such a short time, even with her extremely high comprehension, she had only cultivated the Ice God Divine Art to the third level. Moreover, Ling Tianni had a hundred years of cultivation, with profound energy vast and unstoppable, far beyond Xia Qingyue's reach. That she could maintain a stalemate with Ling Tianni for a considerable time was already enough to make her proud in the world.
Boom!!!
The Ice God lotus completely exploded, and Xia Qingyue's body was sent flying far away. Ling Tianni, using his body as a sword, slashed down… Xia Qingyue had attacked him without hesitation, obviously determined to protect Yun Che. Therefore, if he wanted to kill Yun Che, he must first render Xia Qingyue incapable of fighting.
The golden sword light broke through like a bamboo, quickly piercing most of Xia Qingyue's protective profound energy. At that moment, a ferociously violent gale suddenly surged from behind him.
"Did you think I didn't exist?!"
Yun Che's entire body blazed with Phoenix Flame, his black hair wildly scattered, his eyes blood-red like a furious demon. His ferocious face and the terrifying power swung by Dragon Que caused even the Sword Saint's heart to skip a beat. Ling Tianni turned his body at the fastest speed, withdrawing his sword light from Xia Qingyue's direction and fully meeting Dragon Que.
Roar!!!
Heavy sword against green sword, no fuss.
A terrifying explosion erupted between Yun Che and Ling Tianni. The profound energy storm slammed the ground into a deep depression, sand and stones flying everywhere. The terror of the momentum was in no way inferior to the roar of an ocean.
Close-range frontal assault was precisely the greatest advantage of a heavy sword. Beneath the power unleashed by Dragon Que, even the Sword Saint's entire body shook violently, and his right arm went numb instantly. Yun Che's eyes were fierce, veins bulging on his arms. With a low shout, a second wave of power surged from his body and erupted again.
Boom!!
Ling Tianni was swept away like by a storm, sent flying far, and only managed to stabilize his body in midair when he was fifty zhang away. He glared at Yun Che with surprise in his eyes. "You still have strength left?"
Yun Che's body retreated rapidly, stumbling as he landed. He quickly moved to Xia Qingyue's side, his gaze falling on her slender form. "Qingyue, are you alright?"
"...Why didn't you leave just now?" Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyes were calm, her voice gentle yet cold.
"We haven't seen each other for so long, and we finally meet, yet your first words are telling me to leave? You're being too heartless as a wife!"
Xia Qingyue's gaze fell on his face, lingered briefly, then silently turned away. She said softly, "The Sword Saint's strength is beyond what I can match. Shortly, I will do my utmost to hold him off for thirty breaths. You must flee with all your strength. The current situation is not for you..."
"I didn't leave not because I'm showing off, but because he simply cannot kill me!" Yun Che interrupted her. He stepped forward and stood beside Xia Qingyue, his hand pressed against his chest. He said in a low voice, "I dared to appear before him because I naturally have the confidence that he cannot kill me. I originally decided to test him and then flee far away, but now I've changed my mind."
Three clusters of crimson flames from an unknown source suddenly ignited on Yun Che's chest. Yun Che half-squinted his eyes. "Though Ling Tianni is extremely powerful, our current cultivation levels are not worlds apart from his! In our earlier exchange, I've already forcibly consumed four-tenths of his strength. If the two of us join forces, we might not necessarily be unable to defeat him!!"
Whoosh!!
Flames erupted from Yun Che's body. Three drops of Phoenix blood blazed with wild fury. His earlier vastly diminished aura also surged violently at this moment… Originally, he had intended to use the power gained from burning Phoenix blood to escape, but Xia Qingyue's appearance had changed his mind. He would, here in the imperial city, under the watchful eyes of all, thoroughly defeat this Sword Saint who existed like a judge!! And make him pay the price he must pay!