Chapter 2472: Ice King Emerges from Seclusion, Divine Light Blood Sea
The Ice King Palace was situated in a snowy mountain seven thousand miles away from the Ice King Saint City. Here, snow fell year-round, the land was frozen and bitter cold, and as far as the eye could see, everything was a vast expanse of white—an eternal, never-melting frozen soil.
Before the palace, as pure white as celestial jade, stood a single ice crane on one leg.
Though carved from ice, it had stood there forever. Even the oldest cultivators of the Ice King Palace had never seen it melt, nor did they know who had shaped it.
The Great Saint-level core figures of the Ice King Palace were now all gathered in the main hall.
Qing Yulou sat in the highest seat, draped in a white fox-fur cloak. His face was exceptionally handsome, like a young and gentle scholar. Yet, even ancient cultivators who had trained for over ten thousand years could not help but avert their gazes when they looked at him.
Qing Yulou spoke, "Since its founding, the Ice King Palace has strictly adhered to the Ice King's divine decree, never interfering in conflicts between any forces. But now, someone has brought strife and slaughter to Ice King Star. Top-tier experts from all major forces of the Hell Realm have arrived, and a bloody storm is inevitable. Elder Yunqi, what do you think? How can the Ice King Palace remain aloof while ensuring the peace of Ice King Star?"
Yunqi Shangren was the most revered figure in the Ice King Palace. Having cultivated for over twenty thousand years, he had achieved extraordinary accomplishments in the way of formations.
Before Qing Yulou had grown to prominence, Yunqi Shangren had been the Ice King Palace's number one expert for nearly ten thousand years. His influence went without saying.
The Great Saints present found it perfectly natural that Qing Yulou was consulting Yunqi Shangren.
Yunqi Shangren sat on a sacred jade bench and said calmly, "This matter began with Zhang Ruochen, so it will naturally end with him. The planet-protecting grand formation of Ice King Star has been continuously reinforced for a hundred thousand years. Even a god would think twice before causing trouble here, let alone a group of cultivators below the divine realm. I believe, Palace Master, there is no need to worry. This storm will soon pass."
Qing Yulou smiled and shook his head. "Elder, you misunderstand me. What I worry about is not that they will destroy Ice King Star. Rather, I fear that the Ice King Palace will not be able to stay out of it."
Yunqi Shangren's eyes narrowed slightly.
Qing Yulou stood up, his ornate robes trailing on the ground, his gaze turning sharp and cold. "Yulou has heard that Elder has been quite close with the Goddess Twelve Pavilions. That is not a good thing."
The hall fell into unprecedented silence.
All the Great Saints sensed an unusual atmosphere.
Yunqi Shangren remained seated, forcing a smile. "I merely went to purchase some resources for formation refinement. I have no private dealings with the cultivators of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions."
"But there is a painting of yours hanging in the Goddess Twelve Pavilions—'Snow Covering Mountains and Rivers,'" Qing Yulou said.
Yunqi Shangren could no longer maintain his smile. He had not expected this young Palace Master to uncover such a secret.
Before he could respond, Qing Yulou continued, "A group of cultivators from the Paradise Realm smuggled their way to Ice King Star through the Goddess Twelve Pavilions. Ice King Star has extremely strict controls over Great Saints from the Heavenly Court side. For them to succeed, they must have used your connections, correct?"
The Great Saints in the hall dared not voice their opinions or accusations, but their looks toward Yunqi Shangren had become markedly different.
Yunqi Shangren's face shifted through several expressions before settling into an iron-gray.
How infuriating!
This junior had been secretly investigating him all along.
And he had shown him no respect, exposing everything in front of all the Ice King Palace's Great Saints. From now on, what authority would he have in the Ice King Palace?
Yunqi Shangren said in a deep voice, "Ice King Star's prosperity today is precisely because it is a place beyond the law, free from the control of the Destiny Temple and the Undying Blood Clan. Cultivators from the Heavenly Court side smuggling into Ice King Star, or even into the heart of the Hell Realm, is nothing new. Palace Master, your tone sounds accusatory!"
Qing Yulou replied, "On Ice King Star, one does not need to follow the rules of the Destiny Temple or the Undying Blood Clan. But Ice King Star has its own rules—rules set by the Ice King himself. Anyone who dares to break his rules is an enemy of the entire Ice King Palace."
With his final word, Qing Yulou's aura surged to its peak. It was as if he had grown ten thousand zhang tall, looking down upon Yunqi Shangren seated on the bench.
The Great Saints of the Ice King Palace were all struck silent, feeling an immense pressure.
"So strong! The Palace Master's cultivation has reached such a level. No wonder he dares to confront Yunqi Shangren directly," said a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint, unable to move, looking up at Qing Yulou.
In his vision, Qing Yulou stood within the cosmos, his body infinitely vast, radiating a boundless and overwhelming might, as if a single raise of his arm could destroy an entire starry sky.
This was a scene he saw, not imagined.
As the one directly targeted, Yunqi Shangren felt pressure a hundred or a thousand times greater.
Forced into a corner, he struck first, pressing out a palm.
As a "Land-and-Sea King"-level formation master who had lived over twenty thousand years, Yunqi Shangren was covered in formations, with countless trump cards.
As he pressed out his palm, three layers of formations appeared on his palm.
The first, the Five Mountains Seven Rivers Formation, was etched into his skin.
The second, the Demon Sea Sin Prison Formation, was hidden within his flesh and blood.
The third, the Yin Sha Nine Ghost Formation, was branded onto his bones.
All three were ninth-rank grand formations. Any one of them could withstand a full-force strike from a Supreme Realm Great Saint.
When the three merged into one, their power increased significantly, enough to kill a Supreme Realm Great Saint.
Such was the strength of a well-prepared Land-and-Sea King.
"I merely wanted to exchange for insights on becoming a World Hand from the Goddess Twelve Pavilions. What crime is that? But you, junior, want to use this as an excuse to eliminate me and fully control the Ice King Palace. How vicious!"
Yunqi Shangren's strike was as fast as flowing light, hitting Qing Yulou's chest.
The three formations stacked together—Five Mountains Seven Rivers, Demon Sea Sin Prison, Yin Sha Nine Ghost—countless billions of formation inscriptions struck Qing Yulou, erupting in blinding light. The other Great Saints in the hall were sent flying like scarecrows.
Yunqi Shangren's eyes gleamed with joy. He thought to himself, "This kid is indeed gifted, but he's still too young. The Three Elements Unified Formation, which I spent three thousand years refining, can't be withstood even by a Supreme Realm Great Saint. And he was hit directly. His Supreme Dharma Body should be disintegrating right now."
Amid the white light, Qing Yulou's sighing voice rang out: "Elder has toiled for the Ice King Palace all his life. Yulou never intended to kill you. I only believe that you should not have broken the rules set by the Ice King and should face due punishment."
"How is this possible?"
Yunqi Shangren's expression changed drastically.
"Boom!"
The Five Mountains Seven Rivers shattered, the Demon Sea Sin Prison dissipated into smoke, and the Yin Sha Nine Ghosts were annihilated.
Three ninth-rank formations broke in an instant.
The immense power and force erupting from Qing Yulou pierced through Yunqi Shangren's spiritual power defense wall, sending him flying backward, his body slamming heavily into the wall.
Spiritual power cultivators had fragile physical bodies.
A series of cracking sounds came from within Yunqi Shangren's body. His bones were all shattered, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
The white light faded.
Qing Yulou's figure emerged, his robes spotless.
"No… impossible… impossi… ble… you…" Yunqi Shangren's eyes were filled with unwillingness, shock, confusion, and even a trace of fear.
Several Great Saints of the Ice King Palace, who had suffered lighter injuries, rushed back into the hall from outside.
They found it hard to believe, cold sweat trickling down their backs. They realized they had severely underestimated this young Palace Master.
They bowed simultaneously. "Palace Master, how should we deal with Elder Yunqi?"
Qing Yulou waved his hand. "Take him away to recover from his injuries. Tend to him carefully. After he heals, he is not to leave the Ice King Palace for a hundred years."
Yunqi Shangren's expression was extremely complex. He mobilized his spiritual power to shake off the two Great Saints who tried to support him, floated up, and flew out of the hall.
"From now on, I will only study formations and painting techniques. I will not leave the Ice King Palace even half a step."
A hoarse, despondent voice drifted in from outside.
Qing Yulou smiled slightly and shook his head gently. "A man over twenty thousand years old should have let go of the world's rights and wrongs long ago. Cultivate the mind, focus on hobbies and interests—who knows, you might yet find an alternative path to enlightenment and step into the divine realm of spiritual power."
"Whoosh!"
A message light talisman, like a shooting star, pierced through three thousand snow mountains and flew into the hall.
Qing Yulou reached out and grabbed it. Seeing the content on the talisman, his amber-clear eyes narrowed deeply.
"Palace Master, what happened?" a nearby Great Saint asked respectfully.
"The Minister of the Heavenly Fate Department has arrived on Ice King Star and is heading straight for Goddess City," Qing Yulou said, his voice filled with worry.
Outside the Ice King Palace, a long crane cry rang out.
The ice crane that had not melted for endless ages came to life. It spread its crystalline, translucent wings, scattering grains of divine light.
Yunqi Shangren, who had already flown far away, heard the crane's cry. His entire body trembled violently. His eyes widened as he turned to look at the snowy mountain peak. His voice quivered, "Twenty thousand years… twenty thousand years… the ice crane awakens again… it has finally awakened!"
Tears streaming down his face, Yunqi Shangren knelt on the snow-covered mountain path, kowtowing toward the Ice King Palace.
The crane's cry spread across the entire Ice King Star.
The divine light from the Ice King Palace illuminated the entire planet, turning the clouds in the sky blood-red, as if they had become a sea of blood.
…
In the City Lord's Mansion of Goddess City.
Xiao Hei pushed open the window and looked up at the sky, his expression extremely complex. "The Ice King has emerged from seclusion. Now this emperor can finally rest easy."
Zhang Ruochen also gazed at the blood-red sea of divine light in the sky, his arms crossed over his chest. "There is no divine might, yet this momentum cannot be matched by anyone. Truly worthy of the Ice King, Xia Huangchao."
After Xiao Hei mentioned the Ice King, Zhang Ruochen grew curious and found some information about him in the Seven Star Divine Palace.
The Ice King, Xia Huangchao, was once the Young Hall Master of the Undying Divine Temple. A hundred thousand years ago, his combat power was already no weaker than the old Hall Master of the Undying Divine Temple.
After the old Hall Master died in battle, Xia Huangchao should have succeeded him as the new Hall Master. However, because he had released an important enemy during a divine war, committing a grave mistake, he imprisoned himself on Ice King Star.
He was a figure whom even the proud and arrogant Xue Jue War God held in the highest esteem.
Xiao Hei let out a long laugh. "Since the Ice King has emerged, even if a god really comes to Ice King Star, they'll have to behave themselves and go pay their respects at the Ice King Palace! This emperor's formation is complete. Zhang Ruochen, let's go. Today, we will slay gods and demons across the nine heavens and ten earths. Anyone who blocks our path will be killed without mercy."