Chapter 2787: Under the Three-Life Gate
The so-called "Great Thousand Ice Soul World" was not a real world.
It was merely a virtual world derived from three forces: the Ice Soul Cold Pearl, the divine pattern of a God Venerable, and Xiao Hei's divine power—without substance, like an illusion, yet also like a real realm.
Xiao Hei held the Ice Soul Cold Pearl and pressed down from the sky.
The cold energy within the Great Thousand Ice Soul World grew increasingly intense, giving rise to fog and frost, evolving ice beasts, white dragons, and cold sparrows... causing even Gui Si, an Upper God, to feel a stinging pain in his skin, numbness in his scalp, and sluggish circulation of divine Qi within his body.
He looked up and saw not Xiao Hei and the Ice Soul Cold Pearl.
Instead, he saw the towering figure of the Ice Emperor.
The Ice Emperor was unparalleled and peerless. One hundred thousand years ago, he already possessed combat power at the God Venerable level. In this era, he was one of the most terrifying and extraordinary powerhouses of the Undying Blood Clan. Though he had trapped himself on Ice King Star for one hundred thousand years, none of the gods in the world dared to underestimate him; instead, they feared him all the more.
Under the Ice Emperor's God Venerable might, Gui Si felt no different from a mortal, his heart filled with awe, his divine soul trembling, and a desire to kneel and worship arose within him.
Yet Gui Si was ultimately an Upper God with a firm will. He let out a series of long howls.
With the howls, he suppressed the fear in his heart.
He was not intimidated and shouted, "Mountain and Sea Diagram Seal."
He mobilized all his divine Qi, surging it from his feet, outlining the forms of mountains and seas on the thick ice, spreading across tens of thousands of miles.
The divine mountains were magnificent, the sea of Qi boundless.
This was precisely a powerful divine ability of the Death God Temple, one that only an Upper God could cultivate to completion!
Chi Yao's Divine Realm World, under the impact of the Mountain and Sea Diagram Seal, shook violently. Even the light world constructed by the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus was jolted into turbulence.
"Divine Burning Great Art!"
Gui Si executed a forbidden technique, severing both his arms.
One arm flew toward the continuously descending "Ice Emperor figure," and the other flew toward the ice layer below.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Gui Si's arms exploded, and no one knew how much divine blood, divine Qi, and divine soul were burned away in an instant, transforming into two incomparably powerful divine forces.
Both the sky and the ice surface were covered in patches of blood clouds.
Chi Yao's Divine Realm World and the light world of the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus were torn open. Seizing this opportunity, Gui Si flashed away and escaped, breaking free from the suppression of the Ice Emperor's phantom.
"Rumble!"
After the Ice Emperor's phantom blocked the impact of the exploding divine arms, it shattered and scattered, revealing Xiao Hei's figure, who struck down with the Ice Soul Cold Pearl. But Gui Si had already fled first.
Gui Si reappeared on the sea of Buddha light clouds, his aura weakened by a notch.
Chi Yao, holding the Blood-Dripping Sword, with layers of heavenly palaces above her head and radiating seven-colored divine light, also appeared. "Truly decisive. An Upper God, yet you severed your own arms. If those arms were put up for auction, they would surely fetch a sky-high price."
"Swish! Swish!"
Xiao Hei and Bore followed closely, also appearing above the sea of Buddha light clouds.
Gui Si was filled with shame and anger, snorting coldly, "Chi Yao, do you think I fear you? I merely fear the divine pattern of the Ice Emperor."
Gui Si had already retreated five hundred miles away.
This distance, like being in the starry sky, was as close as a hair's breadth to a god.
But within a God Venerable's body, this was a safe distance, preventing him from being surrounded.
He could advance to attack or retreat to escape.
Gui Si's bloody shoulders grew strands of fresh red flesh buds, and a new pair of divine arms quickly grew out. However, fully restoring these divine arms would not be achieved in a short time.
Gui Si glanced at the morning sun hanging on the distant horizon and thought to himself, "Chi Yao has cultivated the 'Thirty-Three Heavens' and wields the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus. Defeating her will not be easy. That Xia Prince from the Xia Dynasty holds a treasure containing the power of a God Venerable, making him even more troublesome."
"No, I can't keep fighting them. I need to use wit."
"Right, they intercepted me because of Zhang Ruochen. If I capture Zhang Ruochen, I can make them hesitate, and then they'll have to obey my commands."
Just as this thought crossed Gui Si's mind.
The golden clouds parted, revealing the handsome figure of Fengchen Sword God, dressed in striking red robes, his temperament outstanding and extraordinary. "Gui Si, you've made me search far and wide. I've finally caught up to you."
Fengchen Sword God happened to block the position between Gui Si and the distant morning sun, cutting off his escape route.
Gui Si's advantageous situation of "advance to attack or retreat to escape" was instantly reversed by Fengchen Sword God's sudden appearance, trapping him in an encirclement of four gods.
Moreover, each of these four gods was extraordinary.
Even though Gui Si was very domineering, he chose to compromise at this moment, saying, "Fengchen, let's settle our grudges after leaving the Abyss of Darkness. For now, we should unite against external enemies and deal with the gods of Kunlun Realm and the traitors of Hell Realm first."
Fengchen Sword God said, "What about the matter of Tianque Shenji?"
Hearing Fengchen Sword God mention the name "Tianque Shenji," Gui Si wanted to punch him, but he restrained himself and said, "I already said, we'll handle our personal grudges after leaving the Abyss of Darkness."
Fengchen Sword God shook his head. "No, this matter must be clarified. The fault is not mine. Besides, what does my affair with Tianque Shenji have to do with you? Why did you attack me?"
Gui Si took a deep breath, suppressing the boundless rage in his heart, and said, "Fine, the fault is not yours. I have no right to meddle in this matter; I am not worthy. Is that enough?"
Fengchen Sword God shook his head. "Earlier, you attacked me. You need to apologize to me."
"Fengchen!"
Gui Si roared.
Fengchen Sword God said, "Why shout so loudly? I can hear you. If you won't apologize, that's fine; I won't force you. But if you can't even utter a word of apology, how can I believe you're sincere about joining forces against the enemy? What if you stab me in the back? Wouldn't I die unjustly?"
In his mind, Gui Si had already imagined countless ways to torment Fengchen—slapping his face, stepping on his head, peeling his skin, eating his flesh...
Gui Si looked at Chi Yao, Bore, and Xiao Hei. The words of apology were truly hard to say.
In the end, he apologized to Fengchen Sword God through voice transmission, urged him to consider the bigger picture, and promised that if they killed Zhang Ruochen, they would split the various treasures on Zhang Ruochen equally.
After a while, Fengchen Sword God seemed genuinely persuaded.
"Alright then, let's fight!"
"Swish!"
Fengchen Sword God formed a sword seal with two fingers, his red robes fluttering.
A war sword flowing with supreme Qi flew out, its sword light shining for a thousand miles, its sword hum capable of cutting divine souls.
"Puchi!"
Gui Si's other two arms were severed, divine blood spraying like two waterfalls.
Fengchen Sword God sighed inwardly. He had intended to cut off Gui Si's head with this strike, but Gui Si had clearly been alert and blocked it with his divine arms.
"Fengchen, you are indeed problematic!"
Gui Si's roar came from afar.
After losing his arms, Gui Si burned his divine blood and fled at top speed, proving himself extremely shrewd.
Fengchen Sword God said with confusion, "That strike just now was off; don't misunderstand. Let's continue and join forces to wipe out the gods of Kunlun Realm and the traitors of Hell Realm."
Gui Si wanted to curse out loud.
Fengchen Sword God had ruined his plans twice in a row, and each time his appearance was too coincidental.
Moreover, knowing that Gui Si wanted to tear him apart, he still actively sought out the sea of Buddha light clouds and appeared before him.
How could Gui Si not be suspicious?
But it was only suspicion.
The Divine Maiden of the Destiny Temple and the gods of Kunlun Realm had already joined forces, which was surprising enough. Naturally, he didn't believe that Fengchen Sword God had also betrayed Hell Realm.
"Hell Realm is so powerful; why would you betray it and collude with the gods of Heavenly Court? I truly can't understand why a young god with such a promising future would do this," Gui Si said.
Fengchen Sword God's expression turned serious, his aura changing dramatically, like a peerless divine sword revealing its sharp edge. "I have never betrayed anyone. I have always had only one simple pursuit: to live in a prosperous, peaceful era, as an unrestrained swordsman or wanderer, with a large ship carrying beautiful wives and concubines, traveling the world, admiring the splendid landscapes and the sun, moon, and stars."
"But this simplest pursuit is the hardest to achieve."
"Hell Realm may be powerful, but it is constantly destroying and trampling on the peaceful era I desire. So I can only raise my sword and kill all those who seek to destroy everything, restoring clarity to the world and ending the war in the universe."
"Actually, there's no need to explain so much to you, because what we insist on and value are completely different. You simply cannot understand!"
"Swish!"
Fengchen Sword God transformed into a sword light, appearing before Gui Si, and slashed horizontally with his sword.
Even with Gui Si's cultivation, he dared not take on the peerless sharpness of Fengchen Sword God's strike and immediately retreated. Moreover, before Chi Yao, Bore, and Xiao Hei could arrive, he fled at top speed.
"Don't chase; you won't catch him."
Chi Yao stared in the direction Gui Si had fled, her eyes deep and dark.
An Upper God, even if caught up to, would be as difficult to kill as ascending to heaven.
"If he escapes, we're all exposed!" Xiao Hei retreated.
Chi Yao said, "If exposed, we return to Kunlun Realm."
A miserable scream came from afar.
Their gazes all turned toward the direction of the morning sun.
"That's Kongli Canghai's voice."
"What happened?"
"Let's go, quickly check it out."
Xiao Hei was about to rush out when he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. A flash of golden light passed before his eyes, and the Ice Soul Cold Pearl, which had been in his hand, was snatched away by Chi Yao.
Xiao Hei was stunned for a moment. "This... what does this mean? I am also a cultivator of Kunlun Realm. You're robbing your own people? Where is the justice?"
Chi Yao merged with Bore, their bodies overlapping, and said, "You must not tell Zhang Ruochen about this, or I will throw this Ice Soul Cold Pearl into a space rift."
Xiao Hei's throat tightened, and he said hoarsely, "Fine! Fine! Her Majesty the Empress is truly amazing! But you don't trust me, Xiao Hei, enough. I definitely won't tell Zhang Ruochen about this."
Chi Yao's character was decisive; he was truly afraid she would throw the Ice Soul Cold Pearl into a space rift.
Women, when ruthless, would do anything.
...
Fengchen Sword God, Chi Yao, Bore, and Xiao Hei flew rapidly toward the morning sun.
That morning sun was the light emitted by the Three-Life Gate.
When they arrived below the Three-Life Gate, they saw Kongli Canghai frozen inside a crystal of ice dozens of meters high, motionless, with no way to tell if he was alive or dead.