Chapter Seventy-Seven: Junyang's Situation is Extremely Perilous

Junyang and Qing Yushan walked side by side toward the main hall of the Candle Dragon Clan, completely ignoring the presence of Fan Wuwei.

Fan Wuwei, furious, pointed at their backs, his nostrils flaring with twin bursts of flame.

"Those two old geezers, do they think this is their own house?"

Fan Lihua shrank away to the side, not daring to speak, though inwardly she was still puzzled about who Junyang was and where she might have seen him before.

Seeing that Fan Lihua didn’t respond, Fan Wuwei raised his hand and knocked her on the head. "You were bold enough when you followed me here."

With that, he too made his way toward the main hall of the Candle Dragon Clan.

By now, Junyang and Qing Yushan were already in the main hall, sipping tea and deep in conversation.

Qing Yushan tugged thoughtfully at one side of his beard, scenes replaying in his mind. "If I remember correctly, that man seems to be from the He family of the Sacred Realm."

"The He family? Since when has there been a He family in the Sacred Realm?" Junyang's memory offered no trace of such a family.

"When you were in the Sacred Realm, they were just a minor clan. Later, they made some progress and now possess royal-level sacred blood."

"I see. Go on." Junyang took a sip of tea, listening intently.

Qing Yushan continued, "That boy from the He family used his bloodline power to force a young girl from the Liu family, who were on good terms with the Cang family. The conflict between the families escalated, and the Liu family, unable to endure the He family's oppression, asked the Cang family to lend them the Wandering Immortal Map."

"And where is the He family in the Sacred Realm?"

Junyang spread open the Divine Domain Map, revealing the Sacred Realm before them.

Qing Yushan extended a finger, and a beam of light shot forward, circling a spot on the map.

"Snow-Cang Mountain? How did they end up there?" Junyang frowned slightly. Snow-Cang Mountain was infamous in the Sacred Realm for its danger, guarded by the Celestial Sacred Beast, the Wild Crystal Butterfly. The mountain's temperatures were so low that anyone below quasi-saint cultivation found it hard to survive.

"How did that little clan manage to relocate there?"

Qing Yushan took a sip of tea and glanced at Fan Wuwei, who had just entered. "That I can't say. To be honest, when the family moved there, it caused quite a stir in the Sacred Realm. Afterward, no one ever saw the He family again."

"The He family? Which He family? Moved where?" Fan Wuwei entered, catching only fragments of the conversation.

Qing Yushan, patient as ever, explained it all again.

"The He family that moved to Snow-Cang Mountain?" Upon hearing Qing Yushan's description, Fan Wuwei’s memory stirred. "Weren’t there rumors they’d been wiped out? Haven't they missed the clan chief meetings for tens of thousands of years?"

"I wouldn’t know," Qing Yushan replied, looking to Junyang. "Why, are you planning to go?"

Junyang’s face was unreadable. "Whether they're dead or not, I have to find out."

"Shall I come with you?" Fan Wuwei was feeling restless anyway, and after being beaten up by Junyang just now, he was itching to vent his frustration elsewhere.

Junyang eyed Fan Wuwei’s head of white hair with some skepticism. "Can you still manage the journey?"

"Who are you looking down on? So what if I shed my skin?!" Fan Wuwei slammed his palm on the table, shattering it, and shot Junyang a defiant look. "I may not beat you, but in this Sacred Realm, who else can best me?"

"Ahem." Qing Yushan sat steady as a mountain, coughing lightly and smiling at Fan Wuwei.

Fan Wuwei’s lips twitched, swallowing his words.

Junyang chuckled softly. "Shall we go, then?"

"In such a hurry?"

But Junyang was already on his way out, prompting Fan Wuwei to hurry after him. He glanced back at Qing Yushan. "You’re not coming?"

Qing Yushan could only sigh. "A Celestial Sacred Beast, and three ancient old-timers? You give it too much credit."

"True enough." Fan Wuwei’s voice drifted from afar as Junyang waited impatiently at the Candle Dragon Clan’s gate.

He spread open the Divine Domain Map, waiting only for Fan Wuwei to arrive.

Fan Wuwei hurriedly gave a few instructions to his steward and stepped outside. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, Junyang whisked him away to Snow-Cang Mountain.

A sudden rush of icy air hit them; Fan Wuwei shivered, not yet accustomed to it.

"Don't you feel it’s even colder here now?"

Junyang didn’t disagree; Fan Wuwei's sense was accurate.

They had chosen this place for training in the past, and at that time they were only Xuan Saints. It had never felt as cold as it did now.

Fan Wuwei gathered spiritual energy, summoning a few flames over his body, but the fire made almost no difference against the chill.

The two of them headed toward the mountain's entrance.

The Wild Crystal Butterfly, usually found lying in wait at the entrance, was nowhere to be seen.

That creature was supposed to be nearly immortal. When attacked, it would split into countless smaller crystal butterflies. Even if shattered, it would always gather itself together again. To enter this mountain, one only had to make its regeneration slower than its destruction by a few seconds. This was an unspoken rule among those who came to the mountain for training—no one ever truly killed the Wild Crystal Butterfly.

Hidden within Snow-Cang Mountain were many rare spiritual herbs and immortal grasses. The butterfly’s long-standing presence ensured these plants’ continued growth.

"Where’s the Wild Crystal Butterfly?" Fan Wuwei looked around for a long time, but found no trace.

Junyang cautiously extended his divine sense, probing gradually forward.

Even after covering most of Snow-Cang Mountain, he sensed no living beings at all.

Although the temperature was low, the mountain should have been teeming with ice beasts adapted to the cold.

The deeper Junyang probed, the more uneasy he became. His instincts warned him of grave danger ahead.

Just as he was about to withdraw his divine sense, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"What’s wrong with you?" Fan Wuwei had never seen Junyang like this. "Don’t joke with me."

Junyang gripped Fan Wuwei with all his strength, his lips pale as he forced out the words, "Hurry… and… leave…"

"Leave? All right, I’ll take you out!" Fan Wuwei reached to pull Junyang away.

But Junyang felt as if a thousand mountains weighed him down—he couldn’t move at all, not even with Fan Wuwei’s help.

"What exactly is going on?" Cold sweat poured from Junyang, streaming down like water. His lips moved, and Fan Wuwei understood: "Leave me and go."

"What do you take me for?" Despite their frequent fights, Fan Wuwei and Junyang had been friends since childhood.

"What is happening? Is there someone in that valley?" Fan Wuwei summoned his Candle Dragon Mace, standing tensely on guard, his eyes darting in all directions.

"Who in the Sacred Realm could suppress even you?"

Junyang’s condition worsened; his body hunched over, turning colder and colder.

"Hey, you’re not dying on me, are you? Who’s there? Who dares play tricks—come out now!" Fan Wuwei spun in circles, scanning the mountaintop with his divine sense, but found nothing.

"If you have guts, come at me instead!" Fan Wuwei shouted; his voice echoed through the valley.

"Another one rushing to his own death?" A woman’s voice rang out, approaching from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"Very well, I’ll grant your wish."

As her words fell, Fan Wuwei felt as though his heart was being squeezed—the blood in his veins reversed its flow, his body growing ever colder.

"Who are you, really?" Junyang summoned his last ounce of strength to ask.

"Me? And you think you’re worthy of knowing?" The woman's tone was filled with arrogance.