Chapter Fifty-One: Paying Respects to Grandmother

Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue carved a bloody path and rushed toward the spot where the three elders of their clan lay!

“What are you two doing here? Hurry and leave!”

The fourth elder, still desperately holding on, saw the two foolish girls running toward them and, in a fit of anxiety, bellowed at them, his beard bristling with anger.

“Run!”

In a split second, Lu Li saw that the old man in the Spirit Gathering Realm dared to be distracted, glancing toward the two girls. His chains, like a whip, lashed violently across the old man’s back!

The fourth elder, like a kite with a broken string, was sent flying by the force of the blow. A long, deep wound gaped across his back, the bone beneath snapped in a row, and it was clear he could not survive. Blood gushed from his mouth as, with the last of his strength, he cried out:

“Escape!” And with that, his life ended suddenly.

“Grandfather!”

Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue were plunged into despair. The four elders they loved most—all slain before their eyes by this man!

Pain and hatred surged, an all-consuming tide of rage. Suddenly, the temperature throughout Ling City dropped precipitously. Cold, gleaming light gathered around the two girls, their eyes hardening into icy mirrors.

Crackling and snapping sounds filled the air as sheets of ice began to form beneath their feet. Ye Ruyue stepped forward, her lotus-like feet falling, and frost spread out from each step. At the same time, a chill began to swirl around their bodies, their gazes vacant and cold as death.

Snow began to fall from the sky above Ling City.

The wind picked up, snowflakes swirling down like a myriad of white butterflies dancing in a frenzied storm.

Ice armor coalesced around both girls, gleaming and seamless, as if forged for them alone. As the armor took hold, the snow above thickened, the wind howled harder, and the frigid air rippled outward from the pair as its center.

Ice spread for a hundred meters. Everyone else immediately ceased their fighting and drew back, leaving only Ye Ruyue, Ye Ruxue, and Lu Li standing in stark opposition. All watched in shock at this manifestation of the heavens—could such a thing truly be wrought by mere mortals? Could a human truly alter the very seasons with a single gesture?

All present were cultivators, yet none had felt such a biting chill in many years.

Those of lower cultivation shivered uncontrollably, clouds of breath billowing visibly from their mouths and nostrils.

On the rooftop of the Immortal Moon Pavilion in Ling City, an old crone leaning on her cane gazed toward the Lu family’s estate. She reached out a withered hand to catch a falling snowflake and muttered, “The Celestial Body of Ice has finally awakened. More terrifying than I imagined. Pity she’s just awakened and cannot wield it yet, and the difference in cultivation is too great. If they were on equal footing…”

“The master of the Ninth Floor told me to watch over those two girls. As long as they live, let them be. I remember those days—one step, and miles were frozen, the ice unmelted for a hundred years…”

She rambled on, continuing to watch the distant Lu household, thousands of meters away, though it was unclear if she could truly see.

At that very moment, ten thousand miles from Ling City, an old man floated high in the sky, exuding the aura of an immortal sage—a snowy white robe, a crown of violet-gold, and a long, white beard billowing in the wind. He walked through the clouds as if strolling on solid ground.

“Oh?” The old man seemed to sense something, whipping his head to look toward Ling City.

Then he burst out laughing, “A sign of heaven and earth, a sign of heaven and earth! Such wonders only appear when a spirit treasure emerges into the world. Who’d have thought that after centuries in seclusion, I’d step out and find such fortune in this tiny corner of the realm!”

With a stride, the immortal-like elder began to walk toward Ling City—each step covering ten meters in an instant.

If anyone had seen him, they would surely have cried out in awe at this immortal, his technique shrinking the land to a mere inch beneath his feet, the profound mysteries within his casual steps unfathomable.

Back in Ling City:

“How is this possible? How could someone at the Spirit Gathering Realm trigger a sign of heaven and earth?”

Lu Li was incredulous, staring at the two girls who walked toward him. Quickly regaining his composure, he thought: so what if there’s a sign from the heavens? The gulf between their levels was insurmountable.

“Hahaha! Now they’re pulling out their trump cards—this is getting interesting! Glad I came!”

In midair, the young man on the small boat leaned over the edge, laughing in excitement, his joy unrestrained.

He shouted down at Lu Li, “Hey, are you up to this or not? Don’t tell me you’re scared of two girls at the Spirit Gathering Realm? You’ve been dawdling for ages—don’t chicken out, just go for it!”

Hearing the taunts from above, Lu Li felt a surge of anger. Even his master called this young man ‘fellow cultivator’—surely, this youth’s strength was at least on par with his own master!

“Hmph!” Lu Li snorted coldly.

“Ridiculous! I, a profound arts cultivator, would fear two wild girls at the Spirit Gathering Realm who’ve never even witnessed profound arts?”

“Well, then get on with it! Stop dawdling. Or are you not a man?” The young man continued to goad him.

“Whether I’m a man or not is none of your business!” Lu Li’s tone grew more agitated.

“Oh, I see! You’re a woman!” The youth in the sky pretended to be struck by sudden realization.

Laughter erupted all around as the youth’s words shattered the somber, murderous atmosphere.

“Shut your mouth!” Lu Li roared up at the sky in fury.

“Fellow cultivator! If you’re not going to act, why not observe? Disrupting someone’s focus in battle is hardly honorable—could you grant this old man a measure of respect?” came an elderly voice from inside the flying ship.

“Tch!” The youth flicked his hair and spat, falling silent. Clearly, he was somewhat wary of the old man in the vessel, which explained why he hadn’t taken action himself and was content to watch.

“Li’er, your mind is in disarray. Steady your heart, focus your energy in your dantian, let the Chains of Profound Spirit shift and transform endlessly…” came the old man’s voice again from within the ship.

“Hey, hey, old man across the way! That’s against the rules—no prompting during a fight! Don’t think that just because my realm has fallen I’m scared of you! If you really push me, you won’t come out unscathed!”

The young man grinned at the vessel opposite, shouting cheerfully.

“Haha, my apologies—it was presumptuous of me. As you wish, let’s simply watch,” the old man replied, laughing it off. He, too, was wary of the youth. Even if the young man’s cultivation had suffered a setback, who could tell if he did not possess some life-saving treasure?

He was over three hundred years old now, nearing the end of his days. This time, he’d only escorted his last disciple home to help eliminate a rival and secure his family’s succession. If he were to get into a fight with the youth and shave a few years off his remaining lifespan, it would hardly be worth it.

Life had been going well of late—teaching his disciple, passing on all he’d learned, and then hoping to leave Yan Kingdom and seek fortune in the wilds beyond. Perhaps he might even find the chance to break through and add a century to his years.

Below, Lu Li was now engaged in close combat with the two girls.

Their swords were encased in thick ice, the frost clinging to the blades as if the swords themselves were forged from ice.

Their swords clashed repeatedly with Lu Li’s chains, producing a cacophony of “bangs” and “crackling” as shards of broken ice flew in every direction.

The fragments of ice shattered by Lu Li’s chains shot out like bullets, embedding themselves in the ground. Around the battlefield, the earth was battered and scarred, pitted with holes and crisscrossed by chains, a chilling sight indeed.

Sword met chain, and though the ice on the swords shattered under the lashes of the chains, the blades themselves did not splinter as the black fatty’s giant axe had. This made Lu Li even more anxious as the fight wore on.

“How can this ice be so hard? My spiritual chains can smash hundreds of pounds of stone, but against this ice, they only crack it briefly before it reforms. The ice armor on those girls is even tougher than the ice on their swords! How am I supposed to fight this?”

Lu Li cursed inwardly, his thoughts racing as the two girls pressed closer. The corner of his eye caught something behind them, and a cunning light flashed in his gaze.

Three chains whipped up and down, slowing the girls’ advance. One chain swept around behind them, wrapping itself around the massive stone lion ten meters away.

“Up!”

Lu Li roared, veins bulging on his forehead as his cultivation erupted in a gale that made his robes rustle violently.

With this surge, the three chains binding Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue grew thicker, larger, and more powerful—no, don’t get the wrong idea, this isn’t that kind of story.

With a thunderous boom, the stone lion—three meters tall and weighing ten thousand pounds—was hoisted into the air by the chain.

The two girls didn’t notice the lion. Their swords spun, cleaving through the encroaching chains.

Suddenly, they saw Lu Li’s twisted expression.

He bared his teeth and shouted, “Die!”

The ten-thousand-pound lion crashed down on the girls’ backs.

Struck by such a colossal weight, the ice armor on their bodies shattered in layers. The impact sent their organs reeling, blood rising to their throats and spraying from their mouths in two crimson arcs.

With a thunderous crash, the stone lion hit the ground, making the earth tremble and sending snow and dust whirling through the air.

“Yue’er! Xue’er!” Ye Yunlong cried in horror, rushing toward them.

The two girls lay quietly on the ground, coughing blood, struggling to sit up.

“Oh my, what a show—” The young man on the boat cut himself off abruptly, his pupils dilating in terror.

He leapt from the vessel with a crash, his legs trembling as he looked toward the girls, shivering as if his soul had left his body. Step by faltering step, he advanced toward Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue.

“What are you doing?” Lu Li called out to the approaching youth—Shadowbane!

“Out of my way!” Shadowbane shouted, and a tiger’s roar burst from within him.

A colossal tiger, five meters long and three meters tall, sprang forth from his body, solid and imposing as if real. Its deafening roar hurled Lu Li twenty meters through the air; everyone else instinctively covered their ears.

Such was the terror of a single roar.

“Don’t come any closer!” Ye Yunque drew her sword in a flash, pointing it at the advancing Shadowbane.

With a thud, Shadowbane knelt before Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue, who lay in Ye Yunque’s arms.

With a resounding bang, his forehead struck the ground, shattering the floor.

“Shadowbane pays respects to the ancestresses!”