C249 But It Won't Do!

In the northern reaches of Chilly Wind Valley, within the Jade Peak Mountain Range, Guan Xianyun of the Ghoul Glyph Sect harnessed the power of a strange talisman to travel with the speed of lightning.

Confronted with the formidable threat of Wu Xiting, he recognized his dire straits. Abandoning his corporeal form, he fled as a Yin God, betting on the chance that the little girl shrouded in miasma would grant him passage. His gamble paid off.

Empowered by the strange talisman and unencumbered by his physical body, his Yin God swiftly escaped the confines of Chilly Wind Valley. His velocity was unmatched, leaving Shi Yuxuan and the other cultivators and alchemists of the Medicine Sect outside the valley with no time to react.

In just a moment, he had traversed a hundred miles, leaving Chilly Wind Valley far behind.

"Chi la!" Abruptly, the talisman enveloping him ignited into flames. Startled, Guan Xianyun's Yin God hastily exited the talisman, halting his flight.

Then, he encountered a stranger emerging languidly from the depths of the earth, wearing a curious smile. "Ghoul Glyph Sect's Guan Xianyun, on the cusp of breaking through to Soul Wandering," the stranger remarked.

Guan Xianyun was taken aback. "Who are you?"

Whoosh! Intense flames morphed into rivers of firelight, encircling him. From within these fiery streams, a hollow pellet emerged. Before Guan Xianyun's Yin God could react, a fearsome suction emanated from within the pellet.

In a flash, his Yin God was ensnared inside the hollow core of the pellet, becoming its nucleus.

"Ghoul Glyph Sect, a Yin God at the Peak of the Yin God Stage," the man mused, his tone gentle. "Let's see what transpired within Chilly Wind Valley."

He lightly touched the pellet with his finger. Inside, Guan Xianyun's Yin God felt the universe tilt, his soul consciousness warping, unleashing a horrific turbulence.

The pellet turned translucent, and scenes began to magically surface on its exterior: Kuan Xianyun's first encounter in Chilly Wind Valley with Jin Fann and Chiu Wan, their discussions, the emergence of Loong Tianxiao, the drifting miasma, Yu Yuan's arrival, the resurrection of Lau Zaihe, and the transformations of Wu Xiting.

Everything Kuan Xianyun witnessed was vividly displayed on the surface of the pellet.

The man gazed at the pellet and instantly understood the events that had unfolded in Chilly Wind Valley.

"So that's the story. Darkmoon's young master Yu Yuan, Sword Sect's Chen Qingyan, Profound Sky Sect's Mei Qiurong, and Ann Jieshan, who emerged from underground, all escaped and took to the skies to heal."

A peculiar smile crept across his lips.

...

Deep within the cave lay the Dragon's Lair.

The Frost Flood Dragon, renowned in the Nether Abyss and repeatedly sought after by the Dragon Servitors of Hidden Dragon Lake and numerous Dragon Clan elites, lay coiled, its green skeletal body encircling hollow eye sockets.

Though of Naga lineage, the Flood Dragon's blood was impure.

As such, it was often regarded with lesser esteem by many of its kin.

Yet, this particular Flood Dragon, a constant presence in the Cold Abyss of the Nether Abyss, was an exceptional case.

For centuries, its reputation in the Cold Abyss had been a source of consternation for cultivators across the Boundless Land.

Legend had it that the Flood Dragon was born within the Cold Abyss.

At birth, it was bathed in the frigid energies of the abyss, allowing it to perfectly acclimate and grow powerful through the Frost Energy.

The Cold Abyss, notorious as one of the most perilous locales in the Boundless Land, was shrouded in countless mysteries.

Since time immemorial, the Cold Abyss has stood, with countless formidable beings from the Boundless Land and even distant galaxies attempting to plumb its depths.

Yet to this day, no individual or creature has claimed to fully comprehend the Cold Abyss.

Whispers abound of ancient beings who met their end there, including Yang Gods, transcendent devils, and those of the Unrestrained Stage.

Even cultivators of the Primordial Spirit Stage have found themselves perennially ensnared within the Cold Abyss, struggling to escape.

The Flood Dragon, born of the Cold Abyss, could navigate its treacherous expanse with ease, immune to the myriad perils it contained, and thus was esteemed by the Dragon Clan and Dragon Servitors.

Regrettably, the Flood Dragon never ventured beyond the Cold Abyss, distancing itself from the so-called Dragon Servitors and their kin.

A Nether Flood Dragon had mysteriously left the Nether Abyss and surfaced in Chilly Wind Valley. Long dead, with no trace of its dragon soul remaining, it somehow managed to exhale a stream of frigid breath from its skeletal maw.

A single breath was all it took to encase Wu Xiting in ice, transforming him into a frozen statue.

"Knowing full well you're entering a dragon's lair, you still dared to venture here?" Yu Yuan stood beneath the dragon's skull, eyeing the icy figure that was once Wu Xiting. "Did you truly believe that withstanding the ghastly winds, you could roam freely through Chilly Wind Valley?"

He was aware that even as an ice sculpture, Wu Xiting could still hear him.

Clutching a short spear, Yu Yuan's smile was chilling. "Whether you hail from the Primordial Yang Sect or the Blood God Cult, your brazen intrusion into Chilly Wind Valley warrants death."

He aimed the spear at the center of Wu Xiting's icy brow from a distance.

His eyebrows gave a sudden twitch.

Frowning, he turned his gaze to the cave entrance and murmured, "What brings you here?"

A blood figure swiftly glided in from outside the cave.

It halted abruptly before him, followed by two thunderous booms.

Mei Qiurong was hurled to the ground by the blood figure. The Heaven Palace Seal still glowed in her palm, its divine light enveloping her.

The yellow gourd she clutched had shattered, its once-contained lightning and thunder gone.

Loong Tianxiao, having infiltrated the depths, was reduced to a small, agile serpent, writhing in evident discomfort.

Yet, upon sighting the Nether Flood Dragon, he surged with excitement, desperately trying to draw near the dragon's bones to inhale their essence.

Ann Jieshan, transformed into a blood shadow, struck with a dismissive slap.

The slap sent Loong Tianxiao, in his serpentine form, plummeting to the ground alongside Mei Qiurong, as if their strength had been drained away.

They lay there, barely clinging to life.

"Senior Ann?"

Yu Yuan squinted his eyes, first glancing at Wu Xiting, encased in ice, then at the blood shadow. "Are you here for him? Is he the rising star of your Blood God Cult, who, like you once did, infiltrated the Primordial Yang Sect to train in secret? You didn't rush back to the Quietus Continent or to the Blood God Cult. Were you waiting for him?"

"Did you know from the start that the Profound Sky Sect wouldn't let things slide, that they'd send someone else to capture you?"

"You were aware, and so was Wu Xiting. Did the two of you conspire to outmaneuver the Profound Sky Sect?"

The appearance of Ann Jieshan's blood shadow, unguarded and accompanied by Mei Qiurong and Loong Tianxiao, didn't surprise him.

He had long recognized that Wu Xiting, who claimed to be from Yang Mountain, was indeed a freshly minted powerhouse groomed by the Blood God Cult.

At the Soul Wandering Stage, one is a force to be reckoned with on both the Heavenly Source and Quietus Continents.

Moreover, Yu Yuan could see that Wu Xiting was not only young but brimming with potential.

A youthful practitioner at the Soul Wandering Stage, mastering the Blood God Cult's arcane methods and purified by the Primordial Yang Sect's legacy, was bound to shine upon his return to the Blood God Cult.

Wu Xiting might even be cultivated as a successor by the leader of the Blood God Cult himself.

Ann Jieshan, having made contact and laid a trap at Jade Peak, was not likely to fail.

Possessing the Heaven Palace Seal of the Profound Sky Sect and other secret treasures, Mei Qiurong fled deep underground. Wu Xiting's composure alone spoke volumes.

He and Ann Jieshan had been ready all along.

Ultimately, Ann Jieshan emerged from underground, bringing both Mei Qiurong and Loong Tianxiao with him, confirming his triumph as the last man standing.

Loong Tianxiao, once at par with Ann Jieshan and equally oppressed by the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, was now firmly under Ann Jieshan's thumb.

Ann Jieshan remained silent, his gaze shifting from Wu Xiting, encased in ice, to Yu Yuan.

A message was conveyed through their soul connection.

"You want Wu Xiting in exchange for Loong Tianxiao and the Heaven Palace Seal?" Yu Yuan grasped the meaning immediately. With a furrowed brow, he spoke, "Wu Xiting belongs to your Blood God Cult, and you've long had an understanding with him. I get it—you want to take him with you when you return to the Blood God Cult."

Ann Jieshan's blood figure was a picture of calm, not a ripple of disturbance in sight.

"However, that's not possible!" Yu Yuan's firm declaration sent ripples of blood-red light through Ann Jieshan's figure. "In Chilly Wind Valley, this man severely wounded a dear friend of mine. I can't just let you walk away with him that easily."

Then, Ann Jieshan's blood figure released a wisp of soul thought, invoking the name of Chen Qingyan.

Keeping Chen Qingyan alive was yet another bargaining chip offered by Ann Jieshan.

Yu Yuan's face registered a subtle shift in emotion.

"..."