C877 Frost Queen Was like a God!

Qi Yunhong's eyes, once brimming with spiritual wisdom, began to twist unnaturally, as though another consciousness was forcibly taking over.

"What do we do?" Qin Yun, clad in the garb of an elderly scholar, asked with a quivering voice, betraying his anxiety.

Qi Yunhong was in a league of his own, a true Solar Spirit, vastly surpassing Yang Chuhe, who was merely at the middle stage of Spirit Walk, in strength.

Moreover, as a bona fide cultivator of the Thunder Sect, Qi Yunhong's spells and sacred relics were a notch above the rest.

"He's no longer able to keep his mind clear," Yu Yuan murmured, steadying his emotions while covertly connecting with the cauldron spirit. He channeled a thread of spiritual energy into the sheath, awakening the dormant sword's will within. "Besides, he and I share no bond."

With these words, Yu Yuan steeled his resolve, preparing to strike down Qi Yunhong the moment he drew near.

Crack! Crack!

Qi Yunhong's once radiant, crystal-like body suddenly shattered, as if sliced by the searing Soulsear Bolt.

More horrifying still, the crimson bolts transformed into serpentine creatures that swiftly devoured Qi Yunhong's fragmented form.

In an instant, Qi Yunhong was consumed.

The Soulsear Bolts morphed into massive, crimson electric snakes, a chaotic blend of lightning, light, and crystal. With their blood-red eyes gleaming with a predatory glint, they lashed out at the Crucible of Evil.

Snap! Snap!

The Crucible of Evil emitted a shower of sparks, quaking violently in midair.

Yu Yuan, his expression stoic, observed the writhing, thick crimson electric snakes. He detected Qi Yunhong's essence within them and quickly deduced that Qu Jing must have seized the Illusion Orb. Since the orb was linked to Qi Yunhong's soul, Qu Jing was able to use arcane methods to twist and dominate him.

Qu Jing, not being a disciple of the Thunder Sect, lacked mastery over their mystique, making it nearly impossible for him to fully control the peculiar Soulsear Bolt.

Through the Illusion Orb and Qi Yunhong, he gained control over the Soulsear Bolt, allowing it to consume Qi Yunhong's Solar Spirit body and grow in strength. Its power was unmatched.

"This psionic power is the nemesis of the Bane," Yu Yiyi's remnant soul communicated from the little world within the cauldron. "Even in my soul form, I would struggle to counter it outside the cauldron. The only Bane capable of battling it is the Frost Queen, thanks to her tangible body and the gift of the Celestial Ice Crystal tombstone."

"Send the Frost Queen into battle!" commanded Yu Yuan.

With a whoosh, an icy-blue figure soared from the cauldron's mouth, seizing a crimson electric snake. Amidst the clash of lightning and ice, she tore the electric snake asunder.

Achoo!

Inside the cauldron, Qin Yun sneezed, feeling as though he stood bare in a frozen wasteland, his body shivering uncontrollably. His training in fire magic hadn't emphasized purifying his body with flame energy, making the extreme cold released by the Frost Queen even more unbearable due to their opposing elements.

In desperation, he activated the Qing Yang Arts he had painstakingly mastered, channeling intense spiritual energy through his meridians to fend off the piercing chill.

"Master!"

He was about to voice a warning when he noticed that Yu Yuan was unaffected. Astonished, he gazed upward.

There, the Frost Queen stood, a majestic figure sculpted from Ice Shards, towering dozens of meters tall. Her upper body, with its elegant curves, was adorned with intricately patterned crystal scales that covered her chest, exuding an aura of aloof, frigid beauty. Below, her form merged into that of a scorpion, its lengthy tail bristling with razor-sharp icicles.

Her sinister tail swept through the air, puncturing a mixed stream of scarlet electric snakes with its icy spines. The same electric snakes that had besieged the Crucible of Evil now twisted through the void, converging on the Frost Queen.

The Frost Queen, towering dozens of meters tall, swung her slender, jade-like arms, unleashing a ferocious gale of biting cold. The ice-blue flames that sparked to life seemed to wound the scarlet electric snakes that writhed around her.

On the forehead of the electric snakes, the distorted and frenzied soul of Qi Yunhong would occasionally appear.

The phantom appeared to be roaring and struggling, yet it was utterly powerless.

The Frost Queen paid no heed, resembling a deity of ice meticulously crafted by the creator. The magnetic field around her was akin to a god's unique domain, and the strands of ice that emanated from her were like the manifestations of ice magic.

She was no Bane; she was the very embodiment of an Ice Goddess!

Qin Yun watched the Frost Queen with a puzzled look. He couldn't reconcile the image of the Frost Queen with the grotesque and irrational Bane, known for their relentless release of malevolent thoughts.

The Frost Queen, locked in combat with the scarlet electric snakes, radiated an aura of majesty, sanctity, and an icy chill that seemed inviolable. She bore a striking resemblance to the deities revered by the Otherkin in the legends.

"Demons and gods, at their pinnacle, are interconnected."

The voice of Yu Yiyi's cauldron spirit echoed in Yu Yuan's Mindscape, snapping Yu Yuan out of his shock, much like Qin Yun.

At their zenith, Demon Gods are one and the same!

The Sky Fiend, the highest echelon, is known as the Demon God, akin to the Great Demon God!

As if a revelation had struck him, Yu Yuan's expression turned to excitement. While observing the Frost Queen, he conversed with Yu Yiyi, "Could the Frost Queen truly ascend to godhood? Like White Bone did?"

"It's exceedingly rare," Yu Yiyi sighed. "A tenth-level Bane is comparable to a cultivator at the Unbound Stage, at best on equal footing with the Demon God of the Sky Fiend. All the memories I've regained confirm that the ultimate level for a Bane is the tenth."

"This is unexpected."

Qu Jing, with his narrow eyes that seemed perpetually half-closed, as if caught between waking and dreaming, held a large black umbrella and quietly emerged.

He wore a Cosmos Ring set with an emerald and donned a plain black robe.

"A Bane whose might rivals that of a Solar Spirit."

Qu Jing watched with keen interest as the Frost Queen battled the crimson electric snakes, yet he conversed with Yu Yuan, "Liu Xu, the Crown Prince of the Crimson Sun Empire, sought aid from the Sunlit Order. By chance, I was in the vicinity, so I devised a scheme to lure you into this secluded realm."

He paused, reluctantly shifting his attention away from the Frost Queen.

Turning to Yu Yuan, he continued, "The three illusory scenes I meticulously crafted allowed Qi Yunhong to get close to you three times, yet you foiled each attempt. I must admit, I'm quite surprised. You didn't realize you had left the real world during the first two encounters, did you?"

"That's correct," Yu Yuan acknowledged without hesitation.

"Why such deep-seated vigilance?" Qu Jing asked with genuine curiosity. "I should have realized that Qi Yunhong, the renegade from the Thunder Sect, has strong ties to the Boulderdawn."

"It's an instinctual guard. As a Solar Spirit, Qi Yunhong could potentially annihilate me in seconds if he were to enter the Crucible of Evil," Yu Yuan stated frankly, sharing his genuine concerns. "I cannot allow that possibility to exist. Regardless of his affiliations, he has not earned my trust."

"It's no wonder Cao Jiaze described you as exceptionally challenging upon his return from the Land of Terror," Qu Jing remarked with a hint of admiration.

"Have you not already witnessed how tough I can be?" Yu Yuan replied with a sly smile, glancing at the large black umbrella. "What's the matter? Forgotten the sting of defeat?"

"Thanks to your interference, Qi Yunhong activated the Illusion Orb in Afnetalos, which my Spectral Umbrella detected, leading us to him," Qu Jing explained, unfazed. "This allowed me to seize and refine the Illusion Orb, not only restoring the Spectral Umbrella to its former glory but also significantly advancing my own abilities."

"Congratulations," Yu Yuan responded dryly, his hands mockingly clasped in applause.

"I arrived hastily, so it's just me for now," Qu Jing said with a smile. "But rest assured, before I tempted you with the Illusion Orb, I sent out a message. I doubt I'll have to wait long before Master Chong Xiao joins us."

"In the meantime, you have two choices: kill me or shatter the confines of this illusionary realm, jointly woven by the Illusion Orb and the Spectral Umbrella."

"Otherwise, once Master Chong Xiao gets here, you'll have no choice but to face death."

...