Chapter 30: A World Encased in Ice

The Bone Demon Lord, Nangong Lengyu, knew well that the situation was turning bleak for him. No matter what harsh threats the three disciples from Moon Embrace Sect hurled at him, nor whether they threw bowls or stools his way, he no longer had the mind to respond. After all, whatever those three insignificant Bone Tempering cultivators did would not alter the outcome of this battle in the slightest.

He spat a mouthful of blood on the ground, cursing inwardly, “If it weren’t for the injuries I suffered from that old monster, the Supreme Immortal of the Great Wasteland, those two greenhorns from the Ethereal Sect would have never managed to harm me!”

But suddenly, a wild laughter burst from his lips. “Hahahaha!” Then, with a stern expression, he declared, “It seems I must begin to fight in earnest!”

Zhu Changqing and Gu Yiqing braced themselves for battle.

“Junior Brother,” Gu Yiqing said to Zhu Changqing, “since Nangong Lengyu acquired the title of ‘Bone Demon Lord’ in Youyi Mountain, it has been a hundred years. In terms of cultivation and battle experience, he far surpasses us. We must not be careless!”

Zhu Changqing nodded solemnly. He knew too well that the Bone Demon Lord was no easy foe; otherwise, he would have been vanquished long ago and would not be free to wreak havoc as he pleased.

At that moment, Nangong Lengyu’s spiritual power surged violently around him. His bare upper body flushed crimson, the skin turning red as fire.

Zhu Changqing and Gu Yiqing immediately circulated their own spiritual energy, preparing a defensive stance. They realized that Nangong Lengyu was ready to risk everything, about to unleash his most fearsome attack.

But suddenly, the ground beneath Nangong Lengyu collapsed inward, revealing the gaping, blood-red maw of a three-eyed giant toad. Nangong Lengyu was swallowed in an instant, vanishing into the creature’s belly.

Only then did Zhu Changqing and Gu Yiqing realize that Nangong Lengyu’s earlier bravado was a mere ruse; he had been preparing his escape all along.

“He’s escaping!” Gu Yiqing cried in alarm, descending swiftly with Zhu Changqing.

But it was already too late. The giant toad, having swallowed Nangong Lengyu, slipped back into the earth, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

“Where can you run?”

Gu Yiqing could not bear to let the Bone Demon Lord escape so easily.

If he were allowed to slip away now, it would be like releasing a tiger back to the mountain. Once his wounds healed, who could say how many more innocent lives would be lost, how many people would be skinned and transformed into his puppets?

The Thirty-Seventh Water Technique—Frozen Miles!

Gu Yiqing resolved to pour all her spiritual power into freezing the entire landscape, hoping to block the toad’s escape route.

But “Frozen Miles” was a high-grade water technique, requiring time to chant and invoke. Gu Yiqing began her incantation, but Nangong Lengyu had clearly anticipated this and had no intention of giving her the chance.

Suddenly, seventeen skeletal puppets burst from underground. Each was clad in heavy armor and wielded a great saber.

These seventeen skeletal puppets were obviously the Bone Demon Lord’s hidden trump card, set in advance to interrupt Gu Yiqing’s spell and buy him precious time to escape.

“Senior Sister, continue chanting the ‘Frozen Miles’ incantation. Leave these seventeen skeleton puppets to me!” Zhu Changqing called, and in his hands appeared a blazing halberd.

With both hands gripping the flaming weapon, he charged back and forth among the skeletal puppets. In the blink of an eye, six of them were already felled.

Gu Yiqing continued her incantation, but four skeletal puppets crept up on her right, attempting to break her concentration.

Fortunately, Zhu Changqing reacted swiftly, hurling his flaming halberd straight through the four, skewering them together, their armor pierced.

He then conjured a new blazing halberd and continued the fight.

But just as Gu Yiqing was about to complete the “Frozen Miles” technique, a black serpent, which had silently lurked in the soil, shot up and coiled around her, breaking her chant.

Only then did Gu Yiqing realize the Bone Demon Lord’s final secret weapon was not the seventeen skeletal puppets, but this huge black serpent.

Fury blazed in Gu Yiqing’s eyes; her pupils turned an icy white. The true essence of ice surged around her, instantly freezing the serpent that bound her, then shattering it into countless shards of ice.

Though the black serpent could not harm her, it had succeeded in breaking her incantation, achieving its purpose.

It was now too late to begin chanting again. The Bone Demon Lord was already far away, hidden within the belly of the giant toad.

Truly, the Bone Demon Lord was cunning and treacherous. No wonder he had evaded justice for so many years, continuing his evil deeds unchecked.

With a deep, helpless sigh, Gu Yiqing resigned herself.

After Zhu Changqing finished destroying the remaining skeletal puppets, his expression was grim. “We let him escape this time. Next time, killing him won’t be so easy.”

At that moment, the three clever disciples from Moon Embrace Sect, seeing the Bone Demon Lord gone and the puppets destroyed, hurried over to the two Immortal Masters.

“Thank goodness you were here, or my senior brother, senior sister, and I would surely have died at the hands of that fiend,” Duan Ling said gratefully, bowing to the two Immortal Masters.

Seeing that these were young cultivators, Gu Yiqing’s expression softened. “Are you all disciples of Moon Embrace Sect?”

Duan Ling nodded. “Yes, we are all ninth-generation disciples of Moon Embrace Sect. We came here to attend the Five Sects Tournament at Supreme Clear Palace.”

Gu Yiqing nodded, then looked toward the teahouse.

Inside sat three people—one was a pair of young man and woman. The man was handsome, the woman of unmatched beauty, both seeming out of place in the humble teahouse. Yet neither bore any trace of cultivation; they appeared to be ordinary mortals.

However, the woman in the purple dress napping at the table radiated an impressive aura of cultivation.

Gu Yiqing pointed toward the purple-clad woman and asked Duan Ling and the others, “Is she your master?”

“Yes,” Chen Huaiyin replied, “Master drank a whole jar of Spring Li wine and has yet to awaken from her drunken slumber.”

Gu Yiqing smiled gently. “Spring Li is an immortal wine with a potent aftertaste. If I drank a whole jar, I’d sleep for hours as well.”

“I have here a sobering pill. Take it and hold it under your master’s nose from time to time. It will help her wake up more quickly.”

Gu Yiqing produced a small purple pill and placed it in Chen Huaiyin’s palm.

“Thank you, Immortal Master!” Chen Huaiyin said, bowing deeply, pill held reverently in her hands.