Frost Li the Transcendent, enveloped in icy flames, suddenly slapped the top of his head with one hand.
A muffled groan sounded as a blue light emerged, carrying an infant-sized Spirit Infant that slowly floated out of his physical body.
The Spirit Infant sat cross-legged, its hands forming a seal, but around its neck hung a thumb-sized jade pendant emitting a faint silver glow—an enigmatic treasure of unknown origin.
As soon as the Spirit Infant rose about ten feet above the body, it inhaled deeply and then exhaled, spitting out a cluster of blue flames.
These flames were the true essence of the Dry Blue Ice Flames, painstakingly refined by Frost Li the Transcendent over centuries of cultivation.
The flames swirled and transformed into an incredibly radiant blue wheel, appearing mysteriously beneath the Spirit Infant. It lifted the infant slowly, carrying it out of the milky-white cold mist.
Seeing Frost Li the Transcendent’s Spirit Infant leave its body, Han Li and the others wasted no time. They each pointed toward the distant light sphere, and streams of extreme cold flames shot forth.
A bizarre scene unfolded!
Before the cold flames could reach the Spirit Infant, the wheel beneath it spun rapidly, generating a tremendous suction force. The flames trembled and were instantly drawn into the wheel.
The originally blue wheel now shimmered with a dazzling array of colors, so mesmerizing that prolonged gazing induced dizziness.
The Spirit Infant let out a low chant, sending a series of incantations into the wheel beneath it.
A rumbling sound erupted as the multicolored flames trembled and then exploded.
The Spirit Infant’s incantations grew more frantic, one after another without pause, as if exhausting all its spiritual power in one go.
Under the guidance of the incantations, the scattered flames intertwined and fused, rapidly forming a radiant lotus.
This lotus contained six distinct colors—black, white, red, yellow, green, and blue—seemingly separate yet harmoniously merged, embodying profound mystery.
The lotus spanned three zhang in diameter, dwarfing the tiny Spirit Infant within. Yet, as the infant chanted an arcane mantra, the lotus began to shrink, its brilliance intensifying with each contraction.
Within moments, the lotus condensed to a mere foot in size, its petals now solid and thick, with six-colored flames flickering atop them like divine fire.
Han Li’s expression flickered with surprise, but like the others, he intensified the output of his cold flames.
Yet, as these flames entered the lotus, they vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by the sea.
At this moment, the Spirit Infant suddenly opened its tightly shut eyes, revealing a pair of eerie golden pupils.
It raised a hand, fingers curling into a lotus shape.
With a series of soft pops, countless thin blue threads shot from its fingertips, embedding themselves into the surrounding petals and merging seamlessly.
The Spirit Infant’s chanting continued, its small face growing solemn as its fingers slowly clenched inward.
The blue threads connected to its fingers shimmered violently, trembling with energy.
A humming sound arose from the lotus as its petals, guided by the blue threads, began to fold inward. Within moments, the lotus transformed back into a tightly closed bud, fully encasing the Spirit Infant.
The six-colored flames swirled endlessly, dazzling in their brilliance.
Han Li and the others ceased their control over the cold flames, allowing the radiant bud to drift downward.
With a flash of light, the bud sank effortlessly into the milky-white cold mist before vanishing into Frost Li the Transcendent’s physical head.
The other five immediately resumed channeling cold flames into the mist, stimulating Frost Li the Transcendent’s body to aid his breakthrough.
Within the formation, only the hissing of cold flames filled the air.
Meanwhile, in a secluded street of the ice city outside the Profound Jade Cave, two white-robed male disciples of the Small Extreme Sect walked side by side.
Their expressions were blank, but their eyes darted warily around, as if cautious even within their own sect.
The massive ice phoenix that had once circled the city was nowhere to be seen—whether driven away by Bai Yaoyi and her companion or lured elsewhere remained unknown.
Though this area was remote, the ice houses lining the street stood in perfect order.
The two disciples had learned earlier that the low-ranking disciples who once lived here had evacuated days ago, leaving the area deserted. Yet, they remained vigilant, their spiritual senses extended to guard against surprises.
“We’re here,” one man said, his gaze sharpening as he looked ahead. He led the other behind an ice house.
A vast, empty space about thirty zhang wide opened before them, where another man and woman stood waiting.
“You’re late. Had you delayed any longer, we would have started without you,” the woman, appearing in her thirties, said with displeasure.
The other was a dark-skinned, burly man. Both wore the attire of low-ranking Small Extreme Sect disciples, yet their demeanor toward the newcomers—who held higher status—was oddly disrespectful.
“The outer sect’s defenses have been breached. Human cultivators are patrolling heavily. It took great effort to slip away unnoticed,” one of the newcomers retorted coldly.
The woman frowned, about to speak, but the dark-skinned man cut in impatiently.
“Enough talk. Let’s begin. Even if these are just split souls, I’d rather not lose them.”
The woman fell silent, and the newcomers, seemingly wary of the man, said nothing more. They retrieved arrays and spirit stones from their storage pouches, swiftly setting up a formation.
Their movements were practiced, and within moments, a small formation took shape. To a knowledgeable observer, it was unmistakably a temporary, one-way teleportation array.
Just as the array neared completion, a thunderous crash erupted—a nearby ice house collapsed without warning, unleashing a wave of frigid mist.
The four flinched like startled birds, summoning defensive artifacts.
“Petty demon souls daring to stir trouble under our noses? Do you truly think so little of us?”
An aged voice echoed as two figures emerged from the mist—one with sharp, upturned eyebrows and a long beard, the other a ruddy-faced middle-aged man carrying a sword.
“Small Extreme Sect’s law-enforcement elders! Run!” the woman shrieked, transforming into a green streak as she fled.
The others followed suit, but the sword-bearing man sneered.
“Fleeing from us? A joke!”
With a flick of his finger, four blinding sword beams shot forth.
Three screams rang out as the woman and two others were pierced, their bodies plummeting. Only the dark-skinned man’s green light staggered but continued fleeing.
The ruddy-faced man’s eyes narrowed. He spat out a white streak that overtook the fleeing figure, slicing it in two.
Meanwhile, the sharp-browed elder flicked his sleeve, releasing four willow-leaf-shaped artifacts that vanished instantly.
Moments later, four green wisps—fleeing from the corpses—were struck by the leaves. With eerie shrieks, they dissolved into smoke and dissipated.
The ruddy-faced man glanced at the nearly complete teleportation array and, with a sweep of his hand, unleashed a thick sword beam.
A deafening explosion later, the array was obliterated, leaving only a crater.
“Let’s go. Though these split souls won’t cause lasting harm, their destruction will surely sting,” the sharp-browed elder said, stroking his beard before vanishing in a flash of light.
The ruddy-faced man chuckled and followed leisurely.
Similar scenes unfolded elsewhere in the ice city, as other disciples possessed by high-ranking demon souls were swiftly eradicated by Small Extreme Sect elders.
Meanwhile, within the Frost Li Secret Realm—the true heart of the Small Extreme Sect—six or seven Nascent Soul cultivators, including the sect master, gathered in solemn discussion. Among them, a beautiful woman and two others appeared pale, as if drained of vitality.
“To think the Ten Thousand Demons Valley brought the Ten Thousand Demons Banner! I assumed it was a mere imitation, yet its power is staggering. Without Elders Fang and Huang’s aid, I alone could never have repelled that old demon’s avatar—and even then, only by leveraging the grand formation’s restrictions. But the avatar’s injuries were minor. It will return in two days at most. We must seize this chance to evacuate,” the beautiful woman surnamed Liu said, her brow furrowed.
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