Chapter 124: The Iceberg of Flesh and Blood

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Ring the Warning Spirit Bell! Full sect alert!"

"What terrifying killing intent! A powerful foe approaches—inform the Supreme Elders at once!"

Dong— Dong— Dong—

Within the Yuqing Sect, three resounding tolls echoed across the entire sect.

Whether meditating in seclusion, concocting pills, or forging artifacts—from the peak masters down to the elders, deacons, and disciples—everyone froze in place at the same moment.

As the third chime reverberated and everyone looked up to see the Protective Mountain Array already shrouding the mountain gates, absolute horror seized their faces.

The Yuqing Sect's Warning Spirit Bell was never struck unless circumstances were dire. To hear three tolls was unthinkable.

The sect's bell bore different meanings depending on the count.

A single toll summoned ordinary disciples to enter low-tier secret realms or fend off minor beast stampedes—a common occurrence.

Two tolls signaled an invading enemy, calling the entire sect to arms.

Only three long, simultaneous tolls warned of an impending annihilation or a catastrophic disaster.

What could have happened?

The Yuqing Sect had seven Nascent Soul Supreme Elders holding down the fort, two of whom were Middle Nascent Soul Stage powerhouses. Across the entire Heavenly Abyss Sea, aside from the three Grand Cultivators, almost no one could threaten them. What could warrant such an alarm?

No one knew what had happened, yet an inexplicable dread crept into every heart.

"Senior Brother, what's going on?"

A Foundation Establishment cultivator who had just emerged from seclusion and was rushing along after hearing the bell shouted to a fellow disciple flying overhead.

"I don't know! They say something terrible happened at the mountain gates. A lot of the peak masters and elders are rushing over to await orders from the Supreme Elders!"

The disciple hurriedly replied, his voice trembling and his gaze frantic, the flying sword wobbling dangerously beneath his feet.

Facing a crisis of this magnitude while knowing nothing—not even when they might die—was a terrifying, bone-chilling unknown.

Another flying disciple nearby sniffed the air, frowning deeply as he called out to the pair.

"Do you smell that? It's a heavy stench of blood... drifting over from the gates."

Before his voice faded, a rumbling crash rolled in from afar, shaking the earth as if some colossal behemoth had stepped upon the realm.

"Look over there! What is that?"

Cries of shock rang out from others in the distance.

"A mountain? No, wait... what is that?"

Countless gazes snapped in that direction, and everyone froze, utterly dumbfounded. As if beholding something unimaginably terrifying, their minds reeled and their thoughts stagnated.

Outside the mountain gates, a gargantuan shadow cast over the entire entrance, plunging it into darkness.

Looking up, the source of that shadow was a mountain—a colossal iceberg roughly six to seven hundred zhang tall. It rose from the earth like a giant hand reaching out of the abyss, reducing the entire Yuqing Sect mountain gate beneath it to the insignificance of an ant.

Even more incomprehensible was that the iceberg was dark red.

It looked as though it had been drenched and dyed by endless blood. Frozen within the transparent ice crystals were countless corpses scattered across every corner of the mountain. Every body was in a gruesome state, their features twisted in agony, their eyes wide open in death.

The intense stench of blood from earlier was drifting off this very iceberg.

Even separated by the Protective Mountain Array, gazing at the massive mountain left a suffocating sense of insignificance lingering in everyone's hearts.

Several inexperienced disciples collapsed on the spot at the sight of those unblinking corpses inside the ice. Overcome by nausea, they bent over and vomited uncontrollably.

The older disciples possessed slightly stronger mental fortitude, but even they couldn't stop their legs from shaking at such a horrifying sight.

Even the experienced Golden Core peak masters and elders felt their courage falter. They could tell that anyone capable of unleashing such a devastating supreme ice ability had to be an expert on par with their Great Elder—at least a Middle Nascent Soul Stage cultivator!

How could their hearts not fill with fear?

Deep within the Yuqing Sect, upon Jade Truth Mountain.

This was the residence of Supreme Second Elder Zhou Xuanzhen.

Inside a quiet chamber, Zhou Xuanzhen sat properly before a Go board, opposite a middle-aged man with a long black beard. Their match was in full swing, the crisp clicks of stones against the board echoing softly through the room.

The middle-aged man's face bore the marks of weathering, his brows calm and his posture upright. Faint ripples of Dao resonance seemed to drift around him with every subtle movement. He was the renowned Great Elder of the Yuqing Sect, Zhou Xuanqing, also revered as the Jade Clarity Superior. With his Middle Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, he had watched over the Yuqing Sect for hundreds of years, his might dominating the region.

Both men seemed to sense something at almost the exact same instant. They lifted their heads, catching a glint of astonishment in each other's eyes.

Right at that moment, hurried footsteps approached from outside the quiet chamber, followed by an anxious shout.

"Terrible news! Father, Second Uncle, a major disaster has struck!"

Zhou Jin stumbled into the room, hastily steadying himself to offer a frantic bow to Zhou Xuanqing and Zhou Xuanzhen. He had clearly sprinted all the way here, his breath still ragged.

Zhou Xuanqing raised an eyebrow, his voice dropping low.

"Jin'er, what has happened outside? Why are you panicking like this?"

Zhou Jin opened his mouth, unable to string his words together for a long moment. He could only point anxiously toward the outside.

"Father, Second Uncle, I don't really know what happened either... You just need to go outside and see it for yourselves."

Before his voice faded, Zhou Xuanqing and Zhou Xuanzhen transformed into two streaks of rainbow light and shot out of the chamber. With Zhou Jin close behind, the three figures quickly appeared in the sky above Jade Truth Mountain.

Looking out, that colossal behemoth in the distance stood in plain sight. A strange glint flashed through all three of their eyes, and their expressions shifted.

In the distance, a streak of white light sped toward them. The spiritual light scattered, and an elderly Daoist in white robes stepped out, his face ashen. It was Supreme Elder Yang of the Yuqing Sect.

Zhou Xuanqing hurried forward a few steps, speaking in confusion.

"Junior Brother Yang, what is this...?"

He pointed at the colossal iceberg, his expression bizarre.

Elder Yang offered a slight bow to the three, speaking in a low, heavy voice.

"Great Elder, Second Elder, Seventh Elder. Someone attacked our Yuqing Sect just moments ago. The cultivators who came for the disciple selection ceremony were almost entirely wiped out. Martial Nephew Gou of Spirit Iron Peak is gone as well."

He paused for a moment.

"When the Protective Mountain Array I deployed clashed with that freezing aura, the feedback indicated the assailant's cultivation was at least at Peak Mid-Nascent Soul. I swept the area just now but found no trace of them. Leaving that iceberg there..."

He looked up toward the dark red behemoth, his tone complex.

"...feels like they are deliberately provoking us. They killed everyone, then left."

"Left?"

Zhou Xuanqing's voice was full of disbelief. Behind him, Zhou Xuanzhen and Zhou Jin exchanged bewildered glances.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Elder Yang's eyes, his tone devoid of any certainty.

"I don't know."

Zhou Xuanzhen stepped forward, whispering near Zhou Xuanqing's ear.

"Brother, we first need to figure out who this person is and uncover their background."

Staring at the chilling iceberg, his brow furrowed tightly.

"A Middle Nascent Soul expert of the demonic path wielding such bizarre and tyrannical ice arts, openly attacking right before our gates... this is no minor incident. We absolutely cannot be careless."

Zhou Xuanqing remained where he stood, his hands quietly clenching into fists as his eyes trembled violently. Looking ahead, waves of shock crashed through his mind.

'What a terrifying ferocity! This person's origins are completely unknown, and their power is unfathomable. Our Yuqing Sect has lived aloof from the world for centuries—how did we suddenly provoke such a god of slaughter?'