Chapter 70: Eternal Frost

Some distance away from the Black Desolation Sect, a flying boat cut through the sky on a direct course toward the battlefield. Four cultivators stood aboard it, three elders and one young man.

The young man was Haoyu, the eldest disciple of Shen Wuchen, the elder of the Cangming Sect who had been killed by Ji Yan.

Ever since learning of his master’s death, Haoyu had done everything in his power to make this expedition happen.

Revenge was only one of the reasons.

To convince his sect. He had spoken of the hidden treasure sealed within the Black Desolation Sect, of the dignity of the Cangming Sect that had been trampled, and of the threat posed by the Demonic Twins.

In the end, his efforts had succeeded in bringing Zhao Tianshu, one of the three pillars of the Cangming Sect and a cultivator standing at the peak of the Void Realm.

With such a powerful cultivator accompanying him, Haoyu had no reason to doubt that he would get his revenge.

A fierce light burned in his eyes as he stared toward the Black Desolation Sect in the distance. He was already growing impatient.

At that moment, one of the elders suddenly spoke.

"I just received the latest news. The Demonic Twins have emerged, and the battle is already on the verge of being lost. We need to hurry."

Haoyu’s eyes lit up.

Like the cultivators who had attacked the Black Desolation Sect before him, Haoyu’s heart was filled with the same triumphant zeal. In his mind, the time had finally come for the Demonic Twins to pay for their actions.

Whether he would still think the same once he arrived remained to be seen.

-----

Back to the Black Desolation Sect, the sect that had become the eye of the storm across the Azure Plains Region, Ji Yan changed her approach.

Until now she had been content to cut down whoever stood closest to her. The stronger cultivators had left her alone, clearly hoping she would exhaust herself against the weaker ones.

She had been willing to play along at first.

Now, however, she no longer had the luxury of time.

Her first target became the Sect Master of the Silent Valley Sect.

The moment he saw her approaching, he immediately summoned his defensive treasure and prepared himself for the attack.

It made no difference. Before he could even scream, Ji Yan’s daggers had already carved through him several times. His corpse tumbled from the sky like the rest.

Ji Yan didn’t even look at it.

Her next target was Wei Zhaoming, the Crown Prince of the Great Han Kingdom.

The moment Ji Yan’s dagger descended toward him, a golden dragon formed entirely from Qi suddenly emerged from his body and lunged toward her.

Ji Yan merely snorted.

Her dagger continued downward, and the golden dragon was cleaved apart as easily as if it had been nothing more than paper.

"A mere lizard."

She spat the words out in disdain as she stepped through the remnants of the shattered dragon, her dagger making its way toward Wei Zhaoming’s neck.

But, a powerful shield suddenly appeared between them.

"Sun Fairy, please spare his life!"

Wei Ruyan had appeared beside her brother, desperately blocking Ji Yan’s attack.

"He is the Crown Prince of the Great Han Kingdom. He was incited by the Sect Master of the Crimson Flame Sect. Otherwise, we of the Wei Royal Family had no intention of interfering with the affairs of the Black Desolation Sect."

"So what if he is the Crown Prince?" Ji Yan replied mockingly. "So what if he was manipulated?"

Her dagger continued forward and severed Wei Zhaoming’s neck.

She turned toward the still stunned princess next, fully intending to finish her as well. Before she could strike, however, Zhou Yucheng, now back within the Inner Sect, shot into the air and shouted, "Please spare her life, Sun Fairy!"

Even though the one intervening was a core disciple of their own sect, Ji Yan still showed no intention of letting the woman in front of her live.

Down on the ground, Gu Yuan watched the entire drama unfold.

His gaze fell on Zhou Yucheng, and he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

This senior of his was actually willing to throw his life away for love... what a miserable fate.

For a moment, Gu Yuan even wondered whether he should interfere.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to.

Ji Yue appeared beside her twin sister and quietly spoke with her.

Whatever she said, it seemed to convince Ji Yan, because the red-haired woman gave Wei Ruyan a strange look before turning around and retreating deeper into the Inner Sect.

Ji Yue paid no attention to Wei Ruyan, nor to Zhou Yucheng, who seemed to have something he wanted to say to the princess but couldn’t figure out how to begin.

Instead, she looked across the battlefield.

Very few battles were still taking place.

Most of the remaining cultivators had already stopped fighting. Some had come with motives other than participating in the battle, some were now desperately looking for an opportunity to escape. Unfortunately for them, she had already repaired the sect’s protective formation, sealing the Inner Sect once again.

The others were the cultivators who had come specifically to kill the Heavenly Twin Stars. Now, however, they could only stare at Ji Yue in despair as they waited for their fate.

Despite the countless cultivators Ji Yan had already killed and the many more who had fallen beneath the hands of the Black Desolation Sect’s elders and disciples, there were still far too many enemies remaining.

Ji Yue remained silent for a moment.

Then she smiled gently.

It was such a soft and peaceful smile that some of the cultivators who saw it couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope.

Perhaps she intended to let them leave.

Ji Yue slowly raised both hands... then brought them together.

Clap.

The sound was soft.

Yet in the next instant, the entire Inner Sect froze.

The cultivators were the first to feel it; an unbearable chill spread through their bodies, freezing their blood, their spiritual energy, and even the thoughts in their minds.

Those standing on the ground, those flying through the sky, and those who were still fighting all stopped at the same time.

Every cultivator who did not belong to the Black Desolation Sect was frozen.

Every single one.

Ji Yue’s control over the technique was so precise that not a single member of the Black Desolation Sect was affected... the environment was not spared though.

The wind ceased. Dust hanging in the air froze mid-drift. Thin sheets of frost raced across buildings, mountain paths, trees, and every other surface throughout the Inner Sect.

The battlefield seemed to have become a frozen painting.

Ji Yue stood alone in the sky.

Ice statues drifted down around her, yet the cold she had created did not touch her. Her long silver hair fluttered gently behind her as she looked down upon the frozen battlefield.

Her voice was soft.

"Eternal Frost."