Kunlun Divine Palace

Beneath their feet lay accumulated snow that had never melted for ten thousand years. The biting Cold Wind cut across their faces like blades, howling past their ears like the whispers of ancient gods.

Looking into the distance, mountains surged in every direction like raging waves, their peaks rising one after another and appearing and disappearing amid the Sea of Clouds. The distant Snow Peaks were dyed gold by the morning light, while the nearby cliffs were Devoured by shadow. The boundary between black and white was so distinct, as if heaven had split the chaos apart with a Giant Axe.

The Veins of the earth stretched beneath their feet. Rivers wound like silver threads, while Lakes gleamed like shattered mirrors. Farther away, the Gobi Desert, Grassland, Forests, and Barren Desert spread out in succession until they met the horizon. Clouds churned beneath them, at times like furious ocean waves, at times light as cotton. It felt as though one leap would let them walk upon the clouds and gaze down upon the mortal world.

The Firmament was vast and clear blue, and sunlight pierced the thin air, spilling down in dazzling brilliance. With every breath, freezing air filled their lungs, carrying the crisp purity of snowy mountains and the desolation of eternity. At that moment, time itself seemed to stand still. Only Kunlun Mountain stood tall and unmoved, coldly watching the rise and fall of the mortal world through countless ages.

When they suddenly turned around, they saw a towering divine palace rising from the earth, built against the sheer cliffs of Kunlun Mountain. Its entire body had been carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice, reflecting an eerie blue radiance beneath the sunlight. Its walls rose over a hundred zhang high, and tier upon tier of ice steps spiraled upward like a heavenly ladder. Thousands of icicles hung from the upturned eaves, chiming clearly and ethereally when brushed by the mountain wind, like Immortal Music drifting through the nine heavens.

Billowing Cold Mist poured from the palace gates, coiling around the halls like flowing clouds. At times, it transformed into dragons soaring through the air; at times, it condensed into phoenixes wheeling about. Ancient Runes rose across the surface of the Ice Palace, each line flowing with faint blue light that flickered as though alive. A whole piece of transparent ice crystal was embedded in the Main Hall Dome. When sunlight passed through it, it transformed into a seven-colored halo, dyeing the snowfields within ten li in dazzling hues.

A Bell Chime suddenly rang out from deep within the palace, shaking snow from the surrounding Ice Pines. Several graceful figures could vaguely be seen in the mist. As their Sleeves fluttered, they stirred up glittering ice crystals across the sky, like a river of stars pouring down. The entire palace appeared and vanished with the drifting clouds and mist, as if it might ride the wind away at any moment and return to that distant realm beyond the void.

Even Xiao Yun could not help sighing at such a magnificent sight. "The original inhabitants of this world were truly incredible. They could construct such solemn and magnificent buildings."

As Xiao Yun spent a while marveling at nature's miraculous craftsmanship and the great creativity of the people, countless Small White Bugs burrowed out from the thick snow outside the square before Kunlun Divine Palace. They resembled fireflies, yet were somewhat different. Their bodies were blue, like chunks of blue ice.

Chu Yinge immediately recognized the bugs and softly warned, "This is bad. These are Ice Fireflies, a creature unique to Kunlun Mountain. They are extremely dangerous. Once they collide with another living creature, they instantly unleash the ice energy within their bodies. They can freeze an elephant into a block of ice in an instant, so do not alarm them."

The moment she finished speaking, the Ice Fireflies seemed to have caught the scent of delicious food. They flew up from the snow and charged straight toward Xiao Yun and the others.

Xiao Yun and the others immediately noticed that the Ice Fireflies' eyes were blood-red. They had clearly been corrupted by Abyssal Aura, so the moment they sensed the group's presence, they attacked.

Xuan Huaying immediately mobilized the Immortal Power within her body, forming a Flame Barrier around them. Then she said quickly, "Everyone, hurry into Kunlun Divine Palace behind us. I remember that its entrance has a special Restriction. Those Ice Fireflies cannot enter."

Xiao Yun and the others did not dare hesitate. They had already seen many Ice Fireflies crash into the Flame Barrier Xuan Yinghua had released. The icy aura produced by the impacts directly extinguished more than half the flames on the barrier. If they delayed any longer, the barrier would not hold for much longer.

The group arrived before the Main Gate of the divine palace and stared at the ice doors, more than ten zhang tall and several meters thick, completely unsure how to open them.

Only Wangliang did not think much about it. He pressed both hands against the gate carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice, his muscles bulging all over as he shouted and pushed with all his strength. Yet the gate did not budge in the slightest.

Xiao Yun immediately realized the reason. A gate made of ice like this could easily become frozen together with the surrounding Walls when snow and ice melted, making it impossible to push open.

Although these two gates had received special treatment, after so much time, they had still frozen together with the surrounding Walls.

There was only one way to get in: melt away the frozen ice around the gaps in the doors. Xiao Yun immediately reminded them, "We need to clear away the ice frozen in the gaps around the doors."

With Xiao Yun's reminder, a mass of Flame Energy immediately appeared around Wangliang's hands pressed against the gate. The Flame Energy quickly spread outward, burning where the two doors met the surrounding Walls and beginning to melt the ice in the gaps.

On the other side, Chu Yinge went to help Xuan Yinghua stop the Ice Fireflies from approaching. Countless Ice Spikes appeared around her. Whenever an Ice Firefly broke through the Flame Barrier, an Ice Spike shot forward and froze it before it fell to the ground. But this was clearly only a temporary solution. Before long, the Ice Fireflies would break free from the ice again. Still, this little bit of time was enough.

The ice in the gaps had nearly melted away. Wangliang exerted his strength again, and this time it went much more smoothly. The two doors made from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice were slowly pushed open.

As the gates opened, Xiao Yun immediately called out, "The gates are open! Everyone, get inside!"

After setting up another Flame Barrier, Xuan Yinghua swiftly retreated and rushed into Kunlun Divine Palace behind Chu Yinge, Xi Zhaoyue, and Xiangliu. Once Xiao Yun saw that all four women had entered the palace, he did not waste any time and charged in after them.

After everyone had entered, Wangliang suddenly exerted his strength and pushed the gates open by more than fifty centimeters. His body transformed into a streak of light as he shot into the divine palace. The moment he entered, the gates behind him closed again, completely shutting the Ice Fireflies outside.

As soon as the two entered, they discovered that several groups of Water-Type Demonic Monsters were already fighting Chu Yinge, Xuan Yinghua, and the others. However, Xiangliu was currently the main force in the battle, as her Wood-Type Attacks countered those Water-Type Demonic Monsters.

As for Xuan Yinghua's flame damage, it was difficult for it to achieve much effect in this frigid palace. Still, it was quite suitable for keeping her companions warm.

Seeing this, Xiao Yun immediately swung out streams of Sword Qi, striking directly at the vital points of the water-type monsters. However, the results were not particularly good. Although the Sword Qi dealt considerable damage, it could not inflict grievous wounds. These Water-Type Demonic Monsters possessed exceptionally strong vitality. Unless their vital points were destroyed, the Sword Qi could only inflict some penetrating damage, which was swiftly healed by the Healing Monsters in the rear.

The most effective fighter was unexpectedly Wangliang. He did not even need to use Flame Energy with the Giant Axe in his hands to smash those monsters into heaps of mangled flesh, leaving them no chance to recover.