Down the Cauldron of Boiling Oil

In an instant, You Su felt as if a thousand pounds of pressure were pressing down on him, threatening to crush him into mincemeat.

You Su clenched his fists and used all his strength to resist. Fortunately, he was not only exceptionally strong, but also had a monstrous physique, which allowed him to barely hold on.

You Su gritted her teeth, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips, a smile that revealed a sense of defiance and mockery:

"You think you can make me submit like this? You're wrong. I, You Su, have never been one to be manipulated."

His words were firm, each one like a resounding hammer blow, echoing in the small dungeon.

Upon hearing this, the person behind the mirror let out a chilling laugh, tinged with a hint of amusement:

"Oh? Then tell me, what gives you the right to negotiate with me?"

You Su's gaze was sharp as she stared directly at the mirror that shimmered with an eerie light, her voice calm and resolute:

"Because I know what you want, and only I can give you that."

The person behind the mirror remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Then his voice rang out again, carrying an undeniable air of authority:

"You think you can bargain with me? You and Bai Ze are nothing but playthings in my hands. If you don't hand over the Heavenly Awakening Spiritual Light, it will immediately suffer the torture of being boiled in oil in this cauldron!"

Upon hearing this, You Su simply said coldly:

"If you dare to do that, you'll never get your hands on the Heavenly Awakening Spiritual Light. I'd rather it never see the light of day than let it fall into the hands of someone like you!"

The person behind the mirror seemed enraged by You Su's resolute decision, and he roared:

"You think you have the right to negotiate with me? You're nothing but a prisoner; your life or death is entirely in my hands!"

As he spoke, he made a move to loosen the rope again and throw Bai Ze into the oil pot.

Bai Ze trembled with fear, but it suppressed its terror and didn't make a sound. It just looked at You Su with its trusting eyes.

You Su felt a warmth in his heart. Seeing Bai Ze getting closer and closer to the oil cauldron, he took a deep breath and said in an unwavering tone:

"If you really dare to do that, I guarantee you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Upon hearing this, the person behind the mirror paused. He seemed to realize that You Su was not bluffing, but truly possessed a trump card that made him wary.

You Su's purpose was precisely this: the other party knew that he was stirring up trouble on the South China Sea Immortal Island. Regardless of which possibility was true just now, he should not be underestimated.

There was a moment of silence behind the mirror, then the androgynous voice calmed down and said coldly:

"Speak, what do you want?"

"Let me see it with my own eyes."

You Su stared intently at the mirror that shimmered with an eerie light, his voice soft yet carrying an undeniable force. "There's no room for negotiation."

Upon hearing this, the person behind the mirror laughed in fury, their voice like a sharp blade forged from ice, carrying a chilling aura.

"Aren't you putting on a bit too convincing an act? It's still unknown whether you and the True Immortal Zhengyang are good or evil, and the Heavenly Awakening Spiritual Light is most likely fake, yet you're putting on such a serious act. Do you really think I'll fall for it?"

"Isn't that why you didn't kill me? You could have taken me to the Immortal Ancestor Temple to curry favor, but you didn't, because you couldn't bear to part with that potentially real Heavenly Awakening Spiritual Light. Even if there was only a sliver of a possibility that it was real, you would never be willing to give it up." You Su, on the contrary, seemed to be at ease under the heavy pressure.

After another long silence, the person behind the mirror seemed stunned by You Su's resolute decision. The androgynous voice rang out again, but this time it wasn't addressed to You Su, but rather to the apprehensive Bai Ze:

"It seems your friend doesn't value you that much, otherwise why would he disregard your suffering of being boiled in oil?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ze was no longer saddened or timid. Instead, he mustered his courage and shouted back with all his might:

"That's not true! It's not that he doesn't care about me, it's that he doesn't want to fall for your tricks!"

"Interesting. Just bump into the mirror, and you'll naturally emerge," the person behind the mirror said leisurely.

You Su suddenly felt a lightness in his body, as if the heavy pressure had never existed. He rubbed his sore knees, looked at the mirror and raised his eyebrows slightly. Without hesitation, he suddenly rammed into it, but with a loud thud, he hit it solidly.

Just then, a series of sneers came from behind the mirror. "You actually dared to bump into me? I never thought a ruthless Evil Demon could be so straightforward."

You Su's face darkened, realizing he had been tricked. He had initially thought the other party was deliberately showing off their skills by using the mirror-collision teleportation method, but now he realized it was to humiliate him.

"I forgot to turn it on earlier, but it's fine now. Now, bump it again."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" You Su asked through gritted teeth.

Believe it or not.

Upon hearing this, You Su steeled her resolve and rammed into the mirror again. This time, however, she didn't feel like she was hitting a wall. Instead, after a brief moment of weightlessness, she fell onto a cold brick surface.

He quickly got up, looked around, and found himself in an ice palace.

The walls, dome, and even the floor inside the hall are all made of translucent ice. The intersecting ice ridges reflect a cold light, making it seem like a dreamlike realm sculpted from ice and snow, yet it also exudes endless chill and loneliness.

However, the figure behind the mirror was still nowhere to be seen. All that could be seen was the cauldron of boiling oil in the center of the palace, steaming and sizzling. Bai Ze was placed on top of the cauldron, its body tightly bound by ropes. It struggled desperately, trying to escape this dangerous situation.

"Stay here, don't go anywhere."

The voice of the person behind the mirror rang out again, cold and unquestionable. Then, deathly silence fell, as if they had truly left, leaving only the sounds of Bai Ze's struggles and the bubbling of hot oil in the cauldron echoing in the empty palace.

"Ding Zhen, come save me!" Bai Ze was overjoyed to see You Su appear and cried out urgently, his voice filled with fear and anticipation.

You Su simply walked forward slowly, his eyes cold. He did not immediately rescue Bai Ze as Bai Ze had wished. When he got closer, his gaze was piercing, staring intently at Bai Ze, his voice so cold it seemed to pierce through an ice wall. "Tell me, why did you act out and cooperate with him to trick me?"

Upon hearing this, a flicker of panic crossed Bai Ze's eyes, but he still forced himself to remain calm and protested, "I... I didn't! Why would I lie to you? I was really scared just now, I thought I was going to die!"

You Su couldn't bear Bai Ze's persistent self-defense. He could tell that Bai Ze wasn't deliberately lying to him; it was genuinely afraid. Or rather, this simple-minded cat was simply incapable of deceiving him.

You Su frowned, pacing back and forth, his ice boots striking the ground with a crisp sound that echoed in the empty ice palace.

The hall was chillingly cold; You Su's breath condensed into white mist. He finally sighed and said to Bai Ze:

"I don't suspect you colluded with him, but after seeing this pot of boiling oil with my own eyes, I realized I'd really been tricked."

Bai Ze was suspended above the oil fryer, squirming restlessly. The ropes creaked and groaned as it looked pitifully at You Su, its eyes filled with grievance and pleading. "Ding Zhen, what are you saying? I don't understand..." It sniffed, its tail swaying unconsciously.

You Su pointed to the boiling oil pot and said in a serious tone, "Northern Ao Continent is covered in ice and snow, and the temperature is extremely low. This ice palace is even more frigid, with howling winds. It's very difficult for the oil pot to boil here."

He paused, then continued, "The reason it boils must be because something was added to it, reducing the amount of heat needed to boil."

You Su spoke, he pulled out Bai Ze's tail, which had accidentally fallen into the oil pot earlier, and saw that it was indeed intact, with nothing left except for a little oil stain. The icy ground was so smooth that it reflected clearly the pure white fur on Bai Ze's tail, without a trace of char.

To further verify his hypothesis, You Su actually put his hand directly into the boiling oil.

As expected, he only felt a slight burning sensation, far less intense than the instant burn from boiling oil. Under Bai Ze's shocked gaze, he slowly withdrew his hand and casually wiped it on the hem of his clothes. The hem was stained with a little oil, but there were no signs of being burned by the high temperature.

Upon seeing this, Bai Ze's eyes widened, and he finally understood, muttering to himself, "So... she was just trying to scare me..."

Its heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally seemed to relax, and it breathed a long sigh of relief. Even though it was still hanging, it was no longer so afraid.

You Su, however, keenly caught a word in Bai Ze's words. He suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp as a hawk's as he stared at Bai Ze, and quickly questioned him:

"'Her'? You know the person behind the mirror?"

Bai Ze was stunned. It hadn't expected that its slip of the tongue would be used against it by You Su. It blinked nervously, its eyes darting around, and it stammered, unable to speak.

It subconsciously licked its lips, its eyes darting around, not daring to meet You Su's gaze. Inside the ice palace, the two remained locked in a stalemate, the air seemingly frozen.

It seemed to be weighing something in its mind. All the things You Su had done for it just now resurfaced in its mind, forming a stark contrast with the actions of the person behind the mirror. It finally made up its mind and said:

"She told me not to say... but... but I want to tell you."

You Su's eyes widened slightly, and her heart softened.

"She's my friend..." Bai Ze's voice was barely audible.

"Friend...?" You Su was still somewhat puzzled, then immediately stared in disbelief, "You mean that person is the Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace?!"

Bai Ze was still pitifully hanging there, and could only nod sadly upon hearing this. Both sides were its friends, so it's no wonder it was in such a dilemma.

You Su was still in shock, never expecting that she would come to him before he could even approach her.

Without further hesitation, You Su quickly rescued Bai Ze. Bai Ze nestled pitifully in You Su's arms, his expression more forlorn than ever before.

You Su pursed her lips, a hint of anger rising in her eyes towards the Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace. Bai Ze trusted her so much, yet she used Bai Ze as a hostage to interrogate him.

You Su finally understood why that person had appeared in front of Bai Ze and knocked him unconscious, without Bai Ze warning him. Bai Ze was so engrossed in the joy of reuniting with his old friend that he had no idea that his old friend had come to capture his new friend.

Feeling You Su's gentle comfort, Bai Ze's eyes welled up with tears. He rubbed against You Su's chest, sobbing uncontrollably, "I'm sorry... it's all my fault. She lied to me. She's not my friend... I shouldn't have come to Shenshan to find her, sob sob..."

You Su hugged it tighter. "It's alright, I'm still here."

His tone was soft, yet reassuring.

"Um..."

"I don't know anything about the Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace. Tell me how you met her."

Bai Ze paused for a moment, then shifted into a more comfortable position in You Su's arms before asking in return:

Why do you want to know this?

"To deal with an enemy, it's important to figure out who she is. You've had more contact with her, so naturally I need to know more about her. Otherwise, how can I get you out of here?"

"Oh..." Bai Ze seemed to accept this reason. It shook its head as if recalling something, before slowly beginning its story.

The towering Azure Mountain, covered in snow year-round, is a sacred mountain in the hearts of many cultivators in the Northern Ao Continent.

Bai Ze was mischievous by nature. Relying on his talent to hide in the wind and snow, he often played tricks on those who came with devout hearts. Bai Ze found endless amusement in watching them make fools of themselves in their panic.

One day, as usual, Bai Ze prepared to play a trick on an old man who came to pray for blessings. It used its Law Technique to instantly turn the path under the old man's feet into a smooth ice surface. The old man did not expect this change, slipped, and fell towards the edge of the cliff.

At the critical moment, a flash of blue light appeared, and a peerless female immortal appeared. With a wave of her long sleeves, she steadily supported the old man and safely returned him to the ground.

Bai Ze realized he had gone too far and tried to escape quickly, not wanting to be captured by this powerful woman. However, the female immortal was the palace master of the Dragon Seeing Palace, and possessed great strength, easily capturing Bai Ze.

It turns out that she came to investigate the strange events that had recently occurred on the sacred mountain. Now she realizes that the Azure Mountain truly has a spirit, albeit an evil one that frequently causes trouble.

Bai Ze was naturally unwilling to Qi Ingestion, Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace punished it by making it follow her in cultivation. Cultivation was tedious and boring, and Bai Ze, as the spirit of Azure Mountain, could endure such arduous sitting and cultivation. However, seeing the woman's majestic figure freely moving through the wind and snow to save others, it was extremely envious and finally gave in, following behind her day and night.

Praying at Azure Mountain only brings peace of mind and has no real effect. However, some people blamed the sacred mountain for the deaths of their relatives and friends in the snowfield, and offered poisonous sacrifices. Bai Ze accidentally ate them and was in critical condition. It was only Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace's help in finding medicine and taking good care of him that Bai Ze was out of danger.

It was because of this incident that Bai Ze resolved to curb his mischievous nature, become a true god of Azure Mountain, and protect the people in the snowstorm.

In his spare time, Bai Ze Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace sharing her experiences in the human world with him, and Bai Ze listened with fascination. It was from her that Bai Ze learned that there were so many powerful black rocks on the beach, guarding the safety of all living beings on the five continents. That's why Bai Ze was so determined to protect the Divine Radiance Stone, because he aspired to become such a stone himself.

As Bai Ze gently recounted the heartwarming story, You Su's expression turned solemn, a dark glint flashing in his Ink Eyes.

I've been in terrible shape these past couple of days, and I have absolutely no clue how to write. I hope I can recharge over the New Year's holiday. Sorry about that.