A Woman Like a Stubborn Rock

A cold wind swirled snowflakes into the cave, You Su was thrown to the ground by the woman.

You Su, who was thrown around in a daze, was naturally full of resentment. Unfortunately, he was unable to move because of the Ice Armor Technique, and because he had cursed too fiercely all the way, the woman had ruthlessly silenced him. So he could only express his anger with a pair of fierce eyes, but ultimately he was somewhat powerless.

Icicles hung from the dome formed of ice crystals, and moonlight shone through the gaps onto the pale face of the Ganlong Venerable.

She ignored the indignant You Su, and upon entering the cave, she waved her hand, sealing the entrance with ice. Then, she walked to an ice-carved lotus platform, sat cross-legged, and immediately began to meditate, maintaining the solemnity of a superior, as if she were not the one who needed to meditate.

You Su thought she was arrogant, but she could also tell that she was very familiar with the place; this cave seemed to be her cave abode of rest.

The cave was completely silent, partly because You Su couldn't make a sound. But he didn't give up trying to break free of the ice armor, even though he knew it was futile. To his surprise, after several attempts, he discovered that the ice armor had developed tiny cracks!

He immediately realized that this was because Ganlong Venerable had fallen into a meditative state, thus loosening his grip on the Ice Armor Technique him. He quickly opened his mouth and made a few more "ah" sounds, and found that he could even make sounds normally. He was overjoyed, knowing that this was his once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape, so he began to carefully break the ice armor, trying not to disturb the nervous woman.

After tireless efforts, he successfully freed himself from his restraints. He lay on the ground, panting heavily for a while, before his stiff body could recover. He quietly got up and prepared to break through the ice used to block the door.

While chiseling away, he glanced back at the woman's condition, inwardly grumbling. Being taken hostage was bad enough, but why was he being dragged along while trying to escape?

The thought of being forced to separate from his senior sister, whom he had finally managed to reunite with, before they could even exchange a single word filled him with rage. With the Twelve Great Immortals attacking and his senior sister and Bai Ze assisting Ganlong Venerable, he knew that after their escape, they would undoubtedly become the Twelve Great Immortals' new targets. How could he not be worried?

Seeing that Ganlong Venerable remained seated and unresponsive, he grew increasingly anxious and began chiseling away without a care in the world. But with a thud, You Su turned around abruptly and discovered that the woman had fallen sideways onto the ice platform, her black hair disheveled on the ground.

Unable to even maintain his balance, he was clearly not in a seated position, but rather unconscious.

You Su frowned slightly, not letting go of this golden opportunity. He simply took out his Ink Pine Sword and slashed at the ice. In a few strokes, he cut a gap in the ice wall, and the biting cold wind quickly rushed in.

You Su couldn't help but shiver. Before leaving, she looked back one last time and saw the cold wind blowing the disheveled hair of the Ganlong Venerable behind her head, revealing her fairy face that had been ranked first on the Heavenly Immortal Ranking.

You Su's pupils widened slightly as she saw that this usually arrogant face now revealed a hint of vulnerability, like glass.

"Serves you right."

He cursed under his breath, then without further hesitation, crouched down and crawled out of the gap.

The mountains are high and the roads are long; the world is a gray expanse.

You Su shook her leg and started walking, following her memory of how she came.

Inside the ice cave, Ganlong Venerable remained lying on the ice platform, completely unaware of You Su's departure. Her complexion was not good; despite the bone-chilling cold surrounding her, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

In a daze, a flickering flame illuminated her profile. The unique, deep features of the people of the Northern Ao Continent were outlined in large shadows by the firelight, making her even more breathtakingly beautiful.

You Su, who had returned, gathered a stack of firewood, lit a fire in the cave, and also moved a large stone to block the drafty opening.

He walked up to the most beautiful and noble woman in the Northern Ao Continent, cursing and swearing. He twirled the Ink Pine Sword in his palm—upholding his principle of vengefulness, he should stab this madwoman through the heart, because this woman had once tried to kill him.

But his sword remained only on the woman's long dress embroidered with dragons, without continuing to stab her.

He certainly couldn't kill the woman, nor could he watch her die.

Because only she could shut down those Sea Well that continuously spewed forth Evil Tide, it could be said that if the entire Northern Ao Continent was to be saved, she was the one who absolutely could not die.

You Su pursed her lips, and a flash of sword light appeared, drawing a silver streak in the ice cave.

The robe of the Ganlong Venerable tore open with a snap, and a piece of her garment fell onto the ice platform, revealing most of her beautiful back.

When that snow-white back was exposed to the firelight, his breath caught in his throat—

When he was first struck by the beauty of Bai Ze's back, he wondered what kind of exquisite beauty the back of Ganlong Venerable, whom he had mistaken for Bai Ze's mother, must possess.

But after seeing it with his own eyes, he realized that his imagination was too narrow.

Her back was like mutton-fat jade bathed in moonlight, with a luminous glow flowing even between her skin. Words could not describe it; even You Su could not capture the natural beauty she possessed.

Even if this perfect harmony is disrupted.

The wound that ran from her right shoulder to her waist resembled a centipede, with the exposed flesh displaying an eerie deep blue hue, and spiderweb-like white patterns spreading around the wound.

This was likely the key reason she fell into a coma; despite being surrounded by the Twelve Great Immortals, she was still inevitably injured.

You Su noticed these dark blue things, which were visibly eroding her jade-like skin, a sight that made one gasp in shock.

This doesn't seem to be caused by Technique Method; it's more like a poison.

You Su could also see that the Twelve Great Immortals' moves were mainly focused on suppression and encirclement; otherwise, if they unleashed their full power, even Ganlong Venerable would have fought to the death. The fierce battle between the thirteen Void Glimpse Venerable would be dozens of times more intense than before, and it would likely affect not only the Divine Mountain but also the four cities outside the Void Plain.

Therefore, they did not want to kill Ganlong Venerable, or rather, they did not want to provoke her.

But... someone secretly poisoned it.

That person wanted this woman dead.

You Su could guess the answer with his toes: it must be Venerable Ningshuang, who had just experienced the pain of losing his son. With a son like that, the father would only get worse.

But finding the real culprit did nothing to cure the woman. You Su had never seen such a poison before, and didn't even know how much it would affect her or whether it would kill her.

His only way to save people seemed to be through his panacea, the blood of God. But that meant he would have to take this woman as his own.

How long do you want to watch?

The cold female voice startled You Su, making his fingertips tremble. He was just about to dig up some poison to test it on himself.

Ganlong Venerable opened her eyes at some point. She turned her head, her eyes shimmering with icy light. Even in such severe injuries, her disdainful posture remained as if she were looking down on ants.

"I'm not interested in old women."

You Su didn't stop. He deliberately tore the blood-stained fabric half an inch open and dug hard into her wound, his fingertips getting stained with dark blue.

Even the supreme female immortal at the Void Realm was screaming in pain.

"You're asking for it!"

The icy ice suddenly solidified into sharp spikes and pressed against his throat; the blood-stained fingertips of the Ganlong Venerable gripped his wrist. "I can kill you with a single thought!"

"Then leave your body to rot in the wilderness, watching helplessly as Bei'ao falls?" You Su advanced instead of retreating, letting the ice spikes pierce his skin. "I knew it was unreliable to entrust Bei'ao's safety to you. If I had known you would only vent your anger on me, I shouldn't have turned back. I shouldn't have trusted Bai Ze and traveled all this way to tell you the news. I'm the one who bothered you, waking you from your dream of achieving your great cause. If you want to kill, then kill. Northern Ao Continent won't make a difference with one more soul."

A spark crackled from the fire, and Ganlong Venerable caught a glimpse of the drafty hole in the wall.

He could have run away, but he didn't... Did he come back to save me? But I...

The ice spike shattered into dust before it touched the artery. She snorted coldly, withdrew her hand, and turned away.

"I don't need your help; I have my own way to detoxify." Her voice remained as arrogant as ever.

"That's perfect." You Su and simply sat further away to warm herself by the fire.

The two fell silent, and as they watched the woman's retreating figure, You Su sensed a hint of desolation.

Ultimately, this woman was also trying to rise to power in Bei Ao, but her obsession made her stubborn and self-willed. If it were him, he would probably find it even harder to believe that his centuries-old ideals had been used by someone else and ultimately turned into something unrecognizable.

The person who hated, felt the most pain, and regretted the most after learning the truth was this woman on the mountaintop.

But You Su had no intention of comforting her. After warming her up, she stood up and rubbed her hands together. "Since you can save yourself, then I'm leaving. My senior sister and Bai Ze are still on the sacred mountain. I have to go and save them."

"You can't go back," the woman said coldly.

You Su raised an eyebrow. "Why should I?"

"Firstly, you are only at the Water Condensation Realm. Trying to save them would be tantamount to courting death. There are plenty of people on the mountain who want the Heavenly Awakening Spiritual Light in your hands. Secondly, they don't need your help. Someone has activated the mountain's Mountain Protection Grand Formation, so those twelve people are no longer such a great threat."

"Mountain Protection Grand Formation? What's it for?" You Su had never heard of such a thing before, but he thought it made sense. After all, how could such Great God not have some means of self-protection?

"You were once the divine son of the Evil Warding Department, yet you haven't even read the <Book of Mountain Protection>?" The woman's tone was somewhat disdainful, as if You Su didn't even know this thing, and must be an ignorant and incompetent person.

"Grandma, how do you read 'I'm blind'?" You Su rolled her eyes.

It wasn't that You Su couldn't read, but everyone thought he was blind, so they wouldn't recommend books to him. Besides, no one would be foolish enough to attack the sacred mountain, so the so-called Mountain Protection Grand Formation on Mount Henggao wasn't common knowledge passed down by word of mouth.

However, Ganlong Venerable was still taken aback upon hearing this. She glanced back at the boy again, a rare hint of guilt appearing in her eyes. She even forgot about You Su calling her "Grandma" and patiently explained to him:

"The Mountain Protection Grand Formation is one of the most important means of protecting the sacred mountains, and all five sacred mountains possess this array. Once activated, the Mystic Qi surrounding the sacred mountain will be instantly drained, and for the next six hours, all perception of the Mystic Qi will be suppressed. Therefore, even if ten thousand immortals attack, they will not be able to harm the sacred mountain in the slightest during these six hours after the array is activated."

You Su was shocked after hearing this, only then realizing that there was such a heaven-defying Formation Technique that could block the perception of Mystic Qi on such a large scale. Presumably, the fact that the Twelve Great Immortals' moves were instantly neutralized was due to that formation.

"If others can't make a move, then even the people of Mount Shen can't make a move, right? What will happen after six hours?"

"There are defensive methods that can be used without human intervention."

You Su nodded slightly, knowing that the sacred mountain's ability to stand for five thousand years was indeed a testament to its profound history.

"Even if those twelve Venerables can't make a move, do you think my senior sister and Bai Ze can escape?"

"I can't escape, but at least my safety is guaranteed. The twelve Venerables were hesitant when they captured me, which shows they were also afraid of being completely exposed. But once the great formation is activated, everyone on the Divine Mountain will know what happened last night. If they want to explain, they can only smear me as someone who colluded with Evil Demon, but they would never dare to do that easily; that would just be a way to force me to back down."

"Because if they did that, everyone on Mount Shen would know that Evil Demon were roaming the distant mountains, and there would certainly be some among them who couldn't bear it. The conflict would escalate as a result, but they don't want their plans to be interrupted. So they won't do that lightly unless absolutely necessary." You Su continued, "But there are too many suspicious things about this battle. They will definitely realize that Bai Ze and Senior Sister are related to last night's battle, and they absolutely cannot let them be dealt with by those twelve Venerables."

Ganlong Venerable glanced at You Su again, a hint of approval flashing across his face, which was quickly replaced by worry.

"That's right. Their biggest weakness is that they themselves know this is inhumane, which is why they acted first and informed later, blocking the news until it was already a done deal."

"In that case, there are two ways to thwart their plan. First, let the people on Mount Shen who are kept in the dark realize their evil deeds; second, block the Sea Well as soon as possible so that this plan cannot be realized!" You Su finally saw hope, and his tone became somewhat excited.

Ganlong Venerable nodded slightly. "To minimize losses in time, we need to pursue two paths simultaneously. We'll leave the first path to them, and the second path is what we'll take."

You Su sensed something was off. "Why should I take this second path with you? Can't I go back and help them?"

Ganlong Venerable replied, "Your identity is inconvenient; it is not advisable for you to show yourself on the sacred mountain, otherwise it will only draw the conflict to you."

You Su thought to herself that her answer made sense; taking him away would not only protect them but also him. So, she asked curiously:

"You were so kind when you captured me, did you anticipate this?"

"Why do you think I captured you?" Ganlong Venerable asked indifferently.

"I was afraid you were furious because of the nasty insults I hurled at you, and you wanted to take revenge by holding me hostage. Later, when you were surrounded by others, if you really wanted to escape, you should have just thrown me away. But when you realized I hadn't said a single wrong word, you couldn't bear to see me die because of you, so you had no choice but to keep me hostage, and that's how we ended up here."

Ganlong Venerable's eyes flickered, and after a moment, he said calmly, "What you think is your business."

You Su twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that this woman was truly a stubborn, obnoxious rock.

The next instant, a sharp pain shot through his entire arm from his dark blue fingertips!