The Third Holy Son laughed heartily. "Well said! Brother Xiong, I've always admired your temperament. You're right: he's only Wang Qianqiu. Even if he's come into an opportunity, neither of us has wasted these past twenty years. I'm planning to enter seclusion as well. I swear I won't leave until I've mastered the inherited secret art."
As he spoke, he handed over a Sumeru Ring, which held more than a hundred bottles of Jade King Nectar.
Xiong Bei Ming accepted the Sumeru Ring, clasped his hands to the two men, then shot skyward and departed.
"I won't impose on you any longer, Brother Kong. I emerged from decades of seclusion expecting to dominate the world, only to encounter you and Brother Xiong first, and then Wang Qianqiu. Heroes rise one after another beneath the heavens. This truly is a great age, and I, Zuo An, will not let it pass me by."
With that, Zuo An drifted away.
The Third Holy Son's expression turned cold in an instant. Staring at the distant purple vault of heaven, he clenched his fists and murmured, "Wang Qianqiu, I truly look forward to our reunion."
In the Western Extreme Ice Sea, in the Green Demon World, there stood a palace. It was built on the very spot where, years ago, after Xu Yi had accompanied Ask Immortal Pavilion in a battle against the other two merchant guilds, the profound ice of the West Pole Land had cracked, and a green hand had emerged not long afterward.
The palace was magnificent, carved entirely from ice jade and brimming with spiritual energy.
The entire ice palace floated on the surface of the sea rather than sinking beneath it.
For a thousand miles in every direction, the land was white as snow. The ice palace, too,