"Clang—!"
A shrill sword cry rang out through the boundless night, amid wind, flowers, snow, and moonlight.
That sword cry did not come from Frostfall's blade, but from within Du Yulin's body.
Her bones rang, her blood rang, her soul rang. Everything resonated at the same frequency, merging as one with Frostfall's sword soul.
A person was the sword, and the sword was the person.
Du Yulin vanished.
No longer did a woman stand upon the long street, but a sword—
A sword bearing ten years of hatred, longing, and waiting. Her body became the sword's body, her arms became its blades, her will became its sword intent, and her soul became its sword soul.
Frostfall stirred up an icy gale, carrying Wang Xian's ten-thousand-year mystic ice power and turning the long street into the depths of winter.
Beginning beneath her feet, everything ahead was instantly frozen over.
Cold wind erupted from the sword tip like an awakened ancient ice dragon, exhaling a breath capable of freezing all things.
Ice spread from beneath her feet, so fast that it froze solid before any cracking sound could be made. The ice sheet swept forward, covering the entire street, the walls on both sides, the lanterns beneath the eaves, and the carved window lattices.
Everything was frozen.
Moonlight refracted across the ice, turning the entire long street into a crystal palace.
The ground beneath Daoist Wu's feet froze as well. His skeletal feet were trapped in the ice, and every movement tore away a layer of bone chips.
The deathly aura around Daoist Wu's spirit sword was shattered, and his Daoist robe fluttered in the wind.
The hellfire upon that sword, suppressed by the power of ten-thousand-year mystic ice, let out an unwilling hiss like a candle doused with water before going