Ice River Valley, collapse

The Ice Venerable of Ice River Valley? What's he doing here?

They even got into a fight with other people. Were those people other high-ranking Elders from Ice River Valley?

So... who were the people who fought with them?

Gu Ling concealed his aura for the time being, not revealing it immediately.

Something's not right. Why is the Ice Venerable engaging in a fierce battle with this person within Shuocheng?

The Ice Venerable's powerful Ice Attribute Dou Qi altered the surrounding weather. The entire Shuocheng and its surrounding areas were now blanketed in heavy snow, creating a scene of icy desolation. However, the center of the battle remained unaffected, as a dazzling flame burned there.

Is it Heavenly Flames...? But there's no record of such a flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Gu Ling observed carefully, searching her memory for a moment, but found that she had no information about this Heavenly Flames.

First of all, the color doesn't match any kind of Heavenly Flames; this somewhat eerie grayish- Pink color shouldn't appear on flames in the first place.

As Yao Chen's best friend, Gu Ling has a deep understanding of the various Heavenly Flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, and even his current name comes from the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.

What's the deal with the person fighting the Ice Venerable? He's dressed in White Robe with white hair, wielding a strange-looking flame. (Central Plains)

I don't think I've ever heard of this powerful figure before... Wait, the body he's holding in his hand is already lifeless. Could it be...? Gu Ling's eyes widened in horror.

That was Tian Shuangzi, the Great Elder of Ice River Valley, who was also Dou Zun expert!

Although he is only a one-star cultivator and has only recently broken through to the next level, he is indeed a genuine Dou Zun!

Now, this Dou Zun expert, who enjoyed a prestigious reputation in the Eastern Region of the Central Plains, had his corpse swaying back and forth like a piece of dried meat, his head being pinched, a truly pitiful sight.

Gu Ling involuntarily felt a chill run down her spine—such ruthless methods! In a clash between Dou Zun- level forces, even if one could defeat the other's Dou Zun Dou Zun, they would generally not kill him. Dou Zun expert are the foundation for establishing a foothold in Central Plains. Killing Dou Zun is equivalent to severing the opponent's foundation, which would definitely provoke a desperate counterattack, just like the current Ice Venerable Bing He!

Bing He no longer cared about the consumption of his internal Dou Qi. He didn't even care whether releasing Poison Dou Qi so recklessly would affect his foundation. All he wanted was for Sun Buxiao!

Sun Buxiao collected Tian Shuangzi's corpse, grasped Tian Shuangzi's Storage Ring in his hand, and began a retreating stance while fighting, a cruel smile on his lips.

"Hahahaha-- Ice River Valley, you want to kill me, devour me, and complete your Woeful Poison Body at that moment, is that it?"

Didn't you expect this outcome?

"He who kills will be killed in return—after all these years in Central Plains, I thought this principle was already ingrained in your mind. I never expected you to be so naive!"

The Netherworld Heart-Burning Flame, imbued with Soul Power, protected Sun Buxiao's body, resisting the Bing He's attacks and buying Sun Buxiao time to recover his Dou Qi and Soul Power.

Sun Buxiao has expended a great deal of energy so far. Apart from the life-or-death gamble with the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast, this crisis is the most significant.

Controlling the Netherworld Heart-Burning Flame already consumes a lot of Dou Qi, not to mention that Sun Buxiao has been continuously unleashing various Earth Tier Dou Technique and has also released his Innate Soul Lock once. He brought his hand to his mouth, and the Seventh Grade Instant Qi Pill he obtained from the Auction appeared. Sun Buxiao swallowed it in one gulp, and his Dou Qi quickly recovered.

This person exudes a strange aura... Clearly, in terms of cultivation level, he's only close to the Peak Dou Zong, yet he managed to fight two opponents single-handedly, killing Tian Shuangzi and even putting up a good fight with Bing He... Just who is he? And how did Ice River Valley manage to provoke such a ruthless individual?

Gu Ling watched from afar, her heart pounding with fear. It had been several years since Dou Zun had appeared in the entire Central Plains in a direct battle. After all, Dou Zun was considered a giant, a pillar of strength for a Major Forces.

A major earthquake is about to strike the Eastern Region of the Central Plains... Ice River Valley is considered one of the more arrogant and domineering forces among the Major Forces. Relying on the strength of its two Dou Zun, it has often flaunted its power in the Eastern Region. Now that one Dou Zun has died, it will definitely have to spit out a large amount of resources.

The loss of territory and resources is the least likely to be incurred.

He could sense that, besides himself, there were several other auras in Shuocheng watching the situation on the battlefield, but none of them were particularly strong; they were probably just scouts at the Dou Zong Dou Emperor Level... The Major Forces in Central Plains were a mixed bag, with countless open and covert struggles, which was quite normal.

Forget it, whatever Ice Venerable's plans are none of my business. The Starfall Pavilion's sphere of influence is in the Southern Region of Central Plains. No matter how chaotic things are in the Eastern Region, they won't affect the South. Besides, I'm not here to watch the Ice River Valley Masters fight; I'm here to find someone.

Thinking of this, Gu Ling picked up the Jade Slip in her hand and carefully sensed it.

That Soul Power was pointing to...

He raised his head.

In the sky?

Gu Ling dropped open.

Not a buddy.

This soul aura—it actually belongs to that guy who fought with the Valley Master of Ice River Valley!?

I'll just forget about it!

Gu Ling made her decision in a second.

No matter who this guy is, where he comes from, or what caused his conflict with the Ice Venerable —I have to protect him!

It wasn't for any other reason than that this person Sun Buxiao might have information about Yao Chen!

Thinking of this, Gu Ling no longer concealed his immense aura as a Four-Star Dou Zun. In an instant, a fierce wind arose in Shuocheng, and a violent storm mixed with the heavy snow.

"Bing He! Stop right there!!!"

With a loud shout, Gu Ling appeared as if teleporting between Sun Buxiao and Bing He, gathering a storm in his hand and colliding with Bing He's attack.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!

The two powerful Dou Qi canceled each other out, transforming into part of the "natural disaster" in Shuocheng.

Sun Buxiao was still fighting and retreating, was stunned for a moment.

Venerable Feng Gu Ling? When did he arrive?

His attention was entirely focused on the Bing He, and he paid no attention to anything outside the battlefield.

Xiao Yi Xian and Zi Yan also temporarily stopped their attack, ceasing their pursuit of the powerful figures from Ice River Valley who had suddenly entered the battlefield.

A Dou Zun is clearly not an existence that can be ignored.

Is he an ally or an enemy?

What impact will this have on the battle against Buxiao?

However, judging from that last sentence... they must be allies?

"You're... Gu Ling from the Starfall Pavilion?"

Having realized the man's identity, even though Bing He was in a fit of rage, he had no choice but to temporarily halt his attack.

"This matter has nothing to do with your Starfall Pavilion, why are you meddling in it!"

"Aren't you afraid that your Starfall Pavilion itself will be in danger?"

As he spoke, he once again gathered Ice Venerable Force mixed with Poison Dou Qi in his hand, as if he were about to reorganize his offensive in the next second.

"I'm sorry, Ice Venerable, but this person is of great use to my Starfall Pavilion. Please give me face and let him go."

Gu Ling frowned slightly, glanced back at Sun Buxiao who was still in a daze, sighed, and spoke to Bing He under pressure.

The various factions watching the battle couldn't help but discuss it amongst themselves.

Everyone was somewhat puzzled... why Starfall Pavilion would step forward in such an event.

It's now clear that the Ice Venerable is no longer able to stop them.

"Give you face? What face do you have?"

Upon hearing Gu Ling's words, Bing He couldn't help but laugh in anger.

"I'm giving you a chance now. Get out of this battlefield, and I'll let bygones be bygones. But if you insist on protecting this person, I, Bing He, swear—I will lead my Ice River Valley to raze your Starfall Pavilion to the ground!!!"

Whether he was truly enraged to the point of losing his temper, or whether the Poison Dou Qi had invaded his brain, Bing He actually uttered these words, which could be considered a direct declaration of war.

Gu Ling's pupils contracted sharply, and her expression quickly turned cold.

"It seems that the Ice Venerable is unwilling to give Gu Ling this face."

He raised his hands, and two Azure winds appeared in them.

Tensions have risen between the two sides.

"When the strong clash, it's a matter of you killing me and me killing you."

"And to be frank, I didn't provoke you in the first place. You came looking for trouble and I killed you instead, and now you think I'm the most heinous criminal? Screw you!"

Sun Buxiao, his body wreathed in Netherworld Heart-Burning Flame, flew to Gu Ling's side.

"It seems you've already received my message, Venerable Feng?"

Gu Ling glanced at him and nodded silently.

To be honest, he had absolutely no idea about this person's background, and as the current Pavilion Master of the Starfall Pavilion, he didn't want to see things escalate into a full-blown conflict with Ice River Valley by blocking his way.

But since Bing He has already said that, he can't back down easily.

"Yao Lao is still alive."

Sun Buxiao turned his gaze back to Bing He and said those words—making sure that only Gu Ling could hear them.

Gu Ling's body trembled violently.

... Um."

He nodded.

He's still alive... he's still alive.

It's good to be alive, just being alive is good.

As long as you're alive... there's no problem.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! I'm going to kill both of you today, and then I'll wipe out the Starfall Pavilion!!!"

Bing He roared angrily, then took out some kind of Pills and swallowed it in one gulp. His Ice Venerable Force began to circulate wildly throughout his body, and his aura rapidly increased, gradually rising from the level of Five-Star Dou Zun to even reaching the level of Eight-Star Dou Zun.

It's Secret Art that burns life force! This guy's really going all out!

Gu Ling's expression, which had eased slightly upon hearing the news that Yao Chen was alive, immediately turned grim and serious again.

He truly hadn't expected Bing He to fight so desperately.

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

From the moment Sun Buxiao killed Tian Shuangzi, the two sides entered a state of irreconcilable enmity.

"I've almost recovered... Venerable Feng, I'm sorry to have dragged you into this, but what do you think now?"

Sun Buxiao exhaled a breath of stale air, calculating the current influence of his soul.

"If it must end in death for one side, then let's fight."

Gu Ling appeared quite carefree.

Things have gotten out of his control, what should he do?

Then let's find a way to get things back under control!

He's coming!

Gu Ling combined the Azure whirlwinds in her hands into one and pushed it towards the Bing He.

Bing He was enveloped in terrifying battle Dou Qi of dark green and ice white. As it charged forward, it tore through Gu Ling's storm, roared, and condensed a long sword from the cold air, slashing straight at Sun Buxiao.

With a cold expression, Gu Ling condensed a layer of wind around himself and stood in front of Sun Buxiao.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sun Buxiao quickly flashed behind Bing He, spat out a gray- Pink phoenix, and instead of kicking it, he grabbed the phoenix and slammed it at Bing He.

A buzzing ice shield appeared, blocking Sun Buxiao's attack. At the same time, several ice thorns appeared out of thin air, frantically stabbing at him from different angles.

Pfft

Sun Buxiao dodge in time and was stabbed in the arm. He had no choice but to release the phoenix and let the ice shield withstand the phoenix's damage.

Bing He's strength has increased dramatically since then... Both his attack and defense are now on a completely different level!

However... Sun Buxiao wasn't truly without means to break through Bing He's defenses.

"Venerable Feng, buy me ten minutes!"

Sun Buxiao at his Netherworld Heart-Burning Flame and shouted at Gu Ling.

"In ten minutes, I can make this guy die!"

The seed of Heart Flame was sown in the recent exchange, and the rage has already begun to manifest.

This is why the Bing He reacted so violently just now.

There are still ten minutes until the soul of the Bing He is completely ignited.

It's indeed a bit difficult for Dou Zun's soul to burn easily... but it's alright.

It's not that you can't burn it.

66

Okay!

Although he didn't know what Sun Buxiao was planning to do, Gu Ling couldn't care less about that now. Bing He's attack, which was now at the level of an Eight-Star Dou Zun, was really terrifying, and he was having a very hard time defending against it.

The original Bing He could still be considered refined and gentle, but now Bing He's eyes were bloodshot, and he had lost his mind. He didn't care whether the person in front of him was Sun Buxiao or Gu Ling, and just attacked wildly.

The Shuocheng below was covered with a thick layer of snow, and the temperature had dropped by nearly ten degrees.

"What exactly happened? Could it be the influence of the Unsmiling Heavenly Flames?"

Together, Xiao Yi Xian and Zi Yan had almost finished off the Dou Zong Dou Emperor of Ice River Valley. Tian She was directly beaten to death under their attacks. Of the remaining Dou Zong, two chose to forcefully break through the Poison Veil woven by Xiao Yi Xian and escape, while two others were also killed. The last one was still fighting with Ya Ren.

The two who ran away weren't necessarily letting them go; they were simply too overwhelmed to manage them.

As for those Dou Emperors, they have become speed bumps in the conflicts at the Dou Zun level.

"What do we do now? Is there anything we can do to help?"

Zi Yan looked exhausted, but she still flew to Xiao Yi Xian's side and asked her.

Although Zi Yan is actually much older than Xiao Yi Xian, she is indeed less mature than Xiao Yi Xian in handling many things.

So Zi Yan now views Xiao Yi Xian more as... an older sister?

This is also true in everyday interactions.

"Anyway, let's prevent him from escaping first."

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian gave her opinion.

Judging from this, the other party doesn't seem to really want to escape.

Zi Yan nodded and punched the space, sealing off the surrounding area. Xiao Yi Xian also raised her hand and released a dense Poison Veil to prevent Bing He from leaving.

Subsequent events proved that the two of them were indeed overthinking things.

Bing He didn't even consider escaping; he just kept attacking.

Sun Buxiao Venerable Feng took turns enduring the damage from the Bing He.

Gu Ling clearly sensed that something was wrong.

"You caused his mood?"

He asked Sun Buxiao a loud question.

Sun Buxiao strangely and nodded.

Is it a problem with the flame?

After glancing at the grayish- Pink flames as they drew closer, Gu Ling finally confirmed that it was indeed a Heavenly Flames.

It's unclear whether it's a new type of Heavenly Flames not recorded on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, or something else... Fused Heavenly Flame or something like that.

The dangers of Fused Heavenly Flame... is it really possible to fuse them together?

That's about enough!

"Bing He, today is your death day!!!"

After struggling together with Venerable Feng for more than ten minutes, Sun Buxiao finally managed to sense a distinct aura of Heart Flame from Bing He. He roared and then fiercely grabbed towards Bing He.

What?"

Bing He was momentarily stunned.

The sensation of burning came over me.

But -- it's not from outside the body.

This burning sensation—is it released from within!?

Me, inside my body!?

"Ughhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

The screams were deafening.

The once fierce attack collapsed instantly, Bing He let out a painful cry that echoed throughout the entire Shuocheng —even though there were clearly no flames on his body.

"Now!"

Sun Buxiao loudly reminded Venerable Feng, then unleashed his speed and charged towards Bing He.

Gu Ling realized that this was an excellent opportunity, and swung out her rapier, creating a howling wind.

"You—you Bing He struggle desperately, as if you still want to put up a final resistance."

However, the raging flames burning within his body prevented him from even regulating his internal Dou Qi —moreover, the power unleashed by the Secret Art was now beginning to backfire, causing him excruciating pain throughout his limbs and bones!

Am I going to perish here?

No, no, no!

"I can't die here, I can't!"

He let out a low growl, still plotting his famous counterattack.

But "it's not up to you!"

Sun Buxiao Venerable Feng launched their attacks simultaneously.

Pfft

Two symmetrical large holes appeared on the Bing He's chest.

66

Pfft!