Elsewhere.
Before a wall of energy that seemed to pour down from the farthest reaches of the sky, a brilliant silver radiance spread thickly through the air. A sinister chill raged unchecked, driving the surrounding temperature to an extreme low. The energy between heaven and earth surged like a wild tide, as though something terrifying were brewing at its center.
At the edge of that energy tide, a graceful figure stood in midair. She held a longsword wreathed in starlight, her exquisite face ice-cold as her sharp gaze swept her surroundings. Vast Dou Qi circulated furiously within her, as though she were guarding the heart of that silver radiance.
This was Xingxiu, standing guard while Hun Changqing made his breakthrough. At a time like this, anyone who dared enter the range of her senses would face a savage assault like a thunderstorm.
The silver Yin Qi continued howling across the sky for another hour or so before finally subsiding. It gradually dispersed, revealing Hun Changqing in his black robe at its center.
Hun Changqing slowly opened the eyes hidden in the shadow of his hood. Within those deep, dark, abyss-like eyes, a chilling gleam that seemed capable of freezing a person's very soul rippled as though it had substance.
"Hah!"
He exhaled at length, sending a breath of icy air from his mouth onto a boulder before him. In an instant, the Extreme Yin Qi corroded the boulder, turning it pitch-black. Then, with a shudder, it crumbled into dust and dispersed between heaven and earth.
Hun Changqing looked briefly taken aback. He had merely breathed out that Yin Qi, yet its power had genuinely surprised him. He then raised a hand and pushed lightly against the empty air before him. As his palm moved, even space developed fine cracks. A