In a towering rage, he wheeled around to fight. Two friends of similar age, with similar paths ahead, fought to the death at that moment, but after only four exchanges, Qu Zhu coldly drove his sword into his chest once again. At the same time, a chill whisper of wind stopped abruptly behind him. Sui Zaihua's heart clenched, and an icy palm had already pressed against the center of his back.
His skin broke like a flimsy bubble. Blood soaked through his clothes in an instant. Sui Zaihua staggered two steps, his mouth open, and collapsed soundlessly like a tattered sack.
"You survived even that?"
"I entered the Profound Gate."
"..."
Sui Zaihua lowered his head and smiled. "That truly felt like standing astride both banks of the Yellow Springs. They left with everything. During that hour, I felt myself growing stronger, dying, and freezing all at once."
"In the end, I was lucky enough to seize that wisp of Profound Qi first, and fortunately, the meridians around my heart hadn't completely collapsed," Sui Zaihua said. "That was how I clung to life."
"I remember that unsolved case caused quite a stir," Wu Dong said. "The prefectural authorities couldn't find the real culprit, and neither the Immortal Platform nor Kongtong found many clues. Back then, the Joy-in-Death Tower was still hidden deep beneath the water."
"Yes," Sui Zaihua said. "I couldn't stay there and slowly freeze to death. I found some hibernating creatures and drank some warm blood... I kept passing out and waking again. Eventually, a hunter's family took me home and nursed me for half a month. I had finally survived."
The old man continued, "Once I could more or less move, I returned to the valley, but the avalanche had buried everything. I didn't return to the