When they entered the lands of the distant, frozen north, Zhu Xuelian could instantly tell why a sect would want to grow its roots here.

  A very formidable and sharp ice energy greeted her. It was very similar to the one she felt in the Perilous Sword Valley, and this convinced Zhu Xuelian that the valley in question truly was somewhere in the north of the continent.

  The demonic beasts in this place were also far more intelligent than anywhere else. The Sky Continent's common wisdom warned thus about demonic beasts: Demonic beasts cultivate their bodies first and their qi second. Therefore, a Core Formation beast was not the equivalent of a Core Formation cultivator but much stronger.

  However, the common wisdom of the Sky Continent also viewed demonic beasts in an unfavorable light. They did not practice any martial arts, and all that power of their bodies was for nothing if they ever crossed paths with even a cultivator of a lower realm, who had a solid understanding of martial arts.

  The demonic beasts in the Perilous Sword Valley did practice martial arts, and some even gained a glimpse into the Sword Law. While flying over the beasts of the north continent, Zhu Xuelian also felt a similar level of intelligence and consciousness from the beasts below.

  The frozen north truly was a place of wonders, and there was not one corner of it that was not unexplored. Besides Snow City, there was no permanent settlement in this area of the continent, and no one dared to tread carelessly off the charted paths that navigated the heart of the frozen wasteland.

  Charted did not mean that there were signs or any sort of indication of which way to go, but merely the understanding that entering the areas where the qi was densest would be a mistake for most cultivators, as that is where most of the beasts resided.

  Though this group of eleven cultivators could likely kill thousands of demonic beasts, it wasn’t something they could conceivably accomplish after flying for nearly an entire week, with only one stop to rest. Even they knew that if they got involved in battle now, the next battle would not go in their favor. Even if the battles did go in their favor, somehow, there was no guarantee that they would have enough essential qi left to keep their bodies warm and prevent freezing to death.

  The frozen north was that kind of place.

  Even with qi, the cold was unbearable, and Zhu Xuelian was grateful for Mu Jingyu’s outfit, which had innate properties to keep her warm — or cold, in hotter climates. It was still only barely enough to keep her from shivering uncontrollably.

  “We are almost there, Xuelian,” Mu Jingyu said, flying closer to Zhu Xuelian and covering her friend with her cloak, huddling together.

  Mu Jingyu and Wu Yulan had such pure ice roots that they couldn’t tell the difference between this frozen wasteland and a tropical spa. The others also didn’t experience the cold as harshly as Zhu Xuelian, as their fire roots were not as pure.

  The one who seemed the least affected, and seemed to be enjoying it, was Yun Fei. Though this wasn’t obvious in Yun Fei’s appearance, Zhu Xuelian was familiar with her special circumstances. In order to save her life, Yaoyue refined Yun Fei’s body like it was a cauldron of toxic pills; this was the only way Yaoyue could prolong her life due to the Yin poison in her body.

  As a result, Yun Fei became a unique existence among mortals, with a pure Yin body. Since ice and snow were also related to the Yin attribute, to Yun Fei, being in a cold place like this, it must’ve felt like standing in warm sunlight.

  “Thank you, Jingyu,” Zhu Xuelian whispered, slightly embarrassed by her lack of cold tolerance.

  Yun Fei also flew over and tossed her cloak over Zhu Xuelian’s shoulders.

  “Please, take this, sister Zhu,” she said. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

  Zhu Xuelian smiled. “Thank you, Fei,” she said, glad that Yun Fei didn’t seem to avoid her for once.

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  Mu Jingyu’s words turned out to be correct.

  A few hours later, a glacial mountain rose above the snow-covered treetops, and the Frozen Peak Palace was built into its side as if a giant sword had hollowed out the glacier to make room for the sect’s many buildings.

  The rumor that it was a fortress was well earned, as it was covered by glacial walls on all sides, and only the gold-clad entrance gate permitted entry into courtyards and palaces beyond.

  Nearly a kilometer from the sect, an Ark hovered in the sky.

  Zhu Xuelian immediately recognized the symbols and words painted on the Ark’s sides.

  “It’s the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion!” Zhu Xuelian shouted excitedly and even sped up a bit.

  Mu Jingyu smiled. “They came to join forces with the Frozen Peak Palace?”

  An excited and hopeful atmosphere descended on the eleven cultivators as they hurried toward the Ark.

  However, Lei Yangming wore a complicated expression.

  “Xuelian, why are you slowing down?” Ren Jinhai asked.

  They all came to a stop when Zhu Xuelian did.

  “Why are they here?” Lei Yangming asked.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Zhu Xuelian said.

  “To join forces with the Frozen Peak Palace,” Yuan Qiuyue said. “Neither of us can fight the True Sun Kingdom on our own! The elders are wise!”

  Mu Jingyu’s expression darkened, and the excitement and hope slowly began to evaporate.

  “Right now, the True Sun Kingdom should be heading toward the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion to conquer it,” Zhu Xuelian said. “So why is the Ark, the crucial piece of their defensive strategy, here?”

  Lei Yangming closed his eyes. He had been thinking the same thing from the moment he saw the Ark. The others began to realize this crucial point as well.

  There was a reason they chose to come here, instead of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion. Though the Frozen Peak Palace was weaker, the extreme cold of the north posed considerable challenges in a siege scenario. Furthermore, the Frozen Peak Palace was known as an impenetrable fortress.

  The True Sun Kingdom did not even need to conquer the Frozen Peak Palace for dominion over the continent — the cultivators of the frozen north possessed great defensive abilities, but few offensive ones.

  In other words, the only sect the True Sun Kingdom had to defeat — provided they weren’t defeated already, and that the Seven Killing Swords sect was allied with the True Sun Kingdom — was the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion.

  “Maybe they realized they couldn’t fight the True Sun Kingdom and brought everything they had of value here in hopes of a future revival?” Tian Li asked.

  “Li, do you really think my sect would be capable of such a thing? Those rotten old men… who only think about themselves… do you think they know the meaning of the word sacrifice or cooperation?” Lei Yangming said.

  As if to answer Lei Yangming’s question, hundreds of cultivators appeared in the sky, launching from the Ark on their flying swords.

  “Those villains joined forces with the True Sun Kingdom!” Ren Jinhai spat out, disgusted. He already hated the True Sun Kingdom with all his guts, but he hated his former sect even more. Now, after seeing this, there was no comparison between which one he hated more.

  “Yangming, Liling, thoughts?” Zhu Xuelian asked.

  “We don’t have enough qi to flee, after flying for two days since our last rest. They will catch up to us,” Lei Yangming said.

  “I agree with Brother Lei,” Xiang Liling said.

  “Our best option is to break through and hope the Frozen Peak Palace lowers the barrier and lets us in,” Lei Yangming said.

  Zhu Xuelian considered the words of Lei Yangming and had come to a similar conclusion.

  “We could try to run into the uncharted territories, but I would rather take my chances with the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion,” Xiang Liling said.

  Zhu Xuelian nodded. “The two of you take command. We’ll break through.”

  It was a simple decision to make. Risking the uncharted territories was practically the same as rolling over and dying. If they did not even have confidence that they could escape, they had even less confidence that they could survive in the harsh wastelands of the north, especially if pursued by enemies in the back, and demonic beasts at the front.

  Zhu Xuelian threw the cloak off her back and handed it to Yun Fei.

  Her braids caught fire, and then her shoulders, and then the flames extended outward, forming a perfect halo of fire behind her, as her gold core churned through the mystic scriptures and laws of her Salvation Ashes. She took a deep breath, finally feeling a slight reprieve from the cold as the flames warmed her.

  “Yulan, Fei!” Zhu Xuelian called out as she leaned forward and accelerated at top speed toward the swarm of cultivators on the horizon. The two she called out immediately matched her speed and they formed a triangle formation, with Zhu Xuelian at the head.

  The three of them were already aware of the formation and battle tactics that the group used. They had a core of offensive specialists in Mu Jingyu and Tian Li, surrounded by the support and defense elements that the others formed. Adapting to this sort of formation, for quintessential heavy hitters like Zhu Xuelian, Yun Fei and Wu Yulan was a simple matter.

  Wu Yulan raised her sword, where a glint of sunlight caught the tip and emitted a piercing glare. Three blood-red blobs of smoky energy appeared around her sword and ignited with a pale blue flame.

  “Frozen Sword Art,” she whispered and closed her eyes. “Nine Apocalypse Arts — Extinguished Light.”

  Then she brought her sword down, and the landscape underwent a sudden and violent transformation.