Chapter 616: The Ice Prison

The grand battle ended within a single day, playing out in its entirety before the eyes of the world. Such astonishing speed left many cultivators who had failed to reach Incense Burning Valley in time lamenting their misfortune.

Truly, no one had expected that the Flame Alliance, which still retained the heritage of a major sect, would be destroyed so swiftly. Few could believe it, especially when none of the other major sects had even deployed their main forces.

Yet as details of the Incense Burning Valley battle slowly spread from the cultivators who had fought there, people began to understand why it had ended so quickly. The Flame Alliance had failed to withstand the enemy head-on. Under the assault of tens of thousands, their defenses crumbled, and the collapse turned into a rout with no chance of resistance.

In this battle, the Flame Alliance's cultivators were almost entirely wiped out. From its three Golden Core elders down to thousands of Qi Refinement disciples, nearly all perished. Even Xiao Lian, the newly appointed sect leader, met a miserable end beneath the sword of Dan Yangzi from Green Pill Valley. Only a few managed to escape with their lives, but their numbers were so small that they posed no threat at all.

In the lively conversations of the rogue cultivators afterward, one name rose above all others—Luo Chen. It was he who had united the factions and formed the coalition that destroyed the Flame Alliance. It was he who, with his own hands, had slaughtered dozens of Initiates and altered the course of the battlefield. It was also he who had struck down Qin Tairan, the Flame Alliance's strongest cultivator, and secured the final victory. His fierce combat prowess was spoken of again and again by cultivators across the Jade Cauldron Domain.

The retelling did not stop there. People unearthed his battle record from earlier years and spoke of it with awe. As a mere Qi Refinement cultivator, he slew an Initiate. At the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, he fought four peers alone and dominated the banks of the Qinhua River without even using an enchanted treasure. At the sixth stage, he rampaged across the battlefield of Jilei Nine Mountain, drawing upon the Divine Transformation pocket world' heavenly thunder to slay an Adept from Flame Alliance, Di Wanyun. After advancing into the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he instantly slew several grand cultivators single-handedly outside Danxia Peak.

All of it culminated in the battle of Incense Burning Valley, where Luo Chen unleashed every means at his disposal and revealed all his trump cards. Not only were his fire arts overwhelmingly dominant, but his Physique Refinement techniques also surpassed his realm, allowing him to clash head-on with Adepts. Such achievements, once uncovered and compiled by interested parties, spread like wildfire to every gathering place of cultivators across the Jade Cauldron Domain.

The Seven—or rather, now, the Six Sects of the Jade Cauldron, the great first-rate factions, the ten immortal cities, and countless markets all buzzed with discussion. In nearly every place where cultivators gathered, conversations about Luo Chen's deeds could be heard. The reason for this commotion was not difficult to grasp.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Tales of the weak defeating the strong and battles fought across realms had always been the favorite stories among the low-tier cultivators. These men and women, who made up the largest portion of the cultivation world, lived with poor talent and scarce resources. Many struggled through half a lifetime of hardship only to discover they could achieve nothing great, leaving them to muddle through the rest of their days.

In such circumstances, their discussions were either of trivial matters or of the high-tier cultivators and whatever secrets they might be hiding. Thus, a formidable cultivator who had risen from obscurity like Luo Chen naturally became the perfect topic of conversation.

After all, rumors claimed that he had clawed his way up from the ranks of rogue cultivators. Moreover, his Dao title, Fire Spirit Lord, was mentioned repeatedly. Eventually, it even began to overshadow his former title, Dan Chenzi, that was already renowned across the Jade Cauldron Domain. Dan Chenzi represented his mastery of alchemy when he outshone the Seven Prodigies of Green Pill Valley, and Fire Spirit Lord perfectly captured his prowess in battle.

Some had already hailed him as the foremost Initiate of the Jade Cauldron Domain.. Such praise placed him above extraordinary rogue cultivators, the Dao Scions of great sects, and even the True Inheritors of upper sects! Many Foundation Establishment experts voiced their discontent. Yet in the face of Luo Chen's brilliant feats, they could only stifle their protests.

The further the cultivation advanced, the harder each step became. Likewise, the higher the realm, the greater the strength a cultivator could wield. To defeat a stronger opponent across realms grew increasingly difficult. Qi Refinement cultivators killing Initiates was an incredibly rare occurrence; as for an Initiate killing an Adept, that was practically unheard of. Perhaps the only excuse the True Inheritors and Dao Scions of the Nascent Soul and Golden Core sects could cling to was that Luo Chen had relied on means beyond the Foundation Establishment Realm to perform two such feats. One instance involved the heavenly lightning of the Divine Transformation pocket world, while the other involved a single-use enchanted treasure sourced from the same place.

Yet although they argued stubbornly, most voices still rose in praise of Luo Chen. That wave of praise, without anyone realizing it, gradually shifted toward the Ice Fortress as well. After all, Luo Chen's alchemy skills were unmatched, and the battle prowess he had now displayed was equally formidable. He could truly be called a peerless prodigy of the younger generation within the Jade Cauldron Domain. With such a figure, the Ice Fortress was like a tiger that had grown wings. In another hundred or two hundred years, the Ice Fortress might very well rise to become another Falling Cloud Sect.

Yet even in the face of such flattery, the Ice Fortress did not rest on its laurels. None of its leaders was a fool, and they all knew it: These sweet words hid venomous barbs. People were aiming poisoned arrows at Luo Chen, and at the same time, also targeting the Ice Fortress. Perhaps, in truth, the Ice Fortress had been the target all along. Under such circumstances, another story was deliberately spread by the Ice Fortress, and it gradually circulated among countless cultivators in the Jade Cauldron Domain.

In the Battle of Incense Burning Valley, Fire Spirit Lord Luo Chen had achieved a glorious victory, yet he had also suffered devastating injuries. The Ice Fortress's Supreme Elder, Adept Ice Torrent, personally treated him and diagnosed damage to his very foundation. For more than half a year, he remained unconscious, his life hanging in the balance. Even if he survived, his future prospects were questionable at best.

At first, cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Domain refused to believe such a tale. Yet as more details of the battle gradually emerged, they had no choice but to accept it with regret. After all, many had witnessed the battle with their own eyes. When the Lightning Immortal Pearl struck down Qin Tairan, they could clearly see Luo Chen himself being caught in the blast. No matter how strong his Physique Refinement arts were, could they truly compare to an Adept's life-bound enchanted treasure? And Qin Tairan's own Taiyang Furnace had shattered! Now, fragments of it were in the possession of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators all around the domain. Such was the terrifying power of the Lightning Immortal Pearl!

Moreover, Qin Tairan's final counterstrike had also dealt Luo Chen grievous harm. A blow from an Adept was not something one could simply endure. Countless onlookers had seen Luo Chen struck down and driven deep into the valley. When he emerged, it was only because Fairy Ruthless had carried him away within an ice coffin. If not for Fairy Ruthless assuring the crowd that Luo Chen still lived, many would have believed he had already died.

Once this story spread, the fever of praise for the Fire Spirit Lord and the flattery that sought to overwhelm the Ice Fortress gradually faded over the next three years. The reason was simple: During these three years, no one saw Luo Chen even once.

***

In the northernmost part of the Jade Cauldron Domain, beside the Great Snow Mountains, stood a towering peak covered in snow throughout the year. This was Heavenly Mountain, the core of the Ice Fortress's territory.

Atop Heavenly Mountain, a breathtakingly beautiful figure wrapped in a snow-white fox fur stood still as the wind and snow fell upon her. Her graceful gaze lingered on the fortress below, as though piercing the ground to the depths beneath. Her crystalline earlobe twitched slightly, and a faint smile curved her lips. "You're back, Little Rou."

Fairy Ruthless stepped out from behind with a helpless expression. As her figure emerged, the swirling snow seemed to thin.

"Senior Sister, your divine consciousness is far too sharp. You can even see through my Ice Evasion."

Ice Torrent smiled faintly. "Do not be disheartened. Ice Evasion is a fourth-tier escape spell. For you to even touch upon it at the fourth stage of the Golden Core Realm is a remarkable feat. Once you reach minor mastery, combined with your talisman mastery, you will not fall short even against the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's sword cultivators or the Falling Cloud Sect's puppet masters."

Fairy Ruthless shook her head. She admitted inwardly that she possessed some talent in spellcraft. With that foundation, she had branched into the Dao of talismans as well. Yet while it was easy to start, true mastery always eluded her.

Unlike him. In his hands, even the simplest first or second-tier spells reached Perfected Mastery, and even a casual gesture could unleash astonishing might. With nothing more than a second-tier Solar Flare, he once conjured ten suns in the sky in a display comparable to a third-tier spell!

The thought of him stirred her heart, and she could not help but ask, "What exactly is Luo Chen's condition now?"

Ice Torrent's smile deepened. "He is naturally safe and sound. Surely you haven't fallen for the false rumors we spread?"

Fairy Ruthless gave a slight shrug and stepped closer. "I cannot help it. Three years ago, Luo Chen's condition truly was terrifying."

Ice Torrent let out a sigh. "How could it not be terrifying? He was struck by the aftermath of the Lightning Immortal Pearl and then hit by Qin Tairan's strike. Any ordinary Initiate would have left behind nothing but bones. Only his powerful physique allowed him to endure. That alone would have been remarkable, but he went further. He dared to forcibly absorb the Withering-Flourishing Fire that the Flame Alliance had preserved for three hundred years. In all my life, I have never seen such reckless courage."

"Reckless courage?" Fairy Ruthless scoffed. "I feel like the appropriate term is 'courting death.' Without me there, the Withering-Flourishing Fire would have consumed him to ash, no matter how strong his body was."

Ice Torrent responded calmly. "He knew perfectly well that you were there, and he was certain you would act to save him."

Fairy Ruthless frowned.

Ice Torrent pressed her lips together in a smile. "More than that, he knew you carried the Divine Ice Talisman that calms the mind. He also knew our Adepts never travel without the ten-millennia Black Ice Coffin. With those two, he could be saved and brought back to our Ice Prison. And that place is the most suitable for refining primordial true fire."

Hearing this, Fairy Ruthless's frown deepened. She could not comprehend how Luo Chen, a mere rogue cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm, could know so many secrets. And what unsettled her even more was that he had grasped her mindset with perfect precision.

An elegant voice sounded in her ear. "Considering all this, I can only believe that Luo Chen has received guidance from an expert."

An expert?

Fairy Ruthless stiffened. For even her senior sister, who was close to the peak of the Golden Core Realm, to speak of someone as an "expert" was startling. "Could it be Sage Han?"

Ice Torrent's smile faded, and she nodded. "I do not know how Luo Chen became entangled with him, but the only one who can know so many of our secrets is Han Zhan. Years ago, he cultivated a Divine Soul secret art within our Ice Prison, and that is how he learned of these things. During the battle at Incense Burning Valley, Luo Chen also appeared to know a little too much about the Flame Alliance. Their numbers, the terrain, and even the existence of the Withering-Flourishing Fire. It would have been impossible for him to acquire such information, and the only ones with that knowledge are the Falling Cloud Sect."

Shock spread across Fairy Ruthless's face. Back then, she had thought little of it, treating it as just another battle. Only now did she grasp the grand scope of Luo Chen's scheme. He had maneuvered not only three major sects, but even the upper Falling Cloud Sect.

"For now, let us not concern ourselves with Luo Chen. He may remain in the Ice Prison as long as he wishes." Ice Torrent dismissed the matter and turned to something else of more concern. "Have you discovered who spread the slander meant to ruin the Ice Fortress?"

Fairy Ruthless nodded quickly. "We traced a lead. It seems the news came from Green Pill Valley."

"Green Pill Valley?" Ice Torrent's brows drew together, then relaxed after only a moment. "That would make sense. They fear the two upper sects turning their eyes upon them once again, so they sought to divert disaster by drawing attention toward the Ice Fortress instead."

Fairy Ruthless nodded. "I think so too. Senior Sister, should we perhaps..."

"There is no need." Ice Torrent flicked her sleeve. "Let them do as they wish. Such matters no longer carry any weight."

"They... don't?" Fairy Ruthless was puzzled. If the outside world had already begun to target the Ice Fortress, how could that not matter? In that case, what was it that truly did?

At that moment, Fairy Ruthless's pupils contracted sharply. She stared at Ice Torrent in utter shock and instinctively stepped back several paces. "Senior Sister, you—"

Ice Torrent glanced down at herself and let out a soft, helpless laugh. "Forgive me. My cultivation has finally reached Perfected Mastery. With the core completed and the embryo stirring, sometimes I cannot suppress my aura."

What was core completion? It was the moment a cultivator's Golden Core reached major mastery and stepped into the realm of Perfected Mastery.

And what was the embryo stirring? It was when the spirit embryo had been formed, waiting only for the core to shatter and the nascent infant to take shape. At that stage, only one course of action remained: to endure the lightning tribulation, condense the Nascent Soul, and ascend to the rank of a Pure Yang Sage.

Even the cold and taciturn Fairy Ruthless could not help but grow excited. Across the entire Jade Cauldron Domain, there existed nearly ten thousand Initiates, but only a few dozen Adepts. And among the Adepts, those who had truly attained Perfected Mastery were vanishingly rare. Even the Supreme Elder of Green Pill Valley, who had lived for more than five centuries, was said to be close yet not quite there. No one would have expected that Fairy Ice Torrent, who seldom showed herself to the outside world, had reached this step without anyone realizing. And what remained to be done...

"Senior Sister, when will you form your Nascent Soul?"

Ice Torrent shook her head. "I cannot say for now. I must wait."

"Wait?"

"Yes. Wait for the right time, the right person, and the right opportunity."

***

Snow blanketed the land while ice lay heavy beneath it. And even deeper beneath the frozen plains, a thousand zhang underground, stretched a vast labyrinth. This place served as one of the Ice Fortress's most important forbidden grounds. The terrain was complex, with millennial black ice everywhere, blocking spirit consciousness. An ordinary cultivator who entered would wander endlessly until perishing. It was a prison of ice, one that allowed no escape without the proper method. For this reason, the cultivators of the Ice Fortress called it the Ice Prison.

Within this vast Ice Prison, a young Daoist with ashen hair had remained seated in silence for three years.

Suddenly, an azure flame surged from his body and spread outward. Just as it neared the surrounding ice walls, it was forced back. Again it appeared, and again it receded. The cycle repeated until, after the ninth time, the azure flame was fully subdued and pressed back into his body.

A turbid breath left his lips, and upon touching the frigid air, it transformed into a white dragon. Slowly, the young Daoist opened his eyes. In that instant, a flicker of fiery light flashed within his pupils. The dark, frigid prison seemed illuminated, as though daylight had pierced it for a fleeting moment.

The man was none other than the Fire Spirit Lord, Luo Chen, who had vanished from the world for three long years.