Chapter 548: Freezing Mist Seals the Forest

The ice froze everything in its grasp, yet the tiny specks imbued with Li Chu's will remained active.

Using his divine sense, Pang Jian magnified the specks millions of times and discovered that each one was actually a miniature pocket dimension.

The sights within these micro-dimensions were all identical. Each housed a vibrant forest of crimson maples, with soft maple leaves carpeting the ground and a village nestled at the forest's edge.

A mischievous child lay sprawled atop a thick blanket of maple leaves, a blade of foxtail grass dangling from the corner of his mouth. Crossing his legs leisurely, he gazed up at the sky in relaxed contentment, exuding a carefree abandon as he dreamed of a bright future.

This appeared to be a memory of Li Chu during his childhood, back when he was carefree and full of hope. The autumn breeze carried a chill, but the warm sunlight bathing him caused the cold to seem inconsequential in comparison.

The child version of Li Chu felt no cold, and so the icy effects of the Heart of Winter also seemed to vanish entirely.

Although the child looked to be staring at the sky, he was actually scrutinizing Pang Jian's dantian, flesh, bones, and Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint.

"Seen anything yet?" Pang Jian smirked coldly.

Boundless frigid mist poured out from the Heart of Winter, surging from his body and swiftly spreading through the maple forest.

Unfortunately for Li Chu, Pang Jian's mastery of cold energy was his most proficient among the energies under his command.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Most of the stationary trees became encased in ice, while the drifting maple leaves shattered when the freezing mist engulfed them.

Li Chu's maple forest became barren in an instant. The dense freezing mist gradually swallowed the forest, shrouding the battle between Pang Jian and Li Chu in impenetrable obscurity.

***

Hundreds of li away, Wang Ce squinted at the rapidly spreading mist.

"I can't see anything," he muttered. "Can any of you make out anything?"

Liu Junhong smiled wryly. "We're in the same cultivation realm. If you can't see anything, neither can I."

Li Yuqing and Wu Sujin, two talented cultivators from the Western Loam, also focused on the dense mist with brightly glowing eyes, but could not discern the state of the battle either.

"We'd be able to see it more clearly if Liu Youyu were here with her Celestial Profound Mirror," Wu Sujin remarked.

As soon as she spoke, a figure approached the four of them.

It was Liu Youyu from the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom.

As Wu Sujin had guessed, Liu Youyu had the Celestial Profound Mirror with her, and she cast its light into the mist to reveal the scene within.

Through the mirror, they could see that the maple trees were encased in ice with all their leaves shattered. Pang Jian had since seated himself beneath one of the maple trees, seeming in deep thought.

There was no anxiety or frustration in his sharp features. Only a calm serenity.

***

A deep, resonant male voice echoed through the Stargazing Platform. "This maple forest seems to be from the Fire Maple Tribe."

The majestic figure of a middle-aged man on one of the stone pillars became clear. He exuded an unshakable aura with a presence thick with the desolate energy of the wilderness.

This man was the formidable Pei Yishan of the Forsaken Expanse Sect, the true ruler of the Northern Ruin.

Next to him stood Li Chu's stone pillar, though the other True God of the Forsaken Expanse Sect had rarely graced it with his presence since its creation.

It was not that Li Chu refused to attend, but rather that Li Wang would often not summon him. Li Wang generally welcomed all the True Gods of the Abyss, but Li Chu was the exception.

This was why Li Chu had been unaware of Pang Jian's position as a World God. It was only after consulting Pei Yishan that he learned that Li Wang had deliberately excluded him alone.

Li Wang glanced at Pei Yishan and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"That maple forest and the Fire Maple Tribe are the inescapable demon in his heart," Pei Yishan muttered. "You could resolve this, ease the scars in his heart."

Li Wang replied indifferently, "Why should I solve his heart demon?"

"If you hadn't interfered, he would have resolved them himself by now!" Pei Yishan snapped, knowing full well that Li Chu's descent into cruelty in recent years had much to do with the actions of the man before him.

"The internal matters of my Nine Tribes Sect are not for others to meddle in." Li Wang calmly sipped his tea. "He's become one of you ever since he left the Fire Maple Tribe and joined the Forsaken Expanse Sect in the Northern Ruin.

"A True God of the Forsaken Expanse Sect has no right to step into my Nine Tribes Sect's territory. What right does he have to lead the Fire Maple Tribe?"

***

The maple leaves shattered, and the trees froze.

Pang Jian sat beneath a maple tree with his sword resting on his knees as he became locked in an internal struggle against Li Chu.

The frozen maple trees suddenly trembled, their frozen shells cracking apart. A wave of tender green light surged from beneath the forest.

Visible Dao Seals twisted like dragons within the light. New trees rapidly sprouted throughout the maple forest to replace those lost, transforming the area into a dense sea of foliage. In the distance, the forest Li Chu preemptively conjured while flying over drew closer.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The branches and leaves swayed, releasing interwoven arcs of green luminescent light that slowly melted the cold energy within the dense freezing mist.

Pang Jian snorted, starlight and moonlight pouring from his body to merge with the mist.

Bolts of lightning filled the forest, their dense barrage combining with the existing cold energy to obliterate Li Chu's Heavenly Dao.

Have you located his true body yet?

Pang Jian asked the Abyssal Demon.

Not yet.

The reason Pang Jian had not used the Abyssal Demon Sword yet was that he had not located Li Chu's true body. Although Li Chu's aura and divine power were omnipresent, the True God could not be seriously harmed without his body.

Suddenly, Li Chu's voice echoed from within the miniature pocket dimensions inside Pang Jian's body.

I was born in a maple forest, from a tribe of the Nine Tribes Sect, and I have ties to Li Wang.

The child projections within the dimensions all smiled.

The Nine Tribes Sect was born from the territories that once belonged to the nine tribes.

The Nine Tribes Sect of the Southern Gorge is made up of nine tribes, each cultivating different techniques and secret arts. The tribe I was born into once stood as equals to Li Wang's tribe. My ancestor was also the strongest rival Li Wang faced in his bid for the divine seat.

Divine seats are incredibly precious, and at that time, the Nine Tribes Sect only managed to secure a single one. Li Wang and my ancestor fought a desperate battle for that divine seat.

As you know, Li Wang emerged victorious, and he ascended to the True God Realm. From that point on, his supremacy within the Nine Tribes Sect was firmly established.

My ancestor, on the other hand, died in battle, and our tribe subsequently became the weakest of the Nine Tribes Sect.

From a young age, I was taught that Li Wang was the ruler of our nine tribes. We were to revere him and treat him as our divine protector.

Even though I knew that he rose to power over my ancestor's corpse, I was forbidden from harboring any resentment against him.

I had only ever intended to be an ordinary warrior of my tribe. The only problem was that I was exceptionally gifted and displayed extraordinary cultivation abilities, which gave me the potential to become the second True God of the Nine Tribes Sect.

However, divine seats had to be fought for, and one had to pay a price to be eligible to attempt merging with one. When a new divine seat became available, Li Wang wouldn't let me have it, instead handing it over to someone else.

So, I left my tribe and ventured alone into the Northern Ruin.

The child projections of Li Chu within Pang Jian's frozen body rambled leisurely, as if the two were not in the middle of a battle.

In the end, Pei Yishan of the Forsaken Expanse Sect was the one who offered to secure a divine seat for me, and he did not let me down. He allowed me to ascend as a True God through the Dao of Verdure.

But that was not all I desired. The tribe that raised me still remains the weakest among the nine tribes, and my people only suffered more after I left.

Though I became a True God, one of the most powerful beings in the Abyss, Li Wang did nothing to aid my tribe, allowing my people to fall to the wayside.

After I became a True God of the Forsaken Expanse Sect, he forbade me from returning to my tribe and even prevented me from offering any assistance.

He's the ruler of the nine tribes and the nominal leader of the True Gods. He's also more powerful than I am. After all, I don't even have a divine artifact.

While Pei Yishan can help me secure a divine seat, he cannot assist me with that.

I have no means to oppose Li Wang. I will only be able to fulfill the promise I made to my people before I left when Li Wang either leaves the Abyss or dies.

Pang Jian, if you share my desire to dethrone Li Wang, perhaps we could form a secret alliance.