Chapter 204: One Moonlit Night [Start of Book 3]

The moonlight cast a gentle and enchanting glow.

The deep sea was incredibly calm, with a solitary island perched upon it. At the edge of the island sat a man, wearing a bamboo hat and a cloak that covered half of his face, revealing only a glimpse of his stubble.

If Chu Liang were here, he would surely recognize this man as the Whale-Riding Immortal he had encountered before.

By his side was a white coffin tinged with purple hues, its surface gleaming as if it was made of jade. But upon closer inspection, one could see a faint frost emanating from the grass and soil surrounding the coffin. The material used to construct this white coffin was unmistakably ice!

The man looked up at the sky and fixed his gaze above the moon.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, casting a delicate and graceful shadow, resembling a peerless beauty dancing gracefully.

Somehow, as he continued to watch, the shadow of that beauty appeared to draw closer. Her sleeves flowed with the wind, and her garments fluttered. In the blink of an eye, she stood before him.

It wasn't as if she was drawing nearer; she was already here.

When the Whale-Riding Immortal looked back, the surrounding sea had already frozen over. This island, along with its underwater portions, was indeed massive. When this behemoth moved, even ordinary icebergs would be shattered.

But at this moment, everything froze.

From an aerial point of view, one would see that the sea area for tens of miles around had turned into a mirror-like surface of ice! In an instant, the vast sea had turned into an icy expanse!

This method was simply unimaginable.

But the Whale-Riding Immortal didn't panic at all. He merely revealed a hint of helplessness. He chuckled bitterly and said, "Pretty one, why are you still bothering me?"

"It was bold of you to trespass into our cult's forbidden ground, the Moon Tomb, and steal our ancient ice coffin. You have chosen the path of death. I have come today to take your life." A cold voice echoed ethereally from a distance.

As the voice carried over, a figure floated over the ice surface.

It was a woman with disheveled long hair, dressed in a black waist-tied long robe, her skin as pale as moonlight. Her lips were red and alluring, yet her eyes were filled with icy killing intent.

"I already said from the beginning that I wanted to negotiate with you, but you refused. So, I had no choice but to take it myself." The Whale-Riding Immortal continued to grin foolishly, seemingly unaware of the woman's murderous intent. "You can discuss compensation. As long as the price is reasonable, we can negotiate. Why make things unpleasant for everyone?"

"You have already disrespected our cult. There is no room for negotiation," the lady declared firmly.

The Greater-Yin Cult was located in the secluded Moon Deity Palace in the Northern Regions. Historically, the cult has been exclusively composed of women, with very few members venturing into the outside world. It has been considered one of the most mysterious sects in the Divine Nine.

However, its power remained unquestionable. Anyone who dared to provoke the Greater-Yin Cult would eventually meet their demise, and news of their death would spread far and wide. Ruthlessness and mercilessness were among the few labels associated with this cult.

But not long ago, this man actually went to the Moon Deity Palace and made a rather unreasonable demand.

He wanted the Ancient Profound Ice Coffin in the Moon Tomb.

The so-called forbidden ground, Moon Tomb, was the burial place of all Greater-Yin Cult's predecessors who had reached the seventh and eighth realms. And this man wanted a coffin inside, which meant that they would have to remove the remains of a predecessor in that coffin.

It was impossible for the Greater-Yin Cult to agree to such a request.

However, the unexpected happened.

The following night, the man broke into the Moon Tomb, bypassing the layers of formations as if they didn't exist. He seemed to be a man of principle, taking only the ice coffin and not sparing a glance at the more valuable remains of the predecessors and accompanying artifacts.

The people in the Moon Deity Palace were furious.

The technique "Searching the Heavens and Earth" was unable to uncover his whereabouts. By relying on the secret techniques of the Moonlight Sky Palace, the lady gradually traced his footsteps until she caught up with him.

"

Haaa...

" sighed the Whale-Riding Immortal.

Without waiting for him to say anything else, the lady from the Greater-Yin Cult launched her attack.

With a deafening roar, a dense mist of ice billowed forth like towering waves, sweeping towards the man on the island.

Earlier, the woman had considered freezing the man along with the sea, but her powers seemed to falter when it touched the island and nothing would change.

She mustered even greater strength, channeling the foundational qi that didn't touch the island into a mist of ice. As this mist surged higher and higher, a colossal wave over a hundred feet tall was unleashed in an instant.

"Your cultivation is commendable even in the Moon Deity Palace. Return and relay this message to the leader of the Greater-Yin Cult leader: I am not taking this ice coffin for no reason. Consider this a favor I owed to her, to be repaid in due time. However, if you persist on showing aggression, I won't hesitate to take severe action." The voice of the Whale-Riding Immortal reverberated through the icy barrier.

The moment he said that, the hundred-foot ice abruptly stopped, forming a towering ice wall that stood still.

In the next moment, the ice wall suddenly extended and instantly engulfed the woman within its confines.

Rumble!

Upon the vast expanse of ice, the ice wall expanded infinitely, swiftly constructing a grand fortress over a hundred feet tall. Meanwhile, the woman found herself trapped in darkness within one section of it.

Her special divine technique was this ice technique. She really hadn't expected that the guy would take control, turning the tables and trapping her instead.

She activated her foundational qi and attempted to regain control over the ice, only to find that she had lost all connection with the ice in this domain. The Great Dao of Ice, which she had mastered, now felt so unfamiliar!

What's going on? Has the Great Dao lost its effect? No!

These ice elements have betrayed me!

To this lady, ice was like her weapon, yet now her weapon was just easily dismantled!

After a moment of contemplation, she understood the origin of her predicament. The man's affinity with the ice elements surpassed hers, allowing him to easily take away her "weapon."

How is this possible? I have attained enlightenment in the Great Dao of Ice, and I am a seventh-realm cultivator who dedicated myself to this Dao,

the lady thought to herself.

Without time for astonishment, she immediately gave up on the use of the Ice-Manipulation Divine Technique. She leaped into the air, smashing through the thick ice wall with a resounding palm strike!

As expected, she could easily escape using her physical strength alone.

However, as she surveyed her surroundings, her gaze suddenly froze.

In the distance, there stood a lofty mountain that embraced the moon's radiance, with a silver palace shrouded in mist atop it, appearing ethereal and surreal.

This scene was all too familiar to her.

That mountain was none other than the Greater-Yin Cult's mountain gate, the Brilliant Yin Summit. And the palace atop the mountain was the legendary Moon Deity Palace.

How could it be that in the blink of an eye, that man had sent the entire ice fortress, along with herself, back to the headquarter of her sect?

Could someone with such means be an eighth-realm cultivator? A cultivator at the Heavenly Origin Realm?

If so, within the sect, besides the leader, Yin Guyue, there wouldn't be a second person capable of fighting him.

As she thought about this, the lady looked up and flew towards the Moon Deity Palace confidently.

...

The sea reclaimed its tranquility.

The island glided serenely ahead, its gentle movement stirring subtle ripples that danced in its wake.

With a sharp yet solemn sound, the lid of the white coffin was soon lifted, revealing a small delicate visage within.

It was the young girl who had been taken away by the Whale-Riding Immortal.

This ice coffin was prepared for her.

"Why did you wake up so quickly?" the Whale Riding Immortal asked with concern.

".... Noi-se," the young girl struggled to form the word, her voice hesitant and somewhat awkward.

"

Oh

, sorry if I disturbed you earlier," the man said with a chuckle. "Let's play for a while, shall we? Would you like something to eat?"

The little girl nodded gently.

With a flick of his hand, the Whale-Riding Immortal conjured a live eagle out of thin air. The eagle had a fierce expression, perhaps just moments ago it was hunting, but somehow in the next moment, it became a prey. Its expression of fierceness instantly became confusion.

The Whale Riding Immortal handed it to the little girl and said, "There aren't many nearby creatures with fresh blood, so try this."

Furrowing her brow, the young girl puckered her lips in response.

"Not a fan?" The Whale-Riding Immortal observed her expression and inquired, "Well then, what would you prefer to eat?"

The girl's mouth moved a few times, and she struggled to spit out two words, "Fruits..."

"You mean those berries with the scent of qi, blood, and dragon's breath?" the Whale-Riding Immortal said. "Indeed, they taste good, but we've already finished them. If you want more, we'll have to go to Mount Shu to get some..."

The girl's throat moved as she tilted her face up, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Haihh...

The Whale-Riding Immortal sighed as he placed his hand on her head and gave her a gentle pat.

"I can't allow that," he murmured, his hand still resting on her head. "I haven't found a solution to reverse the calamity you're causing. We'll need to continue drifting at sea for a while longer. Occasionally, I'll have to use the ice coffin to suppress your powers. Going ashore could result in many casualties."

The girl humped softly, seeming a bit unhappy.

Then, the sea around them churned, roiling with an ominous energy.

The sea had experienced too much tonight. As the massive ice had been released, rumbling sounds began echoing one after another, as if the sea itself was boiling!

"Alright, alright, hurry up and eat something, then let's go back and lie down," the Whale-Riding Immortal said in a gentle tone, "If we delay any longer, we might attract attention."

The girl grabbed the somewhat mysterious giant eagle, which looked so big in her hands... yet so weak. She opened her mouth and gently bit down, breaking the eagle's neck.

A fresh stream of blood flowed into her mouth.

It should have been her favorite taste. However, since she had tasted those incredibly delicious fruits when she emerged into the world, she found herself less fond of the purely fresh blood, which carried a hint of raw scent.

Suddenly, she found herself missing the person who had given her the fruits.

...

Achoo!

Chu Liang rubbed his nose and wondered,

Why do I keep feeling like someone is talking about me?

Nevertheless, he didn't have much time to dwell on it as he immediately scanned his surroundings.

As evening descended upon Mount Shu, the sky ignited with the brilliance of the setting sun.

The three teams had spent the afternoon here. Following the picnic, Lin Bei busy organized games for everyone.

In terms of overall strength, the Silver Sword Peak team was significantly inferior to the other two. However, when it came to social skills, Lin Bei could single-handedly take on both teams.

The three captains tacitly allowed their team members to participate, while they watched from the sidelines, ready to handle any unexpected situations.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky over yonder.

Soon, it was night time.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred at the abandoned altar on the side!

A colossal shadow of light materialized above the altar, vaguely resembling the form of a deity. It hovered in mid-air, its left hand resting behind its back while its right hand pointed forward, its eyes filled with compassion.

This was the appearance of the legendary deity of Mount Shu.

The Mountain God had manifested!

Everyone was startled, stopping whatever they were doing to gaze at the illusion of the Mountain God.

Chu Liang was the first to turn his head and look in the direction indicated by the Mountain God's right hand. There, standing prominently, was another peak.

The Sword Sheath Peak!