Chapter 74: Broken Blade Cliff, Life and Death Hunt

Three days passed in a flash. Ye Li used this brief respite to familiarize herself with the basic operations of Demon Suppression City and replenish her stock of talismans and elixirs. She also obtained, through the channels of the Nether Pavilion, some fragmentary information regarding Broken Blade Cliff and possible ancient ruins. Broken Blade Cliff, located approximately a thousand miles northwest of Demon Suppression City, is a treacherous area carved by a massive glacier. Its complex terrain is perpetually blasted by a "Soul-Crushing Wind" capable of shredding the protective spiritual energy of the body. It is also the lair of numerous ice-based monsters, second only to the Weeping Ghost Valley in terms of danger.

On the morning of the fourth day, before daybreak, Ye Li arrived at the meeting point west of the city. A team of about twenty had already assembled, a mixed bag of people: stern-looking Demon Suppression Army scouts wearing uniform leather armor, independent cultivators with fierce auras and vigilant eyes, and several disciples from various sects, like Ye Li, whose cultivation ranged from the middle to late stages of the Condensation Vein. The team leader was a scarred, one-armed Demon Suppression Army veteran named Tieying, who was in the early stages of the Spiritual Mansion Realm and exuded a strong, murderous aura, clearly someone who had crawled out of a sea of ​​blood and corpses.

Tieying's eyes swept over the crowd, his voice hoarse as sandpaper: "I'm Tieying, the captain of this patrol. There's only one rule: obey! When I tell you to move, you move. When I tell you to stop, you stop. When I tell you to retreat, you retreat immediately! Anyone who dares to act without authorization and hinder the team will be punished by my ruthless military law! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Everyone responded in unison. No one dared to underestimate this one-armed veteran.

Tieying nodded and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

The team left Demon Suppression City in silence, braving the biting cold wind as they headed towards Broken Blade Cliff. Once outside the city gates, the atmosphere suddenly grew more tense. Everyone was on high alert, their consciousness constantly scanning the white world around them.

Ye Li blended in with the group, observing everyone calmly. She quickly noticed a few discordant notes within the group. Two seemingly casual cultivators had flickering eyes, and their occasional glances carried a hint of hidden malice. Though their auras were deliberately suppressed, Ye Li keenly detected a fiery aura similar to that of the Red Flame Sect's cultivation techniques. There was also a disciple from the smaller sect, Jackdaw Castle, who seemed to be paying particular attention to her.

"He finally got in." Ye Li sneered in his heart and was secretly alert.

The team's pace was slow, and Iron Eagle, with his vast experience, was always able to avoid potentially dangerous areas, such as unstable ice and areas frequented by monsters. However, the dangers of the northern icefields were omnipresent.

On the afternoon of the first day, they encountered a pack of dozens of "Icefield Snow Wolves." These beasts were only at the second level (equivalent to the Awakening Spirit Realm), but they fought in packs, were fearless, and exceptionally skilled at hiding and launching surprise attacks in the snow. After a fierce battle, although the wolves were completely annihilated, one of the cultivators was seriously injured, depleting a significant amount of spiritual energy.

Tieying decisively ordered to set up camp and rest in advance. The ice field was even more dangerous at night, with the temperature dropping sharply and all kinds of strange creatures that loved the dark lurking around.

Ye Li chose a sheltered spot under an ice wall to meditate and regulate her breathing. Late at night, when most of the team members had fallen asleep and only the sentries were on guard, the two suspicious "loose cultivators" and the Jackdaw Castle disciple quietly left the camp and gathered behind a snowdrift in the distance.

Ye Li's spiritual awareness, which had been vaguely covering the surroundings, immediately detected their unusual movements. With a thought in her mind, she quietly unleashed her "Universe Invisible Step," approaching silently like a ghost in the dark night, overhearing their conversation clearly.

"Is it confirmed? Is it really Ye Li from Xuanyun Sect?" asked a hoarse voice, from one of the "casual cultivators".

"Yes, it's her! The portrait and the aura match! I didn't expect that she would actually come to the North and join our team. It's really a godsend!" This was the voice of the disciple from Jackdaw Castle, with suppressed excitement.

"The Chiyan Sect has issued a death order. They want to see her alive or dead, and especially the star core in her body, which must be taken! Elder Situ also sent a message, asking us to 'take good care of' her." Another gloomy voice said, it was another "casual cultivator".

"Let's strike tomorrow when we pass by the 'Ice Fantasy Labyrinth' area! The terrain there is complex and it's easy to create 'accidents'! Then the three of us will team up and finish the battle quickly!"

"good!"

After the three of them had made their decision, they returned to the camp quietly.

Ye Li's eyes flashed with coldness: "The Red Flame Sect... Zhan Kuangfeng... really is still haunting us. The Phantom Ice Labyrinth? Coincidentally, that's also a great place to kill and silence people."

She returned to her seat calmly, as if nothing had happened.

The next day, the team continued their advance, gradually approaching the Broken Blade Cliff area. The surrounding scenery became even more desolate and eerie. Giant icicles stood in a forest, the ground was covered with bottomless ice cracks, and the air was filled with a faint blue mist that could interfere with spiritual detection. This place had entered the outer reaches of the Phantom Ice Maze.

Tieying's expression became more serious, and he kept reminding everyone to keep up and not fall behind.

At noon, the team entered an area composed of countless huge, twisted blue ice crystals. These ice crystals reflected the light, forming countless phantoms, making people dizzy and difficult to distinguish the direction. It was the Phantom Ice Maze!

"Everyone be careful! Follow me closely! The illusions here can confuse your mind!" Tieying reminded loudly.

At this moment, something strange happened!

The two "loose cultivators" suddenly launched an attack! One threw several explosive talismans, blasting the Iron Eagle and several Demon Suppression Army scouts in front of the team! The other released a blazing fire net, covering the center of the team, creating chaos!

The disciple from Jackdaw Castle pounced on Ye Li like a ghost, and stabbed her in the back with the poisoned dagger in his hand!

"What are you doing!" Tieying was shocked and angry. He swung his sword to break up the explosive talisman, but was also blocked.

The team was in chaos in an instant!

"Looking for death!" Ye Li had already gathered her strength and was ready to strike! Facing the poisonous sword coming from behind, she didn't dodge at all. Unleashing her "Universe Invisible Steps," she twisted her body strangely as if she had no bones, narrowly avoiding the poisonous sword. At the same time, she struck back with a sword. The Mysterious Ice Sword, with its biting coldness, struck the Jackdaw Castle disciple's throat first!

The disciple didn't expect Ye Li's reaction to be so quick and his swordsmanship to be so brutal. He could only draw his sword back to block in a hurry!

"clang!"

As the two swords clashed, the disciple felt an indescribable surge of force and chill along the swords. His entire arm went numb, and he nearly lost his grip on the dagger. He was horrified. Ye Li's strength was far more terrifying than the intelligence had described.

Just as he was horrified, Ye Li's left hand pointed like a sword, and the "Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger"—Ice Mark—silently pointed at his Dantian!

"puff!"

The sharp wind from his fingers instantly broke through his protective aura! The extremely cold finger force penetrated his body, instantly freezing his meridians and golden elixir!

The disciple's eyes bulged out, his face filled with disbelief and fear, his body fell stiffly, and he was no longer able to breathe!

One encounter and he was killed instantly in the middle stage of Condensation Vein!

All this happened in a flash! The other two "loose cultivators" had just finished creating chaos and were about to join forces to besiege Ye Li when they saw their companion had been killed. They were immediately shocked and angry!

"Little bitch! Give me your life!" The two men roared, and pounced on Ye Li from the left and right, and fire magic came overwhelming!

However, in this extremely cold environment, the power of their fire magic was greatly reduced! But Ye Li was like a fish in water!

"Star Flash!"

Ye Li's figure disappeared in an instant, and the next moment he appeared behind the "casual cultivator" on the left, with the Xuanbing Sword like a poisonous snake coming out of a hole!

The "wandering cultivator" sensed the danger and hurriedly turned around to defend himself, but he saw Ye Li's sword tip tremble, and a condensed icy sword energy broke away from the sword body, bypassed his block, and accurately shot into his eyebrows!

The second one!

The "wandering cultivator" on the right was so frightened that he turned around and tried to run away!

"Want to leave now? It's too late!"

Ye Li's figure flashed again, blocking his way, and the "Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger" was pointed out from a distance! The power of the ban made the "wandering cultivator" freeze!

During this moment of hesitation, the Xuanbing Sword had already pierced his heart!

The third one!

From the beginning to the end of the assassination, it took only ten breaths! The three carefully planned assassins were all killed! Ye Li's attack was ruthless and decisive, without a trace of hesitation!

At this moment, Tieying had just managed to stabilize the team and disperse the fire net. Seeing the three corpses on the ground and Ye Li standing with a sword in hand and a steady breath, his eyes were filled with shock! He was originally worried that Ye Li would suffer a loss, but he didn't expect this seemingly cold girl to have such terrifying strength!

The rest of the team also stared at Ye Li in amazement, as if they were looking at a monster.

Ye Li expressionlessly put away the Xuanbing Sword and said to Tie Ying, "Captain Tie, these three were assassins sent by the Chiyan Sect and Zhan Kuangfeng. They intended to harm me, but I have killed them. I apologize for disturbing the team."

Tieying took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "It's okay. Since they are assassins, we can kill them. I didn't expect them to be so long-reaching! We can't stay here for long, let's leave the Phantom Ice Maze as soon as possible!"

After this incident, everyone in the team looked at Ye Li with deep awe. No one dared to look down on her because of her youth.

The team swiftly passed through the phantom ice maze and arrived safely at their destination: Broken Blade Cliff. It was a vast section of glacier, as if split open by a giant axe. The cliffside was as steep as a mirror and bottomless. A strong, soul-shattering wind howled up from the bottom, causing the people's spiritual power to destabilize and their souls to sting.

Just as the team was preparing to patrol along the cliff face as planned, a dense, tooth-grinding roar suddenly rang out from deep below the cliff! Immediately afterwards, dense black shadows climbed up from the cliff like a tide!

They were Black Demons! Their numbers far exceeded the intelligence reports, numbering in the hundreds! Among them were even several larger elite monsters, each with an aura comparable to that of a late-stage Condensed Veins cultivator!

"The demonic tide! It's the demonic tide! Send a signal quickly! Retreat!" Tieying's face changed drastically and he roared loudly!

However, they had already entered deep into the Broken Blade Cliff, and their retreat route was instantly cut off by the surging monsters!

A brutal encounter broke out in an instant!

Blood stained the ice cliffs red, and roars, screams, and the roars of monsters intertwined. The team was surrounded, and everyone was fighting for their lives!

Ye Li was at the center of the demonic tide, her Xuanbing Sword dancing into a curtain of light. Wherever she passed, low-level Black Demons fell like grass. But there were simply too many demons to kill! The elite demons were even more cunning, constantly attacking from the side!

She unleashed her "Universe Traceless Steps" to its fullest potential, weaving through the demonic tides, each strike resulting in a monster's demise. Her "Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger" became a powerful weapon for instantly dispatching elite monsters! But her spiritual energy was also rapidly depleting!

A demon-suppressing scout was torn to pieces by a monster! A casual cultivator was ambushed by an elite monster and fell to the ground seriously injured!

The team is about to collapse!

A flicker of determination flashed in Ye Li's eyes! She suddenly swallowed a few pills to restore her spiritual power, and her spiritual consciousness communicated with the star core in her sea of ​​consciousness!

A trace of pure star power was activated and integrated into her swordsmanship!

"Ice Soul Seals the Sky—Star Cold Splits!"

With a clear shout, the Mystic Ice Sword erupted with a brilliant star-blue light. A ring of sword energy suddenly spread out from her center! The sword energy contained the meaning of extreme cold and the annihilation of the stars!

Chichichi--!

Wherever the sword energy passed, dozens of black demons were instantly frozen, then shattered like ice crystals! Even those elite monsters were severely injured by the sword energy, and let out shrill screams!

This sword almost drained most of her spiritual power, but it also cleared a large area in an instant!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tieying led the remaining team members, fighting their way out of the encirclement in the direction they came from!

Ye Li followed closely behind, fighting and retreating. During the retreat, she accidentally caught a glimpse of a faint ancient rune flashing in a crack on the cliff, but the situation was critical and she had no time to investigate.

After an unknown amount of fighting, when everyone finally broke out of the demonic tide and fled to a relatively safe area, only less than ten people were left of the original team of twenty, and all of them were injured and in a miserable state.

Tieying counted the number of people and looked at the heavy casualties in the team, his face livid. He walked up to Ye Li, who was pale, panting, leaning on his sword, and bowed solemnly. "Friend Ye, if you hadn't saved the day today, we would have all been buried in the demon's belly! Tieying and my brothers will remember this favor!"

The surviving team members also looked at Ye Li with gratitude.

Ye Li waved her hand, swallowed the pill, and regulated her breathing. Although extremely dangerous, this battle allowed her to fully integrate into the border army and gain valuable experience fighting monsters. More importantly, she seemed to have discovered something unusual about Broken Blade Cliff.

"Captain Tie, I found something strange under the Broken Blade Cliff..." Ye Li told about the runes he saw.

Upon hearing this, Tieying's expression grew even more serious. "This matter is of no small importance. We must report it to the General immediately! This patrol mission has concluded early. We will return to Demon Suppression City immediately!"

The group embarked on their return journey, bearing casualties and important discoveries. Ye Li's first battle in the northern border was a near-death experience, but her name, "Ice Charm," and her stunning swordplay began to spread throughout the border troops. And the secrets beneath Broken Blade Cliff, like a fog, awaited her discovery.