The embers of the battle swirled in the wind, carrying the stench of blood and acrid smoke, before slowly settling. Broken rocks, frozen corpses, and the lingering turbulent energy currents together painted a picture of the desolation and carnage of the area.
Immortal Lord Qingxu knelt on one knee amidst the chaos, leaning on the immortal sword wreathed in dark blue light, breathing heavily. Each breath felt like pulling on a thousand-pound weight, causing excruciating pain throughout his body. The penetrating wound in his shoulder blade remained gruesome, the insidious power clinging to him like a maggot, continuously eroding his life force, though it was temporarily suppressed and isolated by the newly formed, icy power of the Dao traces.
He won, killing all the invading enemies at a cost of almost half his life.
However, the victory brought no warmth, only a bone-chilling coldness and emptiness. He slowly raised his head, his eyes, tempered and like those of an polar ice field, looking towards the direction of the mountain gate deep within the Qingyun Sect, still shrouded in heavy demonic clouds, as if piercing through layers of void, landing on the absolutely dead and frozen sea of his own consciousness.
Su Nian...
That name, like a brand, seared his soul. Her silence, more so than any of his injuries, made him feel a suffocating sense of powerlessness.
He had to go back. He had to heal his wounds as soon as possible and stabilize the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" that he had comprehended because of her, yet which had also tainted him with madness and obsession because of her. Then, at all costs, he had to find a way to awaken her.
This thought, like the most steadfast North Star, guided him through the frozen sea of his heart.
He struggled to his feet, his movements unsteady due to his injuries, but his spine remained ramrod straight. He ignored the mess on the ground and didn't bother to search for any storage artifacts the enemy might have left behind—at this moment, nothing else mattered.
He discerned the direction, then, dragging his heavily injured body, transformed into a slightly dim but still chilling streak of light, and flew with difficulty toward Qingxu Palace.
Along the way, occasionally, disciples or deacons of the Qingyun Sect, disturbed by the previous battle, would come to investigate. When they saw Qingxu Immortal Lord's blood-stained Daoist robe, his paper-white face, and the faint yet chilling aura emanating from him, they were all horrified and avoided him, not daring to approach and ask questions.
Immortal Lord Qingxu ignored him and went straight back to Qingxu Palace, which had become a symbol of his inner demons' lair and imprisonment.
The heavy palace doors slowly closed behind him, shutting out all prying eyes and noise from the outside world.
Instead of immediately recuperating and healing, he staggered to the enormous Ice Jade Bed. This was the place where he had imprisoned the "Inner Demon Illusion" (Su Nian), but now only cold emptiness remained.
He reached out, his fingertips gently tracing the smooth, cool surface of the jade bed, as if he could still feel a faint trace of her warmth and presence. Deep in his eyes, the pain and violence that had been forcibly suppressed surged uncontrollably once more.
"I will... bring you back." He made a low, hoarse vow to the empty jade bed, his voice echoing in the vast hall with an almost obsessive determination.
He then sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed, closed his eyes, and began to introspect.
His internal condition was worse than he had imagined. Multiple meridians were broken, his Dao foundation was riddled with cracks, his immortal essence was depleted, and although demonic energy and malevolent power were temporarily suppressed, they continued to assault the fragile "Ice Mark" barrier. The core problem, however, lay in the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" he had just forcibly condensed.
This seal originated from the profound meaning of "stillness" shared by Su Nian. It was born from his extreme emotional shock and chaotic power, and was also tainted with demonic energy, insidious poison, and even that mysterious dark golden light. It is powerful and strange, containing the rudimentary form of the laws of "stillness" and "isolation," but it is also like a double-edged sword, constantly backfiring on him.
It was cold and lifeless, carrying an almost destructive obsession, which was incompatible with his original pure and ethereal immortal foundation, yet it was deeply bound to his soul because of Su Nian's silence, and could not be separated from him.
To master it, stabilize it, and use it as a foundation to restore or even enhance one's strength, the process is destined to be filled with unimaginable pain and danger.
Immortal Lord Qingxu did not hesitate at all.
He directly activated the incomplete "Ice Soul Condensation Technique," which seemed to have undergone some unknown transformation due to the "Ice Mark Dao Seal," and began to guide the pure cold energy from the Ice Soul Jade Bed beneath him into his body.
However, this time, it was no longer gentle nourishment.
The moment the chill touched the "Ice Mark Dao Seal," it was like gunpowder that had been ignited, suddenly becoming violent! It no longer flowed through his meridians, but instead, like countless cold blades, scraped and cut along the lines of the Dao Seal, fiercely scraping and cutting his already severely damaged Dao Foundation and Divine Soul!
"Well!"
The intense pain made his body shudder violently, veins bulging on his forehead, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner shirt. This pain far surpassed physical injuries; it reached the very core of his soul!
But he gritted his teeth and didn't stop. Instead, he frantically activated his Dao Seal, actively absorbing and refining the violent cold energy and the chaotic energy residue within his body!
He wanted to use himself as a furnace and this endless pain as fuel to forcibly polish and solidify the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" and completely transform it into his own!
This is an extremely perilous process, like walking a tightrope on a precipice. The slightest misstep could cause the Dao Seal to go out of control, and his own life force would be the first to be "frozen" and "isolated"!
Time passed slowly amidst extreme pain.
His face was sometimes as pale as snow, and sometimes tinged with an unnatural icy blue. His aura fluctuated wildly, sometimes cold and deathly still, and sometimes revealing an uncontrollable violence and madness. The Ice Soul Jade Bed beneath him even began to show fine, spiderweb-like cracks on its surface due to his overbearing absorption and the erosion of the Dao Seal!
Amidst this seemingly endless torment, on the verge of his consciousness fading due to the excruciating pain—
A faint, almost imperceptible, throbbing sensation, carrying a familiar soul fluctuation, rippled briefly in the deepest part of his consciousness, which was sealed by the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" and numerous demonic barriers, like a tiny pebble thrown into a deep well.
Is it...her?
Immortal Lord Qingxu was suddenly jolted, and his almost scattered consciousness instantly condensed!
He forcibly suppressed all the pain, immersing his mind in his sea of consciousness, and recklessly searched for the direction from which the throbbing came—the absolutely frozen soul crystal!
However, it remained a deathly, cold place.
The seal of the dark gold consciousness was indestructible, like a cosmic barrier, isolating all internal and external connections. He could not sense any signs of Su Nian waking up, and even the faint flicker of the primordial sparks he had seen before seemed to be just a hallucination caused by his extreme pain.
Disappointment, like a cold tide, instantly overwhelmed him.
However, just as he lost his composure, causing a slight disruption in the power of his Dao seal, and the suppressed demonic energy and yin poison within his body suddenly launched a counterattack—
That absolutely frozen soul crystal seemed to... move very slightly?
No, it's not the ice crystal itself that's moving. Rather... inside the ice crystal, at its core, sealed layer by layer, that point of primordial spark that should theoretically be absolutely still, seems to... be resonating with the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" outside, which is agitated by his intense emotional fluctuations, in some extremely mysterious way that transcends physical isolation?
A barely perceptible trace of "stillness," carrying the unique frequency of Su Nian's soul, was like a spark that pierced through the ancient ice layer, ignoring the seal and barrier of the dark gold consciousness, and quietly merged into the restless "Ice Mark Dao Seal" of Immortal Lord Qingxu.
This subtle meaning was so faint that it was almost negligible compared to the violent energy conflict within his body at that moment.
But the timing of its appearance was absolutely perfect!
It's like injecting a drop of the most crucial and purest lubricant into a precision instrument that's about to go out of control.
Immortal Lord Qingxu's mind, which was on the verge of collapse due to disappointment and backlash, was miraculously stabilized for a moment under the comfort of this familiar meaning! His control over the violent power of the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" also regained a trace of clarity!
He immediately seized this fleeting opportunity, forcefully guiding the power of the Dao Seal to suppress the counterattack of demonic energy and venom once again!
"puff--"
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark blood, mixed with ice shards and wisps of black smoke, but his complexion actually improved slightly.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the still-cold soul crystal deep in his sea of consciousness. His eyes were filled with an extremely complex light—shock, disbelief, and a kind of almost insane...hope!
It's not a hallucination!
She...she's still here! And she's responding to him in a way he can't understand!
Although the response was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, it meant that... the connection between their souls had not been completely severed by the seal of the dark gold consciousness! It meant that... awakening her was not entirely impossible!
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, causing a stinging pain, but it also made him more alert.
The road ahead is still full of thorns, and the backlash from the path is ever-present.
But at this moment, the faint spark in his heart has been rekindled.
The suspense builds to a fever pitch – the female protagonist's consciousness, in its absolute slumber, resonates beyond its seal, rekindling the male protagonist's hope. How does this incredible link exist? Has the Dark Gold consciousness detected it? Can this faint spark ultimately melt the eternal ice? All awaits to be revealed in the next chapter.
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