Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 269 The Ice Demon's Prison (Seeking monthly votes)

Before the wheelchair even landed, Ye Tinglan's divine sense swept through the Ice Prison Sect's protective barrier across the mountain. She saw her obedient disciple seriously discussing matters with Ling Qixuan, and seeing no danger, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Her desire to help her disciple stemmed from her distrust of the demonic path. She felt that the demonic path was cruel and unreasonable, which made her uneasy. Even being affectionate with the young man kept distracting her.

After arriving here, I realized that Lu Xingzhou's ability to sleep calmly made sense.

No matter how ruthless the demonic path is, firstly, Si Han's prestige and authority as the ruler of the country are a factor, and secondly, there is the background of Tianyao Holy Land. Ling Qixuan is not a lunatic. Given this background, how could Qingli be in danger when she comes to visit him in good spirits? It doesn't make sense.

For a moment, Ye Tinglan felt like she had gone out for nothing and would have preferred to sleep a little longer with her little man.

But since she's already here, and the younger man is right, approaching the situation from a different angle might help Qingli break through. If Qingli asks on her own, she's unlikely to get any useful information; the other party's attitude towards Qingli is polite but distant, and they're unlikely to open up.

Everything changes when Yama, the King of Hell, arrives!

The two put away their wheelchairs and descended from the clouds, formally introducing themselves and paying their respects at the mountain gate.

A short while later, Ling Qixuan hurriedly came out to greet him, his eyes filled with confusion: "Your Highness, what's wrong...?"

Ye Tinglan said coldly, "Can't you come as a guest if you have nothing to do?"

The metallic voice fused with the mask naturally carried a coldness. Ye Tinglan, having long held a high position, possessed an even more imposing aura of looking down from above, making him even more dignified than Yuan Muyu himself.

Ling Qixuan broke out in a cold sweat, and his initial doubts about the newcomer's identity vanished instantly.

Who else could this be but Yama, the King of Hell? Such a powerful aura of cultivation, such overwhelming pressure from someone of such high rank, such an air of someone accustomed to a high position. Even if you wanted to find someone of such high rank to play Yama, they'd have to be someone of such high rank willing to stoop so low as to play someone else!

"Not at all, Ice Prison Sect welcomes Lord Yama to visit at any time." Ling Qixuan bowed and led the way: "I wonder if there is anything Ice Prison Sect can do for Lord Yama today?"

Ye Tinglan hesitated, unsure of what excuse to use to visit.

You can't just say, "Hey, I'm just here for fun, I come here to sit whenever I have nothing to do."

Fortunately, he had a strategist by his side, and Lu Xingzhou immediately replied, "It is said that the dragon bone that has sparked this dispute was first discovered by your sect?"

Ling Qixuan's heart skipped a beat: "You are...?"

"Why bother with the King of Hell's attendants?" Lu Xingzhou said. "We just want to know if your sect discovered the dragon bones?"

Ling Qixuan could only reply, "Yes."

Lu Xingzhou said coldly, "So you all knew that the Bone Dragon later belonged to Si Han?"

"Know……"

"Then why not inform Dong Chengbi, so that he only knows about the dragon bones but not the details? The King of Hell sent people to investigate and almost got caught up in the storm. Is this your clan's friendship?"

Ling Qixuan was drenched in cold sweat and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Ye Tinglan stepped onto the stone steps with an air of composure, secretly glancing at the young man out of the corner of her eye, her heart filled with admiration.

Yes, Ji Wenchuan was involved in the battle for the Bone Dragon. Judging from Ji Wenchuan's attitude, he didn't know the inside story either, and was probably just investigating the situation after learning about the Bone Dragon.

If the Ice Prison Sect was the origin of everything, then Ling Qixuan should be very aware of the situation, yet he did not inform his allies.

Of course, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. The Ice Prison Sect is far away in the Frost Kingdom. They cooperated with the Frost Kingdom's ruler on a matter. Why would they need to inform the Yama Palace, which is far away in the Great Qian Dynasty, about everything? It is normal that Ling Qixuan did not notify him. However, Lu Xingzhou used this as an excellent reason for the "Yama King" to come and question him.

Even though Ye Tinglan herself was involved in the whole process, she couldn't find such a good entry point in a short time.

Little men are great.

However, the other party is just an ally, not a subordinate. Will this accusatory attitude provoke a conflict?
Yes, the demonic path fears power but not virtue; all we need to do is put pressure on them with the strength of powerful figures.

Ye Tinglan released a slight aura of pressure at the opportune moment.

Ling Qixuan felt immense pressure and hurriedly forced a smile, saying, "This matter... was our oversight. We didn't expect Yama to be interested in this as well..." Lu Xingzhou interrupted, "Didn't expect it? Yama's Palace is also deeply involved in death and shadow. Just two months ago, they subdued the Yin Corpse Sect in the Great Qian Dynasty. I don't need to tell Sect Master Ling what kind of sect the Yin Corpse Sect is, do I? Yama's Palace's interest in something as significant as the ancient dragon bone is second to none. On the contrary, Si Han is the least suitable candidate. You considered giving the dragon bone to Si Han, but you didn't even think about Yama's Palace?"

As they spoke, the group finally ascended to the main hall. Ling Qixuan hurriedly said, "Lord Yama, please take a seat. What are you all standing there for? Serve some tea!"

Ye Tinglan took the seat of honor and guest of honor with remarkable ease.

Just maintain a dignified silence and leave everything to the little man.

Lu Xingzhou sat down beside him, softening his tone: "Now that we talk about it, we are ultimately just allies, and there's really no reason for us to inform each other of everything. We're not here to blame you, but simply to hope that if Sect Master Ling encounters similar situations in the future, he will consider the needs of his allies."

Ye Tinglan obediently picked up the teacup, using the lid to skim off the tea foam. She thought to herself that she used to be able to drink tea by lifting a corner of her veil when she wore one, but how could Yuan Muyu drink it with a mask on? Had this child gone mad from holding it in for so many years…?

Ling Qixuan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a forced smile, "This time it was indeed due to our lack of foresight. Don't worry, Lord Yama, we will strengthen our exploration of glaciers in the future. If there are any similar incidents, we will notify the Yama Palace immediately. Hmm... However, it was the Western Ghost Emperor who initially contacted us about this matter, but he seems to have disappeared? Because of his abrupt disappearance, there is now a slight gap in communication between us and the Northern Ghost Emperor."

Lu Xingzhou blinked.

Tan Xinhong, the Western Ghost Emperor, was Ye Wufeng's master. This faction was the most hostile to him, and he had engaged in numerous office struggles with them when he was still in the Underworld. Now that he had left, this faction had collapsed.

Yuan Muyu's taking over the Yin Corpse Sect should be to fill this gap.

He then said, "Dong Chengbi isn't fully in charge of this; he's only temporarily taking over. That's why Ji Wenchuan came in his place this time. If Dong Chengbi were truly in charge, our Yama Palace doesn't have such a rule of arbitrarily replacing someone. Next, the original Yin Corpse Sect members will take over the position of the Western Ghost Emperor. Sect Master Ling can then coordinate with them."

He's a total expert.

Ye Tinglan wanted to laugh as she listened, feeling that even without her standing there, Lu Xingzhou alone could convincingly portray the envoy from the Underworld to Ling Qixuan.

Ling Qixuan said, "I understand. If we unearth any more ancient remains in the future, we will notify the New Western Ghost Emperor first."

Lu Xingzhou said, "In retrospect, Ji Wenchuan obtained the Bone Dragon this time, so in the end we still benefited."

Ling Qixuan quickly replied, "That's because Mr. Ji's methods are so clever."

"We've made some progress in our research on this dragon bone, but we don't know if it's complete. What conclusions did Sect Leader Ling reach in his previous research? We'd like to take a look."

"The dragon bones are indeed ancient, but it's difficult to determine exactly how ancient they are," Ling Qixuan said. "However, the fact that we obtained these ancient dragon bones, which emerged from the ice layer, proves one thing..."

Lu Xingzhou continued, "This proves that the space at the bottom of the glacier is beginning to fluctuate. In the future, there will be more and more spatial fissures, more and more ancient artifacts, and it is even possible that the spatial chaos will become so great that the glacier will completely collapse?"

Ling Qixuan said, "That's right. This phenomenon matches up with the research of our sect over the generations... Most people speculate that the Frozen Moon River contains the ruins of an ancient immortal kingdom, and that's what we've been telling the outside world... In fact, our sect believes that it contains a sealed innate ice demon. The Frozen Moon River is like a prison, hence the name Ice Prison Sect. And the current spatial disturbance is very likely a sign that the ice demon is about to escape from prison."

Lu Xingzhou and Ye Tinglan exchanged a glance, and Lu Xingzhou said, "When we formed the alliance before, what you hoped we would help with was to help release this Ice Demon at a certain time, right?"

"Well... although it's unclear when this will take place, we believe that given the current turmoil, that day shouldn't be too far off."

Ye Tinglan couldn't help but ask, "What would happen if the glacier collapsed and the ocean melted?"

Ling Qixuan said nonchalantly, "If the icy ocean collapses, the world will be flooded. The Tian Shuang Kingdom is located on high ground, so it will actually be a safe haven. The Great Qian and the Demon Realm might both be doomed... But even if the Yama Palace is in the Great Qian, it doesn't matter. Firstly, your side can relocate at any time, and secondly, if the sky collapses, the Tian Yao Holy Land and the Great Qian royal family will protect you. The Tian Yao Holy Lord is the strongest in the world, and the Tian Yao Holy Land and the Great Qian have so many top-grade items hidden in them. If a flood were to destroy the world, who else would be responsible if not them?"

Ye Tinglan suppressed the urge to slap him and took a deep breath: "You're right. It's something I'd be happy to see if it can cause trouble for the Holy Lord Tianyao."

Ling Qixuan chuckled.

Lu Xingzhou suddenly interjected, "What does your sect have to say about this Ice Demon?"

Ling Qixuan paused for a moment, then remained silent.

Lu Xingzhou said with a stern face: "Since your sect hopes that Lord Yan will lend a hand when the time comes, but you don't explain the situation of the Ice Demon clearly, do you want Lord Yan to be cannon fodder?!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Requesting monthly votes~ There will be more tonight~
(End of this chapter)