Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 510 The Ice Prison Sect's Special Ally
Jiang Yuan felt that she could talk to her grandfather about it later. Judging from this trend, it didn't seem like the original plan of "hiding in the human world to establish itself and grow stronger," but rather that there was a certain opportunity to unite the entire human world and directly confront the Heavenly Patrol.

Although there is a gap in strength, due to the limitations of the laws of the realm, the power of the Heavenly Patrol to interfere with this realm is also very limited.

When all the confrontations are out in the open, maybe we won't have to suppress them so hard... Grandpa can unleash his Qian Yuan cultivation, and I can unleash my bloodline as well.

What second-grade upper level? You bumpkin from the mortal realm, you dare to call me a beggar? I'll give you a shock from the ancient realm.

Humph.

Jiang Yuan, accompanied by a long line of shadows following her from a distance, headed straight for the secret cave in the snowy mountains of the Northwest.

Ice Prison Sect.

Ling Qixuan was in a meeting in the main hall when he received a report from the guard: "Sect Master, the Western Ghost Emperor of the Yama Palace has led a group to visit, saying that he has something to discuss."

The hall was quiet for a moment, and Ling Qixuan and the elders exchanged glances.

Someone whispered, "Lu Xingzhou and Yan Jun haven't fallen out. It's said that Yan Jun arranged his marriage as his sister, and she even participated in the rebellion of Emperor Qian's deposition. For the Yama Palace to suddenly visit at this juncture, I'm afraid..."

"We knew there wouldn't be a falling out. When Yama came, he brought Lu Xingzhou with him. We thought he had found a new judge to replace him, but it turned out to be the real Yama." This person was referring to the Yama that Ye Tinglan had impersonated. Back then, Yama was fake, but the judge was real. However, the people of the Ice Prison Sect thought Yama was real and the judge was fake, which was both laughable and absurd.

It can be said that the Ice Prison Sect knew the "truth" that Yama and the Judge had not fallen out before the rest of the world, and was not surprised at all by the Yama Palace coming to interrogate them.

Ling Qixuan said, "The fact that the Yama Palace is visiting at this juncture means they must suspect that we were the ones who ambushed Lu Xingzhou. But we are wearing masks that can block divine sense, and we are using all sorts of techniques, so there's no reason they could recognize us. Therefore, their suspicion is just that—suspicion. They are just testing us. Don't panic."

He then waved to the guards, saying, "Please invite the Western Ghost Emperor to the main hall for a chat."

A group of men in black robes entered the main hall in a sinister manner. The old man in the shadows, who was at the head of the group, bowed slightly and said in a sinister tone, "Sect Master Ling, how have you been?"

Ling Qixuan said politely, "Please have a seat, Your Excellency Ghost Emperor."

The old man with the cold wind sat unceremoniously in the main seat, with a group of black-robed figures standing silently behind him. No one could tell that Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli were mixed in with them, their cloaks completely concealing their identities.

The old man with the cold wind looked Ling Qixuan up and down for a while, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Sect Master Ling's cultivation seems to be different from before..."

Ling Qixuan smiled and said, "I'm ashamed to say that I've made a slight breakthrough."

It was more than just a slight breakthrough. Old Man Yin Feng could sense that Ling Qixuan's cultivation used to be roughly equal to his own, but now he felt Ling Qixuan was much stronger. Old Man Yin Feng was at the second rank, while Ling Qixuan should already be at the first rank, and perhaps even higher than the initial stage.

That's nothing unusual; it's common for others to have fortuitous encounters and break through their limits, let alone a sect leader. The key issue is that even the Old Man Yin Feng, a typical demonic cultivator, felt a chill and palpitations upon entering this hall—the demonic intent here was so intense, even stronger than that of the people he was toying with corpses.

The old man with the dark wind didn't say any of that. He slowly said, "Then congratulations to Sect Master Ling on your progress in the Great Dao."

"I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed," Ling Qixuan said with a smile. "May I ask what brings you here today?"

The old man with the cold wind said, "Back then, Sect Master Ling hoped that Lord Yama would deal with the Ice Demon Body... Now that so much time has passed, Lord Yama has sent us to inquire about the situation. Is it about time?"

Ling Qixuan feigned surprise: "Why do you say that? This is a long-term plan. How can less than a year be considered a long time for the great cause of the Ice Demon? It is certainly not the right time."

The old man with the cold wind said, "Is that so? Has your sect made any progress in its research on the Ice Demon?"

Ling Qixuan was somewhat disappointed: "No, not either..."

The old man with the cold wind said coldly, "Don't forget that I am a permanent resident of Tianshuang. How could the earthquake in Frozen Moon River be unrelated to the Ice Demon's body? How could there be no progress?"

Ling Qixuan sighed: "We truly do not know. Even the King of Si cannot descend into the central ice layer, so how could we possibly know what the situation is inside?"

"It's normal that Si Han doesn't know, but the very purpose of your Ice Prison Sect is to trace the Ice Demon, and you say you don't know? What about the ghosts?" The old man in the Yin Wind said coldly, "I think Sect Master Ling looks down on our Yama Palace and is not prepared to fulfill his obligations as an ally."

Among the various alliances formed by the Yama Palace, the Yama Palace holds a dominant position. Yuan Muyu is of super-grade strength, and the various Ghost Emperors are now all first-grade, their influence spreading throughout the world, far surpassing that of ordinary demonic sects. When Ye Tinglan impersonated Yuan Muyu and arrived at the Ice Prison Sect, the scene was hardly an alliance; it was clearly an act of coercion against the affiliated sects.

The Old Man of Yin Wind is the weakest of the Ghost Emperors, only a second-rank official, but when he came here, he acted like an imperial envoy on an inspection tour, incredibly arrogant.

Ling Qixuan swallowed his anger and said, "We can only speculate. We told Yama that there should be an ancient kingdom buried below, with many large and small ruins that will be unearthed as the Ice Demon gradually breaks free. This earthquake is probably related to this, but no one can be sure of the specifics."

Listening to Lu Xingzhou's telepathic message, the old man with the gloomy wind slowly said, "So, Sect Master Ling has never come into contact with any part of this ancient kingdom?"

Ling Qixuan said, "To be honest, I have come across the ruins of a small town and some tombs, and I did manage to find some ancient artifacts, but unfortunately they are not high-end. If you would like to see them, we can take you on a tour."

"Since there are city ruins, are there any corpses inside? I am interested in corpses."

"Yes, the bodies were all frozen, so to you... that's probably considered fresh?"

"Besides being frozen, is there anything else unusual about it?" "No, there really isn't."

Lu Xingzhou listened from behind and formed a general judgment in his mind.

Judging from Ling Qixuan's ability to pinpoint the exact location of the rift, he definitely knew about the frozen royal city, but he might not have actually entered it. After all, a kingdom isn't just about the royal city; it also contains many other smaller ruins, and Ling Qixuan entered one of those smaller ruins.

And he obtained what he wanted from the ruins—perhaps the wisp of icy demonic intent that drove the ice sculpture man's actions, which has now been transferred to the Ice Prison Sect members, so that the Old Man of Yin Wind could dispose of the useless corpses.

This wisp of demonic intent may have enabled him to directly communicate and resonate with the Ice Demon, paving the way for his rise. His influence must have been instrumental in the rise of the royal city; it's unclear what actions he took to achieve this.

The current Ling Qixuan is no longer the same Ling Qixuan who was once so fervent in wanting to recognize Dugu Qingli as the Ice Master; he now has his own Ice Master.

Having Ling Qixuan take you to some ruins is obviously pointless; there's no way he'll take you there to find any trace of the Ice Demon. Lu Xingzhou's real hope is that he can find something in the secret cave near Jiang Yuan's place, and having Jiang Yuan come into contact with it is much safer than with Dugu Qingli, as it won't trigger any Ice Demon resonance.

The old man with the cold wind was telepathically asking him, "Judge, shall we go?"

“Of course we’ll go. All we need to do is hold off the main force of the Ice Prison Sect for now, and once they’ve figured out the situation, we’ll make our move immediately.”

The old man with the cold wind felt a shiver run down his spine.

Ling Qixuan thought they were being tested to see if they were ambushing, while Jiang Yuan, happily searching for treasure, thought Lu Xingzhou was using a diversionary tactic to distract the main force. Little did they know, Lu Xingzhou was there to wipe out their entire family.

The reason for drawing up so many other details is to find out if there are any hidden cards beyond our current knowledge.

…………

Jiang Yuan arrived at the entrance of the secret cave in the snow-capped mountains.

The secret cave was extremely hidden, and ordinary people would never be able to find it. Unfortunately, it was encountered by a master from the ancient world.

Through the deliberately arranged illusions on the outside, a heavy stone door could be seen in the secret cave. The mechanism of the stone door was useless to Jiang Yuan, and it opened with just a few taps.

Jiang Yuan tossed out a wooden figure and watched it trot along the passageway.

No traps...

Jiang Yuan carefully followed the wooden figure inside, looking around at the surroundings with a slight surprise.

Why is this not what I imagined... I originally thought it would be a secret realm, but now it looks more like a man-made cave.

If it were a man-made cave where someone was cultivating in seclusion, opening the door should have alerted them, but there was absolutely no reaction. Furthermore, cave entrances usually have extensive security measures, but this one had none.

Well, even if it were, it wouldn't be of much use to Jiang Yuan, and Jiang Yuan was quite confident about that.

The girl was prepared to disappear at any moment and slowly lowered herself down.

The feedback from the wooden figure in front of her made the girl's eyes widen even more.

Why are the sounds of men and women making love coming from the depths of the secret cave? Even the feedback from the magical detection is full of seductive effects... Judging from the feedback, it's fortunate that the pathfinder was a wooden figure; if it were any living being, it would probably have gone into heat immediately upon entering.

In terms of vital signs, at the deepest level, there seemed to be four human reactions, three men and one woman.

So what are they doing?
Could this be neither a secret realm nor a secluded cultivation cave, but a brothel? Were the Ice Prison Sect members I saw coming and going there all there to solicit prostitutes?

Jiang Yuan was dumbfounded. "I've been so eager to find a collaborator to explore this secret place, how could it be like this? What am I supposed to explore then?"

Hearing the seductive music coming from the depths, Jiang Yuan's face turned pale and then red, and she turned to retreat.

A seductive laugh echoed from deep underground: "Now that you're here, why rush to leave? My dear daughter's...good friend?"

Jiang Yuan was horrified, and a name popped into her mind: Xuan Nu!

This is where the Mystic Maiden recuperates!
Jiang Yuan took off running, and the stone door outside closed automatically with a "rumble".

Three men quickly caught up with her. Jiang Yuan turned to look at them. Their clothes were disheveled, indicating they had just been put on, but they were clearly the attire of the Ice Prison Sect. However, their eyes were vacant, showing that they had been completely controlled by Xuan Nu.

"..." Jiang Yuan took out the dagger, mentally complaining.

Are the people from the Ice Prison Sect crazy? If they want to die, they should go hang themselves from a tree. Why are they getting involved with the Mystic Maiden?

(End of this chapter)