Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

Several months later.

Qingyouzi's figure finally appeared on a boundless snowfield.

The sky and earth were vast and white, the fields were all white, a whirlwind raged, and the cold was biting.

He stumbled to the ground, leaving deep footprints in the snow.

He was panting heavily, each breath bringing out white mist that instantly dissipated in the cold wind.

He glanced back at the way he had come, but there was nothing there except for the swirling snow.

"After circling the mountains for more than two months and flying over the mountains for dozens of days, I finally escaped to this place..." Qingyouzi muttered to herself, her voice hoarse, "I should have shaken them off by now."

He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly bent over and began to cough violently.

"Cough cough... Pfft!"

Several mouthfuls of dark red blood sprayed onto the snow, a shocking sight.

Excessive consumption of essence and blood damages the meridians, causing the nascent soul to become dull and lifeless.

He was already seriously injured in the battle with the man in black, and then spent months on the run, narrowly escaping being caught by the man in white several times, forcing him to repeatedly burn his life essence to use secret techniques to escape. Now his internal condition is in extremely bad shape.

"We must find a place to heal our wounds as soon as possible..."

He mustered his strength and expanded his mental awareness to the fullest extent.

The range of three hundred miles of divine sense seemed insignificant on this vast snowfield.

A moment later, he chose a direction and flew towards the depths of the Northern Plains.

The escape light swayed and wobbled, its speed less than 30% of its usual speed.

Several hours later.

A snow-covered mountain range came into view. The mountain was steep, with sheer cliffs and glaciers that never melted, gleaming with a deep blue luster.

Qingyouzi landed on a sheltered mountainside.

He found a crack in the rock wall and used his magic to carve it out. In the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, he had carved out a simple cave about ten feet in diameter.

He took out the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Array from his storage bag.

Embed the magic stone, and the formation is activated.

A dark curtain of light silently spread, enveloping the entire cave. It completely isolated the interior from the exterior, making it impossible for divine sense to penetrate. Tens of thousands of kilograms of massive ice and snow rocks were then moved from nearby and used to completely block the cave entrance, making it appear as if it were part of the mountain itself.

After doing all this, Qingyouzi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat cross-legged, took out healing pills, and swallowed seven or eight.

The medicinal properties dissipate, and a warm, moist flow surges through the limbs and bones, beginning to repair the damaged meridians.

He closed his eyes, concentrated, and circulated his internal energy to guide the medicinal power through the body.

The cave was completely silent.

The only sounds were his rapid breathing and the faint humming of the array in operation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away.

"Didn't you say it was just a late-stage Tier 3 demonic beast?!"

The roar shattered in the wind and snow.

Three cultivators were fleeing for their lives across the snowy plains. The two leading male cultivators were in their thirties, wearing thick leather robes, with rugged faces. The female cultivator in the middle was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with heroic features, but her face was deathly pale.

And a hundred feet behind them.

A giant, snow-white bear stood upright, over five zhang tall, its every step causing the earth to tremble! It roared, its breath freezing everything in its path into ice.

"How was I supposed to know that beast had a father?!" another male cultivator cursed as he fled. "That third-tier icefield bear is already so old, and it's still hanging around with its father!"

The female cultivator turned around, made a hand seal, and a crimson fire talisman shot out!

The fire talisman struck the giant bear's chest, exploding into sparks, but it didn't even scorch the fur. Instead, it enraged the giant bear, making it move three times faster!

"Stop talking nonsense! Run!" the female cultivator shouted sharply. "We'll settle accounts with you when we get back to the tribe!"

The three of them exerted all their strength, and their escape light left a long trail on the snow.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they had already escaped more than a hundred miles.

The giant bear roared to the sky, and a beam of azure ice light condensed in its mouth!

The icy light pierced the air, striking directly at the female cultivator's back!

The female cultivator turned around in surprise and hastily summoned her protective jade pendant. The pendant shone brightly, transforming into three layers of light shield.

"Bang! Bang! Crack—!!"

The two layers of light shield shattered instantly, and the third layer barely managed to block the icy light, but the immense force still slammed her hard against the mountain wall in front of her!

Boom—!!

The rock face cracked, and smoke and dust billowed up.

"Ah Yue!"

A man's eyes were wide open in horror.

The smoke and dust dissipated.

The female cultivator lay paralyzed in the pile of rubble, blood gushing from her mouth and nose. The jade pendant on her chest was completely dull and covered with cracks.

"I'm...I'm alright." She struggled to sit up and wiped away the blood. "I won't die."

Another male cultivator gritted his teeth: "We can't escape! Form a battle formation and fight this beast with our talismans!"

The two quickly separated, their hands forming hand seals, and magical power surged forth. The outline of an array appeared in the air, but due to the hasty setup, it was unstable and flickered.

Just now.

"boom!"

The mountainside next to us suddenly exploded!

Huge rocks flew everywhere, and dust billowed into the sky!

"Who?!"

Both male cultivators turned their heads at the same time.

Amidst the smoke and dust, a pair of deep blue eyes slowly lit up.

Cold, indifferent, devoid of any emotion.

Just being swept by that gaze sent chills down their spines, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

The smoke and dust gradually dissipated.

A figure in a green robe slowly walked out.

He casually held the female cultivator's head in his left hand, blood dripping from the severed neck onto the snow. With a gentle release of his right hand, the headless body slumped to the ground.

"S-senpai..."

A man, his throat dry, managed to squeeze out two words.

Qingyouzi tilted her head and looked at the two of them.

next second.

"Pfft." "Pfft."

Two dark blue flames ignited beneath their feet, instantly spreading throughout their bodies!

"ah--!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream pierced the snow-covered plain!

The flames consumed their bodies, eroding their life force; the pain far surpassed that of ordinary flames. The two rolled and struggled on the ground, but within three breaths they were reduced to charred, dried corpses, their life force extinguished.

Just as the two were about to die.

Two faint beams of spiritual light shot out from between the brows of the dried corpse, shooting off in different directions!

Qingyouzi's eyes turned cold.

He raised his hand and shot out a burst of magical power, only managing to intercept one of the beams. The other beam of light moved extremely fast, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"Tracking restrictions..."

His brows were furrowed.

Such restrictions are often linked to core figures within a clan or sect; once the host dies, their last image and location will be transmitted back. Although one barrier has been blocked, the other has likely already sent back information.

trouble.

He turned to look at the giant ice bear not far away.

The giant bear had already stopped, its massive body slightly lowered, its scarlet beast eyes fixed on Qingyouzi, its fangs bared as it let out a threatening growl.

It could sense the dangerous aura emanating from the person in front of it.

For a moment, they dared not step forward.

Qingyouzi looked at it, then at the three corpses on the ground, and the pent-up frustration in his chest that had been building up for months suddenly surged up.

"Damn it..."

He muttered a curse under his breath, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"I'm really angry right now."

Before the words were even finished!

Qingyouzi formed hand seals, unleashing a myriad of threads, a soul-shaking bell, and a hundred-demon net from his sleeves! Although his injuries had not yet healed and his mana was less than 30% of its full strength, it was more than enough to deal with a fourth-tier early-stage icefield giant bear!

He transformed into a streak of green and charged straight at the giant bear!

The giant bear roared and swung its claws to meet the attack!

Within a radius of a hundred miles, the sky and earth changed color.

Two incense sticks later.

On the snow, Qingyouzi knelt on one knee and coughed violently.

He vomited several more mouthfuls of blood, staining the white snow beneath him red.

The giant ice bear lay fallen thirty feet away, its head shredded by the Hundred Demon Net, its body riddled with dozens of wounds from countless threads. The most fatal blow came after the Soul-Shaking Bell had shaken its soul, and then Qing Youzi had condensed a sword from the Ancient Azure Demon Fire and pierced its eye socket, shredding its brain.

Although it was a quick victory, it aggravated his injuries, making matters worse.

"All I want is to recover properly..."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his tone filled with barely suppressed rage:

"How come I always seem to run into all sorts of things!"

He staggered to the giant bear's carcass, cut open its chest, and retrieved a fist-sized, ice-blue demon core. The demon core exuded a chilling aura, and its surface was covered with natural snow-like patterns.

Just as he was about to put it away, his divine sense suddenly stirred.

There seemed to be something else inside the giant bear's carcass.

The magic probed in, touching a subtle, icy fluctuation deep within the heart.

"This is……"

Peel carefully.

A pale flame the size of a fist appeared in his palm.

The flames burned silently, devoid of heat, yet radiating an extreme chill. The surrounding air instantly condensed into fine ice crystals, even covering Qingyouzi's palms with white frost.

"Ice Flame..."

A look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

There are many kinds of spiritual fires in the world, and the Ice Flame belongs to the extreme Yin fire, born in extremely cold places. This fire can be refined into magical treasures to enhance their power, and can also assist in the cultivation of ice-attribute techniques. When fighting enemies, it has the effect of freezing their souls.

Unexpectedly, a nascent ice flame was hidden inside the giant bear of the ice plains.

"Okay, okay..."

Qingyouzi said "good" three times, took out a specially made jade box to seal the ice flame, and affixed several sealing talismans.

He then put away the three people's storage bags, and also put the giant bear's corpse into a storage bag, since a fourth-tier demon beast is a treasure trove.

After doing all this, he scanned his surroundings with his divine sense.

We must leave as soon as possible.

That elusive trail could cause trouble at any moment.

Half an hour later.

A streak of light pierced through the air and hovered above the ground.

The newcomer was an elderly man with a white beard, leaning on an ebony cane, his face gaunt and his eyes sharp as lightning. Behind him followed two Golden Core cultivators, their expressions respectful.

The old man landed slowly, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

Three corpses lay there, one headless and two charred black. The lingering demonic aura and icy flames from the giant bear's carcass in the distance had not yet completely dissipated.

He walked over to the female nun's head, squatted down, and carefully examined the broken ends.

"One strike shattered the skull, and the Nascent Soul level magic power directly shattered the soul," the old man muttered to himself. "Clean and efficient."

Then he looked at the two charred corpses.

"This flame..." He picked up a speck of ash with his fingertip and sniffed it lightly, "is no ordinary spiritual fire. It contains the quality of burning away the soul and life force. It can instantly annihilate the soul of a Golden Core cultivator, leaving them no time to even self-destruct their Golden Core."

The Golden Core cultivator behind him cautiously asked, "Elder, could it be that giant ice bear from the ice plains...?"

"No," the old man shook his head. "If it were the giant bear, these three wouldn't even have been left with their corpses. Besides, the flames that burned them weren't ice flames."

He stood up and looked towards the vast snow-covered plains to the north.

"The person who made the move is at least a Nascent Soul cultivator. Moreover, they are ruthless and decisive."

Another Golden Core cultivator hesitated, "Should we investigate further...?"

"Investigate what?" The old man glanced at him. "To offend a Nascent Soul cultivator of unknown origin and ruthless methods for the sake of three dead Golden Core cultivators?"

He leaned on his cane and walked to the remains of the giant bear's carcass, squatted down, and touched the ice.

"To be able to kill a fourth-tier Icefield Bear and take away the Ice Flame, this person's strength is probably no less than mine."

A thoughtful look flashed in the old man's eyes.

"Send word to seal off the news and prevent it from spreading. As for this person..."

He looked north and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"It might even be a great opportunity."

He turned and vanished into the light once more.

The three disappeared into the horizon.

The snow-covered plains returned to silence.