Chapter 144: Reaching an Agreement

Dantai Li hears Su Xueyan's words, the mocking smile on her face grows more intense.

"Deal? Su Xueyan, you really overestimate yourself."

She extends her pallid finger, lightly brushing the flowing runes on the altar.

"Now you are merely prey in my hand; what gives you the right to think you still have the qualification to negotiate terms with me?"

"Even if I kill Jiang Feng and destroy your hopes, do you think you could resist?"

Dantai Li's voice suddenly turns cold.

"I have plenty of ways to make you unable to live and unable to die. When that time comes, even if you are unwilling, you must obediently let me refine the Cold Earth Heart Lotus; why bother with any deal at all?"

Su Xiaonuan kneels beside them, trembling at the words, instinctively looks up at Su Xueyan, her eyes full of worry.

She knows Dantai Li can both say and do it; such tortures are simply beyond what ordinary people can endure.

Yet Su Xueyan shows no trace of fear on her face; instead she slowly draws a faint smile.

That smile on her paper‑pale face carries an almost resolute composure.

"You are right; you indeed can force the refinement."

Her voice is calm and clear, each word reaching Dantai Li's ears.

"But don't forget, the Cold Earth Heart Lotus has coexisted with me for years, already tightly linked to my Divine Soul. It can absorb my life force to grow, and naturally it is affected by my will."

Su Xueyan lifts her eyes slightly, staring directly at Dantai Li, unflinching.

"If you force the refinement, I could gladly choose death over cooperation, even mobilize my last Soul Power to perish together with the Cold Earth Heart Lotus. I guess, in that case, you would have to spend an enormous price to obtain a complete Cold Earth Heart Lotus, perhaps ending up with nothing, right?"

Dantai Li's gaze suddenly hardens, the chilling aura around her instantly erupts into fury.

The runes on the altar seem to sense her anger, blue light flickering wildly, and the cold in the air surges dramatically.

She stares fixedly at Su Xueyan.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Wouldn't dare."

Su Xueyan gently shakes her head, her smile still indifferent.

"I'm merely making a fair deal with you."

"What you want is an unblemished, perfectly mature Cold Earth Heart Lotus, while I want Jiang Feng's life safety. As long as you spare Jiang Feng and let him leave here safely, I will not only not resist, but also fully cooperate in refining the Cold Earth Heart Lotus, allowing you to smoothly absorb its power and break through your realm."

"Do you think I would believe your words?"

Dantai Li snorts, her eyes full of doubt.

"If I release Jiang Feng and you then renege on cooperation, or secretly sabotage the refinement, wouldn't I suffer a loss? Moreover, even if I agree now, I could still send people to hunt Jiang Feng later; what could you do about that?"

Su Xueyan hears this, the smile on her face unchanged, but gains a few degrees of relief.

"I trust the venerable Cold Hall, an ancient‑heritage sect; it would not stoop to such treachery."

Her gaze is clear and steadfast, staring into Dantai Li's eyes.

"Of course, if you disregard the centuries‑long reputation of Cold Hall and insist on such breach of trust, that would simply mean I, Su Xueyan, misjudge you and accept defeat. Then, I will naturally use my own method to make you understand that obtaining the Cold Heart Lotus from me is not so easy."

Dantai Li watches Su Xueyan for a long while, the deep glint in her eyes shifting unpredictably.

She remains silent for a moment, the raging chilling aura around her gradually calms.

"Fine, I accept."

Dantai Li finally speaks, her tone still icy.

"I can let Jiang Feng leave. But you must keep your promise and fully cooperate in refining the Cold Earth Heart Lotus. If you dare any trick, I will make both you and Jiang Feng endure the greatest suffering in the world."

Su Xueyan hears this, her tense body finally relaxes slightly.

She lightly nods: "A word is binding."

Beside them, Su Xiaonuan watches the scene, her heart a mix of emotions.

Dantai Li glances at Su Xiaonuan, a hint of impatience in her gaze.

"Watch her closely, don't let her pull any tricks. Once I finish the trivial matters outside, I'll begin the refinement."

"Yes, Lord Dantai."

Su Xiaonuan replies hoarsely.

Dantai Li turns, her steps light as she walks toward the Secret Room entrance.

……

Meanwhile, on the icefield within the Xuanbing Array, wind and snow grow ever more ferocious.

Snow as thick as goose feathers pours down like madness, the world a white blur, visibility less than three feet.

Jiang Feng's blood and Qi boil throughout his body, golden Inner Force raging within like a torrent, continuously repelling the cold of the Xuanbing Array.

The golden aura surrounding him remains sturdy, though under the relentless cold assaults its light dims slightly.

He steps deep then shallow through the deep snow, moving toward the heart of the icefield.

"We must break the formation quickly!"

Jiang Feng's thoughts race urgently.

Even as he activates the Zhen Long Yu Wang Technique, he feels the flow of Qi in his body slowing, his limbs and bones tingling with stiffness.

If he still cannot find a way to break the formation, it won't be long before he, as the voice warned, is frozen into an ice statue.

Suddenly, a memory flashes in Jiang Feng's mind, the content from his master Xuan Yuan Zhenren's notebook.

Xuan Yuan Zhenren traveled the world all his life, witnessing countless strange formations and techniques.

The notebook details the characteristics and countermethods of various formations, including the Xuanbing Array.

The Xuanbing Array, based on the primordial ice power of heaven and earth, appears boundless but actually leaves a trace.

As long as one finds the array's eye, there is a chance to break it.

However, the wind and snow within the Xuanbing Array are so violent that countless cold currents intertwine, forming a massive energy barrier that completely masks the array eye's energy fluctuations.

He circulates Inner Force, Ascending his perception to the limit, but can only feel the cold energy surging from all sides, and cannot at all distinguish where the most concentrated array eye lies.

Casting his gaze outward, the surroundings are endless snow and rolling ice peaks, and there is absolutely no Judgment of where the array eye is hidden.

He attempts to release a Silk Inner Force, probing toward the ice peak ahead, hoping to locate the array eye through the feedback of Inner Force.

But that Silk Inner Force, the moment it left his body, was instantly devoured by the raging cold, and could not at all transmit any information back.

At that moment, a deep, ancient voice suddenly echoed in his Brain.

The voice seemed to come from the primordial chaos, bearing a majestic yet ferocious aura, reverberating directly in the depths of his soul.

"Kid, if you want to break this formation, relying only on your meager cultivation is not enough."

Kun Long?

This guy also got startled?