Chapter 257: Seeking Immortality, Divine Grace Descends

"Escape!!"

Having reacted, Lu Tianbing let out a low roar, and at once he also had no time to care about Lu Xinnian, who had already rushed into the Ice Immortal Pavilion's mountain-protecting formation, turning and fleeing toward the distance.

However.

Previously, he had tried to stop the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden, but this time it became the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden desperately stopping him.

In an instant, icy crystals appeared out of thin air; the sudden drop in temperature made Lu Tianbing's heart jolt, and he immediately threw out a fishing-rod-like magical artifact, using it as a staff, and as he swung it, he shattered the surrounding ice.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Lu Xinnian glared at Yunhe angrily, gritted his teeth, and instead of fleeing, he charged toward Dong Ning Xuan.

Although his mind and temperament had been disturbed by the demonic path cultivation, he was not stupid; he knew that at this moment trying to flee would be too late, so it was better to seize this opportunity to capture a few Ice Immortal Pavilion disciples, especially Dong Ning Xuan, the personal disciple of the Ice Immortal Pavilion's master, the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden, giving him perhaps a slim chance of survival.

This caused Dong Ning Xuan, who had just felt a rise of joy upon seeing Yunhe make a move, to have that joy instantly overwhelmed by Lu Xinnian's ruthless aura.

She clenched her silver teeth, knowing she could not escape, and with a slap of her storage bag she unleashed several magical artifacts, preparing for a mortal struggle.

"Ribbit!!"

Suddenly.

A heavy, resonant toad's cry rang out; just as Lu Xinnian prepared to fight for his life, Yunhe's divine sense had already noticed his movements.

Dealing with an early-stage Golden Core cultivator who had just condensed his golden core and hadn't even properly refined his natal magical artifact, in the face of today's Yunhe, he really wasn't much of a match.

Summoning a Thick Earth Cauldron would be enough to deal with him.

"Artifact spirit?!"

"Bang!!"

One saw a scarlet tongue wrapped in thick earth-attribute energy; before Lu Xinnian could even touch Dong Ning Xuan, it slammed him hard into the nearby ice.

With a flick and coil of the tongue, Lu Xinnian was hauled back like a dead dog by the Three-Eyed Earth Toad, his face filled with terror.

No matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the Three-Eyed Earth Toad's tongue, nor could he shatter the binding of the Thick Earth Cauldron.

After being infused with an artifact spirit, the Thick Earth Cauldron could move freely, hardly differing from a demonic beast, and might even be more useful than some demonic beasts.

As the Three-Eyed Earth Toad tightly clenched its tongue with a 'crack', Lu Xinnian ceased his struggling.

Seeing this, Lu Tianbing's eyes nearly burst with anger, but deep down fear prevailed.

Two Golden Core cultivators—two Golden Core cultivators—just died that easily?

Although Lu Tianbing's remaining lifespan was not much, at his age and cultivation level, it was natural that the longer he lived, the better.

However.

He was entangled by the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden, his escape severely restricted; watching Yunhe draw nearer, he grew increasingly desperate yet increasingly futile.

"Dao—!"

Just as he opened his mouth to beg for mercy, he suddenly felt his head spin.

As a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, his divine sense and will were naturally formidable; even if the attack came from divine sense, as long as the opponent's divine sense wasn't exceptionally strong, he could quickly recover.

But the fact was, he didn't even get a chance to notice the opponent launching a divine sense attack before he completely fell into dizziness.

Moreover, this dizziness was not a matter of a breath or two; he simply stood frozen in place, like a puppet.

This left the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden somewhat startled.

But Yunhe did not.

"Pfft——!!"

A flying sword accompanied by golden arc light pierced straight through Lu Tianbing's dantian, and his radiant golden core shattered directly into several pieces beneath the sword.

Only then did Lu Tianbing finally come to his senses, his eyes wide with shock as he looked down at his abdomen; the bloody wound was shockingly gruesome.

He instinctively reached out and grabbed, as if trying to seize his golden core, his fleeing magical power, his vanishing life.

But it was all in vain.

After coughing up a mouthful of scalding blood, he collapsed to the ground.

'Seeking Immortality, Divine Grace Bestowed—no wonder it's called that; cultivators whose divine sense is weak and lack divine-sense-defense magical artifacts facing this near-instantly lose the ability to resist, only able to await their fall.'

Yunhe's gaze, hanging above the clouds, followed Lu Tianbing's corpse as he watched him fall from high altitude, his vitality fading.

'I've only just begun to cultivate this, and it already has such power; it's hard to imagine how great a threat this divine ability will pose to other cultivators once fully mastered.'

Of course, a large part of the reason is that he has already cultivated the 'Myriad Poisons Myriad Insects Technique' to the fourth layer, his divine sense even able to rival some weaker Yuan Ying cultivators.

Using a Yuan Ying cultivator's divine sense to deal with a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator?

Even without the 'Seeking Immortality, Divine Grace Bestowed' divine ability, Yunhe's divine sense would utterly overwhelm Lu Tianbing, let alone having this ability as a means.

That is why Yunhe said he likes overwhelming opponents by realm.

Because as long as he has an advantage in realm, his suppression of lower-realm cultivators is exceedingly obvious; just divine sense attacks alone are hard to resist, and furthermore he possesses a top-tier third-rank magical artifact.

These three Golden Core cultivators didn't even give him the chance to unleash the 'Subdue Demon Armor'.

The battle ended almost in an instant.

But several of the Ice Immortal Pavilion's people, when looking at Yunhe, showed a great change in their eyes.

Dong Ning Xuan, representing the Ice Immortal Pavilion's disciples, already held Yunhe in awe, but after this battle, the reverence and fear that rose from within her overflowed in expression.

Even the Ice Immortal Pavilion's master, the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden, when looking at Yunhe, no longer regarded him as a peer of the same realm, unconsciously gaining a measure of respect.

Anyone who sees two cultivators of the same realm as himself being slain with almost no resistance would surely feel awe, wouldn't they?

Below, many Ice Immortal Pavilion cultivators craned their necks to gaze at Yunhe, their hearts filled with curiosity about his identity.

Who is this person?

'Fellow Daoist,' the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden said cautiously.

Yunhe raised his hand, and the Three-Eyed Earth Toad leapt down in midair; when it landed in his palm, it had already become a tiny earth-yellow toad the size of a palm.

'Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden, this counts as the first time.' Yunhe's clear voice rang out.

Upon hearing this, the Ice Cassia Immortal Maiden's eyes grew somewhat complex.

The three strikes of such cultivators are exceedingly precious.

Now Yunhe no longer hides his Cultivation Base; he is solidly Late Jie Dan Stage, although his breath seems slightly fluctuating, possibly due to injury, but such an injury would hardly be a trouble for Yunhe.

Ice Cassia Fairy realized that this person might possibly have Nascent Soul potential!

She has also seen Late Jie Dan Stage cultivators act, but frankly, those Late Jie Dan Stage cultivators she has seen cannot compare to this person at all; this is already beyond the means of the vast majority of Golden Core cultivators.

If even such cultivators cannot attempt Nascent Soul, Ice Cassia Fairy really does not know what kind of Golden Core cultivator could condense a Nascent Soul.

Therefore.

Perhaps Yunhe's remaining two strikes are undoubtedly even more valuable than she imagined!

Suppressing the seemingly unrealistic fantasy in her heart, Ice Cassia Fairy took a slight breath and sent a voice transmission: "Bee Fellow Daoist, I, I will grant you an identity."

Yunhe thought for a moment, then understood the reason and nodded.

Seeing this, Ice Cassia Fairy immediately smiled; amidst the fluttering white palatial complexes, she came before the assembled cultivators above the Ice Immortal Pavilion and spoke loudly:

"This person is none other than the Ice Immortal Pavilion's Supreme Elder, Bee Elder!"

"Supreme Elder?"

When did their Ice Immortal Pavilion gain a Supreme Elder? And moreover, a male Elder.

But soon they each showed an excited expression.

They had all seen the strength Yunhe previously displayed; such Cultivation Base, such strength of a Supreme Elder, for the disciples of their Ice Immortal Pavilion, is absolutely only beneficial and harmless.

"Greetings, Supreme Elder!"

For a moment, reverent young female voices shouted in unison.

Yunhe in the air twitched the corner of his eye.

Those who didn't know thought they had entered the Women's Kingdom.

He merely grunted, yet kept his composure and gave a slight nod, accepting this identity.

Anyway.

This also counts as a decent place for cultivation.

"Fellow Daoist, please follow me."

Ice Cassia Fairy waved her hand, indicating that Dong Ning Xuan should lead the Ice Immortal Pavilion's disciples to repair the grand formation and mountain gate, then she led Yunhe to fly toward the Ice Immortal Pavilion's main hall.

She had also promised Yunhe the Ice Heart Pill.

Although she never intended to renege, after witnessing Yunhe's strength she became even more eager than he, fearing that a delay would make Yunhe think she didn't want to give it, causing a misunderstanding.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the Ice Heart Cave, one of the Ice Immortal Pavilion's cultivation caves with the highest spiritual energy; cultivating here also has a slight calming and tranquilizing effect; I hope you do not find it shoddy."

Ice Cassia Fairy personally received Yunhe, showing how much she values him.

While speaking, she introduced the cave before them, filled with jagged ice crystals.

Yunhe simply scanned with his divine sense and confirmed that this was indeed merely a cultivation cave, with no mechanisms, and the spiritual energy within could barely reach the level of a third‑grade upper‑grade spiritual vein; it is undoubtedly the most concentrated spot of spiritual energy on the Ice Immortal Pavilion's snow mountain.

"Thank you, Fairy."

Upon hearing this, Ice Cassia Fairy smiled and then handed over a storage bag and a token.

"This is the Ice Immortal Order; holding this token, the entire Ice Immortal Pavilion is fully open to you, Fellow Daoist—whether the Technique Pavilion, the Treasury, or any secret place of the Ice Immortal Pavilion, and everything of the Ice Immortal Pavilion is yours to take at will."

"Oh?"

Yunhe showed a look of surprise.

Ice Cassia Fairy really knows how to act—she actually chose not to retain even a hint of the Ice Immortal Pavilion's secrecy?

Little did she know, Ice Osmanthus Fairy was a smart person; she understood that with Yunhe's ability, if he truly coveted something from the Ice Immortal Pavilion, she would be utterly unable to stop him, and in the end either she would be forced to "give" the item to Yunhe, or she would provoke him and bring down a calamity upon the Ice Immortal Pavilion.

Since that is the case, it would be better to simply lay everything before Yunhe; that would actually win his favor more effectively and make it more likely to retain him.

"Inside the storage bag are some offerings that my Ice Immortal Pavilion presents to the Supreme Elder, as well as the formula for the 'Ice Heart Pill' that you, Fellow Daoist, require. However, the main ingredient for refining this pill, the 'Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart',"

Ice Osmanthus Fairy showed an embarrassed expression, seeing Yunhe look at her, she hastily added:

"Because the 'Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart' is extremely difficult to produce, my Ice Immortal Pavilion currently has none in stock, but Fellow Daoist, rest assured—it will fully condense at most in another ten years; by then I will certainly present it to you with both hands at the earliest opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Yunhe nodded in realization.

Ten years.

To him, that isn't really a long time.

【105> He currently only has the formula for the "Ice Heart Pill"; even if he obtains the "Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart", he still needs to gather the remaining ingredients to concoct it.

He now only has the formula for the "Ice Heart Pill"; even if he got his hands on the "Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart", he would still need to gather the remaining materials before he could refine it.

Moreover, he has just broken through to Late Jie Dan Stage, and is still some distance from achieving Perfection of Jie Dan.

Seeing Yunhe not show anger, Ice Osmanthus Fairy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way. May I ask, Fairy, is there a large trade fair nearby today?"

"A trade fair?"

After a moment's thought, Ice Osmanthus Fairy shook her head and said: "I really don't know about this. However, I will arrange for people to gather information; if there is a trade fair worth your attention, Fellow Daoist, I will surely learn of it."

"Then I'll trouble you." Yunhe gave a slight clasped-fist salute.

"Fellow Daoist, you are the Supreme Elder of my Ice Immortal Pavilion; no need for formalities."

(End of Chapter)