Chapter 984: Almost Awake

She bent down, a step ahead of Qingque, picked up the flower stalk, and held it between her fingers to examine it.

The flower stalk was already completely dry, and when touched it made a faint rustling sound.

"Interesting."

Yao Guang said softly, handing the flower stalk to Qingque, "Perhaps this place is affecting whatever is inside your body."

Qingque was also a bit surprised, widened her eyes, took it, and turned it over in her palm to look.

The flower stalk was so light it was almost weightless; several petals were already half shattered, leaving only a single stem.

"Is this thing falling down a good omen or a bad one?"

Qingque asked softly, as if questioning Yao Guang, yet also talking to herself.

Her fingers unconsciously brushed the flower stalk, and the fragile broken petals slipped through her fingertips, scattering into the dark‑red mist.

Yao Guang did not answer, but slowly straightened up, shifting his gaze from Qingque's palm toward the depths of the distant thick mist.

Her expression was calm, as if listening to some far‑off movement carried within the mist.

After a short while, she spoke gently: "The sense of time here is a bit chaotic; what you carry will fall off on its own, indicating that certain Rule is loosening."

Qingque listened, half‑understanding, wiped her now‑empty palm on the hem of her skirt, and stood up.

Gray‑white long hair cascaded down from behind, intertwining with the gray‑green flower branches, like a half‑withered vine.

She walked to Yao Guang's side, mimicking his posture to gaze into the distance, but beyond the ever‑thickening red mist, she saw nothing.

"Yao boss, I always feel this place is breathing."

Qingque suddenly whispered, her voice so light it was almost swallowed by the mist.

As soon as she finished, she felt a layer of gooseflesh rise, and the flower branches on her arm stood up, as if echoing her words.

Yao Guang turned his face slightly, gave her a glance, the corner of his mouth curved, laughing that she had become sharp at this moment.

Elsewhere, Jing Liu stood at the foremost edge of the Star Chariot, the night wind surged upward from below, whipping her smoky cyan and sky‑blue garments into restless flutters.

The black Eye Mask covered half her face, but the exposed sliver of her side profile was as cold as jade, the corner of her mouth drawn into an almost straight line.

Her face was turned downward, her gaze piercing through layers of cold wind, landing in the depths of the Ice Valley.

The cyan‑yellow arcs had brightened a few more points since before, emanating from deep within the ice layers, like bolts of lightning frozen in deep blue, or like the slowly opening eyes of a gigantic creature.

The light took on a breathing rhythm, flashing on and off; each illumination caused a thin cyan‑yellow mist to rise on the ice surface, like a virus spreading in a petri dish.

Fu Xuan came from behind, her heels striking the Star Chariot deck with a thudding sound.

She stopped two steps behind Jing Liu, not getting too close.

The wind tossed her skirt wildly, a few strands of pink‑purple hair escaped from her soaring bun, brushing her cheek.

She lifted her hand, tucking the strands behind her ear swiftly, fearing any hint of disarray.

"It has already been reported."

Fu Xuan spoke, her voice scattered by the wind yet still clear: "The nearest Yaoqing Xianzhou will hurry to provide support; accounting for transmutation travel time, we must hold out for a while, and until they arrive, this airspace will be sealed jointly by the Cloud Cavalry and the Heavenly Ship Office."

Jing Liu did not turn, only gave a hum, her long hair shifting from frosty white to icy blue, rippling in the wind.

After a few seconds, she spoke lightly: "Will the Yaoqing reinforcements arrive in time?"

Fu Xuan sensed the doubt in her tone, feeling a bit irritated; she knew this person was always like that, speaking concisely, too lazy to turn her face toward others.

But given the current situation, Jing Liu was the strongest combat force by her side; no matter how indifferent the other was, she had to deliver the necessary words properly.

Suppressing her emotions, she answered earnestly: "The Marshal has personally issued the order; the Yaoqing side will rush aid according to wartime standards, without delay."

"Wartime standard."

Jing Liu repeated it, her voice sounding as if it came from beneath the ice, cold and hollow.

She slowly tightened her grip on the Ice Sword, and additional frost patterns appeared on the scabbard, as if invisible cold seeped out from between her fingers.

The wind suddenly churned for an instant, and shards of ice broke off the ice mountain below, striking the valley floor with a "Dong" sound.

Fu Xuan's Divination Eye flared again on her forehead, this time hotter than before.

She frowned, remained silent, and fixed her gaze firmly on those cyan‑yellow arcs below.

"Jing Liu, you once sparred with Shuhuo."

"What do you think, the one down there now, how many parts are left?"

Jing Liu finally turned her head, the black Eye Mask concealing all emotion.

Her voice sounded filtered through ice water: "That time, it was only a minor test; later at Luofu, Tengxiao General, using the Divine Lord, severely damaged it. It still didn't die. The Five Xiao combined force, only to disperse the main body. Now its remnants are sealed in the secret box of the Imprisoned Prison, and the Ten Kings Office concluded that they cannot confirm whether that is the true body."

Fu Xuan felt a chill run down her back.

She obviously knew the old story, but hearing Jing Liu say it herself felt entirely different from reading the Ten Kings Office files.

The wind rose again from the valley floor, mingling with a sweet, putrid scent of rotting plant matter that had been frozen, drilling straight into people's nostrils.

Fu Xuan couldn't help but hold her breath, her throat moving slightly.

"You mean, the one below is likely the true body?"

Jing Liu did not answer directly, merely turned her face back forward.

Fu Xuan noticed her sword‑grip had changed, from a loose hold to a firm grasp, her knuckles whitening, frost patterns crawling up her back of the hand like a layer of fine ice scales.

"It's about to awaken," Jing Liu suddenly said, her tone terrifyingly calm.

Fu Xuan hadn't had time to reply when a low rumble rose from below.

The sound rolled up from the deepest part of the Ice Valley, as if a colossal beast turned over in its dream.

Immediately, the entire glacier began to shudder, the ice surface "Kaka"ing, countless fissures spreading upward from the valley floor, and a massive spider web swiftly unfurled within the blue frozen layer.

The frozen white Bubbles shattered one after another under the vibration, Ice Shards spraying everywhere, raising a plume of white snow mist.

The Star Chariot jolted violently a few times, the deck emitting a teeth‑aching metallic scraping sound.

Fu Xuan staggered a step, reaching to grab the nearby rail, averting a fall.

"General!" Yan Qing rushed up from behind, grabbing Fu Xuan's arm; he himself wavered, his sword tassel flailing in the wind.

Xue Yi sank into a horse stance, the Lock chain "Whala—" clanged into the deck, stabilizing her posture.

Jing Liu stood at the front, like a knife nailed into the wind.

Her long hair was lifted by the gust, the black Eye Mask stayed still amid the violent shaking.

She then slowly exhaled, and the frosty white mist spread from her lips.

"It's too late."

The cyan‑yellow light at that instant flared wildly, detonating from the depths of Ice Valley; a diseased little sun wrestled its way up from the earth, turning the entire glacier into a strange yellow‑green hue.

The light struck the Star Chariot, bathing each face in half‑light and half‑shadow.