Chapter 954: The Xuanming Seed

"We meet again, Steward Zhao." Yan Buji tapped the ground with the tip of his sword: "I have some business; I want to go see that Han Shuang."

"I, in good faith, advise you not to meddle in the North River Ice Domain affair, and yet you still come to meet your death!"

Steward Zhao let out an inhuman howl as his body suddenly swelled and burst!

Countless black ice spikes erupted from his body, raining down on Yan Buji. At the same time, all Ice Demon Guards mutated simultaneously, turning into humanoid monsters that lunged forward!

The Ice Lady's red sword whirled into a light screen, blocking most of the ice spikes: "Watch out! They're all parasitized by the Xuanming Seed!"

Yan Buji did not retreat but advanced, the Abni Sword tracing a perfect arc.

Where the gray mist passed, the monsters fell like wheat stalks. Yet more black shadows surged from all directions, and the residents of the entire street began to mutate!

"Run!" Yan Buji seized the Ice Lady's wrist and vaulted onto the roof.

Below had become a human hell; hundreds of twisted figures crawled across the snow, merging and mutating, gradually forming a massive black silhouette...

Mutation?

Yan Buji suddenly realized something—perhaps within the Heavenly Cold Palace, someone is planning to achieve sainthood?!

The Ice Lady pointed into the distance: "The entrance to the palace cellar is beneath the Ice Tower at the northeast corner!"

Yan Buji looked at the towering Ice Tower and vaguely saw a white-robed elder briskly entering it—none other than Han Shuang, whom he had met three days earlier outside the side hall!

Suddenly, the crows of Cold Crow City let out a piercing screech. Above the palace, a massive ice crystal vortex was forming. At its center, a faint blood-red eye slowly opened...

"Xuanming Eye..." the Ice Lady's voice trembled: "They have begun the sacrifice early!"

Yan Buji tightened his grip on the Abni Sword, a cold smile curling at his mouth: "Let's go first."

He leapt toward the palace, the gray mist trailing behind him in a long streak, like a sharp sword thrust toward the Ice Tower.

The Ice Lady stared blankly at his silhouette, then gritted her teeth and followed: "Wait for me! I know the layout of the cellar's mechanisms!"

The two surged toward the palace, one ahead of the other, with the forming massive black silhouette behind them and a slowly opening blood-red eye overhead. The night sky over Cold Crow City turned an eerie dark red, as if the whole world awaited the outcome of this clash...

A biting wind hurled ice shards past, Yan Buji's cloak flapping loudly as he raced.

From behind came the roar of collapsing buildings; the black silhouette, formed from hundreds of fused monsters, had risen over twenty zhang, its six grotesque arms flailing wildly, razing every structure in its path.

"Turn left!" the Ice Lady shouted urgently at his side: "At the end of the alley ahead is a dry well that leads directly to the west side of the palace!"

Yan Buji's sword edge veered, a gray flash slashing out, instantly dismembering the three mutated residents blocking the way.

But the severed limbs on the ground began to writhe like living things, crawling toward each other, and in an instant reassembled into new monsters.

"Never ending..." Yan Buji's eyes burned with fierce hatred, and the Abni Sword suddenly emitted a shrill howl.

Seven runes on the blade lit up simultaneously, the gray mist coalescing into seven snarling giant serpents that lunged at the pursuers. Wherever the serpents passed, the monsters fell like wheat stubble, their wounds hissing black smoke that could not regenerate.

The Ice Lady seized the chance to lift the dry well cover: "Quick! Before the Xuanming Eye fully opens, we must…"

Before the words finished, a blue beam suddenly descended from the sky!

Yan Buji yanked the Ice Lady back three frantic steps; the spot where they had stood was now frozen into an ice statue.

Looking up, twelve white-robed cultivators flew in from the palace direction, each standing on a flying sword formed of ice crystals. The leader wielded an Ice Mirror, none other than the Heavenly Cold Palace nun he had met three days earlier!

"Traitor Ice Lady, trespassers shall die!" the nun shouted sharply, flipping the Ice Mirror, which emitted a piercing cold glare.

Where the beam touched, even the air solidified into sharp ice spires that rained down.

Yan Buji's sword danced like a wheel, the gray mist colliding with the ice spires, exploding into a shower of crystal dust.

The Ice Lady seized the moment to hurl three crimson pills; the pills ignited on contact with wind, turning into three fire snakes that lunged at the white-robed group.

"Petty trick," the nun sneered, turning the mirror light; the fire snakes instantly froze into ice statues that shattered upon hitting the ground.

But she failed to notice a strand of gray mist mingling with the flames, which had silently attached itself to the two outermost disciples.

When Yan Buji altered his sword technique, the two disciples let out horrendous screams as the gray mist inside them erupted, grinding their organs into blood sludge!

The remaining white-robed group fell into disarray, and the nun hurriedly adjusted her technique to steady the formation.

"Run!" Yan Buji seized the chance to pull the Ice Lady and leap into the dry well.

The well walls were coated with thick ice, and the two slid down rapidly along the icy channel.

In the darkness, the Ice Lady's rapid breathing came: "That's Leng Yue, a direct disciple of Han Shuang; she wields a replica of the Xuanbing Mirror, capable of freezing…"

Before she could finish, the well mouth suddenly flooded with bone-chilling cold.

Yan Buji thrust a sword upward with his other hand; the gray mist erupted like a volcano, surging upward to collide with the descending ice torrent. The blast's shockwave accelerated their descent, and the two shot out of the well like arrows, landing heavily on the icy surface on the west side of the palace.

"Sss!"

The Ice Lady gasped, her left leg sliced by an ice blade, leaving a deep wound down to the bone. Yan Buji fared no better; an old scar on his chest split open, fresh blood seeping out before freezing into a scab.

Below the towering Ice Tower in the distance, Han Shuang's figure had already vanished into the tower.

Meanwhile, the Xuanming Eye overhead opened a few more degrees, its blood-red pupil dripping strands of black vapor; any building it touched silently turned to dust.

"No time left," Yan Buji tore off his garment, crudely bandaging his wound: "What mechanisms guard the cellar entrance?"

The Ice Lady gritted her teeth and stood: "Three seals. The first is a hundred-zhang Xuan Ice Stair; a misstep triggers the Ice Soul Divine Thunder. The second consists of eighteen Ice Demon puppets; the last is..."

She suddenly coughed violently, spitting out a few breaths of black blood mixed with ice shards: "It's a living sacrifice seal, requires… cough… requires fresh blood to break the formation."

Yan Buji's gaze hardened as he noticed the black meridians on the Ice Lady's neck had already spread to her chin.

She forced a bitter smile, wiping the blood from her mouth: "The Xuanming Seed is manifesting faster... it seems Han Shuang has intensified the sacrifice."

In that instant, the ground began to quake violently, as if the entire earth were moaning in pain. Everyone stared in shock toward the city gate, where the massive fused monster surged like a wild horse, smashing through the city wall at astonishing speed and charging straight into the palace grounds.

Immediately after, Leng Yue led a group of white-robed figures, pursuing like wraiths. Their steps were light and swift, gliding through the night like ghosts. The twelve formed a tight sword formation, each long sword flashing with a chilling sword aura, sealing off every retreat.

He quickly drew a grayish pill from his pocket, thrust it into the Ice Lady's hand, and said, "This is the Burning Soul Pill; it can temporarily suppress the Xuanming Seed within you."