Chapter 964: Corpse‑Bound Breaks Free

According to the guidance of the black ice, the corpse‑bound was sealed in a perilous place called "Soul‑Severing Cliff".

There, a yin wind capable of tearing apart the primordial spirit blows year‑round, so even cultivators of the Heavenly Cold Palace rarely approach.

Yan Buji stopped thirty li from Soul‑Severing Cliff and took out a jade bottle from his bosom.

The bottle contained the earth dragon mucus he had just collected mixed with his own essence blood. He carefully dripped a few drops onto the black ice, and the ice crystals instantly emitted an eerie black‑red glow.

"Go!"

He pointed with a finger seal, and the black ice turned into a stream of light that flew toward Soul‑Severing Cliff, stopping before an inconspicuous crack in the cliff wall and began to emit a unique fluctuation. At the same time, Yan Buji took out the prepared "Illusory Form Talisman", disguised himself as a severely injured Heavenly Cold Palace disciple, and then crushed the transmission jade talisman.

"Two venerable envoys... save me... I discovered... black ice crystals... at Soul‑Severing Cliff..."

After doing all that, he swiftly concealed his figure and retreated to a safe distance, quietly waiting for the show to begin.

Half a day later, two shafts of white light pierced the sky. A female cultivator and a young man stood in the air, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

"Han Yue, beware of deceit." The young man said in a low voice: "That old thing is extremely cunning."

Female cultivator Han Yue held the Heaven‑Scanning Mirror, and the mirror's light quickly locked onto the black ice in the cliff crack: "It's indeed here! But..."

She suddenly changed expression: "This aura is wrong!"

No sooner had her words fallen than the ground suddenly shook violently!

A colossal beast burst from the earth—it was the Nine‑Abyss Earth Dragon drawn by the essence‑blood aura!

"Human! Return my treasure!" The earth dragon sensed the mucus aura on the black ice, assumed these two had stolen its "spoils", and without further ado spewed a sky‑filling black mist.

"Damned beast, seeking death!" The young man flew into a rage, formed hand seals with both hands, and dozens of ice spears condensed in the air and shot toward the earth dragon.

Han Yue likewise immediately unleashed her natal magic treasure, the "Profound Ice Ribbon", which turned into countless white silk bands that wrapped around the earth dragon's body.

The battle erupted instantly! The earth dragon's hide was thick and tough, so the ice spears could only leave shallow scratches on its surface.

Moreover, the black mist it spewed forced the two venerable envoys to dodge repeatedly. Worst of all, this ferocious beast could manipulate the yin qi of the earth's veins, drawing energy from underground to heal quickly whenever wounded.

"Form the array!" Han Yue shouted, standing back‑to‑back with the young man. They both produced an ice mirror; the converging light formed a huge ice‑crystal cage that temporarily trapped the earth dragon.

However, they failed to notice that the battle's aftershocks had shattered the seal runes in the cliff crack. Threads of black qi seeped out from the crack, silently entwining their shadows......

Boom—!

The earth dragon swept its tail, shattering the ice prison, and yin qi surged forth like a tide. The young man was accidentally struck on the right arm by a strand of yin qi, and his entire arm instantly turned bluish‑black.

"Ah!" he cried out in anguish, then decisively swung his sword and severed his right arm: "This beast is vicious!"

Seeing this, Han Yue's eyes flashed with ruthlessness: "Use that move!"

Both bit their tongues, spraying essence blood onto the ice mirror. The mirror's surface instantly displayed intricate crimson patterns, and a blinding red light shot toward the earth dragon's head.

"Profound Ice Annihilating Light!"

Wherever the red light passed, even space showed fine cracks. The earth dragon sensed danger and tried to burrow underground to evade, but found the ground had somehow frozen solid. In the nick of time, it suddenly opened its blood‑filled maw and actually swallowed the red light whole.

"What?!" Han Yue gasped in horror. This was a killing move capable of heavily wounding a mid‑stage Unity Dao cultivator!

The earth dragon's abdomen violently swelled, obviously suffering as well. Yet its ferocity flared, and it heedlessly charged at the two.

At this critical moment!

Crack!

A crisp sound came from the cliff wall.

That crack suddenly expanded several times, and a pallid hand reached out from the darkness, lightly pressing onto the earth dragon's head.

A horrifying scene unfolded: the Nine‑Abyss Earth Dragon, whose demonic flames blazed to the heavens, rapidly withered like a drained specimen and instantly turned into a mere dragon hide.

"A hundred thousand years......" a hoarse voice came from the crack: "Finally I have awaited a suitable flesh......"

Han Yue and the young man's faces turned as pale as paper.

As senior members of the Heavenly Cold Palace, they of course knew what this aura signified—it was the palace master's corpse‑bound!

"Damn it, we've been tricked!"

The three venerable envoys originally did not know the whereabouts of the other two corpses, but following Yan Buji as they ran left and right across the Northern River Ice Region, they gradually realized they might have fallen into a deeper scheme.

That old thing might very well be a subordinate of the palace master's corpse‑bound, and now they were inexplicably attacked by a demonic beast, then suddenly saw the corpse‑bound appear—regret is now too late!

"Run!" the young man grabbed Han Yue to flee, but discovered his shadow had somehow solidified on the ground.

What's worse, as his shadow became fixed, his body began to stiffen.

"Not bad potential......" the corpse‑bound fully stepped out of the crack.

He was a middle‑aged man resembling the Venerable Cold Heaven by seventy percent, but his gaze was more sinister and obsessive. He extended a hand in a grasping motion, and the two venerable envoys flew involuntarily toward his palm.

"Perfect—use you…… to greet the main body's reincarnation……"

"No! Palace master, save……" Han Yue's plea for help was cut short.

The corpse‑bound's hand had already pressed upon her and the young man's heads; their bodies rapidly crystallized, ultimately becoming two ice sculptures.

The corpse‑bound surveyed his new work with satisfaction, then suddenly turned his head toward the direction where Yan Buji was hiding: "Had enough, little mouse?"

Yan Buji's heart jolted violently; without hesitation he detonated the pre‑buried Violet‑Cloud Thunder Seeds. Taking advantage of the explosion's cover, he employed the Instant Movement Technique to flee a thousand li.

Behind him came the corpse‑bound's cold, yin laughter: "Run…… we'll meet again soon……"

After fleeing several hundred thousand li in one breath, Yan Buji dared to stop and catch his breath. He hadn't expected the corpse‑bound to be this strong—two Unity‑stage venerable envoys didn't even get a chance to resist.

"This just got interesting......" he gave a cold chuckle.

However, the plan had at least succeeded halfway; the corpse‑bound had broken free, so the Venerable Cold Heaven would certainly have to divert attention to deal with it. And the benevolent‑corpse ice crystal he held would become the crucial trump card.

The union of the three corpses is surely the key for the Venerable Cold Heaven to prove the Dao and attain sainthood. Yet the corpse‑bound, sealed for so many years, surely refuses to become another's nourishment.

He took out the black ice and noticed a new blood‑red pattern on its surface. Even more astonishing, through the ice crystal he could faintly sense the corpse‑bound's movements—that fellow was heading toward the Heavenly Cold Palace!

"Enough, enough!" Yan Buji drew a breath, thinking the Heavenly Cold Palace surely had no time to bother him now, so what should he do?

"If only I could obtain the method to prove the Dao with the three corpses, but for now....."

Yan Buji clutched his chest; surging power tugged at his nerves, the grand Dao of heaven and earth drifting before his eyes like wandering fish—this was a sign of an imminent breakthrough to the Unity Dao!