79th Extra Chapter: Ice and Fire Seal (Part 1)

  The cold night was bleak, the moon was silent, and the faint frost fell in this forest of swords. Only a few sharp lights flickered on the suspended sword blades, the biting wind sounded as if it were singing a dirge for the departed souls. In this quiet and deserted night, suddenly a loud shout came.

  "Xuan Xiao, why did you severely injure the disciple who was delivering food for you?!"

  Deep in the forbidden land, a stone room filled with icicles, a man and a woman stood facing each other. The woman was slender, not very old, but her expression was solemn and mature, her pretty face as beautiful as peaches and plums, cold as ice and frost, yet unable to hide the heroic spirit in her eyes. Her high hair bun was adorned with a golden silk Taoist crown, two half-inch wide silk ribbons hanging down from her shoulders, adding a few more touches of ethereal elegance, set off by a luxurious blue and white Taoist robe, looking like an immortal at first glance.

  At this moment, the noble and inviolable face was full of anger. Her eyebrows were upside down, and a thread of anger flashed in her eyes as she shouted: "Xuan Xiao, what disrespect did Yuan Xing and Yuan Lang have towards you that you would use such heavy punishment on them?"

  The man being questioned didn't think much of it, and didn't even bother to glance at her, saying lightly: "These people are annoying just by looking at them, don't need to come again in the future."

  The woman suddenly flew into a rage, fiercely waving her sleeve and saying: "How dare you! Your behavior makes me wonder how I can explain to our fellow disciples that our sect's forbidden land has raised a monster that harms people?!" Before she had even finished speaking, the man in front of her flashed a stern expression on his cold face, and his chilly eyes suddenly lifted to gaze at her, his gaze shooting out like cold electricity.

  "Am I... a monster?" The man asked coldly, his lips suddenly curling up into a smile, but the smile was as cold as ice, chilling to the bone. In those eyes that were like two icy stars, layer upon layer of frost had formed. The woman was intimidated by his aura and unconsciously repressed her anger.

  He coldly sized up the woman in front of him, his gaze lingering on her exquisite Taoist crown and robe for a long time before suddenly saying: "What you said is right, I'm now neither human nor ghost, being imprisoned here, naturally can't compare to you Su Yao becoming the leader, with unlimited glory!"

  The woman's face changed slightly, and she saw a smile on his face that was not quite a smile. She also heard the sarcasm in his words, and her pretty face sank immediately. When she spoke, her voice was even colder: "Xuan Xiao, you have long been consumed by Yang Yan's heart, and your mind is no longer clear."

  The man sneered coldly, his face falling as he said, "I'm not clear-headed? Ridiculous! If you were locked in a place like this without sunlight, how clear-headed would you be?" As he spoke, it seemed as if he recalled the various hardships and sufferings of these past days. A layer of dark red aura gradually shrouded his brow, and his eyes became increasingly turbid, shooting out streaks of dark red light. The scarlet sword on his back, sensing the chaotic true energy flowing unceasingly around its master, also let out a shrill, mournful cry.

  Su Yu's eyebrows furrowed, knowing she couldn't resist, but her face still maintained a calm and composed expression. She took a step back with her foot, leaving no trace, and said coldly, "There's no use talking more." After finishing speaking, she raised her sleeve and lightly clapped her palm.

  Her every move was caught in the man's eyes, he raised an eyebrow, and suddenly sensed that there were a few more breaths in the icy room. His heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Who?"

  Su Yao's lips slightly curled up, as if she had smiled fearlessly, and said in a clear voice: "Three elders, please come out!"

  That raised voice still echoed in the ice room, and on the ground behind her that had condensed into a layer of frost, three circular arrays emitting blue light gradually appeared. As the blue light faded, three figures wearing blue and white Taoist robes appeared in the arrays.

  That man was still indifferent when facing the leader of the Su Yao sect, but now he couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise. Even the turbulent aura around him stagnated: "Master Uncle, you..."

  Those three Taoist priests all had silver hair and a solemn expression, but the gaze they cast at the man was filled with sorrow. The white-haired Taoist priest with a youthful face seemed to be the most impatient, unable to hold back his words as he rebuked: "Xuan Xiao, look at yourself, do you still have even half of your former composure? Alas, if it weren't for Wang Shu being taken away from this place, forcing you to single-handedly control Xihe and prop up the sword pillar, things wouldn't be...". As he spoke, his words became increasingly tinged with regret.

  Another Taoist shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, Chong Guang, no need to say more. My Qiong Hua's thousand-year-old wish has failed, and even the master's brother and Xuan Zhen's nephew... Now that Xuan Xiao can keep one life, it is already a blessing from heaven, but how to eliminate this body of Yang Yan is extremely difficult..."

  "Three elders, Xuan Xiao has now gone mad and lost his clarity. To keep our Qionghua Sect peaceful, it's better to seal him in the Xuan Ice and make other plans later!" On the side, Su Yao listened to their conversation and seemed to be deeply regretful of Xuan Xiao's current situation, her face slightly revealing dissatisfaction, hurriedly interrupting them.

  The three Taoists were stunned upon hearing this. The man opposite them was even more furious, and he shouted loudly: "What?! You dare to——"

  Su Yao sneered, "Xuan Xiao, don't struggle like a trapped beast. Even if your cultivation is strong, can you still defeat the four of us working together?" As she spoke, she suddenly shouted, "Take action!"

  But the response was the silence of the three elders. Su Yao turned her head in displeasure, only to see that the three Taoist priests all had a sorrowful and painful expression, obviously extremely unwilling to listen to her orders. Their faces were even more gloomy. The Taoist priest who had just stopped Qing Guang spoke up: "Elder Qingyang, you have seen with your own eyes how my two disciples were beaten into a state of injury. Now, Xuanshuo has gone mad and lost all sense of humanity! But his cultivation is high, and among the younger generation of the sect, no one can compare to him. The older generation... after this incident, more than half have been crippled. If we don't take decisive action to restrain him, I fear that the Qionghua Sect will never have a peaceful day again!"

  Qingyang's face showed a hint of hesitation, but he shook his head and remained silent.

  Su Yao turned to the Daoist who had been silent until now: "Zong Lian, you forged the Twin Swords with your own hands. You should know that after a person and their sword have cultivated together, the spiritual energy within the host's body becomes vigorous. Unless they cultivate together with another sword and its host, restraining each other, otherwise even if Master was still alive, it would be impossible to dispel the Yang Huo's flames from Xuanyue's body."

  Zong Lian was silent for a while, then let out a long sigh and finally nodded under the gaze of the other four people.

  "Three elders, Su Yao's actions are not taken lightly. I know that Xuan Xiao is a talented individual, and it's a shame he was sealed in ice. However, the current situation is critical, and we cannot afford any more incidents. The Qionghua Sect is on the verge of collapse, and I implore you to prioritize our sect's thousand-year legacy over personal feelings, lest we tarnish our reputation."

  The man opposite listened for a long time, getting angrier and angrier, with an increasingly dark aura covering his face, his eyes faintly turning red, and his black hair fluttering behind him like thick ink. His whole body was slightly trembling.

  Qingyang and the others looked at him with that expression, and they were even more convinced in their hearts that he had gone mad, exchanging glances with each other, secretly making up their minds, and nodding slightly in sorrow.

  On the side, Xiu Yao looked at the three elders, forcing down the impatience in her heart, and urged: "What are you three elders waiting for? Are you still showing mercy to a woman at this time?"

  "Su'you, don't go too far!" The man saw that the three elders had already been persuaded by her, and his heart was anxious. His inner breath was churning non-stop, and the yang energy around him had already burst out of his body. A fiery red aura enveloped his tall and majestic figure, clashing with the cold air around him. The Xī Hé sword was surrounded by that intense heat, and its hum grew even louder.

  After a while, Qingyang let out a long sigh: "…Xuan Xiao, the foundation of the Qionghua Sect for hundreds of years is like a country with its own laws, and it cannot be violated. Today, although I am ashamed in front of you, it is something that must be done! If there were another way to save you, we would not have resorted to this inferior plan!" As he spoke, he suddenly stretched out his hand from his sleeve and had already grasped the hand seal.

  "Elder! Qingyang Elder!" The man only felt a surge of energy suddenly binding him tightly, and his face changed drastically. He looked at this master uncle who was usually gentle and valued himself the most, with eyes that were hard to believe, and painfully cried out, "Why even you——"

  Qingyang closed his eyes, his expression extremely heavy, but he still slowly walked to a corner of the ice room and stood there, slowly starting to work up his internal energy. The two elders beside him also began to move in response. Su Yao stood in the center of the ice room, a hint of joy gradually rising in her eyes, as she moved her lips and recited incantations along with the three elders.

  In an instant, the ice room was filled with brilliant light, cold air surged out, and the ice pillars shattered and fell. Amidst the falling ice, a voice full of resentment and anger shouted: "No! How can you treat me like this?! Stop—!"

  The frost gradually dispersed, and only the broken ice fragments were seen on the ground. However, a huge ice pillar suddenly appeared in the center of the ice room. In the crystal clear ice, one could vaguely see the tall and proud figure of a man, but his face, which was usually cold and indifferent, was now twisted in pain, with eyes that were extremely sinister.

  After a long time, a faint voice came from within the ice: "Su Yao, how dare you treat me like this!"

  Su Yao stood in front of the ice pillar, letting out a sigh of relief as she smiled calmly and said: "Younger brother, don't blame me, I'm doing this for your own good. If you were to go out and hurt someone with your reckless temper, how would that be? According to our sect's rules, you've already committed a grave offense by injuring a fellow disciple without reason. The three elders and I have allowed you to reflect on your actions here as an act of leniency. How can you not distinguish right from wrong and instead come to resent me?" She paused for a moment, the smile on her face suddenly disappearing as she continued in a cold tone: "If you really want to blame someone, if you really want to hate someone, then go hate Yun Tianqing and Su Yu! If they hadn't escaped with the Wishing Star Sword, you wouldn't have ended up in this situation!"

  "Nonsense! Let me out!" the person in the ice roared.

  Su Yao seemed to have not heard, at this moment she had already settled the major event in her heart, and as for Xuan Xiao, she didn't take him seriously. She turned around and saluted the three elders: "The three elders can disregard personal feelings and consider the overall situation of our Qionghua Sect. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. You all saw it too, now that my junior brother has become a madman, if we let him out, he will surely cause great disaster! I hope you all will strictly guard the secrets of the forbidden land and must not have any unnecessary sympathy!"

  Zong Lian glanced at her, not yet speaking, and first covered his chest to cough. Su Yao looked at him with a slightly furrowed brow, saying: "Elder Zong Lian, isn't the internal injury you suffered in the demon realm some time ago still not healed? If so, why don't you go back and rest instead?"

  Zong Lian's face was pale and defeated, he walked past her in silence to the front of the ice pillar, bent down to pick up an object, which was the Xī Hé sword that had fallen when Xuán Xiāo was sealed. The scarlet divine sword seemed to have also sensed its master being restricted, the red light on it dimmed, and occasionally emitted a mournful hum. Zong Lian stroked the sword for a long time with his palm, raised his eyes to look at the blurry face of the person inside the ice pillar, under his white eyebrows, a pair of old eyes flashed with a hint of guilt, lightly raised his hand, inserted Xī Hé into the ice pillar, turned around and walked out of the forbidden area.

  Su Yao looked at his back, her eyebrows furrowed even tighter, and turned her head to look at Qingyang and Chong Guang, just about to speak, but was coldly interrupted by Qingyang.

  "After going through this great war, I and Chong Guang are physically and mentally exhausted. We have long intended to retreat to the back mountain, no longer ask about the affairs of the sect, and let the master of the sect rest assured that we will not come to the forbidden land again."

  Su Yao's face revealed a look of surprise, and she hastily said: "In the struggle with the demon realm, casualties are heavy, and our sect is in dire need of manpower at this moment. Why would the elder say such a thing?"

  Qingyang said faintly, "After the battle with the demon realm, we are already exhausted in body and mind. The death of our Master is even more devastating to us, not to mention that we failed to capture Yun Tianqing and Su Yu, which makes me feel guilty and ashamed to stay in the sect."

  Xu Yao smiled slightly and said indifferently, "In my opinion, it's not too late to discuss this matter further. This time, thanks to the efforts of the two elders, you two can go rest first."

  Chong Guang let out a cold hum, as if he wanted to say something, but Qing Yang pulled him back and shook his head. The two of them silently bowed to Su Yao and walked out shoulder to shoulder.

  Su Yao turned around, facing the ice pillar once again. At this moment, only she and Xuan Xiao were left in the icy chamber. The triumphant smile on her face was no longer hidden. She raised her head to look at the person inside the ice pillar, her expression alternating between joy and anger for a long time before finally saying: "Now that our Master and Eldest Brother have passed away, Su Yu and Yun Tianqing have betrayed our sect, and you, Xuan Xiao, are sealed in this ice. Although I, Su Yao, am not talented, I will not waste this position as the leader of the sect. You watch, Xuan Xiao."

  But the man in the ice had already fallen into extreme anger, and did not hear what she said at all. He just roared: "Su Yao, I will definitely make you pay the price!"

  Su Yao smiled coldly and said, "Junior brother, I'll take care of your Ling Guang Yu for now. In the Sword Forest, I'll also set up more spiritual symbols. Since you're sealed in ice, it's not like you need anyone to bring you food, so I'll instruct those disciples not to come near here. If one day the disciples find out where Su Yu and Wang Shu Sword are, I'll let you out." With that, she turned around and slowly walked away.

  "Come back! Let me out——"