Facing Abyss Peak, the front peak.
Liu Huiyun brought Lin Xuan and Ying Huanhuan here, then returned, leaving only Lin Xuan and Ying Huanhuan in this place.
On the huge mountaintop platform, Ying Huanhuan stood before the chains, looking at the chains stretching into the distance beneath her feet, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes as she reached out to the side.
As soon as her hand extended, Ying Huanhuan felt an unusual chill penetrate her body from her fingertips, causing her slender hand to shiver involuntarily, and she quickly retracted it.
"Hiss, this Soul-Eating Cold Wind is truly terrifying!"
Lin Xuan glanced at Ying Huanhuan strangely. Although he could feel that the invisible cold wind was indeed quite powerful, it shouldn't have caused such a big reaction from Ying Huanhuan, given her strength.
Could it be related to the energy within Ying Huanhuan's body? After all, Ying Huanhuan is the Ice Master, so this Soul-Eating Cold Wind easily stimulates the hidden energy within her?
His brow furrowed slightly, and he glanced at the chains disappearing into the clouds. After hesitating for a moment, Lin Xuan took the initiative to speak.
"I'll take you across."
The corners of Ying Huanhuan's lips, who had her back to Lin Xuan, curved into a smile, but it disappeared after she turned around. She gently shook her head and refused.
"It's probably not necessary, it's too much trouble for you."
"It's alright."
Lin Xuan said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the chain in front of Ying Huanhuan, and a touch of seriousness appeared in his eyes. This Soul-Eating Cold Wind had no effect on him, but Ying Huanhuan probably couldn't withstand the cold wind's invasion.
In those dark eyes, the originally deep pupils gradually turned clear. Under Lin Xuan's gaze, countless cold winds constantly 'impacted' the chains. At the same time, the inscriptions engraved on the chains emitted faint rays of light, firmly protecting the chains, remaining unmoved despite the cold wind's invasion.
Presumably, it was the special power contained in the inscriptions on the chains that protected those standing on the chains from the cold wind's invasion, allowing them to reach Facing Abyss Peak.
Otherwise, with just this Soul-Eating Cold Wind, Ling Qingzhu, whose strength was only at the Nirvana Realm back then, would probably have had difficulty getting through.
Thinking this in his heart, Lin Xuan's movements were not slow. He reached out with one hand, embracing Ying Huanhuan's slender waist, and with a tap of his foot, he landed directly on the chain. Before Ying Huanhuan could react, she felt the scene before her eyes change rapidly.
After traversing the chains for nearly half an hour, Lin Xuan finally saw the huge, pitch-black mountain peak. As Lin Xuan approached, a wave of Yin energy rushed towards him from the black mountain, causing Lin Xuan's expression to become serious.
With a burst of speed, Lin Xuan carried Ying Huanhuan directly onto the summit of the black mountain. As soon as he stepped onto the summit, Lin Xuan felt a wave of Yin energy drilling into his body from the soles of his feet.
Ying Huanhuan, who had been put down, also had a slight change in expression after sensing the special Yin energy. A strange light flashed in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and she sighed softly.
"Such strong Yin energy, no wonder it's called a dangerous place!"
Earthly Yuan Realm cultivators need Yin energy to cultivate. Normally, the better the Yin energy, the faster the cultivation speed of the Earthly Yuan Realm, and the better the quality of the Essence Pill formed at that time.
But the Yin energy here, let alone cultivating, even if an Earthly Yuan Realm cultivator were to be contaminated by a trace, their soul would be frozen stiff. Anyone below the Creation Three Realms would be frozen to death on the spot if they were contaminated by a trace.
Only by reaching the high-level Nirvana Realm and being tempered by the Nirvana Fire can one use the Nirvana energy in their body to resist this Yin energy.
"This Yin energy seems to come from a certain place, not formed naturally!"
Lin Xuan shook his head slowly upon hearing this. He could sense that this Yin energy seemed to come from a certain place within the mountain. He guessed that there should be a special place that constantly released this Yin energy.
As he spoke, Lin Xuan also carefully examined the mountain beneath his feet. The entire mountain had no vegetation, only jagged rocks. The cliffs were steep, and beneath his feet was an endless abyss. The silent Soul-Eating Cold Wind constantly blew around the mountain.
Lin Xuan's gaze swept slightly, and he noticed that there were many caves on the mountain, which should all lead to the interior of the mountain. Moreover, judging from this appearance, this Facing Abyss Peak seemed to have many passages in the middle. No wonder, after the Taiqing Palace founder escaped into this place, no one chased after him.
The entire mountain was surrounded by the Soul-Eating Cold Wind, and the strange black rocks beneath his feet could also hinder the exploration of spiritual power. Once inside Facing Abyss Peak, it would be extremely difficult to find someone hiding within.
However, these things were useless to Lin Xuan. Although he could not use the Immortal Symbol Master's spiritual power to explore the interior of the mountain, the surrounding wind had already told him the terrain inside the mountain.
The cave wasn't just on the mountain's surface; it was riddled with caves from top to bottom. Each cave served as both an entrance and an exit.
The entire mountain was crisscrossed with countless passages formed by interconnected caves, except for the very bottom, which seemed to have a vast open space connected to some of the caves above.
That place seemed different. Even the Soul-Eating Cold Wind that eroded souls couldn't penetrate it. At the same time, it was also the place where Yin energy was most concentrated.
"Let's go in."
Lin Xuan said as he took the lead, with Ying Huanhuan silently following behind, her brow slightly furrowed, seemingly lost in thought.
After entering through one of the caves, Lin Xuan and Ying Huanhuan felt their vision instantly plunge into darkness. Fortunately, Lin Xuan summoned a wisp of Vermilion Bird Fire, illuminating the cave.
As they twisted and turned through the mountain's interior, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhu, perched on Lin Xuan's shoulders, curiously examined the stone passages within this strange mountain.
"Master, the Yin energy here is getting heavier and heavier!"
Although they were constantly turning left and right, all the passages sloped downwards. Fu Zhu could clearly tell that they were descending. However, as they continued downwards, Fu Zhu could feel the Yin energy growing denser, even seeing wisps of black mist under the Vermilion Bird Fire's illumination.
Lin Xuan nodded slightly, also sensing this. He couldn't help but turn to Ying Huanhuan and softly ask,
"Huanhuan, can you still handle it?"
Lin Xuan was worried that this Yin energy, like the previous Soul-Eating Cold Wind, would stir up the Ice Master's energy within Ying Huanhuan. However, judging from Ying Huanhuan's expression, it didn't seem to have much of an effect.
"Lin Xuan, I feel... a little cold."
Ying Huanhuan could feel strands of cold air constantly entering her body and being absorbed. As for the so-called coldness, how could the Ice Master possibly feel cold from this bit of Yin energy?
However, when faced with Lin Xuan's question, Ying Huanhuan's answer was obvious.
Lin Xuan didn't say anything more upon hearing this. He simply reached out and grasped Ying Huanhuan's somewhat icy jade hand, enveloping her in Vermilion Bird Qi.
Ying Huanhuan's lips slowly curved into a smile as she covered his hand with her other hand. Together, they held Lin Xuan's large hand and continued to venture deep into the bottom of Facing Abyss Peak to see Ling Qingzhu.
As the two people and two spirits went deeper and deeper, the Yin energy grew increasingly dense, eventually forming a thin black mist.
Fortunately, after traveling for half an hour, they were now close to reaching the bottom of Facing Abyss Peak.
Deep within Facing Abyss Peak, instead of the open space Lin Xuan had imagined, there was a huge peak-heart lake. On the lake were several small paths paved with black rocks, with a total of eight paths, each corresponding to a tunnel entrance. At the center of the lake, where the eight paths connected, was a circular stone platform about three zhang in size.
All around the lake paths and the stone platform were adorned with many night-luminescent pearls, illuminating this dark space and even causing the lake's surface to occasionally shimmer.
On the lake's central stone platform sat a woman in a white dress. However, the white-dressed woman, who had been tightly closing her eyes as if cultivating, suddenly opened them at this moment and turned her head to look towards a certain passage.
"Da! Da!"
Under the white-dressed woman's gaze, a ball of crimson light suddenly appeared. Immediately afterwards, two figures landed on the path below the passage.
After Lin Xuan steadied himself, he extinguished the Vermilion Bird Fire in his hand. In the next moment, he met the gaze of Ling Qingzhu, who was looking over.
Ling Qingzhu glanced at Lin Xuan, then her gaze fell on the hand behind Lin Xuan. She saw that the large hand was tightly holding a jade hand, which was also covered by two jade hands.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of suspicion flashed in Ling Qingzhu's eyes. She raised her clear eyes and looked at Ying Huanhuan, who was standing behind Lin Xuan with a faint smile.
After exchanging a glance with those beautiful eyes, Ling Qingzhu looked at Lin Xuan again, slowly stood up, and said to Lin Xuan with a calm expression.
"It's been several months since we last met. I didn't expect that upon seeing Sword Saint again, Sword Saint would give Qingzhu such a big surprise. I must congratulate Sword Saint."
Lin Xuan frowned slightly, always feeling that Ling Qingzhu's words seemed a bit off. After glancing at her and not noticing anything different, he felt even more puzzled. He immediately stopped thinking so much and responded softly,
"Miss Qingzhu, long time no see!"
"Senior Sister Ling, long time no see. My junior sister and I received Senior Sister's letter, and we immediately had Senior Brother bring me over as quickly as possible, without a moment's delay!"
Upon hearing Ling Qingzhu's words, Ying Huanhuan smiled sweetly at Ling Qingzhu, took two steps closer, stood closely behind Lin Xuan, and said with a charming smile.
Ling Qingzhu's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. Without a moment's delay, does that mean Lin Xuan carried Ying Huanhuan the entire way? They're so close? And such intimate behavior in front of her.
But that doesn't seem right. If Ying Huanhuan is really her senior sister, why would she be so close to Lin Xuan? Her never-before-seen senior sister is known for her cold personality.
Originally, Ling Qingzhu wasn't very confident in her guess, but now, she's almost completely ruling out that answer in her mind.
Although Lin Xuan is excellent, and his talent is even higher than her senior sister's, Ling Qingzhu doesn't believe her senior sister would be moved by the current Lin Xuan.
Not only Ying Huanhuan, but now Ling Qingzhu feels like she can't see through Lin Xuan either. This guy can actually gently hold a woman's hand and protect her so intimately?
Ling Qingzhu thought Lin Xuan was someone who wouldn't be moved, but now it seems she doesn't understand him at all. Or, is it just that this man doesn't like her?
So, during the competition, Lin Xuan was so concerned about Junior Sister Ying. It's said that when Junior Sister Ying was in danger, he rescued her from thousands of miles away and killed the Yuan Gate Eight Great Chiefs.
However, Ling Qingzhu doesn't understand. She doesn't seem to be any worse than Junior Sister Ying, right? Why did Lin Xuan reject her in every possible way, as if he was afraid of having any connection with her? Is she that annoying?
Recalling the embarrassing events in the Ancient Tomb Mansion, Ling Qingzhu couldn't help but look at Lin Xuan with a bit of resentment and a hint of complaint.
Women, or rather people, are almost always competitive and like to compare themselves, especially proud people like Ling Qingzhu who have never lost to other women. The more pride they have, the stronger their desire to compete, but most of the time, they don't bother comparing themselves to others.
While Ling Qingzhu was staring at Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan was also staring at Ling Qingzhu. The more he looked, the deeper Lin Xuan's frown became.
Because, in Lin Xuan's perception, Ling Qingzhu's soul looks strong, but it's completely weak on the inside, like only an empty shell remains.
Immediately, Lin Xuan didn't care about much else. Just as he didn't want Ying Huanhuan to have any problems, Ling Qingzhu absolutely couldn't have any mishaps either.
Lin Xuan didn't hesitate, pulling Ying Huanhuan along, and in a few flashes, he had already arrived in front of Ling Qingzhu, causing Ling Qingzhu to feel inexplicably weak and ask softly,
"What's wrong?"
"Give me your hand!"
Lin Xuan said very directly, his brow furrowing even more. After getting closer, his feeling became clearer. There must be a problem with Ling Qingzhu's soul, but just sensing it from a distance, Lin Xuan couldn't perceive it very clearly, so he needed to have contact to better investigate.
However, these words seemed to have a slightly different meaning in the ears of Ling Qingzhu and Ying Huanhuan.
Ying Huanhuan, standing behind Lin Xuan, couldn't help but pout and glared fiercely at Lin Xuan's back. Ling Qingzhu, for some reason, didn't dare to ask too much and extended her slender hand towards Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan frowned. Although he didn't understand what Ling Qingzhu meant, he still grabbed Ling Qingzhu's snow-like wrist, and a trace of energy entered Ling Qingzhu's body.