Chapter 75: Extreme Flame and Eternal Frost Part 1

The rolling shadows of the mountains were like a vast, boundless tide. It seemed as though the waves were crashing toward them from afar, but in truth, the two women were the ones charging into the surge.

The nightmare threads were all severed. Caught in the gale, the ends vanished instantly, snapping like lotus silk and leaving no trace behind.

However, it seemed the Guiyuan Sect was not yet ready to let them ascend. An increasingly violent force dove from the summit, carrying with it countless flakes of flying snow. The world became a wall of blinding white, resembling an oncoming avalanche.

The entirety of Snow-Top Peak groaned and rumbled, the earth shaking beneath their feet. The mountain was like the toe of a giant, while the two figures at its base were less than ants.

Feng Yun’ai slammed her Lonely Heart Sword into the ground to steady herself. Gritting her teeth, she threw out a palm strike, blasting the snow from her face and forcing it to scatter.

She saw Sang Chencao move like a flake of snow in the wind, charging headlong toward the heights as if she intended to perish along with the mountain’s fury.

Feng Yun’ai’s heart tightened, yet she trusted that Sang Chencao had no desire to die. Such a person would never be content to fall in a place like this; she only looked reckless because she cherished her life so fiercely.

The indigo figure suddenly came to a halt. The wind and snow could not shake her in the slightest. She abruptly drew Solitary Gall. Her sword intent appeared soft and yielding, yet it hid the Extreme Flame Inner Qi.

In the blink of an eye, the sword qi surrounding Sang Chencao materialized into a thousand flaming blades. With a lift of her arm, they swept forward with a murderous momentum.

But a moment later, she knitted her brows.

It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

The internal power of the wind-wielder atop the mountain was not something she or Feng Yun’ai could match yet.

From below, Feng Yun’ai saw her partner stall. “What’s wrong?” she called out, her heart hammering.

Sang Chencao’s expression turned into a rare, snarling mask of effort as she prepared to give her all.

At that exact moment, a dark shadow flickered close, moving like a black wind sweeping up from the foot of the mountain.

“Watch out—!” Feng Yun’ai watched as the shadow closed in on Sang Chencao. She couldn’t even see what it was. It was too fast, faster than she could move her sword to help.

Unexpectedly, the shadow jerked to a stop. Though it was only for a second, it was enough for Feng Yun’ai to see that it was a person—one with a head of silver hair.

The figure pressed a palm against Sang Chencao’s back. Immediately, a brilliant crimson light erupted.

It wasn’t fire, but a torrential flood of internal power pouring from the figure’s hand, forcing its way into Sang Chencao’s sea of qi. With such profound and scorching internal breath, and that shock of grey-white hair, who else could it be but Wen Lanxin?

Sang Chencao was stunned. Her entire body felt as if it were being roasted, and she broke out in a sudden, heavy sweat.

“Go!” The figure behind her suddenly pulled back. Her footwork was like drifting smoke, yet it lacked its former grace.

The figure appeared for an instant and vanished the next, leaving a trail of disordered footprints in the snow—a clear sign of exhausted internal power and an unstable foundation.

Sang Chencao whipped her head around, but the silver hair was gone. She only saw Feng Yun’ai staring in shock at the empty distance.

Feng Yun’ai’s eyes shifted slightly. She couldn’t see clearly, but she asked based on her intuition, “Was it Wen Lanxin? Did she pass her lifelong cultivation to you?”

Sang Chencao looked down at her hands, dazed for a moment. When she raised her sword again, the Extreme Flame Inner Qi burned so brightly it was as if dawn had descended upon the mountain. Flaming blades whistled through the air, and subterranean fire seemed to pour into the heavens.

The tide of avalanching snow suddenly melted. Before it could even turn to water, it transformed into white mist that scattered in the wind.

Sang Chencao sneered. “A mere Sorrowful Wind Fan… Why don’t you try my Solitary Gall instead!”

Her arrogance was peak. With a flick of her wrist, the encroaching snow became curling smoke once more. The fierce winds generated by the fan were heated by her sword qi and shattered, recoiling back toward Snow-Top Peak and turning the mountain snow into clear springs.

The entire peak began to liquefy. The mountain’s frame creaked and groaned as if it were about to collapse. Snowmelt flowed to their feet, making the mountain path slick and difficult to traverse.

Feng Yun’ai leaped toward the summit, her wrist turning lightly. A cold glint followed the Lonely Heart Sword in a rapid strike—but the sword light did not target the mountain winds. Instead, she struck the ground beneath her.

The rainbow-like sword wind carried a chilling frost that rivaled the mountain snow. Where the sword shadow passed, the meltwater froze into solid ice.

This was the final and most exquisite stage of the Lonely Heart Mantra.

Back then, Feng Rong had been hailed as an immortal precisely because she possessed this inner qi. In those days, every step she took left a trail of frost, turning the mortal realm into the White Jade Capital.