"Divide up the Ice Heart Valley disciples?" Yang Kai's eyes went wide with shock.
Fang Minghui wore a sleazy grin as he said, "Ice Heart Valley is an all-female sect. Every disciple is pure as jade and cold as frost, not to mention blessed with extraordinary talent. Any man who could claim even one or two of them would have no regrets in life."
In the Northern Territory, Ice Heart Valley enjoyed a fearsome reputation. To those lesser powers that couldn't even be considered proper factions, the female disciples of Ice Heart Valley were like goddesses — to be admired from afar, never to be defiled.
Throughout the ages, countless men in the Northern Territory had considered it the ultimate honor to marry a disciple of Ice Heart Valley.
But very few had ever actually succeeded. Now that the Passionate Heart Sect had issued its recruitment order, men across the Northern Territory had gone mad with excitement. The bounties were one thing, but if someone made real contributions, then after the fall of Ice Heart Valley, they might actually get to split one or two female disciples among themselves — having them serve as slaves or maids would be an enormous show of face. Even marrying one openly as a legitimate wife wouldn't be shameful at all; it would only make others green with envy.
"So you're all here for the Ice Heart Valley disciples too?" Yang Kai regarded Fang Minghui with amusement. The man was getting on in years, yet apparently he still harbored such thoughts.
Fang Minghui smiled bitterly. "I wouldn't dare set my hopes too high. I'd be content just to receive some rewards from the Passionate Heart Sect — enough for my Fang Family to live comfortably for many years. If we could formally pledge ourselves to the Passionate Heart Sect, that would be even better."
Yang Kai chuckled. "How many people has the Passionate Heart Sect recruited so far?"
"At least a hundred thousand. Most are clan powers like my Fang Family, though some second and third-rate sects have also come to pledge their service."
"Aren't you afraid that Ice Heart Valley will turn the tables someday and come looking for payback?"
Fang Minghui shook his head. "Ice Heart Valley won't get the chance."
"What makes you say that?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
Fang Minghui said, "The details aren't entirely clear to this humble one, but I know the Passionate Heart Sect currently has two Emperors at the third tier of the Emperor Realm. Bing Yun, the founding ancestor of Ice Heart Valley, is also at that cultivation level, but she's only one person — how could she stand against the Passionate Heart Sect? Over the years of conflict, Ice Heart Valley has suffered devastating casualties. If not for that, they wouldn't have retreated back into their valley, relying on their sect-protecting grand formation just to barely hold on. And furthermore..."
"And furthermore what?" Yang Kai asked.
Fang Minghui smiled faintly. "Ice Heart Valley can't hold out much longer. At best half a month, at most a month — Ice Heart Valley will fall for certain."
Yang Kai snorted. "You're merely a second-tier Dao Origin cultivator. Where does all this confidence come from?"
Fang Minghui glanced left and right with a cautious expression before lowering his voice. "Sect Master Feng has invited Grandmaster Nanmen over. They're studying ways to break the formation — it won't be long before they find a solution. Once the sect-protecting grand formation of Ice Heart Valley is breached, we strike with everything we have, and how could Ice Heart Valley possibly resist?"
Behind Yang Kai, Ji Yao and Shi Tianhe's faces changed again and again as they listened, until their complexions had gone deathly pale.
Fang Minghui rambled on for a while before finally saying, "My lord, would you like to join in as well? The Passionate Heart Sect is currently recruiting talented cultivators. With your strength, I'm sure they'd welcome you with open arms."
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "I'm eligible too?"
Fang Minghui nodded. "Of course. You just need to go to Ice Wheel City and register, state where you come from, and you can serve the Passionate Heart Sect. Naturally, the rewards will be generous... Oh, I haven't even asked where you're from. If you have any connection to Ice Heart Valley, the Passionate Heart Sect won't take you."
Before Yang Kai could even open his mouth, Ji Yao stepped forward and declared coldly, "I am Ji Yao of Ice Heart Valley!"
The moment those words left her lips, Fang Minghui and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they all scrambled backward.
None of the Fang Family members had imagined that the person they'd been chatting with so casually all this time was actually from Ice Heart Valley.
Hadn't they heard that everyone from Ice Heart Valley had retreated into the sect and didn't dare come out? And wasn't the sect-protecting grand formation already activated? How had these people gotten out?
"Run!" Fang Minghui was, if nothing else, a man of quick decisiveness. Realizing his words must have displeased his listeners, he bellowed the order and bolted.
The four Fang Family warriors behind him reacted with equal speed, surging their Source Qi.
But before they could so much as leave their positions, a bone-penetrating aura of cold suddenly flooded outward.
Crack, crack, crack...
A series of soft sounds rang out as the earth froze solid. Even the surrounding space seemed to be locked in ice. The five figures stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.
"Leave him alive!" Yang Kai quickly called out.
Ji Yao frowned but held back somewhat, freezing only the four Fang Family warriors into ice statues, leaving Fang Minghui alone — standing rigid, lips turned purple-blue from the cold, teeth chattering miserably. "My lord, spare me! Ever since my Fang Family pledged ourselves to the Passionate Heart Sect, we've never done anything against Ice Heart Valley! We've only been patrolling the outer perimeter — we've never harmed a single Ice Heart Valley disciple!"
Yang Kai gave him a slap on the shoulder, knocking him unconscious in an instant. He caught the man with one hand, then swept his sleeve, shattering the four frozen Fang Family disciples into dust.
"Master, why did you spare him?" Ji Yao gazed at the unconscious Fang Minghui, her beautiful eyes cold with confusion.
"What he just told us needs to be repeated to someone else. And we might be able to wring some additional intelligence out of him," Yang Kai explained mildly, then called out, "Let's return to the valley!"
"Yes!" Ji Yao and Shi Tianhe responded in unison.
Under the surge of the Space Laws, Yang Kai enveloped both women within his domain, and their figures flickered, vanishing from the spot.
When they reappeared, the three of them stood outside the sect-protecting grand formation of Ice Heart Valley — a massive, impossibly sturdy barrier that formed a semi-transparent dome of light, enveloping the entire sacred ground of Ice Heart Valley.