At the outer perimeter of the ice mountain, several Transcendent-realm powerhouses from the Ice Sect had joined forces to fight Yang Kai, but they were crying out in misery.
They had assumed their opponent was just some young whelp, and that any one of them could handle him with ease. What Ni Ren and the others hadn't expected was that Yang Kai's strength was so extraordinarily superior that the moment he made his move, he had them completely overwhelmed and suffering beyond measure.
Such a massive disparity caught them all off guard.
Though their True Yuan attributes counteracted each other, there was no question that Yang Kai's True Yuan was far more refined and dense. When their energies collided, their martial techniques melted away like spring snow under a blazing sun—before even reaching the vicinity of his body, they had already been neutralized.
"Anyone who dares stand in my way today—I'll kill them!"
Mid-charge, Yang Kai suddenly flashed an expression of impatience, bellowing coldly, a piercing chill gleaming in his eyes.
Ni Ren's heart lurched. A sense of unease surged through him, and on instinct he tried to retreat, raising himself into a defensive stance. Under Yang Kai's murderous threat, he finally felt the foreboding weight of impending danger.
Yang Kai's performance had completely defied his expectations. He never could have imagined that this young man, alone and unaided, could utterly suppress his entire group.
"This is the Ice Sect—your arrogance has no place here!" Ni Ren's voice was laced with a forced bravado, his teeth gritted as he snarled the words.
"You said that already." Yang Kai cast him a cold, sidelong glance. "The Ice Sect is so great? Then let me show you what real arrogance looks like."
The moment his words fell, wind rose and thunder roared. Around Ni Ren and his companions, a killing field of intertwined wind and lightning force materialized out of thin air. Indomitable wind blades and swift, devastating arcs of lightning engulfed them completely. The forces of wind and thunder raged within this arena of slaughter, and the defensive artifacts they clutched flickered erratically before their spiritual light drained away—in less than a moment, they had lost all efficacy.
The ice-attribute True Yuan shielding their bodies stood no chance against the corrosive onslaught of wind and lightning. Their robes shredded apart, and dense, crisscrossing wounds opened across their skin.
Sensing the aura of death rushing toward them, Ni Ren and the others turned deathly pale.
Trapped within this killing field of interwoven energies, they couldn't even flee.
Yang Kai slowly extended a palm, pressing it downward toward their position. High in the sky, an enormous handprint materialized out of nowhere, blazing with golden radiance like the sun plummeting from the heavens, carrying with it scorching, annihilating force that hammered down as though an entire mountain range were collapsing.
The pressure was overwhelming. Before the palm even arrived, the glacial world around them had already begun to melt, billowing clouds of mist rising into the air.
Ni Ren and his fellow disciples felt their legs go weak. They nearly collapsed to their knees, eyeballs trembling violently as they stared blankly at the colossal golden handprint descending from above.
"Stop!" A sharp, feminine shout rang out. A figure draped in white shot from deep within the ice mountain—blinking, she was already hovering above Ni Ren and the others, raising one slender, jade-like palm to meet Yang Kai's attack.
Crack...
The blazing golden handprint shattered apart. Yang Kai staggered back several steps, his face going pale, a thin trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
But rather than alarm, he felt elation. A faint smile played on his lips as he gazed intently at the woman who had appeared without warning.
She was a middle-aged beauty, clad in a flowing white gown. Her figure was full and voluptuous, exuding an overwhelming sense of maturity. Her expression was icy, and she regarded Yang Kai with a mixture of wariness and disbelief, seemingly unable to accept that such a young man had so effortlessly defeated Ni Ren and the others.
Ni Ren and his brothers had all reached the first level of the Transcendent Realm—not exactly weak within the Ice Sect. For them to suffer such a crushing defeat despite having numbers on their side was something she found deeply hard to accept.
Since when had a young person this powerful appeared on the continent?
"Finally, someone who can actually call the shots," Yang Kai snorted softly.
"Elder Qianyue!" Ni Ren and the others cried out, their eyes lighting up with relief as though they had spotted a savior.
"Fall back," Qianyue said, flicking her slender hand. The killing field of wind and lightning encasing Ni Ren and the others collapsed instantly.
Yang Kai's expression grew solemn. This woman was a Saint Realm powerhouse—it was hardly surprising she possessed such means. The reason he had put on such a dramatic display, feigning the intent to slaughter Ni Ren and the others, had been to draw her out.
This woman was the one who had been spying on him from within one of the ice mountains just moments ago.
Ni Ren and the rest held no authority over the Ice Sect, but this woman likely did.
"What sect do you belong to? How can you wield the profound mysteries of three different energies?" Qianyue's elegant brows furrowed as she studied Yang Kai with grave attention, trying to glean something from his attire—but found nothing of use.
"That's none of your concern. I've come here to see one person," Yang Kai said, drawing a slow breath. "I'd appreciate it if the Ice Sect would open its doors. If she's unharmed, I'll take her and leave, and we'll consider this entire matter forgotten. But if anything has happened to her, your Ice Sect had better be prepared to pay the price."
"Arrogant fool." Qianyue shook her head slowly, a flicker of mockery in her beautiful eyes. "The Ice Sect has been in seclusion for a long time, and our reputation may have faded—but that doesn't mean just anyone can push us around. The person you're looking for isn't here. Go back the way you came, or don't blame me for taking action against you."
"Don't play dumb with me," Yang Kai said, his gaze cold and unwavering. "Su Yan is in your Ice Sect. That much we both know."
"I've told you—the person you seek is not in the Ice Sect." Qianyue's composure cracked with a flash of anger, her expression turning unfavorable.
"Oh really?" Yang Kai let out a mocking laugh. "Want me to point out exactly where she is?"
As he spoke, he extended a finger and indicated a direction. "Roughly ten miles from here, inside an ice mountain—the person I'm looking for is fast asleep."
Qianyue's face changed, and she stared at Yang Kai in stunned astonishment.