Inside the ice chamber, Yang Kai and Su Yan's souls returned to their bodies. After talking for a while, Su Yan fell asleep again, sealing away her senses.
Following Su Yan's instructions, Yang Kai's heart settled completely. She had stated that this time, after activating the Ice Body Lock Heart technique, she would not awaken until she had broken through to the next minor realm. In other words, Su Yan would only voluntarily release herself from this state once she advanced to the second level of the Transcendent realm.
This was the seal she had placed when she activated the secret art.
Now that he knew the truth, Yang Kai no longer worried. He also no longer thought about taking Su Yan away from the Ice Sect. The environment here was perfectly suited for her cultivation—letting her stay would bring her far greater benefits.
Moreover, Ice Master Qing Ya and Qian Yue had genuinely been good to her. Although Yang Kai still somewhat disliked that woman Qian Yue, Su Yan had spoken plenty of kind words about her, which had softened his resentment considerably.
He regulated his breathing, and the fatigue in his soul gradually faded.
Sensing the two life presences outside the ice chamber, Yang Kai rose to his feet and opened the door.
Sure enough, Qing Ya and Qian Yue were standing right outside. When they saw Yang Kai, both women's beautiful eyes flickered with extremely complicated emotions.
"Su Yan isn't awake?" Qian Yue craned her neck for a peek, asking in surprise.
"She was awake for a while, then fell back asleep," Yang Kai explained evenly.
Qian Yue studied him, her brows furrowing slightly. She noticed that this kid's hostility toward her seemed to have diminished quite a bit, though she had no idea why.
"You two must have talked everything through?" Qing Ya asked gently.
Yang Kai nodded slightly. "We did."
"So what did you decide?"
"Su Yan will continue to stay here. I'll be counting on Sect Master Qing Ya to look after her."
Qing Ya pressed her lips into a faint smile. "Rest easy. My Ice Sect may not normally accept outsiders, but for Meng Wuya's sake alone, I won't let her be treated poorly."
"Thank you, Sect Master!" Yang Kai said solemnly.
"Mm. I actually didn't expect that someone could awaken a disciple who had activated the Ice Body Lock Heart technique. You've truly opened our eyes. This also proves that the bond between you and Su Yan is far deeper than ordinary."
Yang Kai smiled but offered no further explanation. While part of the reason was indeed his own calls to her, the fundamental cause was the seal Su Yan had placed beforehand! Without that seal, Yang Kai estimated that even if he had managed to stumble into her mental world, he would never have found where her soul resided.
"There's one more thing I need to ask you," Qing Ya said suddenly, her expression turning serious.
"Hm?" Seeing her so solemn, Yang Kai straightened up as well and nodded. "Please speak, Sect Master."
"The dual cultivation technique you and Su Yan practice—what exactly is it?"
"What about it?" Yang Kai found the question somewhat strange. The Ice Sect disciples cultivated ice-attribute techniques, and they had always been detached and ascetic. Dual cultivation had absolutely nothing to do with them, so Yang Kai couldn't understand why Qing Ya had suddenly taken an interest.
Even if she knew about such techniques, she would have no dual cultivation partner.
"Don't be so defensive. I'm not trying to pry into your technique—there are just certain details that caught my attention." Qing Ya's elegant brows knitted together in thought. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke slowly. "Do you know that long, long ago, there were several supreme powers on this continent?"
"Oh? What kind of powers?"
"Powers that could cover the sky with a single hand!" Qing Ya said gravely. "These powers once dominated the continent. In their era, the Demon Race, the Monster Race, and the other races didn't dare act too rashly. That was the age of human supremacy! The territories now known as the Demon Domain and the Monster Region were all human lands back then."
"There were such powers?" Yang Kai was greatly astonished.
"Mm." Qing Ya nodded slightly. "But later, no one knows what catastrophe occurred. Every single one of these powers suffered devastating losses. Some even lost their most fundamental inheritances entirely. With the lineage severed, these powers never recovered, gradually declining over time. However, even a centipede doesn't fall down dead—though these forces had declined, several have endured to the present day, never fully destroyed."
Yang Kai's expression shifted. "The Ice Sect is one of them?"
Qing Ya looked surprised, a bitter smile crossing her face as she nodded. "That's right. The Ice Sect is one of them. In its heyday, the Ice Sect had tens of thousands of disciples and flourished for a time. But after that catastrophe, our predecessors relocated the sect here and lived in seclusion, no longer concerning themselves with the affairs of the outside world."
Yang Kai was stunned over and over. "What kind of catastrophe could cause such a massive power to decline all at once?"
Qing Ya shook her head. "I don't know either. It was too long ago. What I know is only fragments of the past."
"Why is the Sect Master telling me all this?" Yang Kai was thoroughly puzzled. Events from so long ago surely had nothing to do with him.
"Because I recall that one of those powers had disciples who enhanced their strength through dual cultivation! And the supreme experts of that power were known to the world as the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress. Working together, the two of them were virtually unstoppable, and they held the most fundamental inheritance of that power. When they fought… a scene of the dragon and phoenix appearing together would manifest!" As she spoke, Qing Ya fixed Yang Kai with an intense, burning gaze.
Yang Kai's spirit stirred. "Sect Master, you mean…"
Qing Ya smiled softly. "It's just a speculation of mine—I don't know for certain. But most dual cultivation techniques are methods that sacrifice the root for the branch. Dual cultivators have unstable foundations and impure true yuan, making great achievements nearly impossible. But you and Su Yan are different. The technique you two practice is clearly extraordinary, and today that phenomenon appeared. So I'm wondering—could that legendary power have some connection to you?"