“This is your beast pet?” Even if Changyuan were clueless, she could tell the mutated Chaos Unicorn acquired by the Great Ice Pan Palace belonged to Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense scanned Tai Chuan, finding it uninjured but mentally tormented. Remarkably, Tai Chuan had advanced beyond the Nine-Turn Saint Beast Realm, reaching the Creation Dao Saint Beast level.
“Tai Chuan, stand aside. I’ll deal with this woman,” Lan Xiaobu said, locking Changyuan with his Saint Realm domain. His divine sense caught the man he’d blasted into the ice lake, now hiding in a corner to heal, neither daring to emerge nor flee.
As long as the man didn’t send a message, Lan Xiaobu ignored him.
“Who sold Tai Chuan to you?” Lan Xiaobu’s tone was icy, his killing intent pinning Changyuan.
Even at her peak, Changyuan was no match for him. Now, heavily injured with a damaged Dao foundation, she stood no chance. His domain could crush her at any moment.
“Even if you kill me, can you destroy the Great Ice Pan Palace? Offend us, and the Central Heavenly Court will hunt you across the Great Universe. Think you can survive?” Changyuan said, regaining composure.
Lan Xiaobu replied calmly, “Your palace is lucky it didn’t harm Tai Chuan excessively. Otherwise, do you think I’d be talking? I’d have razed this place. I’m busy and have no time for nonsense. Tell me what I want to know quickly, or I won’t bother with you—I’ll just copy this crystal ball a billion times and spread it.”
He raised a crystal ball. “It happens to capture your cozy cultivation session with your partner.”
Truthfully, Lan Xiaobu hadn’t recorded anything this time. Though recording was his habit, he’d been too focused on saving Tai Chuan to think of it. He only flashed a blank crystal ball before stowing it.
Changyuan didn’t know that. Her already pale face grew grim. If exposed, her future—let alone her status as a saintess—would be ruined.
After a long pause, she said slowly, “The Chaos Unicorn was auctioned by Zhenyuan Saint Dao. If you’re capable, take it up with them.”
Zhenyuan Saint Dao? Lan Xiaobu frowned, not because he feared them but because Zhenyuan was a colossus, one of the three great Saint Daos. The Great Ice Pan Palace was formidable, but compared to Zhenyuan, it was nothing. Even the Central World’s Heavenly Court gave Zhenyuan deference.
“Specifically, it was sold by someone named Guan Yuxue. You may not know her, but you should know her grandfather, Guan Chong,” Changyuan continued, her tone steadying.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t know Guan Chong either, but she went on, “Guan Chong is the Saint Lord of Dayan Dao. We’re just buyers. Bullying us doesn’t prove your strength. If you’re so great, confront Guan Chong.”
Zhenyuan Saint Dao comprised four branches: Hongyue Dao, Xingyong Dao, Dayan Dao, and Zhenhang Dao, collectively called Yueyong Great Desolate. Each branch’s Saint Lord was a titan, untouchable by any Central World sect.
Satisfied with the information, Lan Xiaobu had no interest in further talk. He flashed the crystal ball again. “I’m taking my beast pet. If you keep Tai Chuan’s absence secret for ten years, this crystal ball stays hidden. Otherwise, the entire Great Universe will know what you were doing.”
With that, he swept Tai Chuan up and vanished.
“Such strength…” Changyuan stared at where he disappeared, stunned.
She knew he’d ambushed her during cultivation, catching her off guard, but even in a fair fight, she likely couldn’t win. More terrifyingly, she didn’t know how he infiltrated the palace. If it were so easy, it wouldn’t be a top Central World sect.
“Who was that? So powerful…” The man, sensing Lan Xiaobu’s departure, surfaced from the lake.
Crippled by the halberd waves and with a damaged Dao foundation, he was a shadow of himself.
Changyuan sighed, looking at him. “I don’t know who he is, but I’ve realized something.”
“What?” he asked, puzzled.
She raised her hand, and an ice beam shot from her palm, piercing his brow and pinning his soul.
“Changyuan, you…” He stared, dumbfounded.
Turning away, she said with a hint of sorrow, “I risked everything to bring you here, yet when danger came, you hid under the lake, too scared to act…”
“You know my acting or not was pointless…” His soul withered under her ice origin Dao principles, but he clung to hope, wishing she’d save him.
Her tone turned cold. “If you truly cared, you’d have acted, pointless or not, even if it meant death.”
“It’s not that—you’re afraid I’ll leak your secret, that I’m no longer useful…”
“Xing Kang, you talk too much.” With a final word, an ice arc struck him, dissolving his soul and body into nothingness.
Muttering to herself, Changyuan stared into the void. “I don’t know how you entered or left, but I hope you keep your promise.”
Lan Xiaobu exited the palace effortlessly, activating Shi Wanrong’s Great Cutting Array as he left.
Shi Wanrong, still feeding the ice altar, felt the array trigger. Cutting Dao principles effortlessly severed her binding threads.
“The Great Cutting Technique?” she gasped, too shocked to continue. She knew its significance—a top-tier universe-opening divine ability. Even more astonishing was embedding it in a preset array, triggered remotely. Ordinary array techniques couldn’t infuse Dao principles; only barrier techniques could.
Realizing she’d stopped, she panicked, but white light enveloped her, whisking her from the ice peak. In her shock, she forgot the technique had freed her completely.
A sharp explosion rocked the palace, startling Changyuan at Ice Wall Peak. Had the unicorn thief been caught or exposed?
She hoped he hadn’t, fearing he’d reveal the crystal ball if captured.
As she fretted, an urgent Dao chime echoed through the palace: “Incident at Ningdao Peak! All disciples, pursue the fugitive!”
Changyuan’s heart sank with dread. She knew who was held at Ningdao Peak—someone with a terrifying background. She was certain the same man who took the Chaos Unicorn had freed her.
If Shi Wanrong escaped, the Great Ice Pan Palace was doomed.
Shivering, Changyuan ignored her injuries and rushed from Ice Wall Peak.
When Shi Wanrong was flung out by the teleportation array, she could hardly believe it. She’d truly escaped—via teleportation. Escaping the palace required understanding its spatial and ice origin Dao principles. The man who saved her was extraordinary.
“Thank you, big brother,” she said, bowing, then donned clothes from the ring and activated Lan Xiaobu’s provided flying treasure, fleeing swiftly.
After half an incense stick’s flight, she recognized her surroundings—the outskirts of Kongrong Dao City, far from the palace. She marveled at Lan Xiaobu’s skill. A one-way teleportation array reaching such a distance was astounding, especially with barrier techniques.
