"Tuke, when did you stoop so low as to resort to threatening a woman?" A languid, teasing voice suddenly drifted from the middle slope of a distant mountain peak.

Standing there was a burly man, around three meters tall, with a rugged appearance. He was bald, **bare-chested, with thick, powerful arms, and his back was covered in dense, interwoven symbols that crackled with sparks of lightning as his eyes opened and closed. "Tia!" The onlookers from Ice Rock City cried out in shock upon seeing the bald giant.

Tuke's face darkened. He snorted, "Tia, why are you here in my Ice Rock City instead of indulging in pleasure in your Golden Dream City?" "Word got out you were about to make a fool of yourself; even if it were a hundred thousand li away, I had to come and see," Tia roared with laughter.

Tia, the Lord of Nightmare Island in the Golden Sea, possessed a cultivation level of the Divine Connection Realm, and was one of the candidates vying for the Grand Lord position this time. He was outwardly rough but shrewd, with a legion of masters surrounding him. He and Tuke had always been at odds; wherever they met, they either traded sharp words or immediately descended into battle.

Upon hearing the name "Tia" shouted by the crowd, Ji Changkong immediately realized who the newcomer was.

After Tia manifested, the lingering afterimage on the peak had not yet dissipated before his true body arrived near Tuke and Ji Changkong, forming a triangle with them.

"You’ve arrived at the perfect time!" Tuke laughed heartily. "I was just looking for both of you." He turned toward Ji Changkong and said sternly, "If you help me kill Tia, this matter will be half done. What do you say?" Ji Changkong hesitated. Tuke snorted coldly and asked grimly, "You don't want this girl's life anymore?!"

Within the rhombic ice mirror, Shang Bingjie's delicate face flashed suddenly, appearing to be in extreme agony. Even in this state, fear and panic were visible, as if she dreaded someone named Kui. Ji Changkong felt an overwhelming pang of heartache and was about to immediately nod in agreement.

"Little brother, I have a much better idea," Tia said with a slight smile, sincerely. "Why don't we join forces and kill Tuke? Don't worry, I have a way to prevent Tuke from harming your little girlfriend; you don't need to fret about that." Without waiting for Ji Changkong's response, Tia made his move as soon as he finished speaking.

A murky ray of light suddenly shot out from Tia's left eye. Instantly, Tia's left eye turned dark green, looking profoundly sinister. The turbid light was incredibly swift, and before Tuke could react, it penetrated the rhombic ice mirror suspended behind him. "The Ice Prism Heavenly Mirror is indeed extraordinary, but under my Green Derivation Divine Light, it too must yield, revealing its true form!" Tia chuckled menacingly. "Crack!"

A strange sound suddenly emanated from the rhombic ice mirror suspended behind Tuke. Immediately after, before Tuke could react, Shang Bingjie's figure violently emerged completely from within.

The murky green light, after entering Tuke's Ice Prism Heavenly Mirror, located Shang Bingjie in an instant. The green light began to spiral around Shang Bingjie, seemingly interfering with Tuke's control within the mirror. Tuke tried to regain mastery, but found it temporarily impossible. Clearly, Tia's power had affected the rhombic mirror, making it difficult for Tuke to instantly execute Shang Bingjie. "Little brother, what are you waiting for?" Tia urged in a sharp call. "Go and grab her!"

Startled into action, Ji Changkong rushed toward Tuke without a second thought. The "Flame Cold Flame," which had momentarily retreated into his body, flew out again, soaring directly toward Tuke.

At the same moment, the Dragon Glory Longblade materialized in his palm, and clusters of brilliant rainbow light flickered forth, accompanied by a thick, bloody scent permeating the area.

The clusters of rainbow light, each as large as a millstone, interwove their radiance as they shot one after another into the ice mirror behind Tuke. Tia burst into laughter. "Tuke, let's see how you plan to keep playing this game."

Streams of murky green light shot ceaselessly from his eyes, weaving together into a dense net that silently blocked Tuke's path of retreat, making it impossible for Tuke to quickly escape the pursuit of the "Flame Cold Flame."

Tuke's expression grew anxious, and he ground his teeth, hating Tia, yet at this moment, he had no recourse.

A beam of light, like a crack of lightning and thunder, suddenly erupted from the Dragon Glory Longblade. This light possessed the power of electricity and carried the rushing sound of flowing water. In an instant, it plunged into the rhombic ice mirror behind Tuke. "Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The Ice Prism Heavenly Mirror shattered piece by piece. The illusory world collapsed, and Shang Bingjie, who had been imprisoned within, violently materialized, wrapped in a coil of that murky green light, suddenly flying out. Space distorted briefly, and Ji Changkong suddenly appeared beside Shang Bingjie.

He immediately embraced Shang Bingjie, and a strange power seeped into her body, dissolving all the restrictive seals within her as effortlessly as slicing through hardened fat with a butcher's knife. "Mmmph!" Shang Bingjie awoke, opening her eyes only to cry out, "Changkong! Be careful!" She was still steeped in panic, seemingly unaware of what had transpired, believing Tuke was still pursuing Ji Changkong. "It's over, you’re safe now," Ji Changkong whispered comfortingly, holding her tightly. "Let's go."

"Kid, you got the woman, now ditch that damned 'Source Fire,' haven't you?" Tuke, utterly distraught and pursued relentlessly by the "Flame Cold Flame," shouted wildly from a distance, his demeanor extremely miserable.

"You have fun with this," Ji Changkong said with a chilling gaze, then suddenly added, "Did you think I was easy to deal with? I begged you bitterly before, but you refused every time. Now, go die!" The "Flame Cold Flame" abruptly transformed.

A faint blue ice flame flickered, and amidst the sparks of lightning and the sound of thunder, these blue flames began to solidify into frost, freezing the space around Tuke's escape route. After being nourished by Soul Water, the "Flame Cold Flame" had truly merged seamlessly, possessing an even more insidious power.

Wherever the blue flames passed, space was utterly frozen. Tuke found it impossible to move with his usual swiftness. Moreover, Tuke gradually felt his strength waning; even though he had thoroughly grasped the power of ice, he felt his lifelong cultivation essence beginning to become disobedient.

His limbs grew numb, and his soul ocean was frozen solid. Stuck in a charging posture, his body stiffened, suddenly becoming motionless in the void.

His divine sense shifted, and Tuke forced out the latent potential stored within his body's insects. A surge of overwhelming power, like a mountain flood, suddenly erupted from his acupoints. Those in the Divine Connection Realm possessed divine power; as long as they exerted their full strength, they could breach nearly any confinement.

Though the "Flame Cold Flame" was bizarre and unpredictable, it had not yet evolved to the point where Tuke had absolutely no strength left. If Tuke unleashed his full power, using his divine sense to draw upon his internal essence and divine might, he could certainly break free from the constraints of the "Flame Cold Flame" in a short time. Unfortunately, his opponent was not just Ji Changkong.

This brief moment of bodily stiffness gave another enemy a massive opportunity. Tia suddenly surged forward; hundreds of thousands of green rays struck Tuke instantaneously, all bombarding his body. In that single exchange, Tuke was severely wounded, his physical body almost completely obliterated.

Tuke finally managed to thaw from the ice flame, but Tia's power destroyed the meridians in his mind, causing the power stored in his acupoints to detonate. His physical bones emitted crisp sounds like firecrackers, and mouthfuls of blood streamed uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth. Tuke was evidently critically injured.

"Heh heh, I never expected you'd be finished off by me because of a woman, Tuke, oh Tuke, you married so many concubines, yet in the end, you truly perished by a woman's hand." Tia chuckled, casually approaching Tuke and placing a hand on his head. "Explode!"

Tia gave a light shout, and a terrifying surge of power erupted. Tuke's head burst open like a watermelon, splattering blood everywhere. Tuke died instantly!

"A cultivation in the Divine Connection Realm means his divine soul is destroyed, but the mark of life still exists; he will be reborn. We cannot leave behind future trouble," Ji Changkong said coldly. At some point, he had also appeared beside Tia. To Tia's astonishment, Ji Changkong activated the Soul Capturing Melody.

A melodious and eerie tune echoed within his soul ocean. Tuke’s divine soul was suddenly enveloped by six pillars of absolute emptiness.

Tuke's soul split, and a phantom imprint emerged from it. As the six pillars shifted, Tuke’s divine soul first dissipated, and soon after, even the last illusory imprint began to shrink bit by bit, being gradually refined away. Tia watched in stunned silence. The onlookers were also aghast, forgetting their shouts and discussions; the entire place fell silent. "Tuke's soul imprint is annihilated!" After an unknown length of time, someone finally could not bear the oppressive silence and suddenly exclaimed in shock. "Damn it, who the hell is this guy? The power to refine a soul imprint—isn't that something only beings in the Chaos Realm can master!" "This is... this is the Soul Locking Chant of the Purgatory Ghost Race!"

"But this guy is clearly one of our humans! Impossible. The Purgatory Ghost Race's Soul Locking Chant—even among their own kind, only the most noble can successfully master it. What he's using surely isn't the Soul Locking Chant!" "Who exactly is this person?"

A flurry of extremely noisy discussion erupted from the onlookers. Many wore expressions of utter horror, including Huofeng and Xiaohan.

Having personally witnessed Ji Changkong perform the Soul Capturing Melody, these two immediately confirmed one fact and simultaneously recalled a terrifying figure. "Little brother, you are ruthless!" Tia managed after a long pause. "Tuke is finished. We shall meet another day." Ji Changkong nodded, then stopped wasting words, preparing to leave quickly with Shang Bingjie cradled in his arms, as he sensed new trouble approaching...