On a clean slab of rock at the edge of the Dragon’s Tooth Marsh, surrounded by emerald grass, sat a girl clad in white. Her delicate features seemed carved by a dagger; a nearly perfect countenance possessed a suffocating power. A serene smile graced her cheeks as she sat quietly, gazing up at the few shards of light piercing through the dense, deadwood forest canopy, her face alight with infinite brilliance.
Flanking her stood two figures. To her left was a hunched elder, standing with his back bowed and hands hanging by his sides. His snow-white robe resembled that of an ancient, sacred priest. To her right stood a statuesque woman, also in a white robe. Her cold, beautiful face held a hint of aloof pride, observing everything before her with indifference. Only when her gaze shifted occasionally toward the white-clad girl on the rock did deference and a slight smile reveal themselves.
“Swish.”
A fierce gale swept in, and with a flash of white light, a man in white descended mid-air before the girl on the rock, holding a slain God-Slaying Rabbit by the ear. He spoke with deep respect, “I have returned, Envoy. This is a God-Slaying Rabbit I captured; it feeds exclusively on God-Emperor level beings. Its meat must be delicious.”
“Soxi, you certainly took your time,” the woman in white shook her head. “Only one God-Slaying Rabbit brought back. I thought you might have run into something far trickier.”
The white-clad man named Soxi shrugged helplessly. “This Dragon’s Tooth Forest is too desolate; there was no choice. Managing to catch even one God-Slaying Rabbit is decent enough.”
“Xue Na, stop talking. Hurry and prepare it,” the hunched elder, who had been silent until now, interjected with a frown. His expression was grave and steady, his gaze like lightning.
Soxi and Xue Na exchanged a glance, both shrugging resignedly before turning to their tasks. First, they used razor-sharp daggers to peel away the rabbit’s pelt, then prepared it for roasting.
This dagger was no ordinary blade, and this fire was certainly no common flame.
The stooped elder turned his head to look at the girl on the rock, speaking with profound reverence, “Envoy, the journey was exhausting. This single God-Slaying Rabbit will be enough to restore our vitality, and a small taste wouldn’t hurt. After all, having cultivated to this level, it’s almost tragic how long it’s been since we remembered the sensation of eating.”
A tranquil smile touched the white-clad girl’s cheeks as she said softly, “Uncle Long’s kindness is noted. Let us all partake.”
Soon, the God-Slaying Rabbit was roasted. Golden, oily drippings seeped from the crispy skin, falling into the flames and causing the sparks to leap higher.
Soxi presented the roasted rabbit to the girl in white, bowing slightly. “Envoy, please, you first.”
The white-clad girl made no ceremony, delicately tearing off a rabbit leg with an elegant movement. “The rest is for you all. I cannot consume so much. Soon, we will reach the Snow Domain. You must maintain your peak physical condition, or death will easily find you…”
A sudden tension seized the group. Their brows moved slightly, but their expressions remained largely unchanged; they had set out for this journey already bracing for death.
There are those who, for the sake of the faith burning in their hearts, are willing to surrender their lives.
Soxi did not press the matter further. He obeyed the girl’s words, taking the remaining meat to share amongst himself, Uncle Long, and Xue Na.
“Envoy, what level of strength do the monsters on the outermost fringe of the Snow Domain typically possess?” Soxi asked respectfully, looking up at the white-clad girl.
The girl gently pulled a sliver of meat from the rabbit leg with her finger, elegantly placing it in her mouth. She looked up and smiled politely, “You don’t need to call me Envoy constantly. Just call me Ye Zhu.” She paused, a faint melancholy clouding her features, then whispered, “The Snow Domain is treacherous. Even the outermost monsters are at the Epoch Realm. If you venture even a short distance deeper, you might encounter the Void Heaven Realm.”
Soxi and the others inhaled sharply, their pupils constricting.
Outside the city of Willman in the Ice Snow Empire, above the moat.
The frozen moat was broad and long. Lian Guang and Di Zangchuan walked slowly across it. Suddenly, Lian Guang’s brow twitched. A faint ripple wafted through the air. He stopped dead, turning his head toward a nearby peak, which rose steep and imposing.
Di Zangchuan looked puzzled. “What is it?”
“If…—if my senses aren’t deceiving me,” brilliant light flashed in Lian Guang’s eyes, “we have encountered one of our people nearby.”
Di Zangchuan scanned his surroundings, bewildered. “There’s no one here. I don’t sense anything at all.”
Lian Guang spared him a glance, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. “That’s because the opponent is stronger than you, and they possess something that shields their aura. Even if they brushed past you, you wouldn’t perceive them.”
“Then how did you sense them?” Di Zangchuan asked, not in anger, but with curiosity.
“Because of It.” Dense yellow light bloomed in Lian Guang’s palm. A small, slender longsword floated out from his hand: the Earth God Sword.
Willman City, western dense woods.
On the slope slanted above, a thick layer of snow suddenly shifted. Then, from a snowdrift shaped by a graceful curve, a pale, slender hand slowly emerged. Immediately afterward, the entire mass of snow shook loose, and a figure sat up from within.
It was the headless corpse of the woman in the black robe. Her loose black robe still covered her, but her neck was bare. The wound, the size of a bowl, remained unfrozen in the wind and snow, still oozing thick, viscous blood. When the light hit it, veins inside writhed like tiny snakes, then rapidly stood erect, intertwining, quickly generating large masses of flesh. In an instant, a head was reformed.
Veins, bones, skin, hair…—all rapidly molded into the likeness of the black-robed woman. She slowly opened her eyes, her pupils, clear as black pearls, laced with sharp coldness and killing intent. She reached up to touch her cheek and murmured softly, “You didn’t know? In the Heart Realm, as long as a single piece of flesh remains, one will be reborn. Although you used the God-Sealing Dagger to imprison my soul in my head, I have It. How could I die so easily…?”
A perverse curve twisted her lips.
“Is that so?” A faint voice suddenly drifted through the cold wind.
Her expression shifted slightly. She turned to look. The howling wind whipped up scattered snow from the ground, and two figures slowly walked up the slope. What first entered her sight were the upper halves of two people: one, a man in a silver robe whose handsome features were almost exaggerated; the other, a man in black behind him, whose demeanor was casual, his facial contours sharp and resolute, like a broad battle saber.
She stared intently at the two for a moment, then suddenly relaxed. A smile bloomed on her lips. “It turns out you are kin. Judging by the auras you possess, you must both be Envoys. Let me introduce myself first: I am Tiya, a Four-Seal Envoy.” Four pinpoints of light appeared on her forehead.
Di Zangchuan was momentarily stunned, a strange light flashing in his eyes. Lian Guang before him, however, brightened, a slight curve forming on his lips. His exquisitely shod feet trod softly on the loose snow as he approached Tiya, looking down at her, his gaze fixed on the four light points above her brow. The smile on his face grew richer. “So, a Four-Seal Envoy. No wonder your aura is so potent…”
Di Zangchuan smiled. “Hello. I am a Nine-Seal Envoy. Call me Hei Xi.” As he spoke, nine light points materialized on his forehead.
Tiya inwardly sighed with relief, her demeanor becoming more natural. She turned to look at Lian Guang, clad in silver-white robes, and smiled sweetly, “And you?”
Lian Guang’s narrow eyes gently narrowed. His deep, azure eyes were smooth and warm, like a piece of pure jade. “Me…?,” he smiled, slowly raising his palm. The phantom outline of the Earth God Sword spun slowly within it. “I am also a Four-Seal Envoy.” His smile was indescribably captivating and handsome, and four light points appeared on his forehead.
Those four points were so blinding that Tiya’s expression snapped tight. She rapidly slid backward a hundred meters from where she had been sitting, and where she had been resting, several sharp earth spikes suddenly erupted.
Tiya slowly narrowed her eyes, stood up, studied Lian Guang intently for a moment, then suddenly laughed, like a lily blooming in the snow. She relaxed her body, an elegant smile on her face, and casually brushed the scattered snow from her clothes. “So, you are the Four-Seal Envoy who was sealed away in the Ancient World… I grew up listening to stories about you.”
Lian Guang smiled elegantly. “When I walked the Ancient Paths, you certainly hadn’t been born yet.”
The cold wind swept across the snow between them, sending flakes flying.
“Indeed…” Tiya laughed softly. “But now that I am born, there is no need for you to exist.” She let out a faint sigh, saying sorrowfully, “I think you should have just stayed sealed… Otherwise, you wouldn’t have wandered out where you shouldn’t. The outside world is very dangerous, you know.”
“Is that so?” Lian Guang’s eyes narrowed, his feather-like eyebrows sweeping sharply toward his temples, conveying an unparalleled sharpness and coldness. “Little child, you wish to lecture an elder? You look like you’ve just sustained an injury. Heavens must truly look down upon me to send an injured person right to my doorstep. Alas.” He shook his head with a sigh. “Pity. I intended to spare you and deal with you after you recovered, but finding you again is too difficult. I’ll just have to make do.”
Tiya sneered coldly. “You, a sealed-up failure, think you can reclaim the status of a Four-Seal Envoy? How laughable.” She raised her hand; the two arms that had regrown were identical to her originals and felt perfectly natural to use. Yellow light began to glow at her fingertips.
Lian Guang’s expression darkened, as if Tiya’s words had pierced the softest spot in his heart. His eyes flashed with a cold, dagger-like brilliance. He turned and said in a low voice, “You stand back. If you get caught in the crossfire, you will lose your life.”