In the Heavenly Realm, the east side belonged to the Tian Alliance territory, and the west belonged to the Di Alliance territory. To the south lay boundless swamps and savage forests, while the north was once the domain of the Underworld—now a region of perpetual snow and biting cold. The Yin energy here was incredibly dense, and countless wandering souls toiled in cultivation. Without suitable vessels, their progress was severely hampered, and without the protection of physical bodies, they were incomparably fragile. Even those possessing Desolate-rank cultivation were no match for an ordinary Celestial Immortal. Fortunately, this area was so shrouded in gloom that few cultivators dared venture here, allowing these souls to slowly absorb the local Ming energy and gradually manifest forms. Over time, some genuinely powerful experts began to emerge in this region.

Of course, "powerful" was a relative term. Compared to the masters of the Tian and Di Alliances, the experts here didn't even qualify to carry their shoes. But regardless, they were the masters of this domain, weren't they?

And masters possess the dignity of their station, or perhaps, their status. They always sought to distinguish themselves from souls of lesser cultivation, demanding specialized living quarters and superior cultivation materials.

Silver Mountain, the area within the Northern Nether where the cold and Ming energies were most concentrated, became the gathering place for these high-ranking souls. Those without Celestial-rank cultivation were strictly forbidden from entering; otherwise, they would simply become sustenance for the residents.

It must be remembered that one of the cultivation methods for souls is known as Devouring...

These Celestial-rank experts had, until recently, acted with utter impunity in this territory, doing as they pleased, usually bustling with activity. Yet today, all of Silver Mountain was eerily silent, truly befitting its name. The usually arrogant Celestial-rank souls were all humbly prostrate at the base of the mountain, their hands cradling medicinal herbs gathered from various places, none daring to utter a single complaint.

This silence was because, several months prior, two figures had arrived: a man and a woman, or perhaps, a girl who had not yet fully matured.

The girl’s strength was only at the Celestial Immortal realm—respectable on its own, and no soul would have dared provoke her if she had been alone. However, had she come solo, this realm being a gathering place for souls, they would have attacked her regardless. After all, the vital essence of a Celestial-rank human was a potent tonic, far superior in energy to absorbing a mere Celestial-rank soul, perhaps even allowing them to finally condense a physical body.

But the man who accompanied the girl—the one clad in coarse cloth—had utterly crushed any such notions. When the three most formidable Flood-rank souls of Silver Mountain, those capable of condensing flesh, made their move, the man didn't even lift a hand. Three razor-sharp streaks of saber energy flashed, and the three strongest souls were instantly shredded into dust.

From that moment on, Silver Mountain fell quiet. They all understood they were facing an unfathomably powerful figure.

The man’s first command upon arrival was for them to collect ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine Yin-Yang Fruits, setting a deadline of one hundred years. If the required amount was not gathered, he promised annihilation not just for them, but for the entire Northern Nether region.

Not a single soul doubted the man’s words, especially after he unleashed his personal domain. These souls, accustomed to their freedom, realized this man was even more terrifying and domineering than the cold figure they had previously encountered.

For the sake of survival, to continue dwelling on this land, they had no choice but to scour the area for the Yin-Yang Fruits.

The Yin-Yang Fruit, a heavenly spiritual fruit that grew only in the Northern Nether, was exceedingly rare; even finding nine was difficult. Nearly a hundred thousand was an astronomical figure. Yet, here, the sheer number of souls worked in their favor. They practically abandoned their own cultivation to focus entirely on the search. Those Yin-Yang Fruits rarely seen before were painstakingly unearthed, one by one. Admittedly, a significant portion belonged to the hoards of higher-ranked souls, but faced with absolute annihilation, they had no alternative.

Atop Silver Mountain now, where the peaks had been scoured smooth by years of wind and Ming energy, Dugu Ba Chen, dressed in his simple, coarse tunic, sat cross-legged upon a flat stone. His stone saber rested beside him, and his eyes remained tightly shut, utterly disregarding the stream of souls climbing from below to deposit the collected Yin-Yang Fruits into a large pit before him.

These souls displayed extreme reverence, never daring to meet Dugu Ba Chen’s gaze. Instead, as they placed the fruits down, they couldn't help but glance toward the girl standing a hundred zhang away, near the edge of the cliff.

Her frame was slender, clad in a simple black cloth tunic and matching padded trousers. In her hands, she held a broad saber longer than her own body, which she swung repeatedly against the empty air.

The fierce cold wind constantly lashed her face and body—the Netherworld chilling wind capable of freezing the very soul. Even these powerful, long-dwelling souls dared not expose themselves to it recklessly. Yet the girl seemed utterly unaffected, allowing the freezing gale to buffet her form while endlessly repeating the same striking motion.

Occasionally, shards of pitch-black ice were carried within the cold air, hurtling directly toward her body. Normally, she could shatter these with her massive saber, but she acted as if she didn't see them, continuing her rudimentary chopping movements and letting the ice strike her.

Every impact blasted clouds of bloody mist from her form. Still, she gritted her teeth, drawing upon the power within her to mend her injuries.

This ordeal had persisted for days. Each time she reached her limit, she relied on a Yin-Yang Fruit to restore her energy and stamina, only to resume the exact same action.

It was only thanks to the Yin-Yang Fruits that the girl could endure the Netherworld chilling wind for nearly a hundred days; otherwise, her physical body would have already perished...

Just then, a black ice chunk, roughly her own size, was driven by the Netherworld wind straight toward her. Instinctively, the girl prepared to bring down her long saber to cleave it, but suddenly remembering Dugu Ba Chen’s words, she forcibly diverted the saber and let the block of ice slam directly into her sternum...

This ice was condensed from the Nine Nether chilling energy, its hardness comparable to purple Luo iron. Furthermore, the Netherworld wind moved with incredible speed, granting this single ice shard immense destructive force. A loud, sickening sound of fracturing bone echoed, and the girl’s body was violently flung backward...