Chapter 58: A World of Ice and Fire, Striking the Perfect Balance

"I never expected you, old zombie, to come to such a remote place. If my memory serves me right, the Kingdom of Qi lies well within the domain of the Qiqi Sect. Bringing your army to its borders—are you trying to provoke a war between the righteous and the demonic?" From a serene, elegant courtyard, a tall, robust elder floated into the air. His hair was white as a crane’s, and though his face had seen over a hundred years, no one would mistake him for someone frail. Standing half a head taller than the zombie elder, his muscular, triangular frame radiated a formidable pressure simply by being present.

"Hehehehehe, calling it a war between the righteous and the demonic isn’t wrong," the zombie elder replied with a sly grin. "Our Demon Sect Master is a man of great talent. One day, the entire southern region will be purified as the domain of our Demon Sect. But for now, let’s settle the muddled scores of the past. You and I battled thirty times in our youth, victories and defeats split evenly. Let us finally decide life and death today, old mongrel."

"You’re here for nothing more than the nine formation keys needed to activate the Demon Sovereign’s secret realm," the robust elder said, his brows furrowing with a sigh. "I’ve guarded this place for centuries, and your Demon Sect finally makes its move. But activating the formation keys is far from simple—heaven, earth, and people must align, and what you lack is the geographical advantage of Qiqi Mountain and… the sea of blood and bones from the mortals of Qi." As he spoke, worry creased his brow. The mountain’s defenses might hold off the demonic forces for a while, but the mortals of Qi would not be so fortunate. When all was said and done, the rivers would run red, and not a single soul would remain.

"Hehehehehe, you could have opened the mountain’s defenses and gone out to save those mortals, but instead you selfishly clung to your own life. So much for the righteous path—nothing but hypocrites, truly disgusting."

"Enough words, old zombie. Follow me a thousand miles away for a battle to the death. Last time you escaped, but today, I’ll see you perish here." The robust elder’s aura surged, bursting from the formation at breathtaking speed. Before the zombie elder could react, he was already beneath the dark clouds, mouth open in a furious roar. The sound was like a dragon’s cry, shaking the heavens and tearing a great gap in the clouds, letting sunlight pour down onto Qiqi Mountain. The disciples bathed in that light felt their spirits soar.

"Mongrel! Resorting to attacking juniors—how shameless, even worse than our Demon Sect!" The zombie elder fumed, but made no move against the formation. Attacking the formation wouldn’t break it, while the robust elder could easily destroy a group of his own disciples with a flick. Not a profitable exchange.

"Hahaha! Old zombie, let’s see who can kill more juniors, and let that decide the outcome!" The robust elder ignored the zombie’s words and prepared to strike again at the Demon disciples, but the zombie elder, now alert, blocked him. The two battled as they flew, soon vanishing beyond the horizon.

The middle-aged man who had stood to the left of the zombie elder breathed a sigh of relief, then shouted, "Break the formation!"

...

Time rewinds, shifting to another scene. Amidst roaring, ghostly blue flames, a silver-armored phantom dragon coiled as a figure burst from the inferno. Peering through the shimmering image of the dragon, it was none other than Su Di. Before the flames engulfed him, he’d used his spell to merge seven shields into a silver-armored dragon, enveloping himself and keeping the fire at bay.

Qi, seeing his opponent emerge from the flames, showed no surprise. He merely ceased his fiery breath, inhaled deeply to dodge a few attacks, and then unleashed another torrent.

"It’s useless—your flames aren’t strong enough to destroy a supreme-grade defensive artifact. The Silver Dragon Mother-and-Child Shield, united, is at the very pinnacle of defense." As Su Di spoke, he formed a spell with both hands, splitting his Green Edge Sword into dozens of sword lights that rained down.

"Ha! Let me show you the ingenuity of mortals—taste the extremes of fire and ice." Qi’s entire body flushed crimson as he disregarded his wounds, exhaling the coldest stream he could muster. Instantly, the heat from the flames gave way to freezing cold. Frost formed wherever the chill passed, and as it met the sword lights, they were sealed in ice. Soon, the cold surrounded the silver-armored dragon and Su Di within, coating them in white frost as a cracking sound echoed.

The cool, aloof woman uttered a note of astonishment—not because Qi had used both ice and fire, but at the peculiarity of his magic. Normally, a cultivator’s spells, whether ice, fire, wind, or thunder, earth, wood, or stone, would carry the imprint of the caster’s spirit, their essence infused within. Yet the ice and fire unleashed by her disciple’s betrothed felt utterly natural, devoid of any personal will, as though it were mundane fire or heavenly frost. In all her years of cultivation, she’d never seen such a technique. Puzzled, she held her tongue, for as an elder and stranger, she refrained from questioning aloud.

Qi, unaware of his fiancée’s master’s suspicions, wore a confident smile. Heat expands, cold contracts—such extremes can devastate even the hardest objects.

In the next instant, the frozen Green Edge Sword burst with azure light, piercing the frost and arriving before Qi, whose smile had stiffened.

The aloof woman’s body trembled as she prepared to intervene, but she paused, her gaze flickering with admiration.

Within Qi’s left eye, a silver light glimmered. The ancient ring on his middle finger flashed with an imperceptible glow as a crimson shield appeared in his right hand. With brute force, he deflected the Green Edge Sword, sending it flying back and leaving only a white mark on the shield.

"Roar! Boom!" With a thunderous cry, the silver-armored dragon broke free from the ice, carrying Su Di with it, then dissipated into seven shields—though now their silver sheen was noticeably dimmer. Su Di regarded Qi with a cold, astonished gaze. "You possess dual ice and fire spiritual roots?"

Qi shook his head, inwardly amused. Cultivation truly defied logic. In a world where gods, spirits, and demons filled the skies, Newton would surely weep.

"Forgive my presumption. Qi, you are indeed skilled. From here on, I’ll fight with earnest intent—be prepared." Su Di’s aura soared, as if preparing a grand technique.

"Enough. Let this end here." The aloof woman suddenly spoke, halting their escalating duel. Should either unleash their ultimate skills, the conflict would spiral out of control and damage their rapport. With Qi’s performance, he was worthy of being made a core disciple. "Qi, are you currently using the Eight-Armed Divine Technique?" she asked, carefully observing his eight arms.

(Guess who the aloof woman is? Prize for correct guesses—her identity will be revealed in the next chapter.)