Qi Yu shielded Si Qing to one side, raising his hand to deploy a barrier against the heavy strike of heavenly lightning.
"What's going on?" Sui You's expression changed instantly. "Why is there a lightning tribulation?"
No one was undergoing tribulation.
"This isn't a lightning tribulation," Yu Zhen's face changed drastically, his brows furrowed as he whispered, "This is a heavenly punishment from the Thirteenth Heaven!"
Within the barrier, Qi Yu also looked up at the sky, then abruptly pushed Si Qing away. "Leave quickly, this has nothing to do with you. I rashly broke my oath with the Heavenly Emperor."
Si Qing let out a cry of alarm. As he tried to move forward, the first bolt of heavenly lightning struck down heavily.
"We can't help with heavenly punishment lightning," Li Yu gripped Si Qing's wrist. "Otherwise, it will double."
Everyone was anxious.
Qi Yu raised his hand to resist with the barrier.
But after blocking three bolts of heavenly lightning at most, he could no longer hold on. The barrier was directly shattered by the lightning.
Qi Yu knelt on one knee, looking up at the sky. Thinking of the remaining six bolts of heavenly lightning, he decided to use all his cultivation to protect his vital dantian and heart meridians.
When the six bolts of heavenly lightning ended, the clouds in the sky gradually dissipated.
Qi Yu, weakened, collapsed to the ground.
Yue Zhiyin and the others rushed over. Just as they were about to help Qi Yu up, their hands fell empty.
Qi Yu's body suddenly vanished.
A chilling wind suddenly swept through the surroundings. Immediately after, the mountains before their eyes transformed at a visible speed into the scene of the Cold Hell.
"Where is this?" Ming Lou shivered from the cold, reverting to his original form and relying on his fur for warmth.
But even so, his four paws were still quite cold. Ming Lou climbed into Qi Yan's embrace.
The two hugged each other for warmth.
Chi Ming scanned the surroundings. "Where exactly is this..."
"It's the Cold Hell," Si Qing said, standing near a glacier. "I just don't understand why Qi Yu would suddenly open the illusion of the Cold Hell."
"...Qi Yu's soul has merged with the Cold Hell. She herself is the Cold Hell," Yu Zhen frowned tightly. "Now that Qi Yu resisted the heavenly punishment and her strength is depleted, losing consciousness, the true form of the Cold Hell naturally cannot be controlled."
"So we are currently inside Qi Yu's true form? What should we do now?" Ming Lou shivered. "It's too cold here. The Winged Tiger tribe is not an animal suited for winter. I haven't shed my fur yet. Can we ask Qi Yu to recover quickly?"
"There are only two ways now," Li Yu stared at their surroundings. "Wait here for Qi Yu to wake up, or we find a way to actively awaken Qi Yu's consciousness."
Neither of these options was simple.
Yue Zhiyin and the others discussed for a long time but couldn't reach a conclusion. They could only walk around the vicinity for now.
But they didn't know until they walked. The sight shocked them.
The Cold Hell was filled with skeletons everywhere.
All the skeletons were bound to the glaciers.
They even saw the Heavenly Emperor, imprisoned here like a mortal, with shackles on his hands and feet. His face was frozen pale, and his legs seemed to be frozen.
"Tsk," Sui You rubbed his arms, looking disgusted.
Several people bypassed him and continued forward.
They arrived at a cliff face. There was only a very narrow path here.
They could only walk along the cliff face. If they didn't, they would fall into the bottomless abyss.
Qi Yan and the others shook their heads at the sight of this path, thinking of finding another way. Unexpectedly, Si Qing seemed to have seen something incredible and suddenly ran towards it.
"Hey!" Yu Zhen and Li Yu saw nothing. Seeing this, they could only follow.
Si Qing walked along the cliff face, his heart filled with trepidation.
After walking past this narrowest path, what appeared before them were rows of skeletons, just like before. And at the very end of these skeletons, there was a maiden frozen in ice.
The maiden was covered in whip marks, with shackles on her hands and feet. Her abdomen was pierced by the cold ice, and her delicate face was frozen pale.
She was firmly encased and sealed within the glacier.
Si Qing's hand trembled as he reached out, only to touch a thick layer of ice.
Yu Zhen and Li Yu stood there, looking at the ice-sealed maiden within, their hearts aching.
Sui You was struck like a blow. "This is... Qi Yu...?"
If it were any other time, he would have exclaimed, "Junior Brother Qi Yu is actually Junior Sister Qi Yu! The mystery of many years is finally solved!"
However, at this moment, Sui You couldn't care about that. He continuously burned the ice with his Phoenix True Fire, trying to rescue the maiden within.
But no matter how he burned it, the ice layer remained unmoved.
The maiden remained frozen in the solid ice, her eyes closed. The surrounding ice was stained red with blood.
Ming Lou, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, Feng Mingqi, Feng Sixian, and Feng Yunzui also stopped caring about the fact that "Qi Yu was originally a girl."
Everyone was desperately trying to find a way to save her.
Sui You, exhausted, still refused to give up. "Why is Qi Yu inside?"
"Before Qi Yu fell into the Cold Hell, her cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul stage. This should be the physical body she cultivated at that time, but in order to merge with the Cold Hell, she abandoned this body," Yu Zhen reached out and stroked the ice. "But how much pain she must have felt then..."
Li Yu's eyes were bloodshot.
Si Qing slammed his fists hard against the ice surface, but the layers of solid ice tightly encased the person, and no matter what they did, it wouldn't break.
Just then, the surrounding scenery changed.
The illusion of the Cold Hell around them suddenly disappeared.
Everyone snapped back to reality, finding themselves standing at the spot they had just run from. Qi Yu was already sitting up, propped on the ground, regaining consciousness.
"I seem to have fainted," Qi Yu stood up. Seeing everyone staring at her blankly, she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with all of you? By the way, the Heavenly Emperor was defeated, why don't you look as happy as you expected?"
As she spoke, she reached out and touched Yu Zhen's shoulder, only to feel a hand that was cold.
Qi Yu immediately seemed to realize something, a look of guilt appearing on her face. "I'm sorry, Mother. Did I reveal my true form while I was unconscious and trap you all inside?"
Ever since she abandoned the hard-won physical body and sacrificed her soul to merge with the Cold Hell, her true form was no longer simply Yan Zhenjing, but the Cold Hell.
And when she lost consciousness, she would be unable to control herself, causing those close to her to be trapped and devoured by her true form, the Cold Hell.
This situation could only be resolved when she woke up.
"..." Yu Zhen didn't speak, but simply reached out and hugged her, drawing Qi Yu into her embrace with concern.
Qi Yu didn't understand what was wrong with Yu Zhen, but she still reached out and patted her back, her voice gentle. "I'm fine, Mother. Don't cry."
Yu Zhen nodded.
After Yu Zhen's emotions calmed down a bit, Qi Yu spoke up to remind them:
"It's not time to relax yet. The Heavenly Emperor has fallen, and the Nine Heavens are leaderless. Someone in the Nine Heavens must be vying for the throne now. We must go and contend for it."
"Contend for it? Then who among us will take this position?" Li Yu asked, seeing everyone looking at him, he immediately shook his head. "Don't look at me, being the Heavenly Emperor is too troublesome. I have no interest."
Qi Nian spread his hands, indicating that as a demon, he couldn't help.
Sui You withdrew from the competition. He had enough to manage his Phoenix tribe.
Qi Yan, holding Ming Lou, and Chi Ming stepped back together, indicating they didn't want the position.
Feng Mingqi, Feng Sixian, and Feng Yunzui did not participate at all.
In the end, all eyes turned to Yue Zhiyin, Qi Yu, and Si Qing.
Si Qing and Qi Yu also had no interest in the position of Heavenly Emperor. Their goals were more ambitious.
But they worried that Yue Zhiyin would speak first and declare his withdrawal.
Therefore, one of them pressed down on Yue Zhiyin's shoulder, and the other covered Yue Zhiyin's mouth.
After ensuring Yue Zhiyin couldn't object, Qi Yu smiled at everyone and said, "Senior Brother is very suitable. Let's go to the Nine Heavens first. There will be another fierce battle later."
Everyone cheered in agreement.
Yue Zhiyin: "...???"
You are noble, you are powerful, and you don't want this position so you throw it to me?? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Sui You, watching the dejected Yue Zhiyin from a distance, suddenly scratched his head, feeling like he had forgotten something.
Strange, he saw Qi Yu just now, what was he going to say...
...
At the same time, on the Thirteenth Heaven.
The Lord of the Heavenly Dao, who should have been meditating and guarding the laws of the Heavenly Dao, was currently in a coma, confined within a barrier.
And not far outside the barrier.
A tall figure in a white cloth robe sat on a futon, meditating with closed eyes, and asked the young boy opposite him:
"The Heavenly Emperor is dead?"
"Replying to Lord Blood Demon Sha, not yet," the young boy bowed respectfully. "But he has lost his primordial core and cannot last many days in the Cold Hell."
The owner of the figure nodded.
"It seems the position of Heavenly Emperor will once again lead to a fierce battle in the Nine Heavens. However, it matters not. The Heavenly Emperor was merely a stepping stone for me. Once my divine art is perfected, I will eventually eliminate him and the Evil Ancestor. It is good that one has been eliminated early."
"My Lord, if we remain indifferent to the situation in the Nine Heavens, the position of Heavenly Emperor in the Nine Heavens might fall into the hands of the Ice Demon Qi Yu," the young boy said indignantly. "That would surely affect your grand plan to rule the three realms."
"You are right. We should guard against Qi Yu," Blood Demon Sha pondered. "However, the possibility of Qi Yu herself becoming the Heavenly Emperor is slim. Her ambition is very strong."
"Can Xue, go down to the Qilin tribe's territory. Find Ling Ruo and tell her that this is a gift from the Heavenly Dao, and have her apply the contents to Li Yu's two Qilin eggs."
Blood Demon Sha handed a sachet to the young boy.
Can Xue responded, holding the sachet with both hands. "My Lord, what is this thing?"
"It's something to make the descendants of the Qilin tribe serve me," Blood Demon Sha leaned back. "After you find Ling Ruo, change your appearance and join the Beiyuan Sect. Become Qi Yu's junior sister, and try to make Si Qing, Yue Zhiyin, Sui You, and Feng Mingqi around her fall for you."