Li Yuechan continued fleeing at full speed. The power of the 4th Stage of Winter's Snow Dance, Icy Marrow, filled her body with endless coldness, allowing her to almost glide across the forest floor on a layer of frost. She couldn't hear her pursuers now but she had no doubt they were still behind her. She could also sense faint disturbances in the air and waves of spiritual energy from all around except for a narrow gap ahead.
She racked her brain for a way out of the situation but she couldn't find one. She wanted to avoid fighting if possible and keep running but she didn't know if or when she would hit a dead end. She couldn't keep Icy Marrow activated forever but she wouldn't be able to face so many opponents without it.
She glanced down at the Ageless Ice Sword and thought of her master. If she called on him, he was sure to answer. But she didn't want to do that yet. This Forest of Swords was supposed to be a trial, a learning experience. She couldn't rely on him for every little thing. She was already a cultivator at the 10th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm. Even if she had just reached it recently, it still meant that she was one of the strongest mortal cultivators. She also cultivated a dual-attribute immortal art, a feat with no rival among her pursuers. With such advantages, she could take care of some small fry. She had to.
Li Yuechan burst out from a row of trees and arrived at a meadow beneath a set of cliffs. The wall of yellow earth went up in a near-vertical fashion for around fifty meters with more trees peeking over the top. She looked left and right and sensed people in both directions. She could go forward.
She leaped up with a swirl of spiritual energy which took her to a height of twenty meters. A long icicle formed at her feet with stabbed into the cliff face. With another step, she crossed another twenty meters, nearing the top. As she made the final step, she sensed danger ahead and raised her sword.
Ping!
She waved her sword with a defensive move, deflecting a flying dagger. More daggers came at her from several directions and smashed into her Frozen Carapace.
She launched a volley of arrows which disappeared into the trees ahead. Three figures dashed out in response, sending more rays of sword energy toward her. She blocked them all but the force of those attacks sent her over the cliff and she plummeted.
Her eyes flashed with determination as a swirl of snow and ice appeared around her body. Her descent slowed until she was almost floating. She landed neatly with a gust of frosty air. She twirled her sword around in a wide arc and watched enemies appear from all directions.
Jin Wangjie stood at the rear of his people. He had even taken off his mask and was sporting a mocking smile. There was another group of four to their right and a duo to their left. There were also the three experts on top of the cliff.
In total, Li Yuechan was up against fifteen cultivators at the 9th and 10th Levels of the Spirit Initiate Realm. She didn't know if any of them were at the lesser realm of Spiritual Growth. She hoped not as that would make things much more difficult.
She raised a hand towards the sky and fired off another fiery alert talisman. She hoped that one of her sisters was nearby and would be able to see it.
Jin Wangjie laughed and gestured to a person beside him, "You want to call for help? So can we. Send it."
Another message talisman followed, rising to about the same height and creating a puff of dark smoke, calling all nearby disciples of the four allied sword sects to battle.
"What do you people want?" Li Yuechan asked harshly.
She didn't expect an answer but Jin Wangjie was in a talkative mood.
"Beauty, it was your misfortune to have called that person your master," He said, "He has offended people he couldn't afford to offend so as his disciple, you have to pay the price."
"My master? Who did he offend?" She asked.
"Heh... if you surrender and are obedient, I might tell you. Otherwise, I will make you hope for death but unable to die."
Li Yuechan had heard such words from men before. Disciples of Glacier Palace were always targets when they went outside for missions. Divine Blazing Mountain was a common culprit but the disciples of other sects also couldn't help themselves. Talking with such people really was a pointless endeavor.
"Since you want a fight, let's fight!" She said and brandished her sword.
At the same time, she summoned all of her strength and opened her spiritual sea to the limit. She drew upon the secret incantations of the Winter's Snow Dance as ice flowed through her arteries, filling her body with a profound coldness that surpassed her limit.
5th Stage, Cold Snap!
She dashed towards the smallest group of enemies, the duo standing to the south of the cliff. A cloud of ice and snow surrounded her body, freezing the ground she stepped on and the air she passed through. This was her strongest possible form, even greater than Icy Marrow.
Her sword glowed white as she slashed down. A wave of ice energy shot forward, forcing the two masked figures to leap to either side. An explosion of spiritual energy followed which created a cloud of white fog, obscuring the three people inside.
"Get her! Don't let her escape!" Jin Wangjie bellowed.
The squad of sword cultivators moved as one. In a flash, they surrounded the growing fog of ice but didn't dare to enter.
Inside, Li Yuechan was clashing heavily against the two opponents who were both at the 10th Level and winning. Unlike Icy Marrow which merely increased her fighting strength, Cold Snap increased her power but also cast an environmental effect around her, trapping them in an icy fog that decreased their awareness and power. It was a true battle ability that allowed her to contend with multiple foes although the expenditure of spiritual energy was equally as great.
The two experts were experienced and understood the situation. They signaled to each other with a mere look and fled in separate directions. The field of ice was limited and could only trap one person this way.
Li Yuechan smiled grimly. Their choice was logical but it was the wrong one. She focused her spiritual energy on the stronger of the two and attacked fiercely. Ice swords blasted apart the meadow, turning it into a barren, cold land. Ice arrows shot out incessantly as if she was backed up by a team of archers. Before long, she had encased that person's four limbs in ice, causing them to collapse to the ground.
She turned around to find her next opponent. The fourteen that remained didn't dare to approach her but still maintained a tight encirclement. They knew what they were doing at least. They were waiting for her secret art to end, for her to run out of energy.
With Cold Snap still surrounding her figure, she charged toward where that mouthy one stood. The white fog followed her, instantly encasing three more people including Jin Wangjie. The Ageless Ice Sword went forth and clashed with a burst of spiritual energy and light.
"Bitch!" Jin Wangjie spat and retaliated furiously.
He wasn't weak but this frozen environment was a serious problem. He was freezing. His body felt sickly. Even his reaction speed seemed slower. On top of that, with all the swirling snow and ice, it was difficult to even see.
Li Yuechan, on the other hand, felt great. Her sword was still fast and precise. Her steps remained light and stable. She didn't know why but she was brimming with energy. She had never been able to make Cold Snap last this long but it was as if she could keep going forever.
She dispatched an opponent after a short exchange and then another. She picked the weaker ones off this time, leaving the biggest offender for last. Once she had frozen those two to the ground, she moved towards the third.
Li Yuechan and Jin Wangjie finally clashed again. She experienced the Seven Remembrance Sword once more but she wasn't impressed. She had sparred with Wu Qianyu a few times and the strength of Dugu's 10th Sword was far beyond this. In her powered-up state which was a combination of Icy Marrow and Cold Snap, dealing with such a sword art couldn't be considered difficult.
After several exchanges, Jin Wangjie gave up whatever pride he had and rapidly retreated. He wasn't her match but he still had strength in numbers. It would be the biggest joke if he sacrificed himself for others' benefit.
With one last burst of desperation, he burst out of the wintry fog and shouted for help. The encirclement reformed around Li Yuechan, now with everyone keeping their distance. She looked around and noticed that the first person she had incapacitated had managed to somewhat recover, probably with help from his allies. She hid her chagrin and was about to attack once more when another crowd of people stormed into the meadow with their swords drawn.
The new arrivals numbered ten or eleven. Due to their haste or perhaps confusion with regard to the emergency message talisman, no one bothered to hide their faces, thus revealing themselves to be disciples of the Mount Yun Sect.
Li Yuechan wasn't surprised at this point, only disappointed. The Four Greats of the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent, sword sects with long histories and renown, sold themselves to the Yang Clan of Great Waves so easily. Was it so nice to become dogs and do the bidding of others?
A surge of anger filled her heart. She was a cultivator of the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent. She held the pride of Glacier Palace as well as Ten Thousand Flower Valley. She had to teach these people a lesson in decency and morality.
She briefly ignored the twenty-odd enemies surrounding her and looked within. Her spiritual sea was already working at its maximum but she wanted more. She needed more. Power surged through her but it still wasn't enough.
Up until now, the fifth stage had been her limit. She had attempted the sixth stage several times but failed to reach it. She understood all the secret forms and incantations but she had not been able to bring it to life. Her understanding of the way of ice had been too shallow and the quality of her spiritual energy had been too low.
But today, she felt different. The Ageless Ice Sword glowed in her hand and she felt invincible. She was hopelessly outnumbered but it didn't matter.
Li Yuechan pushed herself forward. She leaped into the air as the sky above darkened. A gust of north wind swept over the meadow, freezing each blade of grass. Then, it began to snow.
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