Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 50 I will kill it
"Your Excellency is a true man; a promise is a promise. Since you agreed to repay the debt of saving my life for my impetuousness back then, we cannot bring up the past again."

Gu Changzhou's lips curled slightly, his emotions subdued: "Okay."

"Really?"

They agreed so readily, could there be a trick involved?
Liu Sijun secretly observed for half a day.

Seeing him meditating with his eyes closed, it seemed that, as he had said, the matter was over.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

This should be completely resolved now, right?

It was still early, so Liu Sijun sat down to meditate and cultivate, intending to further consolidate his cultivation.

At the end of Hai hour (9-11 PM), the two finished one after the other and closed their eyes to rest.

The candlelight inside the cave went out, and the somewhat cramped cave suddenly became eerily quiet. All that could be heard was his even, gentle breathing, one breath at a time.

In the middle of the night, there was a sudden thunderstorm.

Strictly speaking, it is not winter now, but the Frozen Region is located in the far north of Yu the Great, and is covered with ice and snow all year round, with very few thunderstorms.

"Walk."

Gu Changzhou's expression suddenly turned serious.

He grasped Liu Sijun's wrist, and just as they flew into the air, the cave where they had just taken refuge was now a complete ruin.

It was pitch black all around.

Liu Sijun could see clearly that it was a Soul-Devouring Beast halfway up the mountain, its eyes had turned scarlet, staring intently at her, its sharp fangs exposed, and the bloody smell in the air was so strong that it was unsettling.

This is an adult Soul-Devouring Beast!

No wonder they were able to raze the cave where they lived to the ground in an instant.

"You, female cultivator, killed my son. I will make you pay with your life."

"roar~"

Amidst the lightning and thunder, the Soul-Devouring Beast transformed into a colossal dark beast, its four hooves pounding the ground, causing the earth to tremble, leaving behind trails of black afterimages with its tearing force.

In this life-or-death moment, Liu Sijun could not hold back and took out his most handy tool—the Taixu Mirror.

She channeled her spiritual power into the Taixu Mirror, and in an instant, the plum blossoms on the mirror shone brightly, so bright that human cultivators could not look directly at them, nor could the Soul-Devouring Beasts.

It was forced to stop.

The Soul-Devouring Beast sensed that the light not only prevented it from opening its eyes, but could also penetrate its hard scales.

This is its most prized defense.

"Is this the thing you used to kill my son?"

"Killing it is unnecessary."

The Taixu Mirror was crafted from a crystal stone produced in the belly of the ancient spirit beast, the Junjun, combined with half of the Venerable Lord's lifelong cultivation. It has the ability to control all demons in the universe and to imprison and eliminate the attacks of giant beasts.

Although the Soul-Devouring Beast cubs were powerful, she could still handle them.

The Soul-Devouring Beast roared repeatedly: "It was just hungry, why did you kill it? You humans, once you cultivate, you'll do anything!"

It was just hungry...

"But it will eat people when it's hungry."

If other disciples with lower cultivation levels were to encounter this, they would become the prey of the Soul-Devouring Beast cubs.

"Then you can't kill it."

Liu Sijun: "In a life-or-death situation, death doesn't automatically make you right."

"I don't care. My son is dead, and you must pay with your life!"

The Soul-Devouring Beast had lost its mind and charged forward recklessly. Liu Sijun tossed the Void Mirror upwards and quickly formed hand seals. The Void Mirror "crackled" and grew larger, forming a circular shield in front of her. The white light shooting out from the mirror drilled into the Soul-Devouring Beast's body from all directions. It roared in pain, but its speed did not decrease in the slightest, determined to smash the female cultivator in front of it to pieces.

As they drew closer, Liu Sijun's expression changed.

Because of the demon core, an adult Soul Devouring Beast's cultivation level can be equivalent to a human cultivator's cultivation level from the Nascent Soul stage to the Divine Transformation stage.

Even with the Taixu Mirror reducing its demonic power by half, it couldn't withstand its full-force attack.

At the critical moment, a large hand grabbed her waist and pulled her away. The Soul-Devouring Beast crashed into the Void Mirror, its scales shattering from the powerful impact.

The Soul-Eating Beast let out a miserable scream, its eyes still fixed on the beast.

Gu Changzhou summoned his longsword, about to make a move, when Liu Sijun stopped him. He looked at her, puzzled, silently asking. She simply shook her head.

Liu Sijun said, "Life and death are predestined. I did nothing wrong by killing your son. If you leave now, you can save your life."

The Soul-Devouring Beast knew that with this male cultivator protecting it, it would not only be unable to avenge its son tonight, but might also lose its life.

"In this icy region, you'd better be careful every day and never be alone."

Otherwise, I will tear her to pieces to avenge my son.

The Soul-Devouring Beast vanished into the darkness, the lightning disappeared, and the bright moon hung in the sky.

The cave where they had been staying had been razed to the ground, so they found an ancient tree that had stood for a thousand years, lay down on its thick branches, and set up a protective barrier once again.

Gu Changzhou: "Letting it go is ultimately a hidden danger. Why didn't you let me kill it just now?"

"If I had that ability, I would kill it."

To avoid future troubles.

"I can."

"This is different."

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was different.

The two remained silent throughout the night.

The next day, as dawn broke, the two set off towards the center of the Frozen Domain.

After walking for only half an hour, the scenery suddenly changed.

From jungle to desert, it's so abrupt, yet it truly exists.

For a moment, she even thought she had entered an illusion. Otherwise, how could there be a desert in the northernmost, perpetually snow-covered icy region?

“There is a road there.”

Liu Sijun pointed to their right, even though it hadn't been there just now.

The cliffs on both sides seemed to have been torn apart by an invisible force, revealing jagged cross-sections.

They moved closer.

Deep within the passage, the faint roars of beasts echoed, accompanied by the trembling ground and the mournful howling of the wind blowing from the cliffs.

It seemed to be telling them that this wasn't a path to the center of the Frozen Realm, but rather a path to Hell.

"Walk?"

Liu Sijun nodded: "Let's go!"

It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm, but the difference between cultivators and ordinary people lies in constantly transcending this instinct.

The two walked in back to back.

The sound of the wind suddenly stopped, and the deafening roar of the beast disappeared. The ground was flat and there was no tremor.

Liu Sijun: "Are we now in an illusion, or were what we just saw and heard just an illusion?"

The passageway is very safe.

In other words, everything just now was just a scare tactic. If you were scared away and took another route, who knows what dangers await you!
Beyond the passage lies a vast swamp, where mist rises and withered lotus leaves and rotting roots float on the water.

Bubbles occasionally rise from the swamp.

"Gulu, Guru."

Something made a sound, and Liu Sijun saw a strange creature, one he had never seen before, quietly peeking out.

Their eyes gleamed with an eerie green light in the mist, filled with hostility.

"It's an ice scorpion."

"Shouldn't ice scorpions be in the snow and ice? Why are they hiding in the swamp?"

Gu Changzhou: "Ice scorpions are everywhere in the Frozen Domain. Sometimes they hide under the snow and fly out in swarms when people are least expecting them. It's dangerous if you guard against them here, but they're out there elsewhere."

Even he wouldn't want to be targeted by the Ice Scorpion.

Upon hearing Gu Changzhou's introduction, Liu Sijun inexplicably thought of desert army ants.

One or two won't matter, but if you're targeted by thousands or tens of thousands, even the highest level of cultivation can exhaust your spiritual power.

(End of this chapter)