He Lan Tianxia

As he chased, Murong Junlan lost track of the power. However, he was certain that the power had disappeared at the location of the mountain boundary stone tablet. He saw three words engraved on the tablet: Valley of Annihilation. Murong Junlan reached out and tapped the tablet, but there was no response. He tapped again, still no response. So he took a few steps back and channeled his energy to strike the tablet with both hands, but there was still no reaction. He channeled his energy again and struck again, still no response. Just when Murong Junlan was at his wit's end, suddenly a force emanated from the tablet and attacked him directly. Murong Junlan dared not be careless. He quickly focused his mind and gathered his energy, using seventy percent of his power to counterattack the force. With a "whoosh," Murong Junlan's body, along with the seventy percent of power he had just used, was uncontrollably pulled towards the tablet.

"Absorption Technique?" Murong Junlan tried to suppress the pull on his body, but due to the backlash from the 70% power he had just received, the other party used twice the pulling force to violently pull him onto the stone tablet. A gust of wind suddenly arrived, and Murong Junlan was uncontrollably pulled away from the stone tablet, his body rolling in an unknown direction and falling into an abyss.

With two crisp "thuds," Murong Junlan felt his body bump into something, which then fell to the ground, releasing a whiff of wine. He landed on a soft, squishy object—a bear. Murong Junlan struggled to his feet, when two blasts of cold air struck from behind. Yes, cold air, but with the sharpness of swords, capable of causing internal injury upon contact. Murong Junlan immediately used his desert lightness skill to roll, but the two blasts of cold air followed like shadows, relentlessly closing in. The man was even more enraged by Murong Junlan's evasion. Murong Junlan clearly felt the chill and terror within the cave.

"Slap slap slap!" The man unleashed three moves in quick succession, then gritted his teeth and said menacingly, "Die."

Murong Junlan took the blow head-on and immediately felt a chilling cold. While parrying, he shouted loudly, "Senior, please have mercy!"

"You've broken the only keepsake he left me, so you must die, you absolutely must die." The man's attacks grew increasingly relentless. Murong Junlan was gradually losing ground. Suddenly, the man struck Murong Junlan's feet with a palm strike. As Murong Junlan dodged, he felt as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on his head. Murong Junlan realized he'd been tricked, but it was too late. A heavy weight pressed down on his head, and he saw stars. To prevent an even more horrific massacre, Murong Junlan shouted out again:

"I'll compensate."

"Ha... compensate? How? How can you compensate someone who's dead?" The man's voice was cold and heartless with despair, and he said tragically, "Fine, I'll take you to him right now and make him compensate me for the gift, no, he'll compensate me for my lifetime of waiting, ha..."

If it weren't for Murong Junlan's profound internal strength, that sound would have frozen him into an ice sculpture. Just as he was feeling fortunate, "smack!" Murong Junlan was struck by a palm from that person, and was indeed frozen solid, his body immediately covered in frost, unable to move. Inside the cave, deathly silence returned, and Murong Junlan heard the sound of that person's footsteps leaving.

Murong Junlan looked into the cave and felt a sense of déjà vu, especially the bear, which was almost identical to the one in the bear den. Some of the decorations were also exactly the same. If it weren't for the two missing bear cubs, he might have thought he had fallen back into the bear den. The only difference was that this cave had a bone-chilling cold, as if the cold air was bursting forth from that person, endless and penetrating to the heart and lungs. Even though that person was no longer in the cave, it still made one feel as cold as ice, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

A cup of tea's time passed, an hour passed, two hours passed, and Murong Junlan remained frozen there like an ice sculpture. Apart from being able to move his head slightly, his hands and feet were a little numb, but the other person seemed to have already forgotten about him.

"Senior, Senior." Murong Junlan tried to call the person over to break the seal, but the cave only echoed with emptiness. What to do? He couldn't just stay here and wait to die. Murong Junlan was at a loss. The cold air slowly seeped into his body, and Murong Junlan began to shiver. He asked himself if his internal strength was sufficient to withstand this cold. This situation must be because the senior had tampered with the ice sculpture. He endured another hour of hunger and cold. Murong Junlan's teeth began to chatter, and his face turned from red to purplish-red. Murong Junlan began to worry, but he didn't panic. He finally remembered the Lazy Man's Manual. That's right, that manual could ward off the cold. How could he forget? He quickly focused his mind and began to practice the Lazy Man's Manual.

Crack, crack, the ice sculpture actually broke layer by layer, and the crisp sound brought a moment of surprise to the usually composed Murong Junlan.

"What, still not dead?" The senior's voice drifted over coldly. "I've never met anyone who could withstand my Annihilation Frost Palm. One hour is the limit, but you actually lasted two more hours. I could have taken you as my disciple, but unfortunately you broke my treasure. Breaking my treasure means death, death..." The man became agitated as he spoke.

With a snap, the ice sculpture on Murong Junlan shattered, scattering across the ground, and the chill emanating from her dissipated. Murong Junlan stretched her limbs, loosening her muscles, when a trembling voice came from behind her: "You're not dead? You can't be alive? Are you really not dead?" Suddenly, she grabbed Murong Junlan's clothes and shook her violently. "Look at me! Who am I? Who am I?"

Murong Junlan then took a closer look at the reclusive master before her. His handsome face concealed an icy indifference; his sharp eyes were devoid of warmth; and his snow-white hair was slightly disheveled with excitement. Murong Junlan thought to herself, if his hair were black, he would undoubtedly be a quintessential beauty.

"Murong Junlan greets Senior." Murong Junlan bowed to the white-haired woman.

The white-haired woman stared at Murong Junlan, then suddenly froze. She released her grip, her body trembling violently as she muttered in a trembling voice, "So alike, so very alike, no, exactly the same." Suddenly, the white-haired woman turned to Murong Junlan and asked, "Are you General Qi? You are not General Qi. How could you possibly be General Qi? How could you not be General Qi?"

Murong Junlan looked at the ever-changing white-haired woman before him and simply shook his head.

"Yes, you are not General Qi, because you are already... dead, ha..." The white-haired woman laughed chillingly. Murong Junlan shivered.

"That heartless bastard is dead too, dead. Didn't expect that, did you? The Valley of Destruction didn't perish, but what's the difference between dead and alive? Didn't expect that, did you, you heartless bastard? My bear even had a pair of cubs with your bear, ha… If you knew this in the afterlife, wouldn't you be furious, ha…" The white-haired woman laughed for a while, then cried for a while, completely forgetting Murong Junlan's existence. At this moment, the old man in the treasure room sneezed several times.

"Senior, I'd like to ask you about a woman."

"You're not General Qi, that's impossible. Where did you hide him? Where did you hide that heartless bastard? Tell me, and I'll protect your kingdom for life."

"Senior." Murong Junlan wanted to ask more, but the white-haired woman suddenly smiled strangely, shouted "Don't run away!" and ran wildly away from behind Murong Junlan.

Murong Junlan quickly searched the cave but found nothing. He called out Yan'er's name loudly, but no one answered. Only then did he belatedly realize that this cave was almost identical to the bear cave, and a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind: this white-haired woman seemed to have an inextricable relationship with the owner of the bear cave.

Just as Murong Junlan was taken aback, the white-haired woman flashed in like the wind. She stretched out her two pale arms, which had long been deprived of sunlight, and suddenly grabbed Murong Junlan's sleeve. Her attitude was slightly sincere as she said, "I'll help you find the person you're looking for. You help me find that heartless bastard. Deal." Before Murong Junlan could agree, she spun out like a gust of wind.

Murong Junlan was truly troubled by this unpredictable and unreliable senior. However, hearing her promise to help him find Yan'er, he felt somewhat relieved and turned to walk towards the cave entrance.

With a "thud," the white-haired woman bumped directly into Murong Junlan. She disdainfully patted her already messy hair and glared at him, asking,

"Who taught you the lazy man's secret technique you just used?"

"I taught myself."

"Self-taught?"

“Yes.” Murong Junlan then told the long-haired woman about the discovery and cultivation process of the Lazy Man's Manual. The long-haired woman listened with a sorrowful laugh, then snorted, “I never thought you'd oppose me even in death. Now I'll show you how I destroy your manual. Ha…” With that, she vanished in an instant. As the white-haired woman left, Murong Junlan saw a force following her like a shadow, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

Murong Junlan surveyed the cave again. He picked up the shards of the wine jar he had smashed, smelled them, and recalled the aroma of the wine jar hidden under the bed in the bear den. This confirmed his earlier suspicions. He planned that if he found Yan'er, he would give the wine to the white-haired woman; she might treasure it. Since his Yan'er wasn't in the Valley of Destruction, he didn't need to linger. Murong Junlan gathered his strength and dashed out of the cave.