168. Battle Of Frost
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In the dark and damp City of Yu Shui, Yin Xing finished setting up the formation, and with a final nod to Luoyin, the multitude of mortals vanished with him, finally escaping Yu Shui City.
Meanwhile, the battle endlessly raged as the Immortals fought off the army of Eternal Realm demons, and they had even raised a massive outer shield surrounding the city, each of them feeding small streams of aura to it,
and this prevented any of the Eternal Tier demons from leaving the city to wreak havoc.
They were still outnumbered by the demons, but Old man Bao struck a tentative balance, and his qi was the largest force behind the outer shield.
It was a dangerous deadlock...
Luoyin had exhausted most of his plans by now, Zhurong Fen was still loose, and who knew what tricks hid up her floral sleeves...
If she found a way to free the Demon King, then the scale would instantly tip against them!
'Nothing Ventured, Nothing gained...' He thought.
Rather hinge on fate and wait to die, it was indeed time to take a major leap!
And Luoyin swivelled, drawing Weiyan's and Yinying's attention.
"There's something we must do!"
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Four hours later...
Zhurong Fen sat in the lotus position within a secluded clearing surrounded by dead trees.
It wasn't too far from the city's center, but for some reason it was peaceful and serene despite the chaos happening around it
Her pale hands wove endless hand seals as she cultivated, drawing power from the near-boundless demon energy beneath the city, and then channeling it to the Eternal Tier demons within.
She froze suddenly and her eyes sprang open, her irises darting to her right.
She leapt away in an instant, just before a crystal blue sword stabbed right into the spot she had been sitting.
"Tsk tsk tsk... Out of courtesy, couldn't you have let the sword stab you?" A voice spoke behind her, and she swivelled to find Zhang Luoyin standing there!
'How did he -?!'
"How did I find you?" Luoyin lifted a brow. "*'Mei Mei', I know your identity and we have similar cores... Won't I simply follow your Frost Aura?"
(*Mei Mei - Little Sister)
There was something about the way he used the term 'Mei Mei' which sucked every bit of endearment from it.
'Yuan Jing!' Luoyin thought, secretly activating his far-seeing and appraisal technique, and his eyes narrowed, darting around the dead-looking clearing.
According to the layout of Yu Shui City, Yu Shui Lake should be around here, yet all he could see was this clearing, and he couldn't help but wonder...
'Why is it so peaceful, despite the chaos?'
"Tch." Zhurong Fen's voice reeled him back.
"Zhang Luoyin... Or should I call you 'Yin Xiaolong'?" She asked lightly, each word with a deliberate bite. "As Yin Xiaolong, you held so much power! Yet pathetically lost your beloved ones...! Then do you prefer the Mortal Waste, Zhang Luoyin?! Tell me which you prefer!"
"None." Luoyin dusted off her baiting with a calm smirk. "I'd rather those names weren't carelessly uttered by some random cat or dog..."
Zhurong Fen's eyebrows drew together in instant fury, but her smile never faltered as both parties stared at each other across the space.
Past and present grievances swept around as the mild wind made their hairs and draping robes dance...
The hate and anger between them was mountains high and oceans wide...
"A lowly mortal dares wag his tongue here..." Zhurong Fen broke the silence. "But you're nothing without your friends. Why not summon that *ancient relic to protect you yet again? Hmmm?"
(*Old man Bao)
"Aiya, I might be helpless, but..." Luoyin sighed. "I'd be accused of being unfilial if I let the old man come in contact with filth."
Zhurong Fen sucked in a sharp angry breath, but kept that smile in place. "Oh? So you intend to face me by yourself?"
"Ha! How many people are needed for a withered old flower?! Did you forget...?" Luoyin held up two fingers, channeling his qi.
"No one's Ice Techniques have ever matched mine!" He thundered as a giant dragon of water rose up behind him, and a ring of deadly looking spikes of frost appeared around its head, all facing Zhurong Fen.
"Do you dare to compare?" Luoyin finished with a disdainful smirk.
It was a bold and unreasonable challenge.
One flimsy mortal challenging an Eternal Tier Immortal?
"...ahahaha..." Zhurong Fen laughed softly at first. But then she threw back her head and roared with unbridled maniacal laughter.
"Hao hao hao!" Zhurong Fen's rage burst as she applauded. "I haven't sought you out, yet you delivered yourself to my doorstep, gift-wrapped in your own foolishness!"
She vanished in less than a blink and her hand was suddenly grasping at Luoyin's throat, but Luoyin phased away.
The spikes of frost shot at Zhurong Fen, and the large dragon of water spiralled towards her, just as Luoyin simultaneously reappeared behind her.
His crystal blue sword flashed into his hand as he swung at her, but...
"Hmph." A slight wave from Zhurong Fen and the water dragon froze into solid ice.
Then both it and the accompanying spikes exploded into a million shards of ice!
Meanwhile, Zhurong Fen herself met Luoyin's sword with hers... an immaculate sword which resembled a delicate and beautiful snowflake.
Frost spread forward from her feet towards Luoyin, rupturing the ground as it approached, but Luoyin leapt into the air before the frost reached him.
"Run all you want!" Zhurong Fen yelled amid crazed laughter, her hands flying into varying seals.
"Don't you like messing with the weather?! I offer you a grand storm!" The air was suddenly heavy with her aura and the already dark skies were covered with heavy clouds.
It began snowing in a most breathtaking way, with abnormally large snowflakes showing off their delicate fractal beauty.
But these snowflakes were deadly, and anything they touched frosted over in the split of a split second.
Luoyin shielded himself within one of his crystal shields, but as each snowflake gently touched the shield, it frosted over and shattered.
"Repeat your words... No one's Ice techniques ever matched yours??!!" Zhurong Fen's thundering voice rang out as Luoyin swift-stepped through the dangerous snow, his after-images weaving amidst the snowflakes.
"How about I destroy you with that very element??!!!" She raged, just as a snowflake grazed Luoyin's sleeve, freezing it over completely.
Luoyin tore the fabric away without slowing, and cast a seal. He was instantly surrounded by his qi needles which had multiplied into thousands, resembling frozen blue spikes of water.
The qi needles darted in all directions, fighting off the myriad of snowflakes with swift precision, while a multitude of them flew to attack Zhurong Fen herself.
"Child's play!" Zhurong Fen shook her head, and one delicate wave of her hand made all the qi needles vanish.
Zhurong Fen appeared above Luoyin, her immaculate snowflake sword descending in a clean, merciless arc.
Luoyin's sword reappeared in his hand.
*Clang!*
He blocked the hit, but the force was so mighty that it sent him shooting back down, his feet denting into the ground.
The frost did not hesitate to surge up along his boots and the hem of his robes, but he swiftly leapt away before it could root him in place.
"Hmph. Overestimating your own abilities!" Zhurong Fen's fingers lifted slightly, making the snowflakes suddenly freeze...
But with a downward wave of her fingers, they became incredibly fast! Each flake sharpening into a lethal edge as they sliced through the air towards Luoyin.
'Too fast!' Luoyin barely evaded as a snowflake sped by him, slicing a small clump off his hair.
He swiftly directed a few talismans at Zhurong Fen, but they froze in place almost at once, crumbling into pieces.
In the same breath, he sent an even larger water dragon roaring towards her, but she held up a hand and it froze solid, shattering in the air between them.
A few minutes passed as Luoyin directed technique after technique at Zhurong Fen, but they froze and crumbled before reaching her, while he himself was forced to endlessly evade the brittle but deadly snowflakes chasing him.
'Not enough!' He thought with forrowed brows as he raised smaller shields to deflect the snowflakes while he spun through the air.
His hand raised into a seal and he yelled, "Crystal Heaven Shower!"
His sword appeared behind him, spinning in place, and there were suddenly hundreds of thousands of swords, all vibrating with immense aura.
Zhurong Fen's eyes slightly widened.
She swiftly raised a powerful shield just as the thousands and thousands of swords barreled at her, but the swords tore through the barrier and came straight towards her!
"What?!!" She leapt away and spun into the air, darting through the space with the swords after her, much like her snowflakes chased after Luoyin.
'Ridiculous...' She thought, unable to accept that a mortal held this much power!
"Ridiculous!!" She suddenly charged the air with her frosty aura, making it immensely dense, and both the swords and snowflakes promptly vanished.
The aura slammed into Luoyin and he fell to one knee, spewing out several mouthfuls of blood.
Zhurong Fen's oppressive aura made it bitingly cold, and any immortal beneath Grand Immortal would have a hard time breathing in this place...
As a mere mortal, Luoyin's insides were freezing fast, and he quickly channeled an insane amount of qi, just to hold on, his breath coming out in sharp painful gasps.
Zhurong Fen chuckled lightly.
"You might be strong and clever for a mortal," She began. "...but you simply cannot scale the gap between us!" She released even more of her aura. "Do you think I couldn't have swatted your life away like a fly all along?
"I was merely enjoying watching your hopeless struggle!!"
The space was now charged with biting cold aura and the storm of snowflakes reappeared, darting towards Luoyin.
He shot to his feet and swiftly evaded, but the snowflakes were even faster and denser, and Luoyin could barely evade them as they tore at his skin, the sheer dense aura making him spit blood multiple times.
"You only survived Caoyang because of an oversight!" Zhurong Fen ranted, one hand calmly folded behind her back as she directed the relentless snowflakes at Luoyin. "I forgot your Dragon Pearl lay within Yan Liwei, and it somehow remained with her even in her Mortal state...
"When Caoyang remained afloat, I suspected you were still alive!" She scoffed, delicately twisting her fingers to control the snowflakes. "To think your essence latched onto Yan Liwei, following her out of Caoyang and giving your irritating friends a chance to pull you back from the dead!"
As she calmly walked forward, beautiful seals of frost bloomed beneath each foot, triggering identical seals beneath Luoyin, each one shooting up jagged spikes of ice towards him.
"This time, I'll ensure you stay dead!"
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