Wu Fa and Mu Chen Dong were instantly frozen in place. They couldn’t even properly control the Slaughter Array Formation.

With the activation of the Great Wilderness Illusion Sea, they both knew it was over. They had never realized Huang Ji had such a terrifying move up her sleeve. Though it was daytime, they felt as if they were trapped under a desolate moonlight. Before the Great Wilderness Illusion Sea, they had no strength to resist. This was an absolute power.

Just as Huang Ji was about to begin her slaughter, a great roar echoed. The three looked up to see an endless avalanche crashing down, instantly submerging them and the entire canyon.

An unknown amount of time passed before Wu Fa poked his head out of the snow. Mu Chen Dong also spat out a mouthful of snow. They couldn’t find any trace of Huang Ji, but when they looked up at the mountain, they saw her rushing toward the summit.

"Not good! The boss is in danger!" the two of them yelled, scrambling desperately up the slope. More avalanches were cascading down, and the slightest misstep meant being buried alive.

High up on the snowy mountain, Ye Fan struggled to his feet, searching for any trace of Fu Hu. He knew Fu Hu was like decaying wood; with just one more push, Fu Hu would surely die. At this critical moment, he couldn’t let him escape.

However, just then, a figure dropped down from above and clamped a hand around Ye Fan’s neck.

Not good!

He looked and saw it was Fu Hu. He was at his weakest, dangling directly over an icy chasm. Weakly, Fu Hu taunted him, "Even if I can’t kill you, I’ll drag you down with me! You’ll be buried in this glacier forever! Hahaha!"

Ye Fan threw a punch. Fu Hu grunted as the fist tore through his body, but he used the last of his strength to hold on, refusing to let Ye Fan go.

Just then, Huang Ji arrived.

Fu Hu looked as though he had seen his savior. He used his remaining breath to plead with her, "Quick, kill him! If you kill him, we can live!"

Sensing danger, Ye Fan hurriedly gathered his energy, preparing to kick Fu Hu away. But Huang Ji had already made her move.

She swung her sword down. Ye Fan shut his eyes tight in fear, but when he opened them again, he was shocked.

Huang Ji’s sword had pierced straight through Fu Hu.

In disbelief, Fu Hu stared at her and asked in a voice full of despair, "Why?"

Huang Ji said nothing. Under her sword, Fu Hu quietly died, his body falling onto the snowy ground.

At that moment, Ye Fan’s hands were encased in ice. Just as he was about to break free, he realized Huang Ji hadn’t stopped. Her sword was coming right for him.

"Heavenly Subduing Sword!" Ye Fan bellowed.

The Yuanhong Sword shot out from the snow behind Huang Ji and pierced through her body.

Huang Ji looked weakly at Ye Fan, her gaze filled with a pain that could make anyone’s heart ache.

Even Ye Fan hadn’t expected this. At this moment, he felt he had made a terrible mistake. He looked down at his arms and realized the truth. Huang Ji wasn’t trying to kill him; she had been trying to sever the icy chains binding his arms. His heart ached terribly.

Wu Fa and Mu Chen Dong were also stunned. They never expected this would be the outcome. They had no idea why this was happening.

While Ye Fan was still reeling in confusion, the ice beneath his feet suddenly cracked.

"Ah!"

He and Huang Ji plummeted into the ice cavern together.

The ice cavern was dark and radiated an intense, bone-chilling air. In truth, it wasn’t Ye Fan who was the most bewildered, but Wu Fa and Mu Chen Dong. They were so stunned by the scene that had just unfolded that they hadn’t processed it. So, even as Ye Fan fell into the cavern, they could only stand by, frozen...

"B-Boss!"

The two stared at each other in dismay.

Finally, Wu Fa roared, "Damn it, save him!"

But when they looked down into the deep, abyssal ice cavern, they were dumbstruck. To go down or not? They wanted to, but they feared their strength was insufficient. But they couldn’t just leave their boss down there. It was a true dilemma.

"Quick, think of something!"

"Idiot!" Wu Fa’s berating had Mu Chen Dong spinning in circles. The situation was so critical that he forgot to even argue back, ready to do whatever Wu Fa said.

Wu Fa, nearly having lost his mind, bellowed, "If you can’t think of a way, I’ll kill you to be buried with our Junior Master!"

To calm the irrational Wu Fa, Mu Chen Dong quickly said, "I’m thinking! Look, over there! There’s a volcano. If we can find the Heart of the Volcano, we can get down into the ice cavern!"

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Go find it!" Wu Fa roared.

"Okay, I’m on it!"

Mu Chen Dong scrambled down the snowy mountain. Only when he reached the bottom did he finally process what Wu Fa had said. Why should I be killed to be buried with Ye Fan? I’m not the one who knocked him down there!

SMACK!

Wu Fa landed a slap on the back of Mu Chen Dong’s head.

"What are you standing there gawking for?" Wu Fa yelled. "Get moving and find it!"

The two hastily rushed off to find the Heart of the Volcano. They were truly quite the pair.

An unknown amount of time passed before Ye Fan quietly awoke. He slowly stood up, not from the ground, but from a floor of solid ice. He looked up, only to find the way out was completely sealed by a thick layer of ice.

He then looked down at his body and saw several deep gashes from the sharp ice. He felt incredibly weak. It was then that he saw Huang Ji, completely encased in a block of ice nearby.

He didn’t know why, but his heart filled with sorrow. Perhaps he never should have used his sword on her. If he hadn’t, none of this would have happened.

He carefully approached the block of ice. He knew he couldn’t just shatter it with a punch, or he would shatter Huang Ji along with it. He could only pry the ice apart, piece by delicate piece.

Huang Ji’s eyes were shut tight. It was impossible to tell if she was alive or dead. Ye Fan cautiously checked her condition and found that she was still faintly breathing. He wanted to carry her out of this frozen wasteland, but he realized that after so many battles, his own strength was nearly depleted. He didn’t know how to get out, nor how to revive Huang Ji.

Just then, a crystalline ice tree materialized before him. It was covered in ice flowers, possessing a unique, ethereal beauty. But he was in no mood to appreciate the scenery. Reviving Huang Ji was the only thing that mattered.

"You want to save her? Her life force is fading. You cannot save her," a voice echoed through the cavern.

Ye Fan immediately demanded, "Who are you?" He hadn’t expected anyone else to be in this ice cavern and instantly grew vigilant.

"I am the Ice Soul, born from ten thousand years of profound ice, the accumulated essence of countless ages. I am the Controller of all profound ice!" the voice declared.

Instantly, a phantasmal figure materialized before Ye Fan.

Ye Fan suddenly understood. During the battle above, he’d had a chance to change everything, but in the end, he had been sealed by profound ice. The exit here was also sealed—it was all this Ice Soul’s doing. Enraged, he threw a punch, only to find his fist instantly frozen solid.

He struggled to break free, but he couldn’t. The ice held him fast, not allowing him to move even an inch. Then, countless shards of profound ice morphed into sharp swords, surrounding him on all sides.

"You had best not act recklessly in here," the Ice Soul told him coldly. "With a single thought, I can make sure you die without a burial place."

Ye Fan didn’t dare move. This Ice Soul was indeed terrifying.