**Three Days Prior…**

As Jiang Wang bore the corpse of the Tianhai King, his ascent from the frigid depths of Frost Wind Valley was slow and measured. Nearing Ji Zhaonan, who shielded him from the biting winds, a tremor of disbelief ran through him. Never had he imagined that an unforeseen calamity would strike on the human race’s side of the racial battlefield. Here, where enmities and factions should be cast aside for the sake of racial unity, where brother should stand with brother against the external foe. Master Ding Jingshan of Ding Weifu Island, a power within the Illusory Realm, had once impressed upon him a singular truth: on the racial battlefield, all humans were comrades.

He would forever carry the memory of Chu Mi’s soaring sacrifice. It was this creed that allowed him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Jing Country’s prodigies in the life-and-death struggles on the Xingyue Plain. It was this belief that fueled his summoning of blood puppets without hesitation when Zhao Xuan Yang of the Magic Capital’s ancient demon cave sought his demise. And it was this principle that bound him in the desperate struggle alongside Chunyu Gui within the confines of Frost Wind Valley.

Even now, his hand remained clasped around his sword, the weapon held with an unnatural stillness, born of instinct honed in countless battle arrays. To maintain the posture of combat was the ultimate homage to life and death. The distant cheers of victory reached his ears, but they ignited no great fervor; he could not discern them clearly in his exhaustion.

He saw only weary, exultant faces, and among them, one that burned with an almost feverish adoration, a young face.

Then, in the blink of an eye, that face surged forward! So abrupt, so electrifying was its approach. With a power that defied the body it inhabited, it pierced the frigid veil of Frost Wind Valley, bypassed Ji Zhaonan, and unleashed a devastating punch!

In that split second between breaths, terror seized him. Jiang Wang heard the tolling of death’s bell!

Instinct took over. He brought his sword across his chest, releasing his grip to retreat. Five Mansions roared in defense, Tianfu’s light flared, and the clear brilliance of the Xuan Tian Liu Li Gong erupted outwards. He simultaneously released the corpse he carried, flipping his palm to unleash the Huo Dou Seal, its ethereal glow attempting to swallow the incoming fist energy. Even in the divine soul world, he summoned Chao Tian Que for a counterattack. All these frantic reactions were born of the palpable danger emanating from this inexplicable assailant.

When death looms, who dares to be complacent?

Yet, his retreating footwork could not evade the lock. His horizontal sword parry shattered. His Huo Dou Seal burst asunder. The Xuan Tian Liu Li Gong crumbled, and the light of Tianfu was extinguished. The surrounding flowing fire and the Frost Wind clinging to his back also dissipated without resistance. His Chao Tian Que, mighty though it was, could not even stir the opponent’s divine soul. The power was simply not on the same level. He was a formidable Shenlin Realm cultivator, but the fist that assaulted him was infinitely close to the Dongzhen Realm!

The fist bent the sword body, driving it forcefully into his abdomen. His five viscera and six bowels were displaced, his body’s four seas churned in turmoil! The connections within his Five Mansions were shattered, his Dao Yuan became chaotic, and his Qi and blood clashed violently. He instinctively curled into himself, attempting to distance himself from that devastating impact.

But his body was beyond his control, propelled like a loosed arrow with terrifying speed towards the far end of Frost Wind Valley. He hurtled backward through the merciless extreme cold wind, leaving a trail of instantly frozen wounds. Yet, this intense agony could not prevent his divine soul from fading into a daze. His eyes, against his will, closed.

His mind grew hazy. Even the millions of thoughts that bloomed and withered in an instant were silenced. His divine soul was on the verge of freezing! Before the crushing fist intent and beneath the frigid embrace of Frost Wind, only a flicker of red-golden light persisted within his four seas, a flickering candle, a lone firefly.

Within the Yuan Shen Sea, the tightly shut Containment God Hall stood silent. The manifested body of his divine soul, its eyebrows and eyes already frosted, sat frozen on its divine seat. Only in its heart did a faint, lonely beat echo. *I cannot die. I cannot die. I cannot die!*

The voice within his heart, starting as a whisper, rose to a roar. A maelstrom of experiences, a cascade of illusions, flickered before him like a galloping lantern show. So many cared for him, so many favors remained unpaid, so many tasks unfinished. He still had vengeance to claim, and An An was still so young.

Suddenly, his red-golden eyes snapped open! They seemed to pierce the vast, extreme cold wind, glimpsing the figure who had struck him to this desolate place, and also the fiery light of Ji Zhaonan being sent flying. He felt the Frost Wind’s embrace intensify, and he knew that its backward flow had ceased, unlikely to dissipate again.

A pre-meditated attack, power at the Dongzhen level, an uncanny eleven-month silence in Frost Wind Valley, and the perilous territory of the demon race… Ji Zhaonan and his companions, so easily repelled, were now far beyond reach, a complete dead end! Before following Ji Zhaonan into Frost Wind Valley, he could never have foreseen this moment. A single misstep, and he was left utterly helpless between life and death.

But even in his helplessness, he would struggle with all his might! A spark of spiritual intelligence ignited within him as he hurtled backward at breakneck speed, summoning the surrounding Frost Wind! The so-called Heaven Dao’s Killing manifested as Buzhou Wind, crushing all in its path. Yet, this Buzhou Wind blew not forward, but backward.

A wisp of Buzhou Wind entwined with the extreme cold wind, emitting crackling sounds like firecrackers as extreme cold and extreme killing intent clashed! Returning to human territory was no longer an option.

Then he would not return!

In that moment, he unleashed the full power of the Hua Buzhou Wind. Using the Buzhou Wind to tear through the Frost Wind’s frigid grip would not only reduce his own injuries but also break through obstacles and accelerate his backward flight. His current physical state could not withstand the extreme cold wind for long.

He needed speed! He needed to be faster!

He maintained his bowed posture, retracting and accumulating his remaining power. The light of the divine ability born from his Five Mansions could only barely protect his vital organs, allowing that fist energy to propel him backward. He allowed that fist energy to tear his muscles, destroy his meridians, and ravage his fresh blood. He was like a long-drawn old bow, seemingly pulled to its breaking point, on the verge of snapping. And indeed, he was a mass of injuries, blood flowing from his ears and the corners of his mouth.

But in his eyes, all calmness had vanished, replaced by an unspeakable ferocity—*To live, I must be the most ferocious I can be!*

His backward-flying figure instantly swept past the massive Stone Rhinoceros Demon King. In the vast white expanse of the extreme cold wind, he carved a temporary passage from the far side of the canyon to this side, as if he had ripped it open himself! The moment the movement registered, Xi Yan Soldier erupted with demon qi, his body pressed against the mountain wall, a horizontal elbow held ready for combat. Yet, he watched in astonishment as Jiang Wang shot past him, hurtling towards the heart of demon race territory with terrifying speed!

What tactic was this? To directly block his path? Before his uncertain thoughts could coalesce, he clearly saw Jiang Wang’s appearance. Jiang Wang’s figure had already whistled past, disappearing into the distance.

And at that very moment, Jiang Wang, propelled from the south to the north of Frost Wind Valley by that punch infinitely close to Dongzhen, had pierced the valley’s exit. To the bewildered eyes of over four hundred demon race warriors, he tumbled onto the desolate wasteland. These were the warriors who had previously fought in Frost Wind Valley, the first to withdraw when the Frost Wind surged back. Naturally, not a single Demon King was among them.

They had never witnessed a human from the human race side pierce through Frost Wind Valley during its frigid reign. And it was just one person. Not a True Monarch, not even a True Person! And this person looked utterly wretched, covered in wounds, as if dragged from a pool of blood. But they recognized him instantly—this was the human strongman who had consecutively slain several of their Demon Kings.

They also sensed something more—within this person’s muscles, within his blood, flickered wisps of dancing red flame, as if of an innate divine spirit! Could it be that all their Demon Kings were dead, and this human powerhouse intended to exterminate them all?

Some demon races instantly lost their nerve, screaming about returning for reinforcements, yet their panicked flight led them away from the direction of South Heaven City. More than a dozen demon warriors scattered and fled in disarray.

But among the remaining demon warriors, several demon commanders stepped forward, shouting for the scattered warriors to rally and form ranks, to fight this human strongman to the death. Demon race military law was strict, and demon race warriors did not lack courage. Thus, their formation, though shaky, temporarily stabilized, not collapsing entirely due to the fleeing demons.

But their reaction was swift, and Jiang Wang’s reaction was swifter! His extreme backward flight was also a process of unloading the immense force that had struck him. He wrestled with that fist energy all the way out of Frost Wind Valley. But that terrifying power still crushed his defenses, ravaged his body, leaving not a single intact muscle in his frame.

In the extreme cold wind, he should have been utterly dead had he not borrowed the momentum to escape Frost Wind Valley. Of course, survival was far from guaranteed even now. The tiny, bean-like flames igniting on his body were the Samadhi True Fire, desperately trying to incinerate the cold and burn away the fist energy. His hands, with visible finger bones, could still grip Chang Xiang Si, primarily because the bones held it in place.

And at this moment, Jiang Wang suddenly realized that, surprisingly, the best state within him, both inside and out, was his divine soul, which had been injured while wrestling with Shi Shan Wen. The moment he burst out of Frost Wind Valley, his entire body emitted a series of bone-grinding sounds as he instantly straightened. The power, suppressed by long endurance and accumulated over time, burst forth like a mountain, like a sea.

That power was the Samadhi True Fire, burning away the fist energy, bean by bean. It was the majestic Dao Yuan, surging like a river breaching a dike. And more significantly, it was the transformation in his eyes at that instant! His gaze, substantial and weighty, landed directly on a shouting demon commander, crushing him to death with sheer divine soul power! He continued to look and turn, and wherever his gaze fell, no demon race warrior could withstand a single glance! They all perished!

He had experienced the cruelest of wars. He had seen geniuses like Li Longchuan and Zhongxuan Sheng on the battlefield, and renowned commanders like Zhongxuan Chu Liang. To find the heart of the battlefield among merely four hundred demon warriors was no difficult feat. His left hand, five fingers pointed to the sky, summoned the majestic Dao Yuan from within the Tongtian Palace. It surged through his ravaged meridians, inflicting immense pain, yet it did not hinder his control over the Dao Yuan as he smoothly completed the Dao technique.

The sharp golden dragon, the vigorous wood dragon, the water-controlling leopard, the fire-driving tiger, the earth-stirring earth badger, the high-hanging sun rabbit, and the heart-illuminating moon fox—the Dao technique simulated the seven mansions spirits, the cutting-edge research of Qi Country Academy, and for the first time, they appeared in the Tian Prison. They expanded in an instant, covering the entire battlefield, encircling a semicircle on this side of Frost Wind Valley. They encompassed even the more than a dozen fleeing deserters, trapping all the demon warriors within.

Then, in the very next moment, a domain of fire spread outwards! Flame meteors streaked across the sky, flame sparrows filled the air, and flame flowers bloomed like a glorious spring. He could not allow a single demon warrior to escape—in choosing to accelerate his escape into demon race territory, Jiang Wang had already considered the potential consequences. From this point on, he could only take one step at a time, but currently, if the demon race knew he had intruded into their territory alive, he would have absolutely no chance. Even if he were a hundred times stronger, it would be useless.

Therefore, he had to kill every single demon who had participated in the battle in Frost Wind Valley. At this moment, his body was a mess of broken muscle, making it incredibly difficult to wield Chang Xiang Si again in a short time. But he still had his Dao technique, his spirit domain, and his divine soul. He was not a killing machine; he was born a warm person. But in this world, where he had struggled through the mud, he had become proficient in the art of killing.

Below Shenlin, life and death rested in his hands. Below the Demon King, there could be no survivors. Within the blazing fire domain, demon warriors fell one by one. The seven mansions spirits, formed by the Canglong Seven Changes, circled the outer ring of the fire domain like guardian spirits, killing those demon warriors who managed to fight their way out of the fiery inferno, forcing them back in one by one.

And his red-golden gaze specifically targeted those trying to organize resistance forces among the demon race. He expended his divine soul without hesitation, killing one demon with every glance. This was a one-sided slaughter, one against many. In his rapidly weakening state, Jiang Wang instead displayed extreme coldness, completing the killing with the most efficient methods possible.

Everything happened too quickly! When the Stone Rhinoceros Demon King cautiously darted out of Frost Wind Valley, braving the extreme cold wind, all he saw was a sea of fire surrounded by the seven mansions spirits, and within that sea of fire, Jiang Wang, bathed in blood, holding his sword. This scene was like a bloody mural carved into the rock face. Jiang Wang clenched his five fingers! The Kang Jin Dragon, the Jiao Mu Jiao, the Ji Shui Leopard, the Wei Huo Tiger, the Shi Tu Badger, the Fang Ri Rabbit, the Xin Yue Fox—the seven mansions spirits stirred up the Yuan Qi turbulence, instantly charging towards Xi Yan Soldier. Even Jiang Wang himself, holding his sword, charged forward, his final sword stroke originally intended for Xi Yan Soldier.

In such a critical moment, Xi Yan Soldier gritted his teeth and took a step back, retreating into Frost Wind Valley! The extreme cold wind covering the valley thoroughly separated the two of them, the white expanse so vast that they could not see each other. In this moment, he threw the problem back to Jiang Wang. Because the moment he emerged from the valley, he had clearly seen Jiang Wang’s appearance and injuries. He understood that Jiang Wang had not come intentionally to kill him, but had encountered some danger and had been driven there involuntarily. Of course, he had also seen Jiang Wang utterly annihilate the demon warriors outside the valley, a clear determination to fight him to the death.

But where were they? This was the wasteland north of Frost Wind Valley, demon race territory. It was also a forbidden land for the human race! He had no need to fight Jiang Wang to the death. As long as he waited for the demon race from South Heaven City to arrive, Jiang Wang was certain to die, and he was certain to live. Although his natal divine ability was also broken, he believed that if they were similarly within Frost Wind Valley, he could endure longer than an injured Jiang Wang.

So, Frost Wind Valley, which normally represented danger, now became his fortress. The extreme cold wind became his shield wall, protecting him in this choice between life and death. He would not engage in a life-or-death struggle with Jiang Wang in his injured state. Instead, he would confront him using Frost Wind Valley as the boundary, waiting for Jiang Wang’s choice.

If Jiang Wang charged in, then they would see who could endure longer under the cover of the extreme cold wind. They would see if Jiang Wang still had the possibility of piercing through Frost Wind Valley this time and escaping back to human race territory. If Jiang Wang dared not charge in, then they would wait and see when the demon race warriors arrived. He and Ying Ke Xun would be fine, and Shi Shan Wen’s status was noble, so South Heaven City would certainly be very concerned. Perhaps the warriors coming to support them were already on their way. He believed he could endure, could wait!

And if Jiang Wang chose to escape on the spot, as long as he relayed this message back to South Heaven City, he believed that many powerhouses would be eager to hunt down a living human race prodigy. How valuable would that be? That person’s body must hide many human race secrets, which could help the demon race understand their current most powerful opponent. Even if they gained nothing else, a wine cup crafted from the skull of a human race prodigy, inscribed with his name, was a rare luxury in today’s demon world!

How difficult could it be to hunt down a human race in demon race territory? Thus, his backward step was not an act of cowardice, but a steady, unwavering step towards victory. He decisively retreated into Frost Wind Valley, his sturdy body shrinking into a ball, minimizing his confrontation with the extreme cold wind while remaining ready for a sudden, violent attack. The light flames on his body were extinguished, preventing Jiang Wang outside the valley from observing him. He also used mysterious trajectories to arrange Dao Yuan on the surface of his body, consuming the omnipresent cold intent and allowing him to endure longer, giving him more options.

And Jiang Wang did not, in fact, chase into Frost Wind Valley. His body was already unable to bear it. But he simply stood at the valley mouth, holding his sword, without a word, letting the cold wind from within Frost Wind Valley blow, letting the red flames flicker on his body. A short distance, a few steps, became a natural barrier. The extreme cold wind stretched out, a vast white expanse.

Jiang Wang and Xi Yan Soldier, each at one end. They could not see each other’s faces, but they both knew that the other was watching. Death treated them equally. It cared not for their identity, their race, their power. Death was the taking of everything, the void of all. This was a contest of patience and courage, or perhaps a contest of luck. Would the demon race warriors from South Heaven City arrive first, or would Xi Yan Soldier be unable to withstand the extreme cold wind first? They both had to ask themselves.

Xi Yan Soldier silently curled up in the valley, mobilizing all his power, confronting the extreme cold wind soundlessly. Beneath his already frosted eyebrows and eyes was an endurance born of survival. He would not make a sound, would not give Jiang Wang any feedback. If Jiang Wang wanted to know what was happening inside, he would have to enter the valley himself.

Outside the valley, Jiang Wang methodically attended to his injuries, albeit roughly, simply repositioning his internal organs, reconnecting bones, and stemming the bleeding. Simultaneously, he used the Samadhi True Fire to meticulously incinerate every trace of the battle. To reach its Samadhi, to burn into formlessness. While complete lack of traces was in itself a trace, it allowed for many possibilities. For instance, that all the demon warriors had perished within Frost Wind Valley. At the very least, he could not allow the demon race to confirm that a human cultivator had rushed out of Frost Wind Valley and engaged in combat with demon warriors here. He had no confidence in fabricating traces that would mislead the demon race, so he could only resort to this crude method. The Samadhi True Fire burned over every inch of the frigid wasteland.

Separated by the Frost Wind, these two life-and-death adversaries confronted each other. Xi Yan Soldier did not even twitch an eyebrow, while Jiang Wang’s actions were ceaseless. After incinerating all the battle traces, he used a simple wind-element Dao technique to gather the corpses of the demon warriors in the quietly burning fire domain. With a constant speed of one every three breaths, he threw them one by one into Frost Wind Valley. The primary purpose was to destroy the bodies and traces, utilizing the extreme cold wind efficiently, which was less labor-intensive than burning them individually with Samadhi True Fire. Secondly, it was to exert pressure on Xi Yan Soldier, probing his reaction. Furthermore, the dissolution of these demon race corpses would increase the power of the extreme cold wind, making it harder for Xi Yan Soldier to endure. This was a three-birds-with-one-stone strategy.

One could say that under the pressure of the demon race warriors who could arrive at any moment, in this demon race territory, Jiang Wang was still maximizing the utilization of existing conditions. In his confrontation with Xi Yan Soldier, he was adding weight to his side. But even so, even as the corpses of his comrades fell beside him one by one, instantly turning into ice sculptures and shattering into icy fragments the next moment, Xi Yan Soldier’s will remained unshaken. He never once stepped out of Frost Wind Valley, leaving Jiang Wang’s long-accumulated sword strike delayed indefinitely. He also never uttered a sound, forcing Jiang Wang to bear the anxiety of life and death.

In the silent half quarter, quarter, and even three quarters that passed, Jiang Wang had to consider another problem: Did Xi Yan Soldier still have strength? Was Xi Yan Soldier still alive?

But he simply waited in silence. Night gradually fell, the demon world’s golden sun hidden, the blood moon rising. The demon race’s South Heaven City still awaited good news, while the human race’s Yan Lao City and Tie Yan City were still in shock and suspicion. Who could know that in this Frost Wind Valley, such a “wait” was taking place? Jiang Wang had a clear timeline in his heart: seven quarters. An hour was eight quarters; he would only wait until the seventh quarter before leaving without hesitation. Because from six to nine quarters was the calculated average time for the arrival of demon race warriors from their major cities under normal circumstances, based on the speed of human race aid from their major cities. At the same time, Xi Yan Soldier’s endurance within Frost Wind Valley should not exceed four quarters. The extra three quarters of waiting, the extra three quarters of risk, was his gesture of respect to Xi Yan Soldier.

It was too cold. The cold intent of Frost Wind Valley seeped out little by little, as if to penetrate his very bones. But Jiang Wang simply maintained his posture of waiting with his sword, motionless. His sword intent was even more silent than the Frost Wind. In order not to create too obvious an anomaly at night, most of the flames had been extinguished. Only within his flesh did some residual flames still burn. To treat himself with Samadhi True Fire was to confront destruction with destruction. But this pain was something his body had grown accustomed to. This was an almost exhausted physical body, yet from it, he could still feel power. It was the undying remnant candle in the vast wasteland, amidst the great wind and snow. It was the lingering light of “humanity.”

Approximately at the sixth quarter, a cracking sound echoed from within Frost Wind Valley. Xi Yan Soldier, his entire body already covered in frost, finally rushed out—with an abnormally stiff posture. His eyes were vacant, and within that vacancy, a deepest thirst burned. He stretched out his large hand, reaching towards Jiang Wang. Whether he intended to kill his enemy or to approach the flames of that ferocious flesh, to draw a bit of warmth, no one would ever know. His body was already frozen stiff. The extreme cold intent had frozen everything within him.

This silent confrontation had finally reached its conclusion. Jiang Wang remained silent, simply lightly pushing the corpse forward, pushing it back into Frost Wind Valley, surrendering it to the extreme cold wind for destruction. Then he burned off all his hair, clothes, and bloodstains. Only a small storage box, swallowed into his mouth, held under his tongue, remained. The Chang Xiang Si he always carried, only a piece of cloth from the Ruyi Xianyi, and the jade pendant An An had given him, were also put inside. He extinguished the residual flames in his flesh. He did not use Dao Yuan, did not employ techniques, did not emit divine abilities.

He avoided the direction of the demon race’s major city and walked naked towards the depths of the wasteland. He knew that nothing reliable lay ahead, that he would have to struggle alone in this desolate world. He was not prepared. But he could only move forward. Looking ahead, the vast wind and snow beneath the blood moon stretched endlessly, without a visible end.