Lu Xingzhou found the previous Mingyi hexagram quite interesting.

Because, corresponding to this adventure, the city under the ice and the fire under the city could all be linked to the Diyue Mingyi hexagram, as if one hexagram encompassed many subsequent changes.

Looking back now, the indications of the other hexagrams were also not singular.

The designer of this formation understood human nature well. The moment after breaking the formation is when people are most relaxed, yet a silent fire suddenly appears. It’s very possible for joy to turn into sorrow. Fortunately, Lu Xingzhou understood both formations and fire. If Xiaobaimao had come alone, this could have caused her great harm.

As for the fire itself, to survive tens of thousands of years in such extreme cold, it was no ordinary flame. However, under freezing conditions, its power was greatly weakened, otherwise Lu Xingzhou might not have been able to withstand it.

“What kind of fire is this? Is it also Wutian Heiyan?” Dugu Qingli asked, as she wasn’t familiar with flames.

Lu Xingzhou said, “If I’m not mistaken, this is Taiyin Zhenhuo. It’s a high-grade fire. It seems your fishing shishu knows how to use it, but she rarely does.”

Dugu Qingli felt a little like laughing.

When she mentioned his dear Tinglan, he stuck to calling her “fishing shishu.”

If Shifu knew that her stubbornness had secretly become part of their game, what kind of expression would she have? Perhaps like a fish’s liver?

She said aloud, “If it’s Taiyin Zhenhuo, Shifu… um, Fishing Shishu used it less before because her strength wasn’t enough to fully control it, fearing backlash. Now, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

She also called her “fishing shishu”… It reflected some change in her mindset. Lu Xingzhou suppressed his urge to laugh and said, “If even she is worried about not being strong enough to control it, I probably can’t either… But this environment just happens to weaken the fire, so we can try to figure it out.”

Dugu Qingli said, “The entire Tianyao Sacred Land only has that one wisp of Taiyin Zhenhuo’s seed. To find such a treasure here immediately means this city is of a higher level than we imagined.”

Lu Xingzhou “en”-ed, cautiously circling the palace courtyard a few times, unable to determine how deep the fire seed was buried. He summoned a ghost to try and probe downwards, but it couldn’t go down.

Dugu Qingli also tried, “This is solid ground, only the surface is frozen. I can’t escape into it either.”

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at the surrounding ice-sculpture imperial guards, still feeling a chill of apprehension. “Let’s not dig for now. We’ll clear this place first, confirm there are no other dangers, and then talk. Otherwise, if we contend with the Taiyin fire seed and other dangers strike, people will die.”

Dugu Qingli nodded in agreement. She had seen Lu Xingzhou’s quality of not being greedy or reckless even in the face of such treasures a long time ago, but seeing it again, she still appreciated it greatly. For exploring secret realms, this quality was even more important than strength.

And… the scene where he endured the fire to push her away still resonated, then it transformed into past images of him pressing down on her in the Danxia Secret Realm, and his protection and kiss in the Yuanqi Secret Realm.

Dugu Qingli pursed her lips.

It was true that Lu Xingzhou probably hadn’t explored too many secret realms in his life, but several times it had been with her, Dugu Qingli. This predestined relationship felt a bit strange.

As Xiaobaimao’s thoughts wandered, the two walked side-by-side towards the main hall of the palace.

Just as they stepped inside, a bone-chilling cold made both of them shiver, instantly dispelling all their wandering thoughts.

On the throne, a king-like figure remained in a gesturing posture, as if making a certain decision. In front, several generals knelt on one knee, holding fists in a posture of receiving orders. On either side of the hall, civil and military officials stood in solemn silence.

But when all of these were ice sculptures, it only brought a chilling sense of eeriness.

And… the king’s eyes were flickering with red light.

Both their hearts simultaneously thumped: “He can move!”

They didn’t know what triggered it. There was clearly no sign of life, but he was definitely starting to move.

Lu Xingzhou only felt a blur before his eyes. The king, who had just shown a slight movement, suddenly appeared before them the next moment, his frozen palm thrusting fiercely towards Dugu Qingli’s throat: “Flesh and blood…”

This speed, this burst.

Huiyang.

As an ancient king, he might have been a Qianyuan during his lifetime… but in his current state, he could only display the strength between the early and mid-Huiyang stage.

This strength was already enough to crush both of them.

Dugu Qingli only had time to parry with her sword, and she was immediately sent flying over ten zhang, directly out of the hall.

It was Lu Xingzhou who, from the side, punched the king’s head. The king instinctively blocked the blow, preventing him from continuing to pursue Dugu Qingli. But with just that block, Lu Xingzhou felt a terrifying surge of power, like a mountain torrent, a raging sea, as violent water elemental power poured in, threatening to shatter his meridians inch by inch.

This was a water elemental cultivator… corresponding to this area that should have been a sea region, roughly an ancient water elemental kingdom?

A thought flashed through Lu Xingzhou’s mind. The Tai Xu Wheel in his body operated frantically, first offsetting nearly half of the damage, then guiding the water elemental power into his water bones, barely enduring the blow. He also stumbled back.

He had already sustained some internal injuries from breaking the formation, and this one blow added to his injuries, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

But at least it stopped the king’s attack on Dugu Qingli. Dugu Qingli, who had been unable to react in time earlier, adjusted her Qi and blood. With a slight tap of her toe, she and her sword became one, shooting back like lightning, heading straight for the king’s glabella.

At the same time, Lu Xingzhou’s Honglian Jieyan rose from beneath the king.

The king’s ice-sculpted face grotesquely showed a pained expression.

Lu Xingzhou had already calculated in his mind as he retreated. No wonder the king’s eyes were red; this was demonic intent, most likely an ice demon’s invasion. The judgment effect of Honglian Jieyan was especially effective against demons. At this moment, its burning of demonic intent should be quite severe.

Dugu Qingli’s sword then pierced the king’s glabella.

The king let out a painful roar, his entire body’s energy bursting forth, scattering the Honglian Jieyan. At the same time, he struck the side of Dugu Qingli’s sword. The ice sword scraped past his glabella, and Dugu Qingli grazed past him.

Lu Xingzhou’s flying kick again landed on the king’s forehead.

If he had been even half a beat slower, Xiaobaimao, who was in mid-air with nowhere to exert force, would have been cut in half at the waist.

“Boom!” A water dragon condensed in the void, directly bypassing Lu Xingzhou’s flying kick and smashing into his chest. Lu Xingzhou spat out another mouthful of blood, falling back.

Dugu Qingli’s returned sword pierced the back of the king’s head, but the king flashed and disappeared.

Looking up, he was already in mid-air, his ice feet stomping down furiously.

Dugu Qingli dodged quickly, and the ground cracked with a bang.

Speed, power, spells—his combat abilities were comprehensive. He couldn’t be treated as a mere corpse puppet; even his combat awareness was not bad. Only the Honglian Jieyan could slightly restrain him; overall, they seemed utterly unable to defeat him.

The two retreated to their respective sides, both calculating how to fight this battle.

Before they could figure out a plan, the civil and military officials on both sides moved.

“Shit!” Lu Xingzhou immediately shouted, “Retreat!”

Dugu Qingli had already thrust her sword out, but hearing his words, she decisively turned and flashed out of the hall.

Lu Xingzhou moved equally quickly, flashing out of the hall before being surrounded.

The revival of the civil and military officials was slightly slower. The king still pursued alone, blocking their path in a single flash.

Lu Xingzhou grabbed Dugu Qingli’s hand and turned northeast, towards the location where the black flames had burned the formation stone.

This time, Dugu Qingli didn’t shake off his hand… not only because she had entrusted the combat strategy to him, but also because his Bibo Dichen was rapidly healing their injuries.

Both their other hands also simultaneously popped pills, cooperating with Bibo Dichen to quickly recover from their injuries.

They truly hadn’t expected to encounter such terrifyingly powerful enemies so soon after beginning their investigation of the secret realm. And not just one, but a group!

A single king might be manageable, they could consider cooperating to win; no matter how difficult, it showed a health bar, giving them a chance to fight. But a group of civil and military officials rushing at them? What were they going to fight with?

The king’s speed was incredibly fast, closing in on them. Lu Xingzhou gritted his teeth and unleashed another Honglian Jieyan behind them. This time, the king broke free even faster, only providing a slight delay.

But the two had already approached the location of the formation stone.

Lu Xingzhou, from a distance, took out one of his own formation stones and directly placed it in the original formation stone’s position.

With a “click,” the destroyed formation was reactivated.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!” The Huiyang power from all directions invaded again. This was an indiscriminate area attack, and the king would also be affected.

The difference was that the two were prepared, while the king was caught off guard.

As the formation’s power activated, the two each summoned their defenses, enduring the formation’s attacks and rushing out of the palace. The king, however, was caught in the combined assault of the formation, roaring furiously.

Listening to the explosions behind them, the two fled headlong, still shaken.

They finally managed to put some distance between them.

But the formation clearly couldn’t restrain the king for too long. They didn’t know if the king in this state could still track them with divine sense and find their escape direction.

Lu Xingzhou quickly said, “First, find an uninhabited place to hide and observe for a bit. If his divine sense is weak, we can use soul techniques to trick him. If his divine sense is still strong, then we’ll withdraw from the secret realm directly; we mustn’t prolong the fight.”

Dugu Qingli nodded in agreement.

This was a large city. Although there were ice-sculpted figures everywhere that could revive at any moment, finding an uninhabited place was still easy.

The omnipresent cold could tell Dugu Qingli where no one was, and she could even pick the most suitable location. This time, Dugu Qingli became the guide, pulling Lu Xingzhou by his delicate hand: “This way.”

The two quickly entered a narrow alley. At the end of the alley, in a seemingly ordinary residence, there was a frozen well in the backyard.

Dugu Qingli once again merged with the ice and frost, directly descending to the bottom of the well. As if having foreknowledge, she pressed a mechanism at the bottom of the well, revealing a secret room.

Just as they hid in the secret room and closed the door, the king had already broken free from his own formation and left the palace, searching the air for traces of the intruders.

After a short period of fighting and fleeing, the two leaned against the secret room wall, somewhat exhausted, both breathing sighs of relief after their narrow escape.

Then they looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.

“It seems his divine sense is indeed ordinary,” Lu Xingzhou said, adjusting his breathing with difficulty, “There’s still a fight to be had.”

Dugu Qingli said, “He’s not afraid of ice. My abilities are at least half-weakened against him.”

“At least he has three weaknesses: his soul is impaired, he’s susceptible to demon-slaying techniques, and he doesn’t have our ability to replenish and recover while fighting. As for not being afraid of ice, I don’t necessarily agree. Did you use ice-based damaging methods earlier? Later, we can try to activate the ice on his body, perhaps? He died of ice, so if we find the right method, there might be a special attack.”

Dugu Qingli said, “I wanted to try, but I didn’t have time.”

Lu Xingzhou took out two more pills. “These are for restoring spiritual power. After we rest, we’ll play with him again.”

Dugu Qingli’s gaze, however, fell on the wall behind Lu Xingzhou. “There seems to be something else here…”

Lu Xingzhou turned to look.

This was originally the homeowner’s private meditation room. Naturally, there would be some ancient treasures in the secret room, but he hadn’t expected anything good.

Now, looking closer, there were some jade bottles and jade slips on a shelf behind him, he didn’t know what they were.