Regardless of the King’s transformations, Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli were both utterly exhausted at this moment.

Dugu Qingli had fought multiple battles, each one leaving her injured. She would recover only to vomit blood again, having shed more blood than Yuan Muyu had during her qi deviation. Now, with Lu Xingzhou pressing down on her, she couldn’t muster the strength to push him away.

In fact, what she was thinking wasn’t about pushing him away… but about how he had unhesitatingly shielded her just now, taking the blow directly.

And how her face was messy again…

Though her face was messy in both instances, her feelings were entirely different.

The white kind of mess would make her blood rush to her head, her face burning with anger, making her want to chop him with her sword.

The red kind, however, left her stunned, her mind blank and devoid of thought.

Lu Xingzhou had pounced from the side to block. He could have tried to punch the King’s fist away, but he chose to use his back because it was the most reliable defense.

The King was ultimately stronger than both of them. Lu Xingzhou wasn’t confident that his attack would definitely deflect the King’s punch. What if it didn’t? The little white-haired girl would be injured.

Only completely blocking the attack offered the most stability.

So, his instinctive choice was to block.

Dugu Qingli’s combat experience was incredibly rich; she instantly understood Lu Xingzhou’s reasoning for his choice. Then, her internal database disconnected, and she just stared blankly at his pale face.

Lu Xingzhou was equally exhausted. Initially, he had been fine; Dugu Qingli was primarily responsible for the fighting, and his array-setting only consumed some spiritual energy. However, that last block had been quite severe. His whole body felt as if it had fallen apart, his fingers too painful to move, so he simply collapsed on the little white-haired girl.

The Dragon Subduing Armor, strengthened by Long Qinghuang, had another large hole… Well, since it was armor given by Dugu Qingli’s dear master, it was perfectly reasonable to use it to save Dugu Qingli, right? The Dragon Subduing Armor, coupled with the Golden Dragon Body and the Taiwu Reincarnation, three defensive systems, were all damaged to this extent. It was fortunate that the little white-haired girl didn’t take that blow.

If Dugu Qingli knew that his current thought was “thank goodness it wasn’t the little white-haired girl who took that blow,” she might be even more stunned.

“Thump…” The sound of the King’s approaching footsteps startled both of them. Lu Xingzhou painfully struggled to sit up, and Dugu Qingli gripped her sword hilt.

“Who… are you?” the King asked in a hoarse voice. “Why… do you instinctively provoke my hatred…”

Dugu Qingli remained silent.

Why else… If your entire city was destroyed by an Ice Demon, then you would instinctively sense an Ice Demon in front of you and thus hate it.

His previous state, tainted by demonic energy, was actually more fundamental. Now that his spiritual consciousness had returned, he couldn’t recognize that this little white-haired girl was the Ice Demon, leaving him confused.

Could she say that? If she did, they would be doomed. Even though the King was also very weak now, both of them were truly unable to move.

Lu Xingzhou’s mind raced, and he replied, “Perhaps my companion cultivates an ice-frost technique, which led Your Majesty to mistake her for an enemy. But then again, even without my companion, Your Majesty’s previous state, tainted by demonic energy, clearly indicated a desire to kill any living being.”

The King was silent for a moment, then murmured, “That’s right… I am already dead… I died at the moment I planned to lead my army to conquer the Ice Demon.”

Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli exchanged glances, a chill running through them.

The King, even after being dead for so long, still possessed strength that could overwhelm them both. He must have been a Qianyuan expert during his lifetime, with a great many Huiyang generals under his command. Yet, he was instantly annihilated by the Ice Demon, and the entire city perished. How could the Ice Demon’s strength be something a Super-grade could contend with?

It made sense, actually. If the Ice Demon represented the法则 (faze, ‘law’ or ‘principle’) of ice and frost, then it was a law-level being, a level that could only be the legendary Wuxiang. Therefore, ordinary means couldn’t kill it; it could only be sealed.

They had been blinded by the ten-thousand-year inertia of this world’s highest Super-grade, never considering such an absurd possibility. Ling Qixuan, in particular, had dared to harbor designs on such an existence.

If he had truly released the Ice Demon, it would have been the end of the world.

The King’s mind was still somewhat muddled; he hadn’t considered how many years had passed since then. He slowly spoke, “Two mere Tendril stage cultivators dare to enter the Ice Demon battlefield. Who are your masters, to be so irresponsible?”

Dugu Qingli secretly thought, *If you can talk, say more.*

Lu Xingzhou said, “We simply stumbled in here by mistake. Does Senior need our help to transmit information to the outside world?”

The King slightly raised his head, looking at the icy chill in the sky. He knew the entire city was encased in ice like an egg, and in his current state, he couldn’t get out. So he said, “We were sold out by Mohe… He is not a virtuous monk, he only wanted to deceive us for our Spiritual Water Condensate. Convey this message to Tianxun.”

Lu Xingzhou instinctively pulled his right leg back slightly.

The Spiritual Water Condensate is my bone now; it came from you. I wonder if you can sense it.

However, the Spiritual Water Condensate Mohe obtained from them back then must have been in a very nascent state, requiring nurturing in the Danxia Secret Realm. After being nurtured for so many years, then entering his body and undergoing the harmonization of water and fire, its aura should be vastly different. In the King’s current muddled state, he probably couldn’t sense it.

And… Tianxun, a new character appeared. This name sounds a bit like a code name. Could it be the current pursuer faction?

The King tremblingly reached into his怀 (huai, ‘bosom’) and pulled out a small bottle, tossing it to Lu Xingzhou. “I can see you also cultivate the water element. This is Tianyi Divine Water. I’ll give it to you.”

Lu Xingzhou was stunned. “What kind of water is this?”

The King was somewhat annoyed. “Who exactly are your masters, that you don’t even know such basic knowledge?”

Even more annoying was that he could be successfully arrayed by such low-grade individuals right under his nose. Well, it was a good thing, though.

Lu Xingzhou was a bit embarrassed. “We are self-taught cultivators. We would appreciate Your Majesty’s guidance.”

The King said, “Fire has its seeds, and water naturally has its exotic waters. This water appears ordinary, but a single drop entering the body will become heavy as a thousand jun, rotting intestines and stomach with no remedy. It can be collected like a fire seed to supplement deficiencies in water-element attacks, or it can be used to refine magic treasures or elixirs.”

Lu Xingzhou was overjoyed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The King waved his hand, looking a bit tired. “You purified my kingdom, which is a kindness, but the favor is repaid.”

He then turned slightly, looking at the city full of corpses, his eyes filled with sorrow. “There are many treasures in the palace, but I won’t give them to you. I need to resume my cultivation and rebuild my kingdom. You may go.”

“…” Lu Xingzhou knew he couldn’t rebuild his kingdom, because his own soul fire was almost extinguished. He had been preserved until now by the freezing, but he was truly already a dead man… He just didn’t know how much longer he could last.

Lu Xingzhou didn’t dare to reveal the truth. The King still had some hope now; once that hope was gone, he might go berserk. In fact, the King was already suppressing his rage; he clearly harbored intense hatred for Dugu Qingli, and throughout the entire conversation, he only addressed Lu Xingzhou.

Neither of them was greedy; they had already gained enough here, so it was best not to provoke the other party and leave as soon as possible. After conversing for this time, both of them had generally recovered some of their injuries, so they stood up and bowed. “Then, junior bids farewell.”

Both of them soared into the air, heading straight for the ice layer above.

Dugu Qingli looked back, watching the King standing alone on the mountain of corpses in the devastated land. She murmured, “Now I truly understand what you said earlier, it’s a bit sad.”

Lu Xingzhou reached out to rub her white hair. “It means you’re human, not an Ice Demon.”

“Don’t touch my head!”

Lu Xingzhou feigned pain. “Hiss… my injuries are acting up, I can’t fly anymore.”

The little humanoid machine never even considered that this could be a trick. She silently reached out and put her arm around him, then drilled into the ice layer above.

Lu Xingzhou secretly made a “yay” gesture.

When they came down, he was dragged by the ankle; when they went up, he was being held. The treatment was vastly different.

However, both of them had forgotten one problem…

When they descended, they had circled the entire city for a long time before finding a crack to go down. This meant that the location corresponding to the spatial rift was not in the center of Hanchuan.

Now, going straight up from the rift, when they emerged from the ice layer, it was not the place where Sihan and the others were waiting to meet them.

Instead, another group of people seemed to have guessed their exit point and set up an ambush there in advance.

As soon as they emerged from the ice layer, before their eyes could even adjust to the light, a net-like magic treasure immediately covered them.

This was accompanied by low chuckles: “As expected, they’re embracing each other. This Lu fellow is quite the philanderer.”

“That little Snow Maiden appears cold on the surface, but is actually quite flirtatious.”

Fortunately, both of them reacted extremely quickly. Before the net even reached them, one performed an Ice Escape and the other a Water Escape, causing the net to cover empty air. The taunting voice hadn’t even finished when it instantly turned to an enraged shout: “They’re severely injured! Use area-of-effect damage to force them out of their escape techniques, don’t let them get away!”

“Boom!” Various area-of-effect spells raged wildly around them. Both let out a muffled groan almost simultaneously, indeed forced out of their escape forms. They stumbled, supporting each other, and continued to flee.

Behind them, dozens of masked individuals in white robes shot through the air in pursuit.

Lu Xingzhou urgently asked, “Where are we? Do you know the direction?”

Dugu Qingli replied, “South of Hanchuan, not far south from here is a place called Hantie City in Tianshuang Kingdom. Should we head south?”

“No,” Lu Xingzhou said. “Since going south would obviously lead into the city, they must have a comprehensive trap laid out there. It makes sense to turn north and rendezvous with Sihan.”

“Okay.” Dugu Qingli pulled Lu Xingzhou, changed direction, and continued to flee.

Both were severely injured and not fully recovered, significantly hindering their speed. The pursuing lights behind them drew closer and closer.

Dugu Qingli swept her sword backward. Where the sword light passed, ice layers on the ground rumbled and rose up behind them.

“Bang!” A group of people directly broke through the ice wall, but ahead was a raging sea of flames.

Lu Xingzhou’s coordination was impeccable. He had originally wanted to use the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, but the recently upgraded banner was too powerful for him to wield in his current injured state; even moving it caused immense pain in his soul sea. He could only casually conjure some flames.

“Damn it, this Lu fellow is cunning.” The group each summoned their magic treasures to shield against the flames. By the time they passed through the sea of fire, the two had already dwindled to small dots in the distance.

“Chase them! They’re severely injured, they can’t run far!”

As Lu Xingzhou sped along, he found the scenery somewhat familiar.

Even the vast, boundless Frozen Moon Hanchuan would have some icebergs and ice rocks. Of course, most people, even if they had seen them before, might not remember the distinctions, but cultivators could recognize them.

Not far away was a pit. Lu Xingzhou knew how that pit came to be. This was the Xuan Snake Secret Realm they had once visited with Ye Tinglan. After emerging from the water, they would pass through a spatial rift and arrive here. At that time, he was caught off guard by Su Yuan, his clothes in disarray.

“Another ice wall, just to block their line of sight,” Lu Xingzhou squeezed Dugu Qingli’s hand.

“Okay.” Dugu Qingli didn’t hesitate, sweeping her sword back again.

The ice wall rose once more. Lu Xingzhou pulled Dugu Qingli towards the pit ahead, and the two vanished in a flash.

When the pursuers broke through the wall and prepared to defend against the sea of fire, there was no sea of fire, nor were there any people.

“Where are they?” The masked leader roared in fury. “On this flat expanse, where could they hide?!”