If the Ice Demon’s words are to be taken as truth, then it’s possible that Xiao Bai Mao truly possesses the essence of ice, which is why the Ice Demon considers them to be one entity.

However, whether she absorbed the essence of ice or was formed from it remains unproven.

Speaking of which, the distinction between these two is the most crucial point in Lu Xingzhou and Ye Tinglan’s minds, but perhaps in Ling Qixuan’s eyes, there’s no difference; both could be considered the “Ice Master.”

The Bingyu Sect seeks the essence of the chilling power, which they originally believed resided in the Ice Demon. Now, it appears to be in Dugu Qingli, so their object of worship will naturally shift from the Ice Demon to Xiao Bai Mao.

Furthermore, there’s a strong possibility of future fusion, which would create a complete “Ice Master.” The “grand vision” of turning the world into an ice purgatory would then fall to Xiao Bai Mao.

And according to the normal human desire to uncover their origins and pursue “personal completeness,” it’s likely that Dugu Qingli herself, even without the Bingyu Sect’s prompting, will attempt to lead the exploration of the secret of Dongyue Hanchuan, striving for a day when she can face the Ice Demon.

All of this is understandable.

What Lu Xingzhou found most difficult to understand at this moment was why they didn’t attempt to kill Xiao Bai Mao and seize the essence, but instead immediately knelt in submission… Perhaps this essence cannot be seized? He truly didn’t know much about it…

Or were they just lulling them into a false sense of security, planning to use gentle persuasion to trick Xiao Bai Mao into surrendering the essence?

He couldn’t figure it out.

If he was confused, Dugu Qingli was even more so. Xiao Bai Mao was bewildered from beginning to end, instinctively turning to look in Lu Xingzhou’s direction, hoping her external brain would function.

This glance was immediately misunderstood by Ling Qixuan. In his mind, this embodiment of the chilling essence had just been “played with” by Lu Xingzhou, and was filled with hatred. How could he understand that she was seeking help from her “enemy”?

The demonic cultivator’s first reaction was: “If the Ice Master wishes to see our pledge of allegiance, we are willing to turn against the Yanluo Palace and kill this dog to appease the Ice Master!”

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

Dugu Qingli: “…”

Yinfeng Laoren was sweating profusely, casting a blaming glance at Lu Xingzhou. See, he’d said that a beautiful woman would only cause trouble. If you hadn’t played with her earlier, it wouldn’t be so awkward now!

But he still bravely stepped in front of Lu Xingzhou: “Sect Master Ling, this is a bit too much… Do you think that now that you’ve found the so-called Ice Master, you can deal with the Ice Demon yourselves and no longer need the Yanluo Palace?”

Ling Qixuan, however, spoke frankly: “Apologies, we don’t want to turn against the Yanluo Palace. Even if we truly don’t need the Yanluo Palace in the future, we don’t want to offend the Yan Jun, do we? The problem now is that your dignitary raped our Ice Master. A master’s humiliation is a servant’s death; this is no longer a matter of advantages and disadvantages!”

Lu Xingzhou was drenched in sweat, Dugu Qingli was dumbfounded.

How did such a serious matter spiral into such a bizarre direction?

For Dugu Qingli’s reputation, Lu Xingzhou immediately said: “I did not rape your Ice Master, don’t spread rumors!”

Dugu Qingli, as if given a keyword prompt, immediately followed up: “Who said I was raped!”

Ling Qixuan: “?”

This time, even Yinfeng Laoren couldn’t maintain his composure and turned his head away.

That expression earlier, that shattered feeling… and the faint seductive sounds from inside the room.

To both unanimously say it wasn’t a rape, so was it actually adultery? And quite a kinky one at that, right?

Seeing that it was about to become a farce, Ye Tinglan finally came to her senses. It was her time to appear.

“You don’t want to offend the Yan Jun, so you want to offend me?” A dignified and indifferent voice rang out from mid-air, suddenly booming throughout the entire area, making everyone’s heads buzz.

Ye Tinglan, clad in a Dharma robe, her face veiled, hung indifferently in the air, like the moon shining on a cold river, a goddess descending to the mortal world.

Her ethereal and graceful figure, however, brought with it a mountain-like pressure. The hearts of all the demonic cultivators, including both Ling Qixuan and Yinfeng Laoren, suddenly constricted, almost leaping out of their throats in fear.

The number one in the world!

The Sacred Master of Tianyao!

Just a title was enough to make people gasp for breath.

The two young people involved, however, watched Ye Tinglan play two roles in front of this group, both roles immensely powerful, feeling an indescribable mix of emotions. Did they know that the person they considered to have been raped or involved in adultery was her? Would their worldview collapse on the spot, making them question life itself?

“Capturing my disciple to fill your array eyes, to engage in the unspeakable dealings of the demonic path, did you ask for my permission!”

Ye Tinglan spoke coldly, sweeping her sleeve.

A strong wind rose, and stars fell into disarray.

Hundreds of people forming an array couldn’t withstand this single strike. An invisible force swept into the array, instantly scattering the array stones.

“Kidnapping my disciple into a demonic sect, to make her some kind of Ice Master, did you ask for my permission?!”

“Bang!” Ling Qixuan’s chest inexplicably suffered a heavy blow. He flew backward like a broken kite, crashing into the mountain wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The injuries he sustained two days ago from being slammed against a wall by the “Yan Jun” using a similar technique hadn’t healed yet, and now he received another, very similar one.

Unfortunately, Ling Qixuan would never know in his lifetime that the person who repeatedly beat him was the same individual; their aura and methods were completely opposite, like positive and negative poles.

An invisible large hand, like grabbing a figurine, snatched Dugu Qingli and pulled her close. Ye Tinglan said coldly: “Considering your respect for Qingli, I will spare your heads for now. If I ever find out you’re plotting against Qingli again, I will show no mercy!”

Then she stared at Lu Xingzhou: “I thought you had become the top scholar of the Dan Academy, abandoning darkness for light. Unexpectedly, you’ve fallen back into depravity, associating with demonic cultivators. Come back with me for interrogation!”

Another invisible large hand grabbed the little puppy figurine and placed it on the other side.

The Sacred Master wreaked havoc across the entire scene, cast her final stern gaze, and departed on her phoenix carriage with her disciple and man, disappearing in a blink.

The meaning in that glance was unspoken, but everyone present understood: dare to spread rumors about the “rape” or “adultery” drama involving these two again, and you’re dead.

Everyone was silent with fear. It was almost half a *cha* after Ye Tinglan’s departure before the oppressive aura in the sky seemed to dissipate.

Yinfeng Laoren wiped his cold sweat and slowly paced over, watching the Bingyu Sect elders help Ling Qixuan up: “Sect Master Ling, what do you say now?”

Ling Qixuan coughed blood, weakly saying: “Your Highness, the Ghost Emperor, can you… can you help conceal this matter from the Yan Jun…”

Yinfeng Laoren sneered: “What kind of joke are you talking about?”

Ling Qixuan gritted his teeth and whispered: “I, Ling, am willing to do my utmost, abandon all arrangements in the Tianshuang Kingdom, and use all my strength to help the Yan Jun deal with Daqian.”

Yinfeng Laoren’s expression softened slightly: “I will convey this to the Yan Jun.”

Ling Qixuan let out a breath: “When we ambushed the Tingxue Pavilion before, Real Person Tinglan appeared with her divine sense pressure. Perhaps she was merciful then, as I truly didn’t feel such terror. Seeing her today, I truly know that her reputation is well-deserved; this pressure is truly terrifying… The Yan Jun not wanting to fall out with such an existence is now completely understandable.”

Yinfeng Laoren said indifferently: “The Tianyao Sacred Land is not without flaws.”

“That’s true.” Ling Qixuan sighed: “The Yan Jun daring to oppose such an existence is already incredibly remarkable.”

Yinfeng Laoren nodded. In the current situation, if Ling Qixuan wanted to communicate with their so-called Ice Master again, dealing with the Tianyao Sacred Land would be necessary, which would implicitly make it even more necessary to cling to the Yanluo Palace.

As for their previous flip-flopping, honestly, demonic cultivators weren’t too bothered. The demonic path was often like this; as long as they could eventually exert control, it was fine.

Did the Yan Jun seem to get a good deal from this battle?

On the other side, the family sat in Ye Tinglan’s phoenix carriage. Lu Xingzhou, like someone discovering a new continent, curiously touched everything left and right.

This was probably the most luxurious ride in the world, and it was his first time seeing it.

“Stop touching.” Ye Tinglan rubbed her head: “Let’s talk about Qingli’s situation, what are your thoughts?”

Originally, all three of them thought they would experience a big battle this time, but they didn’t expect such a nonsensical ending. Not to mention Ye Tinglan and Dugu Qingli, her master and disciple, even Lu Xingzhou was filled with mixed emotions of amusement and frustration.

But despite the humorous outcome, it actually left behind a pile of future troubles.

The most pressing issue was the relationship between Dugu Qingli and the Ice Demon, which might eventually erupt into a major problem.

Once this problem finally explodes, it will not only be Dugu Qingli’s affair but a major event of the icy ocean pouring out.

This matter cannot be fundamentally resolved even by slaughtering the Bingyu Sect; the connection between Dugu Qingli and the Ice Demon has already been established. Cultivators emphasize karma, and this karma must be resolved sooner or later.

“If I were to suggest, it would be to slaughter the Bingyu Sect, obtain their ancient texts, and carry out the subsequent operations ourselves,” Lu Xingzhou said. “But this proposal is malicious. Whether the Bingyu Sect deserves such a fate is for you to decide.”

Ye Tinglan looked at her disciple. Dugu Qingli, with a messy mind, still managed to say: “They… they worship me, and they are quite devout, so perhaps…”

“Alright, I know what you mean.” Ye Tinglan waved her hand to indicate: “We are a righteous and prestigious sect; our actions naturally cannot be like those of the demonic path. Does Xingzhou have any other ideas?”

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, feeling that after his teacher resumed this attire and displayed her power as Real Person Tinglan in front of others, she was still in character, not yet out of it.

He was truly afraid that she would remain this way from now on, as if their previous entanglement was just a dream.

Lu Xingzhou composed himself and still said: “Although Qingli and the Bingyu Sect are separated for now, the Bingyu Sect has likely already determined the location of the Ice Demon’s body. I don’t know if they will continue to do anything. If you don’t want to do anything to the Bingyu Sect, then my suggestion is for Qingli to secretly contact the Bingyu Sect and control this force herself. Even if she can’t command them, she should at least grasp their movements and actions.”

Ye Tinglan looked at her disciple with some hesitation, feeling that this bewildered Xiao Bai Mao couldn’t handle such a task, so she tentatively asked: “Qingli, what do you say?”

Dugu Qingli hesitated: “I… I’ll try.”

Ye Tinglan looked at her disciple’s appearance, frowning slightly.

She felt that her disciple might not necessarily be pleading for the Bingyu Sect… Could it be that she herself wanted to contact the Ice Demon?