Dugu Qingli had always been a solitary person since childhood, rarely cooperating with others.

Yet, after these few collaborations with Lu Xingzhou, each time they grew more intimate.

Before, she wouldn’t have mentioned the trembling wheelchair, but this time, from being forced to lean against him to being held in his arms, it seemed almost deliberately orchestrated, step by step.

From previously instinctively pulling her hand away when he took it, to now being held in his arms as if it were natural, without the slightest thought of breaking free, as if she were completely accustomed to it.

So accustomed, in fact, that while healing, she still had time to look around.

As Lu Xingzhou sped along, countless ice figures clanged behind them in pursuit, with even more encircling them from all directions. Dugu Qingli meditated for a moment, then formed a hand seal in his arms.

A “crackling” sound of ice breaking resonated, and the icy armor on many of the close-by ice figures shattered, turning them into frozen corpses that fell to the ground.

While defeating the King’s icy armor required a tiny crack, these ordinary residents and soldiers did not. Dugu Qingli was like a deity here; wherever her hand seal passed, the ice figures collapsed.

Once their outer icy armor was lost, the red glow in their eyes gradually faded—it seemed that this reanimation was strongly linked to ice and frost.

“It should be related to the ice demons,” Dugu Qingli murmured.

“Hmm.” Lu Xingzhou had already made that judgment and didn’t say much, swiftly reaching a corner of the survey area and setting Dugu Qingli down.

“Boom!” The Mountain and River Purple Flame surged into the sky, encircling several miles. Any ice figures that dared to enter were instantly incinerated, their screams echoing endlessly.

As long as it wasn’t the King, other ordinary ice figures simply couldn’t contend with these two formidable figures, not even seemingly powerful generals.

While the King was still dealing with the clinging Taiyin True Fire, Lu Xingzhou quickly began setting up overlapping formations in the eastern part of the city. Dugu Qingli, with her sword, stood guard beside him, dealing with the occasional ice general who managed to penetrate the flames.

This was how a normal collaboration should be… What was all that embracing for?

Just as she was thinking this, Lu Xingzhou again wrapped an arm around her waist, lifting her, and flew south.

Dugu Qingli: “…I can fly myself.”

“Just focus on healing, don’t overexert yourself. There’s a tough battle ahead.”

“…Alright.”

Since they were already embracing, there seemed little point in stubbornly insisting on flying herself.

Xiao Baimao peeked its head out from Lu Xingzhou’s shoulder. More and more ice figures were chasing them, red lights everywhere.

Once they were surrounded and the King caught up, it would indeed be the toughest battle of their lives.

Lu Xingzhou repeated the process, setting up formations in the south and west of the city, finally heading north.

The King’s figure had already appeared among the pursuers, his violent energy roaring from afar. Lu Xingzhou looked back; the Taiyin True Fire on the King’s forehead had been extinguished, revealing burnt black skin, and his icy armor was melting, drops of water slowly falling, like melting ice cream.

But his power was not weakened in the slightest. When the energy blasted towards them, the two quickly separated, springing left and right on the ground. The ground in the center exploded, sending ice shards flying.

Lu Xingzhou still unleashed a Blazing Array of Mountain and River Purple Flame that stretched for several miles, blocking the advance of other ice figures. The King strode through the flames, followed by several powerful Imperial Guards. This time, there was no solitary combat from a distance.

Once encircled, escaping would likely be impossible.

But this was also the final step in setting up the array; once the grand array was activated, their objective would be achieved.

Dugu Qingli held her sword across her body, guarding Lu Xingzhou: “You set up the array, I’ll block.”

Lu Xingzhou swiftly etched the formation diagrams as the King’s fist again descended towards Dugu Qingli’s face.

This was Dugu Qingli’s third battle with the King.

The King grew weaker with each encounter, while she could continuously heal and recover. From being unable to defeat him even with two people attacking, to being able to hold her own for a good while in a solo fight, and now this time…

“Bang!” Her ice sword met the King’s fist. Dugu Qingli merely retreated two steps before stabilizing herself, while her sword qi scattered, blocking the other ice Imperial Guards.

Sword qi crisscrossed, forming a net before Lu Xingzhou. The young woman guarded the man etching the formation, fighting alone against a thousand.

In the midst of his busy work, Lu Xingzhou glanced back. Xiao Baimao’s white hair fluttered, fighting with her sword amidst the ice and snow, a truly beautiful scene.

He wasn’t idle either. His Soul Banner unfurled, black flames roared forth, and powerful vengeful spirits like Huo Liancheng swept across the area with wails, turning the entire northern city into an infernal purgatory.

The aesthetic was gone, the style had abruptly changed, but the effect was excellent.

These ice figures had lost their souls, and the vengeful spirits tearing at their souls were precisely what was needed.

Vengeful spirits could be dispersed, and releasing myriad souls at once was sometimes a powerful move not to be used lightly; this was their last desperate effort.

“Rumble!” Amidst their struggle, the ground shook violently, and the entire city trembled.

Another spatial ascension phenomenon suddenly occurred at this moment.

Lu Xingzhou was caught off guard, almost misdrawing the formation. Dugu Qingli also stumbled, taking a blow to the shoulder from the King.

The King fared no better, taking a sword thrust to the shoulder, and the crack on his forehead spread to his face.

Meanwhile, outside, Si Han and others also felt the violent tremor, unable to stand steady. They were horrified to discover subtle cracks appearing in the ten-thousand-year-old solid ice beneath their feet, especially in areas where the frost at the periphery of Hanchuan was less severe. The glacier had extensively fractured, showing signs of an impending glacial surge.

“This is bad. I didn’t realize it had reached this point!” Several high-ranking officials from Tianshuang Kingdom around them exclaimed in panic: “Once the glacier moves south, at least half of Tianshuang Kingdom will be destroyed!”

Not to mention the consequences of the glacier’s collapse, the earthquake alone at this moment had already caused houses in the nearby Hanlan City to begin collapsing, and even the famous clothing store had caved in…

The shop owner salvaged his signboard and quickly ran to an open area. The surrounding affected citizens gathered in a chaotic rush, horrified by the turbulent situation of the northern glacier, feeling as if it were the end of the world.

“Don’t panic!” Hanlan Sect Master Zhang Liying hovered in the air, shouting: “Lord Lu and Saintess Tianyao are here to resolve this matter! You must trust the Holy Land!”

“You want me to believe Lord Lu can pick up women, that’s fine, but believe he can stop the glacial apocalypse? Who among us hasn’t woken up yet?”

“Where’s the Holy Master? And the glacial unrest also affects the Demon Realm, doesn’t the Dragon Emperor have any measures?”

Zhang Liying also didn’t believe that the beardless young man and woman could have any effect on such a major event, secretly thinking it was over. The main reason was that previous earthquakes had been within everyone’s tolerable range; no one had expected it to be this severe.

Neither Ye Tinglan nor Long Qinghuang had anticipated this being the final instance, and none had given it enough attention. Otherwise, Long Qinghuang wouldn’t have comfortably focused on her pregnancy, letting Lu Xingzhou go alone.

At this moment, Long Qinghuang stood at the peak of Longya, turning to look west, her heart trembling: “Oh no… How could it be this serious, and I let him go by himself…”

A’nuo: “…Let go, my face hurts.”

Long Qinghuang released her grip on A’nuo’s hand: “Aren’t you worried?”

A’nuo rubbed her face: “I am worried, so I consulted a divination…”

“What divination?”

“Master is junior disciple, overturning the celestial array.”

Long Qinghuang: “?”

The two stared at each other. Just moments ago, Long Qinghuang was still guiding A’nuo in body tempering; wasn’t that a master-disciple relationship?

You little thing, you want to be my elder sister?

A’nuo scratched her head; it didn’t seem to mean that.

But whatever it meant, such a divination didn’t seem to be an ominous one.

“No, your divination is unreliable, little one. I must go personally.” Long Qinghuang stomped her foot, then shot westward.

Just as she moved, she suddenly stopped, looking at the distant horizon with surprise and uncertainty: “…It’s calmed down?”

“Calmed down?” Si Han and the others, who were circling above Hanchuan, were astonished: “Does Lu Xingzhou actually have this ability?”

The entire Hanlan City abruptly stabilized. Zhang Liying and the others exchanged glances, then burst into ecstasy: “Who said Lord Lu was unreliable? Come out and show yourselves!”

Hanlan City had preserved most of its buildings, with almost no casualties. Hanchuan’s border cities were not just Hanlan; countless cities rejoiced. At this moment, Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli became living Buddhas in people’s hearts.

But what people felt outside was simple; no one knew the life-or-death race happening within the ice city.

Lu Xingzhou etched the last formation diagram. His years of accumulated vengeful spirits were almost depleted; only powerful ones like Huo Liancheng were still holding on. Dugu Qingli’s sword sliced across the King’s chest, but she also took a blow, spitting blood as she stumbled back.

The King’s second attack followed like a shadow, directly slamming into her chest. Dugu Qingli dared not let him disrupt Lu Xingzhou’s etching of the array, so she reluctantly braced her sword in front of her, intending to forcefully endure the blow.

Enduring this might damage her foundation, but the young woman’s eyes were calm, showing no intention of backing down.

Her vision blurred, and Lu Xingzhou had spun around, blocking in front of her. At the same time, he threw out an array stone, which sank into the center of the formation.

With a “bang,” Lu Xingzhou took a direct hit to the back. His Dragon-Subduing Armor shattered, and a mouthful of fresh blood splattered onto Dugu Qingli’s face.

Dugu Qingli stared at him blankly, the immense force sending them both flying and crashing to the ground.

While they were still in mid-air, the formation had already activated.

Starting from within the royal palace, crimson lotus-shaped flames shot into the sky. Then, the grand arrays in the four corners—southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest—responded, and countless lotus platforms suppressed the void, as if the form of a Buddha was faintly appearing in the sky.

The Demon Subjugation Array and the Red Lotus Fire intertwined, covering the entire city.

Including the King, the red glow in the eyes of all ice figures flickered, and they all stopped moving, as if frozen in time.

Red Lotus Karma Fire ignited on every ice figure, burning and purifying them, dispelling all demonic intent.

The ice layers melted like spring rain, and water flooded the long streets. Whether frozen people or buildings and plants, all the ice dissolved, and a frozen city regained its original colors.

And this was a superimposed array. When the Demon Subjugation Array took effect, it also meant that the Space Solidification Array also took effect.

The imagery of the Four Symbols emerged in the sky. Within the dark secret realm, stars seemed to shine, stabilizing this universe.

The entire space was still being pushed upwards by some strange immense force, but it could no longer be moved even a fraction.

“Bang!” Only at this moment did Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli, embracing each other, fall to the ground. The inertia carried them rolling several times, both gasping, utterly exhausted.

Lu Xingzhou managed to turn his head and saw a group of corpse puppets, their ice-coldness entirely gone, standing in various forms. An ice city seemed to have turned into a zombie city, with them still moving slowly, like something out of Resident Evil.

Among them, the King’s corpse, with his forehead burned away, still had a faint red glow in his eyes, slowly stepping forward, one step at a time.

Even the dual effect of his great Demon Subjugation Array and the Red Lotus Karma Fire couldn’t completely purify him; he was too strong.

Lu Xingzhou, without a word, brought out the Myriad Soul Banner.

For those who wielded the Myriad Soul Banner, a zombie apocalypse was the least of their fears.

All the ice figures essentially still had a tiny bit of soul fire frozen within them, allowing them to move. The Myriad Soul Banner became a nuclear weapon-like bug at this moment. Soul fires from across the city surged, and all the residual souls were collected into the banner.

This entire city likely had hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Although a tiny bit of soul fire didn’t represent a complete soul, hundreds of thousands of them could indeed barely make up the “myriad souls.”

Now, the previous losses of vengeful spirits were replenished, making it a true Myriad Soul Banner. Its power was pushed to the peak of Huiyang, finally transitioning from an auxiliary magical artifact to one that could be used for primary combat.

Only the King’s soul still couldn’t be captured. He merely clutched his head, wailing, his voice echoing through the nine heavens: “I… I remember… Ice Demon…”

At this moment, the King seemed to have regained his sanity, no longer a killing machine.