"That’s good. Go and return quickly!"
Gongsun Yanran nodded. She didn’t think Ye Xuan would face any danger on this trip. It was just going out to fetch some Cold Spring Water. What danger could there be in a quick round trip?
What she worried about was what would happen if the Cold Spring Water still couldn’t neutralize the heat in Ling’Er’s body. What should they do then? Would Ling’Er’s body get hotter and hotter until she burned herself to death?
"Young Master... let me go with you," Hua said softly as she walked up to Ye Xuan.
She knew that once he made a decision, he would definitely follow through. For Ye Ling’Er’s sake, he would dare to brave any dragon’s den.
Ye Xuan smiled and said, "I can go alone. I know you’re worried, but rest assured, they can’t do anything to me. Have you forgotten? My cultivation has broken through again."
"I know, just in case..."
"There is no ’in case.’ They are merely fifty City Lords of One-Star Cities. What is there to fear?"
"Young Master, then I want to see you defeat the fifty City Lords with my own eyes. Can I?"
"You sure know how to talk. Fine, we’ll go together."
Only then did Hua smile. She could only feel at ease if she went along with him.
Soon, the Long-beaked Eagle flew out from the Big Mountain. Its destination: Ice Mountain!
At the foot of Ice Mountain.
Cultivators gathered in droves. They had all flocked here at the first wind of the news to watch the spectacle! The majority of them were from Hero City.
"Today is the third day. If Ye Xuan still doesn’t show up, those old men from the Celestial Calculation Mansion will be humiliated. Do you guys think Ye Xuan will come?"
"I don’t think so. The news that fifty City Lords are going to kill him at Ice Mountain has long spread across tens of thousands of miles. As long as he isn’t a fool, he wouldn’t come to throw his life away. By the way, why haven’t we seen our City Lord? They should have arrived early on."
Someone looked around but didn’t spot a single City Lord at the foot of the mountain.
"Stop looking around. The City Lords aren’t at the foot of the mountain at all. They are at the summit."
"The summit?"
People raised their heads and looked up at Ice Mountain. The terrain where Ice Mountain sat was already a plateau, and the mountain itself was thousands of meters high. As the saying goes, it’s freezing at the highest peaks. Who knew just how cold it would be at the summit.
Not even birds would fly through the sky above Ice Mountain.
"I heard the summit is freezing. Without Super Spirit Realm cultivation, I’m afraid one wouldn’t last long up there."
"Naive. Do you think having Super Spirit Realm or even Demon Spirit Realm cultivation grants you the right to go up and watch? You probably don’t know that the only ones qualified to stand at the summit and observe the battle are people from the City Lord’s Mansions! Over the past two days, all the big shots from the nearby cities have arrived. I even heard that people from the Celestial Secret Pavilion are here."
"What? People from the Celestial Secret Pavilion are here? What are they doing here?"
"Of course it’s to see whether the Celestial Calculation Mansion’s prediction is accurate! If they’re wrong, they’ll probably mock them right on the spot."
Meanwhile, at the summit.
Heavy snow suddenly began to fall on the peak of Ice Mountain. From a distance, it looked draped in a blanket of silver. The snow piled on the ground was likely several meters deep. Anyone trying to walk here would definitely sink right in.
However, everyone present was a master. They stood upon the accumulated snow as if walking on flat ground, as though their bodies weighed even less than the snowflakes.
"Yan’Er, are you cold? Thankfully, I prepared some clothes for you in advance. Come, put this on." Taishu Shen brought out a white mink coat and draped it over Liu Yan’s shoulders.
Dressed entirely in white, Liu Yan looked like a queen in this world of ice and snow.
"Thank you."
"Between you and me, why so formal?" As Taishu Shen spoke, he reached out to hold Liu Yan’s hand.
But Liu Yan subconsciously dodged a little. Taishu Shen coughed dryly and didn’t press the matter. He knew that this woman was still on guard against him. Initially, he felt annoyed, but upon closer thought, wasn’t a woman like this the most suitable to be a wife? Whoever managed to win a woman with such strong boundaries would be blessed. If she didn’t marry, so be it; but once she did, she would stay devoted for a lifetime.
"Taishu Shen, you’re playing favorites! Why didn’t you prepare clothes for me?" Liu Ruoxi’s voice rang out.
Taishu Shen smiled and said, "Of course I did. You are Yan’Er’s precious younger sister, after all."
He took out a red mink coat and draped it over Liu Ruoxi.
Liu Ruoxi smiled broadly. "That’s more like it, Taishu Shen!"
Those who didn’t know better might have thought Liu Ruoxi was his fiancée. The dynamic between the two looked much more like a couple.
After putting on the coat, Liu Ruoxi suddenly frowned. "The sun is setting. The three-day deadline is almost up. Will Ye Xuan still come?"
Her question mirrored the doubts of everyone present.
In the distance, the Old Witch with Foot-Scratching Habits and her group were also at the scene. Although their cultivation wasn’t strong, they held a bell in their hands. Every time the bell rang, a gentle light cascaded down. This glow would last for half an hour, and protected by it, they didn’t feel the cold at all.
"My Lords, is Ye Xuan coming or not? The three-day deadline is almost up," Sun Hu asked.
He and the Sun family had been waiting here since the very first day. In his heart, he certainly hoped Ye Xuan would show up. If Ye Xuan didn’t die, the Sun family would never have peace! Who knew when that brat would come to cause trouble for them again.
The Old Witch with Foot-Scratching Habits said coldly, "What? Are you questioning us?"
"I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare!"
"Hmph. The three-day deadline isn’t over yet, is it? He will come."
Time slipped by. The sun reached its zenith, and then the evening approached. Before long, the setting sun aligned with the mountain’s peak.
"The sun is setting!"
"Once it sets, the three days will be up. But where is Ye Xuan? We haven’t even seen a shadow of him. He most likely isn’t coming."
At the foot of the mountain, some Cultivators were already preparing to leave.
Suddenly, the cry of an eagle echoed from the horizon. A Flying Beast appeared in the distant sky. The Beast looked tiny at first, but it grew larger and larger, its silhouette perfectly overlapping with the setting sun. The scene actually had a unique charm to it.
"The Long-beaked Eagle! It’s the Sun family’s Long-beaked Eagle! It’s him, it’s him! It must be him! Seniors, your divine calculations are truly peerless!" Sun Hu’s body began to tremble. He knew Ye Xuan had arrived.
"Look! There’s someone standing on the eagle’s head. It’s Ye Xuan! Ye Xuan is here!"
"What? Ye Xuan actually came?"
"The Celestial Calculation Mansion actually wasn’t wrong?! But how is this possible? Does Ye Xuan not know that fifty City Lords are waiting for him here?"
The previously quiet Ice Mountain instantly burst into an uproar. Everyone was astounded as to why Ye Xuan had come. Wasn’t he just seeking his own death? Could it be that he truly hadn’t heard the rumors? Would Ye Xuan die this time?
"Ye Xuan, you absolutely must not die. None of us want to see you die."
"Hurry, to the summit! Even if I freeze to death, I have to see with my own eyes how this battle ends!"
The Cultivators surged toward the summit like madmen. Some frantically piled on padded winter coats. Fortunately, they had come prepared. They would hold out for as long as they could.
The Long-beaked Eagle soon arrived above the summit. However, it didn’t land, instead circling in the sky for a moment. Ye Xuan was searching for the location of the Cold Spring.
"Ye Xuan... you really came to throw your life away!" Liu Ruoxi stared at Ye Xuan, who stood atop the eagle’s head like a son of a god. The killing intent in her eyes wasn’t concealed in the slightest.
Beside her, Liu Yan’s heart was far from calm. She looked at Ye Xuan, repeatedly questioning in her mind, "Ye Xuan, you actually came, but why? Are you really that foolish? Or could it be... you’re confident you can stand against fifty City Lords?"