Chapter 236: Enchanting Immortal Beauty

Xia Qingyue was completely enveloped by the sword formation. In front, behind, left, right, and above, there were only incredibly sharp sword lights. Anyone else facing this terrifying array, which seemed impossible for a young person to conjure, would likely have their legs turn to jelly. Yet, there wasn't a ripple in her crystalline eyes as her delicate body floated upward like a light cloud. As her Ice Crystal Sword danced, over a dozen ice lotuses bloomed simultaneously around her. Each lotus was several times larger than before, releasing a chilling aura that made the very space solidify, and the surrounding air temperature plummeted at a terrifying speed.

“Hmm?” Ling Yuefeng’s previously calm expression instantly changed. Over a dozen gigantic ice lotuses exploding at once was beyond what someone at Spirit Profound Realm Level Eight could achieve. Just as Ling Yun hadn't fully unleashed his power earlier, it was clear Xia Qingyue hadn't either!

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...

Dense sword energies struck the ice lotuses in rapid succession, either shattering instantly or becoming directly frozen within the ice lotus petals, unable to advance further. Ling Yun could previously shatter the ice lotuses with a casual swing of his sword, but these massive ice lotuses withstood the impact of thousands of sword energies without a single one wilting. In a blink of an eye, each ice lotus was filled with frozen sword energies. Some sword energies that didn't touch the ice lotuses also froze in place just as they were about to reach Xia Qingyue's body.

To freeze sword energies formed from Ling Yun's profound power and sword intent showed just how terrifying the chilling aura contained within these ice lotuses was.

This was an unforeseen turn of events for everyone, and Ling Yun was profoundly shocked. He and Xia Qingyue had sparred hundreds of times before, holding back only to avoid a quick and embarrassing defeat for the opponent. Although this sword strike wasn't his full power, he had been absolutely confident it would directly end the match. He never imagined it would be completely parried, with not a single strike touching her body.

Ling Yun reacted swiftly. Seeing the frozen sword energies, a sword light flashed in his eyes. His body shot forth like lightning, and with a grasp into the air, the Heavenly Sovereign Sword returned to his hand. In that instant, as the Heavenly Sovereign Sword shimmered with blue light, he vanished from everyone's sight...

A streak of azure light, like a shining meteor falling from the sky, flashed across the Sword Discourse Arena... This streak sliced directly through all the ice lotuses and then through Xia Qingyue's body...

Shatter, shatter, shatter, shatter, shatter, shatter...

The dozen-plus ice lotuses and the frozen sword energies shattered simultaneously, turning into a sky full of ice crystals. The center of the Sword Discourse Arena instantly became a storm of ice crystals, while Ling Yun's true form appeared dozens of feet behind Xia Qingyue. When people's gaze finally refocused on his position, every heart was filled with astonishment. Except for a few elder powerhouses, no one saw how he had moved there; their eyes only caught a sudden flash of azure light.

The brilliance of that sword strike was beyond all description.

"So... fast," Yun Che exclaimed, losing his voice. He could feel that this streaking speed wasn't a profound movement technique, but originated from the Heavenly Sovereign Sword itself! In ordinary realms, a person wields the sword. But Ling Yun's recent strike had the sword carrying the person, driven by his powerful sword intent, rather than the person carrying the sword.

Slowly lowering the arm he had held before him, Ling Yun spoke in a low voice, "Admit defeat. Although you are much stronger than I anticipated, you are still no match for me. I don't want to accidentally injure the fairy..."

As he spoke, he slowly turned around. Just as his body fully turned and his gaze returned to Xia Qingyue, his voice suddenly caught in his throat, unable to utter another word. His eyes, usually so calm, instantly glazed over. Even his mind went blank. In his sight and mind, there remained only a heavenly face, as if from a dream world...

Xia Qingyue's right sleeve fell away with a long tear down the middle, revealing half of her snow-white, jade-like arm. Ling Yun's sword, however, had cut more than just half her sleeve.

As a gentle breeze, mixed with cold air, drifted by, Xia Qingyue's snow-white veil slowly floated down, revealing her true face, which had been securely hidden, without any obstruction to everyone present.

The entire Sword Discourse Arena instantly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard; everyone held their breath.

Xia Qingyue's skin was incredibly fair, but not the kind of pallor that makes one uncomfortable to look at. Instead, it was a radiant whiteness like the purest ice and snow, or flawless mutton-fat jade. The light shining down from the sky wasn't intense, but her snow-like complexion was dazzlingly white, like frost and snow sparkling in winter sunlight. Her jade-like arm, revealed by the fallen half-sleeve, seemed to glow with a porcelain-like sheen, breathtakingly beautiful.

Putting everything else aside, just this skin, surpassing snow and frost, was enough to steal the souls of all men in the world!

Upon her snowy skin were delicate, crescent-shaped willow eyebrows and clear, deep, water-like eyes. Her fragrant cheeks surpassed snow, her beautiful face was like a poem or a painting, and her two delicate lips were like a stroke of pink rouge meticulously crafted by the heavens, so beautiful it was startling.

And when all of this converged upon one woman, what was displayed was a scene of exquisite beauty that overshadowed the sky and earth, the sun, moon, and stars.

The moment Xia Qingyue revealed her countenance, her exquisite radiance instantly eclipsed all other colors. Their breaths were held, their heartbeats almost stopped, and within their minds, an incredibly similar thought resonated...

Is this a banished fairy from heaven? How could such a peerless immortal exist in the human world?

Undoubtedly, the young profound practitioners were the most impacted. Their gazes were completely fixed, and their souls unknowingly drifted away. Even the sect heirs, who were accustomed to being surrounded by beauties, were dumbfounded, their vision and minds completely filled by Xia Qingyue's heavenly beauty, to the point they forgot their own existence. Even middle-aged men and white-haired elders were stunned and mesmerized.

Xiao Kuangyu, Xiao Kuanglei, Xiao Zhen, and Xiao Nan from the Xiao Sect displayed identical expressions, staring blankly as if their souls had departed. Fen Juecheng from Burning Heaven Clan unconsciously rose from his seat, his eyes radiating an unprecedented obsession. If even their reactions were like this, one could only imagine everyone else's.

Yet, the calmest person in the entire arena was, paradoxically, Xia Yuanba, who had the lowest profound energy.

“Oh, Elder Sister really did get prettier,” Xia Yuanba whispered softly. The suddenly strange atmosphere around him made him look left and right, finally glancing at Yun Che before muttering in confusion, "Everyone looks so strange... even Brother-in-law."

Yun Che had been greatly astonished by Xia Qingyue on their wedding day, and now, he was once again deeply stunned by her. Eighteen months could bring about considerable change in a young girl. At sixteen, Xia Qingyue was already unearthly beautiful; now, at seventeen and a half, further nurtured by the ice and snow of Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, she could only be described as peerlessly beautiful. Even he stared blankly.

This was the sole reason she wore a veil.

Not to mention the men, even Cang Yue, herself a woman, was deeply shaken. She, too, possessed great beauty and a noble status, but before this fairy who seemed not to belong to the mortal world, she felt a sense of inadequacy and inferiority for the first time in her life. She knew she shouldn't feel this way, but as she gazed at Xia Qingyue's grace, this feeling uncontrollably surged. Turning to look at Yun Che’s dazed eyes, she reached out and tightly clutched his sleeve...

Some elders who had participated in the Ranking Tournament thirty years ago would find this scene strikingly similar to when Chu Yuechan's veil fell. The same spectacle was replayed thirty years later on the same stage, and similarly, it originated from a female disciple of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace.

Silently observing the reactions of the entire audience, Ling Yuefeng's eyes welled up slightly as he recalled that deeply etched past. Lost in thought, he didn't notice Xuanyuan Yufeng, who was watching him from his side. His reaction caused Xuanyuan Yufeng to slowly tighten her brow. Following this, she turned her head to look at her son, Ling Yun... He was closest to Xia Qingyue, and his eyes revealed an unprecedented hazy wonder—a look he hadn't even shown when he conquered the Heavenly Sovereign Sword at seventeen.

Xuanyuan Yufeng's chest heaved violently. She murmured, "Ice Cloud Immortal Palace... they ruined my husband back then... now... are they going to ruin my son... make him follow his father's footsteps?"

Her murmur was very soft, audible only to herself. It contained something akin to resentment, but more so, jealousy! Female jealousy isn't limited to peers; beauty is always a woman's most cherished attribute. Xuanyuan Yufeng was fifty-one this year, but as a late-stage Sky Profound practitioner, she looked like a young woman under thirty. If she dressed a bit more youthfully, people would believe she was Ling Yun's sister. Her looks were excellent, but it depended on the comparison. Compared to most women, she was truly beautiful, but compared to Xia Qingyue...

To put it harshly, it was the difference between mud and a rainbow cloud.

Ling Yun's sword strike was astonishing, and Xia Qingyue was also caught off guard by her veil being struck off. Seeing the audience's reactions, she sighed softly, raised a snow-white hand, and placed a new ice veil over her face, once again concealing her world-eclipsing beauty that dimmed the heavens and earth, the sun and moon.

The world's most stunning radiance was mercilessly hidden, allowing countless mesmerized souls to finally awaken.

“She... she... is she a fairy?” a sect disciple whispered dazedly.

“A woman... can be this beautiful? I felt like my soul just flew away... The legendary Snow Princess... she can't be more beautiful than this, can she?”

“Snow Princess? Who’s that?”

“What? You don’t even know the Snow Princess, the Sky Profound Realm’s most beautiful woman? She’s the Divine Phoenix Empire’s only imperial princess. At thirteen, she was already universally acknowledged as the most beautiful woman on the Sky Profound Continent. People in the Divine Phoenix Empire call her ‘Heaven’s Favored Daughter,’ ‘Pearl of the Divine Phoenix Empire,’ and ‘Heaven’s Gifted Treasure to the Divine Phoenix Empire.’ In the Divine Phoenix Empire, she’s practically an object of worship.”

“People in the Divine Phoenix Empire might not know who the Emperor is or the Phoenix God Sect, but absolutely no one doesn’t know the Snow Princess! I heard countless master painters tried to depict her, but none succeeded. The Divine Phoenix Empire’s top painter threw down his brush upon seeing her, saying that even all the world’s painters combined couldn’t capture a single hint of her aura...”

“Wow! Only thirteen and called the most beautiful in the Sky Profound Realm? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? Could she be even more beautiful than Immortal Xia?”

“...I don't know... but it should be impossible, right? Immortal Xia is beautiful beyond my wildest dreams. I really can’t believe anyone more beautiful could exist in this world...”