Chapter 868: Humility

At this moment, the Great Dog's only usable power was its full-form mode, activated after transforming into its powerful physical body.

But how could such power contend with Xu Yang, who stood before him like a god?

Feeling deeply ashamed, the Great Dog sighed helplessly and finally reverted to its original form. No longer able to muster any killing aura, it knew very well that it and Xu Yang were on completely different levels of existence — one a supreme god, the other a mere mortal, as humble as dust in the sand.

"Don't forget our agreement, Great Dog! I will personally suppress the Western Emperor to prove my ability to help you get revenge. As for whether you ultimately want to come with me, that will be entirely up to you."

Xu Yang gently waved his hand, and the fourth glittering golden key landed in his palm. He strode out of the void domain and departed. From beginning to end, he did not need the Great Dog to personally use the power law. After activating the Divine Light Method, Xu Yang could completely ignore all the power laws within this small, independent world; they had no effect on him whatsoever. This ability alone was enough to make the Great Dog prostrate itself in admiration.

It was important to note that the Great Dog possessed genuine Heavenly Martial Artist level strength. If Xu Yang could recruit it, his Sacred Flame Divine Sect would undoubtedly gain a formidable asset. Moreover, the Great Dog's greatest strength lay in practical combat; both its group fighting capabilities and one-on-one dueling skills were exceptionally powerful. This fellow had virtually no weaknesses. Unless it faced an opponent with an overwhelming realm advantage, the Great Dog could contend with any strong individual across the entire Yingzhou Continent. If Xu Yang could one day teach the Great Dog the cultivation methods for primeval power, then this creature's battlefield prowess would become truly terrifying.

Meanwhile, as Xu Yang progressively conquered each independent space, Yun Yixuan, who had entered with him, was far from enjoying the same boundless glory. The moment he stepped into the Five Elements Array Core, he was completely enveloped by an extremely cold aura and forcibly dragged into the innermost spatial barrier of the Five Elements Array.

Yun Yixuan was truly unlucky to the extreme. The group that captured him was none other than the Winter Goddess, the ruler of the final Ice River Battlefield within the Five Elements Array Core. These warriors, who possessed incredibly potent ice and cold attributes and who had taken Yun Yixuan, were all members of the Winter Goddess's tribe. Their attributes perfectly countered Yun Yixuan's cultivation technique. Facing these bizarre ice crystal warriors, Yun Yixuan was utterly defenseless. He was quickly subdued by their unique fighting styles and powerful restraining techniques.

Rumble!

Hundreds of ice crystal warriors threw Yun Yixuan, bound like a zongzi, into the grand hall of the exquisitely crafted ice crystal palace. Seated on the throne was a robust, formidable woman — the ruler of this Ice River Battlefield, the Winter Goddess! Although she bore the title of a goddess, the Winter Ruler's appearance was truly unremarkable, and her physique was much sturdier than that of an average man. Her mere presence instilled a reluctance to meet her gaze directly.

Upon seeing the captive, whose appearance seemed quite remarkable, the Winter Goddess immediately became intrigued. She quickly approached, grabbed Yun Yixuan by the collar, and stared at him with icy eyes.

"Little brother, you truly have some nerve, daring to trespass even into the Western Emperor's Tomb. Could it be that you're another lackey loyal to the Imperial Family?"

Although Yun Yixuan was thoroughly suppressed at this moment, his pride would not allow him to submit to this goddess. He gave her a cold glance. He suddenly thought of spitting at her, but to his extreme embarrassment, the saliva froze solid into ice shards before it could even reach the Winter Goddess.

"Such a powerful frost aura! Could you be the legendary Winter Goddess?"

The woman, still clutching Yun Yixuan's collar, sneered, "You actually thought of ambushing me? How conceited! It seems I need to properly 'educate' you first, so you understand exactly what this Ice River Battlefield is."

As soon as the woman finished speaking, she simply flicked her left arm, sending Yun Yixuan's body flying hundreds of meters as if he were a tattered sack. He slammed heavily into one of the palace's ice pillars, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Hahahaha, this lackey loyal to the Imperial Family is truly a weakling! Our goddess just flicked him this far with one hand! Look how he's like a dog, sprawled on the ground, unable to do anything but gasp for air!"

The ice crystal warriors were overjoyed, as if they had finally caught a defiant individual from the Central Domain's Imperial Family, giving them free rein to torment him. Consequently, for the entire day that followed, Yun Yixuan became the ice crystal warriors' personal servant, fetching tea and water at their beck and call. Not only did he have to wait on these 'masters' of the ice crystal lineage, but he also had to endure their punches and kicks, living an utterly inhumane existence.

"Ah Yang, my mighty god, where are you? Why aren't you here to save me? If you don't come soon, you might never see me again!"

At that moment, Yun Yixuan pitifully handed a large bucket of water to one of the ice crystal warriors, muttering to himself. He was about to turn and leave, but was once again stopped by several burly ice crystal warriors behind him.

"Lackey, did this master say you could leave? Get back here!"

Yun Yixuan, with his back to the palace entrance, could only reluctantly stop. He clenched his jaw and his fists. However, the moment he turned around, all traces of hatred instantly vanished, replaced by a fawning expression.

The reason was simple: Yun Yixuan genuinely did not want to be beaten anymore. Although he possessed powerful Heavenly Martial Artist level strength, for some unknown reason, his power had been suppressed by more than half after entering this Ice River Battlefield. Moreover, each of these ice crystal warriors had reached the Earth-tier Level 1 in terms of individual strength!

As the saying goes, "Even a fierce tiger cannot fend off a pack of wolves," much less a wounded tiger whose strength is suppressed. The phrase "a tiger in a flatland is bullied by dogs" truly resonated with Yun Yixuan at this moment.

"Masters, how may I serve you?"

The leader of the ice crystal warriors patted his thigh. "Massage Grandfather's legs!"

Yun Yixuan gritted his teeth, wishing he could just slap the fellow away. With his strength, he could do it, but the likely outcome would be getting strung up and beaten. Helpless, no matter how much he fantasized, he ultimately had to submit to reality.

Half an hour passed, and only then did the ice crystal warrior nod in satisfaction. "Good. Now, go empty our chamber pots."

This time, Yun Yixuan reached his breaking point and completely erupted in rage: "I gave you an inch, and you clearly don't know your place!"