Chapter 120: Sadness, Anger, and Despair

The Peak!

When a group of people with various expressions emerged from the ice cave again, some made gestures as if stargazing in a starless sky, others reached out to rub the ice layer, seemingly studying its thickness, while still others pretended nothing was amiss and chatted with those beside them. Zhao Shanqi, for instance, was doing just that.

Everyone's eyes, subtly yet distinctly, turned towards Bian Weiying and Gan Tangyu, who stood side by side in the dimly lit area.

Hearing the commotion of people emerging, the two also turned their heads to look, spotting the group who seemed to have just finished a discussion and come out for air.

They also saw Luo Buqi, Zhao Shanqi's junior fellow disciple, step out from the crowd and walk directly towards them. Not knowing his intentions, the two turned to greet him.

Luo Buqi approached them and bowed courteously. "Gentlemen," he said, "after our discussion, it was decided that I would lead a few others to explore the surroundings again. For the sake of thoroughness, we hope you two can lend us a few immobility talismans for backup."

The two suspected no trickery. Bian Weiying said, "Immobility talismans are useless here; your Senior Disciple Zhao knows this."

Luo Buqi frowned. "If you don't want to lend them because they're useless, then just say so," he retorted. "There's no need for such a flimsy excuse, is there?"

Bian Weiying replied, "If you don't believe me, you can ask your Senior Disciple Zhao."

Luo Buqi immediately turned back and yelled, "Senior Disciple, they refuse to lend them!"

Hearing this, the group of people who had dispersed from the ice cave entrance slowly but steadily approached. Zhao Shanqi walked closer, shouting, "What's going on?"

Bian Weiying said, "Brother Zhao, it's not that we won't lend them; the immobility talismans are useless here, and you saw it with your own eyes."

Zhao Shanqi asked, perplexed, "I did see it, but was it a partial loss of function, or did all of them become useless?"

Bian Weiying replied, "How can we confirm that? We can't just take them out one by one and test them, can we?"

Talismans are different from other items; they are single-use, becoming useless once activated.

Zhao Shanqi said, "Please understand the situation. This time, a few people were chosen to leave the ice plain and scout outwards. They won't feel at ease without a bit more assurance. How about you take out another one and demonstrate for everyone? Or, let your junior disciple..." He nodded towards Gan Tangyu, "...let him join the exploration team, as long as he has talismans on him."

Hearing that he was to leave, Gan Tangyu immediately became worried about Bian Weiying's safety and called out, "Senior Disciple!"

Bian Weiying gave him a glance to signal him to calm down. Then, she lowered her head and pulled out a second-grade immobility talisman from her pocket. Handing it to Luo Buqi herself, she said, "Since you don't believe me, why don't you try it yourself?"

Luo Buqi, who had taken the talisman, examined it in his hand, then turned to Zhao Shanqi with a grin and said, "Senior Disciple, pardon me then!"

"You certainly know how to look out for your senior disciple!" Zhao Shanqi laughed heartily. He took a step back, spread his arms, and declared, "Come on!"

Luo Buqi didn't hesitate. He directly cast the spell, striking Zhao Shanqi with the talisman.

Zhao Shanqi immediately froze, rooted to the spot, unable to even move his eyeballs.

Everyone was startled. Bian Weiying and Gan Tangyu also looked astonished. Could it be that immobility talismans actually worked on the ice plain again?

Suddenly, Zhao Shanqi moved his limbs and burst into hearty laughter again. It turned out he was just playing a trick on everyone. He casually peeled off the talisman from his chest, examined it in his hand, and said, "This place is truly strange. The immobility talisman really didn't work!"

He tossed the talisman aside and fixed his gaze on Gan Tangyu. "Since the talismans are useless, we'll have to use people instead," he said. "All our factions have provided manpower; Wu Kang Mountain can't just sit here and take advantage, can it? Brother Gan, we should cherish and protect women. It wouldn't be right to let a woman handle this dangerous task. You should contribute and go with my junior disciples for a reconnaissance."

As soon as he said this, Bian Weiying and Gan Tangyu felt a sudden sense of unease. This seemed different from what was discussed earlier. Looking at the reactions of others, some people's expressions had already given them away, while others had already begun to shamelessly size up Bian Weiying.

Gan Tangyu's hand went to his sword hilt, on guard. Though startled inwardly, Bian Weiying calmly said, "I can't sit idle either. How about we both contribute more and go with them?" She planned to stabilize the situation first and get away from this crowded spot. She tilted her head, signaling to Luo Buqi, "Let's go."

She lightly nudged Gan Tangyu's arm with her elbow, and the two turned to leave.

It turned out she had overthought it. The approach of these major factions towards her, or rather, towards weaker sects, was consistently unyielding. Whatever they told you was exactly what had to happen. If you tried to reason with them based on their own words, and they couldn't achieve their goal, they would simply stop reasoning and resort to force. As long as you didn't dare to truly resist, your cleverness, no matter how sharp, would be useless.

Simply put, they intended to suppress them with power and bully them. What could they do?

Without the intimidating power of the immobility talismans, these people became even more fearless.

"Wait!" Zhao Shanqi called out, stopping them.

As if a command had been issued, some people around him swiftly moved to surround the two. A few others, however, did not follow the command. These people always sided with whoever was stronger. Their current stance was purely based on the current situation where cooperation benefited both sides, and division harmed both. They merely didn't want to oppose Zhao Shanqi, which didn't mean they approved of his actions.

If they truly couldn't get out and were trapped here for too long, whether they would develop an interest in women was a future concern. At least for now, they had no interest, or perhaps they felt it was shameful. Yet, they were also people who succumbed to reality.

They observed with cold detachment. "Hmph!" Gan Tangyu immediately drew his sword, highly alert to his surroundings.

Bian Weiying said gravely, "What do you want?"

Zhao Shanqi calmly said, "Just let your junior disciple go alone. You need to stay and discuss some matters with us, lest you later claim we didn't consult you on anything."

At this point, Bian Weiying could no longer be fooled by this nonsense. She flipped her hand, revealing several third-grade immobility talismans. She sneered, "So, it was exposed with just one try. Did you really think my immobility talismans were useless? Junior Disciple, Wu Kang Mountain originally did not wish to offend any factions. But since they've pushed us this far, we don't need to be polite either. Whoever I immobilize, you cut them down!"

Gan Tangyu was slightly startled, but he wasn't foolish, and immediately cooperated, saying, "Alright!"

This display truly startled everyone.

Zhao Shanqi's expression tightened, then he suddenly burst into laughter again. "When attacked by monsters, immobility talismans become useless. Was it to test those monsters? This woman is really something! The more I look, the more I like her. She's mine; nobody better try to snatch her from me! Two junior disciples, begin!"

As he spoke, he clapped his hands together in a prayer-like gesture. His two junior disciples who had joined the encirclement did the same.

Suddenly, a dazzling white light erupted from the joined palms of the three, instantly engulfing everyone. It was as if the entire night sky had been illuminated. The blinding whiteness obscured everything. Everyone instinctively closed their eyes; no one dared to keep them open.

This was precisely the Divine Light Sect's signature technique: Divine Radiance.

Wu Jinliang, flying rapidly through the air, suddenly turned his head to look.

With his eyes completely blacked out, he was now extremely sensitive to light. Suddenly, he saw a faint, shimmering white light emanating from one side of the horizon. He immediately pointed and said, "Shi Chun, look over there!"

"I see it," Shi Chun replied. He wasn't blind and didn't need reminding. Changing his hand gesture, he sharply turned the Wind Scale in an arc and sped directly towards the light.

This was his first time using his right eye's ability. He had just activated it for the second time, and if he didn't hurry, a third activation immediately after might be too much for his body to handle.

The dazzling white light disappeared. Those who slowly opened their eyes were still unaccustomed to the restored darkness. Some shook their heads, while others blinked hard to adjust.

Gan Tangyu and Bian Weiying had both been sent flying, both lying on the ground, choking on blood.

When they were completely engulfed by the white light and couldn't open their eyes, the two knew things were bad. Furthermore, direct combat was not the Wu Kang Mountain disciples' strongest suit. As they had expected, the situation became increasingly chaotic, and before they could even react, they were knocked down.

Zhao Shanqi, with a face full of mockery, walked towards Bian Weiying. Bian Weiying's hand, barely able to lift her sword, had it kicked away by him. He then crouched beside Bian Weiying, appreciating the beauty whose lips were stained with blood and whose face was disheveled.

"You'll die a terrible death..." Bian Weiying gasped through bloody foam.

Zhao Shanqi directly reached out and pinched her chin. With a casual twist, he dislocated her jaw to prevent her from harming herself. He then lifted her into his arms, and the diverse crowd watched them leave.

Gan Tangyu's eyes seemed to split with rage as he struggled to get up, but he was kicked down again. His sword, too, was taken by that person.

"Hmph!" Luo Buqi pierced his chest with a sword, pinning him forcefully to the ice plain before stopping. He stepped back, watching him, as if to say, "Let's see you try to get up now."

Gan Tangyu's mouth spewed blood, yet he still twisted his head to look at Bian Weiying being carried away. His face was filled with grief and indignation, and he weakly uttered choked sounds. From the corners of his eyes, something flowed, indistinguishable as tears or blood. The look of utter despair on his face was indescribable.

Reaching the ice cave entrance, Zhao Shanqi didn't forget to turn around while holding the beauty. He laughed heartily and said, "Gentlemen, I'll be busy for a while!"

He signaled everyone not to disturb him.

Many people wore lewd, knowing smiles. Others remained silent and grim.

Bian Weiying, equally filled with grief and indignation, struggled desperately. She punched and kicked, even scratched and clawed, but she was too weak. Zhao Shanqi not only didn't resist but seemed to enjoy it. He carried her into the ice cave.

Once inside the ice cave, he kicked the mummified corpse of the former armored warrior off the bed and casually threw Bian Weiying onto it.

Bian Weiying, from the impact of the fall, choked up another mouthful of blood.

Zhao Shanqi broke off a piece of ice from the ice wall, and while she choked on blood with her mouth open, he directly stuffed it in and then covered her mouth.

As Bian Weiying struggled with muffled cries, not paying attention, Zhao Shanqi grabbed her collar and ripped it open, immediately revealing an expanse of pale, delicate skin...

Shi Chun, in the air, let out a sound of surprise. Wu Jinliang couldn't see, but he could vaguely feel it with his right eye. He immediately patrolled the sky above the ice plain, searching. Soon, Wu Jinliang pointed to a patch of light on the ground ahead and said, "Look, it's over there!"

The two were already heading straight towards the light, taking no detours, so they naturally found it quickly. Shi Chun immediately steered the Wind Scale into a dive. As they neared the ground, he made the flying magical artifact disappear mid-air and floated down to the ground with Wu Jinliang.

The two did not directly appear at the source of the light, staying about two li away from the ice cave.

Wu Jinliang squatted down, touched the ground, and clicked his tongue, saying, "It really is ice!"

Shi Chun said, "I'll go ahead and scout out the situation. You wait here."

As previously stated, they wouldn't easily reveal all their trump cards on this trip; this was why they didn't want the others to see they had the Wind Scale.

Wu Jinliang immediately looked around, "No monsters here, right?"