Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

The figure was more than two hundred meters tall. Its boundless aura enveloped the ice palace. Everyone felt a pressure on their shoulders, like a huge mountain pressing down on them.

“This is the ancient expert Bing Hou. Just her aura already makes it so difficult for us to move.” The crowd’s complexions all turned pale, they were all fighting against that pressure with great effort. Even speaking was done through clenched teeth.

“Hu Chi!”

Suddenly an ice sword appeared in Bing Hou’s hands. A sword light swept across and a crack appeared in the space before them. Space shattered and the destructive energy that came from it shattered the countless nearby Demonic Beasts.

With the protection of Bing Hou, no Demonic Beasts could block the Profound Ice Palace from flying through the skies of the Ink Mountain Range.

After the huge image of Bing Hou appeared, the Profound Ice Palace emitted an unrivaled and supreme aura stronger than that of Sages. This suppressed the Rank 7 Demonic Beasts, and they did not dare to come near.

The ten-odd people in the front of the ice palace held on bitterly under this horrifying pressure. Under this weathering, the strength of each individual could be seen.

A few people were already crawling on the ground, no longer having the strength to stand up. There were some who were down on one knee, sweat dripping down unceasingly.

The ones who were left standing were Ji Changkong, Hua Yunfei, Xiao Chen, and a person from the Royal Courts. However, the expressions on their faces were not relaxed.

If this dragged on, they might not be able to withstand this. They might end up like the others; after falling down, they might not be able to get up again.

Xiao Chen circulated his Purple Thunder Divine Incantation rapidly. His aura was all compressed and resisting that formless weight. However, the pressure on his shoulders did not lessen.

The aura was heavy like a mountain. It felt like Xiao Chen’s legs were filled with lead, he had no way to move them at all.

“Hu!”

Just as the four of them could no longer withstand it, a rectangular hole appeared on the ice palace. Duanmu Qing looked at everyone expressionlessly and said indifferently, “Quickly come in.”

After that, the doors of the ice palace opened, the pressure on everyone immediately lessened. Xiao Chen and the other three who could still stand did not hesitate and quickly leaped through the doors.

The people who were on their knees pushed off the back of the ice bird and quickly followed.

The remaining four people who were crawling breathed out in relief and struggled to stand up. However, they discovered that the doors of the ice palace were shut again.

The horrifying pressure of Bing Hou pressed down once again, it was like a majestic mountain. When it pressed on those people, they vomited blood and fell on the ground miserably, they could not get up at all.

The few people who entered the great hall of the ice palace glanced at each other with lingering fear in their hearts. Even now, their hearts were still thumping. The earlier experience was truly unforgettable.

Duanmu Qing’s cold face seemed rather angry. She said in a grave voice, “I hope that you will obey the rules of our Duanmu Clan. Do not casually move around.”

This was not the first time Duanmu Qing had said this. However, given the strength and status of the crowd, they had not taken this seriously earlier.

They were of the opinion that the Duanmu Clan would not dare to do anything to them. However, when they saw the conditions of the four people outside, they no longer dared to slight these words.

After Duanmu Qing left, Ji Changkong said differently, “Even just the aura of an illusion of an ancient Emperor expert resulted in us being unable to resist. I wonder how great its true strength is?”

Hua Yunfei had a sinister smile on his face as he said, “I have a feeling that, during this trip to the Fire Li Sect remnant, all of us will end up helping this woman to make her wedding dress.

[TL note: Helping this woman to make her wedding dress: This means to labor hard, but receive nothing in return, allowing someone else to benefit from it.]

Ji Changkong revealed a contemptuous smile and said, “What’s wrong? The Young Master Hua who comprehended the ancient Blood Soul is afraid of a woman?”

Hua Yunfei smiled calmly, “Who is the one afraid of a woman? All of us here are very clear on that. I heard that Young Master Ji has not been to the Imperial Capital for many years already.”

These two people had always been at loggerheads. After they relaxed, they started to bicker with each other.

The other people from the Royal Courts all laughed. Naturally, they knew of the past matter where Ji Changkong was defeated by Princess Ying Yue in one move.

Countless stars flashed in Ji Changkong’s eyes. A killing intent was revealed in his eyes. However, it passed in an instant; his gaze quickly regained its calm.

Ji Changkong lamented to himself, It looks like in this past year, Hua Yunfei’s mental state has improved significantly. On the other hand, my own mental state is still somewhat imperfect.

Thinking of this, Ji Changkong stopped speaking and directly headed for the second floor.

The other people all also headed off one after another. Peace followed after this event, and nothing else happened afterward. The Profound Ice Palace landed in the core area of the Ink Mountain Range.

“Bang!”

The huge ice bird created a strong wind as it landed on the ground. This caused the surrounding trees to shake nonstop. The illusion above the ice palace still did not fade away.

Its aura was suppressing all the surrounding Demonic Beasts, causing them to quickly flee into the distance. This kind of supreme aura frightened the Demonic Beasts deep in their bones.

After a long time, all the surrounding Demonic Beasts had scattered. Only then did the illusion of Bing Hou slowly fade away. The doors of the ice palace opened with a ‘sou’ sound.

Under Duanmu Qing’s lead, the crowd all slowly came out from the Profound Ice Palace. As for the four people on the back of the ice bird, they were drained of spirit and could only give up on this mission.

About five hundred meters in front of the crowd was a towering cliffside. Below the cliff was a huge black hole, like the mouth of a huge demon. Just one look at it evoked fear in them.

This hole was the entrance to the Ink Forest. It was pitch dark and there were no sounds coming from it, an extremely eerie sight.

Xiao Chen slowly paced around the black ground, not in a hurry to examine the hole. He circulated his Essence and discovered the surrounding Spiritual Energy was very sparse.

It was only about one percent of normal. The air there was mostly made up of the Demonic Qi from the Demonic World Abyss. If one absorbed too much of it, it would cause their body to demonize.

It seems like I can only use Spirit Stones to recover my Essence, Xiao Chen thought to himself. Fortunately, I still have many Medial Grade Spirit Stones, there is no need to worry about this. I just have to be careful and not absorb any of the Spiritual Energy here.

Duanmu Qing led the four Duanmu Clan peak Martial Saints and walked in front of everyone. As she had promised, she only brought four of her own people, the other experts all remained on the Profound Ice Palace.

The other people did not want to fall behind, and quickly followed. Xiao Chen was slightly slower, he was at the back of the crowd.

The moment they entered the hole, Xiao Chen immediately felt a chill attacking him. This cold Qi immediately assaulted his internal organs. Xiao Chen was startled and quickly circulated his Essence, protecting himself.

At the same time, Xiao Chen used some Essence to eliminate the cold Qi assaulting his body.

Everyone had to spend some effort to protect their internal organs and eliminate the cold Qi in their bodies. This slowed them down.

The dark and silent hole seemed endless. It was so dark, everyone’s vision was restricted to within ten meters of themselves.

What was more depressing was that many cultivators took out Night Pearl, Light Stones, flints, and other objects that gave off light. These things normally could light up an entire room on their own. However, no light came from them now.

Duanmu Qing’s voice came from the front. She said indifferently, “There are no other dangers in this tunnel. The light is all absorbed by the Demonic Qi in the air. There is no need to worry.”

Xiao Chen focused his eyes and took a look. Indeed, there were strands of black substances in the air. When the light shone on them, it was silently absorbed. It was extremely strange.

Although Duanmu Qing said there were no dangers in this tunnel, Xiao Chen did not let down his guard. His right hand remained on his saber hilt, his aura was hidden within his body. The moment there was any strange movement, he could attack instantly.

Under this strange atmosphere in this silent tunnel, no one spoke. They could only hear the sound of unending footsteps.

---

It was unknown how long they walked. Xiao Chen felt the passage under his feet start to incline down and become steeper. They were already very deep underground.

After a long time, a light appeared in their eyes; they had finally walked out of the tunnel. A vast underground world appeared before them.

Before them was a boundless black forest. The forest was strangely gloomy. There were countless wisps of black fog surrounding it. The sound of ruthless beasts’ cries came from it, reverberating in their ears. This made them feel frustrated and their Qi and blood was surging. These bestial cries could disrupt their minds!

“This is the famed Ink Forest?” a cultivator asked in a somewhat quavering voice.

Duanmu Qing nodded and said, “That’s right. The Three Holy Lands laid a barrier around the peripheries of the forest. We are safe where we are. After we walk another hundred meters, we will be within the boundaries of the forest.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Where is the Profound Ice Flower? Let’s go there quickly!” a person from the Royal Courts said anxiously.

Duanmu Qing did not say anything. She simply led the four Duanmu Clan experts and headed in. The other people all trailed behind her.

When they passed the formless barrier, Xiao Chen and the others felt a gaze sweep past them. It was like all the secrets within their bodies were revealed.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Just at this moment, five middle-aged people lit up with a red light before exploding. They died without a complete corpse. The sudden event startled everyone.

The five dead cultivators were from the noble clans of the Royal Courts. At this moment, the heirs from the Royal Court had sullen expressions, their thoughts unreadable.

Duanmu Qing walked to the front of these people with an expressionless face. She said coldly, “Didn’t I said not to bring Martial King experts? You can go back now, go back from where you came from.”

Everyone now understood what happened. These five disciples from the Royal Courts had brought along Martial King experts. Furthermore, they had used an unknown method to evade the detection of the Duanmu Clan’s expert.

However, they had now vanished forever at the barrier of the Three Holy Lands, their bodies blasted into bits in the Ink Forest.

When the five heard Duanmu Qing’s words, they did not pay it too much mind. Behind them were several Superior Grade Martial King servants. When added together, they numbered twenty people. They far outnumbered the Duanmu Clan’s people.