Long Po suddenly spoke, with a threat in his voice.
And I, still unyielding:
"Long Po, I only wish to see Qing Dai. As long as I can confirm she is well.
If she asks me to leave, I won't linger for a moment."
My eyes were filled with determination and persistence.
But Long Po was no longer wasting words on me.
In an instant, a wave of Yin energy surged.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…"
It blew through the mountain ravine.
The chilling feeling plunged me into an ice cavern.
In the blink of an eye, I saw the surroundings of the ravine begin to freeze before my very eyes.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle" bushes were encased in ice, and the stream turned to ice.
In that moment, it felt as if winter had arrived.
I was wearing only a thin layer of clothing.
The biting cold made my every hair stand on end, and my whole body shivered.
This was Long Po driving me away.
Qing Dai had waited for me for ten lifetimes.
Today, I had to see her, no matter what.
Or rather, for Qing Dai to personally tell me she didn't want to see me.
Otherwise, I would absolutely not leave.
I unleashed all my cultivation to resist the cold.
But I discovered that my meager cultivation was like a drop in the ocean against this biting cold.
It was no match for it.
Cold, so incredibly cold.
In the blink of an eye, I saw ice crystals forming on my eyelashes.
It was so cold my teeth chattered.
"Chatter, chatter, chatter" the sound was continuous:
"Long, Long Po, I just want to see Qing Dai.
Or has something truly happened to Qing Dai?"
Long Po did not respond.
Only a stronger, colder wind attacked me.
Even the colors of the ravine began to shift.
It was actually snowing.
Did Long Po possess such cultivation, the ability to control the weather?
No, clearly impossible.
This must be an illusion.
I was within a phantom realm.
However, I lacked the cultivation or methods to resist this illusion.
I could only rely on my willpower to endure it.
Time ticked by, second by second.
In a blink, ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour passed.
I felt as if I had been cast out into a snowfield.
My body curled slightly, arms drawn tight, trembling incessantly.
I felt my entire body go numb, losing all sensation.
But I still refused to take a single step back.
"Leave! Otherwise, you'll freeze to death!"
Long Po's voice echoed.
"Long, Long Po, I, I know, I know something has happened to Qing Dai.
I just want, just want to see, see Qing Dai.
Perhaps, I can do something for her, for her…"
I managed to speak.
Long Po's voice vanished again.
The only response was the even colder wind.
My limbs were numb.
My body was beyond my control.
With a "clang," I collapsed onto the ground.
I couldn't feel any pain; I lifted my eyes and gasped for air.
Through gritted teeth, I spoke fiercely:
"You, you freeze me to death then!"
The emotions within me seemed to be released.
That unconcealable feeling fueled me, an unprecedented persistence.
Qing Dai had waited for me for ten lifetimes, protected me my entire life.
Now that something had happened to her, I only wanted to see her once.
If needed, I was willing to sacrifice everything, even my life.
What was this bit of cold compared to the two thousand years of suffering Qing Dai endured?
"Qing Dai, you, you truly, don't want to see me?"
I was so cold I was losing all feeling, my eyelids heavy as lead, constantly sinking.
Biting my teeth, I spoke each word with effort.
But, just as I uttered this sentence.
The ice crystals around me, the frozen stream, suddenly melted and faded.
In a blink, everything reverted to its original state.
The chilling sensation disappeared, and the warmth in my body gradually returned.
And I, lying on the ground, was still trembling.
Seeing this, I knew Long Po had dispelled the illusion.
Gritting my teeth, I struggled to get up from the ground.
My entire body felt like it had collapsed:
"Long Po, I, I just want to see her!
Even if it's just to do something insignificant."
I spoke with sincerity, from the depths of my heart.
And Long Po simply sighed.
"Ai!"
The sigh was filled with helplessness.
Following that, white Yin energy and mist appeared around me.
In the distance, I saw that white flagstone path.
I recognized it as the Yin road leading to the Nine Saint Manor.
Staggering, I hurried my steps.
Because I had been frozen for so long in the illusion, my legs were shaky.
But soon, I stepped onto the Yin road.
Around me were peculiar Yin flowers, swaying their tongues, strange and eerie.
I paid them no mind, nor did I glance at them.
Following the flagstone path, I pressed onward.
Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters…
Finally, in the distance, I caught sight of the Nine Saint Manor.
White walls, black tiles, high walls and courtyards.
Yin energy permeated the air, and ghostly auras billowed upwards.
But this time, the Nine Saint Manor seemed peculiar.
Because outside the Nine Saint Manor, an endless number of figures stood densely packed.
They extended along both sides of the Nine Saint Manor; at a glance, there were at least seven to eight hundred of them.
Those figures stood solemnly, each holding a sword or saber.
And there were also the Western Han Ghost Cavalry I had seen outside the Black Demon Palace.
But this time, there was an entire contingent.
All of them stood silently outside the Nine Saint Manor.
Every person, no, every ghost, was so stern, so silent.
It was as if a great enemy was about to arrive, and they were all on high alert.
I knew these were Qing Dai's subordinates.
With so many subordinates gathered here now, and the atmosphere so heavy, it could only mean something major had happened.
I cast a surprised glance, then stumbled as I ran towards the Nine Saint Manor.
As for the ghost warriors around me, seeing me approach, they all parted, making way for me.
Upon getting closer, I could see their faces clearly.
There were men and women, skeletal figures holding long swords, grinning ghouls with bared fangs and sharp claws, and elite Western Han Ghost Cavalry astride war mounts, wielding long spears.
The only commonality was that they were all ghosts…