In the northern territory of Daozhou, a large number of fully armed Dao Sect cultivators arrived in this land of ice and snow.
Ye Ling had killed the Dao Sect Leader, stolen the Sword Ancestor's body, and severely injured all the elders. These actions had completely crossed the Dao Sect's bottom line.
Ji Ning had issued an inescapable pursuit order against Ye Ling and exhausted the Dao Sect's resources, ordering all disciples to march towards the northern territory of Daozhou!
Ye Ling sat atop the snow-capped mountain, gazing at the vast procession of Dao Sect cultivators in the sky, and chuckled, "What a grand display. To deal with just me, that old woman truly sent out the entire Dao Sect?"
Ye Ling smiled and snapped his fingers. The Azure Bamboo behind him was teleported away, leaving only Jian Shisan.
"Wang Li Ren!"
Ji Ning's furious roar, like heavenly thunder, rolled in from afar, stirring up a monstrous blizzard that made Ye Ling's robes flutter wildly!
"Truly fearsome pressure."
Ye Ling exclaimed, standing up. He saw numerous ice crystals condense in the air, and Ji Ning, her face covered in frost, appeared before him.
Ye Ling smiled and bowed to Ji Ning, "This junior, Wang Li Ren, greets Senior."
Ji Ning said coldly, "Wang Li Ren, there was a moment when I trusted you and wanted to pass on Jian Shisan's origin inheritance to you. However, your actions have disappointed me too greatly."
"That truly fails to meet Senior's expectations," Ye Ling chuckled. "If Senior hadn't given me the Heaven Gu Pill, I might have actually believed what you just said."
"Hmph! I must admit, your ability to use Jian San Liu to detoxify yourself was indeed a brilliant move," Ji Ning said calmly, and then the entire northern territory of Daozhou was frozen over.
Ye Ling looked up at the frozen sky and laughed, "It's just like that day... Are you afraid I'll escape?"
Ji Ning, holding an ice spear, asked Ye Ling coldly, "Where is Azure Bamboo?"
Ye Ling smiled, "She is in a safe place, though her safety is not guaranteed."
Ji Ning's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"
"I've had the Ten Thousand Poison Beast guard her. If I die here, she won't survive either!" Ye Ling chuckled.
"You brat!"
Ji Ning snorted coldly, and an ice light flashed. Ye Ling's heart was instantly pierced by the ice spear, and half of his body froze!
"Cough—!" Ye Ling spat out a mouthful of blood, but the hot blood instantly turned into ice!
"You're truly fierce..." Ye Ling used runes to heal the wound on his chest and smiled at Ji Ning, "You really didn't intend to avoid my vital points at all."
"If I don't let you die, you won't die even if you're reduced to a smear of meat," Ji Ning said coldly, re-condensing a new ice spear in her hand.
"Alright, I concede," Ye Ling smiled at Ji Ning and said, "If you return the Origin Spirit Fire to me, I'll give you both Azure Bamboo and Jian Shisan."
"Impossible," Ji Ning said faintly. "Change your condition."
Ye Ling said with a wry smile, "The Origin Spirit Fire is useless in your hands. Why are you holding onto it? It's better to return it to me. I'll nourish it with my vital blood, so it can recover faster, and you can lift the one-life-one-body contract sooner."
Ji Ning said coldly, "I have already used Azure Bamboo's origin inheritance to nourish the Origin Spirit Fire and forcibly signed a master-recognition contract with it. I cannot return it to you."
"You this..."
Upon hearing Ji Ning's words, Ye Ling's mouth twitched.
What he had told Ji Ning earlier about using origin inheritance to nourish the World-Destroying Spirit Fire was completely fabricated.
He hadn't expected Ji Ning to actually do it, and even forcibly made the World-Destroying Spirit Fire recognize her as its master...
However, the World-Destroying Spirit Fire was an independent entity itself. How did it recognize a master?
Ye Ling was puzzled, but he wasn't foolish enough to reveal the truth about the World-Destroying Spirit Fire to Ji Ning. Instead, he said, "Since that's the case, the Origin Spirit Fire rightfully belongs to Senior. This junior failed to protect the inheritance of the Wang clan, and it is Wang's incompetence."
"But Senior, can you let me see the Origin Spirit Fire... That is, after all, the supreme treasure of my clan. To lose it like this, this junior feels I have failed my ancestors."
Ji Ning said coldly, "The Origin Spirit Fire is stored in the sect's forbidden area. If you return Azure Bamboo to me, I will let you see the Origin Spirit Fire."
Ye Ling shook his head, "I will not return to the Dao Sect. Senior, you should bring the Origin Spirit Fire here. Otherwise, even if I die, I will not return Azure Bamboo to you!"
"You damned brat!"
Seeing that Ye Ling was not falling for it at all, a gloom appeared in Ji Ning's beautiful eyes. However, she suppressed the urge to throw an ice spear at Ye Ling, tore open space, and took out the World-Destroying Spirit Fire.
"Mie... Origin Spirit Fire?"
Ye Ling looked at the World-Destroying Spirit Fire floating in Ji Ning's palm, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink.
The aura of the World-Destroying Spirit Fire now was completely different from before.
The aura of the World-Destroying Spirit Fire was now almost catching up to Ye Ling!
Ye Ling suppressed his shock and asked Ji Ning, "Senior, can you let this junior get a closer look at the Origin Spirit Fire? This junior wants to say goodbye to it."
"What trick are you playing now?" Ji Ning frowned.
"Senior, you are here in person, and the Origin Spirit Fire recognizes you as its master. Even if I were to play any tricks, could I succeed?"
"That's true," Ji Ning nodded slightly and sent the World-Destroying Spirit Fire to Ye Ling. "Say your final farewell to it, and then return Azure Bamboo to me."
"Don't worry, I won't harm your life."
"Thank you, Senior."
Ye Ling bowed to Ji Ning, then took the World-Destroying Spirit Fire and transmitted a message to it teasingly, "Damn it! You're actually still alive!"
"You damn brat! You actually abandoned me to that old demoness. Do you know how hard I've been pretending all this time?" The World-Destroying Spirit Fire immediately cursed angrily. "I've been pretending so hard that I almost believed I was some Origin Spirit Fire myself!"
"But you seem quite well off now, don't you? Your strength is much greater than before," Ye Ling said with a smile.
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire complained, "That stupid woman actually gave me the origin inheritance. Wouldn't I be an idiot not to absorb it?"
Ye Ling asked, "Then what's the deal with you recognizing her as your master?"
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire replied, "I need some time to absorb the origin inheritance, so I signed a master-recognition contract with her. She is currently my temporary master."
Ye Ling: "Temporary?"
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire said, "Mm... Once I've fully absorbed the origin inheritance, I'll turn on her. So you need to help me stall for time, otherwise, I can't forcibly break the contract."
"How long do you need me to stall? The one opposite is a supreme expert. I might not be able to hold my ground here," Ye Ling asked.
"It won't take long, just..."
"Enough."
Before the World-Destroying Spirit Fire could finish speaking, Ji Ning took it back and said to Ye Ling, "I see you've been holding the Origin Spirit Fire without speaking, so I assume you've finished saying your goodbyes in your heart."
"Give me Azure Bamboo."
Ye Ling took a deep breath, looked at Ji Ning, and asked, "Senior, let's discuss something."
Ji Ning frowned, "What else do you have?"
Ye Ling smiled, "I can't give you Azure Bamboo. How about you give me a discount, and I'll give you Jian Shisan?"
Ji Ning's expression immediately turned cold, "Are you playing me?"