In the Golden Edge Sect, Wang Xiuying was celebrated as a once-in-a-generation prodigy, blessed with exceptional talent and a rare saint body. But what appeared to be a blessing actually concealed a terrible curse. Her Winter Curse Saint Body contained yin energy so pure and concentrated that it frequently manifested physically around her without warning.
The true nature of her condition remained hidden until a devastating incident. One ordinary day, as a maid attended to the young Xiuying, the winter curse suddenly materialized. In an instant, the unsuspecting servant was completely encased in ice, transformed into a frozen statue where she stood. The tragedy forced the sect master to acknowledge the danger his daughter posed to herself and others.
With a heavy heart, Xiuying's father banished her to a secluded cave, appointing only a single caretaker – Liu Meiling – to tend to her needs. The sect had initially believed the yin energy would naturally dissipate as Xiuying matured. Instead, it only grew stronger, with incidents of uncontrolled manifestation becoming increasingly frequent.
If they didn't find a solution soon, a true disaster was inevitable.
The sect master had devised one potential solution: arranging Xiuying's marriage to someone possessing a pure yang body. Such a union might harmonize the opposing energies, balancing Xiuying's overwhelming yin with complementary yang.
"But Xiuying didn't want to get married to the person her father had chosen," Meiling continued. "She secretly sneaked onto my flying boat as I was departing for this mission. I only discovered her when we were already halfway here, so I decided to bring her along. To be honest..."
"Blah-blah-blah, no one cares. Get to the point," Elder Huang interjected impatiently, cutting through Meiling's explanation.
Meiling cast an irritated glance at the elder before resuming. "As I was saying, we didn't do this intentionally," she insisted.
"So what? You still did it. How do we unfreeze him?" Elder Huang demanded, summoning flames on her open palms.
"You can't do that!" Meiling cried, grabbing the elder's wrists to stop her.
"Why not? It's just ice, isn't it? Can't we melt them out?" Elder Huang asked, confusion replacing her anger.
Meiling facepalmed in exasperation. "Weren't you listening to anything I just said?"
"No, you kept on yapping about that girl, so I didn't think it was important," Elder Huang admitted bluntly.
Meiling sighed deeply. "If you try to interfere with the yin balance in the ice, it will simply shatter. While Xiuying might survive because of her physique, the Grand Elder almost certainly wouldn't."
"Then how do we get him out then?" Elder Huang pressed, desperation edging into her voice.
"That's the thing. You don't," Meiling replied.
"This is not the time for jokes," Elder Huang snapped, her patience clearly wearing thin.
"It's true. You don't have to free him – once the yin energy calms down, the ice will melt naturally," Meiling explained.
"And how long will that take?" Elder Huang asked, anxiety evident in her tone.
"Usually, it takes about a day or two, but..."
Elder Huang quickly interjected, "But what?"
"Well, those timeframes were when she just froze small parts like her fingers or her hand. It's the first time I've seen her freeze such a huge area," Meiling admitted.
"So in short, you're saying that you don't know?" Elder Huang clarified, her expression darkening.
Meiling nodded reluctantly.
"You want us to wait indefinitely for the Grand Elder to get out of that thing?" Elder Huang asked incredulously.
"Hey, I'm also a victim here," Meiling protested. "I sneaked out the sect master's daughter when she was supposed to be meeting with a young master from the central continent, and now she's turned into a block of ice!"
"Do you think I care about your problems?" Elder Huang snapped back.
"Hey, everyone, calm down," Elder Guo intervened, attempting to restore order.
"You stay out of it!" both women shouted at him simultaneously.
He sighed deeply. "You really should look at this," he said, his voice suddenly serious.
"What is it?" they demanded in unison, turning toward where he was pointing. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Oh no," Meiling whispered, the color draining from her face.
The massive ice block imprisoning Xiang Yu had begun to show signs of cracking, thin fractures spreading across its crystalline surface like a spiderweb.
...
"Is that supposed to happen?" Elder Huang asked, her voice rising with alarm as she watched the cracks spreading across the ice's crystalline surface.
"Umm... I don't think so," Meiling replied, her eyes widening with growing concern.
"What do you mean 'I don't think so'?" Elder Huang demanded.
Her mind raced frantically. This was really bad—what would the sect master do if she found out about this.
As these thoughts swirled through her mind, the ice continued fracturing. The cracks spread like lightning across the frozen prison, each new fissure announcing itself with an ominous cracking sound that grew louder and louder with each new addition.
"Oh no, it's the sun!" Meiling suddenly exclaimed, her face paling with realization.
"What do you mean?" Elder Guo asked.
Meiling spoke rapidly, her words tumbling over each other in her haste to explain. "Since Xiuying was always kept in the cave, her yin energy remained stable when it manifested and would dissipate smoothly," she explained. "But now that we're outside, the sun's yang energy is interfering with the stability of the yin energy, causing it to start melting."
She gestured frantically at the fracturing ice. "But since the sun isn't distributing the yang energy evenly, the instability is causing the ice to crack!"
"So what do we do now?" Elder Huang asked
"We have to maintain constant conditions for the ice and reduce external influence as much as possible," Meiling replied, her eyes darting around as she sought a solution. Her gaze settled on Elder Guo.
"Shantian, your attribute is earth, right?" Without waiting for his response, she continued urgently, "Quick, use it! Enclose the ice in earth so it isn't directly facing the sun!"
When Elder Guo hesitated, she pressed him harder. "What are you waiting for? Do it quickly!"
Elder Guo scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I'm still in Foundation Establishment," he admitted reluctantly. "My qi emission isn't strong enough to build such a structure."
"What?" Meiling exclaimed, having momentarily forgotten about this. Her mind raced desperately—what options remained? How could they save both Xiuying and the Grand Elder?
Another sharp crack resonated through the air as a new fissure formed deep within the ice block. Meiling's panic intensified, her breathing becoming shallow as she frantically considered and discarded potential solutions.
Suddenly, all three cultivators froze as the ice made a different sound—not the slow creaking of gradual fracturing, but a sharp, crystalline note of imminent collapse. Their eyes widened in unison as the massive ice structure, instead of continuing its gradual deterioration, shattered instantaneously into millions of glittering fragments that exploded outward in every direction
...
Li Yao pushed open the massive doors, stepping into the tomb's inner chamber. Behind her lay the carnage of her journey—thousands of monster corpses scattered across the stone floor. She moved cautiously through the entrance, her keen senses immediately noting the stark contrast between this chamber and the monster-infested corridors she had fought through.
The chamber stretched before her, surprisingly devoid of threats. Despite the dim lighting, her enhanced cultivation allowed her to clearly see every detail of the space.
[This place appears to be the main area of the tomb, so it's understandable that it was well secured,] the Empress spoke.
Li Yao's brow furrowed in thought. "The eastern continent isn't all that rich in spiritual energy. How could it have produced a Tribulation realm expert?"
[They came here after reaching the Tribulation stage,] the Empress replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh, that makes sense," Li Yao nodded.
The Empress continued. [Jokes aside, it probably wasn't always like this. This mortal world doesn't seem like a low-level one, so it should support up to the Tribulation realm. If it can support up to the Tribulation realm, it should be able to apply globally, not just some continents.]
Li Yao's eyes narrowed with sudden insight. "Are you saying someone is interfering?"
The Empress fell momentarily silent, genuinely surprised by this deduction. Her host often seemed simple-minded, yet occasionally displayed these flashes of unexpected intelligence. [Well, who knows,] she deflected.
Li Yao pouted, frustration evident on her face. Why couldn't the Empress just speak like a normal person? Always so pretentious with her vague hints and half-answers.
As these thoughts swirled through her mind, Li Yao entered a broader section of the tomb—not quite an open clearing, but a more spacious hall. Unlike the previous chambers, this one was illuminated, revealing at its center a small pavilion-like structure sheltering an ornate coffin. Even to the most casual observer, it was clear they had reached the final resting place of the ancient expert.
[Be careful,] the Empress cautioned, her tone suddenly serious.
Li Yao withdrew her sword, her muscles tensing as she prepared to strike at any threat. She advanced slowly, her footsteps deliberate, ready to respond to any surprise.
"Little girl, no need to be so wary. There is no one else here," a voice echoed from the coffin—elderly but unmistakably masculine.
Li Yao showed no surprise, as if she had anticipated this development. "What about you?" she challenged.
A chuckle resonated through the chamber. "Hahaha, well, I guess there is someone," the voice conceded.
"So you were lying before?" Li Yao pressed, her expression unchanged.
The voice fell silent for a beat, clearly taken aback. What was wrong with this girl? Shouldn't she be showing reverence, perhaps requesting treasures or knowledge? Why was she nitpicking his words with such literal-mindedness?
"Actually, I'm just a remnant soul, so I can't really be considered as 'someone,'" the voice explained with forced patience.
"So you lied again just now," Li Yao observed flatly.
Another pause followed her words. Even the Empress couldn't suppress a deep sigh at Li Yao's words.
"Hahaha, no need to pay too much attention to the details. I was just flattered that someone referred to me as 'someone,'" the voice said with strained joviality. Recognizing this conversation was leading nowhere productive, he swiftly changed tactics. "Little girl, I see that you've reached the Golden Core realm at such a young age. You have great talent..."
Before he could continue his flattery, Li Yao cut him off bluntly: "I know that."
The tomb's atmosphere chilled perceptibly as the remnant soul's patience finally shattered.
"That's it! I'm done playing! Give me your body!" the voice roared with undisguised fury. The coffin lid suddenly flew open, and a translucent, spectral figure lunged toward Li Yao.
Ready for the attack, Li Yao swung her sword with perfect precision—only to watch in shock as the blade passed harmlessly through the ghostly entity.
"What?" she exclaimed, genuine surprise crossing her features for the first time.
"Hahaha, physical attacks don't work on me," the soul gloated, drawing closer. "Although your body is quite small for my liking, it'll have to do for now." With those words, the ghostly figure crashed into Li Yao's form, seemingly disappearing within her...
...
"Eh?"
Xiang Yu's found himself completely immobilized within the massive ice cube. The crystalline prison had formed so suddenly around him that his mind still struggled to process what had happened.
He recalled hearing Xiuying's voice behind him just before everything solidified. The pieces clicked into place—her Winter Curse Saint Body combined with her "Cursed" status must have triggered something when she touched him.
Had the curse transferred to him?
He was very frustrated at the outcome. How could his luck be so consistently terrible? Just when things had been going smoothly, this bizarre calamity struck.
Despite his predicament, Xiang Yu forced himself to remain calm. The fact that his mind still functioned clearly suggested the situation wasn't completely hopeless. He mentally reviewed his options, considering the Yin-Yang Harmony divine ability as his most promising escape route. By inverting the overwhelming yin energy of the ice, he might be able to break out.
Yet as he prepared to activate this power, something unexpected caught his attention. He felt a flow of energy through the ice into his body. His Chaos Body and Transcendent Dao Physique, both with the ability to refine various energy types, had begun automatically processing the concentrated yin energy surrounding him.
The sensation was unlike anything he had previously experienced. This wasn't merely spiritual energy—it was yin power in its purest, most concentrated form. Each molecule of ice contained energy so dense it would normally take months of meditation to accumulate an equivalent amount.
After brief deliberation, Xiang Yu decided against using his divine ability immediately. Why waste such a perfect cultivation opportunity? The ice represented free, concentrated energy being delivered directly to him. Besides, employing the Yin-Yang Harmony carried its own risks. The yin energy encasing him was so overwhelming that attempting to reverse it might deplete his reserves entirely. If he lost consciousness while still trapped, his situation would become truly dire.
A more prudent approach would be to absorb the energy first, lowering the yin energy concentration until it reached a critical threshold. At that point, he could activate his divine ability with greater confidence, freeing himself before his master and martial aunt grew too concerned.
...