Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 1021: Reunion

"What a pity there was only one set of this spiritual array." Su Nu lowered her head and gazed at the shattered jade bangles, her face filled with regret.

Her strength was slightly weaker than the young man’s. Killing him had been possible only because of the element of surprise and that set of forbidden artifacts.

As she recalled the young man’s final words, Su Nu’s eyes flickered with doubt. Perhaps she really had overthought it and misunderstood everything.

Yet when her mind drifted back to her tragic past—to those girls whose lives once bloomed like flowers but ended under evil technique, and to Granny Yue’s hideous face—she shuddered uncontrollably. That chapter of her life was a nightmare she could never erase.

If she had not retained those memories, she might have fully believed in the Dongji Alliance leader’s care for her, and truly regarded those people as her closest kin and friends.

Su Nu let out a faint sigh. With a wave of her hand, she erased all traces of the battle, then examined the young man’s Mustard Seed Pouch. She took what was useful and destroyed everything else.

After glancing around once more, she was just about to activate her movement art and leave when a deep rumbling echoed from beneath the ice, rapidly approaching her location.

At first, Su Nu paid it little mind, assuming it was an ordinary ferocious beast drawn by the earlier commotion. She had slain two Ice Lizards here, fought the young man, and detonated a forbidden artifact, all of which had made plenty of noise. But the next instant, her expression changed drastically.

Crack! Far away, the ice suddenly split apart.

An Ice Jiao burst from the surface, its translucent body revealing its bones and flowing blood. Hovering in the air, it looked down at Su Nu with eyes full of madness and killing intent, fierce and terrifying.

"Comparable to the late stage of the Core Formation Realm..." Sensing the Ice Jiao’s aura, Su Nu’s heart tightened.

She had feigned injury earlier to lure her senior brother into the trap, even going as far as to harm herself. After that intense battle and the explosion of the forbidden artifact, her strength was greatly reduced, and she was far from her peak condition.

Encountering such a powerful ferocious beast at this time left her with little confidence. Just as that thought flashed through her mind, something even more horrifying occurred.

The surrounding ice began to creak and shatter. In an instant, countless cracks spread across the frozen surface.

Beneath the ice, white shadows darted about rapidly, converging from all directions. They were Ice Jiao of various sizes. What she had provoked was not a single beast but an entire Jiao horde.

In the trial realm, there existed ferocious beasts as powerful as late-stage Core Formation cultivators. It was possible to stumble upon them if one’s luck turned sour. But to disturb so many at once was exceedingly rare.

It was her own fault for lingering in one place too long. A bitter smile crossed Su Nu’s lips. Perhaps she truly had overthought things. She might die here before the merchant alliance ever got the chance to plot against her.

"True Devil Wings!" Su Nu’s lips moved quickly as she formed a hand seal. True devilish qi erupted from her body, condensing behind her into a pair of black wings.

The devilish wings were strange. They were made of bare bones without any skin or feathers. Each bone was forged from true devilish qi, joined together into an ugly skeletal structure.

Whoosh! The wings flapped, and Su Nu shot toward the weakest part of the encirclement, opposite from where the Ice Jiao King hovered in the sky.

The Jiao King roared, its shriek piercing and sharp. Its massive body coiled and lunged toward her.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The ice shattered in succession as numerous white shadows burst from below, surging up to attack her from all sides.

"Devilish Origin Slash!" Su Nu bit down on her lip, her hand seals shifting. True devilish qi surged into her palm and condensed into a massive black saber nearly two zhang long.

Knowing that she would perish if she failed to break through, Su Nu unleashed her full strength. Compared to the colossal saber, her figure appeared small and fragile. She soared into the air, both hands gripping the weapon, and swung it down toward the Ice Jiao swarm. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Swoosh! The shadow of the saber blazed like a streak of darkness, striking through the snowy white ice plains with blinding contrast.

Slash! The two Ice Jiao at the front, both of medium size, were cleaved cleanly in half without resistance. Yet, instead of retreating, the rest of the Jiao became even more frenzied, driven mad by the scent of blood.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Their broken remains crashed back onto the ice.

Using the devilish saber to carve a path, Su Nu charged forward. The Ice Jiao King drew nearer with every passing breath, making her hair stand on end, while even more Jiao gathered beneath the ice. Finally, after cutting down another Ice Jiao, the way ahead cleared.

"I’m out!" Su Nu’s heart leapt with joy. Her wings beat violently as she flashed out of the encirclement, then immediately dismissed the blade and transformed into a streak of black evasion light, fleeing far into the distance.

Behind her, the Ice Jiao King bellowed in rage and gave chase, lightning fast. Under the ice, countless white shadows slithered after her like ghosts.

After flying for some distance, Su Nu turned her head and saw the Ice Jiao King still pursuing her relentlessly, as though bearing a personal grudge.

What worried her even more was that the commotion had grown louder, stirring up other ferocious beasts nearby. If a few more great demons of similar strength joined the hunt, her fate would be sealed.

Thinking this, Su Nu quickly pulled a spirit talisman from her Mustard Seed Pouch. It was a life-saving measure given to her by the merchant alliance before her departure.

She activated the talisman, and a layer of azure qi enveloped her body. Instantly, her speed increased dramatically.

***

In another part of the Mystic Ice Plains, Qin Sang was unfazed by the cold. He casually slew a ferocious beast, then continued on his way as if nothing had happened. Of course, he did not act recklessly. The Mystic Ice Plains were not without dangers that could threaten him.

From what he knew, the trial realm was under certain restrictions and would not produce ferocious beasts comparable to those of the Spiritual Infant Realm. Yet, there were still strange and unheard-of creatures within, each possessing bizarre abilities. Those who grew too arrogant rarely met a good end.

Qin Sang seemed to sense something. He abruptly halted his evasion light and looked toward his right rear. A faint frown creased his brow as he surveyed his surroundings. Then, with a flash, he flew to a distant spot and concealed himself, vanishing from sight.

Moments later, from the direction he was watching came the distant roars of a monster, mingled with sharp, whistling sounds cutting through the air. Soon after, a streak of black evasion light appeared within Qin Sang’s view. It was clear that a cultivator was being chased by a ferocious beast.

So, there really are powerful ferocious beasts lurking in the Mystic Ice Plains. Qin Sang thought to himself from his hiding place.

His gaze swept over the fleeing cultivator. He was about to identify what kind of beast was in pursuit when his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"It’s her?" To his surprise, the person being hunted was Su Nu.

Su Nu had become a trusted aide of the Dongji Alliance's leader, her cultivation soaring to the late stage of the Core Formation Realm in a remarkably short time. Such rapid progress could not have been achieved through talent alone; she had clearly been supported and heavily nurtured by the Dongji Alliance.

With the Merchant Alliance backing her, Su Nu should not have had much trouble passing the first three trials. Yet, to Qin Sang’s astonishment, she was injured for some reason, fleeing from a ferocious beast without daring to counterattack, looking rather disheveled.

"Hm?" Bai’s voice suddenly echoed from within the Corpse Puppet Pouch. "That girl... Her cultivation art feels strange. The wings behind her... They seem so familiar!"