Chapter 62: The Ice-Cold Current

Xueyue's resistance was also fierce, and she was no ordinary demonic beast, but a Snow Night Spirit Fox. Although she had evolved, seizing her inner core was no easy task.

Moreover, she possessed the strength of the Heavenly Heart Realm, even though her cultivation had been sealed.

Yet, they remained in a stalemate for a full hour.

By the time Moxuan arrived, Xueyue's inner core had already been separated from her main body.

However, the mysterious figure had exhausted all their energy during the process and ultimately failed to pay attention to this outsider.

Moxuan's arrival was also remarkably fortuitous, happening precisely at this critical moment.

It had to be said that his luck was still quite good.

"That is Sister Xue's inner core!" Moxuan stared in shock, sensing the formidable frost energy contained within it even from afar.

The inner core exuded a potent freezing chill, resembling frost and snow. From the moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted abruptly, and a layer of frosty aura coated all the passages of the cavern.

As the inner core drifted out, Xueyue's aura grew even more fragile and feeble. Her body became icy cold and weak, and her face turned deathly pale without a trace of color.

"As expected of an inner core from the Heavenly Heart Realm, truly formidable. Hmph! It's you again!" The figure noticed Moxuan.

However, being at the crucial juncture of concluding the technique, the person temporarily ignored Moxuan and issued a distant warning instead.

Yet, Moxuan keenly sensed this opening. Disregarding the surrounding currents of freezing cold, he flashed forward and grabbed the inner core floating in mid-air.

"So cold!" Upon acquiring the inner core, Moxuan's hands were filled with freezing frost that slowly spread across his entire body. He shivered violently; it was simply too cold.

"You must be tired of living. I originally intended to let you live a few more days, but you actually sought me out yourself." The mysterious person was extremely annoyed at having their smooth advancement path ruined by Moxuan. The figure instantly materialized in front of Moxuan and struck out with a palm.

"Ah..." Due to the frost surrounding his body, Moxuan's defense neutralized a portion of the attack, as if Xueyue were protecting Moxuan's safety in another way!

Even so, Moxuan was still injured. His fragile physique was completely incapable of resisting an attack from such a powerful expert. He was sent flying backward into the cavern wall, leaving a deep trace behind.

The figure attempted to pull Moxuan over to reclaim the inner core.

However, Xueyue used her remaining sliver of strength to shout at Moxuan, telling him to swallow the inner core in his hand.

Upon hearing this, the figure's expression froze, turning somewhat unnatural: "You dare..."

Moxuan had not anticipated this situation either, and he no longer had the capacity to ponder how immense the power of a Heavenly Heart Realm inner core was or whether it would cause him harm.

Furthermore, if he didn't swallow it, it would be snatched away within a few breaths, so he swallowed it directly.

Having swallowed the inner core, Moxuan erupted with a fierce, chilling current of Qi that felt like the descent of frost and snow. A powerful surge of cold energy burst straight out, shattering the transparent cage enclosing Xueyue.

This power continued to expand, filling the depths of the cavern, making Moxuan's body feel as though it were tearing apart.

At this moment, Moxuan resembled a frozen statue.

Amidst several cracking sounds, Moxuan's body seemed on the verge of splitting open.

"What a lunatic!" The mysterious person was driven to distraction and could not help but curse aloud.

This was a Heavenly Heart Realm inner core! Moxuan was merely a Qi Gathering Realm fifth-tier cultivator; how could he possibly withstand such a colossal amount of power? Deciding to disregard this matter for now, the figure moved directly to Xueyue's side: "Since I couldn't get the inner core, a Snow Night Spirit Fox is also a fine prize!"

Yet once again, Moxuan beat them to the punch. This mysterious person always lagged behind in thought, unlike Moxuan, who acted entirely without considering the consequences.

Enduring the agonizing pain of tearing flesh while he still retained a shred of consciousness, Moxuan quickly scooped up the fallen Xueyue and flew outward at top speed.

Bolstered by Xueyue's inner core and his already decent speed, Moxuan's velocity and short-term explosive power were far from weak, arguably coming close to the Heavenly Heart Realm.

However, his body continued to fracture. Cracks spread from his head to his toe like broken glass, and a powerful surge of frost energy continually welled up from within his body, making him feel as though he were about to burst apart.

"Quickly use this current power to untie my spirit meridian seals!" Xueyue whispered softly.

"Where?" Moxuan was unclear about the exact meridian points.

"Tongmei, Neicun, Tianjing..." Xueyue named fourteen spirit meridian points in total.

They practically locked down every single spirit meridian in the human body. It seemed the mysterious person was also extremely cautious and far from foolish!

The other meridians were easy to handle; by channeling this frost energy into his fingers, a gentle tap could unlock them. However, Moxuan hesitated at the Neicun location.

That particular location was rather special, and somewhat awkward.

"Hurry up!" Xueyue urged.

Faced with this desperate predicament and feeling somewhat helpless, Moxuan muttered to himself, "Offense taken!"

In the end, he pressed his finger onto the spot.

Watching Moxuan, Xueyue couldn't help but smile faintly: "Hehe, you really are very brave!"

"Is that so?" Receiving such praise from Xueyue for the first time could be considered a form of recognition!

In Xueyue's heart, it was indeed recognition. Although she was in the Heavenly Heart Realm, she lacked the arrogant attitude of a so-called expert. After all, given her strength, she was merely a guard within the faction behind the scenes.

Of course, Xueyue was not a casual spirit fox either. Though she was a married beast without children yet, that was the reality. Therefore, her actions toward Moxuan were solely driven by the desire to be saved!

Although her current strength was less than half of her original power, she was still capable of helping Moxuan resolve the issue of the inner core.

At the very least, she could ensure Moxuan remained safe and sound.

Resting in Moxuan's arms, Xueyue fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Close your eyes!"

Moxuan didn't fully understand what was happening, but he did as Xueyue instructed.

With Moxuan's current level, he simply could not digest a Heavenly Heart Realm inner core—not even ten percent of it. A vast portion of the power was still leaking out of Moxuan's body, and if left unchecked, Moxuan would perish before long.

Therefore, Xueyue adopted the most direct and brutal method. She gently wrapped her hands around Moxuan's neck, bared her sharp fox fangs slightly, and gently bit into the cold skin of Moxuan's left shoulder.

The next moment, the excess frost Qi rampaging within Moxuan's body began to be sucked out bit by bit.

Moxuan was startled by this sudden development, feeling somewhat at a loss.

"Don't worry about it, just keep going!" Xueyue told him not to be distracted, transmitting a voice message urging him to rush outward.

In less than half an hour, the frost energy that had been rampaging within Moxuan was almost entirely absorbed by Xueyue, leaving only a tiny remnant behind.

An invisible wave of intense heat surged from behind. The mysterious person had been driven to extreme fury by Moxuan's intrusion.

A scorching wave followed closely, with raging fires soaring into the sky. The attacker's moves were violent, overwhelmingly powerful, and completely devoid of pattern—having entirely lost reason. Almost all the flowers, plants, and trees along the cavern's path were instantly burned to ashes, leaving a long, charred black trail in their wake.

The moment Moxuan stumbled outside, he collapsed limply to the ground. Although his body had returned to its normal state, the cracks in his skin remained. His body was still icy cold, and blood flowed ceaselessly.

Xueyue shifted her form, stood up, and gazed at the pursuing figure, preparing to strike.

Meanwhile, Lan Bing had long since prepared a powerful ultimate technique outside. A fiery red figure gathering a long black-gold sword launched a sudden sneak attack from the shadows.

Caught off guard, the mysterious person was struck by this attack. The dark purple robe and the concealing mask were shattered and torn apart. A cascade of long purple hair tumbled down to the waist, revealing a graceful and stunning visage.

Surprisingly, it was a female assassin. Judging by her appearance, she wasn't very old, roughly thirty years of age, with a lithe and well-proportioned figure.

"Damn it, cough, cough!" Although Lan Bing's attack lacked the full might of the Heavenly Heart Realm, it was barely inferior to the peak of the eleventh level of the Earth Nether Realm. Having already consumed a massive amount of energy, the assassin was directly knocked to the ground by this sudden assault.

Xueyue naturally knew that a head-on collision was out of the question, and this was an excellent opportunity. Her eyes, shining with snowflake patterns, flashed as she chanted: "Snow Demon Winter!"

"Not good!" In her panic, there was no time to dodge. The female assassin protected her body with primordial spirit energy, but this spell technique was far too ferocious.

Successive spell seals directly enveloped the female assassin. Above the seals, the phantom image of the Snow Night Spirit Fox pierced through the seals, transforming into a freezing current that poured downward like an ice deity, slamming fiercely into the female assassin.

The power of this spell technique had probably reached the peak of the late Earth-grade!

A deep, rumbling impact rose from the ground, and the freezing wave transformed the surrounding area into a world of ice.

"Puff, puff, puff!" Xueyue's condition was not optimal either, but she still dragged the female assassin out and interrogated her, "Where is she?"

The female assassin's condition was also poor at the moment. Her entire body was covered in deep lacerations piercing to the skin, blood continuously spewed from the corners of her mouth, her aura was deeply depressed, and numerous ice spikes pierced through her body.

Clearly, despite defending with all her might, she still failed to withstand the blow.

Both internal and external injuries were severe, leaving her with virtually no combat capability left.

"Hehe, if you have the guts, kill me!" The female assassin sneered coldly, seemingly indifferent to her own life.

Lan Bing, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded—not only by the spell technique just witnessed, but also by Xueyue's true form—she was a demonic fox.

Only now did Lan Bing realize she had already been roped into the demonic clan's vessel, and moreover, she had sold herself out.

Xueyue showed no politeness whatsoever. Releasing her freezing chill once again, she began to freeze the female assassin's body bit by bit, leaving the wounded areas exposed.

This was truly ruthless. Without treatment, not only was the pain excruciating, but blood would also continue to pour from her wounds—it was a torture worse than death.

"If you have the guts, give me a quick death!" The female assassin suddenly panicked, seemingly experiencing such a thing for the first time.

"If you remain in this state, I think you know the consequences. You might even drop in cultivation rank."

One had to admit that Xueyue's appearance at this moment was truly terrifying; she was simply too merciless.

Indeed, an inner core could be re-cultivated if lost, so she didn't care about that, and her strength wouldn't suffer permanent damage. However, she could not remain calm when it concerned Mengyao!

Torturing a Heavenly Heart Realm expert in this manner might have no immediate major consequence, but if prolonged, her cultivation level would inevitably drop, perhaps even falling back to the Earth Nether Realm.

This female assassin was clearly a talented individual, achieving Heavenly Heart Realm cultivation in her thirties—a point where she was hardly inferior to Lan Bing.

With no other options left, the female assassin realized that while death didn't scare her, the prospect of losing the cultivation realm she had painstakingly built up was far more agonizing than death itself.

The smooth plan had been ruined by Moxuan, and now she had to bear the risks. Ultimately, she compromised: "I'll talk, I'll talk! She is in the peach orchard at the foot of Beixi Ridge."