"So it is true. A Divine Transformation evil cultivator entered this place."
Xun Kun spoke in a low voice. It confirmed the guess the four of them had made earlier.
The Nine Nether Dragon Umbrella hovered over their heads, shielding them from the ever more violent currents of the Polar Extreme Wind Zone. Yunxi felt her spiritual power draining fast. Her brows tightened. It felt like the calm before a storm.
On the other side, Yun Chen and Han Lian were forced to slow. Yunxi's battle with the evil cultivator had whipped the middle zone into a frenzy. The Nascent Soul cultivators who had finally made it into the middle zone were all affected. They struggled to resist the polar gales while slowly retreating toward the outer ring.
Even the dullest cultivator realized something was wrong. But their withdrawal could not outpace the raging winds. Some of the weaker Nascent Soul cultivators were caught and flung about, the gales herding them toward the center.
Yun Chen and Han Lian had to stop to haul people out. If they could save one, they would not watch that person get shredded by the storm. Moments like this laid bare the gulf between Divine Transformation and Nascent Soul.
The two had ten years of fighting side by side. Their coordination was flawless. They pulled back nearly everyone within sight.
Yet when they were rescuing one Nascent Soul female cultivator, she suddenly self-detonated her Yuányīng. The surrounding winds swerved off their original course in an instant, becoming a gigantic meat grinder. The shift swept Yun Chen and Han Lian up before they could teleport away and dragged them straight toward the center.
At the critical moment, Han Lian tied herself to Yun Chen with the red cord. The next instant, the winds tore them both from where they stood.
Yunxi sensed the prayer bead inlaid on her storage bracelet flash. Xun Kun's voice sank.
"Yun Chen is in trouble."
"Go. We check it out."
They pushed forward through the raging winds toward Yun Chen's location. If the bead could guide Yun Chen to them, it could guide them to Yun Chen.
On the way, they encountered Nascent Soul cultivators Yun Chen and Han Lian had rescued, all moving toward the outer ring. Among them was the five-person team Han Lian had met before.
Yunxi did not know what exactly had happened to Yun Chen and Han Lian, and she remained very wary of these Nascent Soul cultivators. Li Li had returned to the spirit beast pouch and was using its black-grape eyes to help Yunxi distinguish friend from foe.
"We were saved by Han Lian Zūnzhě," the steadier woman in the team said over the gale. "The middle zone suddenly turned savage. We were almost dragged into the center. Han Lian Zūnzhě pulled us back in time."
"Do you know who she saved last?"
The woman shook her head. "I do not know. After we were rescued we headed for the outer ring. We did not dare linger."
Yunxi did not get the answer she wanted. She waved for the five to leave quickly.
They bowed properly to Yunxi and continued toward the outer ring. They were sure the opening of the Misty Snow Domain this time would not be simple.
Xun Kun frowned. "Did they get too focused on saving people and get swept into the center?"
"No. Those two always work in perfect tandem. They would not leave one side exposed to cover the other. Something unexpected happened."
"Then we keep moving toward the center."
They exchanged a look and pressed on.
Yunxi did not notice the earlier cyan mote. Using the winds as cover, it inched closer and closer.
Both were anxious to find their friends. The polar winds in the middle zone could grind divine sense to pieces. Yunxi did not keep her sense spread at all times. She only sent it out to probe the path ahead, and so she missed the cyan mote following behind.
At the rim of the zone, cultivators burst out from time to time, only to be stopped by disciples of Jihan Gate. The disciples took detailed statements about what was happening in the inner zone.
Han Yan raised his wine gourd and took a swig, frowning at the Nascent Soul cultivators staggering out of the winds. All of them were in rough shape.
Han Ying swept her divine sense around them. After confirming that none were gravely wounded, she had the Jihan Gate disciples take over, then flew back to Han Yan. "The evil cultivators hunting in the outer ring were cleared once by Han Lian and the others. But the winds in the middle zone seem to have mutated. People say high-stage cultivators were fighting in there, making the gales even worse. Do you think Han Lian and the others clashed with evil cultivators inside the zone?"
"Tsk. Then they are too bold. The polar winds are formless, shapeless, unstable. If hit hard, they will go even more violent. That is not good at a—"
Before Han Yan could finish, both he and Han Ying snapped their gazes to the Extreme Wind Zone. In the next instant, they flashed away and began evacuating everyone at the entrance as fast as possible.
The Polar Extreme Wind Zone had formed a colossal vortex, sucking everything toward the center. Cultivators who were a single step from the exit were dragged back in.
The phenomenon lasted a third of a incense, then vanished. The zone returned to its usual state, but everyone knew the cultivators who had not escaped were gone.
The next moment, numerous streaks of light descended at the entrance. The peak powers of the Northern Region had arrived.
Han Ying and Han Yan hovered in the air, looking at the now-calm winds with thoughtful faces.
As for Yunxi and Xun Kun, they were in free fall. When the anomaly erupted, both had thrown up defensive barriers to fight the suction, to no avail. They were pulled into the very center along with several Nascent Soul cultivators.
An instant later, their barriers shattered under the pressure. Yunxi cursed her luck. Her golden body armor flared to life and wrapped her tight. Beside her, a black bell snapped into place around Xun Kun. Together with the others, they were all dragged into the eye of the vortex.
Yunxi blinked and found herself in a world of ice and snow. Her falling speed only increased. She tried to steady herself with spiritual power, but the downward pull overwhelmed it. She also sensed her cultivation being suppressed, from early Divine Transformation peak down to late Nascent Soul peak.
With a splash, Yunxi and Xun Kun plunged into an ice lake, one after the other.
"So cold."
Yunxi shot out of the lake at her fastest speed and yanked Xun Kun up by the red cord.
Xun Kun's lips trembled. "Why is it so cold here?"
Yunxi swept her divine sense and answered on instinct, "This should be the Misty Snow Domain."
"Misty Snow Domain?"
"Yes. Our cultivation is being suppressed."
Xun Kun frowned, forced out the icy qi, took a black cloak from his storage ring and wrapped it around himself, then released his divine sense to probe the surroundings.
===
Chapter 500! We made it this far together! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧
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