Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 807 (1): The Frost Chi

The sound of ice scraping against ice echoed through the air as countless ice sculptures in the distance began to stir. Slowly, they came to life, transforming into an army of ice and snow that stretched endlessly across the landscape.

Thousands of heads turned toward them, revealing crimson eyes brimming with bloodlust.

The earth trembled as colossal ice beasts took their first steps, their massive feet pounding against the frozen ground.

“It’s actually trying to stop us,” Zhao Changhe muttered, his expression somewhat odd as he gazed at the overwhelming force pressing toward them. “Fifth Brother, I have to say, your impatience in rushing over was actually the right move... At this rate, the Frost Chi will completely break free from its seal in just a few days.”

Ying Five’s expression, however, was even stranger. I really did come here out of sheer desperation for revenge, reckless and heedless of my own survival. It wasn’t because I knew things would turn out like this...

If he had waited calmly to grow stronger before exacting his revenge, the Frost Chi would have already broken free and unleashed devastation upon the world. By then, it would have been far too late.

It turns out my impulsiveness was exactly what was needed this time.

Ye Jiuyou and Piaomiao also exchanged strange looks. Unlike Ying Five, they understood something deeper. Like Zhao Changhe, there was only one name running through their minds.

Ye Wuming.

Ying Five thought it was mere coincidence that his urgency had led to the right decision. Zhao Changhe had once believed the same, assuming that all his choices were purely his own, uninfluenced by outside forces. If fate had proven him right, then it was just fortune at play, nothing more.

But now, Zhao Changhe was almost certain that this was no coincidence. Someone had been tugging at the strings of karma, nudging events subtly yet decisively, steering them toward one of many possible outcomes. Even if luck played a role, someone was manipulating that very luck, ensuring that everything fell neatly into place.

“Just what the hell are you up to...?” Zhao Changhe inhaled deeply, grinding his teeth as his grip on his saber tightened.

Regardless of whether it was to stop the Frost Chi from breaking free or to help Ying Five, this was something he had to do. There was no turning back. Even knowing someone was toying with the threads of karma, he had no choice but to walk this path.

Is she pleased with herself, watching as I dance to her tune? But why go about it in such an infuriating way? Did she think that if she simply told me the truth, I wouldn’t do what needed to be done? Given my nature, would I have refused?

What kind of twisted logic is this?

She knows I want her, so she’s trying to make me hate her on purpose? No way. What kind of lunatic would—

Clang!

Even as his thoughts raced, his movements did not falter.

A colossal ice beast lunged toward him, only to be cleaved apart with a single, effortless slash. Zhao Changhe’s ferocious saber tore through the ice army like a scythe through wheat, shattering enemy after enemy in a storm of splintered frost. In mere moments, he had carved his way into the heart of the battlefield, leaving behind a sky filled with glistening shards of ice.

“Has the Frost Chi completely lost its mind from being trapped here for so long? Does it really think this kind of thing can stop the number one on the Ranking of Heaven?” Ye Jiuyou commented lazily as she watched the spectacle unfold. “That man’s combat power just keeps getting stronger. But he still hasn’t broken through to the second layer of the Profound Control Realm... Isn’t that a bit slow?”

Piaomiao, however, was more intrigued. “The core of his cultivation is actually vicious blood?”

“You caught that? Yes, these creatures are revived by something akin to vicious qi, so they might pose a threat to others, but against Zhao Changhe, they’re just sitting ducks,” Ye Jiuyou said with a smile. “Look at his Bloodied Mountains and Rivers. It’s as if Lie himself were the one using it.”

Piaomiao nodded in understanding. No wonder Ying Five had gone out of his way to seek Zhao Changhe’s help. He must have sensed the situation inside and realized Zhao Changhe was the perfect person for the job. Ying Five himself was far from being as capable of dealing with the ice beasts. Meanwhile, every single swing of Zhao Changhe’s saber turned enemies into flying chunks, their blood-red eyes scattering into red powder.

Still, while this energy closely resembled vicious qi, it was not quite the same. It was not an aura or physical presence but rather an intangible, incorporeal spiritual interference. That was why Jiuyou had called it “akin to vicious qi” rather than the real thing. The question was if Zhao Changhe noticed the difference himself.

For Piaomiao, this was her first time observing Zhao Changhe in combat. Strong! Even in the ancient era, he would have secured a place among the elites. In this new era, being ranked first in the Ranking of Heaven is indeed well-deserved.

But no matter how powerful he is, he’s still only at the first layer of the Profound Control Realm. Against myself and Ye Jiuyou, he’s still far from being a true contender. Even in my weakened state with my soul still not unified with Cui Yuanyang’s, he wouldn’t stand much of a chance. Moreover, now that his combat techniques are being displayed for us to carefully analyze, he’s even less of a threat.

The real issue, though, is... He’s doing all this for his friend, and for Cui Yuanyang. He’s carving a bloody path through danger, pressing forward without hesitation.

But while these colossal ice beasts weren’t able to stop him, they were certainly wearing him down. The relentless onslaught forced him to shift his focus, and he was unable to focus his power to defend himself. The icy wind that blew past him left cuts all across his body, leaving him covered in wounds. In just these few moments, patches of frostbite had already begun to show across his skin. Such injuries would require flesh to be scraped away first, and that was if he managed to escape.

And yet, his expression has not once wavered. The chosen bearer of humanity’s destiny... He truly is worthy of being such.

Ye Jiuyou’s teasing words from before were not wrong. If humanity’s qi veins had truly chosen their champion, that champion was the champion of Piaomiao. Before her revival, this destiny and its bearer had merely been abstract concepts. But now that things had taken form, it was her duty to support this man.

Support? Support what? Piaomiao shook her head slightly, pressing her lips together in silence. This man is fighting with everything he has for the sole purpose of killing me.

She sighed inwardly and turned her gaze toward her sea of consciousness.

There, Cui Yuanyang sat with her little fists clenched, watching Zhao Changhe charge toward the seal with fierce determination. Her eyes grew more dazed with every passing second.

Ever since they met, she had always been like this. She had never changed.

Only Ying Five spared Zhao Changhe a sideways glance from the corner of his eye, an exceedingly peculiar expression flickering across his face... You bastard just told me you don’t like acting like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, nor do you want to learn methods to conceal your cultivation, so what’s with you making it look like you’re just at the first layer?

At this moment, Zhao Changhe transmitted his voice to Ying Five, “The Frost Chi has been trapped here too long and has lost touch with the world outside. Let’s hold back a bit first, and when we finally face it, we’ll suddenly bring out all our power and take it out.”

Ying Five: “...”

Right. I almost forgot this bastard made his name by throwing dust into people’s eyes.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t learn it? How’d you suddenly figure it out?”

“Spatial manipulation is one thing, but this is just some minor concealing technique, how hard can it be to pick up?”

Ying Five slapped his palm onto a colossal beast in front of him, shattering it completely, imagining that it was Zhao Changhe beneath his hand. The thought provided a modicum of comfort.

The two rapidly advanced, soon reaching the ice-capped mountain ahead.

The mountain stretched endlessly. It was absolutely massive in scale. Finding the location of the seal hidden amidst the mountain range would have taken an eternity without guidance. Yet, blessed by the cheat-like map pinpointing the exact location of the seal, it did not even take the time needed for a stick of incense to burn. They swiftly broke through the ranks of obstructing beasts and immediately caught sight of an ice-covered cave within the mountain’s interior.

From within, a fiercely violent and frenzied aura surged, so overwhelming that even Zhao Changhe, who usually commanded vicious qi with practiced ease, felt an unbearable pressure. His head throbbed painfully. In contrast, the intensity of frost qi was not as oppressive as anticipated; it seemed partially neutralized by something else.

The ice beasts trailing behind howled frantically, their cries filled with anguish, a grotesquely bizarre sight to behold.

“This isn’t vicious qi. I know vicious qi far too well, and the mental and spiritual chaos it induces isn’t like this...” Zhao Changhe clutched his head, speaking with difficulty in a low voice. “This thing resembles vicious qi superficially, and earlier, I thought it was interfering with my judgment because it mixed with frost qi... Now, closer up, I’m certain it’s not qi at all but something that directly attacks the spirit. I have no idea exactly what it is. At this point, I suspect it might not fall within the scope of the Heavenly Dao, or at least not within the scope of the Heavenly Tome.”

Nearby, Piaomiao quietly spoke to Ye Jiuyou, astonishment coloring her words, “Are you sure... he’s only cultivated for two and a half years? Such meticulous insight typically requires vast experience and knowledge. That’s something no mere genius or talent can substitute; actual time and accumulation are needed for something like that.”

Ye Jiuyou smiled faintly. “His experiences might actually exceed even yours. Aside from my page and the one drifting in the sky, he possesses seven pages of the Heavenly Tome. There’s hardly anything in this world he hasn’t encountered. If he says this phenomenon doesn’t belong in the Heavenly Tome, then it most likely doesn’t.”

“...He has how many pages again?” Piaomiao murmured in disbelief. “How can Ye Wuming possibly tolerate someone holding onto so many pages of Heavenly Tome without killing him and seizing them for herself?”

“How should I know...” Ye Jiuyou’s voice turned coldly sarcastic. “You might not realize, but in this world, Ye Wuming has merged herself with the Heavenly Tome. Theoretically, the Heavenly Tome is essentially Ye Wuming herself. One or two pages might not clearly manifest this, just like how I have one page myself but in my hands it’s just a normal divine artifact. But the more pages you gather, the more it becomes obvious that they are practically parts of her body. Now, she willingly allows a man to casually hold and toy with multiple pages. What do you think she’s planning?”

Piaomiao: “?”

No matter how one listened to it, there was only one implication.

Have I slept so long that in this era, the sun rises from the west?

The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)novelkiss