522: A treasure given to a beautiful woman

"A low-grade heavenly artifact, the [Star of Eternal Silence]." Yao Delong's tone was indifferent, as if he were introducing some ordinary trinket.

"Aside from being convenient for storage, its main function is to automatically generate an 'Ice Barrier of Eternal Silence' when encountering attacks below the Mid-stage Soul Transformation, helping you block them."

Lin Qingxue's eyes instantly widened! A Heaven-Grade Weapon! And a defensive one at that!

For her, at the Mid Nascent Soul Stage, this was practically an extra life!

Especially when paired with her ice-attribute Cultivation Technique, it could push its power to the extreme!

Overwhelming surprise and emotion made her head swim. Standing on tiptoe, she planted a forceful "muah" kiss on Yao Delong's cheek, leaving a small, damp red mark!

"Thank you, Senior Brother! I like you the most!" She was overjoyed, playing with the breathtakingly beautiful ring, unable to put it down.

Yao Delong felt the warmth on his cheek and the pure joy of the young girl before him, the smile on his lips deepening.

However, a sliver of his Divine Thought remained locked onto the sealed stone chamber deep within the courtyard, where he had personally placed layers of Seal and Restriction to isolate it from detection.

Inside the stone chamber, a vast, profound, and primordial Demonic Power, seemingly originating from an ancient glacial deity, was steadily and slowly rising!

This power remained hidden, yet the core of the pressure it emitted carried the overbearing might of a sleeping Dragon about to awaken!

The faint wisps of Origin Aura that escaped after being filtered through layers of Formation were incredibly pure, carrying the divine radiance of transformation, without any signs of weakness or loss of control!

"Very good... the Aura is stable and harmonious, still in the midst of transformation and sublimation..." The heavy stone hanging in Yao Delong's heart finally fell!

Qiong Shuang, this Little White Flood Dragon's ninth-rank transformation advancement, was not only successful, but looking at this situation, it was undergoing some deeper kind of transformation? Her Foundation was even more solid than he had anticipated!

"Clear Snow," Yao Delong pinched Lin Qingxue's flushed, excited cheeks, "The Sect Head is holding the Merit Award Ceremony, and Senior Brother must go to check in. If you have nothing urgent, stay here and wait for me to return."

His tone paused, and a hint of ambiguous, expectant fire appeared in his eyes. "By then... let Senior Brother properly 'inspect' your experience from this training, as well as your... 'homework results' after being promoted to a true Disciple? Let's see exactly how much my Clear Snow has 'improved' now?"

He emphasized the last few words, filled with an implication that both of them understood.

The blush on Lin Qingxue's face instantly burned to her ears! How could she not understand the hidden meaning of "inspecting homework"? Her heart raced like a panicked deer, both shy and happy. Clenching the newly acquired [Star of Eternal Silence] in her small hand, she lowered her head and replied in a voice so soft it was barely audible, like a mosquito: "Mm... I... I will wait for Senior Brother to return..."

That moving posture, shy yet coy, half-refusing and half-welcoming, made Yao Delong's heart heat up, forcing him to suppress the urge to turn into a beast right there and then.

Without further ado, Yao Delong laughed aloud, his figure instantly soaring into the sky, turning into a golden rainbow that pierced the clouds. Enveloped in an eye-catching Aura like the great sun, he tore through the long sky, piercing straight toward the core of the Sect, that majestic main peak standing like a giant sword supporting the sky — Tianshu Peak!

The golden rainbow pierced the sky! The Aura surged toward the stars!

When that overbearing, eye-catching Escape Light, seemingly pulling the true fire of the great sun, tore through layers of clouds and descended fiercely over the magnificent Tianshu Peak plaza, the originally crowded and slightly noisy plaza was as if hit by a mute button!

Yao Delong's figure, enveloped in the vast and surging majesty of the great sun, like a divine sword tearing through the blue sky, landed with a boom on the edge of the solemn and majestic plaza of Tianshu Peak!

His landing was precise, the momentum astonishing, his robes dancing wildly in the wind. The unwithheld Mid-stage Soul Transformation pressure swept out like an invisible tsunami, instantly causing the breath of several nearby Disciples with shallower cultivation to stagnate, and they turned their heads in shock!

"It's Senior Brother Yao!" "He's here!" "What... what a strong Aura!"

The already crowded plaza instantly erupted into a greater commotion due to his arrival! Countless gazes—reverent, adoring, curious, and inquisitive—focused on him as if they were tangible!

Yao Delong's expression was as calm as an ancient well, ignoring the reactions around him, as he stood steadily and naturally beside Cang Yunyao and Luo Miaomiao.

Cang Yunyao threw him a charming, flirtatious glance, whispering without any reservation: "Yo, arriving right on time, what a big display~"

Luo Miaomiao's cheeks flushed slightly, her small hand secretly tugging at the hem of his sleeve, her eyes full of trust and joy.

Standing on the other side, the Early Stage Spirit Transformation true Disciple Dao Changge, the former chief true Disciple, felt the oncoming, far more terrifying and profound blood-Qi pressure than when they were on the ice plains, and the depths of his pupils suddenly constricted!

It was a gap in essence, originating from the Foundation of the Physical Body! He had previously known that Yao Delong's combat power was Heaven-Defying, but feeling it at close range amidst such a dense gathering of fellow Disciples, that settled "qualitative change" was even more terrifying than he had imagined!

The cold arrogance usually on his face restrained a bit, and deep in his eyes was an indescribable complexity. Hard-resist a Void Refinement Mid-stage? Even if he exhausted all his strength and used his secret treasures and trump cards, he feared he could not do it... But him...

Just at this moment, on the high platform, the space rippled slightly without warning. Like sunlight passing through water, the warm and refined Yin Yang Sect Sect Head, White Cloud Master, stepped out from the Void Realm.

His moon-white Daoist robe was spotless, his hair white like a crane's, and his face youthful. Wherever his gaze fell, it was like a spring breeze dissolving rain, instantly smoothing out all restlessness, carrying an unquestionable majesty and peace.

As soon as he appeared, a mountain-like, sky-covering majesty pressed down invisibly, and everyone held their breath in solemnity.

"Fellow Disciples, Elders, thank you for your hard work." White Cloud Master's voice was not loud, but it clearly rang out in the deepest depths of every Disciple's heart, carrying a quiet power that moistened things silently.

"In the Northern Frosty Silence Ice Plains, the demonic flames are rampant, intending to take root in the North and wreak havoc on the Foundation of our Hegemonic Summer. You all..." He raised his hand to point at the crowd, carrying unparalleled might and approval,

"Fearless of danger, traveled far to the ice plains, and fought in a bloody battle! The first battle has already blunted their savage edge and severed their claws and fangs! Although Hundred Refinements was cunning and escaped, the demonic Formation was ultimately destroyed!"

"As for the evildoers who split up and fled, the secret guards of the two Sects will patrol the sky and search the land, joining hands with the Dynasty's Iron Guards to weave a net of the abyss, ensuring they cannot escape even with wings, and will all be executed outside the ice plains!"

His words were decisive, containing supreme authority and firm confidence.

"However, the first merit of the first battle must be recognized!" His voice was not loud, but it clearly entered everyone's Sea of Consciousness. Especially when his gaze landed precisely on Yao Delong, the appreciation and high regard were almost unconcealed:

"Yao Delong of Luoxia Peak! Disciple Yao Delong!" "Infiltrated the enemy's heavily guarded demonic lair alone, ventured deep inside, and with extraordinary wisdom and courage, at the core of the thieves' nest, directly broke through their painstakingly established Xuan Fire Ancient Mirror ancient demonic Formation barriers!"

White Cloud Master's voice became deep and high-pitched, "If this Formation had been completed, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians inside and outside the Ice Ridge Pass would have been reduced to dust! Not to mention the gateway to the North, our Sect's reinforcing Disciples would also have been attacked from both front and rear! Yao Delong's action saved the situation from collapse and laid the Foundation for the first victory!"

"He fought fiercely against the demons, and even when the demonic flames were soaring, he bravely covered the trapped fellow Disciples and Cultivators of other Sects to stop the killing and withdraw! Making the Demon Sect's plot to pour out their whole nest this time fail completely!"