44: Chapter 44 Suppressing the Ice Palace! The protective talisman given by my Emperor father is truly useful.

A sky full of frigid tides, like the gaping maw of an ancient ferocious beast, completely swallowed Xu Chen's figure.

The void within a hundred-mile radius was frozen into crystalline ice blocks in that instant. Even the nine True Dragons pulling the carriage were forced to erect fiery shields, letting out uneasy low roars.

"Is he dead?"

The female disciples of the Ice Palace below each wore expressions of delight. Although they had been quite frightened by the palace lord's wrath moments ago, seeing that arrogant scoundrel who had spoken so presumptuously being engulfed still stirred a sense of satisfaction in their hearts.

This is the consequence of provoking the Ice God Palace!

This is the price for defiling the palace lord's dignity!

However.

Bai Ningbing, the instigator, showed not the slightest relaxation at this moment.

She hovered in mid-air, her chest heaving violently. That move, 'Frozen for Three Thousand Miles,' had nearly exhausted all the spiritual power remaining in her body, even overdrawing her life essence.

At this moment, she was like a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of collapse.

But her gaze remained fixed intently on the chaotic center of the frigid tide.

Because... it was too quiet.

Quiet to an eerie degree.

Right at that moment.

"Hum—!"

A soft, resonant hum abruptly rang out from the center of the extreme cold storm.

Immediately after.

A ray of golden light pierced through the sky full of wind and snow without any warning.

That golden light was but a speck at first, but in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a blazing great sun, rising up!

Boom! Rumble!

A terrifying aura, one that stood above all living beings and demanded the submission of all the myriad laws of heaven and earth, erupted from that golden light.

That was... the supreme might of an Emperor!

"Crack! Crack!"

That seemingly indestructible mystic ice, before this Emperor's might, melted and shattered instantly like snow under the scorching sun.

"Wha... what is this?!"

Bai Ningbing's pupils contracted sharply. An uncontrollable tremor of fear arose from the depths of her soul.

She saw.

At the center of the golden light, Xu Chen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, not a single corner of his clothing out of place.

And above his head, hovered an ancient-looking jade talisman. On the talisman, a hazy yet majestic golden silhouette was slowly materializing. Merely its back seemed to prop up the entire vault of heaven.

That was the life-saving trump card The Longevity Emperor, Xu Chen's father, had forced upon him before he left home — the [Great Emperor Protective Talisman].

It contained a sealed wisp of divine sense incarnation from the current Great Emperor. Triggered passively, it could block all attacks below the Emperor level!

"Sigh."

Xu Chen looked up at that silhouette above him and sighed somewhat helplessly.

"I originally wanted to interact with you all using the identity of a mighty expert, but what I got in return was distance and a sneak attack."

"No more pretending. I'm laying my cards on the table."

Xu Chen stretched lazily. His gaze passed through the dissipating wind and snow, landing on Bai Ningbing, whose face was filled with shock and horror.

"My dad is The Longevity Emperor."

"Surprised? Shocked?"

Boom—!

As Xu Chen's words fell, the Great Emperor silhouette above his head seemed to sense its son's "grievance." It gently raised a hand.

There were no fancy divine abilities.

Just a single finger, pressing lightly downward.

Like crushing an ant.

"Pfft—!"

Bai Ningbing's body, already overdrawn, completely collapsed under this irresistible Emperor's might.

She didn't even have time to scream before the invisible force slammed her directly down from mid-air.

"Thud!"

A dull thud echoed.

This Ice Plains Empress, who just moments ago had been majestic and intent on killing to vent her fury, now fell heavily onto the Ice Palace square like a butterfly with broken wings, creating a deep crater.

Blood stained the pure white snow, a shocking sight.

"Palace Lord!"

The surrounding female disciples were terrified out of their wits. They wanted to rush forward but were suppressed by the lingering Emperor's might, unable to even lift their heads.

Too strong!

This wasn't even a fight on the same dimension!

He didn't even need to lift a finger himself. Just by relying on his father, he could suppress their proud palace lord without any chance of resistance!

As the dust settled.

Xu Chen descended step by step from the void.

With each step he took, a golden lotus bloomed beneath his feet, exceptionally dazzling in this icy, snowy world.

Reaching the edge of the crater, Xu Chen looked down.

At the bottom of the pit, Bai Ningbing struggled to get up, but the meridians in her body had been shattered into pieces. The cold poison seized the opportunity to erupt fully, wildly eroding her heart meridian.

Where was the slightest bit of the majesty of a Dao Severing King about her now?

Her hair was disheveled, her robes stained with blood, her aura as faint as a lamp about to be extinguished.

Only those eyes still stared stubbornly at Xu Chen, filled with unwillingness and... a trace of profound despair.

"You... win..."

Bai Ningbing's voice was hoarse, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Kill... or dismember... do as you please..."

"Kill you?"

Xu Chen shook his head, slid down the crater, and crouched before her.

He reached out, lifting Bai Ningbing's blood-stained chin, gazing at that face which remained breathtakingly beautiful even in such a wretched state.

"I told you earlier, I came to save you."

"Why didn't you believe me?"

Xu Chen took out a pill radiating dense life force from his bosom — the Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill — and unceremoniously stuffed it into Bai Ningbing's mouth.

"Mmph..."

Bai Ningbing wanted to spit it out, but Xu Chen directly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Swallow it."

Xu Chen's voice, though flat, carried an undeniable domineering tone.

"This is a saintly medicine. Don't waste it."

The pill dissolved upon entering her mouth. A surge of potent medicinal power instantly spread within her body, temporarily protecting her nearly shattered heart meridian.

But this only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

The cold poison still raged, even becoming more violent due to the stimulation of the medicinal power.

"Hot... cold..."

Bai Ningbing's body began to tremble violently, as if being roasted in a furnace one moment and frozen in an ice cellar the next. That torment of alternating ice and fire forced painful moans from her lips.

"It seems ordinary medicine can't save you."

Xu Chen sighed, standing up with a somewhat "reluctant" air.

He glanced around.

Although suppressed, the female disciples of the Ice Palace were all staring wide-eyed in this direction.

"Dark Elder."

Xu Chen snapped his fingers.

"Clear the area."

"Throw all these irrelevant people out. I need to give Palace Lord Bai... deep treatment."

"Yes."

In the void, Dark Elder waved a large hand. A gale swept through, instantly bundling up and tossing the several hundred female disciples on the square miles away.

The entire Ice Palace square became empty and desolate in an instant.

"Good, now there are no disturbances."

Xu Chen lowered his head again, looking at the ice-cold beauty at his feet who had completely lost the ability to resist.

He bent down, grabbing Bai Ningbing's wrist firmly.

A stream of pure Hongmeng Purple Qi instantly probed into her body, directly sealing her qi sea, leaving her no chance to even self-destruct.

Then.

Xu Chen stretched out his long arm and once again lifted this Empress by the waist.

This time, Bai Ningbing did not struggle.

Because she didn't even have the strength to move a finger.

She could only watch helplessly as this man carried her, step by step, towards the main hall that symbolized the highest authority of the Ice Palace.

"You... what are you doing..."

Bai Ningbing asked weakly, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes.

It was fear of an unknown fate.

"What am I doing?"

Xu Chen glanced down at her, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Didn't I just say?"

"You lack a man."

"I'm always eager to help. Since I've diagnosed the illness, naturally, I must prescribe the right medicine."

"Don't worry, my medicine's effects... are very potent."

"Bang!"

The main hall's doors were kicked open by Xu Chen and then slammed shut heavily.

As layer upon layer of isolation arrays lit up, the entire hall was completely cut off from the outside world.

Inside the golden carriage, Jiang Liuli watched this scene through the window and couldn't help but cover her mouth with a light laugh.

"Husband isn't going to save someone."

"He's clearly going to snatch a wife for his stronghold."

However, looking at the white-clad woman carried in by Xu Chen, a trace of sympathy also flashed in Jiang Liuli's eyes.

"This elder sister... is probably in for quite an ordeal next."

After all, her own husband's "medicinal catalyst" wasn't something anyone could easily endure.