242: Chapter 242 For the sake of Xiao Nianyin, this icy beauty, both righteous and evil forces flocked to the scene.

Zhao Qianyi turned abruptly, eyes flashing with cold light: "This time, I'll see who else can protect you!"

"Hehuan Sect? Hmph, a demonic den that shouldn't even exist in this world!"

"I'll take this chance to unite the various Righteous Path Sects and flatten it in one fell swoop!"

"And you... Xiao Nianyin, I will capture you with my own hands!"

"Aren't you pure and noble? Aren't you cold and arrogant? Don't you look down on all men in the world?"

A nearly pathological excitement appeared on Zhao Qianyi's face: "Once I imprison you in my Sword Prison and strip away your last bit of reliance, I'll watch you fall from the clouds into the mire every day, suffering humiliation and torture under my crotch..."

"Surely, that must be wonderful? Hahaha!"

The low, crazed laughter echoed through the empty and majestic Tianshu Hall, sounding exceptionally eerie and chilling.

North Pole Ice Soul Palace, Profound Ice Hall.

This place was covered year-round by ten-thousand-year-old Profound Ice; the cold was bone-piercing, and even the light seemed desolate.

In the center of the hall, a man dressed in snow-white palace robes, with hair as white as snow and a face as handsome as an ice carving yet devoid of expression, sat cross-legged on a Cold Jade Mat with his eyes closed.

Not a trace of his Qi leaked out, yet he seemed to merge with the entire Ice Spirit Palace, and even the cold Qi for thousands of miles around.

He was the Palace Master of the North Pole Ice Soul Palace, Master Xuanming, at the Saint Realm Peak cultivation, dominating the Righteous Path with his Unfeeling Dao and ice Spells.

A female Disciple, shrouded in a faint cold mist, was kneeling before Your Highness, reporting the news about the Hehuan Sect in the briefest and coldest language.

Upon hearing that "Xiao Nianyin's cultivation was sealed" and "Hehuan Sect was in internal turmoil and split," Master Xuanming's eyes, which seemed frozen for ten thousand years, slowly opened.

There was no emotional fluctuation in his eyes, only a pure and extreme indifference.

"Demonic women, Hehuan filth, disrupting the world, and bewitching people's hearts."

Master Xuanming spoke slowly, his voice devoid of temperature.

"Their Sect and their Dao should have been purified long ago. As the leader of the demonic Sect, Xiao Nianyin is even more heavily burdened with sin."

He rose slowly, the cold Qi around him suddenly intensifying. The temperature in the hall dropped by dozens more degrees, and even the moisture in the air condensed into tiny ice crystals that rustled as they fell.

"Pass down the order," Master Xuanming's cold voice echoed in the hall, "All Disciples of the Ice Spirit Palace at the Golden Core Stage or above are to immediately end their secluded meditation, prepare their Magical Artifacts and Medicinal Pills, and set out with me in three days."

"Contact the various Righteous Path Sects in the North Pole Tundra and issue the 'World Purifying Order.' State that the Hehuan Sect's Devil Head has met with disaster and their Sect is in chaos; this is the perfect opportunity for our Righteous Path Cultivators to uphold the world, eradicate evil, and purify filth."

"Invite them to the Hehuan Sect to act on behalf of heaven."

"The purpose of this trip is, first, to completely eradicate the demonic cancer that is the Hehuan Sect, destroy its heritage, and purify its lands."

"Second, to capture the demonic leader Xiao Nianyin and her cohorts for a public trial and execution, serving as a warning to others and intimidating the demons and monsters of the world."

"Go and see to it immediately."

"I obey the Palace Master's decree!" The female Disciple bowed and accepted the order, then turned into a streak of cold light and retreated.

Master Xuanming stood alone in the ice hall, looking south. His gaze seemed to penetrate thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, landing on the location of the Hehuan Sect, which he regarded as the "gathering place of the world's filth."

"Filth will eventually be covered by ice and snow, returning to purity."

He murmured to himself, as if stating a truth that was destined to come true.

In addition, demonic Sects like the Shiyin Sect, Wudu Sect, and WanGui Sect, which had old grudges with the Hehuan Sect, also moved upon receiving the joint message from the Meiying Sect and the Jile Sect; their greed and Killing Intent were completely ignited.

The accumulation of the Hehuan Sect over the years, and the top demonic beauty Xiao Nianyin—even after becoming a Mortal, her identity and appearance remained a massive temptation—along with the opportunity to carve up territory, made their eyes turn red with greed.

Some Righteous Path Sects that were originally neutral or had decent relations with the Hehuan Sect also began to stir and gather their forces. This was either out of "righteous justice" after hearing Elder Zhao Qianyi's "initiative" and Master Xuanming's "World Purifying Order," or out of fear of these two great Sects' power, or simply wanting a share of the resources.

For a time, with the Hehuan Sect at the center, at least a dozen Sects, both demonic and righteous, large and small, quietly closed in from all directions like sharks scenting blood.

Streaks of secret transmission light pierced the sky, and teams of Cultivators urgently assembled within their respective Sects, brimming with Killing Intent and sharpening their blades.

An invisible net was slowly tightening around the Hehuan Sect, which was plagued by internal and external troubles, had suffered a great loss in strength, and was preparing to evacuate.

The wind blowing through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountains.

The survival of the Hehuan Sect, the choice of the new Sect Master Xu Ruyu, and the fate of Xiao Nianyin, who had become a Mortal and was in a precarious situation, would all face their final judgment in the coming storm.

Black Wind Valley.

Here, the yin wind howled, and it was shrouded year-round in gray-black miasma. The vegetation was sparse and the rocks were jagged; it was a notoriously dangerous place and a location where demonic Cultivators often met or handled "dirty work."

At this moment, on a relatively flat open space in the valley, people were jostling, and Devilish Qi was thick; no fewer than a thousand Cultivators had gathered!

Leading them were the Sect Leader of the Jile Sect, Situ E, and the Sect Master of the Meiying Sect, Liu Rurao.

Situ E had changed into a dark red cloak embroidered with a hideous ghost head and was riding on the back of a massive Six-legged Demon Lizard with exposed fangs and pitch-black bone armor. He held a Blood-colored Great Flag that fluttered loudly even without wind, emitting a thick, mixed scent of blood and debauchery.