The Savior Has Come, the Savior Is Gone...

Several million miles south of the Moon God Pavilion.

At the confluence of the Three Forked River Valley, the surrounding landscape lay in utter devastation.

The riverbeds had dried up, and all vegetation had turned to ash!

In the valley, now as barren as a desert, the Moon God Pavilion Master and his elders stood rigid, their faces pale. The young Saintess Qing Yin Xianyun gasped for breath, her temples glistening with sweat.

Their expressions were grave, their eyes fixed unwillingly on the eastern stone mountain.

The Moon God Pavilion Master, Xue Fengtian, stepped forward, gritting his teeth as he spoke in a low, furious voice.

"Li Daoran! Shame on you, a sect master, for resorting to such underhanded tactics—laying a trap with poison! Aren’t you afraid this will tarnish your reputation as a Heaven-tier expert?!"

On the eastern stone mountain, the one-eyed old man wearing an eyepatch threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahaha…!"

"Xue Fengtian, our two factions have been at war for a thousand years. Victory belongs to the strong—once I wipe you all out, history will be written by my words alone!"

"In the future, the world will only remember that I, with my supreme cultivation, crushed the Moon God Pavilion, and that Moon God Peak now belongs to the Heavenly Dao Sect!"

As he spoke, a ruthless glint flashed in his right eye, his grin turning even more sinister.

"Blame yourselves for trespassing into Heavenly Dao Sect territory!"

"This place is the convergence of three rivers, and the valley beneath your feet lies at the Yin convergence point. The extreme Yin terrain, combined with today’s extreme Yin hour, has allowed me to activate the Heaven’s Frost Annihilation Array—this is destiny’s will!"

"A thousand years of conflict ends today. Your time has come!"

His face twisted with malice, unable to contain his triumph.

Behind him, several Heavenly Dao Sect disciples clamored with flattery, their arrogance boundless.

"Sect Master, your brilliance knows no equal!"

"With such foresight, leveraging the heavens and earth to set this array, no one in all of Lanxing could rival your strategy!"

"More than that! The Sect Master’s wisdom is unprecedented—his name will echo through eternity!"

"Nonsense! The Sect Master triumphed through sheer cultivation prowess—what array are you talking about?"

"Ah, yes, yes! The Sect Master’s might shakes the world—his name shall be immortalized!"

The sycophantic praise only deepened Li Daoran’s smirk.

Standing atop the stone mountain, his aged face radiated the smugness of absolute control.

"Xue Fengtian, who would have thought that someone as cautious as you would fall into such a trap? The Heaven’s Frost Annihilation Array is already in motion. Soon, this valley will become a land of absolute Yin, and you—frozen statues!"

"Within this array, which harnesses the power of heaven and earth, even a Heaven-tier expert like you will have your Dao energy drained dry. There’s not a shred of hope for escape!"

"Out of respect for our thousand-year rivalry, once you’ve turned to ice in two days, I’ll return to grind your bones to dust!"

"Hahaha…!"

His hoarse laughter faded as several figures tore through the void and vanished.

Saintess Qing Yin Xianyun and the elders seethed with hatred, but suddenly, the valley plunged into a bone-chilling cold!

The frigid air struck with terrifying speed—even the sand beneath their feet began to freeze.

Loose river sand crystallized into ice, creeping toward them relentlessly.

A cold dread crept up their spines as their legs stiffened.

Despite centuries of cultivation, none had ever experienced such cold. Panic set in as they hurriedly channeled their Dao energy to resist.

But the moment they activated their power, the surrounding frost siphoned it away like a bottomless abyss, leaving no chance to warm themselves.

Their precious Dao energy, honed over lifetimes, was being devoured. The little warmth they maintained came at an immense cost.

Ice encased everything around them, leaving only inches of sand beneath their feet.

The elders’ faces twisted with fear. Qing Yin Xianyun trembled as she spoke.

"Master…!"

"What—what do we do? If this continues, our Dao energy will be completely drained. Then we’ll end up like this ice beneath us…"

Seeing his beloved disciple’s breath fogging in the cold, the Moon God Pavilion Master’s expression darkened.

"Steady your minds. Do not stop circulating your Dao energy."

After scanning their surroundings, he spoke gravely.

"This array leverages terrain and celestial timing—it surpasses Li Daoran’s usual capabilities. Even a second-tier Heaven-tier expert would struggle to escape unless they shattered the surrounding mountains to disrupt the natural alignment."

"Our only hope is to sustain our Dao energy to endure the cold while searching for a way to break the array!"

"Elders, I implore you—search for the array’s core. Any insight, no matter how small, could be our salvation!"

The elders nodded solemnly.

The Moon God Pavilion was a renowned force in Lanxing, and its elders were no weaklings—many were masters of arrays. Even in crisis, they remained composed, probing for weaknesses.

Qing Yin Xianyun, a prodigy of her generation, also spread her divine sense, scouring for the array’s core.

Yet after two full days, the group had found nothing!

Ice had climbed to the elders’ feet, creeping toward their shoes like an omen of their impending doom.

Qing Yin Xianyun, the weakest among them, stood shielded in the center, but frost already clung to her brows. Her lips turned blue as she exhaled shuddering breaths.

"What… what can we do?"

"Elders… have you found the array’s core?"

Silence answered her.

The elders could only glance helplessly at their leader.

The Pavilion Master’s shoulders were dusted with frost.

His voice, when it came, was heavy with resignation.

"Fate has spoken…"

"This array is flawless. Only overwhelming power can break it from within. Even from the outside, one would need to shatter the surrounding mountains to disrupt its alignment—requiring strength beyond our means."

"We’re deep in Heavenly Dao Sect territory. No aid will come."

"And even if it did… who possesses such power?"

It’s over…

The despair in his voice drained the color from Qing Yin Xianyun and the elders’ faces.

A suffocating silence settled over them.

Then—

Two streaks of light pierced the distant sky!

Eyes widened in alarm.

"The Heavenly Dao Sect dogs are back!"

But when the lights halted high above, disbelief quickly turned to overwhelming joy.

"Elder Xiong…?!"

"Heavens! It’s Elder Xiong and his son—they’re alive!"

"Praise the heavens! They’re unharmed!"

"With Elder Xiong here, he can fetch help to break the array!"

"Divine providence smiles upon the Moon God Pavilion!"

"Elder Xiong! Hurry—find reinforcements to destroy this array!!!"

The elders shouted with their remaining strength. Even Qing Yin Xianyun’s face lit up with hope.

After so long apart, the sight of the father and son felt like a miracle. Even Xiong Zhong, once deemed useless, now seemed dignified, hovering in the sky like an unknown expert.

Spotting them, the Xiong father-son duo immediately descended.

The group’s elation soared—

Until the Moon God Pavilion Master’s face twisted in horror.

"No!"

"They don’t know about the array—they’re heading straight into it!"

Snapping back to his senses, Xue Fengtian roared a warning.

"There’s a lethal array here—do not enter!"

The others jolted, waving frantically.

"Stop! Stop!"

"Don’t come any closer!"

But the Xiongs, their cultivation vastly improved, couldn’t halt their momentum.

A thousand feet vanished in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, they landed before the group, their faces alight with emotion as they clasped their hands in greeting.

"Pavilion Master, Saintess, elders—long time no see!"

"Greetings, Pavilion Master! Apologies for our delay!"

But just as they approached to exchange pleasantries, they saw a group of people standing frozen like statues.

The Moon God Pavilion Master's face twisted in discomfort.

The Holy Maiden's eyes were filled with despair.

The once dignified and composed Grand Elder was so furious that his beard bristled, and he even began cursing aloud!

"Long time no see, my ass!"

"You two idiots, why won’t you listen?! Damn it, you’re going to be the death of me! Heaven has forsaken our Moon God Pavilion!"

Xiong Fen and his son were dumbfounded.

They had come to offer help—so why were they being met with such hostility?

Heaven forsaking the Moon God Pavilion? What nonsense was this?

Father and son exchanged bewildered glances, only then noticing an eerie chill creeping up their backs. The air felt unnaturally cold, and they realized the others were shivering violently!

Instantly, Xiong Fen’s expression darkened.

"Pavilion Master, what’s going on here? Why is it so strange?!"