CHAPTER 531: 530

The sonorous and heavy voice echoed resoundingly throughout the entire Underground Palace. The surface’s mercurial rivers stirred up waves. The iron chains that hung from the beams and columns trembled suddenly. The candlelight flickered, casting a large shadow upon the dome of the Underground Palace.

It was a figure seated upon the Frozen Throne, clad in Steel Armor. Its armor was engraved with a skeletal pattern, and it wielded a Cross Sword (the hilt shaped like a Goat Skull, the blade inscribed with Otherworldly Inscriptions). It wore a helmet. Beneath the helmet, two eyes glowed with a ghostly blue light, as if they could penetrate flesh and bone to peer into the darkest and most chaotic thoughts of others’ hearts.

Without a doubt, the one cosplaying as World of Warcraft’s Lich King, seated on the Frozen Throne, was none other than Miss Chai, who preferred not to reveal her name.

All eyes were fixed upon the figure in the Steel Armor, and even the charging Wude Army Guards slowed their sprint.

They knew nothing of the Frozen Throne or the Lich King. They only knew that heavy chains restrained the wrists and ankles of the figure in Steel Armor, binding it firmly to the Frozen Throne, preventing it from leaving.

And now, that Steel Armor was slowly standing up.

The temperature within the entire Underground Palace plummeted crazily. The liquid mercury river gradually ceased flowing. The ground, beams, columns, and the stone surface of the dome seemed to quickly yet subtly become covered with a layer of frost.

If they were not in a state of battle, if they were not so exhausted, if the light within the palace were a little brighter, perhaps those present might have noticed that the source of the chill was not the Steel Armor, but rather the small holes hidden throughout the palace. Behind each tiny hole in the stone walls lurked a modified Worm, responsible for spraying chills, creating misty winds, and controlling the flow of the mercurial rivers. Like true stage artists, these Worms orchestrated everything within the Underground Palace to bolster the presence of Miss Chai at center stage.

SWISH.

The Steel Armor, now encrusted with ghastly white frost, stood up. With those pale blue eyes, it looked down upon the insignificant beings below.

"I have been imprisoned for ten thousand years, cast out from my homeland. And now, you dare to trespass into my tomb. You are courting death..."

Miss Chai raised the paper Frost of Sorrow sword, sweeping it casually towards the middle ground between the Wude Army Guards and the White Lotus Cult Members.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The Worms where Miss Chai’s blade pointed immediately spewed out frosty air and self-igniting pellets, blasting bricks and stones and creating a scourge of frost, as if an invisible Great Sword, with a force of ten thousand jun, had split open the limestone floor.

The Wude Army Guards and White Lotus Cult Members looked at the massive fissure of ice between them, instantly losing their will to fight each other.

In their minds, only the legendary Sword Immortal, whose Sword Qi spanned thirty thousand miles and with a single strike could chill nineteen provinces, could achieve such a feat with a casual wave of his sword from a hundred paces away.

And given the terrifying appearance of that armor, chained down so firmly, it was likely not a benevolent Sword Immortal who had achieved corpse liberation, but rather an Ancient Demon of significant standing.

Both groups held their weapons, looking at each other across the fissure, not daring to move rashly for a moment.

Gongyang Han looked around quickly, his thoughts racing. Gritting his teeth, he bowed to the figure in the Steel Armor on the Frozen Throne and said, "This humble one is a twenty-second generation disciple of the White Lotus Cult, under the command of Guangmu Dharma Protector, Gongyang Han, pays respects to the Predecessor."

Judging by the situation, the figure in the Steel Armor is probably an Ancient Demon who committed some transgression and was bitterly imprisoned. As they say, all Evil Cultivators are of one family. The White Lotus Cult, with its thousand-year legacy, shares a kindred connection with the Demonic Path’s practitioners of all ages. Perhaps this is an opportunity to reveal my identity. I might even be able to use this Evil Cultivator’s power to eliminate the Wude Army Guards who are pursuing us...

On the other side of the fissure, Yu Qingqiu immediately understood what the other party was thinking. This is bad, he thought, his palm moving slightly to gesture, signaling his subordinates to be ready to retreat immediately if the situation turned sour.

"The White Lotus Cult..." Miss Chai lowered her head as if pondering or recalling. "Ah, you’re talking about that Pure Land society, the White Lotus Sect."

"Exactly!"

Gongyang Han’s heart leaped for joy. The White Lotus Cult originated from the Pure Land school of Zen Buddhism. In ancient times, the practice of Pure Land Buddhism and forming societies was widespread. Through transformations over generations, a new sect was founded, known as the White Lotus Sect.

At that time, the White Lotus Sect also practiced Buddhism and observed precepts, encouraging its followers not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, to worship ancestors, and to do good deeds and accumulate virtue. As times changed, they gradually introduced some violent elements to resist oppression, eventually evolving into the White Lotus Cult of today.

Hearing how this Predecessor referred to the White Lotus Cult, could it be that she was an Evil Cultivator from the White Lotus Sect when it was first established a thousand years ago?

"I am very familiar with the White Lotus Sect. I once had a close friend in life, who was a protector of the White Lotus Sect."

Miss Chai spoke in a low and husky voice, "Back then, we would often travel through mountains and waters together, sit and discuss the Dao, cultivate together, and solve each other’s doubts..."

Gongyang Han’s heart swelled with joy upon hearing this. She indeed has past connections!

However, Miss Chai’s tone abruptly darkened. She said grimly, "Yet, he betrayed me, courting the woman I was about to marry! That caused me to suffer a cultivation deviation, and I subsequently fell into the Demonic Path..."

Miss Chai was truly a being who had experienced a thousand romance stories. Her words were bitter and angry, filled with a profound and marrow-deep hatred. The entire Underground Palace was influenced by her emotions, once again dropping in temperature (all thanks to the Worms in the walls).

Gongyang Han, held in the icy blue gaze of the Steel Armor, felt as if his whole body was soaked in cold. Taking someone’s love is akin to taking their life. The mistake made by that nameless White Lotus Cult Predecessor... am I, his junior, to bear the consequences now?

Despair filled Gongyang Han’s heart, but Miss Chai’s tone shifted once more. She said indifferently, "But later, I found out that the woman who hadn’t yet become my wife was actually his childhood friend and little junior sister. The one who had taken someone’s love was not him, but me. So, I let go of my resentment, saw the truth, and stopped obstructing their love. After all, while he was carrying me on his back like a backpack every day, he also had to whisper sweet nothings to his lover under the moon and flowers. It must have been quite tiresome for him."

???

It took a moment for everyone, including Gongyang Han and Yu Qingqiu, to understand that Miss Chai’s earlier phrase, "Yet, he betrayed me, courting the woman I was about to marry!" had a literal meaning of "carrying on the back." Their expressions immediately became extremely interesting.

"But!" Miss Chai’s tone shifted yet again. She glared at Gongyang Han with resentment and said in a low voice, "I still can’t forgive him! He wanted her to abort our child! *Our child!* And he hung her on the flagpole of the White Lotus Sect temple, exposed to the sun for three days and nights! Was the identity of the child’s father really that important?! I hated him! I vowed to eradicate every last member of the White Lotus Cult from this world!"

The cold wind rose again. Gongyang Han shivered violently.

"However," Miss Chai’s voice once again became serene. She said indifferently, "Later, I learned that he knew all along the child wasn’t mine. He chose not to tell me, preferring to be my adversary rather than reveal the truth and tarnish my dignity."