Refining the Mountains and Rivers

…

Above the head of the black-clothed White Phoenix, a second phoenix appeared. This phoenix had black feathers and released an infinite cold. Its eyes were cold, filled with the same callousness and killing intent that the first phoenix had!

Even the bloodline of the Ice Phoenix Clan could be copied?

White Phoenix's heart sank. He discovered that he had looked down on the preparations of this other party. The difficulty of accomplishing this must have been astonishing, and an equally great price would have had to be paid.

It seemed that they were really determined to ensure he never left.

The phoenix could feel the thoughts coming from its bloodline descendant and it flew out in anger. The black phoenix unfurled its wings and followed in kind. Soon, there was a clash like two bolts of black and white lightning slamming into each other at an incredible speed.

Rumble rumble -

Terrifying explosions filled the air, accompanied with broken feathers constantly falling to the ground. With the black and white phoenixes at the center, a terrifyingly low temperature began to spread out.

The world was frozen solid!

The black-clothed White Phoenix took a step forward. He lifted a hand and pressed down. It was the same method that White Phoenix used before to try and escape this place.

Kacha -

Kacha -

Light sounds constantly came from all around him. This was space being frozen solid by the power of extreme cold.

"Humph!" With a sneer, White Phoenix grasped forward. The power of ice gathered within his fingers.

He clenched his fist together. The invisible power of ice and cold manifested, forming a transparent ice bead. The phantom of a black phoenix appeared inside it.

Strength continuously poured into the ice bead. Its size not only didn't increase, but started to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

More and more white frost appeared over the black-clothed White Phoenix. It began to gradually spread, reaching his eyebrows and then the ends of his hair. White Phoenix had taken advantage of his opponent's strength to condense the phantom of the black phoenix and launch a counterattack. This was an ingenious method of combat that showed just how profound White Phoenix's attainments were in the power of cold and ice.

But the reason a duplicate was called a duplicate was because their strength was the exact same, without any difference at all.

The black-clothed White Phoenix lifted a hand and tapped the point between its eyebrows. The white layer of ice that covered it instantly shattered. It looked at White Phoenix and calmly said, "You are me, and I am you, how can these methods kill me?"

White Phoenix shook his head, "I am indeed me, but you are only a spirit condensed by the array formation, something artificially created by others. How can you be placed on even grounds with the Ice Phoenix Clan?"

The black-clothed White Phoenix was silent for a time. Then it said, "You are right, that is why I am unwilling." It took a step forward, its eyes growing even colder. "You and I are the same. Then, if I kill you, maybe I can seize your body and become a true member of the Ice Phoenix Clan, forever living in the world."

White Phoenix's complexion changed. "Someone promised you that?"

The black-clothed White Phoenix nodded.

With the situation having reached this stage, there was no need to hide anything. If this array spirit succeeded, it would replace him and become the real White Phoenix.

The loser…would forever dissipate, as if they never existed in this world.

So their original plan was more than just killing him. They also desired to seize his body, having the array spirit substitute for him and continue existing in that way.

Strictly speaking, the array spirit had the exact same aura as White Phoenix and should be impossible to distinguish. In other words, if this happened, a malignant tumor would find its way into the Peach Garden, one that could explode at any moment.

White Phoenix paused for a moment. Then his lips curled up in a smile. "Although I have no idea who is behind you, they have underestimated the Spring Master. Even if you succeed today, you will never be able to sneak your way into the Peach Garden."

Looking at the black-clothed White Phoenix, he continued to say, "If you are a useless chess piece that can be exposed at any time, what methods do you think those people behind you will use in order to ensure that they remain hidden? I believe that killing you and making it seem as if nothing ever happened is the safest and most correct choice. What do you think?"

The black-clothed White Phoenix had a calm expression. "You are right. So if I really can substitute for you, I will try to run away."

"Run away? In front of a Saint, there are few secrets in this world. Where can you run off to?"

"Then I'll die. But at least, before I die, I'll be able to live for some time. I'll take a good look at this world…with the status of a living being!"

White Phoenix frowned. He wanted to attack the mindset and will of his opponent, but it seemed his efforts had been in vain.

He sneered and said, "Then I'll have to see whether or not you have this ability!"

Pa -

The shrunken ice bead between his fingers cracked and broke into countless blocks. Cracks appeared on the surface of the black-clothed White Phoenix.

But that was it.

The cracks on the black-clothed White Phoenix rapidly healed over and disappeared.

"I said that these methods cannot kill you, so they naturally cannot kill me. However, I am not a person. So the one that will eventually die in the end is you."

White Phoenix's heart sank.

It was true that the array spirit in front of him was a duplicate of himself. And even now, he didn't see the people who set up this array formation.

But it was clear that they were hiding somewhere, greedily eyeing him. Perhaps they were waiting for the right time to rush out and give him a fatal wound.

…

Qin Yu shook his head. If White Phoenix had erupted with his strength the moment the array formation was activated, then he might have had a chance of forcibly breaking out.

But now, the array formation had been quickened and was drawing in the strength of the Lost Garden. The array spirit's power was nearly endless.

Although White Phoenix had taken the initiative and had a temporary advantage, he still experienced losses. He would eventually be the one that was weakened.

Moreover, there were still the hostile cultivators that set up the array formation. This wasn't the limit of their preparations.

If he wasn't here today, he feared White Phoenix would likely have fallen.

This caused Qin Yu to be even more vigilant and fearful. Sure enough, he couldn't be relaxed or careless. Not in the least. Was senior-apprentice brother White Phoenix strong or weak? Of course he was extremely, extremely strong.

For instance, the phoenix he summoned just now. In truth, Qin Yu had experienced such cold temperatures in the past, and that was in the abyss' Cold Sea.

Let alone a God boundary, even if it were an Origin God, if they were a little weaker or their defenses against the power of ice and cold weren't that strong, then they would have been frozen to death.

Yet, such a person had only been listed as a half in the four-and-a-half squad by the Spring Master. It wasn't because his strength or potential was lacking, but because he had a problem with his background.

The original ancient life forms had been eliminated from the vast brightness world. Their descendants might possess incredible strength just by virtue of being born, but none of them had ever managed to become Rulers.

This was a congenital deficiency. It was the choice of the world's will.

Such a strong third senior-apprentice brother might have been finished after a single misstep. Qin Yu had to take this lesson to heart.

As he was deep in thought and admonishing himself, Flatrock and the others glanced at each other. Flatrock lightly coughed, "Junior-apprentice brother, it's time for you to step up. You remember what to do, so don't be nervous."

Qin Yu looked up, a bit of fear and hesitation on his face. Flatrock had a warm smile as he nodded at him.

This was an expression that said he and the others are all optimistic about you, so don't worry at all. There won't be any problems.

As for what these bastards were really thinking, Qin Yu naturally knew.

You people can pretend to be so friendly even when you're sending someone to their death. You really are a bunch of bastards.

But it was good that they were bastards. He wouldn't have any psychological burden when he killed them later.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and clenched his teeth. He cupped his hands at everyone and said, "Fellow senior-apprentice brothers and sisters, please remember the promise you made to me. This little brother will be going!"

He turned and walked out, his back filled with decisiveness and sorrow.

Space slightly distorted before calming back down. The kid had entered the array formation. They could see him, but he couldn't turn around and see them.

The smiles on their faces immediately vanished, replaced with cold indifference. What promise? Had they made one?

Flatrock looked at the crowd and a hesitating figure there. He said, "Brother Zhang, you're sure there won't be any problems, right?"

This question was what the gathered people cared about the most. Their eyes gathered on the man.

The cultivator surnamed Zhang had a flat expression. "If this matter is exposed, I and my entire family will die a death far more miserable than the rest of you. So since I have made a move, I will do everything to ensure it works." After a pause, as if to comfort everyone, he said, "Once this person enters the array formation, he won't be able to cause any trouble. Even if he changes his mind in the end, I have methods that will bury him and White Phoenix together."

Everyone felt at ease. They all spoke up, saying that they believed in fellow daoist Zhang's strength.

This was just polite talk. Zhang Zhongshi lowered his head, not giving a response. Everyone was accustomed to his habits already so they didn't care much.

As for why they chose to believe him, that was because White Phoenix's Ice Phoenix Clan bloodline was incredibly useful in the Lost Garden, and they all desired it.

Moreover, this surname Zhang had an irreconcilable hatred with White Phoenix. This wasn't considered a secret within the Saint circles.

It could be summed up by saying that before White Phoenix entered the Peach Garden, during a certain breakthrough he had gone mad and was controlled by his bloodline, causing boundless murder and destruction as a result.

The Zhang Family had been swept up in this catastrophe. It was said that Zhang Zhongshi's wife and children had all been killed. Their deaths were tragic and horrible.

After all, a crazy Ice Phoenix descendant wasn't rational and couldn't be reasoned with.

The Saint circles were just a general term. Saints and their followers could all be regarded as members of these circles. But that didn't mean that someone couldn't be a member of a circle without the support of a Saint.

The Zhang Family was one such exception.

They had no Saint, nor were they a vassal of any Holy Land. Yet they were recognized as absolutely having the qualifications to occupy a part of the Saint circles.

Because when it came to array formations, looking at the entire vast brightness world, if the Zhang Family dared to say they were second, almost no one would come out and say they were first.

After the slaughter incident, the Zhang Family used their influence to launch an encirclement and suppression campaign, forcing White Phoenix into a corner. It was only when the Spring Master interfered that this situation came to an end.

The Zhang Family obtained compensation from the Spring Master and smartly decided to bring the curtains down on this matter. But this didn't represent Zhang Zhongshi's own stance. In fact, there had been several incidents since then, and the Peach Garden hadn't investigated them in depth.

But his hatred toward White Phoenix was something that was known by almost everyone within the Saint circle.