Chapter Forty-Five: The Wooden Blade of the Sword Saint

The woman who awakened from her slumber glanced around. In the next instant, frost spread, shattering the secondary coffin into powder. Channeling the power of Ultimate Dark Ice left her slightly weary.

“Damn scoundrel, digging me out from the Gate of the Underworld, ruining my fate,” she muttered.

The Ancient Ice Maiden, Han Su, stepped out of the golden coffin barefoot. She spread her arms, closed her eyes, meditating upon heaven and earth, attuning herself to the ebb and flow of all life, tracing the veins of vital energy. The world’s energy surged toward her like a tide, gathering around her body.

“I could have used the deathly aura of the Underworld Gate to wipe out that ancient demon’s power, and further condense the force of the Underworld to forge the Ice of the Nether. Now, my body has become a demonic corpse—reduced to the ranks of monsters and fiends. How hateful! Those who harmed me, I will eradicate your ten clans!”

With a chilling voice, Han Su declared her wrath. Absorbing the thin vitality of the world, she finally recovered a good portion of her strength.

“To have fallen to the ranks of demons and monsters—so be it. At least, by demonic means, I can swiftly restore my power.” At last, Han Su accepted her fate.

“I wonder if the branch of the Underworld my brother established still exists?”

Gongyang Yan’s expression grew grave. She saw an old residence, its energy fluctuations bizarre and unsettling. A terrifying force of ice sealed the surroundings. What shocked her even more was that the resurrected demon seemed to possess profound cultivation arts; in an instant, the world’s vitality near Fairness Town was utterly drained.

“Iron Elder, prepare the Demon-Slaying Ballista!” Gongyang Yan commanded.

Iron Wuyai stared at her in astonishment. The Demon-Slaying Ballista was among the Demon Subjugation Division’s greatest trump cards—its power immense, rarely needed against ordinary monsters. Only a truly fearsome demon of supernatural might warranted its use.

“Also, send word—have everyone fall back.”

The sense of crisis this demon gave her was unprecedented. If she could not handle it, no matter how many Demon Wardens intervened, they would become nothing more than its prey.

“Understood.” Iron Wuyai turned and left Fairness Town.

The Demon Subjugation Division withdrew to a distant hill, observing every movement within the town.

“The lights are out!”

“The fires are vanishing!”

“What a powerful demonic aura.”

“It’s not just the aura of monsters—there’s an icy, sinister chill as well,” said a top-ranked Demon Warden.

“It’s not that the fire is gone, but the heat has been drawn away.”

A terrifying, evil, uncanny power descended. Gongyang Yan was powerless to stop it and could only watch as, one by one, the people of Fairness Town were drained of life.

Terror spread within the heart of this gifted swordswoman of the Gongyang clan. Some mysterious presence was awakening, already beyond her comprehension.

“Death snatched by the Underworld.”

Jiang Dongliu stepped out from the pitch-black night, standing not far from Gongyang Yan. His eyes glimmered gold as he gazed toward a building, vision piercing the earth, as if to see clearly the source of the evil power unleashed.

“Jiang Dongliu, what is your purpose in coming here?” Gongyang Yan’s voice was taut with suppressed anger.

“Purpose? No, I sensed the order of Yin and Yang shattering here. The ancient presence awakening before us—could it be a power the Underworld has long sought? Death snatched by the Underworld, returning to primeval revival.”

Jiang Dongliu’s mind raced, recalling every scrap of lore in his sect’s records about the Underworld.

“It is indeed the evil art of the Ancient Way of the Nether. Ultimate Dark Ice, also called Netherworld Ice. Though its might is not as legendary, the power of this corpse-woman must have been much diminished.” Jiang Dongliu spoke in a low tone, though in his heart he breathed a sigh of relief. Lately, he had been investigating the roots of Great Li Mountain and had found faint clues—though after so many millennia, no one would believe such rumors if told.

“A woman’s corpse?” Gongyang Yan seized on the key phrase.

“The Ancient Ice Maiden—after death, entombed by King Li of that age in a nameless mountain.”

“Han Su?” Gongyang Yan exclaimed.

Jiang Dongliu was surprised that Gongyang Yan knew of Han Su’s existence. As for how she knew, she had no intention of telling him.

“Who dares call my name?” A frigid voice pierced space, resounding over Fairness Town.

She wore a dress of ice-silkworm threads, white as snow, untarnished by the ages. Her long white hair was now threaded with strands of black. This ancient, enigmatic woman finally stood before Gongyang Yan.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gongyang Yan drew a wooden blade and gripped it tightly.

Han Su’s brows knit slightly as her gaze fixed on the wooden blade. She sensed a peculiar sword intent—if activated, it would be difficult for her to resist in her current state. Yet, given this young woman’s frail body, releasing the blade’s intent would likely drain her dry as well.

A tense silence reigned.

Han Su, meanwhile, was digesting the power she had seized and did not attack Gongyang Yan further. She was not a true demon—only forced into such a fate. Her formidable martial will suppressed the monstrous nature of her corpse.

Jiang Dongliu’s heart pounded—he too saw the wooden blade in Gongyang Yan’s hand.

“The Sword Saint’s wooden blade!” he thought. The Gongyang Sword Saint was reputed as one of the mightiest. Now, in an era where immortals hid in obscurity and martial sages reigned, the name carried weight.

“The Gongyang clan truly breeds natural-born swordsmen,” Han Su sighed, turning away and gliding off.

Gongyang Yan breathed a sigh of relief, reverently putting away the wooden blade. Such a trump card was not to be wasted on Han Su. Besides, the resurrection of an ancient being like Han Su was beyond her jurisdiction; the capital, with its own guardians, would handle those who sought to overturn life and death and return from the grave.

“What a pity, this once-thriving town,” Jiang Dongliu lamented. The prosperity of East Shore City depended on Fairness Town—these words were no exaggeration. Yet now, Fairness Town would be erased from the empire’s maps. The entire town, tens of thousands, had perished unjustly. An event so grave, even the Gongyang clan might not be able to bear the consequences.

Casting a final glance at the frozen Fairness Town, Jiang Dongliu drifted away. The Celestial Yin-Yang Sect had once been the enemy of Han Su. The elders would surely take great interest in her. The Underworld’s power had lingered too long among the sects, becoming their common foe. The elders would certainly want to know more about the Gate of the Underworld.

Iron Wuyai’s order to bring the Demon-Slaying Ballista had come too late.

“Clean up… the scene at Fairness Town! Bring in the Patrol Division,” Gongyang Yan commanded wearily.

Baili Feihong had always wanted to know what truly happened in Fairness Town. Not only he, but all the other Demon Wardens gazed at their commander with longing for answers.

“Baili Feihong.”

“I am here.”

“You discovered the demon in time—one Class C merit awarded,” Gongyang Yan said coolly.

“Thank you, Commander.”

“Train well—do not let me down.”

How many secrets did East Shore City still hide? Gongyang Yan did not know. She had arrived full of ambition, but now a sense of helplessness had crept into her heart. The prophecy had yet to begin, and her body and mind had already been dealt a heavy blow.