Ning Cheng quickly understood why this happened. He also understood why a Dao Sculpting expert would fall under the siege of these Defying Ice Beasts.
The only reason his Time Wheel was powerful was all due to the violent aspect of the Laws of Time contained within it. This Law of Time ignored everything. Therefore, as long as the Time Wheel swept over, it would feel just like the flow of time passing through the target. Nothing could stop the flow of time, which was why it created such a sweeping effect.
But these Defying Ice Beasts weren’t living beasts per se, but products of the mutated law in this place. The Laws of Time could sweep through things made from ordinary laws, but it might not have much of an effect against things formed from mutated laws.
Maybe when his Time Wheel grew powerful and his Laws of Time grew more profound, it could then sweep through the Defying Ice Beasts. But in the same line of thought, when his Time Wheel grew stronger, would these Defying Ice Beast remain at this level?
Facing powerful demonic beasts containing mutated laws, he would have to control a more powerful law-related spirit technique to kill them. Either that or he must understand a law-related spirit technique related to this mutated law. If the Defying Ice Holy Emperor also comprehended this mutated law, then this Defying Ice Holy Emperor was just too heaven-defying.
“Let’s leave…..” Ning Cheng finished speaking and grabbed Nalan Ruxue before activating the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds.
“Wait-wait, Senior Apprentice Brother Ning….” Nalan Ruxue suddenly stopped Ning Cheng.
What surprised Ning Cheng, even more, was that the Defying Ice Beasts that besieged them suddenly stopped. The endless Defying Ice Beasts then surrounded Ning Cheng and Nalan Ruxue but did not attack.
Ning Cheng could escape with the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds at any time, but he still asked, “What’s the matter?”
“I felt a call, saying that I can inherit the Defying Ice Law….” Nalan Ruxue looked at the endless Defying Ice Beasts in front of her with suspicion. She could still feel a call coming from somewhere up ahead.
“You can inherit the Defying Ice Law?” Ning Cheng only said half of what he thought before recalling Kong Ning’s words, “Is it the inheritance of Defying Ice Holy Emperor? Oh right, you also have a mutated ice-attributed spiritual root.”
Nalan Ruxue nodded. She then looked at Ning Cheng and said, “Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, I want to check it out.”
“I’ll come with you.” Ning Cheng had brought Nalan Ruxue here to help her find a powerful ice-attributed spirit technique. But now, the Defying Ice Holy Emperor seemed to have taken a fancy to Nalan Ruxue’s talent and wanted to pass his legacy to her. Ning Cheng naturally wouldn’t stop it.
Ning Cheng and Nalan Ruxue had just taken a step when the endless Defying Ice Beasts immediately moved closer to them. The powerful mutant ice-attributed law aura forced Ning Cheng to keep up a constant guard around the two of them.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, I have to go alone.” After Nalan Ruxue finished speaking, she took the initiative to walk out of Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort.
Sure enough, even though she walked out of the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort, none of the Defying Ice Beasts attacked her. Nor did the Defying Ice Beasts rush over.
Ning Cheng felt helpless here. He could only stay here and wait for Nalan Ruxue to return.
As Nalan Ruxue walked over, the dense Defying Ice Beasts suddenly separated, revealing an ice path over an ice river. Nalan Ruxue walked along this ice path to the other side of the ice river that separated and demarcated the two sides.
After Nalan Ruxue walked past it, the ice path gradually melted away, and he could no longer see her figure.
Even Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness could no longer feel Nalan Ruxue’s aura. It felt as if Nalan Ruxue had never come here at all.
As for those Defying Ice Beasts, they once again surrounded Ning Cheng, as if guarding the path against Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng understood that he couldn’t do anything at this point and could only sit down and try to feel the mutated law around him.
……
As time passed by, Ning Cheng had already immersed himself into the surrounding world of law and felt a whole new world around him.
This kind of heaven and earth law was utterly different from anything he had encountered until now. Moreover, this was a heaven and earth law that subverted both vision and perception. It’s just that it produced a very uncomfortable feeling. Whenever he reached anywhere near understanding this mutated law, it would always feel like he missed a tiny bit.
Not knowing how long he had remained immersed in such a state, Ning Cheng suddenly woke up. He could no longer feel the aura of the mutated law.
Ning Cheng also discovered that the Defying Ice Beasts around him had disappeared without a trace. Even the Defying Ice Blades had disappeared. But at this moment, Ning Cheng saw Nalan Ruxue walking over to him from a distance.
“Have you accepted the inheritance?” Ning Cheng could feel a change in Nalan Ruxue.
She still had a Heaven Seated cultivation, but she now seemed to have a touch of holy charm around her. Not only that, but he also felt a faint, icy aura circulating within and around her. Ning Cheng had already come into contact with laws before, so he naturally understood that it was a phenomenon created through the influence of law.
But Ning Cheng showed a slight frown. He didn’t like Nalan Ruxue’s cold aura.
He had willingly brought Nalan Ruxue to the Grand Essence Ruins to find a suitable spirit technique. He did this not just because Nalan Ruxue had helped Yan Ji, but because Nalan Ruxue had also changed a lot. At the very least, he preferred speaking to the changed Nalan Ruxue, rather than the arrogant disciple from the Graceful Star Mainland who didn’t put anyone in her eyes. But now, that faint bit of cold aura within Nalan Ruxue’s body had erased that slight affinity Ning Cheng had felt for her.
“Yes. Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, I have accepted the inheritance of Defying Ice Holy Emperor….” Nalan Ruxue quickly noticed Ning Cheng’s frown and her words trailed off.
Ning Cheng decided to tell the truth. In any case, he and Nalan Ruxue had experienced a friendship, even if it was only a brief one. “Junior Apprentice Sister Ruxue, I feel that the aura in you has changed you. Does it have anything to do with your inheritance?”
Nalan Ruxue spoke up with a little trepidation, “Yes, the inheritance of the Defying Ice Holy Emperor is the inheritance of the ice-attributed law. Since I accepted the inheritance of Defying Ice Holy Emperor, I have to help the holy emperor in completing the reconstruction of the Defying Ice Sect….”
Ning Cheng gave out a sigh, Nalan Ruxue didn’t truly answer his question. He wanted to ask what happened to the ice-attributed law, and why it changed her aura. He believed that Nalan Ruxue could understand his words’ meaning and that he wanted a detailed answer. But Nalan Ruxue only spoke a few general statements without giving any explanations.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, I don’t know if I should accept this inheritance or not. I want to hear your opinion.” Nalan Ruxue lowered her voice and even lowered her head.
Ning Cheng guessed that this was just Nalan Ruxue looking after his emotions. Even if he told Nalan Ruxue not to accept this inheritance, Nalan Ruxue wouldn’t listen to him.
“I know that you have already decided in your heart. If you must ask me to give you a suggestion, then I suggest you…..”
“Big Brother Ning…..” Before Ning Cheng could finish his words, Nalan Ruxue suddenly interrupted Ning Cheng’s words before stepping forward and hugging Ning Cheng tightly.
As the soft chest pressed into Ning Cheng’s body, even if Nalan Ruxue’s body still had a trace of that cold aura, Ning Cheng felt a small fire starting to burn in his heart.
But the fire quickly dissipated. It didn’t matter why Nalan Ruxue did this. When she interrupted him, maybe she had already firmed her mind to inherit the Defying Ice Holy Emperor’s inheritance. Perhaps, she had already prepared herself to rebuild the Defying Ice Sect.
Thinking of this, Ning Cheng suddenly felt at a loss. He and Nalan Ruxue had come here together. To a certain extent, one could even say that they shared the weal and woes of the journey and even helped each other when in need. But the Defying Ice Holy Emperor’s inheritance had made Nalan Ruxue make up her mind.
Ning Cheng’s body heat also aroused the desire hidden within Nalan Ruxue’s heart. But when the fire in Ning Cheng’s heart dissipated, Nalan Ruxue woke up completely.
She gave out a sigh. She could only do this. She took the initiative to drop her guard in front of Ning Cheng, but that the limit she could achieve. If Ning Cheng wanted her, she would have willingly given up her body to him even in this ice world. Moreover, she would have even handed over the Defying Ice Holy Emperor’s inheritance to Ning Cheng without hesitation. She would have even cut off all traces of the Defying Ice Law in her Sea of Consciousness and walk with Ning Cheng to wherever he went.
But Ning Cheng didn’t have the kind of emotions shared between Dao Companions towards her. Even if it were only a short-lived physiological desire, reason would eventually quash it out of existence. One day in the future, Ning Cheng would also leave her. Rather than waiting for that day, she might as well make her own choice under this opportunity. It was a truth Nalan Ruxue had understood while wandering around the starry sky. She couldn’t be any clearer about it.
From today, she would be the second sect master of Defying Ice Sect. From today, she would fight and strive for her goals.
“Big Brother Ning. I’m leaving.” Nalan Ruxue loosened her arms around Ning Cheng and gave Ning Cheng a deep bow before quickly retreating. Soon, she disappeared from the range of Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness.
Ning Cheng silently looked at Nalan Ruxue’s departure direction and muttered to himself after a while. “Everyone has the right to choose their paths. I hope you find success in whatever path you choose.”
……
Nalan Ruxue stood outside the Defying Ice Mound and kept looking at it. She wanted to go back several times, but she also held herself back several times.
Even she didn’t know whether the choice she made was the right one or not. But she felt sure that once she started cultivating the Defying Ice Cultivation Method, she would forget about these beautiful emotions completely. As the inheritor of Defying Ice Holy Emperor, she knew about it too well.
After a long time, Nalan Ruxue silently wiped the tears in her eyes, bent down and put away the huge ice sculpture at the mouth of the sloping valley, before turning away and never looking back.
