Li Xuantong's background and identity were never clearly explained in the original work. It was only mentioned that his clan shared a close relationship with the Luo God Clan, and he bore the responsibility of protecting the Luo God Royal Family.
He and Luo Li had grown up together since childhood. Although he admired Luo Li, he did not, like other antagonists, irrationally target the protagonist out of jealousy. After meeting Mu Chen, he merely proposed a spar to test Mu Chen's strength.
After confirming that Mu Chen indeed possessed power worthy of his recognition, he ceased any further provocations. Later, he even contributed significantly to their cause, making him a notably outstanding supporting character in the early stages.
As for the rumors of his status as a Spiritual Crown Bearer and his feat of slaying a Heavenly Beast alone, Liu Bai found none of it surprising.
With nothing occurring overnight, the next morning, Liu Bai arrived at the appointed location and met with Li Qing. However, at her side stood several other young men and women, all of them clearly formidable cultivators.
As soon as they met, Li Qing sized up Liu Bai for a moment before speaking in surprise, "You've already fused with the beast spiritual essence? Was it that spiritual beast you mentioned three days ago?"
Liu Bai had previously told her he was preparing to kill a spiritual beast, and now she was clearly referring to that.
However, at the time, Liu Bai hadn't said that the spiritual beast he intended to kill was a Heavenly-tier beast. Now that she sensed the change in his aura, Li Qing immediately realized something, her entire expression filled with shock.
Seeing this, Liu Bai knew the young woman before him had probably guessed the truth. He saw no reason to hide it and simply smiled, "That's right. But I have to thank you for the Array diagram. Without it, killing that wretched beast would not have been easy."
"A Array diagram? You're actually a Spiritual Array Master? What level are you? Are you strong?" a young girl with a childish face suddenly leapt out and asked.
She wore a light yellow dress, her long black hair tied into a ponytail. Her skin was fair as snow, with large bright eyes and a petite, delicate nose. She was indeed a pretty and lively girl.
"Ling'er, don't be rude!"
The next moment, another graceful and elegant girl beside her gently rebuked her.
This refined young woman had a tall figure. Though not as voluptuous as Li Qing, she had a well-proportioned body. Her long black hair flowed down like a waterfall of ink, giving off a tranquil aura, like the warmth of spring water.
Li Qing realized that she had yet to introduce the others and quickly said, "Apologies. This is Liu Bai, a Rank-two Spiritual Array Master and the final member I recruited for this mission."
"Liu Bai, this is Su Xuan, one of the Spiritual Road's Kings, known as King Su. She ranks among the top five peerless talents in the Spiritual Road."
"This is Su Ling'er, Su Xuan's younger sister. She's only fourteen this year, yet has already reached the late-Phase of the Spiritual Wheel Realm."
"This is Guo Xiong, someone I met on the Spiritual Road. The other two were brought by him to help."
Hearing her introductions, the three men couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Why were the introductions getting shorter as she went down the line? The last two didn't even get their names mentioned…
Liu Bai chuckled inwardly. He hadn't expected all these people to be familiar faces. In the original work, aside from the two nameless side characters, weren't these the same people who explored the White Dragon Sovereign's Spiritual Treasury together?
No wonder they were already acquainted during their time in the Northern Heaven Realm. It made sense they'd later team up to explore the spiritual treasury. Tasks like these required trustworthy companions; no one would dare let strangers join such dangerous missions.
"Liu Bai greets the two Miss Sus. Brother Guo, and these two brothers—honored to meet you." Liu Bai cupped his fists respectfully toward them.
The others were also curious about Liu Bai. Seeing this, they all returned the greeting. However, only the lively Su Ling'er continued to look at Liu Bai with curious eyes, seemingly wanting to figure out just what kind of skill he had that made Li Qing invite him personally.
"Now that everyone's here, let's move out. I'm not the only one who knows about that place," Li Qing said with a serious expression.
Clearly, waiting three days for Liu Bai was already her limit. She was quite anxious now.
Liu Bai had no objections.
After traveling at high speed for an entire day, the group finally began to slow down around noon the next day. Liu Bai noticed that the temperature of the area around them was dropping at an alarming rate.
The group exchanged glances, each of them feeling a stir in their hearts it seemed they were nearing their destination.
According to Li Qing, their target this time was an extremely rare Snow Demon Beast. This creature looked neither fully like a bear nor an ape. Its entire body was covered in thick snow-white fur, and when it stood upright, it reached several dozen meters in height. It was ranked sixty-third among Heavenly Beasts and possessed strength comparable to a late-phase Heaven Fusion Realm cultivator.
Even though everyone in the group had formidable strength including a King of the Spiritual Road—Liu Bai still felt it wouldn't be easy to kill the Snow Demon Beast.
Unless he used Rank-three spiritual array to trap the beast and Su Xuan and the others had powerful methods to finish it off swiftly, they might stand a chance.
But what they gave him was only a Rank-three broken Array Diagram. It was hardly worth Liu Bai going all out. Besides, the Demon Vine Strangulation Spiritual Array had originally been provided by Li Qing. If he used it, she would immediately realize that he had managed to restore the incomplete array…
Unless absolutely necessary, Liu Bai had no intention of revealing all his trump cards.
Thus, the group quickly climbed the mountain in front of them. As they gazed out from above, they were visibly awed by what they saw…
The once lush green mountains had suddenly disappeared, replaced by a world of silver and white. Cold snowflakes and frigid winds howled through the icy landscape, creating eerie wailing sounds.
This scene reminded Liu Bai of the Great Snowy Mountain. It was in an icy valley there that he and An Ran had snatched the Northern Golden Stripe Seahawk from Zhou Fan.
However, the Snow Demon Beast and the Northern Golden Stripe Seahawk clearly had different habits. Although both were ice-elemental beasts, the Snow Demon Beast was not a flying creature. It disliked high mountains and instead preferred deep valleys.
"This is the Ice Valley…" Li Qing exhaled a white puff of breath as she stood atop a boulder at the valley entrance.
Liu Bai looked at this snow-covered world hidden within layers of mountains. He exhaled deeply and was just about to speak when a roar, like that of a primordial behemoth, suddenly echoed from deep within the icy world.
Boom!
The falling snowflakes across the land were shaken loose, and an intense wave of cold surged forth.
Liu Bai stood on the high ground like an unshakable boulder, his eyes locked on the depths of the snowy world. Amid the whirling snow, he vaguely saw a colossal figure stirring the storm.
Though still far away, the oppressive spiritual pressure was already sweeping toward them.
"What a ferocious big fellow!" the burly Guo Xiong couldn't help but exclaim as he felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure.
Li Qing looked at the group and spoke, "In a moment, the rest of us will launch a feint. Liu Bai, you set up a Array to restrain the Snow Demon Beast. Su Xuan, the final blow is up to you."
Among them, Liu Bai's role was to provide support. Li Qing and the others would tank and harass the enemy. The real carry of the team was Su Xuan.
No one had any objections to this arrangement. Liu Bai, however, was already wondering whether he should try to steal the finishing blow later.
Once everything was settled, the group immediately began moving deeper into the valley, with the exception of the young girl Su Ling'er.
But that did not mean Su Ling'er was useless. This clever little girl found a hidden crack in the ice to conceal herself, which conveniently allowed her to keep watch over the entrance to the Ice Valley. If anyone else approached, she could instantly notify Su Xuan and the others inside the valley.
As soon as they stepped into the deeper region of the Ice Valley, violent beastly roars echoed in their ears.
The roar unleashed a sonic wave, whipping up the surrounding snowstorm like countless sharp blades slashing toward them.
"Everyone be careful, that beast is about to come out!" Guo Xiong's deep voice, imbued with spiritual energy, thundered across the valley from his position at the front.
Boom.
The icy ground seemed to tremble. The wind and snow suddenly rushed toward the depths of the frozen landscape. The next moment, the group saw an enormous blizzard tornado, nearly a thousand zhang in height, violently sweep toward them from the distance.
The sight caused everyone's expression to change drastically.
The ice and snow tornado was incredibly fast. Within just a few breaths, it was already upon them. In the next instant, the tornado split apart, and a gigantic beast crashed down from the heavens, slamming toward Liu Bai and the others.
There was no need for a reminder. The six figures scattered instantly in all directions.
Boom!
The enormous body smashed into the ground, sending chunks of massive ice hurtling outward with piercing whistles, engulfing all six of them.
Bang bang bang!
Liu Bai's figure flickered rapidly, leaving afterimages behind. Each afterimage struck out with fists or legs, smashing the incoming ice chunks into pieces.
The others also displayed their own unique abilities—some dodging with phantom-like movement techniques, others relying on brute strength to shatter the ice though it all looked somewhat chaotic.
This scene made everyone's heart sink. They hadn't expected to be hit with such a fierce assault the moment the beast appeared. The battle ahead was bound to be difficult.
The first to strike was Guo Xiong, who was assigned the role of vanguard and attacker. At this moment, a pitch-black warhammer nearly two meters long had appeared in his hand. With a heavy swing forward, terrifying force tore through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound.
Liu Bai's eyes lit up. That was a spiritual artifact.
And judging by the immense power radiating from the pitch-black hammer, it was clearly incredibly heavy. If one could wield it skillfully, each strike would carry tens of thousands of kilograms of force.
Seeing Guo Xiong already take action, the other two young men naturally refused to fall behind. One of them summoned a howling green storm around himself and sent it crashing directly into the blizzard enveloping the Snow Demon Beast.
The other separated his palms, releasing crackling silver lightning between them. In the blink of an eye, it formed a lightning spear that shot forward at high speed.
The battle erupted instantly.
The blood-red hue in the Snow Demon Beast's massive eyes deepened. Its iron-like claws slammed down heavily onto the icy ground. Instantly, the ice shattered beneath its feet as a visible shockwave burst forth. The frozen boulders nearby cracked with loud snaps as fractures spread across their surfaces.
Roar!
The Snow Demon Beast opened its massive jaws, unleashing an ear-splitting roar powerful enough to shatter stone.
Within the terrifying soundwaves, the green storm dispersed in an instant, and even the seemingly unstoppable lightning spear was shattered by a single claw swipe.
However, Guo Xiong's pitch-black warhammer slammed into the Snow Demon Beast's shoulder with thunderous force. The sheer power behind it forced the massive beast, which stood several dozen zhang tall, to stumble back a step. Its shoulder buckled slightly, nearly causing it to fall.
But that was all.
"What?!" Guo Xiong exclaimed in shock.
His full-powered strike, combined with a mid-grade spiritual artifact, had only made the beast stagger?
At the same time, the Snow Demon Beast felt the pain in its shoulder. Its blood-red eyes flared with murderous intent. Its clawed hand clenched, and frigid air rapidly condensed around it, forming half-meter-long icy talons in an instant.
With a swing of its ice-forged claws, it slashed viciously at Guo Xiong's chest and abdomen.
If that strike landed, Guo Xiong would instantly be torn into pulp.
In that critical moment, a sharp sword light, as gentle and clear as moonlight, quietly swept through the wind and snow ahead. Silent and dazzling, the radiant blade sliced through the curtain of snow and fell upon the Snow Demon Beast.
Slash!
A burst of blood sprayed into the sky. The beast's once pristine white fur was instantly stained with a large patch of crimson.
Within the moonlight-like glow, a dark figure suddenly appeared. Her graceful form was fully extended like a drawn longbow. Her fists were the arrows, her flawless figure the bowstring. With this perfect posture, she struck the Snow Demon Beast directly in its eye with a heavy punch.
Roar!
Caught off guard, the Snow Demon Beast's left eye was smashed hard.
It was like having a toothpick jabbed into one's eyelid not a serious injury, but immensely painful.
The Snow Demon Beast went into a frenzy. Its iron claws lashed out repeatedly, but Li Qing danced nimbly through the air like a mischievous bee. She fluttered before its eyes, and it failed to land even a single hit.
Liu Bai's expression turned serious. Though the scene looked somewhat amusing, he knew it was even more dangerous than dancing on the edge of a blade.
Raising both hands, a series of spiritual seals shot out. Using the incomplete array, Liu Bai activated the Demon Vine Stranglation Spiritual Array, but only at the level of a Second-rank spiritual array.
Thick, terrifying vines burst through the ice and instantly coiled around the Snow Demon Beast's limbs. One vine even wrapped around its neck, and with crushing force, it yanked the beast's head down, leaving it unable to lift it again.
A perfect opportunity!
Li Qing, Guo Xiong, and the others' eyes lit up. Even Li Qing herself, the owner of the Array diagram, hadn't expected the Demon Vine Strangulation Spiritual Array to be this powerful—it could actually restrain a Snow Demon Beast.
In that instant, all their attacks rained down on the immobilized creature.
At the same time, Su Xuan, who had remained silent until now, finished her preparations...
.....
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