Inside the Ice Palace of Yingxue Mountain Villa.
Thunder and fire raged within the gates, creating a dangerous situation. Outside, Ye Tongxuan patiently dismantled the defensive formations one by one. He believed the occupants were trapped, ready to be caught. He'd even thought of his own defense should Bai Bing question him. He could simply say he'd wandered in without knowing the situation, only to have the creature suddenly become ferocious and kill him by mistake.
Time passed slowly, the rumble of thunder in the sky gradually weakened, and the thick black clouds seemed to be dispersing.
Only then did Ye Tongxuan wipe the sweat from his forehead, having finally broken through all the formations.
No wonder Ye Tongxuan took so long. Initially, there was only a single defensive formation outside Bai Bing's bedroom. It was only when Bai Bing decided to use this unusual method to transcend the tribulation that multiple layers of formations were set up around the door. Later, Ming Qi added several more. If Ye Tongxuan knew the truth, he would probably die of anger, no matter how high his cultivation level was.
After channeling his True Energy, Ye Tongxuan walked towards the door.
…
Inside the room.
"The tribulation clouds are almost over. You should seize this opportunity to consolidate your realm."
Ming Qi didn't feel the slightest bit of satisfaction after the unexpected change. To be honest, he absolutely disagreed with Bai Bing's unique method of transcending the tribulation. Yet, it had miraculously succeeded. Not only had it succeeded, but it had killed two birds with one stone!
"Don't you need it?"
The tribulation clouds dissipated, and Bai Bing's body quickly returned to its original temperature. Her warm, smooth body pressed against Ming Qi's, making him feel like a turkey on a fire, poised to burst into flames at any moment.
"Alright, alright, I know. Hurry and get dressed!"
Ming Qi immediately turned and leaped away, suppressing the surging energy within him. He quickly straightened his clothes, then sat cross-legged on the spot and began to channel this sudden, immense bounty.
Killing two birds with one stone—the phrase couldn't be more apt.
Ever since entering the late Martial Emperor realm, Ming Qi had pondered countless times how to overcome his Emperor Tribulation, but he had never imagined it would be this way. Bai Bing was right; her virginal yin seemed to be of immense benefit to her tribulation, and he had taken advantage of it.
"Congratulations on reaching the Emperor Realm."
"Congratulations."
At this moment, two voices echoed in Ming Qi's mind. Upon closer inspection, they were Bei Shen and Wu Xiang Tong Zi, one old and one young.
"Ah, um, you didn't notice what happened earlier, did you?"
Ming Qi didn't feel particularly happy about reaching the Martial Emperor Realm at this point. Instead, he thought, if those two had been watching him and Bai Bing's long, passionate love affair, how agonizing it would have been!
"I just woke up," the old man Bei Shen replied bluntly. He'd been asleep for a long time, Ming Qi knew.
"I just woke up."
Wu Xiang Tong Zi gave the same exact answer.
...
Ming Qi was speechless. These two guys, he would have to find a way to stop them later.
For now, Ming Qi wasted no time stabilizing the energy fluctuations within his body, so that he could completely stabilize his strength at the early stages of the Martial Emperor Realm. This was a lengthy process.
Bai Bing was no exception, but she simply threw on a piece of clothing and then sat peacefully on the bed, calming her breath and concentrating, no longer concerned with anything else.
Just as Ye Tongxuan had finished breaking all the magic circles outside the door, he began to walk towards the door.
After a few steps, Ye Tongxuan suddenly felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. So he took two more steps forward, and within those two steps, he saw something surprising.
At the door, on the left and right corners, two fist-sized black puppets sat, each meticulously carved to lifelike detail. The left puppet held a long sword, the right a crossbow trigger.
And to his astonishment, as he took two steps back, the puppets moved!
Not only did they move, but they suddenly came to life. The puppet holding the sword leaped towards him, while the puppet holding the crossbow trigger clicked, sending a mosquito-sized crossbow bolt flying towards him.
"What the hell is this!"
Ye Tongxuan stared at the puppets, feeling a surge of murderous intent and immediately retreating.
Only then did he understand why he'd initially felt something was amiss. Bai Bing's room was decorated in pure white, but the two puppets were as black as charcoal. No wonder he'd felt something was off.
But Ye Tongxuan naturally didn't have much time to consider the origins of these puppets. As he dodged backward, he felt a surge of wind behind him. His senses radiated, and he saw three puppets flying up from his left, right, and behind him, charging towards him.
The simultaneous attack of five puppets was enough to send even Ye Tongxuan, a master at the Emperor Realm, into a state of apprehension, like being stalked by a venomous snake.
Puff!
Ye Tongxuan opened his mouth and exhaled a burst of zhenyuan energy. This energy instantly transformed into an invisible longsword in his hand. He leaped upward, slashing the sword across the nearest puppet.
Ding!
The sword blade struck the small puppet with a clanging sound, and Ye Tongxuan jumped in surprise!
His True Essence Sword was no ordinary weapon, yet it couldn't even cut through this black puppet?
But before Ye Tongxuan could comprehend what was happening, the puppet, struck by the sword, suddenly let out a piercing scream. Then, its entire black body turned completely red, and a strong blood energy quickly spread. Simultaneously, the puppet grew considerably larger.
Before Ye Tongxuan could recover, the other four puppets screamed in unison, each of them instantly growing larger. The room was immediately filled with a thick blood energy.
Then, the five puppets spun in mid-air, quickly surrounding Ye Tongxuan.
Five puppets, five different weapons, all aimed at Ye Tongxuan.
"Damn it, what a monstrous thing!"
Ye Tongxuan had seen the world, but he had never seen anything quite like this. The thick, bloody aura made him feel uneasy. Furthermore, each puppet possessed the strength of a peak Martial Saint. This was equivalent to being surrounded and attacked by five peak Martial Saints. Even a Martial Emperor would be powerless.
"No, we can't stay here any longer. We can discuss this later!"
Ye Tongxuan made a quick decision. Seeing that he was struggling to escape, he naturally had no time to find fault with the person in the room. With a rage simmering, he charged outward, brandishing his True Yuan Sword.
Chi!
Ye Tongxuan intended to charge, but the five puppets had already charged. A crossbow bolt whizzed past his cheek, and a puppet's knife slashed his buttocks, instantly oozing blood.
"Damn it!"
Ye Tongxuan yelled and cursed as he bolted from the Ice Palace, clutching his buttocks with his hands as he descended the mountain without a backward glance.
After their attack, the five puppets didn't pursue, but quickly returned to their previous positions and fell into complete silence.