Chapter 387 - 393: Battle Against the Ferocious Beast

Song Wanning retreated rapidly. With a swift slash of the Longsword in her hand, she saw the phantom of an Ancient Fierce Beast emerge above the altar.

It roared at her ferociously. The moment it opened its mouth, everything around them was instantly frozen solid.

Song Wanning was also instantly frozen, but just a second later, the Cold Ice on her body melted away.

Seeing this, the beast grew even more enraged and lunged at her again.

Countless ice blades shot toward her, spinning madly in mid-air as their power multiplied, bearing down on her with immense pressure.

Song Wanning’s gaze hardened. She unleashed a rapid flurry of slashes with her Longsword, her dense Fire Attribute Demonic Qi surging out at full force—the perfect counter to the Cold Ice.

The two forces clashed violently. In the next instant, the entire cavern began to shake furiously.

Jiang Cen, who had just snuck into the underground palace, was startled by the violent tremors.

With her Spiritual Power sealed, she felt as if she had returned to her past life, to a time when she was completely helpless.

The slightest disturbance made her jump in terror.

Now, sensing the commotion, she immediately began to panic.

’I haven’t found the treasure yet! Nothing can go wrong!’

Jiang Cen ignored the pain in her body and began searching frantically through the Ice Palace.

Meanwhile, Song Wanning was already locked in battle with the beast.

One of fire, the other of ice—they were natural opposites.

Now, both combatants were fired up, launching a frenzied assault with neither holding back.

Song Wanning unleashed a relentless barrage of sword moves, the terrifying suppressive force of her Sword Dao True Realm bearing down on the beast.

At the same time, her figure flashed past as she struck the beast with a vicious palm strike.

"ROAR—"

The beast soared into the air but was still hit by the palm strike and instantly dissipated.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, it re-formed, its figure completely unchanged.

It seemed to have been thoroughly enraged, pouncing frantically toward Song Wanning.

Song Wanning’s heart sank, and she slashed out with her sword once more.

"BOOM—"

The underground palace shook violently once more. Ice everywhere began to fracture, and a chorus of cracking sounds filled the air, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

In the space of a few short breaths, Song Wanning and the beast exchanged over a dozen moves. The intertwining light of ice and fire cast an eerie glow throughout the cavern.

The fracturing ice blocks now shattered into countless shards, all flying toward Song Wanning.

Her gaze hardened. She instantly centered her qi in her Dantian, and in the next moment, a four-colored halo of light radiated out from her body.

The moment they made contact, the energies rapidly fused.

All the ice shards melted, flooding the ground with icy water that quickly submerged half the altar.

The beast grew even more infuriated at the sight. With a swipe of its claw, it re-formed the icy water into a gigantic ice sword and sent it hurtling toward Song Wanning.

Song Wanning leaped into the air, deftly landing right on the ice sword. She then violently thrust her Longsword downward, shattering the massive blade from within.

"CRACK—"

The ice sword shattered into pieces.

The beast flew into a blood-crazed rage, conjuring all manner of things to hurl at her.

For a moment, the battle between woman and beast grew even more intense.

...

Time flew by in the blink of an eye. Jiang Cen had already climbed to the highest level of the Ice Palace and was searching for a way through.

The Golden Small Sword discovered her and immediately reported back to Song Wanning.

"Hah."

Song Wanning, still locked in fierce combat, let out a cold laugh.

’This beast is incredibly powerful. When it was alive, its Cultivation must have been at least at the Divine Separation Stage. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to keep me in check like this.’

’It won’t be easy to kill it outright.’

’So, the most logical plan is to snatch the box and run. And while I’m at it, I can redirect this problem onto someone else.’

A glint flashed in her eyes as she communicated with the Golden Small Sword.

’Wait for my command, then guide her in.’

’Judging from Jiang Cen’s thoughts, this opportunity is a special "arrangement" the Wooden Sculpture World Heavenly Dao set up for her.’

’Once she’s in here, who knows if she has some special method to attract the box.’

’My bold guess is that the thing capable of attracting the box is most likely the Ten Thousand Demons Banner.’

After that brief diversion, Song Wanning focused her full attention back on the beast.

She was getting frustrated now. If the beast’s attribute hadn’t directly countered her own, this fight wouldn’t have taken nearly so long.

As the beast charged again, her gaze hardened, and a Twin Blood Lotus suddenly flashed into existence on her forehead.

In the next instant, the beast charged into a blood-red space.

Its target had suddenly vanished, and the beast immediately grew agitated.

"Get out here, now!"

"Human! Don’t think you can hide from me!"

"Get the hell out here!"

The beast roared endlessly, darting about the domain like a headless fly.

Soon, its mind began to descend into chaos.

It was then that it saw a terrifying figure.

The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, with a sweet smile.

She simply gazed at it and smiled faintly.

A shiver ran through the beast. It fell to the ground, almost subconsciously, not daring to raise its head.

In a daze, it recalled being subdued by its master. It never wanted to endure that agony again.

...

The beast was trapped in the domain, forced to confront its innermost fears.

Song Wanning’s Divine Soul wasn’t as strong as the beast’s, so she couldn’t see what was happening inside, but she knew this was the perfect opportunity.

She immediately appeared on the altar, trying to figure out how to retrieve the box.

The moment the box saw her approach, it grew incredibly excited, tugging on its chains and rattling ceaselessly.

The chains rattled incessantly. The strange patterns etched upon them sent Song Wanning into deep thought.

She tried to sever them with her sword, but it had no effect.

But time was of the essence. She had to get the box before the beast broke free.

Song Wanning forced herself to calm down, her mind racing. Suddenly, she thought of something.

’The box is so receptive to Demonic Qi... this place was most likely set up by some powerful figure from the Demon Clan...’

’And the most potent source of Demonic Qi I have is the Demon God’s origin.’

’Although I’ve now formed an inner world, the Demon God’s origin is still at its very center.’

Song Wanning decided to try it at once. Even if she was wrong, she could always think of another way.

She tried to channel the Demon God’s origin from her inner world, directing it toward the altar.

A powerful wave of Demonic Qi instantly enveloped Song Wanning before sweeping toward the altar.

Unlike before, the moment the Demonic Qi touched the altar, the chains recoiled as if they had encountered something terrifying, pulling back like a receding tide.

Their speed was so great that even Song Wanning was astonished.

She had only meant to test her theory.

In a daze, she seemed to see the Demon God smiling sweetly at her once more.

It was the lazy confidence of having everything under control, an assurance that came only from immense power.

Her heart stirred. She quickly took the box and placed it inside her inner world.

She immediately sent a signal to the Golden Small Sword.

The Golden Small Sword understood her intent at once. It transformed into a streak of golden light, illuminating the same path its master had taken earlier.

Given more time, Jiang Cen could have figured out the way on her own. But with the route now appearing right before her eyes, how could she possibly stay put?

Unable to restrain herself, she hurried toward the passage.