Soul Emperor Martial God

In the frigid high-altitude Gang Wind, Xiao Yi glided through the sky.

The howling wind did not harm him in the slightest.

Martial Artists of the late-stage Heavenly Origin Realm and beyond could freely fly in the high altitudes of the Extreme Cold Land.

It wasn't that the late-stage Heavenly Origin Realm had any special techniques.

It was simply because, at the late-stage Heavenly Origin Realm, the overflow of Primordial Power to the surface of the Small World made it much stronger.

Sky-controlling Flight was a method obtained by Martial Artists only after reaching the Mysterious Profundity Realm and possessing their own Small World.

At the late-stage Heavenly Origin Realm, as the Small World grew stronger, so did the ability of Sky-controlling Flight.

By the way.

Earlier, Xiao Yi had left the Extreme Cold Rift in pursuit of Cold Ice City.

Initially, he planned on using the Purple Flame Fire Wings to increase his flying speed.

The Purple Flame could incinerate the biting Extreme Cold Gang Wind coming from the high altitudes, greatly increasing his speed.

But later, Xiao Yi discovered that normal flight, with the aid of the Ice Snow Sword Master's mastery of the Wind Snow Way, was actually faster.

One relied on burning the wind to move; the other on harnessing the wind to travel—the faster of the two methods was self-evident.

That's why Xiao Yi later went to Cold Ice City using normal flight, assisted by the Wind Snow Way.

Even now, he continued to do so.

Of course, this only applied to the high-altitude Gang Wind in the Extreme Cold Land.

In other places, the explosive speed of the Purple Flame Fire Wings would prevail.

Returning to the main topic.

Xiao Yi glided through the sky, his destination... the Extreme Cold Rift.

Yes, he was heading back to the Extreme Cold Rift.

Now that the Ice Heart Holy Fruit had been retrieved, it was time to treat Elder Yi.

The Ice Heart Holy Fruit, the only one of its kind, could not afford any mishaps.

Xiao Yi had to find a place that was one hundred percent safe.

The Extreme Cold Land was fraught with danger; moreover, it was unknown if the Ice Martial Kingdom would pursue them.

The only safe place left was the Extreme Cold Rift.

Ever since he guessed that Bing Chengtian and the others intended to refine the Ice Extreme Pill, Xiao Yi knew that the matter was no trivial one.

The Ice Extreme Pill was no ordinary elixir.

Ranked as an eighth-grade, and even among those, it was one of the more difficult pills to refine.

It was feared that in the entire Flame Martial Kingdom, only Su Zhenxuan, the Eighth-Grade Alchemist, had the ability to refine it, and even then success was not guaranteed.

Within the Ice Martial Kingdom, there was only one person capable of refining it, who was the Ice Martial Kingdom Master.

Speaking of the Ice Martial Kingdom Master, he was an individual of exceptional genius.

Since ascending to the throne, his great strategies had fully displayed a ruler's demeanor.

What was even more astonishing was that he himself was an extraordinary Martial Artist,

Famed in both Martial Arts and alchemy.

Xiao Yi took a light breath, no longer dwelling on the matter.

To refine the Ice Extreme Pill, one must have the Ice Heart Holy Fruit.

But the Ice Heart Holy Fruit was currently the only way to save Elder Yi—no one else could even think of coveting it!

...

Two days later, Xiao Yi flew at high speeds and arrived at the Extreme Cold Rift.

His figure leaped down.

It was still that feeling of darkness, cold, and Gang Wind attacking the face.

Xiao Yi made his way back to that cave with ease.

A flash of light from the Universe Ring in his hand.

The Cold Crystal Ice Coffin appeared out of thin air.

Inside it lay an old man, asleep.

Even in slumber, his defiant, unrestrained expression was impossible to conceal.

Xiao Yi smiled and took out the Ice Heart Holy Fruit at the same time.

His eyes were filled with anticipation.

Opening Elder Yi's mouth, Xiao Yi slowly fed him the Ice Heart Holy Fruit.

As soon as the entire Ice Heart Holy Fruit entered Elder Yi's stomach,

An astonishing surge of life force suddenly erupted from Elder Yi's body.

Xiao Yi's face brightened with joy, he hastily extended his perception and placed a hand on Elder Yi's chest.

Elder Yi was currently in an unconscious state.

Xiao Yi naturally had to guide this immense life force to heal Elder Yi's body.

Under Xiao Yi's precise and flawless control, not a fraction of the Ice Heart Holy Fruit's power went to waste,

All of it was absorbed by Elder Yi's body.

The pure life force coursing through his limbs and bones deepened the smile on Xiao Yi's face.

Elder Yi's cold body gradually grew warmer.

The Martial Artist's aura, which had been imperceptible before, began to emerge once more.

Elder Yi's life force was restoring at an astonishing speed.

"Truly worthy of being the Ice Heart Holy Fruit, ranked ninth grade and known as a Holy Fruit, indeed impressive," Xiao Yi praised.

However, just a few seconds later, the smile on Xiao Yi's face suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yi furrowed his brows.

The life force that had been continuously restoring within Elder Yi's body was now beginning to slowly dissipate.

"Come back to me," Xiao Yi commanded sharply.

Under his guidance, the rate at which the life force was vanishing slowed down.

But then, a few more seconds passed.

The life force began to dissipate even more quickly.

Elder Yi's condition suddenly took a drastic turn for the worse.

"What's going on?" Xiao Yi was utterly shocked.

With both hands, he forcibly retained the dissipating life force.

The dissipation of the life force once again slowed down.

But after one minute, his guidance began to weaken.

The dissipation of life force continued unabated.

And the speed was accelerating.

With every fraction of life force that faded away, Elder Yi's presence weakened by the same degree.

The breath of life that had been so hard to restore was slowly becoming feeble again.

"Stay with me," Xiao Yi clenched his teeth, his expression somewhat fierce.

But despite how hard he tried or what methods he employed.

He was still unable to stop the dissipation of life force.

As time gradually passed,

Elder Yi's breath once again approached being barely perceptible.

The life force was on the verge of vanishing completely.

Xiao Yi's heart was bleeding, yet he was helpless to change anything.

This sense of powerlessness made him feel anger, sorrow, and urgency.

It even drove him to the brink of madness.

After a long while, Elder Yi's life force dissipated once more, reverting to its former coldness.

"Why... Why..." Xiao Yi muttered to himself, dazed.

Crack, crack.

His powerless body collapsed onto the ground, pressing down on the countless bones beneath him, causing a cracking sound to echo.

There are limits to human effort, and life and death cannot be defied.

The Sky-splitting Sword Maiden had only mentioned that the Ice Heart Holy Fruit might save Elder Yi.

She never guaranteed it one hundred percent.

Xiao Yi's face turned pale, even paler than the bones on the ground.

After a pause, he shook his head and stood up.

He refused to believe it.

He couldn't accept it.

His strong arms were laid upon Elder Yi's chest once more, intently sensing.

After a long moment, he came to understand.

The reason why the life force of the Ice Heart Holy Fruit was dissipating.

Was because it did not belong to Elder Yi.

Or to put it more simply, Elder Yi was unable to retain this life force.

Originally, when Elder Yi was pierced through by a Flame Martial Guard's fist.

Xiao Yi had taken Elder Yi's body, and at that time, he determined that Elder Yi was already dead.

In fact, Xiao Yi had not been wrong in his assessment then.

From the perspective of an Alchemist or what is generally accepted, Elder Yi was indeed dead.

The reason the Senior Sky-splitting Sword Maiden said Elder Yi was not dead was that there was still a sliver of life force within Elder Yi.

However, this sliver of life force was as insignificant as a droplet in the ocean.

And normally, such a sliver of life force should not be possible for a Martial Artist to possess.

Even with the Sky-splitting Sword Maiden's capabilities, such a thing could not be preserved.

What truly preserved this sliver of life force was the Great Freedom Sword Dao's Martial Arts Power within Elder Yi's own Small World.

These Martial Arts Powers allowed this sliver of life force to temporarily continue to subsist for a short while longer.

Which granted the Senior Swordswoman time to preserve it.

But what of it?

If Elder Yi cannot awaken, what significance does it hold?

"Disciple, I've let you down," Xiao Yi collapsed powerlessly to the ground, murmuring.

...

Second update.