Of the seven Cold Abyss Tokens, Yun Che now held five.

  Two from Li Han.

  One from the Xuandao Sect.

  One from the Xuanbing Sword Sect.

  One from the Hehuan Sect.

  One had been taken by the Nine Nether Ruins—when Du Ling and the others fled back to their sect, they likely carried it with them.

  One remained unaccounted for.

  Yun Che pondered briefly, then dismissed the matter.

  Every sect within Frost Severance Valley had already been “visited.” The final token might be hidden, or perhaps it was never in their hands at all. But with five in his possession, his qualification to enter the Nether Battlefield was secured.

  He needed no more.

  Setting aside the tokens, Yun Che focused on the battle two months ahead.

  His battle with Teng Huayuan.

  The only reason he intended to walk out of Frost Severance Valley alive.

  He took out three Cold Nether Ice Beads and suspended them before him. The one previously expended had been refined anew—now all three were complete. One single-crystal. Two fused-crystal.

  He had already tested the fused crystals’ power on the people of Wufeng Valley.

  If all three were unleashed at once…

  His gaze flickered, but he did not pursue the thought further. A trump card only had meaning when revealed at the final moment.

  He stored the beads away and continued sorting through spoils.

  He had killed many in recent days; more than a dozen storage pouches had accumulated. With no time to inspect them before, he now opened them one by one—spirit stones, pills, artifacts, jade slips—piling across the floor.

  Then his hand paused.

  A fist-sized ice-blue orb rolled out from a heap of miscellaneous items.

  Its surface was riddled with fine cracks, edges chipped and worn. It looked broken beyond use. Yet Yun Che recognized it instantly.

  The Illusion Ice Orb A’Mei had once given him.

  Back in the Ancient Ice Ruins, she had traded this orb for his Minor Frost Mist Formation.

  Yun Che held the orb. In his mind surfaced A’Mei’s blue skin and crimson eyes.

  After being taken by Han Mingzi, there had been no further word. You Hai had once said she would be refined into Han Mingzi’s vessel…

  He lowered his gaze and tucked the orb into his robes.

  If there was a chance, he would return for her.

  Not because she had saved him.

  But because she… was A’Mei.

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  He steadied his thoughts. Then a faint, cold smile touched his lips.

  This orb might prove useful in that battle.

  He set it aside and inhaled deeply.

  Green spectral light spilled from his mouth.

  The Blood Fiend Sword hovered before him.

  Since entering Extremity, he had sensed something off. Though the sword’s power had surged with the mutation of his spiritual force, its control no longer felt perfectly smooth.

  That was unacceptable.

  Against a Nascent Soul cultivator, the slightest error could be fatal.

  He had to make this sword completely adapt to Extremity.

  Hand seals formed. Strands of Azure cold power infused into the blade. It hummed violently, its green glow flickering unstable.

  He paused, retrieved the gourd of Nether Origin Dew, and—after a moment’s hesitation—poured out nearly half.

  The dew floated midair, forming a fist-sized droplet of deep Azure liquid. Bone-chilling cold spread instantly; frost coated the cave walls.

  With a flick of his finger, the droplet struck the sword tip.

  Like water meeting parched earth, it flowed down, enveloping the entire blade. The sword turned crystalline, green and Azure light intertwining within—beautiful, yet eerie.

  He inhaled sharply and bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of blood essence.

  With a guiding motion, the blood mist merged into the dew-wrapped blade, staining it faint red.

  He rested only a moment before biting again.

  This time, he used blood as ink, inscribing crimson sigils midair. Each completed rune was pressed into the blade.

  Ten. Twenty. Thirty.

  His face paled. Cold sweat formed along his temples.

  Still, he did not stop.

  When ordinary blood was exhausted, he struck his chest and forced out a mouthful of heart’s essence blood.

  “Pu—!”

  His face turned paper white. His body swayed.

  Yet he continued drawing.

  One. Two. Three…

  The liquid around the blade darkened from pale red to deep crimson, faint purple radiance emerging.

  With the final rune sealed, Yun Che shouted—

  “Merge!”

  The Blood Fiend Sword trembled violently. Its vibration accelerated until its form blurred.

  He controlled it remotely, hands flashing through seals.

  The dew evaporated with a sizzling sound. White mist rose.

  Then—

  Silence.

  The blade revealed itself.

  Still green.

  But now streaked with dark crimson veins that pulsed like living things.

  More astonishing—its size had shrunk by nearly half. The hilt had almost merged into the blade. The proportion shifted from one-to-five to nearly one-to-fifteen.

  The hilt was nearly gone.

  Yun Che grasped it—if it could still be called a hilt.

  Cold numbness spread to his fingertips, yet the bloodline connection felt stronger than ever.

  A thought.

  Flash—

  He barely saw its trajectory. A green afterimage flickered—

  The sword was already hovering three zhang away before the cave wall.

  Twice as fast as before.

  He recalled it, eyes glinting.

  This was Extremity’s effect upon an artifact—breaking its inherent limit and driving a single attribute to its utmost edge.

  The Blood Fiend Sword had always excelled in speed.

  Now, even he could barely perceive it.

  With its innate blink ability—

  A Core Formation cultivator without defensive treasures might die in one strike.

  But against Nascent Soul…

  He shook his head.

  Not enough.

  Extremity required cultivation to support it. He was only at early Foundation Establishment. Even with Azure cold power, he remained an ant before Nascent Soul.

  Extremity’s true terror would only manifest fully at Nascent Soul stage.

  He still had far to go.

  He swallowed the sword into his dantian for nourishment and calculated.

  One month had passed in refinement.

  One remained.

  He took out the Heavenly Nether Pearl.

  The second cloud pattern on its surface had stabilized into Azure, faintly deepening toward dark blue. Since returning from Hanshui Town, the pearl had entered a kind of “slumber,” no longer absorbing source qi nor condensing dew.

  But the inner space remained usable.

  He tightened his grip.

  The world spun.

  When he opened his eyes—

  Gray sky. Gray earth.

  Stillness eternal.

  One month outside equaled three within.

  He had one month remaining outside—three inside.

  Enough to advance.

  Yun Che sat cross-legged and drank the remaining Nether Origin Dew.

  Azure cold force flowed through his meridians. The two Nine Nether Cold Cores rotated slowly, faintly showing signs of fusion.

  He closed his eyes.

  To break into mid–Foundation Establishment.

  (Five tokens secured. Preparations complete. The Blood Fiend Sword reborn—speed unmatched. Three months of bitter cultivation within the Heavenly Nether Pearl.)

  (The day he exits seclusion will be the day of decisive battle.)