“That coffin of crystal…” You Si was taken aback by the crystalline coffin at the peak of the mountain. “The cold air in this region comes from that coffin!”

As the beholder of the Fire Altar, she was the mistress of fire and thus uncommonly sensitive to any cold in their surroundings.

“That’s not a crystal coffin.” Ashu frowned at the coffin that Xuanyuan Xiaoyue lay fast asleep in. “That’s a coffin of ice formed from connate kui water… just what is it that can freeze yin water like this?!”

Connate kui water was one of the strongest connate water essences around. It almost never appeared in gaseous form and wouldn’t freeze over, almost always maintaining liquid form. But now, Ashu witnessed with his own eyes how it’d frozen into a chunk of ice so large that it could be carved into a coffin!

An ominous chilly air constantly emanated from the coffin, transforming what was supposed to be a vibrant world of life into one of ice and snow.

“Thank goodness the frosty air is just peacefully wafting in all four directions. If it exploded in a targeted blast, we would’ve been frozen into ice sculptures the second we set foot here,” Ashu speculated fearfully as he looked at the coffin.

Whoosh!

“You guys stay here, I’ll go take a look.” Black hellfire ignited on Lu Yun, dispersing whatever chill it came in contact with. Hellfire was a level more sophisticated than connate kui water, which meant the air exuded by the frozen water essence had to immediately give way whenever it encountered hellfire, since it was at most on the same level as the liquid it originated from.

Of course, there was always an exception to things, and the one this time was the Venerated Sacrosanct Demon Sovereign’s Hadal Bonefire. Hadal Bonefire could reach the extremities of both hot and cold, making an intangible cold like this air the perfect nutrient for this fire.

The demon sovereign had unleashed his flames and was devouring the frigid mist with great enjoyment. He didn’t dare approach the coffin though, the frozen water there could easily extinguish his fire.

Lu Yun sent out the Path of Ingress and took it to the coffin. He had to be careful as he could hear a ponderous breathing traveling from the depths of the enormous snowy mountain. The mountain seemed to be alive, but he didn’t read any information from it.

“The breathing is coming from the coffin.” He suddenly stopped and combusted a Karmic Fruit, infusing the Path of Ingress with its power. The treasure flared with brilliant white radiance and almost became one with the mountain ahead of them.

Thus revitalized, he continued forward to the sculpted block of ice.

Ashu had walked over to Xuanyuan Xiaoyue and released a curtain of emerald luminescence to envelope the girl within. Her ghastly pale face incrementally recovered to her previous form as she watched Lu Yun anxiously.

She knew that the coldness upon her came from whatever was inside the coffin, and that even her clansmen had been frozen in a split second by that thing. But as a vicious ghost from a partial soul fragment, she’d forgotten a lot of things a long time ago.

Still, she was very nervous. If her body in the coffin was destroyed, she would scatter upon the wind and truly disappear for good.

……

Lu Yun reached the coffin and looked down at the girl inside. Shimmering and translucent, the Xuanyuan Xiaoyue inside seemed like a painting come to life. Cheeks rosy and chest rising and falling, she looked as if she’d fallen asleep. Her hands were crossed in front of her chest and an orb the color of frost placed in between them.

This orb was the source of all frigidity in this world; the connate kui water forming the coffin had also been solidified by it. There was no doubt that Xuanyuan Xiaoyue was dead, but her chest rose and fell like she was breathing. To Lu Yun, this was an absolutely horrific sight—a corpse that breathed?

“Yup, she’s a corpse, not a zombie. Any further information about her would’ve been destroyed if she was a zombie. This body belongs to the daughter of Holy Emperor Xuan Yuan, the princess of humanity!” Lu Yun took in a deep breath and cocked his head to look at Xuanyuan Xiaoyue hiding behind Ashu.

Princess of the human race and daughter of the holy emperor, this identity was so awe-inspiring it invoked fear! Even Zhao Qing, daughter of the Exalted Divine emperor, was less than Xiaoyue.

Humans had been the sole sovereigns of the world before Emperors Fall, ruling over heaven and earth, setting the rules for reincarnation, and passing judgement over life itself. All other races—divines, demons, monster spirits, dragons, and others—had bowed down at their feet.

To be princess of the human race was to be a princess overlooking the entire world! The Xuanyuan surname was one that denoted the only imperial clan between heaven and earth.

Lu Yun’s scalp tightened, then all his hairs stood on end. Inside the coffin, Xuanyuan Xiaoyue’s eyes had snapped open and she was looking unblinkingly at him. Her eyes were a ghastly white, like they’d been carved out of ice.

A wondrously ethereal and enchanting voice drifted into his ears. “Young man, do you find this seat beautiful?”

Her voice was the same as Xuanyuan Xiaoyue’s, but a few more traces of temptation and beguilement suffused it, nearly entrancing Lu Yun. To his great shock, the lid of the coffin then slowly slid open and the body within slowly rose to stand before Lu Yun. The pair of ice-like eyes were fixated on him.

“Young man, do you find this seat beautiful?”

Puff—

Lu Yun’s body suddenly exploded and drifted apart as a cloud of inky hellfire.

……

“What in the heavens, what’s going on?!” Dismay gripped the group at the bottom of the snowy mountain. In their eyes, Lu Yun had exploded without a warning after he reached the ice coffin. They’d seen nothing from the coffin to prompt this development!

“Lu Yun!” Ashu poised to spring forward, but a hand pulled him back.

“‘Don’t go, I’m fine.” Lu Yun appeared behind Ashu, one hand on the holy lord’s shoulder. “What an unsettling mirage, I almost fell for it and I didn’t even realize!”

Face pale, his heart palpitated from what’d just happened. He really had died just now, and he didn’t even know how it was he’d died. “Did any of you see Xuanyuan Xiaoyue’s body walk out of the coffin?”

The priest of flames and demon sovereign shook their head at the same time while Ashu fell silent.

“You saw her?” The vicious ghost that was Xuanyuan Xiaoyue was enveloped by a layer of vibrant emerald light. She’d reverted back to her first appearance, when she’d been shrouded by a lively presence.

“Her? Um... you mean your body?” Lu Yun frowned.

Xiaoyue shook her head as the light around her suddenly faded away, replaced by a bone chilling cold.

“I’m so cold—"