The stone platform crowned the peak, granite etched with blue runes pulsing like a heartbeat. Snow swirled, wind howling, tugging my hanfu, stinging my skin. The air was thin, breaths sharp, distant mountains veiled in mist. Song of Pure Flame flickered, ice Qi smothering it, my body trembling. Disciples huddled, faces grim, auras dim. Borai loomed, drunken sway unsteady, filthy Qi assaulting my senses, eyes glinting cruelly.
He roared, voice slurred, hand waving wildly.
"Into the circle!"
His gaze locked on me, venom dripping.
"Step out, and I'll kill you!"
We shuffled into the runes, stone cold, energy prickling. Crates piled up, contents unknown. Three cultivators stood by, ice auras leeching warmth, robes billowing, eyes indifferent. Dread and defiance warred, the teleport's mystery a weight.
A force yanked me through a tunnel, senses blurring. My spiritual sense screamed, colors merging, and I nearly blacked out. Bone-chilling cold hit, sharper than the peak. An ice wasteland stretched, snow falling thick, cracked ice underfoot, mountains on the horizon. Ice Qi crushed my fire techniques, breath fogging, body shaking.
Borai's face twisted, bravado gone, voice thick with unease.
"This isn't the Ice Fort. What the hell?"
A white spike impaled him, blood freezing, aura snuffed. Panic surged, disciples stumbling, faces pale.
Cracks erupted, and insect-like monsters burst forth, carapaces blue, mandibles snapping. Their ice Qi and malice pressed, eyes glowing. They hungered endlessly. I activated Dance of Embers and Song of Pure Flame, body glowing, techniques faltering. Companions flared weak flames, faces desperate. No fire Qi, no hope against ice. I'd tried ice Qi—useless. Monsters ranged from Qi Condensation to Meridian Tempering, numbers overwhelming. Half our group faltered, auras weak.
A disciple shouted, voice cracking.
"Run!"
A fiery streak bolted, bisected by a monster, blood staining snow. Others followed, techniques blazing, but jaws waited.
I yelled, desperation clawing, voice hoarse.
"We have to fight together!"
Betrayal answered.
"Die, Bastard Kai!" a disciple snarled, face contorted, fire arrow streaking, eyes hateful.
More attacks came, a barrage.
"Have you lost your minds?" I shouted, deflecting with my sword, heart pounding. "Fighting each other now?"
A woman laughed, voice shrill, eyes wild.
"Haha, you're the only mad one!"
A beetle struck, silencing her, body crumpling.
Chaos reigned—fire and ice clashed, screams echoing. Beetles fell to Meridian Tempering cultivators, who still targeted me. I rooted for monsters, betrayal burning.
I fought, beetles pouring, ichor's stench sickening. My sword hummed, Kai's training guiding swings. Near Borai's corpse, a jade ring gleamed, smaller but valuable. Inside were papers, pills, liquor, a golden rod—wand? I took rod and papers, wary of Borai's Qi, skipping the rest.
A fire arrow curved, homing. I rolled, snow crunching, but it followed. Seriously? Two Meridian Tempering cultivators charged, one crushed by a beetle. They missed the monsters' intent, unlike me.
I muttered, frustration boiling, voice low.
"What are you?"
The rod's ruby pulsed, stinging. I activated it, nearly losing my arm as a flame whip lashed.
"Idiot!" I hissed, cursing myself.
It was energy, needing technique. Qi fading, I used Song of Pure Flame. The whip scattered beetles, carapaces cracking. If only I'd had this against Huo.
I ducked a beetle's mandible, using a crate as cover, sword slashing its leg. Another charged, and I rolled, whip lashing its eyes, ichor spraying. My Qi was low, but the rod's power kept me alive, each strike calculated to conserve energy.
Who fueled this betrayal, and what secrets hid in the wasteland's frost?