The atmosphere in the World Tree hall froze instantly, colder than the frost produced by Han Shanshan’s domain. Zhi Xuan’s statement was not merely a challenge; it was a declaration of war that echoed against every crystal pillar. The elite disciples of the Han Clan behind their leader simultaneously drew their weapons, but the pressure from Zhi Xuan’s new aura made their hands tremble involuntarily.

  Han Shanshan laughed—a dry, rasping laugh filled with pure hatred. "Challenge me? You, a rat that has just shed its skin, dare to challenge a Holy Son of the Ancient Han Clan beneath the shadow of the World Tree?"

  He took one step forward, and the six ice giants behind him roared, creating a blizzard that began to obscure all vision. "Excellent! I will skin you and hang your soul at our clan's gate as a warning to anyone who dares to touch our pride!"

  Zhi Xuan did not budge. He cast his gaze toward Qin Meiling, who looked worried. "Holy Maiden Qin, please step back. The harmony you protect will remain intact, for this Zhi will not allow him to touch even an inch of this great tree's branches."

  Qin Meiling hesitated for a moment, but seeing the calm in Zhi Xuan’s sapphire eyes—now as vast as a boundless ocean—she plucked a single low note and floated back with her followers. "Be careful, Brother Zhi. The power of those six giants contains the Law of Extreme Frost, which manipulates the territory without flaw."

  Zhi Xuan nodded slowly, his white robe rustling softly in the freezing wind that began to crawl across the hall floor. He slowly spread both arms, and at that moment, the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disk on his back expanded, emitting a six-colored radiance that cleaved through Han Shanshan’s pale blue dominance.

  "Law of Extreme Frost?" Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice chanting like a temple bell in the heart of a storm. "Holy Son Han, you freeze the world because you fear change."

  He waved his hand, and immediately behind him rose six gates, each a manifestation of the six paths. He stared coldly as the hall around him vibrated faintly; his domain began to expand, affecting the surrounding area until even the elite disciples of the Ancient Han Clan retreated. On the other side, Han Shanshan laughed disdainfully, though his eyes showed a sharp glint upon seeing the conception of Zhi Xuan’s domain.

  "Big words!" Han Shanshan roared. He stomped his foot onto the crystal floor, triggering an explosion of ice essence that crept forward like hungry snow dragons. "Watch as my Law of Frost halts your ridiculous cycle of reincarnation!"

  The six ice giants behind Han Shanshan moved in unison. They were not merely manifestations of energy, but guardians of a True Domain that had reached the Grand Perfection stage. The six guardians stood in a semi-circle; Han Shanshan levitated and stood upon the palm of one of his giants. His domain expanded, the snowy mountains immediately devouring Zhi Xuan’s domain territory.

  SSHUTTT! WHUSH!

  Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth; he felt the weight of the mountain range pressing down, causing his feet to slowly freeze. He moved his fingers to maintain the pressure of his own domain, though one by one, his gates appeared to be frosting over. He waved his hand, opening the Reincarnation Gate of the Ghost Path.

  WHUSH!

  Ghosts immediately emerged with hungry soul-shrieks, darting toward Han Shanshan’s domain. However, before they could even touch an inch of his territory, the ghosts froze and dissolved back into essence. Zhi Xuan snorted sharply, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his lips. At the final moment, Han Shanshan formed a strange mudra that caused the Ghost Path gate to freeze completely, then explode in a thunderous boom.

  The explosion of the Ghost Path gate created a shockwave that sent ice shards flying like thousands of daggers in all directions. Zhi Xuan staggered; his heavenly practitioner raga, which had just broken through to the Middle Stage of Weaver Transformation, trembled violently under the pressure of the Law of Extreme Frost. A cold void began to creep up from his feet, attempting to lock his meridians in eternal silence.

  "Is this all the Reincarnation ability you boast of?" Han Shanshan mocked from atop his ice giant’s palm. His voice echoed like thunder amidst the blizzard. "Your Ghost Path is nothing but trash before eternity! Now, kowtow and beg for mercy; perhaps I will let your soul shatter more quickly!"

  Zhi Xuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His sapphire-blue eyes showed no fear, but a deepening clarity. He felt the vibration of the Heavenly Samsara Wheel within his chest, resonating with the remnants of the Yin-Yang understanding he had absorbed from the painting of the Guanghan Palace.

  Zhi Xuan did not rush to mimic the understanding of the Sun and Moon; instead, he made a painting motion in the air. Suddenly, above the World Tree hall which was initially full of pressure, a new weight appeared as if an ancient mountain had manifested there. Zhi Xuan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, an ancient mountain loomed over the hall.

  "This... this is the Secret of Mountains and Rivers," Qin Meiling’s voice drifted out; she stared at the ancient mountain above the hall. "One of the Ten Great Secrets, created by the Ancient God race in primeval times! How can Brother Zhi possess it?"

  "What is that? Why... it looks as if I am seeing a world falling right onto my head!"

  "Secret of Mountains and Rivers... how, how can that man obtain it?"

  Han Shanshan looked up, the condescending laughter fading slightly from his lips as he saw Zhi Xuan turning serious. The ancient mountain manifesting on the ceiling of the crystal hall radiated a suffocating aura of antiquity.

  The pressure from that mountain made it seem as if the weight of an entire prehistoric continent was being condensed into a single point. Its peaks pierced the essence clouds, and its valleys were flowed by roaring rivers of silver energy. This was no mere shadow, but a projection of the Secret of Mountains and Rivers studied by Zhi Xuan.

  "The Mountain is constancy, the River is change," Zhi Xuan’s voice sounded heavy, echoing through the howling blizzard. "Descent of the Ancient God Mountain!"

  With a downward wave of his hand, the ancient mountain plummeted slowly. The friction between the mountainside and the air of the hall created a deafening roar of thunder. The resulting pressure was so immense that the ice bridges built by Han Shanshan cracked and shattered into pieces.

  Han Shanshan’s eyes widened, his arrogant face twisting into a mask of extreme rage. "You dare try to suppress me with a cheap ancient technique?! Six Eternal Giants, Prop up the Heavens!"

  The six ice giants roared in unison, their bodies enlarging until their heads nearly touched the base of the descending mountain. They raised their massive ice hands, attempting to catch the weight of the falling Secret of Mountains and Rivers. When the giant hands made contact with the mountain base, a terrifying shockwave swept through the hall, throwing the elite Han Clan disciples against the crystal walls.

  KRAK! KRAKK!

  The crystal hall floor, once unshakable, began to sink, forming a giant crater beneath the feet of the ice giants. Han Shanshan was forced to jump down from his giant’s palm, standing in the middle of the storm with a defiant face. He spread his arms, and the frost spread until it froze the domain territory completely.

  Time seemed to stop; the ancient god mountain appeared to freeze slowly with a piercing hiss. Gradually, the mountain cracked as Han Shanshan clasped his hands together, creating an explosion that shattered the hall's walls. The explosion caused by the destruction of the Ancient God Mountain projection created a storm of light fragments and ice capable of blinding mortal eyes.

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  The space within the World Tree hall distorted violently; the spatial laws seemed to be pulled by the collision of two clashing domains. Zhi Xuan was thrown back, his pure white robe now stained with bloodstains from the energy backlash hitting his meridians. On the other side, the elite disciples of the Ancient Clans formed protections for themselves to withstand the impact.

  Han Shanshan stood tall amidst a vortex of sharp ice crystals, his breath ragged but his eyes radiating a winning madness. "Look! Even ancient secrets will freeze before the will of the Han Clan! Gu Fengyan, you are out of tricks!"

  Zhi Xuan landed with his knee hitting the cracked floor. He coughed, spitting out blood that instantly froze into jewel-like beads on the ice. He looked up, snorting sharply as Han Shanshan lunged toward him. He leaped back and merged into the shadows, avoiding every thundering strike from Han Shanshan’s heavy force.

  "Damn, he wants to fight at close range," Zhi Xuan hissed. He moved his fingers, and from him emerged six black-and-white dragons. "Yin-Yang Heavenly Dragon: Abominable Heavens!"

  The six dragons, manifesting from pure Yin and Yang essence, roared, cleaving through the thick blizzard with bodies that glowed in a contrast of pitch black and neutral white. These dragons were no longer just innate techniques; they now carried Zhi Xuan’s understanding of the balance of life and death. They coiled in the air, creating energy vortexes that disrupted the territory around Han Shanshan.

  "Abominable Heavens? An arrogant name for an insect!" Han Shanshan screamed. His fist, coated in ice armor an inch thick, struck the air, releasing a wave of Law that could halt the flow of time on a small scale. "Hahaha! Run, Gu Fengyan!"

  The battle reached its climax as Han Shanshan charged forward, each step exploding ice essence that froze instantly in the air. The Han Clan Holy Son’s fist was not just a physical punch; it was a sledgehammer carrying the weight of all the icy mountains within his domain.

  “BUMMM—!”

  Han Shanshan’s fist collided with the head of the first Yin-Yang dragon. The dragon roared, its body made of pure essence holding out for a moment before finally shattering into light fragments. However, Zhi Xuan did not let that destruction go to waste. As soon as one dragon shattered, he formed hand seals with lightning speed, turning the falling dragon fragments into energy nets that bound the feet of Han Shanshan’s ice giants.

  "Holy Son Han, accept your end," Zhi Xuan’s voice sounded calm, despite his chest heaving from the pressure of the vast difference in cultivation levels.

  "End?" Han Shanshan laughed dryly, and with a single clench of his fist, he crushed the binding nets. "Then I will show you exactly how far the difference between us lies, Gu Fengyan!"

  Han Shanshan clasped both hands, and at that moment, Zhi Xuan’s entire domain territory dissolved as Han Shanshan unleashed the full manifestation of his domain. A True Domain at the Grand Perfection stage is considered half a step away from creating an illusory world—a requirement to step into Divine Transformation.

  Han Shanshan formed a mudra before his chest. The six giants from before towered in a semi-circle; the surge of energy froze several of the Ancient Han Clan’s own elite disciples before they crumbled into dust. Han Shanshan’s True Domain had now fully appeared: the form of Six Worlds Frozen in Eternity. This was the erasure of all forms of life and movement.

  "Han Shanshan! Are you insane?!" Qin Meiling screamed. She plucked her lute, creating a shielded area for her elite disciples. "Using the full power of a True Domain against a middle-stage junior! Where is your pride as an Ancient Clan Holy Son?!"

  "Madness... Han Shanshan has completely lost his mind!" an elite disciple murmured, his voice trembling so hard his teeth chattered. "He activated an annihilation technique just for one person? Does he want to collapse this entire Secret Realm?"

  "Look at those Han Clan disciples!" another added, pointing to figures that had frozen into eternal ice statues. "He sacrifices even his own clan's flesh and blood for his wounded dignity. This is the cruelty of the Six Frozen Worlds!"

  Amidst the raging ice storm, Bai Wuchen, hearing the commotion from afar, appeared at the edge of the domain pressure. His usually calm face was now set, his eyes narrowing sharply. He flicked his water-dragon robe, creating a protective bubble to dampen the cold that was beginning to eat away at his defenses.

  "Han Shanshan has been blinded by obsession," Bai Wuchen hissed. "Using a life-severing technique in front of the World Tree is taboo. If this continues, not only will Zhi Xuan vanish, but the roots of this tree could freeze to death, and we will all lose the chance to leave this place!"

  "Holy Son Bai, should we intervene?" asked one of the elite Bai Clan guards with a face full of anxiety.

  Bai Wuchen shook his head slowly, his eyes fixed on the white-robed figure in the heart of the storm. "No... watch Zhi Xuan. Even though his domain has dissolved, his gaze has not wavered in the slightest. That man... he is waiting for something in the midst of this despair."

  Qin Meiling, still maintaining her melody, shouted through the howling frozen wind, "Zhi Xuan! Retreat now! You cannot withstand the weight of the Six Worlds alone! That is a law that has touched the realm of Divine Transformation!"

  However, Zhi Xuan seemed deaf to the warning. He stood in the center of the ice vortex, his white robe now fluttering wildly, emitting a dim but consistent silver light. Under the tightening pressure of Han Shanshan’s True Domain, Zhi Xuan actually closed his eyes, allowing sharp ice grains to scratch his cheeks.

  "Pride?" Han Shanshan laughed amidst the storm, his voice sounding like the grinding of thousands of ice swords. "Qin Meiling, in the world of cultivation, pride belongs only to the winner! If he dies here, history will only record an insect that tried to challenge a dragon and was crushed into dust!"

  Han Shanshan directed both palms toward Zhi Xuan. The six ice giants behind him raised their hands simultaneously, gathering orbs of deep blue energy that radiated an aura of absolute void.

  "Gu Fengyan! See how helpless you are before my eternal ice! First World: Silent Death!"

  WUUUUNNNGGG—!

  A wave of transparent blue energy swept through the hall, freezing every particle of air, sound, and even the light it passed. The path toward Zhi Xuan instantly became a corridor of death that left no room for breath.

  Zhi Xuan opened his eyes. His sapphire pupils no longer showed the clarity of a heavenly practitioner; they pulsed with a soaring sword intent.

  "Heavenly Sword!" Zhi Xuan roared. Immediately, the Heavenly Sword, with its dark blade filled with reddish lightning runes, appeared. "Then, I shall bet on this Man-Sword Unity!"

  Han Shanshan cackled, his gaze sharpening as he waved his hand. There, a whip appeared, radiating an incredibly powerful aura. "Oh? An Immortal-Artifact? Don't think you are the only one who has one, Gu Fengyan!"

  The whip in Han Shanshan’s hand glowed with a terrifying blue light, emitting sounds of spatial cracking every time its tip vibrated. It was the Nine-Ice Trench Whip, an immortal-grade artifact forged from the spine of a prehistoric ice dragon.

  Zhi Xuan’s body seemed to dissolve, merging into the blade of his black sword. This phenomenon created a pillar of light that pierced the hall's ceiling, cleaving through the clouds of spiritual essence. The Heavenly Sword was no longer just a weapon, but an extension of Zhi Xuan’s will, which hungered for a breakthrough. The reddish lightning runes on the blade exploded, creating nets of lightning that brushed aside Han Shanshan’s Silent Death wave.

  "Just a forced, broken artifact!" Han Shanshan hissed. He lashed out with his Nine-Ice Trench Whip. "Perish along with your arrogance!"

  CETARRR—!

  The whip’s lash cleaved through space, carrying with it the cold from the deepest trenches of the ancient ocean. Every time the whip cut the air, ice cracks appeared in the surrounding dimensions. The meeting of the ice whip’s lash and the lightning sword’s strike created an energy explosion that caused the crystal palace pillars around them to develop a thousand cracks.

  Zhi Xuan, now in the state of sword-unity, felt every strike of the whip like a sledgehammer hitting his soul. However, amidst the pressure that nearly shattered his heavenly body, he found a rhythm. He no longer resisted; instead, he allowed Han Shanshan’s power to flow through the empty spaces within his Reincarnation conception.

  "One sword severs the cycle, one strike cleaves eternity!" Zhi Xuan’s voice echoed from within the sword blade.

  The Heavenly Sword shot forward, spinning in the air at a speed that surpassed the eye's reach. It cleaved through the blizzard, aiming straight for Han Shanshan’s heart. A startled Han Shanshan immediately pulled back his whip, forming an ice vortex shield in front of him.

  TENGGG—!

  The collision of metal and eternal ice created a shockwave that collapsed some of the World Tree’s branches. Qin Meiling let out a stifled cry upon seeing the light-branches fall, but she could do little as she herself had to withstand the remnants of the explosion so her followers would not be turned to icy ash.

  "You dare touch me?!" Han Shanshan screamed in fury. His eyes were now completely blood-red. "Second World: Silence of the Locked Soul!"

  He slammed the Nine-Ice Trench Whip onto the floor. Instantly, the six ice giants behind him dissolved into a thick, dark blue liquid that crept rapidly toward Zhi Xuan, forming an ice cage that froze in the blink of an eye. This prison did not attack the body; instead, it locked the flow of spiritual essence so the practitioner became a breathing statue unable to move.

  Zhi Xuan felt the pull from that prison. His white raga began to appear cracked under the pressure of Han Shanshan’s Immortal-Artifact. Zhi Xuan reappeared in mid-air, gasping sharply for breath. However, at that moment, a low roar emerged from within Zhi Xuan. Ao Sheng and Xiao Die, the two ancient beasts, appeared and immediately manifested behind him in forms dozens of zhang in size.