Chapter 720: Setbacks in the Extreme Cold Cave

Fight!
Flee!?
It was a choice between joy and danger.
And Joy resolutely chose the former.
Firstly, she understood that delaying would only plunge her into an even more passive and perilous situation. Rather than fleeing while holding onto a valuable asset, it was better to take a chance using the unique environment of the Heavenly Demon Cave—perhaps there would be a breakthrough, a turning point. Even if she died, it would only bring the end a little earlier.
……
Whoosh!
The old Silver Blade Guardian was incredibly fast. Almost five seconds after Joy entered another passage, he stepped into the extremely cold cave as well.
“Hm?”
As soon as he entered this icy world, the Silver Blade Guardian immediately noticed that the conditions inside this cave were the complete opposite of those in the neighboring cave—one was scorching hot, the other extremely cold!
The hot cave wasn’t a problem; after all, he was used to the high-temperature environment around furnaces. The high heat required for forging divine weapons wasn’t much different from there, and the unique martial arts techniques of the northern clans also allowed him to move freely in hot environments. So even when fighting against the Fire Kirin, its intense flames hardly could harm them.
But the situation in the Extreme Cold Cave was completely different…
As soon as he entered, the Silver Blade Guardian, who had long lived in the northern snowfields, felt a bone-chilling cold invade his body, causing his exposed skin to turn red instantly.
“This cold… ordinary people would likely have their blood and vital energy freeze, greatly reducing their mobility. The demonic sect truly has many natural talents—being able to create such an environment.”
Though impressed, this environment wasn’t a challenge for the Silver Blade Guardian. His gaze shifted to a row of clear footprints on the cave floor, and his wrinkled brows relaxed slightly:
“A mere young person at the Liberation Realm, with insufficient skill, rashly entering such a deadly place… It’s already difficult for them to cover this distance…”
Hmph!
“Let’s see where you can run now.”
With a quick movement, he dashed into the Extreme Cold Cave like lightning.
Despite his astonishing speed, it was still significantly slower compared to outside. He stepped over the clear footprints, covering several meters at a time, chasing deeper into the passage.
Judging from the density of the footprints, Joy’s speed must have dropped by over 70%!
There was a heavy footprint every few meters on the frozen ground—hard to imagine this coming from a skilled martial artist.
But here, that’s exactly what happened…

The Silver Blade Protector wore a faint cold smile on his face. The silver blade covered in frost appeared even more icy and menacing! It seemed he could already see Happy struggling to flee due to poor circulation of his vital energy. But what puzzled him was… After chasing along the footprints for over half a minute, he still couldn’t spot Happy’s figure. The Silver Blade Protector finally realized something was wrong! Indeed, something was very wrong. Judging from the distance between the footprints, the opponent shouldn’t be able to run that fast. Even if his own speed was affected, it was still several times faster than Happy’s. Logically… he should have caught up with Happy by now. Looking back around, the Silver Blade Protector frowned and finally realized he had been tricked. The exit was nearby. He had actually walked in a big circle following the footprints on the ground. “Good kid, quite skilled. No wonder he was able to steal the Sky Crystal from the Sword Sect…” The Silver Blade Protector put aside his previous contemptuous attitude and scanned the area carefully. Finally, he found a slight trace of footprints in an inconspicuous spot in a side passage… He chased again. “Damn it!” He ended up back where he started. Tricked again!! Filled with anger, the Silver Blade Protector felt his weapon in his hand extremely cold, almost freezing his palm. The extreme cold here was far worse than the scorching heat. It constantly drained his internal energy. Although practicing his mental techniques could help somewhat, their efficiency was greatly hindered here. Moreover, as time passed, it seemed a trace of cold poison was gradually eroding his body, causing his internal energy to decline. The Silver Blade Protector was already feeling strained. If he stayed any longer, his health might suffer. Just as he prepared to find his own way out and leave for a while to recover, his ears suddenly twitched as he detected a faint noise coming from a nearby passage. Whoosh! His newly formed plan vanished instantly. Without hesitation, the Silver Blade Protector rushed over. As soon as he reached the entrance of the cave, a cold sword light rushed toward his face, dazzlingly bright… There had been no sound of wind or breathing before, but the timing was perfect. The speed and moment of drawing the sword surprised the Silver Blade Protector slightly: “Good kid!” Muttering to himself, he swung his wrist, raising the silver blade vertically in front of his face to block a series of blindingly fast attacks. Of course, he had no idea…

He was happy because he had mastered the “Jiuyang Divine Skill,” returning his cultivation to its purest state, which prevented him from being detected in advance. Moreover, every move he made was under Happy’s control. That’s why he passively endured Happy’s rapid series of sword strikes. The clanging sound rang incessantly… With the enhanced speed from his fourth-stage Golden Wristguards, combined with the lethal power of “Sword Seven” and another dose of “Leopard Essence Pill,” the destructive power exceeded 30,000 points—comparable to that of peak cultivators at the Wuwei realm. Though the initial series of sword strikes seemed unimpressive, the subsequent thunderous explosions and increasingly fierce sword lights shattered the frost on the Silver Knife mercilessly; clang! clang! clang! clang! Snowflakes flew everywhere! Although this unexpected strength couldn’t make the battle-hardened Silver Knife Protector feel numb in his grip, it still temporarily deprived him of the ability to counterattack under such fierce and rapid assaults. The Silver Knife Protector kept retreating step by step; yet, as he took deep breaths, his vital energy almost solidified! By the time he regained focus, the attacker had already withdrawn his sword without hesitation and turned to flee into the passage. “You brat, trying to run away again!” The Silver Knife Protector’s face turned ashen. People from the northern clans were always hot-tempered and intolerant of any insult. Being mocked several times in a row by a younger kid—forced to retreat several steps at first sight without even drawing his sword—was the first time such a thing had happened in the latter part of the Silver Knife Protector’s career. The anger building in his chest nearly made him explode; how could he bear it? With a roar, he chased after Happy into the passage. Overcome by fury, the Silver Knife Protector didn’t realize that at that moment, their speeds seemed to be evenly matched. In fact, Happy, who turned to leave, seemed to have a slight edge in speed, appearing even more agile.