Snow blanketed the landscape of the Frost Citadel, a gleaming fortress carved from ancient glacial stone. Perched atop Mount Xueying, the citadel had stood for over ten thousand years, its walls warded by celestial inscriptions and guarded by elite cultivators of the Frostheart Sect. It was said that even the wind bowed in reverence to its ancestral spirit.
But tonight, that sacred silence was fractured.
The wind howled not with reverence, but with warning.
Lin Sheng arrived at the base of the mountain aboard a thunder chariot, streaking across the sky in a storm-wreathed blaze. Beside him stood Yue Lan, her hair fluttering like silk under moonlight. The air trembled with tension.
"The wards are flickering," Yue Lan noted grimly, gazing up at the dimming light around the citadel. "They've already begun the infiltration."
[System Scan: Defensive Array Disruption – Status: Critical. Estimated Hostile Incursion: 87% Probability.]
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes. "Then we're already late."
They soared upward toward the summit. As they neared the outer wall, a volley of ice-shards exploded from enchanted sentry arrays. For a brief moment, Lin Sheng feared they'd turned rogue—but then he saw the bodies.
Dozens of Frostheart disciples lay motionless in the snow, their qi cores shattered, their bodies branded with the Serpent Root sigil.
"Merciless," Yue Lan whispered. "This wasn't just an attack. It was a purge."
Inside the Citadel, chaos reigned.
The once-immaculate halls echoed with clashing steel and desperate cries. Flames licked the corners of sacred banners as traitorous cultivators struck down their brethren. The Serpent Root had been meticulous—they had infiltrated not only the lower ranks but several core elders.
Lin Sheng and Yue Lan descended into the central courtyard where Elder Qiyan, the acting head of the Frostheart Sect, made his last stand. Surrounded by five masked Serpent Root disciples and bleeding from a dozen wounds, the elder stood with his frostblade extended.
"About time," he growled as Lin Sheng landed beside him.
"I came as soon as I could."
"Then help me defend our legacy."
[System Prompt: Priority Mission – Defend Frost Citadel. Bonus Objective: Preserve Elder Qiyan's life. Countdown: 4 Hours 37 Minutes.]
The battle erupted with explosive fury. Lin Sheng's blade sang through the air, each strike guided by the System's predictive combat interface. Yue Lan summoned celestial arrows that burst into icy blossoms upon impact. Elder Qiyan, despite his injuries, unleashed a chilling domain that froze enemy dantians in place.
The Serpent Root assassins countered with shadow-step formations and venomous blades. One of them lunged toward Elder Qiyan, blade glowing with demonic essence. Lin Sheng blurred into motion and intercepted the strike with a roar, parrying it with a shower of sparks.
The enemy hissed. "You're too late, Earthspawn. We've already poisoned the foundation."
Lin Sheng drove his sword through the assassin's chest. "Then I'll cleanse it."
For hours, the battle raged. Room by room, corridor by corridor, Lin Sheng's team swept through the citadel. Reinforcements arrived—disciples who had resisted the corruption, led by Jin Rui, Fei'er, and the Mirage twins.
Each skirmish was brutal, yet calculated. Lin Sheng made sure to preserve relic chambers and healing wards, restoring fallen cultivators wherever possible. His System granted him temporary buffs to defensive arrays and immunity to the Serpent Root's mental manipulations.
"They planted illusion glyphs beneath the elder's chambers," Juno reported. "Had we not broken them, they'd have turned the entire sect against itself."
"They almost succeeded," Mira added, clutching a wounded arm. "But the deeper we go, the more resistance we face."
The most formidable challenge awaited in the Frostheart Sanctum—the sect's inner sanctum, where generations of Frostheart leaders communed with the Ice Spirit of Eternity. It was here the enemy's leader awaited.
The doors groaned open with an echoing thunder. Inside, surrounded by floating chains of dark qi, stood a man draped in obsidian robes. His mask bore the full sigil of the Serpent Root. He turned slowly.
"Lin Sheng. The thorn in our path. I was told you'd come."
"And you are?"
The man bowed mockingly. "I am Heiyan, Prophet of the Root, Voice of the Abyss."
Yue Lan's breath caught. "Heiyan the Soulbinder. I thought you were sealed in the Void Tower."
"I was," Heiyan said with a smile. "But your world is leaking, child. And through those leaks, monsters return."
He raised a hand, and the sanctum shuddered. Dozens of corpses rose from the floor—frozen disciples reanimated by cursed qi. Lin Sheng's expression darkened.
[System Alert: Necromantic Presence Detected – Threat Level: Severe. Recommend Maximum Power Release.]
"Yue Lan, Jin Rui—hold the undead back. I'll deal with him."
Heiyan extended his staff. Shadows burst forth in tendrils, aiming to wrap around Lin Sheng's limbs and choke the light from his spirit. Lin Sheng activated his Sovereign Flame Core, and a radiant aura exploded around him, burning the shadows to ash.
They clashed. Sword against staff. Light against abyss.
Their battle split the sanctum apart, shattering ice pillars and cracking runes etched into the walls. Heiyan summoned demonic spirits. Lin Sheng countered with Heavenfall Techniques learned from his previous lives.
Finally, with a roar that shook the mountain, Lin Sheng drove his blade through Heiyan's chest.
"You… are not… of this world…" Heiyan rasped.
Lin Sheng leaned in. "No. But I'll protect it like it was my own."
Heiyan exploded into a burst of cursed qi. Lin Sheng barely shielded his allies in time.
When dawn broke, the Frost Citadel stood bloodied but not broken.
Elder Qiyan was alive, though gravely injured. He handed Lin Sheng a pendant shaped like a snowflake.
"This marks you as Guardian of Frost. With it, you have our eternal allegiance."
Lin Sheng bowed deeply. "I will honor this trust."
[System Notification: Frostheart Sect Allied. Influence: +2,100. Title Unlocked: Guardian of Frost. New Skill Acquired: Frost Requiem.]
Yue Lan approached quietly. "We've won the battle. But the war is far from over."
Lin Sheng nodded. "Let them come. I'll bury their darkness beneath the weight of my will."
Next: Chapter Fourteen – The Court of Fallen Stars