Chapter 660: Your Excellency, Are You Threatening Me?

“Alas…” Yu Xian sighed deliberately, “Since you won’t let me find Hong Die, then I… will find you instead.”

Qing He was startled by his words. What did Yu Xian mean by that? She cautiously stepped back half a pace, the chill around her suddenly surging. Ice-blue Spiritual Qi condensed into sharp ice crystals in her palm. “What exactly does Your Excellency want? My Ice Snow Temple is not a place where anyone can run wild!”

Yu Xian, however, paid no attention to her threat. Instead, he took a step forward, unleashing his Spiritual Qi to lock down everything around them, his gaze sweeping over her cold and clear features.

“I said earlier that I need to see Hong Die for a matter. Since I can’t see her, finding you will do just as well,” Yu Xian said with a playful smile.

Qing He’s expression darkened. She realized the surrounding space had been sealed. At this moment, she knew clearly that she could only face Yu Xian alone; escape was impossible, and calling for help was out of the question.

“I am a stranger to Your Excellency. What business could we possibly have?” Qing He asked in a deep voice.

“Miss Qing He, are you betrothed?” Yu Xian actually didn’t immediately do anything to her; he merely asked.

Qing He was slightly stunned. “You know my name? What business is it of yours whether I am betrothed or not?”

Qing He felt this sudden man was utterly inexplicable. She had never met Yu Xian, yet he could call her name, which made her vigilance increase even further.

Seeing her guarded expression, Yu Xian stopped beating around the bush and stated directly: “Naturally, I want you to become my Dao Companion. Miss, you possess such peerless beauty and outstanding temperament that you captured my heart at first sight. Naturally, I wish to marry you.”

When Qing He heard this, she took it as the man mocking her. Her expression instantly turned cold. “Your Excellency, please have some self-respect! I am a Disciple of the Ice Snow Temple. In this life, I will only guard the Divine Hall and will never marry!”

As she spoke, the light of the ice crystals in her palm grew stronger, clearly showing she was prepared to fight.

“Miss Qing He, there’s no need to be so agitated. Consider this: I am someone who can break through to the Infant Transformation Realm at any moment. How much effort would it take for me to destroy the Snow Domain Country? Your Snow Domain Country is currently a Fourth-Tier Cultivation Country. Soul Transformation Late Stage Cultivators are the absolute Peak fighting strength of a Fourth-Tier Cultivation Country. Do you want your Sect Master, or perhaps your Master, Xin Ying, to come and fight me?” As soon as Yu Xian finished speaking, the Peak Soul Transformation pressure emanating from him was suddenly released, enveloping Qing He like a tangible, abyssal cold.

Qing He felt a tightness in her chest. Her Spiritual Qi circulation instantly stagnated, and the ice beneath her feet cracked silently, spreading out like a spiderweb.

She bit her lower lip tightly. Her face was pale, but she still held her back straight. “Although the Snow Domain Country is weak, we still possess the will to fight to the death!”

Yu Xian chuckled lightly, but the pressure did not lessen in the slightest. “It seems you wish for the entire Snow Domain Country to be annihilated because of you? Alas… How about this: I will give you two choices. Either take me to see Hong Die, or… stay and become my Dao Companion. In the future, if the Ice Snow Temple faces trouble, I can offer one instance of aid. How about it?”

“Is Your Excellency threatening me?” Qing He bit her lip tightly. The ice crystals in her palm trembled slightly from the force, yet she stubbornly refused to retreat even half a step. A trace of humiliation flashed in her eyes, but she had to admit the cruel reality in his words.

She knew clearly that the man before her was not just making empty threats. The gap between Peak Soul Transformation and Early Stage Soul Transformation was enough for him to easily flatten the entire Ice Snow Temple.

Yu Xian’s smile remained unchanged, but his tone carried a hint of nonchalance. “Threatening is not the word; I am merely stating facts. It is up to how Miss chooses.”

Qing He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging Qi and blood. “Does Your Excellency not fear that I might feign compliance while secretly setting an ambush?”

Yu Xian shook his head and flicked his fingertip. A strand of pure Spiritual Qi transformed into an ice butterfly, fluttering around Qing He’s temple. “You won’t. The Senior Sister of the Ice Snow Temple, Qing He, has always taken the protection of her sect as her duty. To use treachery for survival—that wouldn’t be you. Miss Qing He, you don’t have to agree, and it’s not like I can’t find Hong Die. What if I casually level the core of the Fengxue Divine Hall? Wouldn’t Hong Die come to find me automatically? What is her current cultivation level? Can she even withstand half a move from me? Won’t she also be reduced to my Cauldron? If you follow me willingly, you will become my Dao Companion. But if you force my hand, you deserve only to be my Cauldron. You know the difference between those two, right?”

Female Cultivators in the Immortal Cultivation Realm are different from women in the Mortal Realm. They do not disregard everything for love or lust; what they yearn for is to walk their own Dao and Cultivate to a higher Realm. Thus, Yu Xian had to use some methods.

A Cauldron means losing autonomy and becoming a tool for others’ cultivation. Having their Spiritual Qi drained and their cultivation crippled is common, and their final fate is often miserable. A Dao Companion, however, is an equal partner who can Cultivate the Great Dao together and support each other; their status is worlds apart.

Qing He was intelligent and could not fail to understand the stakes.

She looked at Yu Xian’s eyes, which seemed to smile yet not smile, and her heart was engaged in a fierce internal struggle: on one side was the safety of her sect, and on the other, her own purity and dignity.

If she agreed to take him to see Hong Die, her Junior Sister, with her fiery temperament, would likely fight him to the death. With Hong Die’s current cultivation, this would be no different than an egg hitting a rock. If she stayed to become his Dao Companion, although it could exchange for temporary stability for the Divine Hall, she would have to yield herself to this strange man, with an unknown future ahead.

The cold wind lifted the strands of her dark hair, and the ice crystals in her palm quietly melted, dripping down as cold water beads, mirroring her current icy state of mind.

The ice butterfly gently fanned its wings near Qing He’s cheek, bringing a touch of coolness that nonetheless left Qing He feeling utterly flustered.

She looked at the man before her, whose smile was gentle but whose methods were forceful, and for the first time, she felt utterly powerless.

Although the Snow Domain Country revered the Ice Snow Temple, facing an Infant Transformation Cultivator was no different than an ant trying to shake a tree.

Qing He felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head. His words were like an ice pick, fiercely stabbing the soft spot she cared about most.

She had sought nothing but peace for the Divine Hall her entire life, yet now, that peace was being lightly dangled on the tip of a blade.

She took a deep breath, attempting to maintain her composure. “If you dare harm a single person from the Divine Hall, I will risk my life to ensure you never have an easy time!”

Yu Xian chuckled low, flicking his finger again. An invisible stream of Qi swept past, instantly shattering the ice crystals in Qing He’s palm into fine dust.

“Risk? What do you have to risk with? Instead of making a futile sacrifice, you might as well come with me. I guarantee that as long as you are by my side, not only will the Ice Snow Temple be safe, but I can also help you and Hong Die break through your Bottlenecks sooner.” Yu Xian advanced another step, the powerful pressure making it nearly impossible for Qing He to breathe.

Qing He looked at his face, so close now. There was not the slightest hint of joking in his deep eyes. She knew that what he said was true.

On one side lay the belief and responsibility she had upheld her entire life; on the other lay the survival of her entire people. This choice was so heavy it almost made her unable to stand steadily.

Qing He slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, only tired resignation remained in her gaze.