The ten-thousand-year-old ice, white as jade, emitted a cold breath.
Su Qingqing lay on the ice, her chest heaving with normal breaths, but her eyes were tightly closed, unmoving, in a coma.
Chen Nan jumped onto the ice and scooped her up in his arms.
"Girl, girl, wake up."
Chen Nan vigorously shook her fragrant shoulders, but Su Qingqing seemed to have no sensation, showing no response at all.
"Girl, open your eyes and look at me!"
Chen Nan brushed the hair from her face, gazing at the familiar features before him, a dull pain throbbing in his heart. Could it be that her consciousness had been refined and she would never wake up again?
Chen Nan muttered to himself, shaking his head emotionally, continuously shaking Su Qingqing’s shoulders: "Aren’t you a descendant of the saintess? I believe you are not so fragile. Just wake up, and if you do, I will be your boyfriend, I promise you anything."
Two tears slid from Chen Nan’s eyes, falling onto Su Qingqing’s forehead, then streaming into her eyes.
Chen Nan held her tightly, speaking incessantly near her ear, trying to awaken her.
Su Qingqing suddenly coughed twice, somewhat annoyed she said, "Dummy, why are you hugging so tight, I’m nearly suffocated by you."
Chen Nan hurriedly loosened his grip.
Seeing the wide-eyed Su Qingqing before him, Chen Nan’s heart surged with emotion; he couldn’t help but embrace her again: "You’re finally awake, you scared me to death."
A smile appeared on Su Qingqing’s face.
Her hands rested on Chen Nan’s back as they embraced, and she whispered, "I heard everything you just said."
Chen Nan paused, then said, "Well you, waking up without making a sound, keeping me anxious for so long, tell me honestly, when did you wake up?"
Su Qingqing let go, looking at him with eager eyes, innocently said, "From the first word you spoke when you came in, I had already woken up. I just couldn’t open my eyes or move, my body wasn’t under the control of my consciousness. It was your tear that brought the light."
"No matter what, it’s good that you’re awake." Chen Nan held her hand, saying, "It’s okay now, let’s go."
Su Qingqing held him back, looking at him and said, "What about what you just said, does it still count?"
"I... what did I say?"
Chen Nan felt a bit guilty.
"You said, if I woke up, you’d promise me anything." Su Qingqing stared into his eyes: "You know my feelings for you, you wouldn’t go back on your word, would you?"
Chen Nan hastily pointed to the cave entrance, saying, "Let’s not talk about this now, this place is too dangerous, let’s get out of here first."
"Stupid dummy you’re denying it again, you... Ah! What... how come there are so many dead people?" Su Qingqing was speaking midway and suddenly saw those corpses on the ground, which immediately made her turn pale and she screamed in shock.
Chen Nan held her, shaking his head saying, "Don’t be afraid, they are all despicable evildoers who deserved to die."
"You... you just said you fought them when you came in, did you... did you kill them?" Su Qingqing looked at him fearfully: "You... you’ve killed people, won’t the police come to arrest you?"
Chen Nan held her, feeling her shivering body: "Honey, don’t be afraid, these people were unforgivably evil, they deserved to die."
Su Qingqing nodded quickly, saying in panic, "Let’s hurry up and go, or it will be bad if the police come."
Chen Nan carried her on his back while swiftly moving towards the exit, yet he smirked bitterly inside. In the wilderness of the Western Border, apart from the Corpse Control Sect, there were no human settlements for hundreds of miles—police were out of the question.
The Corpse Refining Cave was completely dark except for the lantern light in the innermost hall.
With Chen Nan’s profound cultivation, he could clearly see the path, but Su Qingqing could not see anything and was unaware that the tunnel was littered with corpses.
"Silly girl, why is there such a strong smell of blood?" she asked, puzzled.
Chen Nan responded with a smile, "It’s nothing, just stay put on my back; we’ll be out soon."
Su Qingqing obediently nodded her head and after a moment of silence, she said, "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have disobeyed you to meet Jiang Haotian."
"Let’s not talk about the past. As long as you are safe, that’s all that matters," Chen Nan said.
"Silly boy, you’re so kind."
Su Qingqing clung tightly to his back, "They said they wanted to refine me into that something corpse, I was so scared, I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime."
By then, the two had reached the cave’s entrance, and Chen Nan shook his head, "It’s all over now."
But, no sooner had he finished speaking—
A loud crash echoed as a dark shadow plummeted from the sky, landing on the ground with a deafening noise, cracking the earth upon impact.
The shadow, covered entirely in black scale armor, including the face, exuded a destructive aura, as if a single punch could penetrate heaven and earth.
This was a War Corpse King!
Moreover, it exuded an aura even more terrifying than the one Chen Nan had previously slain.
"Chen Nan, for thousands of years, you are the only one who has compelled me to summon a number one War Corpse King. Today, I will reduce you to dust and scatter your ashes!" A blue-robed elder flew towards them and landed beside the War Corpse King.
This elder was none other than Jiang Meng, the Sect Leader of the Corpse Control Sect, father of Jiang Hai, and grandfather of Jiang Haotian.
Aside from his mastery in Corpse Refining Technique, his own strength had also reached the Third Level of Tao.
Jiang Meng shook a copper bell, directing the number one War Corpse King to attack Chen Nan with a shout.
Facing a War Corpse King even more formidable than the previous one, Chen Nan did not even turn his head; he carried Su Qingqing and dashed away, fleeing towards the back mountain.
Having lost his Flying Knife, he was completely incapable of contending with the War Corpse King; escape was his only choice.
"Let’s see where you can run!"
Jiang Meng sneered incessantly, constantly shaking the copper bell, directing the number one War Corpse King in pursuit.
Chen Nan was merely at Qi Dao Ten Layers, and also carrying Su Qingqing. Normally, he stood no chance of outrunning Jiang Meng and the Corpse King. Only the steps of Slaughter God Seven Steps could compete with them.
But this rapidly drained his True Qi, and after running for about three miles, he started to gasp for air.
"Silly boy, is this monster really that powerful?"
Su Qingqing looked back at the number one War Corpse King, who was now just fifty meters behind.
"Is it powerful? It’s downright monstrous!"
Chen Nan replied as he poured all his effort into fleeing. Yet, as his True Qi depleted, the speed of his Slaughter God Seven Steps began to dwindle, and the War Corpse King closed in closer and closer.
With a fierce roar, the War Corpse King was now less than thirty meters away from Chen Nan.
It viciously swung its claw, unleashing peerless death energy that made the void tremble, overwhelmingly sweeping towards Chen Nan and Su Qingqing.