The icy air of the Snow Valley Sect bit deep into Darian's bones, turning every breath into a swirl of white mist that danced in the wind. Before the Shadow Team stood the towering crystal city — a majestic yet haunting monument carved from frozen light. Its spires reflected the gray sky like giant prisms, but their shimmer was not warm.The streets were paved with ice, filled with cloaked figures moving like puppets — pale faces, empty eyes, all under the silent control of patrolling ice cultivators wielding crystalline spears. At the heart of the city loomed the Eternal Ice Mirror, its blue pulse shaking the air, causing Darian's onyx pendant to hiss with heat.Far off in the distance, howls of ice wolves echoed from the crystalline forest — a warning that danger lurked around every corner."This place is beautiful," Tony muttered, his Qi dagger glowing faintly as he scanned the shadows, "but also horrifying. The people look like zombies who forgot how to live.""It's oppressive Qi,

Night descended upon the ruins of the Crystal Ice City, where fragments of ice floated in the air like snow that never fell, cloaking the frozen ground in a fragile silence.In the aftermath of the battle, Darian stood alone, his body still radiating the heat of Qi flames from the fight.Behind him, his team worked to clear the battlefield, gathering enemy weapons and ensuring no Wraiths or Dark Wanderers remained. Briana leaned against a cracked wall, her hand trembling as she tried to heal a wound on her shoulder, her energy nearly spent.Tony sat beside her, his breath shallow after enduring Valeria's direct assault. Lena stood nearby, her gaze hollow.She clutched her crystal sword, but her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She had just read Valeria's journal—her adoptive sister's final words. "I tried to fight Marcus… but the darkness was too strong. Lena, forgive me. Protect this world." The words shattered her heart.Kai appeared as a pale blue hologram beside Darian, his voic