Shi Mu had met this girl once before. She was the Demon Witch of Tian Yin Sect whom Shi Mu had been yearning for all these years.

　　This fairy-like gorgeous maiden had similarly dropped from the sky not so long ago. She had appeared before Shi Mu’s eyes like an unworldly dream once before as well.

　　“The mysterious Ice Ruler… It can’t be real. It must be an imitation.” The complexion of the black-cloaked man changed as his eyes fell on the jade ruler in the girl’s hand. He shook his head and spoke in disbelief.

　　“If I’m not wrong… then you’re Zong Yuan of the Cold Moon tribe of the barbarian race,” the Demon Witch looked at him, and asked with a faint smile.

　　“That’s right… I’m Zong Yuan. Anyways, who are you? You’re holding a fake ruler. But, you still dared to stop in front of me… to invite your death,” he said in a stern voice.

　　The girl cracked into a soft chuckle. She didn’t intend to answer him. Shi Mu lay nearby. She didn’t look towards him either. Instead, she gave her hand a gentle wave.

　　Suddenly, a group of white mist drifted towards them from the woods. It then carried-away the body of that white-robed girl surnamed Qi.

　　“Is this the man who’s responsible for your condition?” the beautiful maiden asked in a casual manner.

　　The corners of Miss Qi’s mouth were smudged with blood, and her face was deathly pale. She seemed to be unconscious.

　　“That’s right,” Zong Yuan admitted.

　　“Hehe… Very well then. You’ll repay it with your life in that case,” the charming beauty giggled in a delightful manner. Suddenly, her face became expressionless. Now, there wasn’t the slightest trace of a smile on her face. An intense murderous aura pervaded and filled the surrounding atmosphere.

　　Suddenly, she twisted her wrist. The white radiance of the Ice Ruler in her hand grew brighter, and an overwhelming coldness filled the air.

　　“Chi! Chi!” a series of air-piercing sounds was heard.

　　Then, dozens of ice-spears appeared and darted towards Zong Yuan. They arrived in front of him in a blink of an eye.

　　A contemptuous smile crawled across Zong Yuan’s face. He lifted his hand and struck at the ice-spears with his palm.

　　His glove exuded a stronger blue radiance as a ten feet huge gigantic blue palm appeared in the air. His blue palm then grabbed several ice spears, and crushed them into pieces.

　　However, an ear-piercing sound rang out before he could launch a counter-strike. It was accompanied by another round of ice-spears which bombarded towards him with a shrill sound.

　　The Ice Ruler in the beautiful girl’s hand twinkled a few times as a huge number of ice-spears continued to emerge one after another.

　　However, Zong Yuan continued to pound his fist and feet. Therefore, all the icicles were smashed into pieces.

　　Several rounds of such attacks continued to take place. The series of attacks didn’t provide the black-robed man even a moment to gasp for breath. However, these attacks were unable to cause even the slightest injury to him.

　　“Hmmm… I might’ve been afraid if you were holding the real mysterious Ice Ruler. But, you can’t harm me since it’s merely an imitation,” Zong Yuan spoke with an impatient look on his face.

　　Another round of ice-spears bombardment, and they too were routed by him. Suddenly, he noticed that the Ice Ruler had started to hover above the Demon Witch’s head. He hadn’t noticed when the Ice Ruler had left her hand and had started to float in the air.

　　The Demon Witch bent and stretched her fingers. She then formed a strange magic gesture.

　　“Ice Soul, begin!”

　　A loud crashing sound was heard.

　　Zong Yuan had crushed numerous ice-spears by now. Suddenly, those smashed fragments turned into a vast-stretched layer of white mist. This mist shrouded the black-robed man, and trapped him inside. It seemed as if the mist had gained its own intelligence. It then formed a white ball of mist.

　　The man’s complexion turned pale. He stomped on the ground in an attempt to jump backwards.

　　However, the layers of white mist were attached to him like living creatures. They continued to engulf him; no matter how hard he tried to break free. They didn’t leave any gap for him to escape.

　　All the attacks of that man had ended-up being futile. They couldn’t bring the slightest damage to the mist ball. Instead, his attacks went through them.

　　“Real Qi is transformed into spirits? How can it be possible?” Zong Yuan shouted in bewilderment.

　　“Ice Soul Prison!” The Demon Witch didn’t pay any attention to his words. Her hands continued to change postures for a while. Then, she clasped her hands together.

　　Kacha!

　　Suddenly, the white mist surrounding the man solidified with a loud crackling sound. They changed into a white crystal, and took the shape of dozens-of-feet-wide ice ball. Now, the black-cloaked man was sealed inside that huge ball.

　　The man continued to struggle with his limbs to unshackle himself. However, he seemed like a trivial fly trapped in ambers. He couldn’t even budge.

　　The Demon Witch’s complexion finally loosened a bit. Several sparkling beads of sweat were gleaming on the elegant wings of her nose. This secret art seemed to have consumed a huge amount of her energy.

　　Shi Mu had been lying motionless on the ground all this time. However, he had witnessed this splendid battle without batting an eyelid. He was hardly able to close his mouth. He was gripped by a sense of mixed feelings.

　　His current level of cultivation wasn’t high. So, most of the processes in this battle had been incomprehensible to him. But, he had gained a clear impression of the intensity of fights between Xian Tian level warriors. This experience would definitely benefit him in his future training.

　　His eyes were glued to the graceful figure of the white-clad beauty. He couldn’t take his eyes off her… not even for a second.

　　The oath he had made several years ago was still reverberating in his heart. He didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of wavering from it.

　　When he had met this gorgeous girl for the first time — she had appeared a fairy-like maiden to him. He had felt as if she had descended from the Heavens. However, he was just an ordinary human being back then. The distance between these two people was huge and insurmountable.

　　This was their second encounter. This girl still held a high place in his heart. However, he was no longer the same person. He no longer thought that she was beyond his reach.

　　He was a Hou Tian middle stage warrior now. He had made a huge progress, and had come close to the goal set by her. The goal was that he would have to reach the Xian Tian level before turning thirty.

　　“How dare you look at me with this kind of an expression? You must be careful… or I’ll gouge your eyes out.” The Demon Witch felt the intent look that Shi Mu was casting her. Therefore, she turned around and warned him with a cold face.

　　“You said the same words the last time as well. But, I’ve got this propitious chance to see you again … and that too with great difficulty. So, I’ll still be beholding you for the rest of my life even if you dig out my eyes…” Shi Mu struggled hard to sit-up by propping himself against the tree. His face creased into a soft smile as he spoke these words.

　　However, this action affected the wounds on his body. Fresh blood started to bubble-up from his wounds. A huge amount of blood gurgled out of his mouth as well.

　　“You…” The face of that beautiful girl revealed a trace of hesitation as she heard these words. She knitted her delicate eyebrows, and sized him up one more time.

　　“It seems that you’ve forgotten me. My name is Shi Mu. I made a vow to marry you in the woods outside the Feng City of the Da Qi Kingdom.” Shi Mu smiled even though blood continued to stream down his body.

　　The Demon Witch’s tender body trembled, and her facial expressions changed.

　　“It’s you!”

　　“That’s right. It seems that the fairy-like maiden hasn’t forgotten me. The words that you had said that day have been constantly ringing in my ears,” Shi Mu’s complexion loosened, and his eyes glinted with eagerness as he said.

　　“So, have you joined any Sect?” the beautiful maiden’s red lips moved. She seemed to be a little surprised.

　　“Shi Mu is now an official disciple of the Black Demon Sect. My cultivation isn’t that high… but, I’ve reached the middle stage of the Hou Tian level. I’m not far from reaching the Hou Tian advance stage… Moreover, I’ve recently found that I possess a magician’s skills as well. I’m performing pretty well in magic arts… So, I’ll reach the Xian Tian level before I hit thirty. Then, I’ll set out for the Wulong Mountain to find you, and will propose marriage to you. You know that I never go back on a promise.” Shi Mu’s complexion had become deathly pale due to excessive bleeding. However, he spoke in a blissful manner.

　　The Demon Witch was speechless. Her beautiful eyes were stretched wide open, and her small mouth was open in shock.

　　Shi Mu continued to observe the mesmerizing face of this beautiful woman. He couldn’t move his eyes from her face even for a second.

　　The Demon Witch’s cheeks became red with embarrassment as she noticed his gaze. She became nervous and looked away.

　　“Who… who’s listening to your nonsense?”

　　Her bewildered and embarrassed facial expression added irresistible loveliness to her beauty.

　　Shi Mu smiled as he noticed her bashful expression. He struggled to get on his feet, but failed. He staggered and fell down once again.

　　His body was about to touch the ground when a cluster of clouds appeared and cradled his body.

　　“Are you alright?”

　　Suddenly, a person’s shadow flashed, and the Demon Witch appeared to his side. Shi Mu asked subconsciously, “Are you worried about me? I… I’m so glad… coughs…” a fit of uncontrollable coughing came over him before he could finish his words. It was accompanied with gushes of blood from his mouth.

　　“Shut your mouth… and close your eyes. You’re not allowed to look at me,” the Demon Witch’s tone changed; she said in a cold voice.

　　Shi Mu smiled as he heard these words. But, he obeyed her and closed his eyes.

　　An icy-cold yet pleasantly warm hand pressed on his chest. Then, a wisp of equally cold Real Qi entered and circulated within his body. After that, it slowly seeped into his veins.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion looked relaxed. The gnawing pain in his body was also reduced to a great extent.

　　“You’ve taken a powerful punch from Zong Yuan. So, your bones and muscles have received a severe jolt. This jolt has crushed your entire body. It won’t be easy to completely restore them.” The Demon Witch retracted her palm. Then, she spoke in a low voice.

　　“Is there any way to cure my injuries?” Shi Mu opened his eyes. He remained silent for a while, and then asked.

　　“There’s a way. But, it’ll be extremely painful. You might even lose your life if your willpower gives way anytime through this process… In fact, I’m not sure if your injuries will be completely cured after the treatment or not,” she spoke with twinkling eyes.

　　“Don’t worry. I’ll make it. I have to reach the Xian Tian level at any cost… and then I’ll marry…”

　　The Demon Witch’s complexion reddened as she heard this. Her glittering eyes glared at him fiercely.

　　Shi Mu returned a wry smile, and didn’t speak any further on the subject.

　　“Let’s put aside this healing matter for a while. The Xian Tian barbarian that you’ve just frozen… is he really dead? It would be good to wipe him out first. I just noticed a trace of blue light glowing on his body.” Shi Mu’s vision moved and fell on the ice ball behind her. He then spoke-up in order to remind her.

　　“What?!”

　　The girl’s complexion changed, and she hastily turned around.

　　Suddenly, a dazzling blue light emerged from the black-robed barbarian’s shoulders inside the huge crystal ball. Then, a blue shadow of a tiger’s face appeared in front of his body. It opened its mouth, and issued a muffled roar.

　　A circle of blue ripples appeared and proliferated in all directions. Suddenly, the ice ball trembled, and numerous cracks appeared over its surface. Then, the ice ball crumbled into several pieces with a loud rumble.

　　The black-robed man fell on the ground like a piece of paper. He cast a fearful glance at the Demon Witch. Then, he stretched his arms like a mighty black eagle, and fled at a lightning speed.

　　The girl’s body was set into motion. The Ice Ruler in her hand emanated a bright light, and it started to pursue the barbarian man.

　　However, the tiger-shadow over the man’s shoulder opened its mouth, and spouted a blue beam of light. That light beam flew towards the girl at an incredible speed.

　　The girl’s complexion changed. She wielded her Jade Ruler once again. Then, a white light flashed and condensed into an ice wall before her body to shield her from the blow.

　　‘Kacha!’ a crackling sound was heard.

　　The ice wall fell apart; the blue beam of light also disappeared from the sight. However, the black-robed man’s figure had also disappeared without a trace.

　　The delicate eyebrows of the Demon Witch furrowed. But, she didn’t try to pursue him again.