Supreme Emptiness

Here's the translation of the provided Chinese text into English:

Uh—

At the brink of death, you still care about this?

The Remnant Soul from the hairpin nearly spat out blood.

How obsessed is Gu Xin'er with this matter, exactly?

"Say it!" Gu Xin'er urged, her face blushing.

Jiang Fan's own face flushed red with embarrassment at the question.

His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of her rounded, curved chest.

It's not that there's nothing there.

But honestly, it's not much.

He coughed lightly and recalled the diplomatic phrasing of the East Sea Demon Emperor.

He said, "Gu Xin'er, you'd look good in anything."

Gu Xin'er froze for a moment.

Realization dawned on her slowly, and she fumed, "So, you're saying I'm small?"

"Get lost!"

"Get out of here already!"

"Don't ever let me see you again in this lifetime!"

She raised her foot in anger, intending to kick him away.

Even on the verge of death, she couldn't hear a single word of compliment!

Infuriating!

Jiang Fan dodged and then looked up at the rolling dark clouds approaching on the horizon. His tone shifted to seriousness:

"Stop hesitating—go now!"

"The matter of the Hell Beast has nothing to do with you!"

Gu Xin'er stubbornly tried to stuff the Dustless Talisman back into Jiang Fan's hands, huffing:

"I don't want your piece-of-junk trash!"

"Just go already!"

They shoved it back and forth.

Suddenly.

A stream of extreme cold surged from the distant Ice Valley.

Wherever it passed, even the Spiritual Energy in the air froze solid.

Turning into icy flakes and drifting with the wind.

Gu Xin'er's eyes flashed with shock: "What a terrifying cold!"

"Could there possibly be some sort of extreme icy treasure or Spiritual Object down there?"

Hmm?

She said it offhandedly.

Jiang Fan followed the cold current with his gaze.

Its source came from a deep fissure of ice.

Wasn't this the very location where Jiang Fan had accidentally discovered the icy cavern when rescuing Liu Qingxian?

That icy cavern harbored an extremely dangerous cold.

At the time, Jiang Fan hadn't dared to delve deeper.

Now, for no apparent reason, why had the cold suddenly erupted?

Could the Jiangshan First-class Building Owner be here?

At this thought, a glimmer of delight appeared on his face. He said, "Quick! Let's go check it out!"

Gu Xin'er also felt that the dangerous cold might deter the Hell Beast.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Jiang Fan and flew toward it.

Soon enough.

They arrived above the abyss-like mouth of the enormous ice cavern.

Terrifying streams of cold burst out like springs gushing forth.

Gu Xin'er staggered slightly.

Despite her Nascent Soul Realm, she was still shaken to the point of instability.

"What shocking cold!"

"There must be something strange below the Ice Abyss!"

"It's possible… this vast, endless icy world might be connected to this very abyss."

Gu Xin'er gazed around, speaking somberly.

Huh?

Jiang Fan was stunned.

The Demon Race's territories were largely covered in snow and ice.

Could this snow and ice actually originate from the Ice Abyss before them?

Reflecting deeply, the snow and ice within the Demon Race indeed seemed peculiar.

To the south, the lands of the Human Clan were lush and spring-like.

If the northern coldness of the Demon Race were merely a result of geographical factors—

Why then, would the far northernmost lands of the Demon Race be a warm, grassy plain?

This continent.

North and south were temperate.

But only the central section was snowbound.

This couldn't possibly be explained through mere geography.

Perhaps Gu Xin'er was right.

The source of the snow and ice could lie within the Ice Abyss before them.

Just as this thought settled.

The skies suddenly darkened.

A black-cloaked Hell Beast made its swift arrival at the scene.

"Hiss!"

"Which Divinity Transformation cultivator's treasure has fallen to this place?"

It was evident the Hell Beast had also detected the anomaly.

Immediately.

Its gaze shifted to Jiang Fan and Gu Xin'er.

"You two run quite well, don't you?"

"What's the matter this time—not planning to keep running?"

Jiang Fan gritted his teeth.

He pulled Gu Xin'er and leapt directly into the Ice Abyss below, turning back to snarl: "Catch me if you've got the guts!"

"Let's see if your life's expendable!"

The Hell Beast's face turned grim.

Its gaze shifted toward the abyss's depths, showing visible hesitation.

The icy bursts emanating from below provoked a certain kind of dread.

Risking everything for a couple of prey wasn't worth it.

However, the hunt for Jiang Fan had deeper motives.

The Hell Beast needed Jiang Fan's soul to disguise itself as him, tricking his Spiritual Pet into surrendering the Merit Divine Pearl!

Otherwise.

What reason would compel it to travel so far on a relentless chase?

Watching Jiang Fan slip into the icy abyss.

Though it feared the periodically exploding cold, it had no choice but to pursue.

If it could strike before danger emerged, devour Jiang Fan's soul, and depart, the greater good would be salvaged.

But as it picked up awareness of the Hell Beast's approach.

Jiang Fan's anxiety surged.

This Hell Beast truly didn't value its own life!

Thud—

Suddenly.

A terror-inducing icy wind swept across.

Jiang Fan immediately felt his soul chill, as if on the verge of freezing.

Worst of all, the icy wind was shapeless.

Impossible to guard against.

Gu Xin'er, too, felt a dire warning flash through her mind as she hastily exclaimed, "Hold onto me tight!"

Hold on?

Jiang Fan didn't hesitate for a second.

He clung to her directly, face first.

Gu Xin'er's petite frame only reached Jiang Fan's shoulders.

In this embrace, her entire body was buried against his chest.

Whoosh—

A layer of violet flame surged out from within Gu Xin'er, encircling both herself and Jiang Fan in a protective barrier a foot wide.

The icy wind struck.

And managed to extinguish a wisp of violet flame.

The sight made Jiang Fan's heart pound in shock.

He had experienced violet flame's potent strength firsthand.

The Dragon Binding Chain, capable of restraining Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, had been melted into liquid iron by violet flame.

Yet now, the icy wind had extinguished a flicker of it.

The power of the icy wind exceeded expectations.

"Are you trying to suffocate me?"

A muffled voice rose from within his embrace.

Looking down, he saw Gu Xin'er glaring up at him angrily with a reddened face.

"Then how am I supposed to hold you?" Jiang Fan asked.

"From the back!"

Oh.

Jiang Fan moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, closely pressing himself against her.

Gu Xin'er's body stiffened momentarily. She quickly shook off his grip.

Turning around, she glared at him.

Jiang Fan looked properly confused: "Front is a problem; back is a problem too."

"You call the shots—I'll follow."

Gu Xin'er ground her teeth, then bent down and scooped Jiang Fan into a princess carry.

"How's this?" Gu Xin'er asked.

Jiang Fan felt awkward but coughed lightly, saying:

"Except for slightly bruising my masculine pride, I suppose there's nothing too bad about it."

Gu Xin'er's cheeks flushed slightly. She huffed, "Stay like this—and don't squirm!"

With Jiang Fan in her arms—oh, correction—carrying him in a princess hold, Gu Xin'er sank downward.

The Hell Beast chasing them from behind was suddenly struck by a burst of icy wind.

It quickly halted.

A layer of black flowing light surged around it.

This was its Wild Beast Domain.

The icy wind struck the flowing light, slowly losing momentum and solidifying.

As a result, its true form became visible.

It was, shockingly, a flat, blade-like creature with an ice-crystal-colored body!

Its spiked mouth resembled a steel needle, capable of piercing living flesh with ease.

The blade-like body could swiftly slice through flesh to burrow into its prey.

The extreme cold within its abdomen could then release into its prey's body.

Instantly freezing the victim from inside out.

"Nightmare Ice Worm!"

"How could such creatures possibly exist here?"

"Weren't these Divine Worms cultivated by the Ice and Fire Demon Lord a thousand years ago?"

"They were supposed to have gone extinct centuries ago!"

Whoosh-whoosh—

Several more Nightmare Ice Worms began attacking.

The Hell Beast hesitated.

If the Nightmare Ice Worms were small in number, it could handle it.

But if they were numerous—

Even its Wild Beast Domain might not be able to hold against them.

Still, watching Jiang Fan sink deeper into the darkness below, it clenched its teeth and pursued.

Gu Xin'er looked equally grave.

The deeper they descended, the more frequent and eerie the icy winds became.

Moreover, they seemed to exhibit Spiritual Wisdom, concentrating their attacks repeatedly on specific areas, attempting to break through the surrounding violet flames.

Luckily, her violet flames were abundant, consistently repairing the breaches.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After descending for an unknown length.

A faint light entered their view.

It was several Luminous Pearls, seemingly dropped intentionally, illuminating the abyss's depths.

Under the weak glow, an enormous palace came into faint focus.

Jiang Fan recognized its origins with just one glance!

The palace of the Ice and Fire Demon Lord.

Its design was almost identical to the one at the lake-bed.

Except the lake-bed's palace was called the Li Fire Heavenly Palace.

Whereas this one was named...

Xuanbing Hell.