Chapter 1488: Icebound City

Whoosh!

With a violent jolt, Zhang Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed to the ground.

As before, his entire body ached as if about to tear apart, and blood streaks appeared in many places.

In truth, given his current strength, it was indeed impossible for him to set up a teleportation array, but Zhao Ya's matter could not be delayed. In desperation, he had no choice but to endure the joint attack of Zhan Shi and the others, then use clever force and timing to shift into the formation.

The many elders of the Saint Son Hall, combined with the Saint Son Grand Formation's attack—even the Flame Qilin Beast at the peak of Saint Domain Ninth Layer could not withstand it—all entered the formation, instantly completing its setup and granting it ample operational power.

Only then was the teleportation successful.

However, despite the success, his injuries were unprecedented in severity.

Not to mention the spatial attacks generated by long-distance teleportation, the mere act of redirecting the crowd's attacking force had shaken his internal organs and caused severe damage.

These injuries, infused with the auras of many, were difficult to heal even with Heavenly Dao true qi in a short time.

Bang!

Struggling to rise, he heard another dull sound. Turning his head, he saw Chen Leyao also fallen nearby, her injuries even worse than his.

Her body was covered in blood, her breath faint, as if she might expire at any moment.

Chen Leyao was only at the Nascent Soul realm, and the teleportation array Zhang Xuan had set up, involving Heavenly Dao techniques, was beyond what someone of her strength could withstand, despite being smoother than ordinary arrays.

If not for Zhang Xuan using all his power to form a true qi shield around her body before the teleportation, she would have been ground to dust, leaving nothing behind.

Even so, she was barely clinging to life, on the verge of death.

"At least..."

Seeing that although the injuries were severe, they were not difficult to treat, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief and slowly stood up.

As he moved, the wounds flared, and he coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood.

To be honest, since he began cultivating, this was the worst he had ever been.

He went to Chen Leyao, flicked his fingers, and several streams of true qi flowed along her meridians, repairing the damaged areas inside her body.

Seeing her complexion gradually ease and her wounds close, Zhang Xuan finally relaxed and began healing himself.

After cycling his qi through three full circuits over more than ten minutes, he felt the pain subside and a sense of relief.

Though not fully recovered, he was close enough.

"I can't take such risks next time. One misstep, and I might die before even reaching the destination..."

Letting out a breath, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Although he had successfully set up the teleportation array and escaped, it had been extremely dangerous. A single misstep in any step could have ruined everything, leading to death and annihilation.

That he succeeded this time was, frankly, partly due to luck.

He looked at Chen Leyao to the side. Though still unconscious, her breathing had become much smoother, and the previously狰狞 wounds had now fully healed.

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a silver needle, infused it with true qi, and with a flick of his finger, inserted it.

Having read all the books on eight-star physicians in the Saint Son Hall, even without the library, he was no less skilled than a nine-star physician. She had only fainted from the spatial shock; now that her external injuries were gone, waking her was simple.

Sure enough, as the needle went in, Chen Leyao's brows twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"I'm not dead..."

Sitting up, the girl felt a surge of disbelief.

She had thought entering an untested teleportation array would mean certain death, yet she was still alive.

"Since I need you to lead the way to the Icefield Palace, I naturally wouldn't let you die!"

Seeing her expression, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly and interrupted her relief: "Alright, let's see where we are and how far we are from the Icefield Palace!"

"Mm..."

Chen Leyao stood up, her delicate body flickering into the air. She looked around and exclaimed in disbelief: "This is the outskirts of Icebound City. We're here already? So fast?"

Everyone feels a sense of disorientation on their first teleportation; Zhang Xuan was no exception, let alone her.

"Icebound City?"

Zhang Xuan frowned: "How far is it from the Icefield Palace headquarters?"

He had set the teleportation array strictly according to the location she had given. Had something gone wrong?

"The Icefield Palace headquarters is right inside Icebound City, protected by a sect-guarding grand formation. Outsiders cannot be teleported inside, so the address I gave you was on the outskirts. I never expected the teleportation to land exactly where I said, without the slightest error!"

Chen Leyao was astonished.

A top-tier power like the Icefield Palace would never allow anyone to teleport directly inside. If that happened, chaos would erupt before they even found the Young Palace Mistress.

That was why she had given him the outskirts location. But she never imagined that the teleportation array he had set up for the first time would land precisely at the spot she had described, without any deviation!

To achieve this over millions of kilometers without a single mistake was something even a peak nine-star formation master would find difficult!

Ordinary nine-star formation masters setting up teleportation arrays would first establish a teleportation platform at the destination to better pinpoint the location and target.

This one-way teleportation, with no target at all, relying solely on calculation to achieve such precision... his understanding of formations was beyond imagination.

Had this guy really never known teleportation formations before?

And only studied for a few minutes?

"Since we're here, let's enter the city quickly and try to gather information. What exactly happened to Zhao Ya?"

Hearing they were nearby, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief.

"Mm!"

Seeing that this man, to save his student, had no fear even of offending the Saint Son Hall, Chen Leyao knew his resolve. She said no more and flew toward the city wall not far away.

Because Icebound City housed the Icefield Palace, despite the snow and ice, it was still one of the continent's major cities. The gates closed at dusk, refusing all visitors.

However, Chen Leyao had a core disciple token of the Icefield Palace, so they entered easily.

Inside the city, snowflakes drifted, and the snow on the ground was knee-deep. Though the cold was biting, the streets were bustling with activity, crowded with people and traffic.

"Teacher Zhang, shall we go to the Icefield Palace now?"

Chen Leyao turned to look at him.

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Why?"

Chen Leyao was puzzled.

He had rushed here with such urgency, sparing no cost, yet now that they were at the doorstep, he was in no hurry to go?

"The priority now is not to go there, but to find out what happened and prepare in advance. Otherwise, rushing in blindly could lead to trouble, not only failing to save anyone but also cutting off all chances!"

Zhang Xuan frowned deeply.

"Trouble? What trouble could there be at the Icefield Palace? Teacher Zhang, you mean..."

Stunned, Chen Leyao felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her: "Is there a problem within the Icefield Palace itself?"