### Chapter 88: Everyone Survives
The epic battle finally came to a close, and even an hour later, Yun Zhonghe still felt a shiver down his spine.
You could say that Heaven decided to cut them some slack. Although things went wildly off script, the BOSS was only at half-step Yuan Ying level, barely scraping the surface of true Yuan Ying territory.
The five major realms—Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Yuan Ying, and Transformation Stage—had gaps that were manageable, except for the massive chasm between Golden Core and Yuan Ying. Once a cultivator hit Yuan Ying, they could learn celestial arts and unleash divine powers, stepping firmly on the path of immortality.
You could argue that anything under Yuan Ying was just mortals dabbling in cultivation; really, the difference between Golden Core and Foundation Establishment was just a fancier scoreboard with a few extra petty spells and some spiritual attacks. They might as well boast about their “fancy tricks.”
So, when Mu Jixue and Lin Zhongyu busted out their powers to take on a half-step Yuan Ying BOSS, it wasn’t exactly outrageous. After all, the gap wasn’t insurmountable in the first place.
The disparity between Qi Refinement and peak Golden Core was still less than that between peak Golden Core and first-level Yuan Ying.
Half-step Yuan Ying was about as high as their trio could handle, and they were fortunate to have Mu Jixue’s domineering “Extreme Cold” ability to freeze the BOSS, allowing everyone to escape doom.
“But what if this monster isn’t really dead? What if it thaws and comes back to life?”
Once Lin Zhongyu calmed down from the excitement, Yun Zhonghe walked into the gigantic ice sculpture, lost in thought.
The ice sculpture towered ten meters high, nearly the height of a three- or four-story building, standing out like a sore thumb in this town where most houses were single-story!
In the game, a few scenes mentioned Huang Aotian freezing enemies after unleashing inner strength, yet they mostly glossed over what to do with the ice sculpture.
Yun Zhonghe had no clue if the “Extreme Cold” could be undone.
Just then, Xiao Hu spotted a streak of sword light flying through the sky.
“Someone’s coming!”
The sword light descended, and a delicate-looking girl landed with a grace that almost had the crowd gasping—Master Youyue had arrived!
She always appeared fragile, with her head down and a serious face, yet her aura screamed “I can crush you like a bug,” creating a fierce contrast.
“Master, you’re here!”
Mu Jixue exclaimed with joy and hurried over.
The timely arrival of Master Youyue was like a steadfast anchor, sending waves of relief through the group.
After all, she was a big deal at the Transformation Stage—once she showed up, Yun Zhonghe didn’t need to fret over anything else.
Master Youyue first checked on Mu Jixue and, noticing that she only had some spiritual energy fatigue, let out a breath of relief, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
For some reason, while cultivating in the Cangzhou City lord’s mansion, she had felt uneasy.
At her level, the aches and pains of mere mortals hardly affected her. Something significant was stirring that concerned her, something that made her soul feel restless.
Before setting out on her task, Mu Jixue had given Master Youyue a heads-up. If she was worried, she’d swing by Qingzhu Town to check things out, and now her vague feeling was confirmed.
Trouble had indeed found Mu Jixue!
Especially when she saw that frozen spider demon, her eyes narrowed as she sensed its realm.
Half-step Yuan Ying… definitely not a bunch of Foundation Establishment cultivators could handle.
Mu Jixue recounted everything that had happened, of course skipping over the embarrassing bits like Yun Zhonghe revealing her pressure points and all that.
Master Youyue’s expression shifted as she probed for more details.
This tiny Qingzhu Town shouldn’t have hidden such a high-level demon. But the spider demon’s babble before it got iced implied some magical clan connections?
As Mu Jixue spoke, she didn’t shy away from mentioning Yun Zhonghe and seemed particularly grateful for his help.
That made Master Youyue regard Yun Zhonghe with renewed curiosity.
She had always found Yun Zhonghe intriguing, believing he didn’t quite fit the spoiled-brat stereotype. This task had revealed his leadership and adaptability, making her admire him even more.
Yun Zhonghe never failed to surprise people, as if he had an endless reserve of energy; just when folks thought he was out of steam, he pulled off yet another jaw-dropping feat.
Talk about keeping everyone guessing.
But as Master Youyue scrutinized him, he felt a twinge of anxiety. It was unnerving, especially since she was a hidden female lead, and he assumed their relationship was as distant as the stars. Yet, that piercing gaze made him feel oddly uneasy.
Yun Zhonghe straightened up and gave a polite bow.
Fortunately, Master Youyue quickly shifted her attention and greeted Qin Hongye.
Qin Hongye was the daughter of the Xuantian Sect’s leader, and Master Youyue was one of the Sect’s elders, so they knew each other well.
With Master Youyue in charge, cleanup would be a breeze.
With a flick of her wrist, Master Youyue expertly wielded her sword without even lifting a finger, slicing through the ice like it was made of butter and decapitating the spider demon like a pro chef.
Now the gang didn’t have to worry about how to deal with the BOSS; it had just been put down for good.
Just to be safe, Master Youyue decided to examine the spider demon’s body and check for any other potential threats lurking nearby, including another spider demon in the dungeon.
“I just rescued a bunch of people on my way here—looks like they were surrounded by a bunch of puppets. They must be your companions.”
She must be referring to Song Ziwei’s crew.
Just then, a group of figures appeared at the end of the street.
“Brother Yun! Miss Lin! Miss Mu!”
It was Song Ziwei and the others, who had made it too!
Seeing Yun Zhonghe and the others safe and sound made them all elated.
The group quickly approached to share their experiences, gushing about their night of terror.
Turns out, after Yun Zhonghe and the crew took down the first spider demon, the puppets on the street went berserk and stormed the inn.
The demon-corrupted puppets lost all control, their empty heads suddenly filled with a single thought: to feast on the flesh and bl**d of the living.
In the face of the puppets, stealth and hiding became useless; it was a scene straight out of a zombie apocalypse with puppets battering down the inn’s door.
Though Song Ziwei was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and could dispose of puppets with ease, she couldn’t keep up with the sheer number, especially while trying to protect her three teammates.
The four of them ended up blocking the puppet horde with furniture and battling back, hanging on thanks to the potions Yun Zhonghe had generously provided until Master Youyue just happened to stroll by and save them.
