"Hiss~~"
Mu Nianbing's head throbbed sharply the moment he regained consciousness, as if someone had struck the back of his skull with a club.
After rubbing his temples a few times, he barely managed to gather himself and immediately scanned the surroundings.
Mo Fan lay sprawled on the ground like a corpse, while the others slowly began to stir.
It seemed the Ancient King's descendants had indeed received special treatment.
"Brother Bing, where are we?" Zhang Xiaohou asked groggily.
"Look over there. That should be the Ancient King's mausoleum."
Mu Nianbing pointed toward a majestic white palace standing in stark contrast against the twisted, dim world around them.
The entire palace gleamed with a faint light, its surface polished like a mirror that reflected the darkened sky.
At the sight of the palace, a flash of excitement and greed crossed Fang Gu's eyes.
If this palace truly existed, then the legend was real!
Mu Nianbing noticed his expression and smirked inwardly.
So, this guy's actually dreaming of inheriting the Ancient King's throne? A mere Middle-level Mage, daring to covet an Emperor's legacy… truly, greed knows no bounds.
After crossing the Bridge of Nine Deaths and One Life, he would personally deal with him.
Before long, Mo Fan groaned and pushed himself up from the ground, glaring furiously at Nianbing.
"You almost got me killed!"
If not for Little Loach's timely protection, both of them might have been lost to the Abyss.
"Who taught you to speak to your godfather like that?" Nianbing replied flatly.
"Pfft~~"
Mo Fan almost coughed up blood from sheer frustration. This guy never missed a chance to bring up nonsense!
"Brother Bing, Brother Fan, let's not argue now," Zhang Xiaohou quickly stepped in to ease the tension.
"We've already been through enough life-and-death together. Let's focus on getting out alive first."
He wasn't wrong. Escaping the Evil Abyss alive was already a miracle.
Mo Fan muttered under his breath but didn't argue further. Truth be told, Little Loach's recent power-up was indirectly thanks to Nianbing anyway.
"Let's move. We need to check out that tomb palace," Fang Gu said impatiently.
"Let's go," Nianbing replied calmly.
Now that they had made it into the Evil Abyss, there was no point in holding back. He only needed to follow Fang Gu closely.
Inside the tomb palace, under Fang Gu's guidance, they moved through a long jade corridor without incident.
At the end of it lay a vast front hall made entirely of snow-white jade. The floor gleamed so brightly that their reflections stared back at them.
The space felt endless, shrouded in darkness on all sides—no visible walls, no boundaries.
After several attempts to walk in different directions, they all found themselves looping back to the same spot.
"This must be Chaos Magic," Nianbing murmured. "It's distorting our sense of direction."
Though he hadn't awakened the Chaos Element himself, he knew of its properties—twisting time, space, and perception itself.
Just then, Mo Fan's pendant—the Little Loach—tugged at his consciousness. He followed the pull and soon discovered a glowing lotus floating in midair.
"The Immortal Demonic Lotus," Fang Gu muttered, awe in his tone.
It was a pure energy form—destroy it however they might, it would simply reform again.
The only way out was to truly destroy it… an impossible task.
Fortunately, Little Loach loved such challenges. It eagerly devoured the lotus's energy, helping Mo Fan break through his Advanced-level bottleneck.
While Mo Fan cultivated, Nianbing sat cross-legged and began meditating as well.
Zhang Xiaohou couldn't help but sigh. "Brother Bing's really something… even trapped in this place, he can stay so calm."
When Mo Fan's breakthrough was complete, the group pressed onward.
Soon, they entered a chamber lined with countless white jade statues—lifelike figures frozen mid-motion.
The detail was astonishing… and none of the statues wore clothes.
Mo Fan slung an arm around Zhang Xiaohou, grinning mischievously. "Tsk, seems the Ancient King had some taste."
Zhang Xiaohou flushed red, especially with Su Xiaoluo right there.
Mu Nianbing simply shook his head, amused. Even in death, the Ancient King refused to be lonely.
As they continued forward, a massive jade platform appeared before them. On either side were bottomless chasms, from which a cold wind howled.
Standing atop the platform, they saw ten bridges extending out into the darkness.
"These are the Bridges of Nine Deaths and One Life," Fang Gu explained. "Only one leads to safety."
A one-in-ten chance—Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Su Xiaoluo all fell silent.
"Brother Bing, which bridge should we take?" Mo Fan finally asked.
"Now you remember to call me Brother Bing?" Nianbing shot back, rolling his eyes.
Mo Fan gave an awkward chuckle.
Ignoring him, Nianbing turned to Fang Gu. "Which bridge do you want to choose?"
Fang Gu froze for a second. He already knew which bridge was the safe one—but there was no way he'd share that information.
"You all go first," he said with feigned indifference. "It doesn't really matter which one you choose."
Nianbing smirked inwardly. Trying to play tricks, huh?
"I said you choose first," he said coldly, eyes narrowing. "Or are you hiding something?"
The sudden shift in tone made Fang Gu's heart skip a beat. Had he been found out?
Under Nianbing's piercing stare, Fang Gu could only grit his teeth and step onto one of the bridges.
The moment he did, Nianbing snapped his fingers and teleported beside him.
"Goodbye, traitor."
With a wave of telekinetic force, Mu Nianbing flung Fang Gu straight into the abyss below.
His scream echoed for a few seconds—then silence.
...
Author's Note:
Versatile Mage: Heir of the Frozen Throne — Part 1 is now fully completed and available on my Patreon!
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🔥 I also have additional **18+ fanfics** available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories. 😉
1. Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
6. Versatile Mage: Awakening the Succubus System
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