The Far North Land fell into silence once more, with neither the two humans nor the two beasts speaking for a while.
After a long pause, Snow Emperor's face showed rare complexity: "How is Ice Empress?"
Li Xun had already proven the possibility of godhood with his talent and strength. Though she couldn't conceal her shock, her greater concern was for Ice Empress.
"Wait a moment, she's still adapting. Let me communicate with her." Li Xun quickly reassured, then focused his consciousness into his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.
Perhaps due to having lived three lives, Li Xun's Spiritual Sea of Consciousness was vast despite not being a mental-type Soul Master.
The azure, expansive consciousness space truly resembled an ocean.
Above the Spiritual Sea of Consciousness floated six golden seals engraved with intricate patterns, emitting faint pressure that reminded Li Xun of the energy contained within.
At this moment, Ice Empress was resting on one of the seals. The consumption of her origin source and that indescribable pain had greatly affected her.
Meanwhile, Sky Dream Iceworm kept hovering around Ice Empress, attending to her every need. Though an insect, he perfectly embodied the appearance of a Simp.
Noticing Li Xun's entry into the Spiritual Sea of Consciousness, both beasts turned their attention to him.
"Not bad. It seems my choice was correct." Ice Empress couldn't help but praise.
"How about it? Brother's judgment is good, right?" Delighted that Ice Empress finally spoke, Sky Dream Iceworm quickly sought credit.
"What does that have to do with you?" Ice Empress swatted Sky Dream Iceworm aside with her tail.
"Ice Empress, welcome aboard."
Seeing that Ice Empress's condition wasn't too bad, Li Xun felt relieved: "Snow Emperor is worried about you. Should we let her know you're safe?"
"I almost forgot."
Ice Empress paused, then manipulated her spiritual power to form a phantom image that shot out of the Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.
The wind and snow of the Far North Land rustled Snow Emperor's long skirt as she stood there quietly watching Li Xun, while Bing Xiong Wang hid behind her.
As a being born from the primordial energies of heaven and earth, she had no kin. For hundreds of thousands of years, she had cultivated in solitude, unaware of what emotions were.
Until she met Ice Empress and Xiao Bai.
But today, Ice Empress was leaving her, making her feel as if something was missing from her heart.
Snow Emperor couldn't comprehend this emotion, yet she was curious about this feeling.
Just then, Ice Empress's voice interrupted her thoughts: "Snow Emperor."
Due to the consumption of her origin source, the spiritual body Ice Empress manifested wasn't her original size, though this allowed her to experience unprecedented comfort.
She rubbed and nuzzled against Snow Emperor's cupped palms, completely at ease.
"You succeeded..."
Snow Emperor lifted Ice Empress before her eyes, a ripple of emotion stirring deep within her blue, translucent pupils. For a moment, she found herself at a loss for words. She had never been much of a talker to begin with.
"Snow Emperor, I'm fine now. Don't worry." Sensing something different about Snow Emperor, Ice Empress softly comforted her.
"That's good..." Snow Emperor murmured gently.
"Snow Emperor... I shouldn't really advise you, since you're different from me and should still have a chance to survive the Heavenly Tribulation, but... if there really is no other way, I hope you'll consider this option too..."
After gathering her thoughts for a moment, Ice Empress looked up at Snow Emperor and spoke earnestly.
"...I'll consider it. If you encounter any difficulties, you can always come back to me."
After speaking, the Snow Emperor turned her gaze to Li Xun: "I hope you won't lead the Ice Empress to ruin."
"I won't. I cherish my own life," Li Xun smiled.
At the very heart of the Far North Land, the wind and snow were not particularly heavy, but the emptiness grew more profound.
The Snow Emperor and Xiao Bai stood atop a glacier, silently watching the two receding figures, a faint sense of loneliness lingering in the air.
In recent years, the Douluo Continent had been swept by turbulent changes.
First, the Heaven Dou Empire launched an invasion against the Star Luo Empire, advancing and consuming territory with little resistance. Then, the Spirit Hall declared the establishment of its own empire and joined in this voracious conquest.
For a time, the Star Luo Empire became a piece of tender meat in the mouths of two empires.
But for some reason, the Heaven Dou Empire, which had initially held a favorable position, began to retract after the Spirit Empire entered the fray. It focused solely on consolidating its gains, allowing the Spirit Empire to rampage across the territories of the Star Luo Empire.
Rumors spread like wildfire across the continent, further cementing the speculation that the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire were closely connected.
At the same time, the many powerful figures of the Spirit Hall were revealed to the world for the first time.
Although there were rumors that the Spirit Hall had suffered heavy losses due to a recent Beast Tide, the strength it displayed now was more than enough to instill fear.
"Your Excellency, Heaven Dou has taken no further action. There are reports that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has withdrawn all its high-level soul masters," Chrysanthemum Douluo followed behind Bibidong as they walked through the streets of Star Luo City.
"Understood. Leave them be for now."
Bibidong was not surprised, and her current focus was not on Heaven Dou or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
It had been too easy. The Spirit Empire had captured the former capital of the Star Luo Empire with almost no resistance.
An ordinary ruler might have been pleased, but this did not align with Bibidong's expectations.
Observing the tightly shuttered shops and houses lining the streets, Bibidong's eyes flickered with thought. "Order the troops to continue advancing. Also, send a letter to Ning Fengzhi and demand that he surrender Gengxin City."
"Gengxin City is rich in geological resources. With such a strategic location under their control, the output of the Seven Treasure Armory Factory would become unpredictable."
Only war serves as the ultimate test for equipment. Through the conflicts between Heaven Dou and Star Luo, the military armaments produced by the Seven Treasure Factory had come into the public eye.
It was then that people realized that even if they couldn't become soul masters, they were not entirely powerless.
For a time, weapons like the Zhuge Divine Crossbow and the Hornet's Nest, produced by the Seven Treasure School, became highly sought-after items among ordinary people.
If someone carried a Zhuge Divine Crossbow at their waist and a Hornet's Nest on their back, even if they weren't a soul master, no one would dare look down on them.
After all, anyone who could afford such items was likely equipped with other military armaments as well.
"By the way, how is Nana doing?" Bibidong asked as Chrysanthemum Douluo prepared to leave.
"I heard she went to Heaven Dou City with Ning Fengzhi. Beyond that, I don't know anything else."
"Understood. You may go."
Bibidong nodded slightly, waved Chrysanthemum Douluo away, and then rubbed her temples.
She couldn't fathom what Huliena was thinking. Had the influence of the Road to Hell affected her so severely that she would act so recklessly?
And then there was the Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff, which also troubled her.
That soul beast's age was exceedingly high. Given her current physical condition, she simply couldn't absorb it. While the ninth soul skill of her first spirit allowed her to cheat death, it offered no protection when absorbing spirit rings for her second spirit.
Now that the war between the Spirit Empire and the Star Luo Empire wasn't progressing as she had expected, it seemed she needed to find other ways to enhance her physical fitness.
In a dark cave near the outskirts of the central lake in the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San and his father Tang Hao sat facing each other.
At this moment, Tang San felt immensely grateful for his decision to bring his father here.
He had just returned from absorbing death aura at the battlefield between the Star Luo Empire and the Spirit Empire, and naturally had gathered considerable information.
However, much of this information left him utterly astonished.
"Father, although the Spirit Hall and Li Xun are powerful, as long as that presence exists, our safety won't be threatened."
Tang San didn't dare to mention Di Tian by name, instead gesturing toward the direction of the central lake with his hand.
"Xiao San, your decision was correct. But no matter how strong others may be, that strength isn't our own. You mustn't neglect your own cultivation either."
Tang Hao set down the water bowl in his hand. His heart was as turbulent as the water in the bowl.
He detected complacency in Tang San's words. As a father, while he didn't want to undermine his son's confidence, their current circumstances made such thoughts inappropriate.
(End of Chapter)