Inside the highest-level isolation laboratory within the Undead Demiplane.
Three figures stood there, all looking at the rhomboid crystal suspended on the central platform of the laboratory.
Inside the crystal, a faintly fluctuating stream of Qi was sealed, appearing as an incomparably pure white. It darted left and right within the crystal, seemingly trying to break out.
And faintly, one could also feel the immense vitality and extreme coldness emanating from that stream of Qi during its collisions.
And this was the "Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast Embryo," or rather… the "Snow Empress Embryo."
Two super old figures stood behind him. Kong Ming'an stood outside the protective shield, his gaze calmly fixed on the Snow Empress Embryo before him, but a strange sense of absurdity inexplicably arose in his heart.
In the original work, this embryo should have been bought by Xiao Hongchen at an auction in Star Luo City five years later. Then, when the Body Sect invaded Mingde Hall, the Snow Empress self-destructed, leaving a trace of her Origin to reside in Huo Yuhao's mental force sea.
He naturally wouldn't miss the Snow Empress Embryo as a material, which is why he included it in his list.
But he originally expected to obtain this thing a few years later! How did he get it now?
Is it the butterfly effect? Or… some arrangement by the Plane Will?
Kong Ming'an was a little troubled, but looking at the Snow Empress Embryo in front of him, he thought for a moment and still reached out his hand.
Threads of mental force extended, then destroyed several key nodes of the God Sealing Platform.
The next moment, the pure white light and shadow in the crystal violently fluctuated. Immediately after, an incomparably terrifying aura of extreme ice erupted, completely breaking through all the Seals of the God Sealing Platform!
Brilliant ice-blue light filled the entire laboratory. After the intense light, the embryo had already disappeared.
In its place was a young girl, dressed in an ice-blue long dress, suspended in mid-air.
Her figure was tall and graceful, the lines of her dress waist neatly outlining her clear and exquisite curves. Her snow-white hair cascaded to her waist, the ends moving without wind, naturally revealing her cold and indifferent face.
— The head of the Three Kings of the Land of Extreme North, the Ice Sky Snow Maiden, the Snow Empress.
Kong Ming'an stared blankly, a faint blue light flowing in his eyes, but he subconsciously murmured softly,
"So beautiful…"
Don't misunderstand, he wasn't lusting after her beauty, but purely because he saw something different.
From his special "Energy" perspective, the very existence of the Snow Empress was an ultimate perfection in energy structure.
The Snow Empress's birth was a being formed by the purest ice-attributed Heaven and Earth elemental force from the core region of the Land of Extreme North, a truly natural-born and naturally-nurtured entity.
Every energy node, every flow of Energy in her body, conformed to some Heavenly Dao, making her a perfect natural creation.
This was a "beauty" that transcended worldly aesthetics and reached the Origin.
Kong Ming'an admitted, his heart was stirred.
So stirred that for the first time, he couldn't help but have the thought of "dissecting" a humanoid creature… Damn it, what's going on with this loss of control?
The Snow Empress slowly awakened, a trace of daze flashing in her ice-blue eyes. She immediately sensed the human aura beside her.
Daze turned into vigilance. Almost instinctively, the Snow Empress's icy spirit power circulated around her, and she subconsciously wanted to destroy everything around her.
But just a moment before her terrifying extreme ice power was about to erupt, two incomparably powerful auras directly locked onto her!
One aura was filled with deathly stillness and holiness, while the other was a pure bloodline pressure as scorching as a furnace.
Either of these two auras would require her serious attention even at her peak, and now she was not at her peak and was simultaneously locked onto by both, which made her directly feel a fatal threat!
She forcibly suppressed her instinct to attack. Her ice-blue eyes scanned the entire scene, finally settling on Kong Ming'an, who looked the "weakest" but stood in the main position.
She could feel that the two terrifying auras completely revolved around this human youth, firmly protecting him in the center.
"Human… where is this place? And who are you?" Her voice was clear and ethereal, like colliding ice shards, carrying an inherent majesty and aloofness.
Kong Ming'an reined in his analytical gaze, returning to his usual calm:
"This is my laboratory. As for me, you can call me Kong Ming'an. Snow Empress, welcome to awakening. Although the occasion might not be to your satisfaction, but… I actually come with sincerity."
"Sincerity?"
The Snow Empress's eyes slightly chilled. Her gaze swept over the two super old figures behind him, then fell back on him: "Your so-called sincerity is imprisonment?"
"Not imprisonment. In fact, I am rescuing you."
"Rescuing? Hmph…"
The Snow Empress's eyes grew colder. To be sealed by humans during her transformation, and to have stayed in a lightless Seal for an unknown period of time,
With such an experience, how could she easily believe the words of the person in front of her? Not attacking directly was entirely due to the threat of the two powerhouses behind him.
"I know your experiences, and I know you can't trust humans for now, but…" Kong Ming'an's tone was steady, carrying a gentle smile, "…we might be able to make a deal."
"A deal?"
The Snow Empress frowned slightly, her tone still icy, "Humans are all bad!"
Personal attack… Kong Ming'an had long anticipated the Snow Empress's reaction, but he still made a mental note in his little book about the Snow Empress, deciding to retaliate later.
Hmm… Kong Ming'an could be very petty at times.
Unhurriedly, Kong Ming'an slowly spoke, "I have a way to help you safely overcome your next seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation… Hmm, I also have a way for the Ice Empress's three-hundred-ninety-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation."
The Snow Empress's ice-blue eyes rippled slightly, and some emotional fluctuations appeared on her normally unperturbed face.
"Do you know what you're saying?" Her voice was still cold, but her tone was no longer as absolute as before.
"Naturally."
Kong Ming'an's lips curved into a slight smile, like a fish taking the bait. His ink-like eyes met her ice-blue ones. He casually threw out the chips he held in his hand,
"In fact, what I can give you is even more than you can imagine.
"Aside from your Heavenly Tribulation and the Ice Empress's Heavenly Tribulation, I can even promise to protect the entire Land of Extreme North, shielding it from the disaster of excessive human encroachment.
"Even if you overcome your Heavenly Tribulation, you alone might not be able to achieve this, right?"
The Snow Empress frowned. If this human youth in front of her had a way to solve her Heavenly Tribulation and the Ice Empress's Heavenly Tribulation, she could still barely believe him a little.
After all, with two powerhouses behind him who could make her feel threatened, it wasn't impossible for him to possess methods to deal with Heavenly Tribulations.
But to protect the Land of Extreme North? What right did this human youth have?
The Snow Empress was about to speak, but saw him slowly raise his hand, revealing the dark purple triangular mark on his palm.
In an instant, a trace of divine force containing destructive aura flashed within the mark.
This was… a Divine Test?!