Snowflakes continued to fall on Lin Xiao's shoulders, only to be deflected aside by the natural emanation of his soul power. From afar, he looked like nothing more than an unremarkable speck flickering forward.
Suddenly, Lin Xiao's expression shifted slightly. He looked into the distance, where Feng Shen's soul had reacted, likely having found the place where he had once encountered the Snow Empress.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao no longer hesitated. His soul power surged within him, and in an instant, a large swath of snow beneath his feet vanished. The next moment, his figure abruptly appeared far away.
In just a short while, Lin Xiao arrived at the location where Feng Shen was. At first glance, the scene before him and the surrounding snowy plain showed no difference, except that the ground seemed to have a slight depression.
Sensing the emotions transmitted by Feng Shen, Lin Xiao lowered his head slightly to look at the depression before him, slowly extending his spiritual power forward.
The cold of the extreme north's core circle seemed intent on freezing his spiritual power. This sensation grew even more pronounced as he approached the depression, as if the raging rivers in his sea of consciousness were about to freeze over.
"Is this the place?"
Though he still didn't know exactly what was there, this anomaly already indicated something; this was indeed an unusual spot.
"Mm." Feng Shen's expression was somewhat forlorn, likely recalling events from his lifetime again. "If I remember correctly, there should be an ice cave here, but it's now covered by accumulated snow."
Lin Xiao glanced into the distance. In this extreme northern land, even seawater was frozen into solid ice; he couldn't distinguish where the land ended and the ice began.
Here, ice caves were hardly rare.
With a flicker of his mind, the Assassin's soul drifted from afar and slowly sank into the ice layer. Then, Lin Xiao's expression suddenly changed. He raised his left leg high and stomped down heavily.
"Boom—"
Without using any soul power, just the most basic release of soul power surging from within, a large empty area instantly appeared beneath his feet.
The solid ice under the snow layer cracked with numerous fissures, and the entire ice plain seemed to tremble faintly. The ice cave Feng Shen had mentioned also appeared before Lin Xiao.
The Assassin he had sent ahead had detected no danger, so Lin Xiao no longer lingered and flew down into the ice cave.
In an instant, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop even further. Though the storm outside was gone, the temperature difference still caused Lin Xiao to feel waves of pain like steel needles piercing into his bone marrow, making his body involuntarily shiver.
"Worth being the extreme north. Without a martial soul of ultimate ice, moving around here truly isn't simple."
Lin Xiao's physical strength was already quite impressive; even some Title Douluo couldn't compare to him, yet even he felt some discomfort. He wondered how Feng Shen had endured it back then.
Lin Xiao slightly raised his head to glance at Feng Shen beside him. Now reduced to a soul, he couldn't sense the external temperature at all and naturally had no idea what Lin Xiao was thinking.
"What you're looking for is that snow lotus from back then?"
Seeing the familiar ice cave, the Snow Empress also guessed Lin Xiao's purpose.
"I haven't told you yet? That's right, my initial goal was indeed this. But since I've promised you, once things here are done, I'll find a way to take you deeper into the snow plains to take a look."
Lin Xiao didn't wait for the Snow Empress's response and continued deeper into the ice cave along its path. The sound of the wind outside was no longer audible; only his footsteps echoed off the ice walls on both sides, creating resounding echoes.
Lin Xiao touched his storage soul guide device, and an illumination soul guide appeared in his hand. The light fell on the ice layers and reflected continuously, quickly illuminating the entire ice cave.
Beneath the translucent ice layers, Lin Xiao could see strands like plant roots spreading through the solid ice. Under the illumination of the lighting soul guide, the faint white glow seemed to radiate light, and just looking at it made one know it was of extraordinary quality.
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up.
Though he wasn't certain if this was the root system of that snow lotus, this plant was certainly no ordinary item.
With this thought, Lin Xiao quickened his pace. The surrounding chill grew even more intense, causing him to subconsciously tighten his clothing.
"This was once my seclusion spot. Back then, during that battle, influenced by my aura, the deepest part's temperature probably reached the extreme. If you really want to go there, you should prepare yourself."
The Snow Empress suddenly spoke a reminder. Lin Xiao nodded, his feet not stopping, but the soul power within him spread out to completely envelop him.
He suddenly somewhat understood how Feng Shen had reached here last time. When he arrived, it wasn't this cold yet; it was only after the Snow Empress struggled to escape his seal and released her power that it turned into this state.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Lin Xiao quickly set it aside. The light from the lighting soul guide probed deeper, and the scene inside also came into view.
Deep in the ice cave, strands of roots gradually emerged from the ice layers, with crystalline branches and leaves climbing along the ice. It looked as if someone had left a masterful carving in the ice cave.
At the tips of the branches, clusters of exquisite snow lotuses stood gracefully, and a refreshing fragrance spread throughout the entire ice cave. Just smelling this scent, Lin Xiao could feel his blood circulation speeding up a bit.
But...
In the center of these snow lotuses, on the sturdiest branch, it was empty; nothing was left.
Lin Xiao stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at that branch tip for a moment before gently sighing. The vapor from his breath quickly turned into ice shards and fell.
This place indeed grew heavenly treasures outside of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but the snow lotus with the highest age had vanished, likely fully consumed during the Snow Empress's transformation, or perhaps destroyed in the battle between the Snow Empress and Feng Shen back then. Either way, it left nothing for Lin Xiao.
He turned his head again to survey the surrounding ice walls; the snow lotuses blooming there all had rather low ages.
Plant-type soul beasts differed from animal-types. Before gaining intelligence, not only did they not care for each other, but they also competed for resources.
Outside a treasure land like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, for a ten-thousand-year snow lotus capable of aiding the Snow Empress's transformation to grow, the other snow lotuses naturally wouldn't have very high ages or cultivation.
Even the snow lotuses Lin Xiao saw now had probably only had the chance to bloom after that ten-thousand-year snow lotus was picked by the Snow Empress.
"It seems what you were looking for was shattered along with my power when I reclaimed it back then."
Hearing the Snow Empress's words, Lin Xiao came back to his senses. "You don't remember clearly either?"
"Mm." The Snow Empress also sighed lightly. "You don't understand; the process of soul beasts transforming into humans is somewhat like being reborn into a new life. When I first became an embryo, my consciousness was muddled, struggling purely on instinct until I later reclaimed my power and restored my memories."
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