A stream of emerald green light descended not far away, revealing a scorpion, its entire body as green as jade.
No sooner had she landed than her body flashed with light again, and a petite and nimble young girl emerged from the radiance.
The girl had long emerald green hair, golden eyes, and wore an exquisite green and white dress, its hem adorned with golden trim and translucent emerald gemstones, making her look magnificent and noble.
Around her waist was a white lace and green bow tie, and her legs were covered with dark stockings featuring delicate lace patterns, exuding an air of elegance.
Behind her, a golden-green scorpion tail with ornate patterns and a sharp aura declared the girl's identity to all.
She was the second of the three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North Land, the seventh of the Ten Great Vicious Beasts, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion—Ice Empress.
"Snow Empress, you finally agreed to see me!"
Ice Empress's voice carried an uncontrollable excitement and longing, and without much hesitation, she naturally pounced forward and tightly embraced Snow Empress.
"I've missed you so much, Snow Empress... Where have you been these past hundreds or thousands of years? Why didn't you come out to see me? And..."
Ice Empress chattered on, one question after another.
The coldness on Snow Empress's face receded slightly, and she gently hugged Ice Empress back, calmly comforting her:
"Haven't I returned now, Bing'er?"
"That's true..."
Ice Empress nodded but did not press further. Suddenly, she wrinkled her delicate nose, sniffed Snow Empress, and a hint of doubt flashed in her golden eyes:
"Snow Empress, why do you smell... like a human? And it's so strong..."
Snow Empress's gaze subtly faltered, but she pushed Ice Empress away without a change in expression.
Then, before Ice Empress could ask more questions, she flipped her wrist, and five translucent, pure ten thousand year profound ice marrows immediately floated in her palm.
In an instant, Ice Empress's full attention was drawn to the ten thousand year profound ice marrow.
"ten thousand year profound ice marrow!" Ice Empress's eyes lit up with surprise, and in disbelief, she looked at Snow Empress, "Snow Empress, where did you find these?"
Snow Empress shook her head, once again not answering Ice Empress's question, but spoke with a hint of seriousness:
"Your Origin's old injury has never fully healed. Use this ten thousand year profound ice marrow to recover, and then... I will be your Protector while you Undergo Tribulation for your 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation."
Ice Empress paused. She suddenly felt that Snow Empress seemed a bit off, as if she was hiding something from her.
Frowning unconsciously, Ice Empress tried to ask, but the concern and sense of urgency in Snow Empress's words made her temporarily suppress her questions.
Nodding heavily, Ice Empress no longer hesitated, took the ten thousand year profound ice marrow, and immediately began to absorb it under Snow Empress's watchful eye... A few days later, in the core area of the Extreme North Land, Ice Empress slowly opened her eyes.
The ten thousand year profound ice marrow was incredibly compatible with an ice-attribute Spirit Beast like her. Just four... or, strictly speaking, three and a half pieces of ten thousand year profound ice marrow, completely mended her Origin, which had been damaged by the Heavenly Tribulation.
The remaining half piece allowed her strength, which had been stagnant for a long time, to Breakthrough again.
Ice Empress lowered her gaze and briefly felt her current power. Immediately, a feeling inherent to Spirit Beasts arose in her heart... The Heavenly Tribulation, which was originally still decades away, was now imminent.
Snow Empress took everything in. Seeing that Ice Empress's Origin had completely recovered, she asked:
"How do you feel? How confident are you in Undergoing Tribulation?"
Upon hearing this, Ice Empress's lips curved slightly, and she proudly lifted her chin, her golden eyes sparkling with the light of confidence:
"Ten out of ten!"
Snow Empress nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. Then, she directly said:
"Since that's the case, there's no time to lose. Let's start Undergoing Tribulation now."
"Ah? Now... now?" Ice Empress was a bit caught off guard.
"Yes, right now."
Snow Empress's tone was serious, with a hint of inexplicable urgency.
Ice Empress frowned. If she had only been suspicious before, now, she could almost confirm that Snow Empress was indeed acting strangely!
Something must have happened!
An inexplicable tension arose in Ice Empress's heart, feeling as if something she cared about had left her, causing an inexplicable discomfort.
She tried to ask, but meeting Snow Empress's slightly serious gaze, she ultimately did not speak her question.
After a moment of silence, Ice Empress nodded slightly, then flew to an open ice plain.
Her true form was revealed, and her cultivation was no longer suppressed. Immediately, the sky darkened.
Thick dark clouds gathered, and terrifying Lightning Tribulation rolled and brewed within the clouds, emitting a pure aura of destruction.
Ice Empress took a deep breath, suppressing the unusual feeling in her heart. Then, her eyes became firm.
Without the slightest hesitation, she proactively drew forth the Lightning Tribulation that targeted her!
"Boom—"
The terrifying Lightning Tribulation suddenly descended. In an instant, everything above and below the sky was covered by lightning.
Countless observing Spirit Beasts instinctively showed fear; the fear of Heavenly Tribulation was etched into their very bones.
However, the next moment, an emerald green extreme cold spirit power soared into the sky, forcefully tearing open a gap in the lightning!
The extreme cold aura permeated, growing stronger, while the Lightning Tribulation slowly dissipated, the lightning gradually fading.
Moments later, the lightning completely vanished, and beneath the lightning, Ice Empress's body slowly revealed itself... Her entire form was like carved jade, her scorpion body translucent, her tail hook shimmering with emerald light, exuding an extreme chill... Under the Lightning Tribulation, Ice Empress had transformed once more!
The light receded, and Ice Empress transformed back into human form, then excitedly came before Snow Empress.
"Snow Empress! I succeeded!"
Ice Empress's voice was full of joy.
Snow Empress's lips curved into a faint smile, but she quickly fell silent. After a moment, she took a deep breath and looked at Ice Empress seriously:
"Bing'er, now that you have passed your 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation and your strength has greatly increased, from now on, the Extreme North Land will depend on you to guard it well."
The joy on Ice Empress's face instantly froze. She suddenly looked up and grabbed Snow Empress's arm:
"Snow Empress, what do you mean? You've been acting strange ever since you came back a few days ago. What exactly happened? Tell me, we can definitely solve it!"
Snow Empress pursed her lips, a complex look flashing in her eyes, but after a moment of silence, she still explained to Ice Empress what she had experienced during this time.
Her words were somewhat brief, simply stating that she had used a snow lotus to transform, was then sealed, the deal she made after waking up, and the recovery of her Origin.
Some small but important details, such as some of her interactions with Kong Mingan, were instinctively hidden by her.
After a long while, Snow Empress finished her narration and looked at Ice Empress before her.
Ice Empress, who had listened to the entire story, was stunned. Then, her golden eyes instantly became anxious:
"That's a human! Snow Empress, are you crazy? No human is good!
"That guy definitely wants to trick you into helping him first, and once he's strong enough, he'll definitely kill you to take your spirit ring and Spirit Bone!"
Snow Empress shook her head, her tone serious and with an inexplicable stubbornness:
"He's different from other humans."
Ice Empress: "???"
At this moment, Ice Empress felt a genuine sense of unease!
Something was definitely off!!!
(End of Chapter)
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