Above the Extreme North Plains.
Snowstorms raged, icy winds howled, and the cold bit into the bone. Two figures floated in midair, standing above the colossal corpse of a soul beast. A crimson-red hundred-thousand-year soul ring slowly hovered above it, pulsating with a blood-like radiance.
The powerful soul energy within the beast's body gradually dissipated. Even from a great distance, one could clearly sense its overwhelming presence.
The heart of the Extreme North Plains was a natural gathering place for powerful soul beasts. The death of the Titan Snow Demon King sent ripples through the region, stirring countless ten-thousand-year soul beasts into a restless frenzy.
The bloodline and soul power of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—if absorbed—would drastically shorten the time needed for others to reach such a level.
Yet at this moment, not a single soul beast dared to approach. Any creature that could survive in this domain had cultivated for at least seventy thousand years, possessing intelligence on par with humans.
The death of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast signified both opportunity and danger.
More crucially, the dissipating soul power of the Titan Snow Demon King carried traces of two additional soul forces—one of which was all too familiar to the soul beasts of the Extreme North Plains.
This realization made them halt their steps.
At the battlefield, Chen Xiaoming stood with his spear in hand, silver light flickering in his eyes. A faint spatial ripple emanated around him, preventing the surrounding wind and snow from coming any closer. The Azurewood Dragon Spear in his grasp shimmered with silver brilliance, exuding an awe-inspiring chill.
Opposite him, the Snow Empress bore a solemn expression. Her ethereal gaze scrutinized Chen Xiaoming, and a unique fluctuation spread from her body. The space around her subtly shifted as if she had merged into the endless falling snow, becoming one with the heavens and earth.
"Hmm? A domain?"
Chen Xiaoming's expression changed slightly. The Snow Empress was no mere hundred-thousand-year soul beast. With her strength, she could likely contend with a 3rd Class God.
As the blizzard thickened, her figure completely vanished from Chen Xiaoming's sight, blending seamlessly into the snowstorm.
His silver eyes gleamed, his spatial senses extending outward. The Snow Empress was not truly one with the heavens; she could not completely assimilate into the world. While his eyes lost track of her, the ripples in space betrayed her presence.
Crack, crack, crack...
The temperature dropped sharply. The drifting snowflakes suddenly crystallized into ice midair. Within an instant, an awe-inspiring spectacle unfolded across a ten-thousand-meter radius.
Countless snowflake-shaped ice crystals hung frozen in the sky, refracting sunlight into dazzling rays.
Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...
A resonant hum filled the air as the ice crystals spun, sending tremors through the space around them. It was as if the entire domain had been sealed, plunging the world into an eerie stillness. Every inch of space trembled violently.
Where the Snow Empress had been a moment ago, all traces of her presence vanished within the whirl of rotating ice.
Chen Xiaoming hesitated briefly before a slight smile crept onto his lips.
Interesting. So this is the Snow Empress. When exactly did she realize?
He mused to himself before raising his Azurewood Dragon Spear. The mesmerizing ice crystals before him were not merely decorative.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
In the next moment, a barrage of spinning ice crystals surged toward him from all directions, blotting out the sun and shrouding the heavens.
Ding!
Chen Xiaoming's fourth and ninth soul rings lit up simultaneously. A towering phantom of an Azurewood Tree emerged behind him, its branches swaying wildly. Even in this extreme cold, it thrived, growing at an astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, it soared to thirty meters in height. The fourth and ninth soul rings shot forth, merging into the Azurewood Tree's phantom.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Growth!"
"Ninth Soul Skill—World Tree Descent!"
Boom!
Two beams of searing crimson light erupted. The towering Azurewood Tree's phantom enveloped Chen Xiaoming entirely. Countless branches sprouted, forming a thick barrier to shield him.
Beneath him, a silver glow flickered as a massive branch slowly emerged from the void.
The branch was deep green, adorned with intricate silver engravings and two distinct blood-red patterns. It surged upward, rapidly extending to a height of thirty meters.
From its peak, numerous tendrils stretched out, weaving together into a shape reminiscent of a budding flower. A luminous emerald glow surged into the bud, making it pulse with life.
Within mere moments, the green branch fused together, transforming into a colossal silver petal. The petal radiated a strange yet vibrant energy.
The thick, intertwining branches of the World Tree's defense met the oncoming ice crystal storm head-on. As Chen Xiaoming's ninth soul skill—his strongest defensive ability—unfurled, it successfully intercepted the Snow Empress's attack.
A cacophony of sharp impacts resounded as the ice crystals crashed against the wooden barriers. Yet, not a single shard could penetrate through to harm him.
Suspended in midair, the Snow Empress observed the scene indifferently. She raised her right hand gently, and in response, the ice crystals intensified. A surge of extreme cold erupted, enshrouding the World Tree's defenses. The outermost layer of the Azurewood branches, exposed to the frigid aura, began to weaken significantly.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
One by one, ice crystals embedded themselves into the wood, their freezing energy rapidly spreading toward the core. Within moments, the outermost layer of the World Tree's defense cracked apart.
Witnessing this, Chen Xiaoming found himself at a loss for words.
The Snow Empress's intelligence was terrifying. She had actually deduced how to weaken his World Tree's defenses using extreme cold.
However, even as the outer layer fell, he remained unperturbed. His strongest defense would not be so easily breached.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the Snow Empress—who had remained still until now—finally moved. This time, she performed only a single, simple action.
Her slender, jade-like right hand lifted slightly. The surrounding space trembled as a deep-blue longsword, seemingly forged from pure ice, materialized out of thin air.
Before Chen Xiaoming could get a closer look, the sword's radiance streaked across the air, forming a sweeping arc. From deep blue to light blue, then to an almost pure white—its brilliance cut through space itself.
Wherever the sword light passed, fractures appeared in the very air, as though freezing it before slicing it apart.
The sword light bypassed the outer layer of the World Tree's defenses, striking directly at the inner barrier. Instantly, a clear fracture formed in the previously indestructible shield.
In the wake of the slash, the chilling aura condensed into a crystalline ice path, upon which the deep-blue longsword seemed to dance like a snowborne spirit, drifting steadily toward Chen Xiaoming.
"Imperial Sword—Peerless Ice Extreme!"
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