In the far north, the land was bitterly cold, and icy winds tore across its endless expanse of white.
Deep in the northern lands stood a grand palace carved from ice and jade. At its center, on the Ice Empress's throne, sat a woman whose figure seemed to have been painstakingly sculpted by the heavens.
She had long, snow-white hair that fell past her waist. Her pale blue eyes were clear and translucent, as if they could see through the world. Her figure was slender and perfectly proportioned; her flawless, jade-like skin was as white as snow. Dressed in a white gown with a long train, she sat upright, elegant and graceful, as cold and aloof as an immortal goddess. Her bare feet, delicate as carved jade, rested on the ice. Even the most proud and beautiful women would have felt inferior beside her.
She was the mistress of the northern lands, ranked third among the Nine Emperors and Ten Venerables—and the Ice Empress, who had cultivated for eighty-nine million years!
At that moment, the Ice Empress was playing with a piece of jade in her hand. Her clear eyes held a hint of puzzled contemplation.
Although the jade contained the chat history of a chat group she had joined by chance, the only messages in it were simple greetings.
She'd been added to the group by Bing Yan.
She was surprised that the chat history and the jade had appeared in her sea of consciousness, while also feeling a little doubtful.
She couldn't imagine what kind of existence could implant such a strange object into her sea of consciousness.
Even the Ice God probably couldn't have done something like that, could he?
She could also understand why the chat history appeared so brief.
Among the long list of chat group members, only one person had caught her attention—one called "Breaking the Heavens."
It was obvious that "Breaking the Heavens" was a soul beast with over a million years of cultivation... or perhaps a soul beast who'd cultivated for a million years and become a god, like her and Bing Yan.
There might be other soul beasts in the chat group, too, but by coincidence, her and Bing Yan's cultivation had just reached the threshold where they were about to face the great tribulation.
And both she and Bing Yan had the confidence to succeed in becoming gods.
When someone's name appeared in the chat, the chat history would be updated.
The Ice Empress tapped her fingers against her cheek, lost in thought.
She'd never expected that person, whose name was Breaking the Heavens, to mention her and Bing Yan in the chat.
[Today's Trivia, Gu Yue: Defeated.]
[Why did the chat history update today? Do I have to pay for it to unlock additional features?]
[Open your mouth, and I'll feed you.]
[You're talking about feeding me... Oh, no, I'm just reading the chat. I'm not trying to flirt. Sorry, sorry.]
[No choice. Huo Yuhao really is the son of destiny in this world, and he's normal when it comes to Tang San, too. A person with only one strand of innate soul power is still a waste... Fine, before I got the chat, I was a waste, too. But compared to people with innate full soul power, Huo Yuhao's an even bigger waste.]
[Although Huo Yuhao has the innate soul power of a waste, he's as lucky as a rainbow! He was about to spend ten years absorbing the soul power of a ten-thousand-year soul beast, and the million-year soul beast Tianmeng Iceworm voluntarily sought him out and insisted on making him its Wisdom Soul Ring. Then he went on to obtain Yilakus's divine remnant, inherited from the distant past.]
[A million-year soul ring, Yilakus's divine remnant—and he even ended up becoming the Ice Emperor's second martial soul. That ridiculous little Tianmeng Iceworm somehow got the Ice Emperor to give Huo Yuhao a second martial soul.]
[His second martial soul was so powerful that it ultimately subdued Ying San.]
Deep in the Cold Ice Palace, Bing Yan abruptly rose to her feet, her expression dark with anger. "How dare it?!"
The Ice Empress knew the so-called Tianmeng Iceworm was a giant Ice Roc. Ice Roc was her race, especially Ice Rocs of her own high cultivation. So, when she read about the Ice Roc appearing before Huo Yuhao and later disappearing without a trace, she'd assumed the giant Ice Roc had died long ago.
After all, it was merely a soul beast with no real offensive power. She'd never imagined that it had become an unprecedented million-year soul beast, nor that it had become that human named Mo Yu's Wisdom Soul Ring. And it had even set its sights on her?
That damn worm!
[Don't know what the Ice Empress was thinking, but she bought Huo Yuhao and the million-year-old Tianmeng Iceworm's nonsense. Why the hell would she... That's seriously ridiculous! Wasn't she afraid of losing her mind?]
[Someone with only one strand of innate soul power, a complete waste, somehow got a million-year soul ring, Yilakus's divine remnant, the Ice Empress Bing Ji's soul bone and a martial soul that rivaled the Ice Emperor's Ice Jade Empress Scorpion in strength, plus a soul ring that was nearly forty million years old... How was that not cheating?]
[Oh, I'm such a fool. I actually went and compared myself to Mo Yu. That's on me.]
Me?
Bing Ji had given a boy with only one strand of innate soul power a million-year soul ring?
What the hell?
That brat couldn't even be called a fool!
The Ice Empress was burning with rage. She wanted to appear before Huo Yuhao right then and there and kill the boy who'd deceived her.
"Ha!"
"You think you can make me give you a soul ring? I'll eat you first!"
The Ice Empress, her eyes blazing with fury, seized the ice chair in the palace and hurled it at the jade. Then a thoughtful expression flickered through her eyes—after hearing Bing Yan mention that Huo Yuhao had called the giant Ice Roc Tianmeng Iceworm, she could more or less guess how Huo Yuhao had deceived Bing Ji.
He must have used the Ice Roc's sentimental nature to pull some trick during the heavenly tribulation, then lured the Ice Roc into making a soul contract with that boy named Mo Yu. With a million-year soul ring and Bing Yan's soul contract, it was indeed possible to accomplish the feat of becoming a god—and even achieve immortality through that method.
If the chat didn't exist, and she didn't know her own fate of failing to break through to godhood, then the possibility of becoming a god through such an unconventional method might actually have tempted her. Bing Yan—or she herself—might really have followed the same path.
But now, she clearly had a better way out.
That diary... and the boy named Xiao Ge...
Just a moment ago, the Ice Empress hadn't believed the diary could possibly mention her. She hadn't even thought it could reveal those so-called methods for becoming a god.
But today's diary contents had brought her an unexpected surprise.
Leaning against the furious Bing Yan, the Ice Empress let a faint, helpless smile play across her lips. Her voice was gentle as she said, "All right, Bing Yan. Quit throwing a tantrum."
"That damn Tianmeng Iceworm cheated me!"
Hearing the Ice Empress try to comfort her, Bing Yan leaned against her, looking a little aggrieved. "Even if I died in the heavenly tribulation, I'd never have agreed to become a human's soul ring!"
"I know."
The Ice Empress gently rested her chin on Bing Yan's shoulder. Her tender touch gradually eased Bing Yan's anger. "The diary said that was what was supposed to happen in the original story. But now that I know about it in advance, doesn't that mean we can avoid that fate entirely?"
Admittedly, Bing Yan was still a little angry, but she snorted coldly all the same.
"If that giant Ice Roc dares show its face before me, I'll make sure it regrets it! I'll beat the one I wanted to beat, no matter who shouted at him!"
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