"Ice God, I'm here to negotiate with you."
On his fourth loop, Xue Yuheng entered the Ice God's inner hall once more. Rubble littered the floor, and the Ice God sat on the ruined throne, his gaze cold.
The Ice God sneered, and a ring of three-foot-long ice blades formed beside him.
"Human ants are nothing but food for us. How dare you negotiate with me?"
The ice blades shot through the air and pierced Xue Yuheng's chest.
Xue Yuheng didn't dodge. He kept his gaze fixed on the Ice God, though his chest hurt terribly.
As the pain spread, the Power of Creation dwindled a little more, and the loop restarted.
On the fifth loop, Xue Yuheng stood in front of the Ice Empress. "Ice God, I think we can have a proper discussion."
The Ice God frowned and said incredulously, "Is that divine artifact of yours time-based? You get fewer chances to turn back time every time you use it, don't you?
"Let's see just how many times you can use it!"
Within the illusion, the Ice God was invincible.
The Ice Empress looked at Xue Yuheng, standing in front of her, her eyes complicated.
Was it worth it for her...?
The Ice God lightly tapped a finger, and Xue Yuheng fell once more.
On the tenth loop, Xue Yuheng activated the Wordless Heavenly Book. Its pages unfolded, and the Power of Creation formed a barrier.
"Ice God, I just remembered something. Perhaps you never broke through to become a Third-Class Deity, even forty thousand years later. There's no record of it anywhere on the continent.
"Maybe your true body has already fallen.
"Who are you serving, then?"
The Ice God's expression shifted. A faint stir rose in his heart, and his divine power surged, shattering the barrier in front of Xue Yuheng and the Ice Empress.
"Are you trying to make me develop inner demons? How ridiculous."
On the fiftieth loop, Xue Yuheng noticed that the Ice God's aura had truly weakened.
The pain of being killed in an instant really had lessened.
On the hundredth loop, the Ice God was horrified. Chilling air swept through the entire inner hall, and pillars of ice erupted from the floor, suspending Xue Yuheng firmly in midair.
"You ant! You dare ruin my million-year plan!"
Xue Yuheng's breathing was steady. "Perhaps we really can talk."
The Ice God would never stoop to negotiating with a Soul Beast that was nothing more than food!
On the two hundredth loop, the Ice God's attacks grew weaker and weaker.
Xue Yuheng was nearly dead from the torment of the ice elements. His face was bloodless, and white mist billowed from his mouth when he spoke, yet he still stood in front of the Ice Empress.
"Ice God, this wisp of your remnant soul can no longer devour the Ice Empress's source energy."
During those two hundred loops, the Ice God had occasionally let a few "secrets" slip.
For instance, he had planted these inner demons in the rulers of every powerful race in the Far North. Whenever they faced a life-and-death tribulation they couldn't overcome, he would devour their source energy and life force, feeding them back to his true body.
That was his million-year plan to attain godhood as a Third-Class Deity while in the mortal world.
There was no helping it. The Douluo World's plane was simply too low-level.
As the ruler of the Ice and Snow Elf clan, which had attained godhood through its own efforts, he was already a peerless genius. Even so, becoming a Third-Class Deity remained a distant, unattainable goal.
The Ice God's gaze turned sinister, and his divine power gathered into a massive hand that slammed down.
"So what if I can't devour her? She still has to die."
On the three hundredth loop, the Ice God's rage turned to unbearable frustration.
He leaned back against the throne and stopped attacking. Or rather, he wanted to, but no longer had the strength.
"What do you want?"
Xue Yuheng lifted his gaze and smiled faintly. Looking at the Ice God, he spoke in a cold, commanding voice:
"Ice God, tell me what it'll take to let Bing Wushuang live."
The Ice God raised an eyebrow. His divine pride remained undiminished. "Bing Wushuang's source energy was damaged when she was young, so I found a hundred-thousand-year-old Cold Ice Soul to repair the flaw in her soul.
"And this Heart Tribulation after four hundred thousand years is already the limit of what she can endure.
"Bing Wushuang is doomed to die. Not even the Supreme God of the Divine Realm can save her."
Xue Yuheng and the Ice Empress's expressions darkened at the Ice God's words. The man on the throne continued.
The Ice Lightning Tribulation that restricted ice-type Soul Beasts, the mass extinction caused by the collapse of Ice God Peak, the extermination of countless races in the Far North, the rulers' inner demons, and the appearance of the Ice Sea—all of them had been his doing.
As the Ice Empress listened, the chill around her surged, and a thick layer of ice formed across the floor. After so many loops,
the Ice God's deeds had completely shattered the Ice Empress's respect for him.
"You don't deserve to be the deity of my Far North!"
Her words still crossed the Ice God's bottom line. A single finger killed them both again.
The four hundredth loop.
The power of the illusion began to fade.
The Ice God's figure turned somewhat transparent.
By the six hundredth loop, the Ice God had finally let go of his pride, his tone helpless.
"I'm only an inner demon left behind by my true body. I know nothing."
"After my true body went into seclusion, I didn't even know whether he'd broken through."
"Your endless loops have drained the illusion. I have no strength left."
Xue Yuheng looked at him. "Let Bing Wushuang go, and I'll stop looping."
The Ice God fell silent. Only after a long while did he speak.
"Impossible. The rules governing deities cannot be broken."
On the six hundred and fiftieth loop, the cracks in the illusion multiplied.
The Ice God's attacks had become weak and feeble.
"What will it take for you to give up?"
Xue Yuheng stood in front of the Ice Empress, his voice firm. "I only want Bing Wushuang to live."
The Ice Empress glanced at him without saying a word.
Xue Yuheng had said this countless times already.
On the seven hundredth loop, the ice walls in the inner hall began to crumble on a massive scale.
The illusion was about to shatter.
The Ice God's figure was half-transparent, his aura faint.
"Enough. I admit defeat..."
"But the rules are hard to defy. She still can't escape death."
On the seven hundred and twenty-second loop, the last of the illusion's power ran out.
The Ice God's figure turned to ice flakes and vanished into the air.
"Bing Wushuang, take care of yourself..."
As his words faded, the entire illusion collapsed with a roar.
As the world spun around him, Xue Yuheng returned to the Far North Snow Plains.
The wind howled, and the blizzard stung his cheeks.
The Ice Empress stood beside Xue Yuheng, her figure indistinct.
Her aura, that of a four-hundred-thousand-year cultivation, was continuously dissipating.
Her face was pale, but she still held her chin high. "Brat... Looks like I'll have to become your Soul Ring."
Xue Yuheng's Plan B was to use the Power of Creation to make the Ice Empress his Wisdom Soul Ring if she truly couldn't overcome her life-and-death tribulation.
The Ice Empress had seen all of Xue Yuheng's efforts. Without those seven hundred and twenty-two loops, she would never have agreed to become a human's Soul Ring.
She would rather die.
"Remember, I chose you. You didn't choose me."
Xue Yuheng's feelings were complicated. If only the Ice Empress could become human, too.
Then she could be with Xue Qingwu...
A piercing pain suddenly shot through Xue Yuheng's tailbone.
The Ice Empress's scorpion tail stinger dug fiercely into his bone, and the pain pierced to the marrow.
Xue Yuheng's whole body convulsed violently. His fingertips dug into his palms, and icy beads instantly covered his skin.
The Wordless Heavenly Book appeared, and pale golden Power of Creation wrapped around his organs and meridians.
Ice-blue patterns spread along his spine, as extreme cold and heat gnawed at his bones in turn.
His blood surged wildly, nearly bursting his vessels, but the golden light held it firmly in check.
"Bear with it. I'll fuse this External Scorpion Tail Soul Bone with you first."
Because of the Wordless Heavenly Book Martial Soul's nature, Xue Yuheng couldn't fuse ordinary Soul Bones. He could only fuse External Soul Bones, something he had specifically told the Ice Empress.
Then he thought about it. Having the Ice Empress become his Wisdom Soul Ring wasn't a bad thing. Once he became a god, he could bring her back to life.
The Ice Empress's voice rang in Xue Yuheng's mind, and emerald light flowed at the tip of her stinger.
Bone patterns gradually spread over his entire skeleton, eventually settling on Xue Yuheng's right arm and forming the pattern of an emerald scorpion tail.
Xue Yuheng panted, his body trembling slightly as icy power flowed into every limb and bone.
Xue Yuheng didn't know what level the Wordless Heavenly Book Martial Soul was, but it was at least God Level. The boost it gave his physical constitution was immense.
As a result, the fusion process wasn't nearly as troublesome as it had been for Huo Yuhao back then.
The next moment, the Ice Empress's body turned into a streak of green light and flowed into the Wordless Heavenly Book Martial Soul in Xue Yuheng's palm.
The pages turned by themselves, golden and green light interweaving.
A blood-red Soul Ring slowly took shape.
Four distinct blood-red lines marked the Soul Ring, its chill intimidating.
It was a Wisdom Soul Ring formed from four hundred thousand years of cultivation.
The moment the Soul Ring took shape, the wind and snow across the plains came to a standstill.
At the same time, a four-jointed, crystalline emerald scorpion tail extended from Xue Yuheng's right hand.
Its bony surface gleamed with cold light and was covered in fine ice patterns.
It was the Ice Empress's External Soul Bone.
The Scorpion Tail Bone quivered slightly, then fitted itself against his skin and merged into his flesh.
Ice-blue scorpion-tail patterns appeared on his forearm.
A wave of icy power entered his body and fused with his Soul Power.
Xue Yuheng could clearly sense the information contained in the Scorpion Tail Soul Bone. It could transform into any weapon at will.
"You killed Bing'er?"
The Snow Empress had arrived.
Before you continue