Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

As Scarlet King was "beaten back to his original form," the blizzard that had paused over the ice plains for a moment thickened once more. Scarlet King did not look at Qin Yue, who had landed back on his back, nor did he pay attention to the Titan Snow Demon King steadily closing in on them. He simply stared fixedly into the depths of the storm.

Qin Yue followed Scarlet King's gaze, but all he saw was a boundless expanse of white with nothing unusual in sight, along with the increasingly savage snowstorm.

At that moment, both the blizzard and the clouds overhead suddenly rippled violently. Immediately afterward, a layer of jade-green radiance lit up along the northern horizon and spread over in an instant.

In that instant, the sky itself was dyed jade-green—a translucent, alluring shade of jade-green. It was as though everything in the world had transformed into one enormous jade-green gemstone, dazzling and mesmerizing.

Seeing that the jade-green glow showed no sign of stopping even after spreading across a radius of a thousand meters, Scarlet King let out a low growl, seemingly saying something to the owner of the light.

Scarlet King's communication had an effect. The jade-green radiance barely came to a halt around five hundred meters from Qin Yue and Scarlet King, and a crisp voice emerged from the snowstorm.

"Scarlet King, why did you leave Star Dou Forest and come to the Far North? What is Di Tian trying to stir up this time?"

The Titan Snow Demon King, who had been charging over, pulled a bitter face at those words. He could not hear any intention to fight in them. It seemed he would not get the chance to eat dog meat today.

Scarlet King shook his shoulders. Qin Yue instantly understood and immediately stood atop Scarlet King's shoulder. Facing the distant place obscured completely by the blizzard, he called out, "Ice Empress, Scarlet King only came here at my request. As for my purpose in coming to the Far North, it is to make a deal with you."

"You? A mere Soul Ancestor?" Ice Empress's voice carried a trace of disdain, though she replied with interest, "Since you invited Scarlet King here and made such a big commotion, then tell me about this deal."

"However, if I am not interested in this deal of yours, Scarlet King may leave, but you must stay."

I see. This is what they mean by the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North cannot be insulted... Qin Yue nodded knowingly. His Spirit Consciousness spread out into the snowstorm as he explained to Ice Empress, "This is an important matter. I ask that Ice Empress speak with me through spiritual power."

"A little runt, yet you sure have plenty of business."

The crisp voice had barely faded when Qin Yue saw a jade-green streak carve ripples through the sky. In a flash of jade light, a Soul Beast appeared over thirty meters in front of him and Scarlet King.

Although he had been prepared, Ice Empress's appearance still exceeded Qin Yue's expectations. In both his past and present lives, he had never seen such a beautiful creature.

Ice Empress was roughly one and a half meters long, still some distance short of Qin Yue's one point eight meters. Yet it was precisely this "exquisite" size that made her beauty seem all the more otherworldly.

The one-and-a-half-meter-long Ice Empress possessed two colors: one was the color of ice, while the other was jade-green.

The front of her body consisted of four overlapping segments, each a little over half a foot long. Her head grew from the foremost segment, and her silvery-white mouthparts glimmered with a faint, chilling light.

Her twin claws and six slender, powerful legs were all covered in crystalline structures as dazzling as diamonds.

Under the light reflecting off the snow, the "diamonds" covering Ice Empress's body refracted one another's brilliance, and a radiant splendor that could only be described as breathtaking flowed before Qin Yue's eyes.

At that moment, Ice Empress seemed to become the sole source of light between heaven and earth, with countless hues reflected from her.

That was not all. What drew Qin Yue's attention most was the long, upturned tail at the rear of her body.

The long tail possessed only five segments in total, every one of them an alluring jade-green. It appeared to be filled with the luster of life, but in truth, it contained a peerless weapon of lethal danger.

The five segments were the same color. The one closest to her upper body was the widest, and they narrowed more and more toward the end.

At the final segment, a tail hook speckled with diamond-like grains was held high. At its very tip was a hook point that gleamed silvery-white, as smooth and reflective as a mirror.

Such a Soul Beast, brilliant as a gemstone, had every shade and contour in perfect measure. One fraction more or less would ruin that harmonious beauty, making one marvel at nature's miraculous craftsmanship.

Qin Yue suppressed the urge to step forward and touch her. His spiritual power slowly reached toward Ice Empress.

Perhaps because of Scarlet King, or perhaps because Ice Empress had truly become interested in what Qin Yue had said, the spiritual connection was established with exceptional ease.

The instant the connection formed, Qin Yue, knowing that Ice Empress had limited patience, went straight to the point.

"Ice Empress, what I want is simple: a fortuitous opportunity that will help you successfully survive your four-hundred-thousand-year Heaven Tribulation, in exchange for ten years of wholehearted protection."

"What opportunity? And what sort of protection counts as wholehearted?"

Because the spiritual connection could convey emotions to some extent, the crisp female voice, having sensed Qin Yue's sincerity, pressed the question seriously.

"Mainly ensuring my personal safety, and stepping in to intimidate petty threats whenever I need it. As for the opportunity..."

Qin Yue raised a hand and tossed out an Ice Extreme Divine Crystal the size of a fist. Smiling calmly, he said, "Please take a look, Ice Empress."

Ice Empress swept out a great claw, and its silvery-white tip steadily clasped the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. The moment she received it, she noticed something. Delight mixed with regret in her voice as she said, "I never thought you would have an Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. But unfortunately, it means little to me now, and it is even less use for surviving the tribulation."

"Of course I know that the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal means little to Ice Empress."

Qin Yue gave a slight nod, his voice brimming with confidence.

"What if that opportunity is one level higher?"

"One level higher?"

Ice Empress flicked her slender tail. In her eyes, the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal was already an exceptional ice-element heavenly treasure. What could possibly rank above it?

Suddenly, thunder exploded in Ice Empress's heart. She recalled that damned big worm. There truly was an ice-element supreme treasure in this world that surpassed the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal!

"You have Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice Marrow?! Yes! Yes! You must have Ten Thousand Year Cold Ice Marrow! Only it—only it—could make me completely unable to refuse!"

Her mind shaken, Ice Empress surged forward a distance, instinctively wanting to seize Qin Yue, who stood on Scarlet King's shoulder.

Fortunately, Scarlet King's flames came in time. After melting the ice and snow before her, he let out another low growl, successfully reminding Ice Empress that she would do well to keep a safe distance.

Ice Empress's reaction alone allowed Qin Yue to conclude that this plan was secure. As a peerless Beast of Calamity with nearly four hundred thousand years of cultivation, if she had a chance to extend her lifespan even further, and the price was merely the trivial matter of protecting a human for ten years, who would choose to give it up?

Let alone Ice Empress—if Snow Empress had not possibly already suffered misfortune by now, Qin Yue might even have had the chance to win over both Emperors of Ice and Snow at once.