News of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow

Traveling north from the Shrek Academy, passing through the northern edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, and then following the northern official road of the Heaven Dou Empire for two days, one will reach the inner circle of the Far North Ice Plains.

Three days later, in the Core Area Far North.

Fully armed, Dai Huabin stopped and glanced at the Soul Power measurement scale embedded in his wrist.

Only 40% of the Cold-Insulation Cover gear reserves remain.

At this rate of consumption, it can only last for a maximum of six more hours.

If he can't find Ice Empress within six hours, or if he finds them but negotiations break down, he has to run to the outskirts as soon as possible, otherwise he'll freeze to death here and no one will collect his body.

"Elder Yi."

Within the sea of consciousness, a silvery mist slowly rose.

"Um?"

We've arrived.

Dai Huabin looked around the ice field. All around him were white and blue icicles, and there was no sign of any biological activity as far as he could see.

"To lure out Ice Empress, we will need your mental strength."

"Alright," Electrolux said, "I'll give you a shout."

The next instant, Dai Huabin felt his body being taken over by a gentle yet powerful force.

It wasn't forced control, but rather Electrolux's consciousness extended from his mental sea, running parallel to his mind.

Between his brows, the Eye of Life suddenly lit up.

A beam of cyan-gold light burst forth from Dai Huabin's forehead. Immediately afterwards, the life force contained within the Life Gold surged forth from the Eye of Life, forcefully creating a warm halo on the frigid ice plains where the temperature was more than 100 degrees below zero.

The ice is beginning to melt.

Centered on Dai Huabin, a layer of water mist rose from the surface of the solid ice within a three-meter radius.

The existence of liquid water at this temperature is itself a counterintuitive phenomenon.

Electrolux's mental power followed closely behind.

An invisible spiritual wave spread out from Dai Huabin's spiritual sea, penetrating the ice layer, piercing through the wind and snow, and extending into the depths of the Far North Ice Plains.

This mental fluctuation carried extremely clear information.

"Where is Ice Empress?!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried the oppressive power of the Holy Law God of the Dead, exploding across this land of eternal ice.

Then, Dai Huabin stood still, counting the seconds.

The ice beneath my feet began to tremble.

It was very light, like something moving beneath extremely deep ice. The vibrations became higher and more frequent, then suddenly stopped.

There was silence for about three seconds.

About fifty meters directly in front of Dai Huabin, the ice surface exploded.

Blue and white ice shards rose into the air, and a huge figure burst out from beneath the ice.

It has silvery-white mouthparts, six long legs covered with hexagonal protrusions, a four-layered body structure at the front, and two front claws over a meter long that open and close in the air.

Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

The scorpion-shaped body, which is about 1.5 meters long, dropped another 20 degrees Celsius the moment it landed.

Dai Huabin's heart was in his throat.

The temperature around the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's body was still dropping. A layer of emerald green light emanated from its body, which was the natural flow of the Ice Empress's aura.

"Human beings."

The sound emanated from the scorpion-shaped body, possessing extremely strong penetrating power and carrying the chill accumulated over four hundred thousand years of cultivation.

"You... want to die?"

Before Dai Huabin could retort, a layer of emerald green light emanated from the surface of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's body.

The next second, the scorpion-shaped body began to shrink and deform.

Within moments, a human figure appeared fifty meters away.

She had a delicate face, skin so white it was almost translucent, and four emerald green magic marks on each cheek. Her long, dark green hair fluttered in the cold wind, and she wore an emerald green dress, her bare feet treading on the ice.

The Ice Empress's human form was smaller than Dai Huabin had imagined.

If I had to describe her, she'd probably be a short, green-haired, haughty little girl who's just over 1.5 meters tall.

Ice Empress didn't waste any words.

She raised her right hand, and a ball of emerald green ice crystal energy condensed in her palm.

The air instantly froze into a visible ice fog, and the temperature plummeted.

Dai Huabin's scalp tingled.

"Elder Yi!"

"Knew."

Electrolux's silvery mist surged from Dai Huabin's Eye of Life, and with a flash of silver light, Dai Huabin's figure vanished from the icy plain.

Undead Semi-Plane.

At the most crucial moment, Electrolux pulled Dai Huabin into the demiplane.

Ice Empress's attack landed in empty space.

The emerald green ice crystal energy struck the ice surface, instantly creating a three-inch-thick ice shell on the ground within a twenty-meter radius, covered with hexagonal patterns.

Ice Empress's hand froze in mid-air.

She didn't stop her attack, but maintained her offensive stance, with faint emerald green magic patterns shimmering on her cheeks.

That human disappeared.

It's not high-speed movement, it's not an earth-escape technique, it's not any space-based soul skill within the scope of her knowledge.

It vanished into thin air.

He's stopped breathing.

Ice Empress expanded the range of his mental perception, but still couldn't detect any residual human presence.

"Such powerful spatial abilities?" Ice Empress's lips moved slightly, her emerald green dress swaying gently in the cold wind.

Although the fluctuation of spiritual power emanating from this human was only fleeting, Ice Empress sensed it very clearly.

Extremely powerful.

Such power shouldn't exist in a human Soul Master's only at level 30.

"That's interesting."

Ice Empress lowered her right hand, and the emerald green ice crystal energy dissipated. She turned around, preparing to leave.

Then she stopped.

Because about thirty meters behind her, the air distorted.

The blond boy reappeared on the ice.

The moment Dai Huabin's feet touched the ice, he shuddered.

There is no concept of temperature in the Undead Semi-Plane, but back in reality, the chill of minus one hundred degrees Celsius penetrates the Cold-Insulation Cover and seeps into the bones.

Ice Empress's body stiffened for a moment.

She turned around, and the brightness of the emerald green magic runes increased by a notch.

This human has returned.

The disappearance just now was not an escape, but a deliberate retreat followed by a deliberate return.

He entered and exited some kind of space she couldn't perceive, and could precisely land back near his original position.

"Ice Empress, please wait a moment!"

Dai Huabin spoke, his voice half-buried in the cold wind, but he took a breath and tried to keep his tone steady.

"I have important information that I'd like to discuss with you."

Ice Empress stared at him expressionlessly.

"What's there to discuss between us, a human being and me?"

Her tone was no longer the casual murderous intent it once had; it carried a hint of scrutiny.

In her four hundred thousand years of life, very few humans have ever disappeared from her grasp and reappeared.

Before Dai Huabin could answer, the Eye of Life between his brows lit up again.

A silver phantom appeared behind him.

Electrolux's mental projection.

The silver mist condensed into a blurry outline. Although the facial features were indistinct, the thickness and texture of the spiritual energy caused the emerald green magic patterns all over Ice Empress's body to light up simultaneously.

This is her instinctive reaction to the strong.

Electrolux's mental pressure spread across the ice field for a moment.

Only for a fleeting moment.

The oppressive feeling came quickly and disappeared even faster, as if it had been deliberately displayed before being immediately withdrawn.

Electrolux currently only possesses 30% of his divine consciousness, and every wisp of spiritual power is extremely precious, making it impossible for him to release it for an extended period.

But even that brief moment was enough.

The hem of Ice Empress's emerald green dress rolled up, and she took a half step back.

It's not fear, it's vigilance.

Electrolux spoke.

The voice was old and calm, carrying a composure born of someone who had seen it all.

"Little scorpion, don't be so short-tempered."

Ice Empress was taken aback. Little Scorpion?

"If I want to leave, you can't take us away."

Ice Empress did not refute this.

Because that's the truth.

The process of disappearing and reappearing just now has proven that, at least when it comes to escaping, this combination of a human and a "ghost" is indeed not up to her.

Although that mental pressure only lasted for less than a second, it gave her an extremely rare feeling—being looked down upon!

Ice Empress's hands hung at her sides, her emerald green eyes swirling with coldness. She didn't attack again, but she also didn't offer any response.

Dai Huabin seized this opportunity.

I've come here for two reasons.

His voice was much steadyer than before. The fact that Ice Empress hadn't made a move meant that the other party was willing to listen.

"The first thing is to help you overcome the tribulation that will last for four hundred thousand years."

Ice Empress's expression finally changed.

"The second thing..." Dai Huabin paused for a moment, "is a message from Snow Empress."

The wind on the ice field suddenly picked up.

Or rather, the aura surrounding Ice Empress was changing. Emerald green energy spread out from beneath her feet, creating a ring of fine frost on the ice.

Ice Empress chuckled softly.

"You're just a human at level thirty-something." Ice Empress's voice was laced with laughter, but there was no warmth in that laughter. "If it weren't for this old man behind you, you'd be an ice sculpture by now."

"You dare to claim you can help me survive this heavenly tribulation?"

She raised her chin, her emerald green pupils slightly contracting.

"The Snow Empress has seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, what could possibly happen to her?"

Ice Empress spoke with disdain.

However, Dai Huabin noticed a detail: when Ice Empress said, "What could possibly happen to Snow Empress?", his eyes were noticeably darting around.

She cares, she cares a lot.

"I have information about the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow."

Dai Huabin played his first card.

"Absolutely true."

The smile on Ice Empress's lips faded slightly.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow was one of the most important natural treasures to her.

With it, the chances of surviving the Four-Hundred-Thousand-Year Heavenly Tribulation can be increased by at least 30%. If that's enough, it's not impossible to safely get through it.

"And..." Dai Huabin continued, "Snow Empress is no longer in the Far North. I also have information about her."

Ice Empress remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

"Ice Empress," Dai Huabin continued.

"You wouldn't want the Snow Empress to become someone else's Soul Ring and Soul Bone, would you? You wouldn't want to perish before surviving the Four-Hundred-Thousand-Year Heavenly Tribulation, would you?"

A few seconds of silence fell over the ice field.

The wind swept across the space between the two people, stirring up tiny ice crystals.

Ice Empress remained silent.

She is making a judgment.

Dai Huabin could tell she was weighing her options.

Although Ice Empress was irritable and direct, a living being that had lived for 400,000 years couldn't be a fool. She was analyzing every word and expression of Dai Huabin, trying to find a flaw in his demeanor.