Oh!

Ranked seventh among the Ferocious Beasts, the second of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, and the emperor of the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan—the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Ice Empress.

As if plummeting into an abyss, Bai Cai's heart was swept by towering waves. He could barely think.

He was alive, alive and unharmed, alive in a way that defied all reason.

Ice Empress, indecisive and softhearted? How was that possible?

A terrifying Ferocious Beast whose cultivation was on the verge of four hundred thousand years, her cold-blooded nature and cruel, violent methods of slaughter had forged the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's fearsome reputation.

Every human unlucky enough to encounter Ice Empress, regardless of age, cultivation, or motive, without exception, met their end in the Extreme North.

With such a being just one step away, any pretense of fearless bravery was nothing but self-deception.

Avoiding Ice Empress's piercing gaze, Bai Cai lowered his eyes and asked meekly, "Can you let me go?"

He who understood the times was a great man; he who knew how to adapt was a hero. Ice Empress, he had to admit, you were stronger right now.

"Sure. I'll send you on your way."

Her long jade-green tail slowly lowered. Its icy spike suddenly sliced through his cotton clothes and pressed tightly against his pounding heart. Ice Empress taunted Bai Cai, "Leaving now?"

The cold, sharp object pressing against his chest made Bai Cai see reason. "I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving."

"Enough small talk. Because of the hundred-thousand-year-old Ice Mountain Snow Lotus, Snow Empress is about to undergo her transformation."

Her long jade-green tail slowly lifted. Ice Empress's expression was complicated. "If anything goes wrong, we'll help you become a god."

They had accompanied each other for hundreds of thousands of years. She couldn't lose Xue'er. No matter what, she couldn't lose Xue'er.

Snow Empress would succeed, and he would die. Bai Cai knew it perfectly well. Of course, Ice Empress was hoping Snow Empress would succeed, while Bai Cai was looking forward to summer vacation.

Soul Beast Transformation took an entire year. Shrek Academy's summer vacation was only seven months away.

By then, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would draw Ice Empress away, and Snow Empress wouldn't yet have completed her transformation. He could leave safely.

To lull Ice Empress into complacency, Bai Cai pretended to be obedient, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, content to let himself go to ruin.

In case something went wrong, and with a view to playing nice afterward, Ice Empress readily promised not to restrict his movements anymore and to satisfy his needs as best she could.

Short on drinking water? Sweet dew and Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow.

Dry rations and smoked meat too bland? Fresh fish and fresh meat.

Lonely? Ice Empress regaled him with the heartwarming everyday stories of her and Snow Empress, filling the air with the fragrance of mandarins.

Time slipped away, the days and months flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

"Ice Empress, what are those ice statues?"

In a corner of the palace, countless exquisitely crafted ice statues stood in neat rows, each lifelike. Bai Cai was puzzled.

"Those?"

Ice Empress glanced at the statues and said indifferently, "Soul Beasts and humans who offended Xue'er."

Bai Cai fell silent. Raising New Year's pigs was a traditional custom in Cainong Village. New Year's pigs ate better and lived better than ordinary fattened pigs, with the whole village taking turns to care for them.

When slaughter time came, the New Year's pigs struggled especially hard and squealed terribly. They had always believed they were extraordinary, that humans would never slaughter them.

The New Year's pig was a sacrifice the villagers offered to Cainong Village; Bai Cai was a sacrifice Ice Empress offered to Snow Empress. The two were so alike.

The palace shook—shook violently. A series of rumbles and cracking sounds came from deep within it.

Had Snow Empress succeeded?

Bai Cai abruptly summoned Ralts, only to find his waist and abdomen clamped tight in a thick right pincer. The Psychic Shield was as flimsy as paper, and Ralts was instantly crushed by the overwhelming pressure.

Mist clouded Ice Empress's yellow gemstone-like eyes. Carrying Bai Cai, she hurried toward the depths of the palace.

No matter how Bai Cai struggled, Ice Empress never loosened her grip in the slightest.

For a Soul Beast to take human form, it had to pass through three distinct stages. First, compress its Soul Power; next, return to its origin; finally, shape its body.

Ferocious Beasts found it difficult to take human form because their Soul Power was so highly condensed that compressing it was arduous.

If they proceeded to the stages of returning to their origin and shaping their bodies, it would be tantamount to Self-Destruct: their souls would scatter, and not a bone would remain.

The Ice Mountain Snow Lotus could purify Soul Power, effectively compressing it. A hundred-thousand-year-old Ice Mountain Snow Lotus could even help a Ferocious Beast take human form.

However, Snow Empress was nearing seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, and the hundred-thousand-year-old Ice Mountain Snow Lotus had already lost some of its medicinal efficacy. The process of compressing her Soul Power was exceptionally perilous.

Deep within the palace, Snow Empress sat on the Frozen Throne, looking exhausted. Faint blue blotches marred her Frost-Colored Garment, and hideous cracks covered her snowy skin.

"Xue'er!" Ice Empress drew close to Snow Empress, weeping uncontrollably.

"Bing'er..."

Snow Empress sensed Ice Empress and did her best to maintain her dignity. "Leave this place..."

"No." Ice Empress refused outright. Her jade-green tail lightly pierced Snow Empress's tender forearm and began absorbing her Soul Power, easing her burden.

"Bing'er! You mustn't!" Snow Empress raised a hand to stop her.

To absorb Soul Power, Bing'er would have to undo the Imprison sealing her true cultivation. The four-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation...

"Xue'er, do you remember?"

Ice Empress gazed at Snow Empress. "You promised to grant my request."

"Bing'er..."

Snow Empress glanced at Bai Cai, who was struggling incessantly. In an instant, she understood. "But spirit isn't my origin. Our attributes don't match. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Ice Empress's eyes brimmed with tears. "Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Marrow? The origin of a Ferocious Beast?"

"No. I need to make a sacrifice." Snow Empress pointed at herself.

"Return to the origin, shape a body, and use the power of creation to nurture a Second Martial Soul. Then it can carry our origins and inherit all our power."

"Xue'er, what's the price?"

Bai Cai struggled with all his might. Unable to bear the disturbance any longer, Ice Empress slowly drove her jade-green tail into his abdomen. "Stop moving, or you'll regret it in a moment."

Ice Empress's cultivation was nearly four hundred thousand years. If she decided to teach Bai Cai a lesson while he fused with a Soul Ring and Soul Bone, she could lower her protection just a little and make sure he suffered more than he could bear.

"The price?" Snow Empress's expression remained calm. Her slender hand slowly caressed Bai Cai's cheek. "Little one, look into my eyes."

Ice blue, deep blue, azure—her pupils shifted through a succession of shades. Bai Cai fell into a daze, gradually stopped struggling, and watched as icy blue spread across his black irises.

According to the legends of the Extreme North, the Heavenly Snow Woman embodied the cold. Through her eyes, she could freeze the soul. One must never meet her gaze.

Ice Empress released her right pincer just in time, and Bai Cai fell into Snow Empress's arms.

The beautiful, white-haired young woman slowly rose. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks before she staggered back to the Frozen Throne, picked up the Frost-Colored Garment, and covered her bare, fair skin.

"Xue'er, you can't. You really shouldn't..."

Once the young woman in Snow Empress's form had dressed, Ice Empress tried to gently persuade her. "Even if you'd just pursued him a little, confessed once, it wouldn't have taken long."

"Bing'er, enough nagging!" Snow Empress, now in a young woman's form, was both embarrassed and furious. "I've already made my sacrifice. Now it's your turn to offer yours."

"All right."

Her jade-green tail slowly lowered and pierced Bai Cai's coccyx. Ice Empress looked up and asked, "The right arm bone?"

"The strongest one: the Ice Jade Scorpion Tail."

Snow Empress, now in a young woman's form, had regained her former icy majesty. "The torso bone I gave him and the tail you give him will connect. Our origins will complement each other, and we'll be able to recover a little strength."

The jade-green scorpion tail flashed in an instant. Green light burst through Bai Cai's coccyx and extended outward, growing joint by joint.

At the same time, a snowy-white light shone from his spine, extending downward and merging into the jade-green light as it grew joint by joint.