The process of absorbing the Soul Ring went as smoothly as usual.
Sword Mother casually destroyed the remnant soul of the Soul Beast that had intruded into his Sea of Consciousness, without causing the slightest ripple.
Meanwhile, Jiang Liang relied on his own body and will to withstand the Soul Ring's energy impact.
It took roughly a day for him to completely tame the Soul Ring's energy.
Then, in one go, he converted all that Soul Power energy into his own Sword Qi.
Immediately afterward, the Sword Qi within his body surged, and his level broke through its bottleneck.
Almost at the same time.
Deep within the ice layers at the very heart of the Extreme North.
Inside an ancient palace of ice crystals stood a goddess statue of peerless beauty.
She stood tall, her brows cold and aloof. Her right hand gripped an ice-crystal sword, and her entire body radiated a frigid, proud aura.
Upon sensing Jiang Liang's presence, the statue seemed to resonate with it and began to shine as well.
The light at her brow was especially dazzling.
"Ice God."
Soon, a white-haired woman strode into the hall and knelt directly before the statue.
Her snow-white hair fell all the way to her ankles, and her sky-blue eyes were clear and ethereal.
Her plain white dress perfectly accentuated her tall, graceful figure.
Though her clothes bore no ornamentation whatsoever, that only made her seem even more pure, peerlessly beautiful, and otherworldly.
"Snow Empress pays respects to the Ice God. Please give your orders, Ice God."
The woman crossed her hands over her chest, rested them on her shoulders, and slowly lowered her head in utmost respect.
That was right. She was Snow Empress, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.
A life-form condensed from