The Ice Empress was deeply troubled. Her four-hundred-thousand-year limit was approaching, leaving her in constant fear these past days.
What she regretted most was that she had once encountered an ice silkworm calling itself Tian Meng, one that actually possessed several hundred thousand years of cultivation.
It was simply unbelievable.
If she had truly captured that fellow back then... she would not be constrained by the four-hundred-thousand-year limit now.
She might even have had a chance to overcome Snow Empress's seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation.
And Tian Meng would not have hidden away now, disappearing from her completely.
"Ah, Xue'er. I wonder how things are going on your end."
A petite girl with emerald-green twin ponytails sat alone in the Ice Crystal Palace, talking to herself.
Her crisp yet icy voice echoed through the vast hall, becoming even colder after reverberating within it.
Just then, an exceedingly terrifying wave of Soul Power swept across the Ice Crystal Palace, followed by an aged voice. "Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, this old man knows you can hear me."
"Where did this human powerhouse come from?" The Ice Empress's expression grew more serious.
The other party made no attempt to conceal his aura, and the Ice Empress instantly sensed that he was likely one of the Limit Douluo humans spoke of.
With Snow Empress absent, it was basically unrealistic for her to contend with a Limit Douluo.
"Anyway, he can't find me... I'll wait and see whether Xue'er comes to help." The Ice Empress muttered, with no intention of showing herself.
The main problem was that Snow Empress was also in secluded cultivation. She truly had little confidence that Snow Empress would come to her aid.
But the next moment, Long Xiaoyao's words made her expression change drastically.
"This one did not come to kill you today. But if you continue hiding, this one would not mind slaughtering the entire Ice Jade Scorpion Clan."
"You're courting death!" The Ice Empress's expression darkened.
Then, emerald light flashed, and an ice scorpion striped in icy blue and emerald green replaced the girl.
The next instant, she vanished from where she stood.
"Teacher, if you threaten her like that, what if it becomes difficult to negotiate later?" Long Yaochen asked worriedly.
"You've stayed at Shrek for too long, boy. That old fool Mu En has made you far more timid." The black dragon circling in the sky sneered disdainfully. "Negotiations are fought for with fists. It isn't enough for you to be polite for the other side to listen."
At that moment, the wind and snow suddenly fell silent.
The next instant, a streak of emerald tore through the dark sky in the distance, while the other half of the heavens took on the color of jade.
"Humans, you have crossed the boundary."
A crisp, icy voice rang out from all directions, shaking the layers of snow on the ground into surging waves.
Long Yaochen looked up and saw a streak of green light cutting across the snowstorm.
To his surprise, this famed four-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast was not very large.
It was only around one and a half meters long, and its body possessed only two colors. One was nearly transparent icy blue, while the other was a heart-palpitating emerald green.
Its front half was layered in four sections. Its silver-white mouthparts gleamed with a faint, chilling light, while its six long legs and pair of foreclaws were covered in hexagonal crystalline protrusions that reflected diamond-like brilliance beneath the snowlight.
The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
The Ice Empress, second of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North.
"Ice Empress, I thought you didn't dare show yourself." Long Xiaoyao snorted coldly upon seeing the beast.
Although the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was not large, bolstered by her home ground, her imposing presence was not much weaker than Long Xiaoyao's.
"This is a forbidden land for humans. Since you have come, neither of you will be leaving." Anger tinged the Ice Empress's voice.
It was bad enough that they had trespassed into her territory, yet they even arrogantly declared that they would slaughter her clansmen.
They had gone too far!
"Heh, a forbidden land for humans? Are you worthy of calling it that?" Long Xiaoyao's voice dripped with contempt.
He was now certain that Snow Empress could not intervene. Otherwise, why would the Ice Empress put on such a bluffing display?
"Silent Darkness Domain!" The dragon head lifted slightly as he slowly uttered the words.
The next instant, endless darkness descended upon the Ice Empress.
"Domain of Eternal Freeze, Wrath of the Ice Emperor!"
The Ice Empress did not dare let down her guard in the slightest. The moment her words fell, the temperature in the Core Area of the Far North plummeted once more.
The already lifeless snowfield seemed to have been completely frozen by some invisible force.
The wind stopped, and so did the snow.
Even the wisp of white breath Long Yaochen exhaled froze in midair.
Countless emerald ice crystals appeared out of nowhere, transforming into blades of ice.
Every ice blade contained Ultimate Ice capable of freezing Soul Power, sweeping toward the Dark Sacred Dragon like an overwhelming storm.
"Interesting." Long Xiaoyao chuckled.
Facing the overwhelming Wrath of the Ice Emperor, he did not retreat in the slightest. The Dark Sacred Dragon's enormous wings slowly spread, and then the Silent Darkness Domain abruptly pressed outward.
The next instant, those emerald ice blades plunged into the darkness as though falling into a bottomless black abyss, without producing even the faintest echo.
All sound and cold were instantly swallowed by that darkness.
The Ice Empress's emerald eyes suddenly narrowed at the sight.
"A Limit Douluo with a darkness attribute..." Her voice was exceptionally grave.
Yet he actually dared bring such a weak human to face her?
The next moment, the tail hook behind the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion suddenly rose.
A streak of emerald light tore through the night sky.
It was so fast that it seemed to pierce straight through space, stabbing directly at Long Yaochen behind Long Xiaoyao.
Clang—!
Only when the crisp collision rang out did Long Yaochen realize that a pitch-black dragon claw had already blocked the strike before him.
His pupils shrank sharply, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
Was this a battle between Limit Douluo?
Long Yaochen, who usually bullied little kids, experienced the combat power at the pinnacle of the continent for the first time.
"You dare attack this old man's disciple right before this old man?" Long Xiaoyao's voice sank.
As his words fell, the Dark Sacred Dragon's wings suddenly shook.
The Silent Darkness Domain abruptly contracted, transforming into an inky-black barrier that shielded Long Yaochen behind it.
The Ice Empress gave her opponent no chance to rest. She thrust out her tail hook again, but it struck the dark barrier and let out a shrill, piercing explosion.
Crack—!
Large patches of frost patterns emerged across the dark barrier's surface. Ultimate Ice spread wildly along the Soul Power, forcibly freezing a layer of emerald frost over that darkness.
A trace of surprise flashed through Long Xiaoyao's eyes.
"Worthy of Ultimate Ice."
The next instant, the Dark Sacred Dragon's claw shot forth and slammed heavily against the Ice Empress's tail hook.
Boom!
Darkness and extreme ice collided head-on, and a terrifying shockwave exploded outward.
Long Yaochen's vision went white. The snowfield beneath his feet cracked layer upon layer, and Long Xiaoyao shielded him as they slid several dozen meters backward.
The Ice Empress was likewise sent flying, tracing an emerald arc through the air. After landing, she drove her six legs fiercely into the ice before forcibly steadying herself.
She, a dignified Ferocious Beast, had actually been knocked flying by a human.
The gravity in her emerald eyes had grown incomparably intense.
This human was a little too powerful... Xue'er, could you really not come?
What was even more absurd was that he had not truly gone all out.
He had been protecting the boy behind him the entire time.
Long Xiaoyao did not pursue either. The enormous form of the Dark Sacred Dragon merely coiled in midair, dragon eyes gazing coldly down at the Ice Empress.
"Do you still want to continue?"
The Ice Empress did not answer immediately.
Emerald light surged around her as the Domain of Eternal Freeze continued eroding against the Silent Darkness Domain.
Darkness continuously swallowed the cold, while extreme ice continuously froze the darkness.
The two forces remained locked in a stalemate across the snowfield, throwing the wind and snow throughout the entire Core Area into chaos.
But the Ice Empress knew clearly in her heart.
If they continued fighting, she might not die, but she definitely could not win.
Especially with Snow Empress still in seclusion and the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan residing here.
If she truly drove this human into a corner, the consequences would only become worse.
Thinking of this, the emerald light around the Ice Empress slowly receded.
The Domain of Eternal Freeze gradually withdrew to her side.
"Human."
The Ice Empress's icy voice sounded again. "What exactly do you want?"
Seeing this, Long Xiaoyao did not continue pressing her. He dispelled his Martial Soul Avatar and slowly returned to human form.
However, the pressure of a Limit Douluo still enveloped the surroundings, ensuring that the Ice Empress could not suddenly attack Long Yaochen again.
He lowered his head to look at Long Yaochen behind him and spoke.
"Do you see? Now, she is willing to listen.
It's time for you to talk to her."
Before you continue