Ice Empress: Wuwuwu, I was wrong

"May I ask what brings Your Excellency to our sect?" Nan Shuisui asked nervously, well aware of the Body Sect's reputation for being neither strictly righteous nor entirely evil.

"Sect Master Nan, my Body Sect has taken quite an interest in the secret realm of your Earth Dragon Gate," Du Busi said, watching Nan Shuisui calmly.

"Ah?" Nan Shuisui was slightly stunned, then hesitated. Although their Earth Dragon Gate couldn't fully explore that Millennium Cold Spring, she was still reluctant to just hand it over.

"What? You refuse?" Du Busi's brows furrowed slightly as he took a step forward.

In an instant, a terrifying wave of soul power surged from Du Busi's body. Nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red, red, red—rose into the air, and the pressure of his soul power crashed toward Nan Shuisui like a tidal wave.

"Of course I am willing." Jolted by the pressure of Du Busi's soul power, Nan Shuisui snapped back to reality.

This was Du Busi, the Sect Master of the Body Sect! A level-98 Super Douluo! A supreme powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the continent! She had no right to refuse.

If it came to a fight, everyone in the Earth Dragon Gate combined wouldn't be enough to challenge Du Busi.

Nan Shuisui sighed helplessly and had no choice but to lead Du Busi and Xiao Jinchen toward the Earth Dragon Gate's Millennium Cold Spring.

The Earth Dragon Gate was not large, and with their speed, they arrived at the mouth of a well in no time.

"Your Excellency, it is here," Nan Shuisui said with a bow, though she clearly had no intention of mentioning the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal.

"So it is here, as expected." As a fire-attribute soul master, Xiao Jinchen was extremely sensitive to ice-attribute energy; he could already feel the chill radiating from the well.

"Old man, I'm going down first. Wait for me outside," Xiao Jinchen said to Du Busi before preparing to jump into the well.

"Wait!" Nan Shuisui called out to Xiao Jinchen directly. She hadn't expected the youth beside Du Busi to be the one entering; if he died inside and the Earth Dragon Gate was blamed, it would be a disaster.

"Young friend, it is very cold inside. Even a Titled Douluo cannot venture deep," Nan Shuisui warned.

"Don't be a busybody," Xiao Jinchen replied, sounding somewhat displeased.

Xiao Jinchen naturally knew the temperature inside was extremely low, but with his strange fire protecting his body, he had nothing to fear. Besides, at the very deepest point, there was nothing but Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow!

Under Du Busi's watchful gaze, Xiao Jinchen jumped directly into the cold spring.

Du Busi did not leave; instead, he stood guard, and seeing this, Nan Shuisui remained as well.

As soon as Xiao Jinchen entered the cold spring, he felt the biting chill, but he instantly released his Emperor Flame martial soul to isolate the cold.

Having already fused two types of strange fire, the Emperor Flame had long since surpassed the category of ultimate attributes, and these cold currents clearly could not affect Xiao Jinchen in the slightest.

Before long, pieces of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal of varying sizes, glowing with a pale blue light, appeared before Xiao Jinchen's eyes.

Xiao Jinchen flicked his fingers, shooting multiple flames at the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals, and in a short while, he had collected them all into his storage ring.

The further he went, the more biting the cold became, seemingly reaching the ultimate of the ultimate, yet it still posed no threat to Xiao Jinchen.

Finally, reaching the very core of the spring, Xiao Jinchen arrived at a pitch-black cavern.

With a thought from Xiao Jinchen, the seemingly ordinary flames of the Emperor Flame flared up brightly.

The light of the Emperor Flame filled the entire cavern, and the ice crystals refracted the beams of light, making the surrounding environment look as brilliant as a starry sky.

"Wow." Xiao Jinchen looked at the stunning scene before him and couldn't help but smack his lips. "Is this the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow?"

Xiao Jinchen took a deep breath and sent streams of fire toward the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow in front of him.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As Xiao Jinchen's flames struck the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, it began to break off, and he collected every piece into his storage ring.

"Forty-five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow." Xiao Jinchen muttered with some exhaustion. He had been in this place for a whole day; collecting this Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow was no simple task!

Outside.

"Why hasn't this kid come out yet? He didn't actually die in there, did he?" Du Busi yawned and muttered.

"Splash!"

Accompanied by the sound of someone breaking the surface, a figure emerged, wrapped in viscous water that poured down like a waterfall, landing heavily and stirring up circles of murky ripples.

"Little Chen, you're out!" Du Busi said with delight after seeing the figure clearly.

"Old man, let's head back to the Body Sect first," Xiao Jinchen said, his face somewhat pale.

Seeing Xiao Jinchen in this state, Du Busi nodded. "Alright, let's go back."

With that, Du Busi wrapped his soul power around Xiao Jinchen and flew directly away from the Earth Dragon Gate.

"Phew."

"Finally gone." Seeing Du Busi leave, Nan Shuisui let out a sigh of relief, then muttered, "Sigh, it's just a pity about this Millennium Cold Spring."

A day later, in a room within the Body Sect.

The small house was not large, and it was even somewhat dilapidated.

The surrounding facilities were simple: a lamp, a small table, and a few stools.

This was Xiao Jinchen's residence in the Body Sect.

As for soul-guided lamps or household soul devices—sorry, there were none!

After a day of meditation, Xiao Jinchen had recovered to his peak state.

Xiao Jinchen flicked his storage ring lightly, and a jade bottle fell into his hand.

"Detestable human! Let me out at once!" The moment Xiao Jinchen retrieved the bottle, Ice Empress began to clamor.

Xiao Jinchen wiped his finger across the seal, and a graceful figure burst forth from the bottle.

She was a little girl with green hair, her charming, fair face marked by four emerald-green demonic patterns on each side.

Her long, ink-green hair cascaded down her back, tied into small braids that made her look incredibly adorable.

"Detestable human! This Empress will kill you!" Ice Empress roared at Xiao Jinchen the moment she emerged.

"Oh? You dare threaten me?" Xiao Jinchen looked at Ice Empress with a mocking smile, the Emperor Flame rising in his hand as the Fallen Heart Flame separated from it.

Xiao Jinchen tapped his finger, and Ice Empress's forehead suddenly glowed.

"Ah!"

Ice Empress let out a sudden, piercing scream.

The innate skill of the Fallen Heart Flame! Soul Burning!

"Despicable... human!"

"Ah!"

Before Ice Empress could finish, another scream tore through the air as Xiao Jinchen scorched her soul once more.

I do not know how much time had passed...

"Wuwuwu, this Sovereign was wrong, please, stop burning me." Ice Empress sobbed. She was truly terrified by the flames; while she could resist at first, as time dragged on, the inhuman torture became something she could no longer endure.

Xiao Jinchen lowered his gaze to look at the small figure before him.

The Ice Empress, who had been so arrogant and unyielding just moments ago, had long since lost the formidable aura of a ruler of the frozen lands. Her little face was flushed red from crying, and her tear-streaked, pitiful appearance was enough to stir one's sympathy.

A faint smile rippled in the depths of Xiao Jinchen's eyes, but his finger did not slacken, showing no intention of stopping.

"So, you know how to admit your mistakes now?" Xiao Jinchen narrowed his eyes and laughed. "Where is the confidence you had when you threatened to kill me just now?"

Ice Empress bit down hard on her soft, pink lower lip, enduring the bone-scorching pain and agony throughout her body as she glared at the human who was pressing her step by step with her wet, glistening eyes.

But that bit of ferocity no longer held any deterrent power, leaving only overwhelming grievance and helplessness.

Ice Empress slowly drooped her head and whimpered, "I... I won't kill you anymore... I won't ever dare to again... Please, put the fire away... wuwuwu, it's so hot, it's too painful... wuwuwu... I was wrong..."