Far North

The moment the fourth pitch-black, ten-thousand-year spirit ring condensed and took shape beneath Lin Shuo's feet, the heaven and earth energy in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest shook violently. A nine-colored pillar of light pierced from the firmament into his crown; the radiance penetrated layers of foliage, reflecting off the surface of the Lake of Life until it looked as though it were inlaid with countless pieces of colored glaze.

Di Tian knelt on one knee, his head bowed low. Even with cultivation as formidable as his, he could only submit in the face of such pure bloodline pressure.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay prone on the ground, its golden fur pressed tight against its body. Its amber vertical pupils reflected the nine-colored pillar of light, while deep within its eyes, a scorching fervor of worship burned.

The pillar of light slowly receded, eventually transforming into a faint, seven-colored mist that was drawn into Lin Shuo's body. He opened his eyes slowly; deep within his pure black pupils, a nine-colored shimmer flashed and vanished. The fourth spirit ring had completely stabilized, its pitch-black hue casting a restrained luster under the sunlight.

Level 41, Spirit Ancestor.

Lin Shuo felt the surging spirit power within his body and his newly acquired spirit skills. Every circulation of spirit power brought an unprecedented sense of fluidity.

Up to this point, not a single enemy he had encountered had been worthy of him using his spirit skills.

Lin Shuo's second spirit skill was Seven-Colored Dragon Armor, a purely defensive skill capable of condensing a complete set of dragon-scale armor upon his body. This dragon-scale armor was far stronger than a simple dragon-scale manifestation; it not only significantly boosted mental, physical, and elemental defense, but also automatically absorbed a portion of the energy from any enemy attack that struck the armor, converting it into Lin Shuo's own spirit power.

His third spirit skill was Seven-Colored Dragon Breath, which could unleash a destructive dragon breath. This skill allowed him to freely invest spirit power to alter its potency, and it could also release composite dragon breaths. In other words, Lin Shuo could perform elemental fusion directly through the skill without needing to expend mental energy to do so.

As for the newly acquired fourth spirit skill, it was called Seven-Colored Domain, a domain-type skill. When released, it increased the effectiveness of all his own spirit skills by 50%, and all enemies within the domain were rendered unable to use the seven great elements.

"My Lord, congratulations on your breakthrough." Di Tian stood up, a look of heartfelt gratification appearing on his stern face.

Lin Shuo retracted his martial soul, the aura around him slowly fading. He walked over to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, crouched down, and ruffled its furry head. "Little one, be a good girl in the Star Dou Great Forest."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion rubbed its head against his palm, let out a low "hmm" in its throat, and swept its tail twice behind it.

"Di Tian, let's go. To the Far North."

Di Tian nodded slightly and raised his hand to slice through the void. A pitch-black spatial rift tore open silently. Di Tian stepped aside to make way, and only after Lin Shuo had stepped through first did he follow, the spatial rift closing quietly behind them.

Core area of the Far North.

This was the northernmost tip of the Douluo Continent, covered in ice and snow year-round. The cold wind was like a blade, and the temperature was so low it could freeze a spirit master's spirit power. As far as the eye could see, there was only an endless white wasteland; between heaven and earth, there remained only one color and one sound—the roar of the wind and snow, and an eternal, unchanging silence.

A spatial rift tore open silently, and two figures stepped out. The moment Lin Shuo landed, the bone-chilling wind rushed toward him. He instinctively prepared to circulate his spirit power, but Di Tian had already shielded him with his own.

"My Lord, the Far North is ruled by the Three Great Heavenly Kings—the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, and the Titan Snow Demon King. Among them, the Snow Empress has the highest cultivation at 690,000 years, followed by the Ice Empress at 390,000 years. However, all three of them are approaching their limits; if nothing unexpected happens, it will be difficult for them to survive their next great tribulation," Di Tian said with a sigh.

Lin Shuo nodded; his targets for this trip were precisely the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress. The Profound Ice Marrow within the Myriad-Year Profound Ice Cave was their only hope for breaking through their heavenly tribulation.

"Di Tian, release your aura and summon the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress."

"As you command."

Di Tian took a step forward. The moment his right foot touched the ground, a terrifying, extreme pressure erupted from him like a physical force. It was the full aura of the 890,000-year Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King; the black spirit power fluctuations swept out in all directions like a tsunami. The snow within a hundred-mile radius was blasted into the air by this aura, turning into a sky full of white mist. The ten-thousand-year ice layer beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, the fissures spreading like spiderwebs toward the depths of the Far North.

Spirit beasts and spirit masters in the Far North froze in place at that very instant. Low-level spirit beasts simply collapsed to the ground, shivering; high-level spirit beasts raised their heads in terror, looking toward the direction from which the aura originated. That pressure was too strong—so strong that it robbed them of even the courage to flee. Meanwhile, the spirit masters, upon sensing it, immediately began to run toward the outskirts of the Far North.

Di Tian's aura had been released for only a few breaths when two terrifying auras rose simultaneously from the direction of the Far North's core in response.

One was as cold as ten-thousand-year ice, the other as sharp as the wind and snow of the Far North.

At the end of the distant horizon, a snow-white figure tore through the wind and snow, racing toward them. It was an incredibly beautiful woman with long, snow-white hair dancing wildly in the cold wind, yet not a single strand was out of place. Her skin was more translucent than ice and snow, and her eyes were a pale, icy blue; she seemed as if she had been carved from the purest ice and snow of the Far North. She walked barefoot through the air, and with every step she took, a lotus of ice crystals condensed beneath her feet, only to shatter into a sky full of ice shards a moment later.

The Snow Empress, head of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, ranked third among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, the 690,000-year Ice Sky Snow Maiden.

Following closely behind her was another figure. It was a petite young girl with long, emerald-green hair reaching her waist, the ends slightly curled. Her eyes were the color of translucent jade, and her face was as exquisite as a porcelain doll, yet she carried an arrogance so sharp one dared not look her in the eye. She wore a long emerald dress embroidered with delicate ice-flower patterns, and visible cold air swirled around her.

The Ice Empress, second of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, ranked seventh among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, the 390,000-year Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

The two stopped in the air a hundred yards away from Di Tian.

The Snow Empress's icy blue eyes fell upon Di Tian. Her cold, clear face revealed little emotion, but the slightly tightened corners of her lips betrayed the gravity in her heart. The Ice Empress was much more direct—her jade-colored eyes were filled with vigilance, and she had already pushed her spirit power to the limit, ready to strike at any moment.

The 890,000-year Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, the Beast God of the Star Dou Great Forest, the terrifying existence ranked first among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts—why had he suddenly appeared in the Far North to release his aura? Was he declaring war?

"Di Tian," the Snow Empress spoke, her voice like ice jade striking together, cold and ethereal. "You do not stay in the Star Dou Great Forest, yet you come to my Far North to release your aura. What is the meaning of this?"