The Ice Empress looked at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's craven, pleading expression, then caught the sly, urging glance Xue Chen discreetly sent her. She understood at once.
She was as clever as she was beautiful. Putting together Xue Chen's earlier bluster and the foolish worm's heartfelt display of generosity, how could she fail to guess? That brat Chen had clearly talked the damn worm into a stupor!
A faint, fleeting smile crossed the Ice Empress's eyes, too quick for anyone to notice.
She gave a quiet snort to herself, which meant she was willing to let Xue Chen's scheme slide—for now.
The worm still grated on her nerves, but the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow it had brought her—especially such a vast quantity of such pure marrow—was an opportunity neither she nor the Snow Empress could refuse.
With a powerful enemy bearing down on them, this was no time to settle personal grudges.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm saw that although the Ice Empress still wore a cold expression, the murderous aura around her seemed to have eased a little.
Thinking his sincerity had finally worked, he immediately regained some courage and hurried to press his advantage. Holding out the storage ring, he spoke in a fawning, hopeful voice:
"Right, right! Bingbing! This is... this is all for you!
I... I went out of my way to find it for you! I hope... I hope you like it!"
"And what did you just call me? 'Bingbing'?
You think you can call me that? If you dare say it again, I'll skin you alive!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shuddered from head to toe, his rolls of fat quivering. He hurriedly corrected himself:
"Ice... Ice Empress! Lady Ice Empress!"
The Ice Empress suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and the instinctive revulsion that made her want to swat the worm away. Her gaze swept over the ring, and she could clearly sense the immense, frigid energy within.
She snorted, her tone still unfriendly and edged with warning:
"We'll leave this matter for now. I'll deal with it when I get back.
As for you... hmph!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm jolted in fright and quickly drew his head in. He didn't dare call her Bingbing again.
Seeing that things had temporarily settled down, Xue Chen felt half the weight lift from his heart and immediately steered the conversation back to the urgent situation:
"Aunt Ice Empress, we can talk about Brother Sky Dream later!
The important thing now is Big Brother Xiao Bai!
Di Tian sent the Scarlet King to capture me, and then Xiao Bai and the Scarlet King started fighting. I'm worried Big Brother Xiao Bai can't handle him alone!"
At the mention of the real problem, the Ice Empress's expression grew grave.
The Beast God Di Tian of the Star Dou Forest brought far more pressure than a foolish worm ever could.
The Beast God Di Tian!
That name carried too much weight. His will was surely behind more than just the Scarlet King acting on his own.
This concerned the dignity of the Far North—and Xue Chen's safety!
She shot Sky Dream Ice Silkworm a sharp glare, as if to say she'd settle things with him later, then quickly said to Xue Chen:
"Di Tian? Why would he be after you? Something's not right!
Stay here and don't go anywhere! I'll go help Xiao Bai at once!"
Before her words had even faded, the Ice Empress blurred into a streak of emerald light and shot out of Ice Crystal Palace.
Inside the hall, only Xue Chen remained, still shaken, along with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who looked as though he'd just escaped the jaws of death and now lay sprawled on the ice, panting heavily.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm patted his plump chest with his forelimbs and muttered in lingering fear:
"Holy crap... I thought I was done for... Bingbing... The Ice Empress looked like she really wanted to kill me just now..."
Xue Chen shot him an exasperated look.
"Obviously! You made quite the impression on her back then!
You're lucky to be alive!
What the hell? Why would the Beast God Di Tian send the Scarlet King to capture me out of nowhere..."
Xue Chen muttered to himself.
His little face was full of worry, and a foreboding feeling rose within him.
Xue Chen tugged Sky Dream Ice Silkworm toward the inner hall. The worm waddled along on his chubby body, then couldn't resist sending a message through spiritual power, full of curiosity and gossip:
"Hey, kid, how'd you get on Di Tian's bad side?
He even sent the Scarlet King himself to capture you! Don't tell me... you peeked at Bi Ji while she was bathing?!"
"What are you talking about?!"
Xue Chen nearly stumbled when he heard that. He glared at the worm in annoyance.
"I've never even been to the Star Dou Forest in my life. How could I have spied on anyone?
I'm just as clueless as you are!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm studied Xue Chen with his tiny eyes, his voice full of amazement and teasing:
"Well, well, would you look at that!
You're such a little squirt, yet you've caught the attention of the Beast God Di Tian. He even sent his top subordinate across the border to summon you. You've got quite the face, kid! I'm impressed!"
"Brother Sky Dream! This is no time for you to make fun of me!"
Xue Chen said anxiously.
"You've lived for ages and seen all sorts of things. Hurry up and think of something!"
"Think of something?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shook his head like a rattle drum.
"What could I possibly do? We're talking about Di Tian!
Listen, kid. You should be glad it's only the Scarlet King who came this time!
He's pretty strong, sure, but he definitely can't beat the Snow Empress and Bingbing.
If that old black dragon Di Tian came to the Far North in person..."
A trace of unmistakable fear crept into Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice.
"...I can't even imagine what that would look like!
Even if the Snow Empress gave it everything she had, she might not be able to stop him!
Do you even understand what the title 'Beast God' means?
He's a terrifying existence at the very peak of the Soul Beasts, one who has even touched the threshold of godhood!"
Just as Xue Chen's mood grew heavier and heavier, the Ice Empress appeared as if by teleportation in the heart of the battle between Xiao Bai and the Scarlet King.
"Stop!"
Her clear, icy shout rang out like the shattering of heavenly ice. It reached the two kings, who had been savagely trading blows, carrying an unquestionable authority.
The violent clash of energy faltered.
Xiao Bai smashed an oncoming Hellfire Pillar with his enormous paw, then leapt backward and looked up, surprise and delight in his eyes.
"Aunt Ice Empress!"
The Scarlet King's three heads turned toward the voice at once. Flames flickered in its six scarlet eyes, and its expression turned grim.
"Ice Empress?!"
The Ice Empress hovered in midair, her emerald hair flying while her green dress remained perfectly still in the raging currents of energy.
She looked down at the Scarlet King, who resembled a demon god wreathed in flames. Her gaze was cold and sharp, and her voice carried a bone-piercing chill.
"Scarlet King! How dare you!"
"The Far North has always left the Star Dou Forest in peace!
Yet now you've dared trespass into our heartland, harm our people, and even try to abduct one of our own!"
"Do you think the Far North has no one to stand up for it?!"
As the final word fell, emerald light blazed around the Ice Empress. She released the full force of her terrifying, four-hundred-thousand-year cultivation, pressing down hard on the Scarlet King!
The Scarlet King felt the Ice Empress's immense, undisguised pressure, and its heart sank.
The Ice Empress's cultivation was already far greater than its own. And now she was on her home ground, where the pervasive chill of the Far North constantly amplified her strength.
With the odds stacked so heavily against it, the Scarlet King knew perfectly well it had no chance of winning.
It cursed its rotten luck. A seemingly ordinary human child had somehow drawn both rulers of the Far North into standing up for him. This was a disaster it had never asked for!
Before you continue