Her brows knitted at once, and a trace of solemnity and coldness flashed through her eyes.
She immediately cut off the conversation and said to Xue Chen:
"Come on... let's head back first."
With that, before Xue Chen could react, a swirl of white light enveloped Snow Empress. She took him into the air and turned into a streak of light, heading back the way they had come.
However, after flying for a while, sharp-eyed Xue Chen immediately sensed that they were going the wrong way.
"Mother, this... this doesn't look like the way back to Ice Crystal Palace, does it?"
Looking at the unfamiliar ice valley rushing past below, Xue Chen asked in confusion.
Snow Empress didn't slow down. Her ethereal voice rang in his ears:
"Mm. Mother has something important to take care of today.
A distinguished guest has arrived at Ice Crystal Palace..."
She paused slightly over the words "distinguished guest," her tone hard to read.
"Go spend some time with your Auntie Ice Empress. She should be at her residence in Ice Jade Pool right now.
Once everything is settled, I'll come get you."
Although Xue Chen was young, he had been through a great deal, and his thoughts were already far more subtle than those of children his age.
From Snow Empress's grave expression, her sudden change of course, and her decision not to bring him back to Ice Crystal Palace, he immediately sensed that something was amiss.
If even someone as powerful as Mother Snow Empress didn't want him involved—or even to know about it—then whatever she was about to face was likely extremely serious. It might even... have something to do with his complicated origins and the Star Dou Forest.
He suppressed his curiosity and a trace of unease, and obediently nodded. He didn't ask another question, only replying softly:
"All right, I understand, Mother. Please... be careful."
Feeling her son's thoughtfulness and concern, Snow Empress's heart warmed. She gave a quiet "Mm," then sped up once more, racing toward another central region of the Far North—the Ice Empress's abode.
Leaving Xue Chen temporarily in Ice Empress's care was the safest choice for now.
As for Snow Empress, she had to return to Ice Crystal Palace alone and face the uninvited guest—the Beast God, Di Tian!
Storm clouds gathered once more over the Far North.
After safely leaving Xue Chen at Ice Empress's abode in Emerald Deep Pool, Snow Empress didn't linger for a moment.
White light flashed around her as she pushed her speed to its limit and raced back to Ice Crystal Palace.
Snow Empress's stunning figure had barely landed on the mirror-smooth ice plain before Ice Crystal Palace and come to a stop when—"Vmmm!!!"
An indescribably terrifying pressure descended from the sky!
The heavens over the entire Far North seemed to darken in an instant. It wasn't because clouds had covered the sky, but because a deeper, more soul-shaking darkness had spread through the air.
The space above Ice Crystal Palace twisted violently, then was suddenly ripped open by an overwhelmingly brutal force!
From within the rift, an enormous dragon emerged, so vast it defied imagination!
Its entire body was covered in shimmering black scales. Its enormous membranous wings spread wide, blotting out the sky in the truest sense of the words.
Its shadow engulfed most of Ice Crystal Palace and several miles of the surrounding ice plain.
Its enormous golden, slit-pupiled eyes fixed precisely on the solitary, aloof white figure outside Ice Crystal Palace.
The massive dragon head dipped slightly, and a voice like rolling thunder echoed across the world, making the ice plain beneath them tremble:
"Heavenly Snow Woman... long time no see!"
There was no discernible joy or anger in the voice, only the weight of endless ages and unquestionable power.
Snow Empress stood tall before the palace, her ice-blue hair whipping in the gale brought by the dragon's might. Yet the aura around her held that terrifying pressure at bay.
Her face remained calm, though a trace of solemnity flickered deep within her ice-blue eyes.
Her red lips parted. Her ethereal voice was not loud, yet it pierced through the fading echoes of the dragon's roar and reached the heavens:
"Since the Beast God has come, why circle above the heavens?
Why not come down and talk?"
The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King—Di Tian—hovering in the sky seemed to show a flicker of emotion in his enormous golden eyes.
He said no more. A dense black radiance began to spread over his vast dragon body, then rapidly contracted and gathered.
The next moment, the black light faded.
The dragon that had blotted out the sky was gone.
In its place stood a tall, stern-looking man in black robes.
The Beast God Di Tian had descended upon the Far North in human form!
With his hands behind his back, he walked forward with unhurried steps. One step carried him across the distance, bringing him down from the sky to the ice plain before Ice Crystal Palace. He stood dozens of yards from Snow Empress, facing her from afar.
The two beings who stood at the pinnacle of the Soul Beast hierarchy on Douluo Continent faced off once more upon this vast, desolate ice plain.
The atmosphere instantly grew unbearably tense.
Di Tian's golden pupils narrowed slightly, and the invisible dragon might around him intensified.
His voice was low, carrying an unmistakable resolve:
"Snow Maiden, hand over that child."
Snow Empress stood amid the swirling snow, her robes fluttering as if she had become one with the chill of the Far North.
Her gaze was cold and unwavering:
"Give me a reason."
Golden light shifted in Di Tian's eyes. The secret of the Master, the Silver Dragon King, was classified and could never be spoken aloud.
His voice deepened, carrying a trace of unquestionable authority:
"The Scarlet King should have already delivered the message.
I have come in person. That should make my position clear. There's no point in saying more."
At his words, not only did Snow Empress show no fear, a razor-edged curve even touched her beautiful features:
"And if I refuse?"
Di Tian didn't grow angry. At their level, they had long since learned to control their emotions at will.
He merely took one step forward. The entire ice plain seemed to tremble faintly beneath him:
"If I take him by force... can you stop me?"
His words were calm, yet they carried absolute confidence and power—the assurance of one who stood as the Beast God.
The chill around Snow Empress turned abruptly biting, and her ice-blue hair stirred in a wind that wasn't there.
Countless intricate, magnificent patterns of ice crystals spread across the ground at her feet. The snow and ice of the entire Far North seemed to resonate with her:
"You're welcome to... try."
Their gazes met in midair, and their invisible auras clashed violently. The air seemed to freeze, and even the howling wind came to a halt.
One was the Beast God, who ruled Star Dou and shook the continent.
The other was Snow Empress, who ruled the Far North and sealed all things in ice. Now they stood at daggers drawn, neither willing to yield an inch.
After several breaths of silence, the golden light in Di Tian's eyes softened slightly. He reined in some of his outward dragon might. His voice remained low, but now carried a warning that seemed conciliatory while exerting even greater pressure:
"Snow Maiden, in the end, we belong to the same Soul Beast Clan. We are the last of the ancient bloodlines on this continent.
I don't want to see our own kind slaughtering one another over this and wasting our strength.
I didn't come here to fight you."
He paused, and a hint of unfathomable depth flashed through his golden eyes:
"Don't force me... to use the means I least wish to resort to."
Di Tian's meaning was clear. This was practically a final ultimatum, carrying a veiled threat.
Before you continue