However, Snow Empress remained unmoved. She stood proudly before Ice Crystal Palace, her voice firm and ringing across the ice plains with the inviolable majesty of the Lord of the Far North:
"Di Tian! I respect you as the Beast God, ruler of all beasts, esteemed and respected."
"But this is the Far North!"
"You have no right to come here and throw your weight around!"
"You think you can take someone from my side just because you say so?"
"—Dream on!"
Those final two words were delivered with absolute finality.
The wind and snow raging across the heavens suddenly grew more violent at the sound of her voice, as though the will of the entire Far North had gathered here to stand with Snow Empress against the supreme dragon might from Star Dou Forest!
At her words, Di Tian laughed instead of getting angry, but the chill in his laughter and his overwhelming dragon might shook the land in every direction:
"Good! Good! Good!!!"
"Since that's the case, let's see how you plan to stop me!"
Before his words had even faded, Di Tian's figure flickered. He did not attack Snow Empress but appeared directly inside Ice Crystal Palace.
His powerful spiritual sense swept through the entire hall in an instant, and a flash of understanding immediately crossed his golden eyes.
The child wasn't here!
He couldn't sense the distinctive aura of the scale belonging to the Silver Dragon King, The Master!
"Hmph!"
Di Tian snorted, instantly understanding.
Xue Chen wasn't in Ice Crystal Palace. Given Snow Empress's relationship with Ice Empress, the child's most likely hiding place could only be Ice Empress's cave!
Without hesitation, his figure blurred again, and he was about to rush out of Ice Crystal Palace toward Ice Empress's cave.
Snow Empress had seen through Di Tian's intentions the moment he rushed into the hall. When she saw him turn toward Ice Empress's cave, her heart sank.
She absolutely couldn't let Di Tian go straight to Ice Empress and Chen'er!
"Extreme Cold Domain!"
Snow Empress cried out sharply, holding nothing back!
Centered on her delicate form, a terrifying, invisible cold intent spread instantly, as if it could freeze souls and extinguish all life!
This domain represented Snow Empress's ultimate comprehension of the laws of ice!
Wherever it passed, space seemed to solidify.
Even light slowed and twisted as it moved through the domain, taking on an eerie, sluggish quality.
Di Tian had just charged out of Ice Crystal Palace and was about to spread his wings when the invisible Extreme Cold Domain instantly enveloped his enormous body!
"Hmm?!"
Di Tian's body abruptly slowed to a halt!
He could clearly feel the space around him turning sluggish.
Wave after wave of extreme freezing and binding force surged toward him from every direction.
It crazily seeped through his protective dragon aura, trying to invade his limbs and bones, even the depths of his dragon soul!
Every movement, whether flying or using a Soul Skill, met with tremendous resistance and became extraordinarily sluggish.
Even the simplest action took several times more strength than usual, while his speed was forcibly reduced by several tenths!
The domain severely restricted his ability to move!
"Ice Seal... Ten Thousand Years!"
Snow Empress didn't pause for even an instant. She formed a seal with her jade-like hands and summoned the power at the heart of her domain!
Within the Extreme Cold Domain surrounding Di Tian, the temperature instantly plunged, approaching—or even reaching—the theoretical absolute zero!
"Crack... crack-crack—!"
The sounds of freezing rang out in rapid succession!
The powerful dark dragon aura covering Di Tian's body was visibly coated with a layer of mysterious ice, sparkling with countless profound runes!
This ice didn't stop at the surface. It rapidly spread into his flesh and deep into his bones!
In the blink of an eye, most of Di Tian's body was covered in Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice.
Snow Empress had opened with her signature technique combined with her domain, attempting to use her most powerful control ability to forcibly hold back Beast God Di Tian!
Golden light flared in Di Tian's enormous dragon eyes. His body, covered in mysterious ice, shuddered violently, and dense black mist suddenly erupted around him.
The mist seemed to possess immense destructive power. As it wound around the deep-blue mysterious ice covering his dragon body, it let out a shrill sound.
The supposedly indestructible Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice rapidly filled with countless cracks under the black mist's erosion, then shattered with a thunderous crash, scattering into a storm of ice crystals!
Just as Di Tian was about to break free from the domain's restraints, the aura around him began to rise steadily, as if he were about to release an even deeper limit on his power.
Snow Empress's eyes narrowed. She didn't hesitate any longer.
Her hands rapidly formed seals before her chest, while her vast Extreme Cold Soul Power and the ice and snow power of the Far North surged together around her.
Behind her, they gathered into a massive azure formation composed of countless ice-crystal runes.
The formation slowly revolved, radiating a terrifying, bone-chilling pressure!
"Emperor Palm—Great Cold Without Snow!"
Snow Empress's cool voice rang out like ice cracking across the heavens. Her slender jade-like hand seemed to move slowly, yet contained supreme mysteries as she thrust her palm toward Di Tian!
As her palm shot forward, the enormous azure formation behind her blazed with dazzling light.
A nearly transparent, ice-blue palm print blasted out from the formation's center!
In its wake, a strange vacuum formed.
Silent and soundless, it struck toward Di Tian's head!
Di Tian had just shattered the mysterious ice around him when he felt the Nirvana Cold Intent lock onto him.
For the first time, a grave look flashed through his enormous golden dragon eyes. He didn't dare underestimate Snow Empress's renowned technique.
His enormous dragon head snapped upward, his cavernous maw opening as a mass of deep, dark energy gathered in the depths of his throat!
"Roar—!"
Accompanied by a heaven-shaking dragon roar, a colossal breath of darkness blasted from his mouth, hurtling straight toward the ice-blue palm print that could extinguish all things!
On one side was ultimate cold, freezing all things and reducing them to nothingness!
On the other was Supreme Dark Dragon Breath, devouring light and annihilating everything!
Two terrifying energies, each at the ultimate extreme of its attribute and containing the power of utterly opposing laws, collided head-on in midair without a hint of embellishment!
"BOOM!!!!!!!"
A tremendous roar, as if splitting heaven and earth, erupted!
At the center of the collision, space shattered inch by inch, revealing the twisted, chaotic void beyond!
The red-black and blue-white energies intertwined madly.
They eroded and annihilated each other, forming a destructive storm of ice shards, darkness, and fragments of space that suddenly expanded in a ring!
The terrifying shock wave swept across the entire ice plain in an instant!
The permafrost and ice layer below, frozen for ten thousand years, were torn up in vast sheets.
Several distant snow-capped peaks collapsed with a thunderous crash under the force's aftershock, sending snow billowing across the sky!
Even the clouds hanging high above were forcibly torn open by the force, leaving a massive ring-shaped gap!
Protected by Snow Empress's power, Ice Crystal Palace shuddered violently. Its light flickered, but in the end, it remained standing.
At the heart of the collision, the energy continued to rage. The light flickered erratically, casting Snow Empress's cool, stunning face and Di Tian's fierce, majestic dragon head in alternating brightness and shadow.
The direct clash had ended in what seemed to be a draw!
Elsewhere on the Far North Ice Plains, a huge green figure raced across the ground at astonishing speed!
It was Ice Empress, transformed into her true form—the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion!
Xue Chen clung tightly to the crystal-armored back of her carapace.
Just moments ago, the earth-shaking boom that had come from Ice Crystal Palace in the distance made Xue Chen's heart leap into his throat!
Before you continue