Ice Plains Celestial Lord fell silent for a moment.
Was the human Celestial Lord bluffing, or was he truly ruthless enough to sit by while every Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivator died?
She asked herself that question.
The answer came at once.
He truly was.
This human Celestial Lord had just advanced, yet he had slain a late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator of his own race, swallowed his territory, and slaughtered and purged his lineage without a moment's hesitation.
Humans were the most despicable, cruelest race she had ever seen. No matter when or where, no matter their cultivation level, they fought among themselves tirelessly until one absolute ruler emerged.
The other demon lords were one thing, but the Ice Phoenix Clan struggled to reproduce, and her daughter was...
"Ten years."
"I'll give you another ten years, fellow Daoist."
Ice Plains Celestial Lord said coldly, "If my daughter hasn't been returned after ten years, I'll start slaughtering human cultivators. It won't end until one of us is dead."
"Whether you care or not, that is what I'll do."
She laid out her terms outright, looking utterly unwilling to accept threats. It was impossible to tell whether this was a strategic warning or something she genuinely meant.
Perhaps she had prepared herself for this the moment she let True Lord Ice Phoenix leave to gain experience.
If her daughter died, she would grieve. It would hurt, and the survival of her race would face a grave crisis. But that was no reason to let someone threaten her!
More than ten thousand years of life had taught her that the more she compromised, the worse the outcome would be—including for True Lord Ice Phoenix.
Conversely, the more resolute she was, the more she steeled her heart, the better the final outcome might