After another hour or so of walking, heavy footsteps suddenly sounded ahead.
The snow on the ground trembled faintly, and an enormous white bear slowly emerged from behind a glacier.
Her entire body was covered in thick, long, snow-white fur. Her limbs were as sturdy as ice pillars, and her claws gleamed with an eerie blue chill. Every step left a deep crater in the snow.
She was the leader of the ice bears, the Ice Bear King.
The Ice Bear King glared at the four with eyes like bronze bells, her voice booming like a tolling bell, thick with a nasal rumble:
"Humans! How dare you trespass on my territory! I smelled your unfamiliar scent from miles away. You certainly have some nerve!"
She abruptly rose onto her hind legs, her immense body blotting out the sky. Cold surged around her, instantly freezing the surrounding snow into a layer of solid ice.
Jiang Qingyu looked at the giant bear before him, understanding dawning in his mind.
This Ice Bear King's nickname was Xiao Bai. Her cultivation currently stood at 280,000 years; it would take another ten thousand years or so to reach 290,000.
The Snow Empress had raised her herself, and she was deeply dependent on the Snow Empress. Yet her nature was simple and honest, without any malicious intentions.
Her combat strength approached that of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, making her one of the strongest beings in the middle region. In later years, she would also become Huo Yuhao's soul spirit.
Right now, she was at the height of her vigor, making her the most suitable candidate for a sacrifice.
Jiang Qingyu looked at the enormous creature standing upright before him and spoke indifferently.
"Two hundred and eighty thousand years of cultivation, and