Heading to the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan (Testing Period, Please Read On)

On the ice plains.

Ling Xiao was racing forward at top speed, heading toward the Snow Emperor and Ice Empress.

"Mom! Auntie!"

Ling Xiao shouted from afar.

His voice was strong and clear, reaching the ears of the two ice and snow empresses.

Watching his running figure, a faint smile appeared on the Snow Emperor's lips.

The Ice Empress snorted when she saw Ling Xiao, yet the corners of her mouth could not stop rising.

"You little burden, why are you running so fast? What if you fall?"

The Ice Empress muttered under her breath, but her feet unconsciously took a step forward.

She scooped Ling Xiao into her arms.

Ling Xiao said excitedly, "Mom, Auntie, I got stronger again!"

"I'm already at eighty thousand years!"

The Snow Emperor looked at him and said calmly,

"Mm, I know."

Her voice sounded perfectly composed, but her hand had already reached out unconsciously.

After chuckling, Ling Xiao plunged straight into the Snow Emperor's embrace.

"Mom!"

"I'll definitely become even stronger someday. Strong enough to protect Mom and Auntie."

The Snow Emperor said nothing after hearing that.

She gently rubbed Ling Xiao's head.

Seeing this, the Ice Empress folded her arms and could not help snorting.

"Tch, who needs your protection?"

Inside the Ice Crystal Palace.

Ling Xiao's cultivation was growing rapidly, but he vaguely sensed a problem.

So he told the two of them.

"Mom, Auntie."

"The heavenly lightning I've been drawing down recently... it seems to be getting weaker every time."

The two ice and snow empresses looked at Ling Xiao at the same time as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"It feels like... I've drawn down lightning too many times, so it doesn't want to come anymore."

After hearing him out, the two ice and snow empresses recalled the recent occasions when he had summoned lightning.

It did seem to be the case.

They had both been focused on Ling Xiao's cultivation and had not noticed that detail.

Only after Ling Xiao mentioned it did they finally realize.

Ling Xiao had been summoning lightning too frequently.

As a result, the power of lightning above the Extreme North had been nearly exhausted by him.

"What do we do?"

The Ice Empress said with a frown.

"We don't know how to summon lightning either. Are we supposed to point at the sky and curse at it?"

The Ice Empress sounded irritated. Though she always called him a little burden, whenever Ling Xiao encountered a problem, she was more anxious than anyone else.

Ling Xiao did not know what to do either.

Just as the two ice and snow empresses were still considering a solution, an idea suddenly struck Ling Xiao.

He thought of a way, one that could accomplish two things at once.

"Mom."

Ling Xiao took the initiative to speak.

"This is what I'm thinking."

"Are there any soul beasts in the Extreme North that are about to break through to one hundred thousand years but can't survive their heavenly tribulation?"

Ling Xiao's tone turned serious.

"We can find them and let me try to help them survive their heavenly tribulations."

"That way, I can absorb heavenly lightning while also helping them break through their bottlenecks."

The moment those words were spoken.

The Ice Crystal Palace instantly fell silent.

The two ice and snow empresses exchanged a glance, and their eyes lit up at the same time.

This truly was a good idea.

The heavenly lightning that descended during a soul beast's tribulation was purer and more powerful than natural lightning.

It was lightning punishment sent down by the Heavenly Dao for soul beasts, containing true destructive power.

If Ling Xiao absorbed the lightning punishment, he could not only raise his cultivation but also help soul beasts survive their heavenly tribulations. It would be an enormous blessing for soul beasts.

But the problem was...

The two ice and snow empresses knew very well that a soul beast's tribulation was an extremely dangerous matter.

If a soul beast survived its one-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, both its lifespan and strength would soar. If it failed, it would be reduced to ashes, without even leaving behind a soul bone.

If outside forces interfered with the heavenly tribulation, its power would multiply.

This was not helping. This was sending them to their deaths!

Therefore, soul beasts were unwilling to take such a risk, much less gamble with their lives.

What was more...

This was Ling Xiao's first time doing something like this, and neither of them knew how confident he was.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

The Ice Empress and Snow Emperor exchanged another glance.

The Ice Empress looked conflicted, but in the end, she slowly spoke.

"Actually..."

"There are several in our Ice Jade Scorpion Clan who are preparing to break through to one hundred thousand years."

As the Ice Empress spoke, a complicated emotion flickered in her eyes.

Ling Xiao's heart trembled slightly when he heard that. He knew very well how much the Ice Empress was giving up.

Who in the Extreme North did not know how deeply the Ice Empress cared for her clan members?

She had raised the entire clan with her own hands, and every single member was incomparably important to her.

If he was not mistaken...

The few clan members the Ice Empress mentioned were the final safeguards she had left for her clan.

She had to face her four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, so she had no choice but to leave some contingency plans for her clan.

But now...

The Ice Empress had actually taken the initiative to offer her own clan members as a test for Ling Xiao.

That wholehearted trust.

Made warmth surge through Ling Xiao's heart, but it also brought an invisible pressure.

Because the Ice Empress was gambling!

If Ling Xiao failed to save them, the Ice Empress would bear that guilt for the rest of her life.

The Snow Emperor understood the Ice Empress's determination.

She lowered her head to look at Ling Xiao, who was sitting beside her, and softly asked,

"Little one, have you made up your mind?"

"Your aunt is letting her own clan members help you in order to support you."

Ling Xiao fell silent for a moment.

His gaze gradually became firm.

"I have!"

"If I can't even get through this, how can I protect Mom and Auntie!"

Seeing how resolute Ling Xiao was, the Ice Empress gradually relaxed a little.

Still, she said haughtily, "Stop talking big. Get through this first, then we'll talk!"

If one looked closely, they would notice a trace of gratification flash through the Ice Empress's eyes.

They set off at once.

They set off at once.

The two ice and snow empresses took Ling Xiao directly to the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan's territory.

When the three of them arrived, the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan members hurried forward to greet them.

"Clan Leader!"

"Lord Snow Emperor!"

"Clan Leader!"

A group of little jade-green scorpions swarmed over, enthusiastically greeting the two ice and snow empresses.

They truly were just a group of little scorpions.

Because soul beasts had to reach two hundred thousand years before they could take human form, every member of the Ice Empress's clan was in scorpion form.

Their bodies were entirely jade-green, and they crawled nimbly across the ice.

Of course, they only looked so small when they were safe.

They could enlarge their bodies at any time. That was their true battle form.

Ling Xiao looked at the little scorpions before him with a curious expression.

Since their cultivation had not reached one hundred thousand years.

These Ice Jade Scorpions could not yet speak the human language and could only communicate in their own tongue.

The Ice Jade Scorpion Clan's language was rather unusual, sounding like low "buzzing" hums mixed with strange vibrations.

Ling Xiao could not understand any of it and stared at them blankly as they communicated in buzzing noises.

"???"