Little Thing, You Have Quite an Appetite

Snow Emperor held Ling Xiao in her arms and took out a piece of cloth, wrapping him tightly within it.

Then she rose from the bottom of the ice cave.

By the time she stood on the ice plains again, the baby in her arms had long since fallen into a deep sleep.

His hand still clutched Snow Emperor's collar, as though letting go would mean losing that warmth.

Snow Emperor looked down at the baby in her arms, a trace of complicated emotion flashing through her eyes.

"A congenital lightning spirit... I suppose that makes him half my kind."

Snow Emperor murmured to herself.

On the way back.

She unexpectedly discovered a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.

The snow lotus grew within an icy crevice, its entire body radiating an icy blue glow.

To ice-attributed soul beasts, a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus was an exceptionally precious heavenly treasure, immensely beneficial to their cultivation.

To prepare for the coming heavenly tribulation, Snow Emperor had gone out many times in search of suitable heavenly treasures.

She had passed by this place more than once, yet had never discovered the existence of this Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.

If she had not come here today because of Ling Xiao, she might have missed it.

Snow Emperor had not expected it either.

Today, she had not only picked up a child, but also found a way to deal with this heavenly tribulation.

"Little thing, you really are a lucky star. You actually helped Mommy find a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus."

After putting away the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, the smile on Snow Emperor's lips deepened.

She brushed Ling Xiao's cheek and said, "Looks like you're a gift Heaven sent me."

Ling Xiao remained asleep in her arms as Snow Emperor carried him straight back to the Ice Crystal Palace.

Ice Crystal Palace.

Beneath the ice of the Extreme North stood a magnificent palace.

There were no splendid decorations inside; the entire palace was formed from solid ice.

Snow Emperor had already returned to the Ice Crystal Palace.

This was Snow Emperor's territory, the very heart of the Extreme North.

Other than Ice Empress and Xiaobai occasionally visiting, no fourth living being had ever set foot here.

But today, there was one more.

Snow Emperor first took out the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus and used soul power to seal it inside a jade box.

The snow lotus was vital to her breakthrough, but that matter could wait.

Because she now had an even more troublesome problem to face.

"..."

Snow Emperor placed Ling Xiao on an ice bed, sat beside him, and slowly sank into thought.

How was she supposed to raise a child?

This was not the first time she had adopted a child, but a little white bear was different from a baby.

Xiaobai was an ice-attributed soul beast, naturally adapted to the frigid cold of the Extreme North.

As long as she looked after him occasionally, Xiaobai, as a soul beast, could grow strong and healthy.

But Ling Xiao was completely different.

First, he was an infant.

Not some soul beast cub, but a human baby newly born into the world.

Second, he was a congenital lightning spirit. Lightning and ice, supreme yang and supreme yin, were natural opposites.

The cold of the Extreme North would leave Ling Xiao's body somewhat unaccustomed to the environment.

With those two factors combined.

The difficulty of raising him had soared to an unprecedented level.

"..."

Snow Emperor lowered her gaze to the sleeping Ling Xiao, a rare hint of confusion flashing through her eyes.

She had lived for countless tens of thousands of years, experienced innumerable great battles, and faced countless powerful enemies, yet she had never furrowed her brow even once.

But now, the matter of raising Ling Xiao had truly stumped her.

The more important question was...

What should he eat?

According to human biology, a newborn infant needed milk.

But the crucial problem was, where could she find milk in the Extreme North?

This place was a forbidden zone of life.

Within ten thousand li, there were no mammals other than soul beasts.

If it had to be a soul beast, an image surfaced in Snow Emperor's mind:

The mighty ruler of the Extreme North, the Ice Heaven Snow Maiden, the foremost Heavenly King of the Extreme North, walking up to a soul beast and saying expressionlessly:

"Give this Emperor some milk."

"..."

No, no! Absolutely not!

Just imagining it made Snow Emperor blush.

She shook her head helplessly, banishing the absurd image from her mind.

"Mm..."

Ling Xiao murmured softly on the ice bed, as if he had felt the cold in his sleep.

His body curled up slightly, and his tiny hands clawed randomly through the air, as if searching for something.

Snow Emperor's gaze slowly lowered and could not help falling upon her own ample chest.

"..."

Snow Emperor fell silent at once.

After all, from the most primal biological instinct, this was the most direct solution.

But in only an instant, Snow Emperor completely rejected the idea.

"No."

How could she, the mighty ruler of the Extreme North, possibly do such a thing?

Setting aside the matter of pride.

She was an ice-attributed congenital spirit, with pure ice essence flowing through her body. If she really did it, the little fellow would be frozen into an ice pop.

"..."

Snow Emperor sank into thought once more.

After a long while.

She finally thought of a solution.

Ling Xiao was a congenital spirit.

He was different from an ordinary infant. He took the power of heaven and earth as his source and soul power as his sustenance.

In that case, he did not need milk. She could feed him directly with soul power.

Snow Emperor nodded faintly.

She was a soul beast nearing seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. The soul power within her was as vast as the sea; feeding a newborn infant was more than manageable.

No sooner thought than done.

Snow Emperor gently picked Ling Xiao up and let him lean against her chest.

Then, she extended a slender jade finger and touched it to Ling Xiao's chest.

A thread of pure soul power slowly entered him, gently circulating through Ling Xiao's body.

Ling Xiao's body trembled slightly.

"Mm..."

He let out a comfortable murmur and even nuzzled closer toward Snow Emperor.

Snow Emperor also breathed a sigh of relief.

"It works..."

After a while, Snow Emperor felt the time was right and increased the flow of soul power.

She worried that Ling Xiao's body could not withstand too much soul power, so she was especially cautious.

However...

A quarter of an hour passed.

Two quarters of an hour passed.

Half an hour passed.

Snow Emperor's brows gradually furrowed, because she discovered a problem.

Ling Xiao absorbed soul power far faster than she had expected.

Not only did he show no sign of discomfort, but a healthy flush even appeared on his face.

Ling Xiao was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much soul power Snow Emperor sent into him, he swallowed it all without the slightest intention of stopping.

He refused no one and accepted every bit of it.

There seemed to be no limit at all!

"This..."

Snow Emperor found it hard to believe.

Snow Emperor looked at Ling Xiao in her arms, a complicated excitement flashing in her eyes.

"You little thing... just what are you?"

She murmured to herself.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Only after Snow Emperor noticed that Ling Xiao's complexion had returned to normal did she slowly stop sending him soul power.

"That's enough."

"Little thing, you have quite an appetite."

Snow Emperor looked down at the sleeping Ling Xiao, the corners of her lips unconsciously lifting slightly.

Because this was not a bad thing. The bigger his appetite, the greater Ling Xiao's potential.

The aptitude of a congenital lightning spirit was not something an ordinary congenital spirit could compare to.