Pay More

But she quickly made her decision, because it was not just her—without the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, neither Bing'er, A-Tai, nor Little White would survive their next Heavenly Tribulation.

Snow Empress took a deep breath, then slowly spoke, her voice carrying a hint of compromise.

"Forty-five strands of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow... I could consider it."

Xuan Xiao rolled his eyes and cut her off, his tone tinged with disdain.

"Miss, what kind of daydream are you having? I said twenty strands. You're not worth that much."

Snow Empress saw red.

Her face instantly flushed crimson—not from embarrassment, but fury.

She had lived for nearly seven hundred thousand years, and this was the first time anyone had said she was not worth that much.

Electrolux shot him a sidelong glance. This kid was definitely a hopelessly blunt straight man.

Snow Empress gritted her teeth, her voice filled with barely restrained rage.

"What did you say?! I am the Snow Empress, foremost of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, ranked third among the Ten Great Savage Beasts!"

Xuan Xiao picked at his ear, then pressed a hand toward her, signaling for her to calm down.

"Stop, stop, stop! You should know the rules. If you die, a new Ice and Snow Spirit will be born."

"I can make her grow to your current level within a few years. Her looks definitely won't be worse than yours, and she'll be more obedient too."

"Tell me, then—what advantage do you have that makes you worth forty-five strands of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow?"

Snow Empress fell silent.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words before they came out.

Because she realized that Xuan Xiao was actually telling the truth.

If she died, the ice and snow elements of the Far North would gather once more and give birth to a new Ice and Snow Spirit.

That new Ice and Snow Spirit would inherit a trace of her power, though her growth would be quite slow.

But with the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, reaching Snow Empress's current level within a few years was not impossible.

Moreover, that new Ice and Snow Spirit would be more obedient, more compliant, and easier to control than her.

Her sole advantage was the experience and wisdom she had accumulated over nearly seven hundred thousand years.

But before the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, those things seemed to be worth very little.

Watching her deflated expression, Xuan Xiao continued.

"I admit that I'm not immune to beauty, but I won't let beauty crush my reason."

Snow Empress bit her lip, then slowly spoke, her voice carrying both reluctance and helplessness.

"Twenty strands, then. But I have two conditions."

Xuan Xiao raised a brow, signaling for her to continue.

"First, you cannot restrict my freedom. I go wherever I want."

"Second..."

Snow Empress paused, a faint blush rising on her face.

"Second, you must wait until after I take human form before you... before you..."

Xuan Xiao looked at her speechlessly and interrupted.

"I can refrain from restricting your freedom, but you must come whenever I call. As for the second condition... with this stuff helping you, why would you need to take human form? Just face the Heavenly Tribulation directly. Twenty strands will definitely be enough."

Snow Empress froze.

Her eyes widened as she stared at Xuan Xiao in disbelief.

"What did you say? Face the Heavenly Tribulation directly?"

Xuan Xiao nodded as though it were only natural.

"What else? After you start cultivating again, am I supposed to wait for you to grow up from six years old? I'm only twelve this year. I don't want to raise a daughter."

Snow Empress clenched her fists. She wanted nothing more than to punch that infuriating face in front of her ten thousand times. Ten thousand times!

But she knew he was right.

Twenty strands of Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow really were enough for her to repair her Soul Core and endure the Heavenly Tribulation.

But in that case, Bing'er...

Snow Empress hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can you add a few more?"

Xuan Xiao suddenly leaned right into her face, close enough to see the frost gathered on her eyelashes.

"Why?"

Of course he knew why. He merely wanted to tease her.

Startled by his sudden approach, Snow Empress instinctively took a step back, a faint blush appearing on her face.

"Bing'er... Ice Empress also needs the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow. Her Heavenly Tribulation is coming soon too."

Seeing her flustered appearance, Xuan Xiao secretly reveled in it, though he still put on a troubled expression.

"Adding a few more isn't impossible, but you'll have to pay more."

Snow Empress paused.

"Pay more?"

Xuan Xiao nodded.

"That's right. Pay more."

Snow Empress fell silent for a moment, then raised her head, her gaze firm.

"I understand."

As soon as she finished speaking, her entire body turned into a streak of light and flew into the distance, so fast that only a white afterimage remained in the air.

Xuan Xiao stood where he was, staring blankly at her retreating figure.

"No, what exactly did she understand?"

Standing to the side, Electrolux shook his head, then turned into a streak of light and flew back into Xuan Xiao's Spirit Sea, leaving only one sentence echoing through the air.

"Call me anytime if you need anything."

Xuan Xiao scratched his head, somewhat unable to make sense of the situation, but he still remained where he was and waited.

The wind and snow howled around him, but the airflow barrier around his body kept all the chill outside.

Only a few minutes later, Snow Empress returned.

But she had not returned alone.

In her hand, she carried a little girl with short green hair. The girl looked only eleven or twelve years old, dressed in an emerald-green dress. Her emerald-green eyes held both irritation and confusion.

Snow Empress held her by the back of the neck like a kitten caught by the scruff, her limbs dangling limply as she looked both furious and wronged.

After landing, Snow Empress casually tossed the little girl in front of Xuan Xiao, then clapped her hands and said flatly,

"Pay more. Add her."

Xuan Xiao and the little girl froze at the same time, then shouted in unison.

"What the hell?!"

The moment she landed, the little girl sprang up and glared furiously at Xuan Xiao, blazing anger burning in her emerald-green eyes.

She was Ice Empress, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, sovereign of the Jade Ice Scorpion Clan, and ranked seventh among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

She had originally been in her clan's territory, worrying over her Heavenly Tribulation.

Her cultivation had already reached more than three hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred years, meaning her next Heavenly Tribulation would arrive in less than a hundred years.

Just as she was worrying about how she could possibly survive, Snow Empress suddenly appeared before her, grabbed her by the tail without a word, and flew off with her.

The other Jade Ice Scorpions in the clan watched their leader get hauled away by Snow Empress without a shred of dignity and were struck by a question from the depths of their souls.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

"What happened?"

"How would I know?"

"Go back to sleep, go back to sleep."

Come on, were they worthy of prying into the private affairs between their clan leader and Snow Empress?

On the way here, she had already heard Snow Empress explain what had happened.

Xue'er, my Xue'er!

She had actually sold herself just for the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow!

Ice Empress gnashed her teeth in fury. She glared at Xuan Xiao, wishing she could bite a chunk of flesh right off him.