Singing Snake

Inside the dungeon of Snow Empress's Palace.

Ice Empress led Xuan Xiao through one frozen corridor after another.

The ice cells on both sides held all kinds of Soul Beasts. Some lay prone on the ground, barely clinging to life, while others violently rammed the ice bars, producing dull thuds.

Ice Empress pointed at a rhinoceros over ten meters long. Its entire body was icy blue, dark red blood still staining its horn, while its small eyes brimmed with ferocity.

"That thing nearly ate an entire pack of Ice Wolves while they were breeding."

"Survival of the fittest is one thing, but without the rules Xue'er established, the Far North would never have been this peaceful."

Xuan Xiao glanced at the rhinoceros, nodded, and said nothing.

Ice Empress led him to an ice cell and stopped.

"We're here."

Xuan Xiao looked inside, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Within was a massive azure-blue serpent, over fifteen meters long and as thick as a barrel. Its body was covered in azure-blue scales that gleamed with an icy chill in the dim light.

Most striking of all, it possessed four wings.

Those wings were as thin as cicada wings, covered in intricate patterns. Folded against its sides, they resembled four sheathed blades.

Sensing someone approach, the giant snake slowly raised its head. Its vertical pupils fixed coldly on Xuan Xiao as its scarlet tongue flicked from its mouth, accompanied by hissing sounds.

A name immediately surfaced in Xuan Xiao's mind.

Singing Snake!

The Classic of Mountains and Seas recorded that the Singing Snake resembled a snake but had four wings. Its cry sounded like a chime, and wherever it appeared, great drought followed.

He had never expected a Soul Beast to mutate into such a form. That was truly unusual.

"How did this thing get in here?"

Ice Empress snorted, her tone carrying a hint of disgust.

"Relying on its sixty-eight-thousand-year cultivation, it seized the only water source available to the low-level Soul Beasts in the east, nearly causing a third of them to die of thirst."

The corner of Xuan Xiao's mouth twitched.

Though the Singing Snake was called a drought beast, there had never been any record of it monopolizing water sources.

Still, sixty-eight thousand years was just right for his fourth Soul Ring.

Xuan Xiao nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Ice Empress.

"Alright, go protect Snow Empress. Remember what I said. Don't let someone steal the two pillows I paid such a huge price to obtain."

At the word "pillows," Ice Empress's face reddened again. Yet she did not refute him, merely raising a finger and lightly tapping his forehead.

A streak of icy-blue light sank into Xuan Xiao's brow. In an instant, a piece of information appeared in his mind: the method for opening the dungeon gates and a map of the entire dungeon.

"This is how you open the dungeon gates. But I still have to remind you: although these Soul Beasts are already extremely weak, be careful of a desperate counterattack before they die."

Xuan Xiao nodded. "Got it."

He took another five Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrows from the system inventory and handed them to Ice Empress.

"Bring these to Snow Empress. If there are any left over, let the Titan Snow Demon King have some of the broth. If not, we'll talk about it later."

Ice Empress accepted the five Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrows and froze for a moment. Then she gave him a deep look, said nothing, and turned to leave the dungeon.

Xuan Xiao watched her back vanish at the end of the corridor before turning to look at the giant snake in the ice cell.

The giant snake stared coldly at him, its vertical pupils filled with vigilance and hostility. Its tongue flicked constantly as it released threatening hisses.

Xuan Xiao ignored it and simply sat down cross-legged to cultivate.

He had yet to break through. He needed to seize this time and make his breakthrough.

After leaving Snow Empress's Palace, Ice Empress did not waste a moment before returning to her true form.

A scorpion only about one and a half meters long, jade-green from head to tail, with its stinger raised high and giving off a faint, chilling gleam.

She released her aura without holding anything back.

That aura spread in all directions as though it were tangible. Wherever it passed, the snow on the ground trembled and shook, while the temperature in the air suddenly plunged by dozens of degrees.

On the other side of the Far North, a hundred-meter-tall giant covered in white fur was strolling across the ice plains.

Every step he took caused the ground to quiver slightly, leaving behind a massive footprint.

Upon sensing that aura, the giant abruptly stopped. His enormous head turned toward Snow Empress's Palace, and a trace of confusion flashed through his lantern-like eyes.

That was Ice Empress's aura?

And she was releasing it without restraint?

Could something have happened to Snow Empress?

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately rushed toward Snow Empress's Palace.

Each stride covered hundreds of meters. His massive body stirred up fierce winds across the ice plains, sweeping snow into the sky.

Behind him, countless Titan Snow Demons followed closely, forming a vast and imposing procession.

Within the Ice Bear clan, a colossal creature resting on all fours, with shoulders over fifteen meters high, was snoring soundly.

Its body was covered in thick white fur, making it look like a small mountain. Its snores boomed like thunder, and every breath formed a cloud of white mist in the air.

Sensing that aura, it jolted awake. Its huge head rose, and a flash of alertness appeared in its pitch-black eyes.

That was the direction of Snow Empress's Palace?

But why was it Ice Empress's aura?

Could something have happened to Snow Empress?

It was the king of the Ice Bear clan, Little White, an existence in the Far North second only to the Three Heavenly Kings, with a cultivation of over two hundred thousand years.

Without any hesitation, he immediately got to his feet, shook the frost from his body, and raced toward Snow Empress's Palace.

He did not appear fast, but each step carried him dozens of meters forward. His enormous body crushed a broad path across the ice plains.

Although Snow Empress had never acknowledged it, he had indeed been raised by her.

He had always regarded Snow Empress as his mother.

Now that he sensed the abnormal aura coming from the direction of Snow Empress's Palace, anxiety filled his heart. He wished he could grow wings and fly there.

At that very moment, deep within the northern ice plains, Snow Empress sat cross-legged upon a field of ice.

Twenty Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrows floated before her, slowly rotating as they emitted dense ice-element energy, bathing the surroundings in icy-blue light.

She drew a deep breath, formed hand seals, and began guiding that energy into her body to repair her Soul Core, which was on the verge of collapse.

She did not have much time left.

The aura of the heavenly tribulation was drawing closer and closer. She could even sense the sky above her gathering a destructive force.

Yet she was not the least bit flustered. With these twenty Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrows—

Her chances of successfully overcoming the tribulation could rise to at least ninety percent!

Snow Empress closed her eyes and focused completely on guiding the energy. A faint icy-blue radiance began to emanate from her body, complementing the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrows.

Meanwhile, in every corner of the Far North, the powerful Soul Beasts sensed this unusual aura.

Some raised their heads and looked toward Snow Empress's Palace, their eyes filled with reverence and curiosity.

Others shrank back and hid inside their nests, not daring to show themselves.

The entire Far North became restless because of this night.