Hardline Negotiation: If You Don't Like It, Swallow It

The Ice Emperor's pressure was terrifying. Fortunately, they were far enough away; otherwise, Yan Jingchuan would not even have been able to stand steadily.

Looking at the stunning woman beside the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, Yan Jingchuan was deeply shocked.

It was not merely because of her beauty, but more importantly because of her identity.

Yan Jingchuan truly had not expected the Snow Empress to be here as well. The three great rulers of the Extreme North had actually gathered in this tiny outer region to hunt down Jing Hongchen, a mere ninety-fourth-ranked Titled Douluo.

Jing Hongchen stared dumbfoundedly at Yan Jingchuan's slender back. He did not understand why Yan Jingchuan had returned, or why he had come back at all!

"Yan Jingchuan, what did you come back for?"

Enduring the agonizing pain in his body, Jing Hongchen shouted hoarsely.

He had steeled himself to die and delayed them, barely buying enough time for them to escape. What was this brat Yan Jingchuan thinking? Instead of fleeing quickly, he had come back to throw his life away.

Yan Jingchuan said nothing more, merely giving Jing Hongchen a reassuring look.

The utterly exhausted Jing Hongchen froze for a moment. Yan Jingchuan's gaze was firm and calm, without the slightest fear of death or danger, as though the threat of the Ice and Snow Empresses did not exist.

"Human! You dare set foot in the Extreme North again? Are you courting death?!"

Humans had intruded into the Extreme North one after another, and the Ice Emperor was furious beyond measure.

Yan Jingchuan stood straight, his expression calm, utterly unafraid of the Ice Emperor.

His original plan had indeed been to compromise and exchange information about the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow for Jing Hongchen's life.

But after Yan Jingchuan arrived at the scene, he discovered that things were not as he had thought. The situation differed drastically from his expectations.

Setting aside the Snow Empress appearing in person, what truly stirred Yan Jingchuan's heart was the thing in Jing Hongchen's hand.

Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon!

Yan Jingchuan knew the power of this soul tool all too well. It was comparable to an attack from a Limit Douluo and could absolutely make any existence below godhood wary.

Yan Jingchuan immediately discarded his earlier plan of compromise. With a Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon and the location of the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow in his possession, their combined significance was entirely different.

"Shut up, you stinking scorpion!"

The moment Yan Jingchuan spoke, the entire scene fell silent.

Jing Hongchen felt as though the pain all over his body had vanished. He seemed to be a little dead already.

The Ice Emperor and Snow Empress both froze, doubting their own ears.

The Ice Emperor was the first to recover, followed immediately by explosive fury.

A human hatchling had actually dared to curse it! He had actually pointed at its nose and called it a stinking scorpion!

Chill and rage intertwined as the Ice Empress's Pincers shot toward Yan Jingchuan:

"You little bastard, you're courting death!!!"

The Ice Emperor charged at Yan Jingchuan, determined to tear this wildly arrogant human apart.

"You really can't accept it, huh? You're just cannon fodder about to die beneath a four-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation. Calling you a stinking scorpion is already giving you too much credit."

With death close at hand, Yan Jingchuan was not panicked in the slightest. His verbal assault continued unabated, but his words shocked both the Ice and Snow Empresses.

The Ice Emperor's attack abruptly slowed, and the Snow Empress, who had been watching coldly, suddenly moved to stop the enraged Ice Emperor.

"Human boy, how do you know that?"

The Snow Empress questioned him in an icy tone.

The Ice Emperor also calmed down and glared viciously at Yan Jingchuan.

It was true that it had no confidence in surviving its next heavenly tribulation, but only the Snow Empress knew that. How did this human hatchling know?

They had already closed to within a hundred meters of Yan Jingchuan, both locking onto him. Jing Hongchen kept one hand pressed tightly against the fixed-installation soul cannon, ready to retaliate at any moment.

His body was stiff from the ultimate ice, but the corners of Yan Jingchuan's lips rose uncontrollably as he continued with even more explosive information:

"Not only do I know you cannot survive your next heavenly tribulation, I also know that, Snow Empress, you injured your origin during your six-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation. You have no confidence whatsoever in facing your seven-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation either, do you?"

The Snow Empress's pupils contracted, faint killing intent emerging. Beside her, the Ice Emperor panicked:

"What?! The Snow Empress injured her origin? How is that possible? Snow Empress, you..."

But when it turned its head, the Snow Empress's expression already told it everything.

The Ice Emperor became even more anxious, but the Snow Empress raised a hand to stop it from saying anything further.

As one of the rulers of the Extreme North, the Snow Empress now felt that she could not see through this weak human hatchling at all.

"So what are you trying to accomplish by saying all this? You don't think merely knowing these things is useful, do you?"

The Snow Empress slowly shifted her gaze toward Jing Hongchen:

"Or do you think a few words from you can make us spare him, as well as yourself..."

The Ice and Snow Empresses were both curious about Yan Jingchuan's answer, but they did not believe a human hatchling could possibly have any way to help them survive their heavenly tribulations. Even beings at their level were helpless—what could a weak human possibly rely on?

"What do I rely on? On knowing where the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow is."

Yan Jingchuan's words were astonishing.

Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow!

The Ice Emperor's killing intent halted, while the Snow Empress's eyes widened slightly.

Jing Hongchen did not know what Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow was. He only knew of Mysterious Ice Marrow.

Mysterious Ice Marrow was already an exceptionally rare ice-attributed heavenly treasure. Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow was surely even more extraordinary.

"You... how could you possibly..."

The Ice Emperor was even stammering.

The Snow Empress remained calm and quickly steadied her emotions.

"Empty words. How can we trust that you are not deceiving us?"

Yan Jingchuan sneered, too lazy to explain at all.

"Believe it or not! If you truly don't care, then go ahead and kill us. Of course, even if I die, I can still take a bite out of you."

As he spoke, Yan Jingchuan placed his dragon-transformed arm on the Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon.

He was not afraid that the Ice and Snow Empresses would remain unmoved. Their heavenly tribulations were imminent. The Snow Empress might be able to take human form and cultivate anew, but was that not also a helpless choice?

Now that they had information about the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow, it was like a drowning person discovering a floating log. This was their only lifeline, and they absolutely could not give it up.

Yan Jingchuan had accurately grasped their desire to live, which was why he was completely fearless.

At first, Yan Jingchuan had been somewhat worried that they would go back on their word after obtaining the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow. Although most soul beasts were simple and had fewer crooked thoughts than humans, making them relatively more trustworthy, one could never be too careful.

However, once he saw the Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon, Yan Jingchuan was finally at ease.

Using a single Level-Nine Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon to directly kill the Ice and Snow Empresses was unrealistic. But inside the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cave beneath the Earthdragon Sect, if they dared try anything else, then once it detonated, they would gain nothing but injuries.

That was Yan Jingchuan's true confidence.

The expressions of the Ice Emperor and Snow Empress shifted repeatedly. Both needed the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow, and before long, they reached a consensus.

"If you truly can find the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Ice Marrow, I swear in the name of a ruler of the Extreme North that we will let this matter go."

Before the Snow Empress could finish, her attitude suddenly changed:

"But if you fail to find it..."

"I'll make sure you die without a burial place! I'll slice you into a thousand pieces and make you, you damned human, wish you were dead!!!"

The Ice Emperor emotionally cut in, clearly still bitter about Yan Jingchuan calling it a stinking scorpion.

Yan Jingchuan cast the Ice Emperor a disdainful glance, then forcefully refuted the Snow Empress's arrogant words:

"Stop making it sound like you're being magnanimous. Humans and soul beasts are natural enemies. It is only right for humans to hunt soul beasts for soul rings; the conflict between us has been irreconcilable since ancient times. Besides, we never killed a single Ice Jade Scorpion. You were the ones who pursued us for no reason."

"You barged into the Extreme North, and you still think you're in the right?!"

The Ice Emperor jumped out again and shouted angrily.

"The Extreme North isn't yours to decide, is it?"

That single sentence nearly drove the Ice Emperor mad with rage. Yet with the Snow Empress beside it, it could not even argue back.