Transformation, Snow Empress's Helpless Choice

Almost instinctively, Snow Empress raised her jade-like hand, and a wave of Ultimate Ice cold capable of freezing souls erupted in an instant.

The temperature throughout the Ice Cavern plummeted toward absolute zero. Countless dark-blue ice crystals formed a storm, carrying terrifying power capable of annihilating everything as they swept toward Lei Chen!

The ice crystal storm Snow Empress unleashed in reflex was formed from her Ultimate Ice soul power. It could freeze a thousand miles in an instant; even a Limit Douluo would have to face it with utmost caution.

Yet when that frigid energy, capable of tearing space apart, came within a foot of Lei Chen, it melted and disintegrated soundlessly like ice and snow beneath the blazing sun. It did not stir the slightest ripple, nor even brush the corner of his clothes.

Lei Chen still wore a smile, standing with his hands behind his back, as though that violent attack had been no more than a breeze across his face.

The sight instantly filled Snow Empress's ethereal eyes with disbelief.

She had absolute confidence in her own strength. Even if Di Tian, the strongest Beast God on the present-day Douluo Continent, had come in person, he could never have neutralized her attack so effortlessly.

"Emperor's Palm: Great Cold, No Snow!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Snow Empress gave a sharp cry and closed in like a phantom. Her jade-white palm, seemingly light and gentle, struck toward Lei Chen's chest.

This palm strike was one of Snow Empress's three greatest techniques. It appeared utterly unremarkable, yet it condensed all the power of Ultimate Ice into a single point. The moment it touched something, it erupted with enough force to freeze souls and extinguish life.

"Smack!"

Her palm landed squarely against Lei Chen's chest.

Yet the anticipated scene of ice sealing everything for thousands of miles and energy erupting never came. Lei Chen did not even sway. He merely lowered his head to look at the slender jade hand pressed to his chest, then smiled faintly. "The force is decent. Unfortunately, it does nothing to me."

Snow Empress felt as though her palm had struck a bottomless cosmic void. The Ultimate Ice power containing the cultivation of her entire life flowed into his body like a clay ox sinking into the sea, failing to provoke any reaction at all.

A bone-deep chill swept through her body. This time, it did not come from her ice soul power, but from the depths of her heart.

She abruptly withdrew her hand and retreated dozens of yards, instantly widening the distance between herself and Lei Chen. Her peerlessly beautiful face was filled with unprecedented gravity and wariness. Icy-blue radiance flared around her as she prepared to fight to the death.

The strength of the man before her had completely exceeded the limits of her understanding!

"There is no need to be nervous." Lei Chen looked at Snow Empress, who faced him as though confronting a great enemy, his tone still calm. "If I bore you any ill will, you would already be unable to stand here and speak with me."

Before his words had faded, Lei Chen merely stirred his will, and Snow Empress suddenly discovered that the space within several yards around her had seemingly turned into indestructible black ice. It bound her firmly in place. No matter how she activated her soul power, she could not move in the slightest.

This was not suppression by energy, but the direct freezing of the laws of space themselves—a crushing disparity in the level of absolute power.

This casual display completely shattered the last trace of hope in Snow Empress's heart.

She understood that he had not lied. Before an existence like this, any struggle of hers was meaningless.

After the overwhelming shock came an unusual calm. She dispelled the glow of soul power around her and fixed her icy-blue eyes on Lei Chen. "You... who exactly are you? A god?"

In her long understanding of life, only the legendary God-level beings could possibly possess such irresistible power.

Lei Chen smiled, not directly denying it. "It would not be wrong to call me a god. But I prefer to be addressed as the 'Plane Lord.'"

"Plane Lord?" Upon hearing this title, Snow Empress's pupils abruptly contracted. As a natural spirit who had lived for nearly seven hundred thousand years, she vaguely understood what this title represented—an exalted existence above all living beings, existing alongside the world's origin itself!

She cried out in shock, "Could it be... that you are the incarnation of this plane's will?!"

"You may understand it that way." Lei Chen nodded. His tone was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "I am this plane, and this plane is me."

"In terms of status and strength, I am roughly equivalent to a First-level God of the Divine Realm. Hmm, that would put me on the same level as the Ice God worshipped in your Far North Land."

Once Lei Chen's identity was confirmed, the hostility in Snow Empress's heart receded like the tide. Her tone softened considerably as well. "Honored Plane Lord, may I ask what brings you to the Far North Land?"

Lei Chen did not answer directly. Instead, he turned his gaze once more toward the Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus swaying gracefully at the center of the Ice Cavern. His gaze seemed capable of piercing through all appearances and reaching directly to its essence.

"Before answering your question, I would like to ask you something first." Lei Chen's voice carried a trace of understanding. "You stood here for a long time just now, staring at this Snow Lotus. Were you hesitating over whether to use its origin power to transform into a human?"

At Lei Chen's words, Snow Empress fell silent for a moment. A flicker of complexity and resolve passed through her icy-blue eyes. Looking toward the Snow Lotus that radiated a soft glow, she admitted coolly, "That is correct. I did have such intentions."

She raised her head and met Lei Chen's gaze once more, openly explaining why. "My cultivation has now reached the peak of six hundred ninety thousand years. I am about to face the seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation, but I can vaguely sense that its power will far exceed those before it. I... am not confident that I can survive it."

"Only by transforming into a human can I avoid the seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation and seek a slim chance at survival."

Ordinarily, Soul Beasts only had one opportunity to choose human transformation when they reached the hundred-thousand-year level. Once their cultivation exceeded one hundred thousand years and their origin became too powerful, it was no longer possible.

But there were always exceptions. Snow Empress had been fortunate enough to find this Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. With the Snow Lotus's origin essence, she could temporarily seal away most of her origin power and successfully transform into a human.

This was the only path to survival Snow Empress had found after deep consideration. Only she knew the conflict it had caused her. If she had not been driven into a corner, why would the ruler of the Far North, who stood nearly at the pinnacle of the continent, willingly abandon her power to gamble on an unknown human future?

Lei Chen listened quietly. Only after Snow Empress finished did he slowly speak, his voice calm yet carrying a persuasive force. "Transforming into a human is indeed a helpless measure. It may help you avoid the Heavenly Tribulation, but it will also cost you nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. Are you truly willing to do that?"

At Lei Chen's words, Snow Empress's heart stirred. She caught the implication behind them and could not help asking, "If I could preserve my cultivation and survive the Heavenly Tribulation, then naturally I would be willing. May I ask what guidance the Plane Lord has?"