Back in the room, the Ice Empress leaned against the sofa and patted her little belly contentedly. "I'm full, I'm full."
She savored the meal they had just eaten.
They had wiped out every last bit of milk tea shaved ice and spared none of the hot dishes. Later, she had even started sprinkling Void Mysterious Ice into the food like seasoning, eating with such gusto that she simply could not stop.
Leaning against the sofa, the Ice Empress's golden eyes still shone as she smacked her lips. "Five hundred percent purity is already this delicious. Once Xiaoyang reaches the Title Douluo level, how incredible will the Mysterious Ice he makes be...?"
As she spoke, glistening drool seeped from the corner of her mouth again. She wiped it away without the slightest embarrassment.
Standing nearby, the Snow Empress could not help curling her lips at the sight. "Little glutton."
The Ice Empress immediately sat upright and glared at her. "Xue'er, you've got the nerve to call me that? Who ate so much just now that she even scraped the bottom of her bowl clean?"
The Snow Empress's cheeks reddened slightly as she looked away. "...It was just too delicious."
"Right? Right?" The Ice Empress perked up. "That's what I thought too! It's even tastier than Ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow."
Her golden eyes turned toward Beiming Lieyang. "Xiaoyang, eating it can raise your cultivation too, right? At this rate, you might be able to get your third Spirit Ring in just a few days."
"Mm, soon." Beiming Lieyang nodded.
The Ice Empress added in a low voice, "This effect is way too terrifying... You make the stuff yourself, yet eating it can still raise your cultivation. It feels like stepping on your own left foot and somehow flying."
She tilted her head in thought, then waved it off. "But then again, you can ignore level differences and boost all my attributes threefold. You can even control me. Adding the ability to improve your cultivation by eating your own creations... somehow, that doesn't seem so strange anymore."
Beiming Lieyang smiled but said nothing.
The Snow Empress glanced at the sky outside. "Rest early tonight. We still need to find that Cold Spring tomorrow."
The Ice Empress stretched, rose to her feet, and loosened up her limbs. "Fine, then let's sleep."
After the three of them washed up, the Ice Empress was the first to pounce onto the bed. She sank into the thick quilt, rolled around once, and let out a comfortable sigh. "Human beds are pretty soft..."
The Snow Empress sat by the bedside and shook her head at the Ice Empress's complete lack of decorum, though she could not help smiling.
Beiming Lieyang yawned, changed clothes, and climbed into bed as well.
Over the years in the Far North, he had long grown used to sleeping with Mother Xue and Auntie Bing.
The moment he lay down, the Ice Empress rolled over from beside him. Her arm naturally fell over him as she pulled him into her embrace.
After all, the warmth radiating from this little sun was the only heat she did not dislike.
Enveloped by that familiar cool, secluded fragrance, Beiming Lieyang instinctively snuggled closer and found a comfortable position.
The Ice Empress mumbled drowsily, "Warm..."
On the other side, the Snow Empress lay on her side as well, her ice-blue eyes glowing softly beneath the warm yellow lamplight.
She reached out and tucked in the blanket, covering Beiming Lieyang's exposed shoulder. Her fingertips gently brushed through his hair.
"Sleep." The Snow Empress's voice was cool yet gentle, as tender as it had always been when she cared for a child.
Beiming Lieyang murmured in acknowledgment and closed his eyes.
The blankets were warm, and familiar scents surrounded him on both sides. Sleepiness soon swept over him.
He slept dreamlessly through the night.
Early the next morning, Beiming Lieyang was awakened by daylight filtering through a crack in the window.
He opened his eyes and discovered that he was still curled up in the Ice Empress's arms. Her arm rested around his waist as she slept soundly, her long emerald hair scattered over the pillow, her lips slightly parted, her breathing even.
On the other side, the Snow Empress was already awake. Half-reclining against the headboard, she looked down at him with a handkerchief in hand, as though she had been waiting for him to wake before giving it to him.
"Awake?" The Snow Empress spoke softly, as if afraid of waking the Ice Empress. "Go wash up. I had someone bring hot water."
Beiming Lieyang rubbed his eyes, carefully moved the Ice Empress's arm away, and slipped out from under the covers.
He took the handkerchief from the Snow Empress, washed up simply, then splashed his face with cold water. He felt much more awake afterward.
The Ice Empress was still asleep. The Snow Empress did not wake her, merely walking over to Beiming Lieyang and tidying his slightly tousled hair.
Morning light streamed through the window and fell over the two of them.
Beiming Lieyang leaned against the Snow Empress and tilted his head up slightly to look at her.
From this angle, he could see her lowered brows and the nearly imperceptible curve at her lips. Sunlight had coated her white hair with a warm golden glow.
"Mother Xue."
"Mm?"
"...Nothing."
The Snow Empress looked down at him without asking further questions. She simply tucked a loose strand of hair from his forehead behind his ear, the movement as natural as though she had done it countless times before.
The wind and snow still raged outside, but the room was warm.
The Ice Empress rolled over, apparently sensing the empty space beside her. She mumbled groggily, "Mm... Xiaoyang?"
"You're awake?" Beiming Lieyang turned to look at her.
The Ice Empress rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up from the bed. Her golden eyes were still half-lidded, and her messy hair stuck up in every direction.
She looked at the sky outside, then at the fully dressed Snow Empress and Beiming Lieyang, and yawned. "Up so early... Aren't you two sleepy?"
"You were sleeping too deeply."
The Ice Empress huffed, shook her head, then jumped out of bed barefoot onto the dark red carpet. She gave a huge stretch. "Fine, fine. We've got work today. Let's go find that Cold Spring."
Seeing how energetic she was, Beiming Lieyang could not help laughing.
The Snow Empress smiled as well, light rippling in her ice-blue eyes.
Over the next few days, the three searched outward from the fortress.
Every day, the Ice Empress set out from the fortress's north gate and expanded the search in widening circles. The Snow Empress was responsible for verification. Their Ultimate Ice perceptions corroborated one another, leaving almost nothing overlooked.
For the first three days, they found nothing.
On the fourth day, the search area expanded to the glacier region northeast of the fortress.
The ice was several meters thick, with black rocks and frozen soil faintly visible beneath it.
After walking several hundred meters over the ice, the Ice Empress suddenly stopped. She crouched down and pressed her palm against the surface. "...There's something here."
The Snow Empress bent down and sensed it for a moment. "There's the sound of flowing water underground. Very deep."
The Ice Empress pressed her palm against the ice, sending her Ultimate Ice Soul Power seeping inward.
The heavy ice layer split apart before her like tofu, swiftly forming a passage that extended downward.
The farther down they went, the lower the temperature became. Water vapor condensed into fine ice crystals that floated through the air.
At a depth of roughly several dozen meters, a pool of pitch-black water shimmered with a faint blue glow, and freezing air rushed toward them.
The Ice Empress dipped her hand into the water, then abruptly pulled it back and shook off the ice shards. "Damn, there really is something down there!"
The Snow Empress lightly touched the water's surface with her fingertips, closed her eyes to sense it for a moment, then looked at Beiming Lieyang. "You were right."
The Ice Empress spun around excitedly and lifted Beiming Lieyang over her head. "Xiaoyang, you really are a lucky star!"
Held in midair, Beiming Lieyang looked down at the Cold Spring glowing faintly blue beneath him, and the weight in his heart finally eased.
The Ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow Cave was here.
And the timeline was a full ten thousand years earlier.
That meant the reserves here were very likely even richer than they would be ten thousand years later.
The Ice Empress set him down, rubbed her hands together, and stared at the water's surface with golden eyes. Her smile stretched nearly to her ears. "Xue'er, should I go down and take a look first?"
The Snow Empress pressed a hand to her shoulder. "Together."
Then the Ice and Snow Emperors directly brought Beiming Lieyang down into the ice spring with them.
Before you continue