The Ice Empress's Compromise, All Sides Gather

Gu Mingyuan seized the opportunity to walk to her side. "Ice Empress, you only have two paths ahead of you."

What are you trying to say?

"First, you need to persuade Snow Empress to offer herself as a sacrifice to me," Gu Mingyuan said, pointing to Electrolux beside him. "The teacher will personally protect her spirit. After the sacrifice, she can remain as an independent consciousness, just like you."

Ice Empress remained silent for a moment, clearly unwilling, and then asked, "What about the second one?"

"Kill him to take the bones."

"Her 700,000-year-old Soul Ring is beyond my current cultivation level, so I can only let it dissipate. The Level Nine Soul Tool contains a living being; if it drags on too long, the Embryo will also wither and die."

"Don't even think about it!"

The emerald light emanating from Ice Empress suddenly intensified, and her scorpion tail rose. "With me here, no one will be able to touch a single hair on her head!"

That's just waiting to die!

"After the sacrifice, at least her soul can be preserved."

"Moreover, if she is willing to fully cooperate with the teacher, she might be able to find a completely new way to survive."

Ice Empress's raised scorpion tail paused in mid-air, slowly lowering a few inches.

But her Ferocious Beast instincts intensified the wariness in her eyes. "Gain a body again? Create a physical body out of thin air? Why should a human Soul Ancestor believe such nonsense?"

Gu Mingyuan knew that it was foolish to educate Soul Beast, so he subtly opened his spiritual vision, which was connected to his physical body, to the Ice Empress in his Sea of Consciousness.

Ice Empress paused, their gaze following the line of sight to the outside world.

The next instant, she could clearly see the world surrounding the God-Sealing Platform.

Beneath my feet lay a lifeless expanse of black frozen earth. As I gazed into the distance, countless pale humanoid skeletons, stitched-together zombies, and ghosts wandered aimlessly among the desolate, undulating Hills.

The sky was low and gray, with no Sun Moon in the center, only a black sun hanging in the sky.

Ice Empress stood frozen in place, even temporarily putting the matter of the God-Sealing Platform behind them.

Where am I?

"How could such a place exist on the Douluo Continent?!"

Gu Mingyuan said, "This is the Undead Half-Plane. It's an independent space created by our teacher back then."

Ice Empress slowly turned their head and looked at Electrolux, who had remained silent.

The anger in those emerald eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by solemnity and inquiry.

"You... created a world?"

Electrolux raised his hand, a pure gray light emanating from his palm:

"It's just a Half-Plane attached to the main plane; its rules are not yet perfect, and it can't be called a complete world."

"In my lifetime, I was in charge of Necromancy. The Undead here all rely on Pure Soul power to survive. The Divine Soul array you were in when you awoke was also set up by me."

Ice Empress looked down at the intricate gray array beneath her, then at the boundless Undead army outside.

After a long silence, most of the anger in her eyes subsided, and she asked:

"Then... can you really recreate a body for the Snow Empress?"

"It's worth a try."

Ice Empress turned back to Gu Mingyuan, his previous imposing aura completely gone, and his voice much weaker:

"You swear you'll truly preserve her soul?"

Gu Mingyuan looked at her:

"I will. I need her Soul Ring to break through my cultivation level, but I also hope she can live on intact. A Snow Empress who lives on like you is far more valuable to me than a Bingbing, lifeless Soul Bone."

Ice Empress's scorpion legs scratched shallow marks on the ice. She stood frozen in place for a long time before finally exhaling.

"Let me see her first. I will tell her everything without missing a single word. If she refuses even unto death, I will not try to persuade her on your behalf."

"At worst, I'll die with her!"

Gu Mingyuan nodded. "Okay."

Ice Empress hurriedly turned to Electrolux, his tone carrying an urgency he himself didn't realize:

"Senior..."

"She's been imprisoned on this iron platform for too long, and her Origin Source energy has been greatly depleted. Be extremely careful when you break the seal; don't hurt her again."

"Don't worry." Electrolux raised his hand, his fingertips shimmering with a faint light.

"I will use my soul power to protect the life within the platform. You should calm your mind and stabilize your own Soul Body. When the magic array opens a crack in a moment, you will personally go and awaken her."

Ice Empress took a deep breath and tucked his erect scorpion tail behind him.

She lay prone at the edge of the Sea of Spirit, her emerald compound eyes fixed on the God-Sealing Platform outside, her lips trembling slightly as she spoke:

"Xue'er, don't be afraid... I'm here."

Mingde Hall Warehouse.

A slightly thin figure landed silently beside the broken beams and pillars. Kong Deming glanced at the warehouse that had mostly collapsed and the wreckage scattered on the ground, and his face instantly darkened.

Seeing that reinforcements had finally arrived, Jing Hongchen quickly shouted:

"Elder Kong! All three Level 9 Soul Engineer are dead! They even took the manufacturing equipment and blueprints, and the God-Sealing Platform is gone too!"

Kong Deming raised his eyelids, his gaze fixed on Du Busi: "How many people are still inside?"

Jing Hongchen raised his hand and pointed straight ahead. "Only those three are left! The others have already used the tunnel to move the goods away!"

Kong Deming immediately gave a stern order, "Second and third teams, immediately follow the underground gap and pursue them. The rest of you, carry the wounded out. Without my order, no one is allowed to load Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon Shell!"

Jing Hongchen immediately became anxious. "Elder Kong! If we delay any longer, they—"

"This is the main street of Ming Capital."

"Are you planning to blow the Ming Capital to smithereens?"

Jing Hongchen swallowed the rest of his words, but the level-nine soul-guided heavy cannons surrounding him remained aimed at Du Busi.

"Tap, tap..."

The sound of light footsteps came from the shadows on the other side of the ruins.

Zhongli Wu, dressed in a black robe, quietly stepped into the chaotic ruins and spoke with a forced smile:

"His Crown Prince specifically requested my assistance. Elder Kong, perhaps I should handle those two elders from the Body Sect."

Xuan Zi, standing a short distance away, saw the newcomer and his expression changed drastically. His Soul Power surged instinctively. "Zhongli Wu!"

Zhongli Wu's gaze swept over Xuan Zi, then lingered on Yan Shaozhe and Huo Yuhao behind him, finally sweeping over the Blue-Haired Boy beside Xuan Zi, his smile deepening:

"Even Xuan Zi is willing to take action for the Mingde Hall. If I continue to sit idly by, wouldn't it make the Holy Cult seem unreasonable?"

Before he could finish speaking, a cold, sinister claw shadow shot straight at an injured Body Sect Elder on the left.

"Get out of my way!"

With a roar, Du Busi unleashed a massive, dark green palm that slammed out, shattering the claw shadow.

"I'm the one who stole your things, come at me if you dare!"

Zhongli Wu flicked his wrist to disperse the remaining force of the wind, a slight smirk playing on his lips:

"The Sect Assembly has just ended, and the Poison Sect Master led the elders to plunder the Mingde Hall. This act of crossing the river and then burning the bridge has certainly opened the eyes of all the sects in the world."