Ice Empress
Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.
Lu Xuan, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling were all eleven years old.
They spent the entire year training outdoors, enduring wind and rain, traversing forests teeming with Soul Beast. During this time, both Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling acquired their fifth spirit.
Dugu Yan's Fifth Soul Ring came from a 60,000-year-old Jade Phosphorous Serpent, from which she obtained a Soul Skill called [Rainbow Phosphorous Strangulation]!
When activating Soul Skill, it can conjure a tangible, highly venomous snake that lunges at the opponent, possessing both formidable destructive power and binding control capabilities.
Once the venomous snake dissipates, the potent poison within its body will erupt, spreading out a vast, bone-corroding venomous mist, combining offense and defense.
When Lu Xuan first saw Dugu Yan use this Soul Skill, he almost thought that Dugu Yan had obtained [Rainbow Phosphorous Entanglement].
Only after he was certain of the true nature of this Soul Skill and learned the true power and additional poison mist effect of [Rainbow Phosphorous Strangulation] did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Ye Lingling's Fifth Soul Ring was obtained from a Emerald Swan that was over 50,000 years old. After obtaining this Soul Ring, her already top-notch healing ability was directly pushed to a new level.
Originally, the Emerald Swan were protected by Di Tian and Bi Ji, and they lived a very safe life.
However, since the Lake of Life Ice Seal, the foundation upon which the species depended for survival disappeared, and many Emerald Swan were forced to scatter and flee, wandering into various forests.
After Ye Lingling reached Level 50, Lu Xuan quickly found Emerald Swan of suitable age for her and turned it into her Soul Ring Ye Lingling any surprises.
In addition, Lu Xuan also successfully found and properly cared for the Golden Hawksbill Turtle that had devoured a large chunk of the Gold of Life.
However, since the Golden Hawksbill Turtle is older and refuses to be sacrificed, the matter will have to be put on hold for now. Once Ye Lingling's physical condition or her spiritual power improves, Lu Xuan will have the Golden Hawksbill Turtle become her next Soul Ring!
Compared to the two girls' rapid growth, Lu Xuan's progress this year has been much more gradual.
Previously, he had ventured deep into the Star Dou Forest and captured a 150,000-year-old Three-Eyed Demonic Spirit. After settling it properly, he took Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to the Frozen Forest and the Far North to search for the Mirror Shadow Beast.
After a full year of arduous training, Lu Xuan's physical strength is now sufficient to support a Hundred Thousand Year Mirror Shadow Beast transforming into his Sixth Soul Ring.
However, the Mirror Shadow Beast is mysterious by nature and good at hiding. The vast snowfields of the Far North are boundless, making it extremely difficult to find.
He had been searching this icy plain for months, following clues with great anticipation time and time again, but had never been able to find his target.
On this day, a biting north wind swept up snowflakes that danced in the air, and the extreme cold of the Far North was bone-chilling.
As usual, Lu Xuan led Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to search for traces of the Mirror Shadow Beast across the boundless snowfield.
After the three entered the Far North, they no longer rode the Clear-Verdant Spirit-Horned Deer.
Lu Xuan subdued an 80,000-year-old Azure Sea Snow Iron Dragon, and usually rode this giant beast to gallop across the vast snowfield.
The Azure Sea Snow Iron Dragon belongs to the earth dragon lineage and has no ability to fly. However, it has strong and powerful limbs, can walk on ice and snow as if on flat ground, has a good running speed, and has an especially keen sense of its surrounding environment, making it perfect for searching for tracks in the Far North Wasteland.
In addition to the Azure Sea Snow Iron Dragon, Lu Xuan also controlled a flock of extremely fast-flying Articuno, sending them to search for his target in the Far North.
Lu Xuan had already promised the Azure Sea Snow Iron Dragon that as long as it could help him find the Hundred Thousand Year Mirror Shadow Beast, he would give it its freedom.
Something's not right!
Lu Xuan's expression suddenly hardened as he keenly sensed the auras of swarms of Soul Beast approaching from all directions. He immediately warned the two beside him, "We've trespassed into the Ice Jade Scorpion's territory!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Xuan lightly patted the broad back of the Azure Sea Snow Iron Dragon, his tone tinged with reproach. "How did you lead the way?"
Instead of swarming and attacking them as expected, the hidden Ice Jade Scorpion turned around and fled in panic towards the outskirts of their territory.
Lu Xuan vaguely heard the Ice Jade Scorpion cursing as they ran. "Was it you who lured the humans here?"
This wasn't Lu Xuan's first encounter with the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan; he had met the Ice Empress two and a half months prior.
When the two sides first met, Ice Empress attacked without saying a word, and fought with Lu Xuan.
After a fierce battle, Lu Xuan and Ice Empress ended in a draw.
Ice Empress originally planned to gather a large number of Ice Jade Scorpion to surround and kill Lu Xuan, but after Lu Xuan tested Ice Empress's true strength, he directly used [Azure Jade Spatial Escape] to escape far away.
The next day, Lu Xuan appeared silently in the Ice Empress's lair.
After that encounter, the two agreed not to interfere with each other.
Ice Empress no longer opposes Lu Xuan, and even specifically instructs her clan to keep a close eye on the aura of Lu Xuan and his group, and to immediately avoid them if they are detected.
No one expected that they would encounter such a large group of Ice Jade Scorpion again on this snowy plain today.
Lu Xuan, you're here again!
Just as the Ice Jade Scorpion swarm scattered in panic, a petite figure suddenly blocked the way in front of the Azure Sea Snow Iron Dragon. It was none other than the Ice Empress, who had transformed into a little girl.
Ice Empress looked to be only about seven or eight years old, with clear, jade-white skin that gleamed with a faint frosty light. She had long, ice-blue hair, with tiny ice crystals floating among the strands, swaying gently with her movements.
She looked up at Lu Xuan and questioned him, "We agreed to live in peace, so why did you trespass on my territory?"
Ice Empress knew perfectly well that she couldn't kill Lu Xuan at all, as the latter also possessed the wondrous spatial escape technique.
Even though she was fierce and unruly, she could only patiently talk to him at this moment.
If they continue to antagonize each other, no one can guarantee that Lu Xuan won't one day use his Spatial Ability to sneak into her lair and attack her.
"You think I wanted to come here?" Lu Xuan looked up at Ice Empress, his tone indifferent. "I was just searching for Mirror Shadow Beast. Who knew this silly dragon would lead us straight into your clan's territory?"
"How many times have I told you? Hundred Thousand Year Mirror Shadow Beast doesn't exist!" Ice Empress looked helpless, her small brows furrowing. "Didn't you encounter a fifty-thousand-year-old one before? Can't we just make do with that?"
Lu Xuan shook his head slightly, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "If it were over 90,000 years old, I could raise it until it reached 100,000 years old. But this Mirror Shadow Beast is only 50,000 years old. I simply can't afford the time and resources required to raise it to 100,000 years old!"
Lu Xuan didn't have enough ice-attribute spiritual herbs, and he still hadn't been able to find the whereabouts of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow.
If he wants to raise the 50,000-year-old Mirror Shadow Beast to 100,000 years old, he needs to hunt down at least five Soul Beast that are over 100,000 years old and feed them to the Mirror Shadow Beast.
Even with all these resources gathered, it would still take more than a decade for it to slowly digest and complete its transformation.
Lu Xuan himself was not afraid of hunting down Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. However, he could not afford to wait for more than ten years.
Moreover, once he slaughters so many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the Far North, it won't just be the Ice Empress who comes to stop him, but the Snow Empress herself will personally hunt him down.