First Encounter with the Ice Empress in Ice Crystal Valley, a Million-Year Soul Spirit Shakes the Far North

The biting winds of the Far North swept up grains of ice, crashing into the entrance of the Ice Crystal Grand Canyon with a fragmented rumble.

Ice walls on either side pierced the clouds. Profound ice gleamed with a cold, deep-blue light beneath the sun, and the icicles hanging from the walls were sharp as knives. Ice fog lay so thick across the canyon floor that it would not disperse. Even the air carried a needle-pricking chill with every breath, keeping many Soul Beasts of the Far North from daring to approach.

Qian Daoliu strode over the broken snow, his golden divine robes snapping in the cold wind. The sacred golden light surrounding him steamed like a furnace, keeping the bitter cold at bay.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm on his shoulder suddenly tensed. A flicker of nervousness crossed his ice-blue eyes, but his voice held an anticipation he could not quite hide as it rang directly through Qian Daoliu's sea of consciousness:

"Brother Qian, Bingbing's territory is just ahead... She's proud and hates humans trespassing more than anything. Let me talk to her first when we get there. Don't clash with her."

Before his words had faded, a clear yet piercing female voice came from deep within the ice walls. It sounded as lovely as ice beads falling onto a jade plate, yet carried an unquestionable authority:

"Human, do you know what happens to those who trespass in the territory of my Ice Jade Scorpion Clan?"

Crack-

A sharp crack came from the ice ahead.

The immense ice sheet suddenly split open into a fissure several meters wide, and an azure figure slowly crawled out-a nearly ten-meter-long Ice Jade Scorpion. Diamond-shaped, ice-blue plates covered her entire body, their edges faintly rimmed with gold. Three striking golden markings ran along