The Ice Empress was pinned firmly in place by Chen Jie's spiritual power, unable to move a muscle. All she could do was stare coldly at the young man before her.
Chen Jie met her gaze calmly and spoke without haste. "There will be plenty of dangers on my cultivation path. Enemies and powerful foes will be too numerous to count. Relying on myself alone won't be safe enough. I need truly dependable followers with enough strength to keep me protected."
His gaze remained resolute as he continued, "I have a special method that can establish an exclusive contract with you. Once the contract is complete, your strength, cultivation, and consciousness will all remain intact. You won't lose a thing. In return, I'll gain the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul."
With that, Chen Jie watched the trapped Ice Empress quietly, his expression cool, and gave her the bluntest of choices. "Choose for yourself. Either form a contract with me and gain eternal life and security, or refuse and perish completely. Life or death-you decide."
After hearing everything, the Ice Empress was already deeply tempted.
She looked up at the phantom Sea God Trident in the air, that symbol of supreme authority, and sighed helplessly. With a bitter smile, she said, "You can even borrow the Sea God's power. With backing that formidable, how am I in any position to refuse? Fine, I agree to the contract. Let's begin."
Chen Jie nodded and cautioned her earnestly, "Don't resist in a moment. Complete the contract with me first. Afterward, I'll use a special method to help you perform the sacrifice and turn you into a soul spirit while preserving all your strength."
As his words fell, pink contract patterns slowly emerged in midair.
Soft pink light wound back and forth between them, weaving together continuously and gradually building an exclusive life-bound contract.
Within moments, the contract took its final shape.
An exquisite pink patterned mark settled firmly over the Ice Empress's left breast. From that moment onward, their destinies were bound together. No matter how far apart they were, this bond would never break.
With the contract successfully established, all the Ice Empress's wariness and resistance vanished. Her affection for Chen Jie rose sharply, and the look in her eyes became one of complete trust and reassurance.
Once she confirmed that the contract was stable, the Ice Empress spoke of her own accord. "I'll transfer my Torso Soul Bone to you first so you can fuse with it. That will greatly reduce the pain of the backlash you'll suffer later. It'll also strengthen your body in advance and help secure your physical foundation."
As soon as she finished speaking, a wash of clear, jade-green icy light surged out of her body.
An Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Torso Soul Bone, as pure and translucent as crystal, slowly separated from her body. It transformed into a streak of green light and instantly flowed into Chen Jie, beginning to fuse with him on its own.
After the Torso Soul Bone finished fusing and took firm root within Chen Jie's body, the Ice Empress relinquished all resistance.
Glittering jade-green ice light soared into the sky. Her vast soul beast essence, accumulated over a full three hundred and ninety thousand years, slowly rose and transformed into endless streams of icy jade light. All of it poured into Chen Jie, formally beginning her sacrifice and transformation into a soul spirit.
At the same time, Chen Jie raised his staff high and recited a long passage of complex, obscure ancient incantations.
Countless golden runes flew from the tip of the staff, swirling and flowing through the air like rivers of golden light as they gradually seeped into the depths of the Ice Empress's soul.
These golden divine patterns continuously altered and reshaped the structure of her essence. While fully preserving her consciousness, memories, and cultivation, they slowly transformed her from a soul beast into a perfect soul spirit.
Time slipped by, and an entire month passed.
All the light withdrew, and the transformation was complete.
The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion had officially become Chen Jie's exclusive perfect soul spirit.
At that very moment, a system notification blasted through Chen Jie's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully forming a contract with the Ice Empress!] [Reward: soul power increased by five levels] [Reward: ten thousand year profound ice marrow ×99999] [Reward: Snow Empress affection, 30%] [Reward: ice god inheritance, 50%] [Reward: ice god inheritance divine artifact-Ice God Sword] [Reward: secret treasure · Dao Heart Demon Seed (upgradable)] [Dao Heart Demon Seed effect: can seal the soul power of anyone below god level. Can bind up to three targets simultaneously. Bound targets may be changed freely.]
At last, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul fully took shape within Chen Jie.
Chen Jie quieted his mind and carefully examined how it felt.
Unlike other people's ice-attribute martial souls, which were bone-chilling and radiated oppressive cold, his left his body steady and comfortable. He felt not the slightest biting chill, only gentle, pure power flowing slowly through him.
As his soul power surged wildly from the system's reward, two soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet and hovered quietly behind him.
The outer ring was a rich red four-hundred-thousand-year soul ring, imposing and overbearing, its ferocious beast pressure rushing straight at him. The inner ring was an elegant, pristine white Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. Fine golden patterns occasionally flashed deep within its white light, concealing a divine aura.
Once his condition had fully stabilized, Chen Jie summoned the Ice Empress with a thought.
The Ice Empress appeared in a flash, lifted her eyes to him, and asked softly, "Chen Jie, what's wrong?"
Looking at the Ice Empress, who now trusted him completely, Chen Jie sighed inwardly.
Between the initial affection brought on by his succubus constitution and this past month of living together through their contract, keeping each other company day and night, her affection for him had already reached seventy-five percent-a very high degree of intimacy.
Chen Jie shook his head lightly and gave her a wicked grin. "Nothing. I just suddenly wanted to try a little experiment."
The moment he finished speaking, he unhesitatingly used his newly acquired secret treasure on the Ice Empress.
In an instant, the surging soul power within her was completely sealed, leaving her unable to use even a trace of strength. She looked at Chen Jie in shock and blurted, "You..."
Chen Jie looked at her and said, "I want you to help me cultivate!"
Chen Jie stepped forward and pounced, knocking the Ice Empress down into the white snow.
Oh~ hoo hoo hoo~
An hour later...
Chen Jie sat leisurely in the snow and raised a hand to gently grasp...
The Ice Empress bent slightly forward, her head lowered. A faint layer of jade-green spiritual light wreathed her, outlining her graceful figure. Her slender, fair fingers held tightly to that exceedingly rare natural treasure-the ten thousand year profound ice marrow.
Chen Jie admired her graceful figure, then looked down at her and said, "You should know this too. A natural treasure of this ten-thousand-year grade will be immensely beneficial to your cultivation."
Without the slightest hesitation, the Ice Empress immediately moved to absorb it, looking utterly adorable.
Before long, the cool, translucent ten thousand year profound ice marrow had been completely refined and slowly absorbed by the Ice Empress.
Chen Jie gripped her hair with both hands. Watching her body shimmer with white light, he said, "Refine it properly. This will advance your cultivation and let you break straight through the four-hundred-thousand-year threshold."
Looking at the Ice Empress again, her face was somewhat flushed, and a little sweat lingered on her hands as well.
The Ice Empress gave a gentle murmur of assent, her voice soft:
"Mm, A Jie, I understand. I'll refine it carefully!"
She spread her arms and hugged Chen Jie tightly. Icy mist slowly swirled around her as she lifted her head and asked softly, "A Jie, do you want a soul ring? I can help you find one that's especially suited to you."
Chen Jie gazed tenderly at her in his arms and answered softly, "I do, Bing'er. What kind of soul ring would you like to recommend?"
The Ice Empress's eyes flickered as she spoke earnestly. "How about a seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Snow Woman? Her cultivation is a full three hundred thousand years higher than mine."
A flicker of resolve passed through her heart.
Xue'er, I'm sorry. There's no going back to the past. From now on, let's be sisters.
Oh-ho ho ho~
Before you continue