Half a month later...
With Chen Jie keeping her thoughtful company every day, tending to her with care, and continually feeding her ten thousand year profound ice marrow for cultivation, the Ice Empress progressed rapidly. She broke straight through her bottleneck, and her cultivation rose steadily to four hundred thousand years.
After spending this month together day and night, she had completely lowered her guard. Her affection for Chen Jie had also risen to 90%, and her heart and eyes were filled with dependence and fondness.
After her breakthrough, the Ice Empress, wreathed in a faint icy glow, lay quietly nestled in Chen Jie's arms. She relaxed completely, leaning against him with all her heart.
Chen Jie looked down at the docile Ice Empress in his arms and said, "Now that you've successfully broken through, let's get started on that plan we discussed."
The Ice Empress looked up at him, her expression gentle, and softly reminded him, "That sister of mine is especially cold and aloof. When the time comes, Jie, you must treat her well. Don't ever let her down."
Seeing how serious she looked, Chen Jie suddenly broke into a wicked grin. He brought his lips to her ear and teased her in a low voice, "Don't you already know whether she'll be happy with me? Who was it who kept begging for mercy and calling me Daddy back then?"
The moment he finished speaking, the Ice Empress's entire face flushed scarlet. A burning blush spread over her jade-white skin, traveling from her delicate cheeks to the tips of her little ears, while her long lashes fluttered helplessly. Unable to meet his eyes, she hurriedly buried her face in his chest, gave him a light, petulant thump, and muttered, "You're so bad! That... that was only because I hadn't gotten used to it yet!"
A breathtakingly beautiful snowfield lay blanketed in ice and snow. This was the Snow Empress's territory.
High overhead, a brilliant emerald light tore through the clouds and plunged rapidly downward.
As the light faded, the Ice Empress landed unsteadily in the snow, too weak to stand properly. Bright red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, her aura was in disarray, and her face was deathly pale. Not daring to linger, she mustered the last of her strength and scrambled desperately toward the exquisite, magnificent ice-and-snow castle ahead, seeking help.
The next instant, the cold across the entire snowfield surged violently, and a snow-white figure appeared in a flash.
It was none other than the leader of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North-the Snow Empress.
She wore a pristine white dress, her long silver hair falling over her shoulders. Her skin was pale and luminous, purer than the frost and snow beneath her feet. Her features were cool and impassive, and her ice-blue eyes seemed to hold ten thousand years of frost. Her bearing was aloof and breathtakingly beautiful. Simply by standing amid the wind and snow, she seemed to silence the icy gusts around her, radiating the presence of a revered master.
But when she saw the blood at the corner of the Ice Empress's mouth, her usually indifferent face instantly filled with fury. The cold around her churned wildly as she demanded sharply, "Bing'er! Who hurt you like this?"
The Ice Empress hurried behind the Snow Empress, trembling all over with fear, her voice choked with tears. "Xue'er, someone is hunting me down! His physique is incredibly powerful. I sensed a god's aura on him. He must be a god's inheritor!"
Just then, the entire expanse of space shuddered violently, and a black-clad figure slowly stepped out into the air.
Looking down from above, Chen Jie fixed his gaze on the cool, aloof Snow Empress and silently marveled:
Those looks, that cold and proud bearing-she's exactly like those aloof masters I saw in my previous life. So lovely, so beautiful.
A flash of admiration crossed his eyes, only to be replaced by intense greed. An arrogant grin spread across his face, and he let out a sinister cackle. "Heh heh heh, I never expected such a pleasant surprise today. I happen to be short two Soul Rings, and you two are just in time. It's your good fortune to become stepping stones on my path to godhood!"
The moment he finished speaking, Chen Jie closed his hand around empty air, and a golden-blue divine weapon instantly appeared in his grasp.
Intertwining streams of gold and blue light wound around its shaft, its ancient, imposing patterns exuding nobility and grandeur. It was the renowned Sea God Trident!
In an instant, the Sea God's supremely overbearing pressure blanketed the entire snowfield. His formidable divine power forced all the surrounding wind and snow to a standstill.
The Snow Empress's pupils contracted, and her entire body instantly tensed.
She could clearly sense how terrifyingly powerful this Sea God power was. She would find it almost impossible to withstand.
Knowing that the situation was extraordinarily dangerous, the Snow Empress immediately leaned toward the Ice Empress's ear and urgently whispered:
"Bing'er, once the fighting starts, I'll hold him off with everything I have. Run as fast as you can. Don't look back, and don't worry about me!"
The Ice Empress abruptly raised her head, her eyes instantly reddening. She clutched the Snow Empress's clothes tightly, her voice stubborn and resolute:
"I'm not leaving! We've been sisters for ten thousand years. We should live and die together, and I'll never abandon you! At worst, we'll die here together today!"
Looking at the Ice Empress beside her, who would rather die than escape alone, the Snow Empress's cold eyes filled with emotion and aching sorrow. She completely abandoned the thought of making her flee and declared firmly:
"All right! Then we'll stake everything on this fight. At worst, we'll die here together!"
Despite her injuries and nearly depleted soul power, the Ice Empress forced her weakened body to remain standing beside the Snow Empress and slowly summoned what little soul power she had left.
The Snow Empress said no more. Vast soul power erupted within her, and bone-piercing winds swept across a thousand miles of snowfield. She kept the Ice Empress securely sheltered at her side as their soul power fused tightly together.
Watching the two sisters refuse to abandon each other and vow to stand together until death, Chen Jie felt no sympathy whatsoever. Instead, his laughter grew even more arrogant:
"What touching sisterly devotion. Since you're so determined to die together, I'll grant your wish! Today, I'm taking both your Soul Rings!"
With that, Chen Jie plunged downward with the Sea God Trident in hand, bearing overwhelming divine might as he attacked the Snow Empress head-on.
The Snow Empress focused on her opponent, drove her soul power to its utmost, and unleashed Snow Empress's Three Absolutes: Great Cold Without Snow, meeting the trident's might directly.
Yet at the very instant their powers were about to collide, Chen Jie suddenly stopped. A vicious smile curled across his face as he said calmly:
"You fell for it, Snow Empress."
The Snow Empress stiffened, her heart sinking as a powerful sense of dread instantly engulfed her.
She whipped her head around and stared at the Ice Empress in shock, crying out, "What! Bing'er, you..."
That single glance chilled her heart to its depths.
The Ice Empress's gaze was now vacant, with rings of pink light swirling in her eyes. She had clearly been completely controlled by an illusion. All her fear, helplessness, and vows to follow the Snow Empress to her death had been an act.
Before the Snow Empress could react, the Ice Empress raised her hand and pointed. An eerie black mark shot out and struck the Snow Empress squarely in her dantian.
Boom!
The black mark instantly erupted with uncanny power, sealing every meridian in the Snow Empress's body.
The Snow Empress's dantian emptied in an instant. Her vast, boundless ice soul power vanished completely, leaving her unable to summon even a trace.
Without her soul power to support her, her legs buckled. All strength drained from her body, and she slumped forward.
Just as she was about to fall, Chen Jie flashed in front of her and reached out, catching her securely in his arms.
He wrapped one arm around the Snow Empress's slender waist while his other hand lightly touched the back of her neck. Then he delivered a swift, decisive chop, knocking the powerless Snow Empress unconscious.
The cold, breathtakingly beautiful Snow Empress slowly closed her eyes and lost consciousness completely. She lay limp in Chen Jie's arms, all her earlier imposing presence gone.
Before you continue