At the edge of the Far North, where the frozen earth met the ice fields, the group came to a halt.
Any farther north, and they would enter the true core of the Far North.
The wind and snow were more than twice as fierce as in the outer regions. White blanketed heaven and earth, making even their bearings difficult to discern.
Nan Shuishui tightened the heavy cloak over her fitted clothes. Rouge-colored soul power formed a thin barrier around her, shielding herself and Nan Qiuqiu from the cold blasting toward them.
Nan Qiuqiu huddled beside her mother, her little face red from the cold, but her eyes remained wide as she stared at the boundless white ahead.
"You can see us off here."
Zhang Lan glanced back at them.
"You won't be able to withstand it any farther in."
Nan Shuishui nodded.
She knew perfectly well that, even with her Soul Douluo cultivation, operating at the edge of the Far North's core was already her limit. If she went any deeper, her Rouge Dragon martial soul would not hold out for long.
She looked down at Nan Qiuqiu, then back at Zhang Lan.
"I'll begin preparing for Anti-Entropy as soon as I return."
"There's no hurry,"
Zhang Lan said.
"Stabilize the Earth Dragon Sect first. Once I'm settled here, I'll have someone send you word."
Nan Shuishui said no more. Taking Nan Qiuqiu with her, she retreated a few steps, bowed slightly to Zhang Lan, then turned and headed south.
Nan Qiuqiu kept looking back as she walked. She glanced at Zhang Lan, then at the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress, before finally turning away and tightening her grip on her mother's hand.
The mother and daughter grew smaller and smaller in the wind and snow, until the white expanse swallowed them.
Zhang Lan withdrew his gaze and turned north.
"Let's go."
With the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress on either side of him, the three stepped into the core of the Far North.
The wind and snow parted on their own before the Ice Empress, then silently closed behind the Snow Empress.
Zhang Lan walked between them, his Gravity Dome opening a space just large enough for himself. It kept the cold outside without interfering with his absorption of the dense ice-attribute soul power in the air.
The deeper they went, the faster the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress moved.
Zhang Lan could sense that the two were in an entirely different state from when they had been in the outside world.
Back in Dragon City, the Ice Empress had never spoken of it, but a taut tension had always lingered within her. The Snow Empress's complexion had shown no improvement either.
Yet the moment they entered the core of the Far North, the Ice Empress's features relaxed, and the Snow Empress's face visibly regained its luster.
This was their domain. On these ice fields, there was no trace of human Soul Masters, no schemes of the Holy Spirit Cult, none of Dragon City's intrigues.
The wind and snow were theirs, and so was the cold.
After roughly half a day's travel, the Ice Empress was the first to stop.
"Let's use this spot."
She surveyed their surroundings and selected an ice cliff sheltered from the wind.
"The soul power here is dense enough, and it's close to the surface. The ice is thick enough that it won't collapse."
The Snow Empress had no objections. Her gaze swept over the contours of the ice cliff, and she nodded slightly.
The Ice Empress took a rod of ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow from Zhang Lan.
The silvery-white crystal rod, as thick as a little finger, gave off a gentle glow in her palm. Streams of light slowly swirled within it, as though a tiny star had been sealed inside.
She held it and examined it, the corner of her mouth lifting. Then she turned and walked beneath the ice cliff, pressing her palm against its face. Emerald light poured into it, and the ice wall began melting from within, hollowing inward to form an ice cave large enough for one person.
The Snow Empress took a second rod as well.
She walked to the other side of the ice cliff and followed suit, though her technique was much gentler than the Ice Empress's.
Beneath her palm, the ice wall silently melted and took shape, eventually forming an ice chamber with inner walls as smooth as mirrors.
She entered, sat cross-legged in the center, and laid the ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow across her knees. Resting both hands over it, she slowly closed her eyes.
The Ice Empress was far less particular.
After ducking into her ice cave, she waved a hand, sealing the entrance with an emerald-green curtain of ice. From outside, it looked like nothing more than a patch of ice with a slightly different color, betraying no sign of what lay within.
Zhang Lan stood between the two ice curtains, looking left, then right.
They had already taken two rods of ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow inside. Only the last one remained, and he kept it with him.
Once the Snow Empress's soul core problem was resolved, that remaining rod would have another use.
Just then, the ice beneath his feet trembled.
It was faint, as though some colossal creature had planted a foot in the distance.
Another tremor followed, heavier than the first. The vibrations came from the south, drawing ever closer and growing ever stronger.
Within Zhang Lan's gravitational perception, an enormous source of soul power was approaching at high speed, thick and weighty, carrying an undisguised, overbearing force.
An exceedingly soft snort came from behind the Ice Empress's ice curtain, as though she were laughing.
From the Snow Empress's ice chamber came a cool, clear voice. It was quiet, but carried with extraordinary penetration:
"Xiao Bai, come guard this place."
Boom.
A gigantic, snow-white bear emerged from the wind and snow.
He was larger than any soul beast Zhang Lan had ever seen, standing nearly five meters at the shoulder. His limbs were as thick as pillars, and every step left deep footprints in the ice.
But he stopped abruptly thirty meters before Zhang Lan, his enormous head slightly bowed. His ice-blue eyes swept back and forth twice between the Ice Empress's and the Snow Empress's ice curtains, finally settling on the Snow Empress's chamber.
"Mother, you're back."
His voice was muffled, like two chunks of ice grinding against each other, but his tone held undisguised affection and delight.
The Ice Bear King lowered his head and sniffed outside the ice chamber, then lay down. His enormous body stretched across the front of the ice cliff, shielding both ice curtains behind him.
The Snow Empress's voice sounded from the ice chamber again:
"Xiao Bai, watch over this place while I'm in seclusion."
"If anyone approaches, don't hold back."
"Understood."
The Ice Bear King answered in his rumbling voice.
Then the Snow Empress paused, seemingly hesitating over something, before finally speaking:
"I've left your payment to the left of the ice chamber's entrance. Go get it yourself."
The Ice Bear King froze for a moment.
He tilted his enormous head toward the left side of the entrance and twitched his nose twice. Then his whole body went rigid.
He sprang to his feet and scraped aside the accumulated snow to the left of the entrance with his forepaws, revealing a silvery-white crystal rod encased in ice.
Ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow.
It was only a small piece, shorter than either of the rods given to the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress, but it was genuine ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow.
The Ice Bear King stared at the crystal rod for a long time, puffed two clouds of white mist from his nostrils, then slowly lay back down. He rested his head on his forepaws and closed his eyes.
His mouth stretched into an enormous grin that he could not have hidden if he tried.
Watching this, Zhang Lan could not help letting out a laugh.
At the sound, the Ice Bear King opened one eye, glanced at him, then closed it again.
His meaning was obvious: For the profound ice marrow's sake, I won't bother taking issue with you.
Zhang Lan found a chunk of ice sheltered from the wind and sat down. He drew the last rod of ten-thousand-year profound ice marrow from inside his clothes and examined it in his palm.
Silvery-white streams of light slowly swirled within the crystal rod. It felt icy to the touch, yet after holding it for a while, he sensed a trace of warmth seeping into his palm.
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