Deep within the ice cavern, the Ice Emperor glared furiously at the four people below.
She had never expected these humans to be so despicable, daring to capture her while she was suppressing her cultivation.
Worse still, she could sense the strength of the three old men opposite her. Even here in the Extreme North, on her home ground, she might not escape unscathed.
She was the Ice Emperor, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.
How could she possibly shrink back? Besides, if she left, she dared not imagine what would happen to her own race.
With that thought, the Ice Emperor attacked first. She raised her right hand, and a force that could freeze heaven and earth swept toward Du Busi and the other three.
Seeing this, Du Busi shielded Yun Luo behind him and used his Soul Power to resist.
"You lowly ants dare intrude while I am cultivating."
"If you want to hunt me down, first see whether you have the strength."
As she spoke, a layer of jade-green light appeared around the Ice Emperor.
Seeing that there was no reasoning with her, Du Busi spoke to the person behind him.
"Kid, there's no reasoning with the Ice Emperor right now. We'll defeat her first, then talk."
"No need, Sect Master. Let me."
As he spoke, Yun Luo walked in front of Du Busi.
The Ice Emperor's eyes held a trace of confusion as she watched the silver-haired young man emerge from behind the old man.
But she did not dwell on it.
These people had come to kill her. Why should she care what they were doing?
"Domain of Perpetual Ice."
In an instant, jade-green light spread outward with the Ice Emperor at its center.
The moment the domain unfolded, the temperature throughout the ice cavern plummeted. Even the flow of Soul Power grew sluggish.
Du Busi's expression changed. He felt the circulation of his Soul Power slow by nearly ten percent.
Jin Peng and Li Qing looked equally grave, the glow of Soul Power around them dimming somewhat.
This was its domain skill. With the enhancement provided by the Extreme North, the domain skill became even more terrifying.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, Yun Luo anxiously shouted something.
"I know where the Snow Empress is."
"How do you know Xue'er is missing?"
The Ice Emperor froze for a moment, then caught herself.
"No, human. You're bluffing."
As she spoke, she raised her right hand again, and an enormous jade-green claw appeared overhead in its ice cavern.
"Ice Emperor, we came here with no ill intent. We only want to make a deal with you."
"And I'll also take you to the Snow Empress."
Hearing Yun Luo's words, the Ice Emperor hesitated, stopping the attack she had been about to unleash.
She still very much wanted to know where the Snow Empress was. And how did this human know the Snow Empress was missing?
Holding on to that hope, the Ice Emperor dispersed the enormous claw overhead and addressed Yun Luo.
"Then tell me now. Where is Xue'er?"
Behind them, Jin Peng and Li Qing watched the Ice Emperor actually stop attacking, their eyes filled with shock.
They had never expected Yun Luo to make the Ice Emperor abandon her attack so easily.
As for the one who knew Yun Luo had traveled here from the future, seeing this scene, he knew his Body Sect would surely rise.
"Ice Emperor, don't be impatient. Let's discuss the deal first."
"A deal? Human, what do you have to trade with me?"
Hearing Yun Luo's words, the Ice Emperor looked at him in confusion.
"Ice Emperor, I know you won't survive your four-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation, but I have a way to keep you alive."
Yun Luo took a step forward and spoke.
"Human, are you making fun of me?"
"What way could you possibly have to keep me alive?"
On the Ice Emperor's youthful face, her eyes were filled with disdain as she looked at Yun Luo.
"Sacrifice yourself to me, and I'll keep you alive."
Looking at the disdain on the Ice Emperor's face, Yun Luo spoke slowly.
The instant Yun Luo finished speaking, a terrifying pressure surged toward him from the Ice Emperor.
"Human, are you courting death?"
"Have I given you the impression that I'm easy to talk to?"
The Ice Emperor's orange-gold vertical pupils abruptly contracted, and the jade-green light around her surged.
Du Busi's expression changed drastically, and he stepped forward, intending to pull Yun Luo back.
But Yun Luo did not retreat. Instead, he walked forward.
His silver hair whipped wildly behind his head under the pressure. His face was pale, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth because of the pressure, yet he did not retreat in the slightest.
"Ice Emperor, hear me out first."
His voice was somewhat hoarse, but remained steady.
"Sacrificing yourself doesn't mean letting you die. I have a way for you to survive."
Hearing Yun Luo's words, the Ice Emperor did not continue attacking, deciding to hear what this human had to say.
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"I'd like to see what flowers you can spin out of your words."
Yun Luo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took a deep breath, and six Soul Rings rose beneath his feet.
"Xiao Yao, come out."
As he finished speaking, a spherical soul beast a foot long, with a vertical pupil, appeared on his shoulder.
The vertically pupiled eye was pitch-black, as bottomless as an abyss.
Nine tendrils hung down from the eye-shaped crystal.
This was none other than the Illusion Pupil Beast, the soul beast that had provided Yun Luo's sixth Soul Ring.
"Ice Emperor, this is my method."
Looking at Yun Luo before them, everyone present was more or less immersed in shock.
"Holy shit, is the Holy Son really this badass?"
Looking at Yun Luo's Soul Ring configuration, Li Qing could not help swearing.
Meanwhile, when the Ice Emperor saw the Soul Spirit on Yun Luo and her Soul Ring configuration, her pupils contracted slightly.
"What exactly is this?"
"I'm afraid I can't say more, unless you come with me."
Hearing Yun Luo speak in riddles, the Ice Emperor felt an unbearable itch in her heart.
She could sense that the soul beast maintained a special relationship with the human before her, allowing them to coexist.
While the Ice Emperor was still reeling from the coexistence of a soul beast and a human, Yun Luo continued.
"Ice Emperor, you won't lose out by making a deal with me. With my talent, becoming a god won't be difficult."
"As long as you come with me, I can take you to the Divine Realm and grant you eternal life."
Yun Luo's tone was calm, yet carried a certainty that could not be ignored.
Du Busi and the other two were also awed by Yun Luo's imposing presence.
While the Ice Emperor was still hesitating, Yun Luo gave her no chance to continue thinking.
"Besides, Ice Emperor, do you have any other choice?"
After hearing Yun Luo's words, the Ice Emperor fell silent. Her fingers curled, digging into her palm.
Yun Luo was right. She had no other choice.
Having suppressed her cultivation for so many years, she knew better than anyone that she would not withstand the day her heavenly tribulation came.
But she was the Ice Emperor, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.
She could not readily accept bowing her head to a human and sacrificing herself.
Yet she had no way to refute the young man before her. She truly had no time left, and his talent really was exceptional.
Given time, it was not impossible for him to become a god.
The Ice Emperor looked at the confident youth before her for a long time.
In those orange-gold eyes, hesitation, struggle, and all manner of emotions intertwined.
In the end, they all became a sigh.
"I agree to this deal. But before that, I need to make some arrangements within my clan."