Snow Empress nodded, but there was no joy on her face. Because while reinforcing the seal, she discovered a shocking fact.
This seal wasn't set up by gods and demons from Primordial Era, but rather... by her from the future.
This discovery plunged Snow Empress into deep confusion and unease. Why had she, from the future, come to this era to set up this seal? What was her relationship with this Primordial Demon God? What exactly happened in the future that forced her to return to the past to seal this demon god?
Countless questions flooded her mind, leaving Snow Empress in a state of utter confusion.
"Holy Maiden, what's wrong?" Yun Shang noticed Snow Empress's unusual behavior and asked with concern.
Snow Empress shook her head. "It's nothing, I just need some rest."
She didn't tell anyone about her discovery because she wasn't sure herself; she needed time to think and figure out what was going on.
The five rested for half an hour, recovering some of their strength, and then left the cave. Before leaving, the Snow Empress set up a barrier at the cave entrance to prevent anyone from accidentally entering. She decided to find a way to completely eliminate the threat of this Primordial Demon God after returning to the Heavenly Dao Alliance.
After returning to the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Snow Empress locked herself in her room and did not come out for three whole days.
For three days, she pondered her discovery. Why would her future self travel back in time to set up the seal? What was her connection to this Primordial Demon God? What exactly happened in the future?
On the fourth day, Snow Empress finally emerged from her room. Her face was weary, but her eyes were resolute.
"I've figured it out," she said to the four elders guarding outside. "That Primordial Demon God is none other than myself in the future."
"What?!" The four were shocked.
"Impossible!" Qingyunzi exclaimed first, "Holy Maiden, how could you be Primordial Demon God?"
"I don't want to believe it either, but it's the truth," Snow Empress said with a wry smile. "When I was reinforcing the seal, I sensed an aura on it that was exactly the same as mine. Moreover, the method of setting up the sealing formation was also exactly the same as mine. I'm certain that the seal was set up by me."
"But why did you seal yourself away?" Huiming asked, puzzled.
"Because my future self became Primordial Demon God." The Snow Empress's voice was very low, very low. "My future self, for some unknown reason, became Primordial Demon God, possessing world-destroying power. In order to prevent harm to the human world, I returned to the past and sealed myself away."
"This..." The four people looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
"So what do we do now?" Leng Yue asked.
Snow Empress took a deep breath. "Since my future self has become Primordial Demon God, then my present self must find a way to stop all of this from happening. I need to find out why my future self became Primordial Demon God, and then change that future."
"But can we change what will happen in the future?" Yun Shang asked worriedly.
"Yes." Snow Empress nodded. "Fate is not immutable. As long as we make the right choices at crucial moments, we can change the future. What I need to do now is to find that crucial moment and make the right choice."
"Where should we begin our investigation?" Qingyunzi asked.
The Snow Empress pondered for a moment, "Let's start with that ruin. Since my future self laid down a seal there, there must be clues there about my transformation into Primordial Demon God. I need to go to the Far North again to carefully explore that ruin and see if I can find any trace of it."
"We'll go with you," the four elders said in unison.
Snow Empress shook her head. "No, I'll go alone this time. The Demonic Qi in that ruin is too strong; I'm afraid you won't be able to withstand it. Besides, this exploration might be very dangerous, and I don't want to implicate you."
"Holy Maiden!" the four elders cried out anxiously, "We are not afraid of danger!"
"I know you're not afraid, but I am." Snow Empress looked at the four of them, her eyes filled with gratitude and apology. "You are the people I trust most, and I don't want you to get hurt. Let me go alone this time. I promise I'll come back safely."
The four wanted to say something more, but seeing Snow Empress's determined gaze, they swallowed back the words that were on the tip of their tongues.
"Alright, we'll wait for you to come back," Qingyunzi said. "But you must be careful. If there's any danger, retreat immediately. Don't be reckless."
"I understand." Snow Empress nodded, turned and left the Ziwei Sect, flying towards the Far North.
Five days later at dusk, the Snow Empress stood before that iceberg once again.
The Demonic Qi from the iceberg was even more intense than before, but Snow Empress didn't feel the same discomfort she had when she first arrived. Perhaps it was because she already knew that this Demonic Qi was emanating from her future self, so subconsciously she didn't reject it.
Snow Empress entered the cave and came to the stone door. The Primordial Demon God pattern on the stone door was still lifelike, but at this moment, in Snow Empress's eyes, the demon god in the pattern actually looked somewhat similar to herself.
"What exactly did you go through, my future self?" Snow Empress asked softly, reaching out to push open the stone door.
Behind the stone gate, the Primordial Demon God remained asleep. Rune chains Entanglement his body, and the light of the sealing formation was slightly dimmer than before, but overall it was still relatively stable.
Snow Empress walked to the sealing formation, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and probed the formation with her divine sense. She wanted to use the sealing formation to establish contact with her future self and understand what had happened in the future.
As soon as her divine sense probed into the sealing formation, Snow Empress felt her consciousness being sucked into it by a powerful force. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in an unfamiliar place.
This is a desolate land, with dark clouds covering the sky. Not a blade of grass grows on the ground; ruins and bones are everywhere. On the distant horizon, a gigantic figure is fighting a group of cultivators. That figure is the Primordial Demon God, who is also your future self.
Snow Empress saw that her future self was a hundred feet tall, completely black, with four horns on her head, a pair of huge wings on her back, blood-red eyes, and spewing black flames from her mouth. She exuded an aura of endless destruction; with a casual wave of her hand, she could destroy a mountain peak, and with a casual stomp of her foot, she could trigger earthquakes and tsunamis.
The cultivators who fought her were all powerful, but in front of her, they were as fragile as ants. They attacked desperately, but could not cause her any harm. Instead, they were killed one by one by her.
Snow Empress watched this scene, her heart breaking. She didn't want to become like this, didn't want to kill, didn't want to destroy the world. But her future self had clearly lost her mind, becoming a monster who only knew how to destroy.
"No..." Snow Empress murmured to herself, tears welling up in her eyes.