"Hum..."
Beiming Yuan opened his eyes. His golden pupils gradually dimmed and turned black again, bright and shining, large yet concealing their spirit.
"As expected of an Immortal Herb. It raised my Soul Power so quickly. I'm almost a Soul Ancestor."
"At this point in the timeline, Tang San is probably only around level twenty-eight."
Beiming Yuan stood up, thinking to himself.
He was about the same age as several of the Shrek Seven Devils, yet his cultivation was higher than even their "boss," Dai Mubai. That was already an advantage of talent.
Moreover, he possessed Ultimate Ice, which made his cultivation slower than that of other Soul Masters from level thirty to seventy.
"Xiao Yuan, congratulations."
The Snow Empress walked over, carrying the Ice Empress. Both had smiles on their lips.
"It's worth celebrating." Beiming Yuan smiled faintly and reached out to pull the Snow Empress into his arms.
The Snow Empress did not refuse. She nestled against him, the smile on her lips growing ever gentler.
She showed this side of herself only to Beiming Yuan. At other times, she was aloof and spoke little, keeping strangers at a distance.
"Oh, it's so crowded." The petite Ice Empress was squeezed between them, half buried in a soft bosom, one side of her face pressed against a firm chest.
Beiming Yuan and the Snow Empress looked down at her, both amused.
The Ice Empress said it was crowded, but her little face showed nothing but enjoyment.
"Xiao Yuan, you've weathered the heavenly tribulation and taken the Immortal Herb. What's next?" the Snow Empress asked.
"I plan to cultivate in the Far North for a while first, get my fourth Soul Ring and become a Soul Ancestor. Then I'll go to a Soul Master Academy..."
Beiming Yuan smiled faintly.
"A Soul Master Academy? What are you going there for?" the Ice Empress asked curiously.
"To stir things up."
"Good, good! I want to stir things up too!" The Ice Empress's eyes lit up with anticipation. She could be a "demon pill" with Beiming Yuan again.
The Snow Empress watched the two of them, shook her head, and smiled helplessly.
Beiming Yuan and the Ice Empress, that pair of "demon pills"-once they started stirring things up, they really would turn the heavens upside down.
Night.
The ice and snow palace.
Beiming Yuan sat cross-legged on an ice-jade bed that gave off waves of cold. The cold seeped into his body, not harming him but aiding him.
Beside the bed stood five pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. They too gave off cold, helping Beiming Yuan cultivate.
Only with the aid of these supreme treasures could Beiming Yuan's cultivation speed from level thirty to seventy match that of an ordinary genius Soul Master.
If he relied on himself alone, it would be even slower.
"Hum..."
Another cycle of Soul Power circulation came to an end, and Beiming Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
"Xiao Yuan." The Snow Empress approached barefoot across the ice and sat gracefully on the ice-jade bed, a smile on her lips.
"Where's Bing'er?"
Beiming Yuan assumed it was late and time to sleep, so he thought nothing more of it.
After all, the three of them often slept together, and the Snow Empress and Ice Empress often held him while they cultivated.
"Bing'er went back to her clan to take care of something..." The Snow Empress's smile grew somewhat meaningful. "What, can't you sleep without Bing'er here?"
A trace of jealousy flashed in the Snow Empress's eyes as she spoke.
Beiming Yuan keenly noticed it.
"I can sleep just as well holding Xue'er." Beiming Yuan chuckled, slipped an arm around the Snow Empress's waist, and breathed in her scent.
The Snow Empress half closed her beautiful eyes and let Beiming Yuan hold her, taking in his scent and the warmth of his embrace.
They held each other for a long while, an inexplicable atmosphere between them.
"Xiao Yuan, take me somewhere." The Snow Empress wrapped her arms around Beiming Yuan's neck, her cheeks slightly red as she said with a touch of shyness, "Carry me there."
"All right."
Beiming Yuan smiled and nodded. He stood up and lifted the Snow Empress in a princess carry.
Soon, they arrived at a bedchamber in another side hall.
At the sight before him, a feeling of familiarity washed over Beiming Yuan, especially when he saw the cold spring in the center.
This was where he and the Snow Empress had first met.
The Snow Empress gently brushed Beiming Yuan's face with her delicate hand and smiled softly. "Xiao Yuan, does it look familiar?"
"It does."
Beiming Yuan smiled.
"Are you familiar with this place, or the cold spring? Or... the delights of the beauty in your arms right now?" the Snow Empress teased with a smile.
Beiming Yuan looked down at her, his smile unchanged. "All of them, of course."
"Hmph~ You lecher." The Snow Empress gave a little huff, then changed the subject. "Carry me in. How about we bathe in the cold spring together?"
"I couldn't ask for more."
Beiming Yuan did not refuse. Holding the Snow Empress, he walked into the cold spring ahead.
Surprisingly, as they approached the spring, the things on their bodies gradually disappeared.
The Snow Empress had feelings, and Beiming Yuan was willing; everything went without saying.
The only difference was that Beiming Yuan knew nothing of shame, while the blush on the Snow Empress's cheeks lingered, making her very alluring.
They entered the cold spring. The chill went straight to their hearts, but it could not stop the warmth and heat within them.
"Splash, splash..." Unlike before, the cold spring was now clear to the bottom, almost transparent, though ripples could still be seen spreading across the water.
By the time they reached the center of the spring, the Snow Empress was facing Beiming Yuan, her sky-blue eyes filled with tender affection.
In Beiming Yuan's black eyes, besides instinctive desire, was a tenderness no less than hers.
They gazed at each other for a moment, their faces drawing closer until they kissed.
The ripples spread across the water, continuing for a long time.
Cold spring, red spring, ripples, surging...
However cold the spring water was, it could not match the heat and warmth. Lovely as the spring was, it was only a passing pleasure; marvelous as it was, it could not compare to the lovely person.
From the cold spring to the ice-jade bed, two shadows followed their forms.
For the two who had developed feelings for each other, everything fell naturally into place, like water flowing into a channel.
Meanwhile, the Ice Empress, who had returned to the ice and snow palace, had already noticed everything. But only a trace of jealousy flashed across her face before quickly disappearing.
"Hehe."
With a giggle, the Ice Empress kept watch over the surroundings from the shadows.
She was happy, delighted.
Xiao Yuan could not be separated from her, and now Xue'er could not be separated from her either.
Several months later.
Suotuo City, Balak Kingdom.
On the main street, a dashing young man in silver-white robes walked alongside a petite loli in a jade-green dress.
Their looks and behavior drew many gazes.
Their intimate manner in particular made them look less like brother and sister and more like lovers. But... was that really moral?
"Xue'er doesn't like these, so I'll just have to eat them all myself." The girl held Beiming Yuan's hand with one hand and a skewer of candied hawthorns with the other, eating with great relish.
"If you're greedy, just say so. Don't pin it on Xue'er." The man shook his head and smiled.
"Hmph~"
The girl gave a little huff.
The two were none other than Beiming Yuan and the Ice Empress.
After cultivating in the Far North for several months, Beiming Yuan had once again "left the mountain." This time, he was not seizing treasures, but seizing fortune-or, in short, stirring things up.
Since both the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress had taken Lovesick Heartbreak Red, their Soul Beast presence was completely concealed, so there was no need to worry about anyone seeing through them.
The Ice Empress liked going out for a stroll and sampling things like the food of the human world.
The Snow Empress did not. She preferred staying quietly by herself. She reserved her pleasant expressions for Beiming Yuan and the Ice Empress, treating everyone else as though they did not exist.