Upon hearing this, Gu Yuena's violet eyes instantly frosted over, and her aura turned noticeably colder.
Her voice carried a hint of suppressed anger. " The Titan Snow Demon Clan, who possess the bloodline of the Ice God, have lived here for generations, yet they are completely unaware of the miracle that is right before their eyes."
"On the Snow Empress, it was only after you transformed into human form that you were able to sense the existence of that space... Hmph, the rules Divine Realm are truly extremely harsh on the Soul Beast Clan, leaving no room for compromise!"
This blatant discrimination and restriction reminded her of the humiliation and predicament of the Soul Beast Clan, who were unable to become gods.
Kong Xuan listened to Gu Yuena's words, which were filled with deep resentment, his lips moved slightly, but in the end he remained silent.
He knew in his heart that these strict rules, when traced back to their origin, were not set by the gods of the Divine Realm; it was all the Dragon God's fault!
However, this was clearly not the right time to explain, so Kong Xuan ultimately chose to remain silent.
Snow Empress clearly resonated with Gu Yuena's words, and a trace of helplessness and coldness flashed across her usually aloof face.
She nodded slightly and continued, "That's right. Although I have successfully transformed and broken free from some of the constraints of my Soul Beast form, I am still worried that the foundation of this ' Soul Beast Transformation ' may not be recognized or accepted by the high and mighty gods."
Her gaze drifted towards the Far North, filled with deep apprehension. "Therefore, even though I sensed that space, I dared not rashly step into it to explore."
Having survived the life-or-death crisis of being captured by human Soul Master during her transformation, the Snow Empress has become much more cautious.
After a moment's thought, Kong Xuan realized that their current lineup was more than capable of handling even if they were to encounter the remnants of the Ice God's will or arrangements.
Feeling confident, he said, "In that case, let's not delay and go check out that space now."
Seeing his swift decision, the Snow Empress nodded and said no more. With a graceful turn, she rose up like a weightless snowflake and landed elegantly on the broad, mountain-like shoulders of the Titan Snow Demon King.
A cool, clear voice followed. "The journey is still long and the environment is complex. Let Tai Tan take you there; that's the fastest way."
Kong Xuan, Gu Yuena, and Meng Hongchen exchanged a glance, then simultaneously channeled their Soul Power, rising from the ground and landing steadily on the other shoulder of the Titan Snow Demon King, facing the shoulder where the Snow Empress was.
Once the four had steadied themselves, the Titan Snow Demon King let out a low, muffled roar, like the friction of glaciers.
Its massive, pillar-like legs suddenly exerted force and stomped downwards!
"Boom--!"
The solid ice field beneath their feet, frozen for countless millennia, instantly cracked like fragile glass, spreading out countless bottomless fissures!
Countless huge blocks of ice and glistening ice shards were blasted into the sky, refracting brilliant light in the Yangguang, just like a sudden Ice and Snow Storm.
Amidst the earth-shaking tremors and the flying ice shards, the massive body of the Titan Snow Demon King leaped into the air, easily traversing hundreds of meters in a single bound before crashing to the ground!
Then, he leaped up again with renewed force... and so on.
Surprisingly, despite the earth trembling and the ice field groaning with each of its rises and falls, and the astonishingly large range of motion, its shoulders remained remarkably steady, as if they were a world of their own.
The four Kong Xuan standing on it felt almost no violent tremors. Only the biting cold wind whistling past their ears and the boundless, rapidly receding world of ice and snow reminded them of the astonishing speed at which they were advancing towards the most mysterious Core Zone of Far North.
As dusk fell and darkness descended, with only the snow reflecting the last glimmer of light, they finally arrived at their destination—the true heart of the Far North, the ancestral land guarded by the Titan Snow Demon Clan for generations.
The atmosphere here is even more ancient and desolate, with the ice elements in the air so thick that they are almost tangible, and every breath carries a bone-chilling cold.
The Titan Snow Demon Clan is incredibly powerful; adults become top-tier overlords, but they are extremely difficult to reproduce and their numbers are very small.
Even within this core ancestral land, within sight, there were only a dozen or so figures that resembled moving hills.
Sensing the king's return, they let out deep roars that echoed through the icy valley, as if paying homage or warning the intruders.
Finally, the Titan Snow Demon King stopped in front of a towering iceberg.
The iceberg was a deep, dark blue, as if it were made of ancient, unmelting ice.
Without further ado, Kong Xuan, Gu Yuena, Meng Hongchen, and Snow Empress all gracefully leaped down from its broad shoulders and landed on the solid ice.
Even without Snow Empress's guidance, Kong Xuan's vast and boundless Divine Power was already operating autonomously, keenly detecting the abnormal fluctuations coming from somewhere ahead.
An extreme chill, carrying an aura of purity and majesty that transcends all things!
Cold, noble, ethereal, powerful!
Having clashed twice with Tang San, who inherited the power of the Sea God and the Asura Divine Power, he was deeply impressed by the aura of the gods belonging to this world.
He was certain that what he was feeling at that moment was an aura that only a god could emanate.
Following that mysterious sense, Kong Xuan slowly walked to the front of the majestic, dark blue ice mountain. Under the watchful eyes of the three, he gently placed his palm on the icy, bone-chilling ice wall.
He closed his eyes slightly, and his immense Divine Power, like the finest tentacles, cautiously probed into the ice wall.
A moment later, he released his grip and opened his eyes, a knowing glint in his golden pupils.
He turned to face the crowd and announced the findings clearly, "This space is protected by a powerful restriction—only Soul Master with ice attributes are permitted to enter."
This restriction instantly disrupted his initial plans.
He had originally planned to bring his other companions along, so that even if someone couldn't inherit the divine position, they could still obtain the precious Divine Examination to improve their strength.
It now appears that this plan is doomed to fail.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Snow Empress's usually cold and aloof expression showed a noticeable change, and she frowned deeply. "I didn't sense any such prompt when I used my Divine Power to contact her before!"
As Snow Empress uttered those words, her heart sank.
A suspicion she least wanted to face resurfaced in her mind.
Were her previous worries justified?
Even after transforming into human form and shedding their Soul Beast bodies, they are still not recognized in the eyes of the high and mighty gods!
An indescribable bitterness and chill spread from the depths of my heart.
Kong Xuan glanced at the gloomy-looking Snow Empress, opened his mouth, and the words of comfort circled on his lips a few times, but in the end he swallowed them back.
At this moment, any words seem pale and powerless.
He could only turn his gaze to the iceberg before him and said in a deep voice, "There's no point in thinking about it anymore. Let's go in and see what's going on inside."
His gaze swept over everyone present, and finally, with a hint of barely perceptible solemnity, landed on Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena met his gaze, her violet eyes sparkling with countless stars, and she seemed to instantly understand the unspoken worry that Kong Xuan had been expressing.
Without the slightest hesitation, she calmly raised her right hand, her slender fingers gently clenching in the air.
In an instant, the surrounding ice-elemental energy converged wildly as if summoned by a king.
A crystal-clear ice cone, its tip gleaming with an extreme chill, instantly solidified above her palm, so stable that not a single trace of energy dissipated.
The chill emanating from the icicles was pure and domineering, in no way inferior to the Ultimate Ice.
"I naturally possess the power of ice."
Her cool voice rang out, stating a simple fact.
As an avatar of the Dragon God, Elemental Control is one of her powers; wielding ice element is as natural as breathing.