The Ice Empress tossed him a Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus and said:
"What is it?"
"Hurry up and eat this snow lotus. The Snow Empress and I will help you absorb and channel its power."
Chu Qing looked at the snow lotus in his hand, puzzled for a moment. Wasn't this what the Ice Empress had wanted to use to recultivate?
Why was she giving it to him now?
Puzzled as he was, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus was a treasure. A little excited, he broke off a petal, swallowed it, and began absorbing and refining it.
Three days later, with the help of the Ice Empress and Snow Empress, he absorbed and refined all the snow lotus's energy. His Soul Power shot straight to level sixty, and his physique improved, greatly increasing his ability to recover.
The Ice Empress nodded.
"He should be able to withstand it now."
Startled, Chu Qing said:
"Snow Empress, are you going to perform the Soul Spirit Ceremony with me now?"
"Could we wait until I reach level seventy?"
To be honest, although the Snow Empress's Soul Rings were of high quality, they were far too incompatible with him. He would rather absorb a snake-type Soul Beast.
The Snow Empress explained slowly:
"Your Martial Soul isn't suited to either the Ice Empress or me. We can't wait until your eighth or ninth ring for the Ice Empress to form a Soul Spirit Contract with you. It has to be your sixth ring, now."
"The Ice Empress?"
Chu Qing looked over in surprise.
The Ice Empress seized Chu Qing's face and said fiercely:
"What? I'm lowering myself to do this, and you're still unhappy?"
Chu Qing forced a wry smile and said meekly:
"Your innate bloodlines are too powerful. I'm afraid that if I absorb your Soul Rings, they'll affect the direction my Martial Soul evolves in."
The Ice Empress snorted coldly and let him go.
"You have no choice."
"The Snow Empress and I studied the Soul Spirit Secret Method. After we improved it and combined it with Soul Beast sacrifice, it became nearly perfect."
"I'm staking my entire clan on you now. If you can't become a god someday, you're dead!"
Chu Qing looked at the Ice Jade Scorpions around him in shock and urged:
"Ice Empress, why don't you calm down and think it over?"
The Snow Empress said:
"We've already thought it through. Since we're aiming to become gods, we should give it our all."
"According to our research, if we succeed, you'll gain a Million-Year Soul Ring and a Million-Year Soul Bone."
"What?"
Chu Qing stared at the Ice Empress in disbelief. No matter how he looked at her, she was only a four-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast.
The Ice Empress said irritably:
"What are you so shocked about?"
"Haven't you humans long since developed a cruel technique for fusing Soul Bones?"
Chu Qing nodded. He knew about that. Excited as he was, another thought occurred to him:
"Wouldn't that make me burst?"
The Ice Empress gave him a definite answer.
"We have a fifty percent chance. If we fail, you'll have only yourself to blame for holding us back."
At the thought of a Million-Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Chu Qing grew excited. He said:
"I probably won't die. Let's do it."
Besides having swallowed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, he also had the Blade of Life's Watch. With the Ice Empress and the others there too, he didn't think it would be a problem.
The Snow Empress said:
"Rest for a day first and get your mind in good shape before we begin. The process will be very painful."
The next day, Chu Qing felt especially excited.
The Snow Empress was overseeing the ceremony. Still somewhat uneasy, she looked at the Ice Empress and said:
"Ice Empress, tell your clan members again. If any of them feel the slightest resistance during the process, all our efforts will go to waste."
The Ice Empress released a terrifying pressure. Her voice rang out far and wide as she said:
"Members of the Ice Jade clan, those willing to become gods with me, stay. If anyone is unwilling, I'll pass the position of clan leader to them now."
The Ice Jade Scorpions roared, their mighty cries shaking the heavens.
Chu Qing couldn't understand the scorpions' language, but he saw that not one of them left. Instead, their formation grew even more orderly.
Then the Ice Empress flew closer and sat down opposite Chu Qing.
"There's no problem on our end. You'd better endure it, kid!"
Chu Qing's eyes shone as he said:
"With your entire clan supporting me, even if I have to create my own godhood, I'll crawl all the way to the Divine Realm to restore your bodies."
"Hmph! You'd better keep your word."
The Snow Empress spoke:
"All right, everyone, clear your minds now."
She began guiding the soul sacrifice ceremony. Soul Power surged from her in a towering torrent, and the souls of the Ice Jade Scorpions began to resonate under the Ice Empress's lead.
Once they were all in harmony, the Snow Empress began drawing on the Far North's worldly origin Qi, guiding the Ice Jade Scorpions' power out of their bodies and fusing it into a Soul Ring in the air.
An ice-jade-colored Soul Ring slowly took shape, radiating terrifying waves of energy. As it pulsed like a living thing, it drew in and breathed out the worldly origin Qi of the northern lands.
The fused Soul Ring was complete. At the same time, the Ice Empress appeared in Chu Qing's Sea of Spirit with a group of Ice Jade Scorpions.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Chu Qing's Sea of Spirit.
"You only have five rings, yet your spiritual cultivation is already this high."
Then her gaze settled on the Blade of Life's Watch at the center of the Sea of Consciousness, and she said with delight:
"Kid, why didn't you say you had this treasure sooner?"
"Now that we have the Gold of Life, our chances of success are over ninety percent. The remaining ten percent depends on whether your willpower is strong enough."
"You have two choices now. Will you fuse with my weaker clan members first and gradually increase the intensity, or start with something strong and fuse with me first?"
Chu Qing didn't give it much thought.
"Ice Empress, you go first. It'll be much easier afterward with you helping to guide me."
The Ice Empress smiled.
"You've got some nerve. Once we've fused with your Sea of Consciousness and formed the contract, you can start absorbing the Soul Ring and Soul Bone."
As she spoke, she walked toward Chu Qing, each step across the Sea of Consciousness sending out circles of jade-green ripples.
Her true form appeared behind her. Even though she suppressed it, it was still so enormous that it filled Chu Qing's entire Sea of Consciousness. The scorpion's legs gradually sank beneath the sea.
At that instant, Chu Qing felt an indescribable swelling pain, as though his head were about to burst.
The Blade of Life's Watch activated in response, erupting with brilliant light that protected Chu Qing's Sea of Consciousness.
Chu Qing's pain eased a little, and a page bearing a contract rose from beneath the Sea of Consciousness.
Chu Qing began forming the contract with the Ice Jade Scorpions.
The Ice Empress slowed down. The image of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion behind her was almost motionless as it sank into the Sea of Consciousness at an exceedingly slow pace.
Chu Qing activated his Martial Soul, which swam through the Sea of Consciousness, radiating seven-colored light that illuminated the entire sea.
"Not bad."
The Ice Empress offered Chu Qing a rare word of praise and sped up.
Beads of cold sweat appeared on Chu Qing's forehead, but before they could form, the Snow Empress guided them out of the soul sacrifice formation.
The instant the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion sank completely into the Sea of Consciousness, the entire sea lit up with a burst of jade-green light.
Under its stimulation, Chu Qing's spiritual power also underwent a qualitative leap, becoming as dense as a solid.
With the contract formed with the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, both Chu Qing and the Ice Empress breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Qing said:
"Let me catch my breath first. Send in your weaker clan members."
The Ice Empress nodded and, without the slightest hesitation, drew the Blade of Life's Watch into her hand. She said:
"I'll collect a little interest first. This piece of Gold of Life belongs to me now."
"It's called the Blade of Life's Watch."
Chu Qing didn't object.
The Ice Empress's entire clan was helping him. If she wanted it, he couldn't refuse.
Besides, he knew the Ice Empress wanted the Blade of Life's Watch to stabilize the souls of her clan members.
The Ice Empress pursed her lips and said:
"At least you know what's good for you, kid."
Then, under her guidance, the hundred-year Ice Jade Scorpions, whose intelligence was still low, lined up and jumped into the Sea of Consciousness one by one, forming a single contract shared by the entire clan.