The Far North
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Nan Feng spent three days in the Frost Giant Dragon's Ice Valley. The time flow rate in the Tower Spirit Space was five times that of the outside world, fifteen days inside the tower. During those fifteen days, he completely integrated the Frost Giant Dragon's Soul Ring energy into his meridians, adapting the power of his dragon arm to a level he could precisely control. The dragon scale patterns on his right arm extended from his shoulder to his wrist, occasionally flashing a dark golden Primordial World light amidst the icy blue luster. His Soul Power stabilized at level sixty-six, stuck at a non-multiple of ten, but the liquid Primordial World Power in his dantian was more solid than before.
When he opened his eyes on the morning of the fourth day, the wind and snow in the Ice Valley were even fiercer than before. The corpse of the Frost Giant Dragon had been completely covered by snow, with only the penetrating wound left by the Starfall Iron Staff on its head still exposed. The icy blue dragon blood had frozen into dark purple ice crystals. Nan Feng pulled out the iron rod and put it into the Tower Spirit Space. Standing in the center of the Ice Valley, Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light to the north.
Two auras.
One was located due northeast, cold and violent like unmelting iron, its Soul Power fluctuations carrying a discordant noise, as if some kind of continuous consumption was eroding its essence. The other was located due northwest, pure and cold like eternal snow, its Soul Power stable but its concentration nearly 30% lower than at its peak, as if it had been slowly decaying over the long years.
Ice Empress. Snow Empress.
Nan Feng's heart skipped a beat. When he was hunting in the Frost Giant Dragon's lair, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light had only vaguely detected the approximate locations of the two auras. But now, as he extended his perception range to the north with all his might, the two points of Soul Power became crystal clear in his mind. One was ice blue with a hint of dark red, and the other was pure white like the moon. They existed quietly deep within the Extreme North Core Circle, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from each other, like two lonely trees gazing at each other for too long in the wind and snow.
"They are two of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North." Old Huai's voice came from the Tower Spirit Space, carrying a solemnity rarely heard from Nan Feng. "Ice Empress —a 400,000-year-old Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion. Snow Empress —a 700,000-year-old Heavenly Snow Woman. Their cultivation far surpasses that of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast; they are true Ferocious Beast beasts."
Nan Feng remained silent. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light continued to extend northward, attempting to grasp more details of the two auras.
Ice Empress's Soul Power fluctuations were chaotic. The dark red edges flickered in and out of the ice-blue light spots, as if a mass of Abyssal Aura was clinging to her origin and continuously eroding her. Her location was in the northeast of Ice Valley, about three hundred miles away from Nan Feng. Snow Empress's location was in the northwest of Ice Valley, even further away, about four hundred miles away. Her Soul Power was pure and quiet, but that quietness carried a kind of weariness that Nan Feng could sense.
"Thirty years," Old Huai suddenly said.
Nan Feng withdrew his senses. "What thirty years?"
"The Ice Empress's Soul Power fluctuations... the traces of Abyssal Aura erosion are at least thirty years old." Old Huai's tone was heavy. "There is an Abyssal Rift at the northern end of the Far North, which began to expand thirty years ago. The Ice Empress and the Snow Empress have been using their own essence to suppress the Abyssal Aura surging from the rift. The Ice Empress's Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul has been eroded by thirty percent, and although the Snow Empress is in better condition, it is also slowly declining."
Nan Feng remained silent for a moment. He recalled the battle in the Frost Giant Dragon's Ice Valley, where only a dozen or so low-level sub-dragons appeared after being summoned; no stronger lord-level Soul Beast materialized. At the time, he assumed the Frost Giant Dragon was merely a lord on the outer edge of the Core Circle, unable to summon stronger beings. But now, combining Old Huai's words, the truth was—deeper within the Core Circle, the Ice Empress and Snow Empress were suppressing the rift; their territories contained no other lord-level Soul Beast —they had either escaped or died.
"They've kept this up for thirty years," Nan Feng said.
"Yes. If they take a step back, the crack will widen." The Old Huai's voice came from the fairy tree, "They have no way out."
Nan Feng stood at the entrance of the Ice Valley, the wind and snow pouring in from the north, causing his outer robe to flutter wildly. The Tower Realm automatically unfolded, and a cyan-gold light membrane kept the blizzard out, but the surface of the light membrane quickly formed a layer of ice in the extreme cold. He took a step in the northeast direction, Shrinking the Ground to an Inch technique, and his figure left a trail of afterimages in the wind and snow.
One hundred and twenty steps per step.
Old Huai asked anxiously, "Where are you going?"
"Take a look at Ice Empress," Nan Feng said.
"Are you crazy?" Old Huai stood up from the Immortal Tree, his semi-transparent remnant soul swaying back and forth in the Tower Spirit Space. "You're level sixty-six now. Even with the Tower and the Primordial World Power, you won't be able to escape a 400,000-year-old Ferocious Beast! The Ice Empress's Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion is one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North. Her scorpion tail can freeze the Soul Power of Titled Douluo with a single sting!"
"I won't get close," Nan Feng said. "I'll just take a look from a distance. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light can see details within five hundred paces. I'll keep eight hundred paces; she won't notice."
Old Huai remained silent for a long time. Nan Feng could sense that Old Huai was hesitating, weighing his options, and calculating the risks. Finally, Old Huai sighed, and that sigh echoed in the Tower Spirit Space for a long time.
"Eight hundred steps," Old Huai said. "Once her Soul Power locks onto you, immediately use the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch to run back. Don't hesitate."
The Nan Feng nodded.
He sped northeast, his footwork, Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, leaving intermittent afterimages on the icy plain. The frigid winds of the Far North grew stronger, and layer upon layer of ice formed on the light membrane of the Tower Realm. The Return to Origin Power continuously surged from the fourth layer, maintaining the stability of the Tower Realm. He walked for about two hours, and traces of the Abyssal Aura began to appear on the icy plain beneath his feet—the dark purple patterns in the ice became increasingly dense, like the blood vessels of some living creature spreading beneath the ice.
After walking for another half hour, the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light detected an extremely strong fluctuation of Soul Power in his mind. The Ice Empress's aura was just a thousand steps ahead. Nan Feng stopped and found a protruding ice ridge on the ice field, hiding his figure behind a huge ice rock.
The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light unfolded with full force.
Eight hundred paces away lay a vast Ice Valley. The size of the Ice Valley far exceeded that of the Frost Giant Dragon's lair, surrounded by ice walls hundreds of feet high, with huge ice pillars hanging from the top of the walls, like Ice Seal thrones. In the center of the Ice Valley, a colossal creature— the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion— was coiled.
Nan Feng had only ever seen descriptions of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion in ancient book illustrations before. But the size of the scorpion before him far exceeded his imagination. Its body was tens of feet long, and its emerald green carapace gleamed with a dark red luster on the ice surface. Each carapace was covered with blackish-purple patterns left by the erosion of the Abyssal Aura. Its tail was raised high, and a ball of dark red cold light gathered at its stinger. The cold light was mixed with blackish-purple impurities, as if it had been continuously polluted by something.
Ice Empress's scorpion eyes were half-closed, and fluctuations of Soul Power spread from her body, suppressing a portion of the Abyssal Aura surging from a crack that ran across the ice plain at the northern end of the Ice Valley. However, Nan Feng could see that her Soul Power was being eroded by the Abyssal Aura in the process of suppressing the crack, and with each suppression, the dark purple patterns on her scorpion carapace deepened.
Her condition was worse than Nan Feng had anticipated.
Old Huai didn't speak. Nan Feng didn't speak either. He stood behind the ice rock, watching the Ice Empress, eight hundred paces away, struggling to suppress the cracks in the wind and snow. The dark red cold light of the scorpion's tail flickered, as if it were burning its own essence to maintain the seal.
Nan Feng shifted his gaze northwest. His Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light extended outwards, catching the aura of the Snow Empress on the western side of the Ice Valley.
The Snow Empress was positioned atop an ice wall on the western side of the Ice Valley. She had transformed into human form—a woman with long, silver-white hair, her face as cold and aloof as an ice sculpture, her aura the purest snow of the Far North. She sat on the edge of the ice wall, her long, snow-white hair cascading onto the ice surface, her hands forming a complex hand seal in front of her. Pure white icy light surged from her palms, transforming into countless fine ice crystals that merged into every inch of air in the Ice Valley.
The Abyssal Aura was neutralized by the Purification Power within the ice crystals, and the dark purple aura gradually faded in the Ice Valley. The Snow Empress cooperated with the Ice Empress's suppression; one forcefully suppressed it with her own power, while the other slowly neutralized it with her Purification Power. They worked together seamlessly, completing a coordinated attack without any communication.
But Nan Feng saw more. Although Snow Empress's face was cold and aloof, her complexion was even paler than frost, her lips were bluish, and her fingertips trembled slightly as she completed the hand seals. Her Soul Power concentration was indeed more stable than Ice Empress's, but that stability was based on the continuous consumption of her source energy. She had already consumed too much.
Nan Feng stood behind the ice rock for a long time, the wind and snow blowing in front of him, and the ice shell on the light membrane of the Tower Realm forming layer after layer. He looked at the two figures eight hundred paces away, one violent and chaotic, the other quiet and aloof, silently persevering under the erosion of the Abyssal Rift.
He thought of Dugu Bo guarding the Poison Mist Valley for thirty years. He thought of the Old Huai guarding the tower for countless years. He thought of how he had walked all the way here from the Blacksmith Village.
Some perseverance stems from helplessness, some from a sense of responsibility, and some from having no other choice.
"That's enough," Old Huai's voice was soft. "You've seen enough. Let's go."
Nan Feng didn't move. He glanced again at the dark purple erosion patterns on the Ice Empress's Scorpion Armor, then at the Snow Empress's slightly trembling fingertips, and then turned around.
He activated the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, disappearing from behind the ice rocks and reappearing on the ice plain hundreds of steps away. He walked south, each step taking him further away from the Ice Valley, away from the crevice, and away from the two figures who had stood guard against the Abyss's erosion for thirty years.
As he stepped out of the Extreme North Core Circle, Nan Feng stopped beside an ice rock at the edge of the permafrost. He took out the Ten Thousand Year Soul-Tempering Stone from his Tower Spirit Space and held it in his palm. The dark golden light of the Soul-Tempering Stone was particularly striking against the ice and snow.
"What do you want to do?" Old Huai asked.
"The Soul-Tempering Stone can refine Divine Power," Nan Feng said. "Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light was upgraded, my Divine Power range is five hundred steps in radius. If I refine it to the limit, it might reach a thousand steps in radius. Next time I come to the Far North, I want to be able to see every inch of the crack clearly, and know where the Heaven-Suppressing Lock should be engraved."
The Old Huai was silent for a while, then a very soft sigh came from the sacred tree.
"You're more composed than I thought."
Nan Feng didn't reply. He put the Soul-Tempering Stone back into the Tower Spirit Space and sat cross-legged beside the ice rock. The Tower Realm unfolded, and a cyan-gold light membrane stretched out a quiet domain in the wind and snow. He began to solidify his foundation at level sixty-six, while gradually integrating the Divine Power absorbed from the Soul-Tempering Stone into the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light.
The red ribbon on his left wrist fluttered gently in the frigid winds of the Far North. The Soul Ring of the Frost Giant Dragon settled quietly in his dantian, while the icy blue patterns on its right arm glowed faintly. The Power of Return to the Void the six layers of the tower flowed slowly through his meridians, and the spatial laws of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch spread out beneath his feet. The figures of the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress gradually faded from his mind, but the imprints left by those two auras were deeply etched into the depths of his perception. One was as violent as cold iron, the other as serene as frozen snow. They had steadfastly guarded the Ice Valley for thirty years, and perhaps they would continue to do so.
Old Huai's voice echoed in the Tower Spirit Space, carrying a rare solemnity. "Your current strength is insufficient to harm them. However, the Primordial World Power within your soul has a natural restraining and evolving effect on ice attributes. Perhaps in the future, you can make them work for you. The Ice Empress is arrogant and fiery, while the Snow Empress is aloof and gentle; the two have relied on each other for survival in the Far North."
Nan Feng closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation. The dark purple erosion patterns on the Ice Empress's scorpion armor, the image of the Snow Empress's fingertips trembling slightly, and the crack that ran across the ice plain in the Ice Valley all repeatedly appeared in his mind. The Heaven-Suppressing Lock. When he learns the Heaven-Suppressing Lock, when he cultivates to Immortal Dao, he will return.
The next time he comes to the Far North, he won't just watch from afar.