In the far north, a frigid storm roared, snowflakes swirling in all directions.
On an ice cliff, a figure floated, her long, pure white hair reaching her waist, her ice-blue robes unable to conceal her alluring curves, yet her stunning face was filled with a cold expression.
She stretched out a slender hand, gently catching the swirling snowflakes.
The Snow Empress gazed at the vast white earth, her waist-length hair dancing in the cold wind.
The snow spirit, the leader of the three kings of the far north, the Snow Empress.
Releasing her grip, letting the snowflakes in her hand be carried away by the cold wind, the Snow Empress's dense, icy-blue soul power swirled around her body.
Snowflakes danced and swirled around her, making her appear like an ice fairy descended to earth—a pity that such unparalleled
beauty went unappreciated. After a long while, the soul power surrounding her body dissipated.
The Snow Empress sighed, looking up at the sky, and lamented, "The Heavenly Tribulation is approaching.
I have a premonition that this time, the odds are against me.
If I perish, I wonder what will become of the far north, trampled by humans. And Bing'er, will she be heartbroken without me?"
The Snow Empress gave a self-deprecating smile, gazing at the sky as if trying to see through the world beyond it, murmuring, "Give me a chance.
At least for now, I don't want to perish."
Whether the Heavenly Dao heard the Snow Empress's voice or not, a bolt of lightning flashed, and in the Snow Empress's widening eyes, the sky reflected a black vortex forming.
The entire sky seemed to surge upwards, black lightning continuously spewing forth within the black hole, sucking countless snowflakes into it.
Gazing at the black vortex swallowing the sky, Xue Di could hear the roars of beasts emanating from within.
As the roars grew fainter, Xue Di's heart skipped a beat, a strange premonition rising within her.
She murmured to herself, "This black hole... seems to be an opportunity!"
With that, Xue Di rose into the air, transforming into a streak of blue light and disappearing from her spot, flying towards the black hole.
At this moment, the black hole seemed to have completed its charging, shooting out a white beam of light that crashed to the ground. With Xue Di's keen eyesight, it was easy to see that it resembled a humanoid creature.
When Xue Di reached the very center of the bottom of the black hole, a large crater had appeared on the ground.
Silent and without a sound, the ground was smooth and even, the crater appearing as if the earth had been swallowed up.
Xue Di slowly flew closer and saw a human lying in the crater.
"A human?"
Startled, Xue Di looked up at the sky above. In the sky, the black hole spewing lightning gradually disappeared.
Xue Di was filled with doubt. "How could a human cause such a commotion?
Could it be related to the legendary divine realm?"
If Ye Nanxiao heard this, he would probably roll his eyes.
As it turned out, Xue Di was completely overthinking things; he was just one of the vast army of transmigrators.
Compared to the various bizarre reasons for transmigrating, Ye Nanxiao thought his was much more normal: he went hiking and got buried by a collapsing fox temple deep in the mountains.
As a tech geek of the new century, after overworking himself to the point of developing a serious illness, and knowing he had only a year to live, he ripped off all the treatment tubes, left the hospital, bought a plane ticket, packed his backpack, and went to see the world, climbing an unknown mountain.
Ye Nanxiao shook his head slightly and began to recall.
"I remember, while climbing the mountain, I saw a litter of fox cubs trapped in a hunter's net.
Seeing that the foxes were still small, I opened the net, casually putting some money inside and feeding them some ham from my backpack."
"After feeding them, when I tried to leave, two fox cubs tugged at my trouser leg.
Out of curiosity, I followed them, and then I was led to a dilapidated fox temple.
Seeing how ruined the temple was, I suddenly felt like cleaning it all afternoon, and finally offered a prayer to the fox statue.
Then the temple collapsed." Ye Nanxiao recalled the scene before his transmigration with difficulty.
"Right, that statue...it's strange!" Ye Nanxiao remembered that before the fox temple collapsed, the only nine-tailed fox statue in the temple seemed to smile at him?
Was it that nine-tailed fox statue?
As his body slowly moved, Ye Nanxiao clearly felt a mysterious power within him, and this power was enormous.
Ye Nanxiao blinked, and suddenly his whole body emitted a dazzling light.
From the Snow Empress's perspective, a pillar of light shot into the sky from within the crater.
Unlike the silent fall before, this one was incredibly powerful, its roar echoing throughout the entire far north.
Instantly, all the powerful beings of the far north turned their gaze towards Ye Nanxiao's location.
The Snow Empress had been silently sensing the changes in Ye Nanxiao's power throughout.
Approaching the great calamity, she wasn't confident she could survive.
If Ye Nanxiao was her opportunity, she would spare no effort.
Gazing at the soaring pillar of light, the Snow Empress suddenly recalled an idea the Ice Empress had shared with her long ago—an idea she couldn't comprehend.
Just as the Snow Empress was pondering this, the situation on Ye Nanxiao's side began to near its end.
A phantom of a nine-tailed fox appeared behind Ye Nanxiao.
Although the nine-tailed fox was merely a phantom, the Snow Empress felt as if a living, ancient ferocious beast stood before her.
The nine-tailed fox opened its jaws and roared at the Snow Empress.
As the master of the far north, every creature of the far north held the Snow Empress in high esteem.
The Snow Empress frowned slightly, raised her right hand, and a blizzard rose, engulfing the entire pit.
Surrounded by the blizzard, the nine-tailed fox phantom, curious about the storm summoned by the Snow Empress, circled Ye Nanxiao a few times before opening its massive maw and unleashing a powerful suction force, swallowing the blizzard whole.
As the blizzard was absorbed, a flicker of surprise crossed the Snow Empress's eyes.
Her soul power seemed to have been devoured, and her icy blue soul power erupted.
Although the Snow Empress didn't know what the nine-tailed fox before her was, she currently wanted it to submit to the master of the far north.
A blizzard covering a radius of a hundred miles silently descended, the swirling snowflakes transforming into fierce blades, whistling and swirling around the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress, arms crossed, looked down at the nine-tailed fox guarding Ye Nanxiao and coldly asked, "Submit?"
The nine-tailed fox phantom glanced at the Snow Empress, then turned to look at the blizzard surrounding it, and opened its jaws again.
Just as the nine-tailed fox phantom opened its jaws, the Snow Empress controlled countless snowflakes to attack the nine-tailed fox.
The originally soft snowflakes now transformed into deadly blades.
Refuse to submit? Then beat them into submission.
The Snow Empress was the ruler of the far north. Although she didn't know the origins of the nine-tailed fox phantom and the human before her, this was her territory.
Ye Nanxiao seemed to sense the threat and suddenly roared to the sky.
The surrounding (heaven and earth energy) surged wildly, merging into the nine-tailed fox's body.
The snowflakes that had transformed into blades, upon contact with the nine-tailed fox's jaws, were silently absorbed by the nine-tailed fox phantom as if they had sunk into the sea.
After the nine-tailed fox phantom swallowed the Snow Empress's attack, the Snow Empress, surrounded by snowflakes, slowly floated down, landing a few meters in front of Ye Nanxiao.
The nine-tailed fox phantom looked at the Snow Empress, its body slightly bowed, ready to attack at any moment.
Witnessing the nine-tailed fox phantom's miraculous devouring ability, the Snow Empress asked,
"What kind of being are you?
Why have you descended upon my far north?"
The nine-tailed fox phantom hesitated for a moment, then nodded to the Snow Empress, transforming into a blue light and entering Ye Nanxiao's body.
Snow-white fur began to grow on Ye Nanxiao's body, his entire body became stronger, two beast-like ears appeared on his head, a pale blue stripe appeared below each eye, nine tails appeared behind him, and a soul imprint pattern appeared on his right collarbone—the pattern of a nine-tailed fox.
Feeling the emergence of his martial soul, Ye Nanxiao felt a surge of inexplicable excitement. With the arrival of his Martial Soul, Ye
Nanxiao
couldn't suppress his excitement and roared to the sky once more.
The Snow Empress, lost in thought, was startled by Ye Nanxiao's roar.
She carefully sensed the creature before her and realized that Ye Nanxiao didn't seem to be human, but neither was he a Soul Beast.
"Martial Soul awakening?
Is he human?"
The Snow Empress frowned slightly and muttered to herself.
"What are you, and why have you descended to the far north?" the Snow Empress asked Ye Nanxiao.
Still in a daze, Ye Nanxiao heard someone asking him a question.
Although his mind was unclear, he still answered the Snow Empress's question.
"I should be considered human. My descent was not my intention," Ye Nanxiao replied.
As the Snow Empress was about to ask another question, she noticed the surrounding brightness rapidly decreasing.
A muffled clap of thunder made her look up at the sky.
Dark clouds churned in the sky, with bolts of lightning as thick as buckets flashing within them, interspersed with purple lightning.
This scene almost made the Snow Empress think her own tribulation had arrived, but she knew very well that there was still plenty of time before her next tribulation, and she already had other plans to overcome it before then.
The thunderclouds continued to expand, and the lightning continued to gather power.
The Snow Empress looked at Ye Nanxiao, who was awakening his martial soul.
Besides her, Ye Nanxiao was the only living being here, and it was clear that he was the one who had attracted the tribulation.
Without time to think, the Snow Empress flashed out of the pit and witnessed the arrival of the tribulation.
Bolts of lightning struck Ye Nanxiao, as if a cataclysmic calamity had descended.
Suddenly, a blood-red barrier appeared on Ye Nanxiao's body, and the lightning that struck it disappeared silently as if it were mud buoyed into the sea.
However, with each disappearing lightning bolt, the blood-red light on the barrier grew thicker.
Ye Nanxiao's actions seemed to have angered the thunderclouds, and with a thunderous roar, the thunderclouds slowly shrank, and bolts of lightning rolled like thunder dragons.
"Is the Heavenly Tribulation gathering its power, the final one?"
The Snow Empress's beautiful eyes were fixed on the crimson barrier, seemingly trying to see Ye Nanxiao behind it.
After sensing for a while, the Snow Empress found that she couldn't clearly perceive the situation within Ye Nanxiao's body.
A moment later, Ye Nanxiao began to emanate an aura that the Snow Empress was very familiar with.
Sensing the familiar aura, a hint of surprise appeared on the Snow Empress's exquisite face, "This feeling, the ultimate ice?"
Just as the Snow Empress released her spiritual power to try to understand, the spiritual power that spread out was swallowed up by the crimson barrier.
"Boom!!"
The final bolt of lightning, carrying the power of world destruction, crashed down on the crimson barrier.
This time, the lightning successfully shattered the crimson screen and struck Ye Nanxiao.
However, the lightning did not harm Ye Nanxiao; instead, it was absorbed into his body.
Ye Nanxiao was currently reviewing the information coming from his mind.
After absorbing the power from the outside world and fusing it with his own power, his awakened martial soul was the Nine-Tailed Snow Fox.
The martial soul carried the power aura of Blue Star, which was why the Snow Empress could not detect Ye Nanxiao's martial soul.
After absorbing the lightning, Ye Nanxiao's martial soul possessed him, and he roared to the sky.
An aura that made all soul beasts tremble instantly appeared in the far north.
The Snow Empress's expression was solemn, a storm of snowflakes brewing behind her.
It was the aura of the heavenly tribulation that had just occurred.
The Snow Empress felt her vision blur for a moment, and she seemed to see a nine-tailed fox standing between heaven and earth, looking up at the sky, its beastly eyes seemingly filled with disdain.
Faced with this power, the Snow Empress felt that even if she exerted all her strength, she would be powerless to resist.
The thunderclouds in the sky quickly disappeared, and the world returned to calm, with only the north wind still howling.
The strange phenomenon that made all the soul beasts in the far north tremble was fleeting, and the Snow Empress suddenly awoke.
"What was that fleeting thing?
An aura even stronger than Di Tian's?
A million-year-old soul beast?
Or perhaps, a god? But such a strange power..."
A hint of shock flashed in the Snow Empress's eyes, her beautiful eyes fixed on Ye Nanxiao, who was sensing the power.
Just as Ye Nanxiao began to withdraw his power back into his body, Xue Di thought to herself, "If he can't break through the Heavenly Tribulation of the Age Limit, then the only path left is to start over.
But starting over is ultimately too dangerous. If this little guy has the chance to become a god..."
Sensing Ye Nanxiao's aura beginning to subside, and having just experienced the impact of the Nine-Tailed Fox's oppressive aura, the Snow Empress had no time to think.
A resolute glint flashed in her eyes as she decided to take a gamble.
Her long, snow-white hair billowed, and blue flames enveloped her delicate body, causing her aura to rise steadily.
As her aura increased, the flames on her body grew stronger, gradually spreading to Ye Nanxiao.
The Snow Empress's expression was solemn as she spoke, word by word, "I am the Ice and Snow Maiden, and today I offer myself to you!"
Ye Nanxiao quickly noticed the blue flames.
As his gaze moved upward, he could only see a figure enveloped in blue flames.
Instinctively, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to block the blue flames.
The flames coiled around his arms, but Ye Nanxiao felt no heat.
A red soul ring rose from the Snow Empress's body, representing her cultivation level, and slowly descended upon Ye Nanxiao.
Ye Nanxiao, who was trying to unleash his power, finally saw the Snow Empress surrounded by flames.
While astonished by her beauty, he also felt the power from her sacrifice seeping into his body.
The sacrifice was swift; in less than a quarter of an hour, the Snow Empress had become a phantom, all her power surging into Ye Nanxiao's body.
Her final task was to seal her soul into Ye Nanxiao's spiritual sea.
A red soul ring merged into Ye Nanxiao's Nine-Tailed Snow Fox martial soul, becoming its first soul ring.
The ring was adorned with magnificent patterns: the left side depicted the Nine-Tailed Snow Fox, and the right side the Snow Maiden.
After Ye Nanxiao's soul ring appeared, the Snow Empress seemed drawn to him, transforming into a tiny point of light that merged into his body from between his brows.
An invisible wave erupted, like a supervolcano erupting violently in the windless far north.
All the soul beasts felt Ye Nanxiao's powerful soul energy fluctuations and the Snow Empress's final farewell.
In an instant, all the soul beasts in the far north region revealed themselves, kneeling in the direction of Ye Nanxiao.
In the secret realm of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, a powerful soul force shot into the sky, and the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion roared as it flew out, shouting, "Who is it!
Why is the Snow Empress's aura disappearin?
Is it a despicable human! Daring to covet my far north?"
However, the Ice Empress did not sense Ye Nanxiao's presence.
In the Titan Snow Demon Ape clan, the Titan Snow Demon King sat on a massive ice throne, his tightly closed eyes slightly opening, muttering to himself,
"The Snow Empress's power is beginning to disappear, but this soul force fluctuation doesn't seem like a battle."
However, the Snow Empress didn't understand one thing: the method Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had mentioned to her was based on crossing the million-year threshold.
As the Snow Empress's power entered Ye Nanxiao's body, a fox that had been dormant within him temporarily awoke.
And as the sacrifice ended, the Snow Empress's consciousness gradually blurred, and her thoughts gradually ceased.
(End of Chapter)