The Snow Empress, temporarily awakening the fox lurking within Ye Nanxiao's body.
The fox within Ye Nanxiao, watching the Snow Empress in her soul form and sensing the gradually dissipating soul fluctuations emanating from her, fixed its fox eyes on her, its nine tails extending and wrapping around her.
A continuous stream of power rose from the fox, penetrating the Snow Empress's soul.
A point of light appeared on the Snow Empress's forehead, and strange characters floated on the fox, landing on the point of light on the Snow Empress's forehead.
"Your soul belongs to me, your power belongs to me. By my soul contract, we shall coexist, an eternal soul pact, accomplished."
The fox uttered Ye Nanxiao's voice, each word slow and powerful.
As the last word fell, the fox dissolved into specks of light.
In a daze, Ye Nanxiao felt something broken within his body being mended.
In Ye Nanxiao's sea of consciousness,
he stood with his arms crossed, watching the Snow Empress transform his sea of consciousness into her own little haven.
Initially, Ye Nanxiao was delighted to have found a powerful ally.
But upon seeing the Snow Empress's exquisite face and hearing her self-proclaimed title of Ice and Snow Maiden, Ye Nanxiao immediately realized who this stunning woman was, and a dark cloud of disbelief settled over him.
The Snow Empress, first hunted by the Mingde Hall, then blacklisted by Haotian Fortress, and most importantly, capable of self-destruction.
Ye Nanxiao suddenly felt his life was nearing its end and began to reflect on his past.
Gradually understanding what was happening to him and feeling the immense power hidden within him, Ye Nanxiao wasn't excited.
Instead, he was thinking about how to serve this ancestor before him.
Ye Nanxiao didn't like strategizing and planning across the continent from the very beginning, as he preferred to act on his thoughts as they came to him.
Seeing Ye Nanxiao staring at her speechlessly, the Snow Empress said, "Human, I am the Ice and Snow Maiden, a 700,000-year-old soul beast.
I offer myself to you today; from now on, our relationship will be symbiotic."
Ye Nanxiao snapped out of his daze and asked, "As a soul beast whose cultivation is approaching 700,000 years, why do you offer yourself to me?"
The Snow Empress had anticipated this question and said, "I took a gamble.
Cultivation for soul beasts is difficult, and I'm not confident I can survive the next tribulation. However, I can sense a very powerful force within you, a force I've never seen before..."
"I have a premonition that you might reach a realm that all creatures on the continent dream of."
Ye Nanxiao was speechless.
This Snow Empress was a bit different.
After thinking about it carefully, he realized that the Snow Empress hadn't yet experienced being sealed into a special soul tool by the Mingde Hall, and she didn't harbor extreme resentment towards humans.
Thinking of this, Ye Nanxiao asked, "Snow Empress, have you ever been to the human world?"
The Snow Empress frowned slightly, not expecting Ye Nanxiao to ask this question, and replied, "No, I've only had contact with humans a few times, and I repelled them all."
This statement made Ye Nanxiao a little embarrassed. He continued, "Well, I am human. We just met today, right?"
"Haven't you figured out your physical condition yet?"
The Snow Empress asked back.
After the Snow Empress finished speaking, Ye Nanxiao remembered his new body and quickly withdrew from his spiritual sea.
Ye Nanxiao examined himself and suddenly discovered that his soul power was very unstable.
He looked down and used a clear piece of ice as a mirror, finding that his eyes were constantly shifting between beastly and human pupils, his ears wouldn't retract, and neither would the nine tails behind him.
Ye Nanxiao immediately asked the Snow Empress in his spiritual sea, "What's wrong with me?"
"It should be that your martial soul resonated with my power, causing you to lose control of your own martial soul.
And according to human terms, you just awakened your martial soul, right?"
The Snow Empress asked.
Ye Nanxiao flew to the sky above his spiritual sea to investigate.
A large portion of the pale blue spiritual sea contained a dark blue light cluster, almost completely occupying it.
This must be the power sealed by the Snow Empress, Ye Nanxiao thought.
Seeing that Ye Nanxiao didn't react, the Snow Empress asked, "Boy, what's your name?"
"Ye Nanxiao."
"These next few days, you should digest and adapt to my power. In this far north, no soul beast will be polite to you."
"Isn't that why I have you?"
"You can't even use one-thousandth of my power; you'll have trouble protecting yourself."
"..."
"A martial soul?
How do you use it?"
Ye Nanxiao looked down at his right hand, and with a thought, his martial soul manifested.
A surge of power erupted within him. Ye Nanxiao seemed to feel an inexhaustible flow of power within him.
He clenched his fist, pulled it to his waist, gathered his strength, and unleashed a powerful punch!
A small wave of air blasted from Ye Nanxiao's fist, scattering the snowdrift in front of him.
After the punch, Ye Nanxiao maintained his posture, carefully sensing the flowing power within his body, feeling the trajectory of the power, like a train moving along tracks.
"Is this how I circulate power?"
Ye Nanxiao thought, his mind silently immersing itself in the process, slowly pushing his soul power to circulate.
Cultivation seemed to be an instinct for his body; after a while, Ye Nanxiao naturally entered a meditative state.
"So many 'paths'... which one should I push my power along?
Or should I push them all along the same path?"
Ye Nanxiao pondered.
"Opening my eyes reveals another world.
I wonder how A-Yu and the others are doing. Regardless, this is a rebirth, and I must live well!
With a new identity," Ye Nanxiao resolved silently.
Ye Nanxiao guided his own power, initially moving it around like a headless fly.
He didn't know how long he circulated his power, but he felt no fatigue; instead, he grew increasingly excited.
Only after completing several "paths" and feeling his power grow stronger did Ye Nanxiao allocate most of his power to circulate along those "paths."
Ye Nanxiao, absorbed in circulating his own power, didn't immediately touch the power bestowed by the Snow Emperor.
It was purely out of curiosity, and also because Ye Nanxiao understood what kind of world this was; to be safe, strengthening his own power was paramount.
Seeing that Ye Nanxiao wasn't using his soul power for cultivation, the Snow Emperor couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.
In hundreds of thousands of years, the Snow Emperor had witnessed far too many people resorting to any means for power.
"This kid has a unique understanding of power; he's a good prospect. Perhaps Tianmeng's Ice Silkworm's idea can really come true."
"It's just a pity that the Far North will no longer have a Snow Emperor, and I am no longer the Snow Emperor who rules the Far North," the Snow Emperor sighed softly.
As the saying goes, time flies in the mountains, and cultivation knows no years.
Ye Nanxiao's first attempt at cultivation lasted three months.
After his Martial Soul awakened, Ye Nanxiao's innate soul power reached the perfect tenth level.
After receiving the Snow Emperor's symbiotic sacrifice, his internal power surged.
This required Ye Nanxiao to spend a considerable amount of time sorting out his internal power, and after finding promising cultivation methods, he began to cultivate frantically.
Ye Nanxiao was unaware that while he was cultivating, Xue Di was constantly guiding his soul power, compressing and refining its quality.
Sensing the surging soul power flowing within Ye Nanxiao's body, Xue Di was somewhat puzzled.
"How can this kid's soul power flow so fast?
Is this human talent?
Or is it Ye Nanxiao's innate talent?
Too fast doesn't seem like a good thing; it's better to compress his soul power a bit," Xue Di thought to herself.
Under Xue Di's intervention, the surging river of soul power was continuously compressed and overlapped.
After satisfying his curiosity about his first cultivation session, Ye Nanxiao began to slow down, gradually exiting the cultivation state.
"How much has my soul power increased? It's about level ten.
How long have I been cultivating?"
Although Ye Nanxiao didn't know how long he had been cultivating, it was definitely not short.
"There are still many 'paths' within my body that are blocked or even impassable, and many more that aren't even functioning.
It seems there's a method to cultivation.
I guess I'm quite lucky," Ye Nanxiao remarked with some emotion, having encountered good fortune and discovered a few correct cultivation paths.
"Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune?
Why did that phrase suddenly pop into my head?"
Ye Nanxiao asked, somewhat puzzled.
Then, with a thought, two red spirit rings rose beneath his feet.
Looking at the spirit rings before him, Ye Nanxiao felt as if he were dreaming, muttering as if in a dream, "Isn't this the treatment of a protagonist?"
Sensing the skills granted by the Snow Empress's red spirit rings, Ye Nanxiao unsurprisingly discovered two.
The Ice Empress had granted Huo Gua two skills, and Ye Nanxiao didn't know if the Snow Empress, as a 700,000-year-old spirit beast, would have an extra skill, but two were certain.
He communicated with the spirit rings floating around him, examining and understanding the information contained within them.
"The first one is an attack skill, controlling ice blocks to move and impact?
Wide-range?
Like a downpour?
Let's call it 'Birds of Ice Pillars,' after all, I'm a die-hard fan of Toshiro.
The second one is an ice cage?
Okay, control skills are all good.
What's the third one?
Wait, I can't find it?"
Ye Nanxiao suddenly opened his eyes, then closed them again as if he had thought of something.
"No extra soul skills, then do I have other big gifts, like soul bones?"
Opening his eyes, he saw a vast white world, and Ye Nanxiao was also bewildered.
Soul bones? I'm such a big Snow Empress, where are my soul bones?
Ye Nanxiao carefully sensed for a while, but still found nothing, and couldn't help but feel a little frustrated, but he quickly let it go.
He had already received enough opportunities; he was an optimistic person by nature.
The Snow Empress had been silently sensing Ye Nanxiao's changing mindset from beginning to end.
Knowing that Ye Nanxiao was optimistic, a hint of satisfaction appeared in her eyes.
The Snow Empress would naturally have soul bones; she would absorb her essence after Ye Nanxiao's strength improved.
"It's too early now," the Snow Empress murmured, gazing into the depths of Ye Nanxiao's spiritual sea.
Deep within, she could feel herself being watched, as if by a powerful being.
When they first merged, she had sensed a powerful force within Ye Nanxiao, though it vanished in an instant.
She couldn't fully grasp its exact strength, but this feeling far surpassed the pressure Di Tian had previously exerted.
This led her to only slightly modify Ye Nanxiao's spiritual sea, sealing away all other power except for the condensation of the soul ring, preventing any energy leakage.
Before fully understanding the situation, she dared not act rashly, not even in condensing a soul bone.
The Snow Empress withdrew her gaze and sighed softly, "I'll nurture another one later."
Ye Nanxiao entered deep meditation on his first attempt.
When he awoke, the Snow Empress had already completed the modification of his spiritual sea.
Ye Nanxiao looked at it; now, his spiritual sea truly lived up to its name as a vast ocean.
After Ye Nanxiao fully accepted Xue Di, Xue Di could clearly feel Ye Nanxiao's growing affection for her.
After all, they had a symbiotic relationship, and Xue Di did not resist Ye Nanxiao.
Ye Nanxiao completely handed over the control of his body to Xue Di.
"Xiao'er, I didn't expect your spiritual power to be so naturally strong. No wonder my soul power could be sealed so smoothly."
Xue Di said to Ye Nanxiao's spiritual body while hovering above the sea of spiritual energy.
Xiao'er felt a little uncomfortable.
Strong spiritual power?
A cheat code?
Then I'm not sleepy anymore!
Thinking of the cheat code, several applications of spiritual power flashed through Ye Nanxiao's mind, and he grabbed one idea.
After trying to control it, Ye Nanxiao found that he could control the movement of his spiritual power at will, and even release it externally.
"I really am related to the European royal family. This is a cheat code that is even more golden than gold!"
Ye Nanxiao was very excited, controlling his spiritual power to change in countless ways, as if he were molding clay.
Having had his fill of play, Ye Nanxiao said to Xue Di, "I've discovered that too, so I have an idea. What do you think of its feasibility?"
Ye Nanxiao was referring to controlling his outward-projecting spiritual power to achieve a kind of energy feedback perception, allowing him to sense anything carrying energy.
Xue Di listened and nodded, her eyes filled with immense surprise.
She hadn't expected Ye Nanxiao's talent to be so high, already able to release spiritual power at will.
For the first time, Xue Di felt that the idea of co-creating a god was achievable.
With Xue Di's approval, Ye Nanxiao immediately began cultivating.
He attempted to continuously project his spiritual power, forming a coverable circular area to receive feedback.
He gradually expanded his field of vision, starting with easy observation, while maintaining the range and duration.
He simultaneously cultivated both conditions.
Fortunately, Ye Nanxiao had lived two lives and possessed powerful spiritual power; otherwise, the excruciating pain of his torn spirit would have left him unconscious for months.
A dense aura of death permeated the entire hall.
The figure seated on the throne in the center of the hall suddenly unleashed a terrifying deathly aura.
The palpable death intent caused dark clouds to gather above the hall, and the hall was filled with the screams of agonizing souls.
A gigantic soul-guiding device sat in the center of the hall, frantically absorbing the screaming souls around it.
"Mother, you're awake." A man with effeminate features entered the hall, and the deathly intent and souls within the hall all parted to make way for him.
The dark figure on the throne opened its eyes.
In an instant, the screams of the souls in the hall ceased, and the spread of death stopped.
The man quickly lowered his head, kneeling on one knee, not daring to meet the shadowy figure's gaze.
"I sensed an astonishing evil aura, very pure, captivating, but still weak. It won't be of much help to the plan yet.
Have people keep an eye on it and nurture it for now.
Now, focus all your efforts on advancing 'Death's' progress."
The shadowy figure's voice was clear and melodious, like a young girl's, but the aura it exuded was like a demon from the abyss.
The man was surprised, wanting to look up but not daring to.
He raised his hands above his head, kneeling before the shadowy figure, and loudly replied, "I obey Mother."
(End of Chapter)