32: Chapter 32 Snow Empress: "Think of me, okay~" Snow, I'm waiting for you~ Bingbing ate the wrong thing!

"Who?"

Ice Empress asked subconsciously, but immediately, her body stiffened abruptly, and an expression of disbelief appeared on her pretty face.

This voice...

This aura...

It can't be wrong!

Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone, a figure slowly walked out from the darkness deep within the ice cave.

It was a woman.

As soon as she appeared, it was as if the entire ice cave instantly brightened, and yet, it also seemed as if the entire ice cave instantly lost its color.

Because all the light and color were focused on her.

She wore a flawless white palace dress, with intricate and exquisite snowflake patterns embroidered on the hem with silver thread.

As she walked, it was as if countless snowflakes were falling on the hem of her dress.

A head of long, silvery-white hair hung smoothly to her waist, the strands crystalline, as if condensed from moonlight.

Her skin was fairer than the purest snow of the Extreme North, delicate to the point of being almost transparent.

Her features were so exquisite they didn't seem mortal, every part appearing like the Creator's most perfect masterpiece.

But what left the deepest impression was her temperament.

If Ice Empress was cold pride, domineering, and an emperor as inviolable as a glacier.

Then she was calm, gentle, and possessed the wisdom to embrace all things like the boundless snowy plains.

Her eyes were clear and deep, as if containing the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of years of time.

A single glance from her could pierce through all your secrets, yet it wouldn't make you feel the slightest bit offended; instead, it would bring a sense of relief at being understood.

She was the true ruler of this Extreme North.

The seven-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, Snow Empress.

"Snow... Snow Empress..." Ice Empress's voice carried a trace of imperceptible trembling, and she subconsciously wanted to bow.

Snow Empress smiled slightly at her, a smile that seemed capable of melting a ten-thousand-year glacier.

"Bing'er, there is no need for such formalities. You have found your own path, and I am happy for you."

Her gaze then passed over Ice Empress and landed on Huo Yuhao.

Their eyes met.

The moment he saw Snow Empress's face, Huo Yuhao's entire World seemed to come to a standstill.

It wasn't the first time he had seen it.

In the depths of his soul, he had seen this face countless times.

In that desperate and lonely past life, it was this woman who had turned into a Soul Spirit, accompanying him through the final and most difficult part of his journey.

It was she who taught him what true Ultimate Ice was.

It was she who, when he was lost, used her wisdom to guide him.

It was she who, when he was in despair, gave him final comfort with her gentleness.

It was even more so she who, in that final battle of gods, burned her own soul without hesitation to protect him, turning into that earth-shattering strike...

From then on, there was no more Snow Empress in the World.

Whenever he dreamed of her in the middle of the night, that gentle face filled with determination and reluctance would appear in his mind, becoming an unhealable pain in his heart forever.

He thought he would never see her again.

But now, she was standing alive before him.

Still that same white palace dress, still that same long silvery-white hair, still that same gaze gentle enough to melt everything.

Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly turned red.

He bit his lip tightly to keep the tears from falling.

He reached out his hand as if wanting to touch that face, so close yet so far away, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

"Snow... Snow Empress..."

Snow Empress looked at him, her eyes filled with a trace of curiosity, a trace of inquiry, and a trace of... affection and pity that even she herself had not noticed.

She could feel that the human youth before her had experienced violent emotional fluctuations the moment he saw her.

That fluctuation was not fear, not greed, but a kind of... a kind of sorrowful attachment and the wild joy of recovering what was lost.

It was as if... they had known each other for a very, very long time.

"Human, just call me Snow Empress."

Snow Empress smiled, a smile capable of soothing all the pain in the World, "I can feel that there is... a very familiar aura about you."

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning emotions in his heart, and tried hard to make his voice sound calmer.

"Hello, Snow Empress. My name is Huo Yuhao."

He bowed deeply to her.

This was the highest respect, from the bottom of his heart.

For the protection in his past life, and also for their reunion in this life.

Snow Empress watched his actions, the smile in her eyes deepening.

"There is no need for such formalities."

Her gaze then turned to Gu Yuena beside Huo Yuhao, a trace of imperceptible surprise flashing in her eyes.

But she quickly returned to calm, only with a bit more genuine respect in her smile.

She nodded slightly at Gu Yuena.

Gu Yuena also nodded back at her, acknowledging the greeting.

Two of the most beautiful women at the pinnacle of the Spirit Beast World met in this small ice cave, and between them, a silent understanding seemed to have been reached.

"If you don't mind, would you all be willing to come to my palace for a short while?" Snow Empress extended an invitation.

"Of course!"

"We would be honored!"

Before Huo Yuhao could speak, Tianmeng and Ice Empress had already agreed in unison.

Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly and nodded: "Then we shall intrude."

Snow Empress smiled, turned around, and walked towards the depths of the ice cave.

Her steps were slow, but with every step she took, invisible ice crystal stairs seemed to form beneath her feet, carrying her body as she floated upward.

Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena, and Ice Empress followed closely behind.

Passing through an ice crystal passage, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

They arrived at a palace so magnificent and grand that it was impossible to describe with words.

The entire palace was carved entirely from the purest Mysterious Ice.

The walls, pillars, and dome all shimmered with a dreamy, deep blue light.

In the center of the palace was a huge cold pool, the water clear to the bottom, emitting curling wisps of cold air.

Above the cold pool, countless ice crystal prisms of various sizes were suspended, refracting the light cast down from an unknown source at the dome into billions of gorgeous rays, filling the entire palace.

This was Snow Empress's residence, the Ice and Snow Palace located at the pinnacle of the core of the Extreme North.

Snow Empress led the three of them to an ice table by the cold pool and sat down.

With a wave of her fair hand, four teacups carved from thousand-year cold jade appeared on the table.

Immediately after, she took out a few crystalline and transparent white petals, which seemed to still be emitting the breath of life, from an unknown space and placed them into the cups.

She raised her slender jade fingers and pointed them towards the cold pool from a distance.

A wisp of clear pool water flew out automatically, turning into four water arrows that accurately poured into the four teacups.

"Hum"

The moment the pool water entered the cups, those white petals immediately melted, dyeing the entire cup of tea into a gentle, milky white color.

A refreshing and indescribable fragrance instantly filled the entire palace.

"Please enjoy." Snow Empress smiled and pushed the teacups in front of the three of them.

"Wow! This is tea made from hundred-thousand-year Snow Region Ice Lotus! Snow Empress, you are too extravagant!"

Tianmeng unceremoniously picked up a cup, drank it in one gulp, and then let out a satisfied burp.

Ice Empress also picked up her teacup, sipping it in small mouthfuls, enjoying the feeling of that pure life energy spreading through her body.

Huo Yuhao picked up the teacup, feeling that warm energy flow down his throat into his limbs and bones, cleansing his body and soul, which were somewhat exhausted from the contract he had just experienced.

He looked at Snow Empress opposite him, his inner emotions gradually calming down.

"Snow Empress, you just said that you felt a familiar aura on me..."

Huo Yuhao took the initiative to speak; he wanted to know how this life's Snow Empress felt about him.

"Mm."

Snow Empress put down her teacup, her wise eyes looking at him quietly, "On you, I feel the favor of 'it'."

She paused and continued: "The mark of the Son of the Plane is rare. At least, in my hundreds of thousands of years of memory, it has only appeared a few times."

"The last one... who made me feel this familiar was the person from your human World who eventually ascended to the God Position ten thousand years ago."

Huo Yuhao's heart sank abruptly.

Ten thousand years ago... ascended to the God Position...

That name appeared in his mind like the most vicious curse.

Tang San!

Huo Yuhao's hand holding the teacup tightened involuntarily.

A trace of uncontrollable hatred flashed across the bottom of his eyes!

Although it was only for an instant, it was still keenly captured by Snow Empress.

A trace of surprise flashed in Snow Empress's eyes.

She could feel that the moment she mentioned that person.

The bone-deep hatred radiating from this youth!

Why?

Why would that person, hailed as a human hero and even extolled by the entire plane as the Sea God, cause such a huge reaction from him?

Snow Empress did not ask further; she just looked at Huo Yuhao quietly, her eyes becoming more complex.

"You want to take your Soul Spirit and ascend to godhood together?" She changed the subject.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing that hatred back into his heart, and nodded: "Yes."

"A very interesting idea."

Snow Empress's lips curled into a playful smile, "Since ancient times, Spirit Beasts taking human form, re-cultivating as humans, and then challenging the God Position has been the only path.

But this path is too difficult, and too unfair. Your idea might... really be a brand new way out."

She fell silent for a moment, those eyes that seemed to be able to see through the future becoming somewhat distant and hazy.

"I had originally planned to transform into human form in the near future and go to the human World to experience it, perhaps hoping to find a chance for a breakthrough."

Her gaze returned to Huo Yuhao, and there was a hint of strange brilliance in her eyes.

"But... after seeing you, I suddenly felt that I might have a better choice."

Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat!

He understood the subtext of the Snow Empress!

His breathing began to quicken.

"Snow Empress... you... are you saying..."

The Snow Empress looked at him gently, her gaze like she was looking at her most cherished treasure.

"Wait a few years for me, okay?"

Her voice was as soft as a dream.

"The Extreme North cannot go a day without a master. I need some time to settle everything here and hand over power completely to the Tai Tan Snow Demon King."

"At that time..."

She looked at him and said word by word:

"I will go with you."

"Oh right, at that time, I will also bring Xiao Bai along. She also really wants to go see the outside World."

Boom.

An indescribable surge of ecstasy and emotion erupted from the bottom of Huo Yuhao's heart, instantly drowning all his reason!

She agreed!

She agreed!

He could!

He could really have her by his side in a complete and free state!

"Okay!"

Huo Yuhao stood up abruptly, and because he was too excited, he even knocked over the teacup in front of him.

"I will wait for you!"

He looked at her, his eyes filled with unprecedented firmness and heat.

"No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you!"

The two smiled at each other across an ice table.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

For some reason, the Snow Empress leaned forward slightly.

She slowly moved closer to Huo Yuhao.

The Ice Empress and Tianmeng were stunned.

What is going on?

Before anyone could react.

The Snow Empress's cool lips, carrying the faint fragrance of snow lotus, gently pressed against Huo Yuhao's lips.

At that moment, time seemed to truly stand still.

In the entire ice palace, only the sound of Huo Yuhao's heartbeat, like a drum, remained.

"What... the..."

The first to break this silence was the Tianmeng Iceworm.

Her mouth was wide open in a standard O-shape, almost large enough to stuff an egg into.

"Snow... Snow Empress! You, you, you... you ten-thousand-year-old iceberg! You actually... actually kissed little Yuhao!"

The Ice Empress also reacted from her stupefaction; she was first shocked.

Then a wave of inexplicable, sour resentment welled up in her heart!

"What is going on?! Hey! Snow Empress! What are you doing! I just finished the contract with him, and you come over to poach him?!"

Her mind was in complete chaos.

On one side was the Snow Empress, whom she had revered, worshipped, and even treated like a big sister since childhood.

On the other side was the human youth she had just contracted with, who she claimed to dislike but already had some affection for in her heart, and who was even related to her future destiny.

Now these two people, both incredibly important to her, were kissing!

This, this, this... what on earth is going on!

The Snow Empress seemed not to hear their exclamations.

She gently pulled away, and a rare, moving flush appeared on that face that had remained unchanged for ten thousand years.

She looked at Huo Yuhao, who was completely petrified in front of her with a face burning red, her smile gentle and carrying a hint of apology.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself for a moment."

"The feeling on you... makes me unable to resist wanting to get close."

Huo Yuhao's brain was blank, and he subconsciously touched his lips with his hand.

On them, there seemed to remain that cool and soft touch and that faint fragrance of snow lotus.

"It's... it's... it's okay..." he stammered.

The Snow Empress watched his embarrassed appearance and couldn't help but chuckle.

She took out an item from her bosom.

It was a snow lotus that was crystal clear throughout, as if carved from the finest crystal.

But unlike ordinary snow lotus, every petal of it had a trace of vermilion veins like blood.

As soon as it appeared, a massive, suffocating essence of life instantly filled the entire palace.

"This is a hundred-thousand-year-old Vermilion Snow Lotus, which I accidentally obtained in an ice eye back then. It contains a massive amount of life essence; if you take it, it will be enough for you to gain two more Spirit Abilities."

She handed this priceless, peerless immortal herb into Huo Yuhao's hands.

Huo Yuhao looked at the Vermilion Snow Lotus in his hand, then at the smiling Snow Empress, and his heart warmed, an address slipping out.

"Xue'er... thank you."

Upon hearing this address, the Snow Empress's body trembled slightly.

The flush on that beautiful face deepened.

"I... I hope it can help you."

"Yuhao! This is an incredible treasure! A hundred-thousand-year-old plant-type Spirit Beast essence, it's a huge supplement! Hurry and accept it! Eat it quickly!" The Tianmeng Iceworm was even more excited than Huo Yuhao on the side.

Huo Yuhao solemnly held the Vermilion Snow Lotus in his hands.

He knew that this snow lotus represented not only two Spirit Abilities, but also the Snow Empress's deep affection for him.

"I will absorb it now," Huo Yuhao said.

"Okay."

The Snow Empress nodded and extended her finger, gently tapping on the center of Huo Yuhao's forehead.

A pure and gentle power of ice and snow surged into his body to protect his heart meridian.

"Absorb it right here; I will protect you."

Huo Yuhao nodded, no longer hesitating, sat cross-legged, and swallowed the hundred-thousand-year-old Vermilion Snow Lotus in one gulp.

The snow lotus melted upon entering his mouth, turning into a torrent of energy like a hot spring, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones.

He could clearly feel his second Spirit, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, emitting a joyful hum under the nourishment of this massive and pure life energy!

A brand new spirit ring slowly condensed and formed around his body.

It was... an orange spirit ring!

A red spirit ring representing a hundred thousand years of cultivation!

This was the third spirit ring of his second Spirit, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion!

As the spirit ring formed, information about two brand-new Spirit Abilities was clearly imprinted in his mind.

Third Spirit Ability: Snow Lotus Healing.

Effect: Can instantly consume Soul Power to quickly restore the Soul Power, physical strength, and Mental Energy of oneself and designated targets.

In cases where life essence is sufficient, it can even restore some damaged vitality.

Fourth Spirit Ability: Heaven and Earth Sharing.

Effect: Create a Domain with a diameter of one kilometer centered on oneself.

Within the Domain, one can continuously absorb the heaven and earth origin energy from the surroundings to provide a 50% increase in all attributes for all friendly units within the Domain, including attack, defense, speed, Mental Energy, and so on.

"Hiss."

Huo Yuhao gasped!

This... this is too overpowered!

Especially the second Spirit Ability "Heaven and Earth Sharing"; this is simply a mobile super buff aura!

A 50% increase in all attributes, what kind of concept is this?

This is enough to instantly turn an ordinary team of Spirit Masters into an ace team!

"As expected of a hundred-thousand-year-level divine medicine..." Huo Yuhao muttered to himself.

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling the more surging power within his body and the two brand-new powerful Spirit Abilities, his heart filled with heroic Spirit.

He stood up and bowed deeply to the Snow Empress again.

"Xue'er, there is no need to thank you for such a great kindness."

The Snow Empress supported him, shook her head, and said softly: "Between us, there is no need to say these things."

The moment of parting had finally arrived.

At the entrance of the ice palace, the Snow Empress stopped.

"Go."

Her eyes were full of reluctance.

"After the affairs of the Extreme North are settled, I will come to find you."

Huo Yuhao nodded heavily.

"I will wait for you, Xue'er."

The Snow Empress looked at him, suddenly blinked playfully, extended her slender finger, and gently stroked his cheek.

"...Yuhao, in the human World, remember... to miss me~"

After saying this, her figure slowly disappeared behind the palace gate.

...

Walking out of the Extreme North, the warm sunlight shone on him again.

Huo Yuhao looked back at the holy and mysterious land shrouded in wind and snow, his heart filled with endless attachment.

[Hmph, that Snow Empress really knows how to pick her timing. Coming right up with promises and kisses, she's hooked your soul, hasn't she?]

The Ice Empress's sour voice rang out in his Spiritual Sea.

[Oh my, stop being jealous!]

Sister Tianmeng teased from the side, [I think the Snow Empress is sincere towards Yuhao. Besides, we will all be one family in the future!]

Listening to the daily bickering of the two Soul Spirits in his mind, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile.

He turned around and looked towards the direction of Heaven Dou City to the south, his eyes becoming incomparably gentle.

"Mother is still waiting for me..."

"It's time to go back."