Chapter 127 Southern Expedition.
The High Priest of the Sea God slowly turned, gazing at the northern horizon.
His azure eyes reflected a sight unseen by ordinary people—a towering, icy-blue pillar of light shot into the sky from the northernmost edge of the continent. Within the pillar, a peerless figure clad in an ice-and-snow imperial robe and wearing an ice crown could be vaguely seen, slowly opening eyes that had been frozen for eternity.
"Ice Goddess... Snow Empress..."
Poseidon softly uttered the name listed as a "descendant of a primordial god" in the ancient Sea God's scriptures.
"You... are you finally entering the mortal world?"
At this moment, all the powerful figures from various forces across the continent, all those whose soul power had reached the Title Douluo level, felt the terrifying pressure sweeping in from the north, a pressure that froze even their souls!
It wasn't an attack, just a naturally emanating presence.
Yet, it was enough to cause the temperature of the entire continent to plummet ten degrees in the blink of an eye!
"It's happening again!"
"From the far north! This time it's even more terrifying than last time! After the Ice Emperor... there's something even more terrifying?!"
In the Heavenly Dou Imperial Palace, Emperor Xue Ye, who had just been helped back to his throne by his attendants, almost collapsed again.
In the Star Luo Imperial Palace, Dai Tianfeng gripped the windowsill tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force: "The far north... just how many of these monsters are there?!"
In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Sword Douluo Chen Xin stood with his hand on his sword, his sword intent flowing spontaneously in his eyes, stimulated by the chilling aura.
"This pressure... is beyond the realm of soul beasts..."
Bone Douluo Gu Rong's expression was solemn: "Feng Zhi, I have a premonition... the sky over the continent is about to change completely."
Ning Feng Zhi looked north, his voice dry: "When the Ice Emperor appeared on the list, we thought that was the limit of the far north. Now it seems... that might just be the prelude."
But what was truly most awestruck was the far north itself.
In the core circle, by the icy lake, the Ice Empress was seated, refining the extreme cold divine power bestowed by the "Goddess Ranking," consolidating her newly acquired 850,000 years of cultivation.
When that familiar yet terrifyingly strange wave erupted from the deepest part of the core circle—the Ice Empress abruptly opened her eyes!
Her azure eyes flashed with extreme shock, followed by unbelievable ecstasy, and finally, an indescribable complexity.
"Sister…you…have finally awakened?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
The Ice Empress slowly stood up, gazing towards the deepest part of the core circle—that absolute forbidden zone, eternally frozen, a place even she rarely set foot in. The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Profound Ice Cave.
The true core of the far north, the legendary site of the Ice God's legacy, and also the slumbering place of the Snow Empress—the Ice Heaven Snow Maiden.
The true ruler of the far north, her nominal sister, her actual creator and guardian—the place of slumber.
Since the cataclysmic event a hundred thousand years ago, the Snow Empress has sealed herself deep within the Mystic Ice Cave, rarely awakening.
Each awakening signifies… a dramatic upheaval in the far north.
"Is it because of the 'Goddess Ranking'? Or because of… the resonance of the Ice God's bloodline?"
The Ice Empress murmured to herself, her figure transforming into a streak of azure light, rushing towards the Mystic Ice Cave.
Whatever the reason, her sister had awakened, and she had to be there immediately.
And at this moment, deep within the Mystic Ice Cave, lay a place of indescribable beauty.
The dome, tens of thousands of feet high, was composed of eternally unmelting mystic ice, its crystals sealing the starlight and shadows of ancient times.
The ground was smooth as mirror-like ice, reflecting the magnificence of the dome.
Countless icy blue specks floated in the air, like living ice sprites.
And in the center of this space, upon a throne entirely sculpted from ten thousand years of mystic ice—a figure slowly opened her eyes.
What kind of eyes were those?
Ice blue, yet deeper and purer than Hyotei's eyes.
Her pupils seemed to reflect the first snowfall since the beginning of time, containing the complete laws of ice and snow's birth, condensation, sublimation, and reincarnation.
Wherever her gaze fell, time seemed to slow, and space itself seemed to freeze.
Her beauty defied description.
It was a perfection that transcended gender and race, as if formed from the very laws of ice and snow.
Her skin was translucent, with faintly visible icy blue divine patterns flowing within.
Her features were exquisitely refined, yet expressionless, radiating only an unchanging indifference and majesty.
Long, icy blue hair cascaded to her waist, the ends shimmering with starlight.
She wore an extremely simple icy blue dress, the hem moving without wind, naturally displaying patterns of snowflakes, ice crystals, and aurora borealis.
She sat quietly on her throne, yet seemed to be the center of the entire far north, the absolute ruler worshipped by billions of ice and snow creatures.
The Snow Empress.
The Ice and Snow Maiden.
Born of heaven and earth, the spirit of the far north.
The Ice and Snow Sovereign, who has lived for 840,000 years.
Also… the inheritor of the Ice God's bloodline.
"How long have I slept?"
The Snow Empress asked, her voice ethereal and otherworldly, like the colliding of ice and snow, or the flowing aurora borealis.
There was no answer.
Within this space, besides her, there was only eternal ice and snow.
She slowly raised her right hand, palm facing upwards.
With a slight thought, a crystalline snowflake materialized above her palm.
The snowflake slowly spun, each edge refracting a different scene—the Ice Empress ascends the list, freezing thousands of miles.
The Demon Emperor ascends the list, the deep sea boils.
Poseidon ascends the list, the Sea God descends.
Bibi Dong ascends the list, the End Domain takes shape…
Finally, the scene freezes on the "Goddess List" itself—that mysterious list stretching across the sky, successively revealing four top female powerhouses.
"The Goddess List…selecting female powerhouses…granting power…breaking the balance…" the Snow Empress murmured to herself, a hint of understanding flashing in her icy blue eyes.
"So that's how it is."
"Bing'er's ranking on the list has stirred the fortune of the far north, and also awakened the dormant... Ice God bloodline within me."
She could clearly feel the supreme power within her, originating from her innate nature but long dormant, slowly awakening.
That was the Ice God's bloodline.
Although it was thin, only 20% of the complete bloodline, it was still the bloodline of a God-King!
It was because of this bloodline that she could be born as an innate being, the "Ice and Snow Maiden," that she could rule the far north for over 800,000 years, and that she could create the three ultimate techniques that touched the realm of gods: "Emperor's Palm," "Emperor's Sword," and "Emperor's Frost Heaven."
"The power of the ranking list... is stirring my bloodline."
"It is summoning me... to step onto that stage."
The Snow Emperor slowly rose from her throne.
With her movement, the entire ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Cave began to tremble violently!
Large pieces of ice crystals peeled off the dome, the ice on the ground cracked, and countless icy blue light points frantically converged, surging into her body.
Her aura began to rise at an alarming rate!
850,000 years... 860,000 years... 870,000 years...
When the aura broke through the 900,000-year mark, a sudden change occurred!
(End of Chapter)