79: Chapter 79: Hyotei!

The next morning, the wind and snow in the Far North finally showed signs of subsiding.

The sky outside the tent turned from ink-black to a pale, fish-belly white. Although the howling cold wind remained biting, it was no longer as if it wanted to swallow everything whole like it did last night.

Lu Jing awoke from a light sleep. The temperature inside the tent was much higher than outside, as the lingering aura of the World-Destroying Black Lotus continued to operate quietly, insulating them from the bitter cold of the outside world.

He rubbed his brow, took a moment to rest, and circulated his Soul Power to loosen his limbs, which had been frozen stiff by the cold. Then, he stood up briskly and stored the tent and all his belongings into his spirit tool.

The moment he unzipped the tent, the biting cold wind rushed in again, hitting his face with ice shards and causing him to instinctively squint.

He looked up and saw the distant ice peaks gleaming with a cold luster in the morning light. The world was still a vast expanse of white, as if it would never end.

"Let's keep going." Lu Jing said to himself in his heart, as if also telling Tian Meng.

He trudged step by step into the knee-deep snow, each step accompanied by the crunching sound of the snow being compressed.

The deeper he went into the core area of the Far North, the worse the weather became.

The gale whipped up snowflakes like countless small knives scraping against his cheeks, causing his exposed skin to sting.

The temperature had long since dropped to dozens of degrees below zero; if it were an ordinary Spirit Master, they would likely have been frozen into an ice sculpture long ago.

Lu Jing was able to hold on until now partly due to the massive Mental Energy support brought by the sacrifice of the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm, and partly because the power of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass in his body was quietly operating, neutralizing the cold air invading his body.

These two forces complemented each other, allowing him to barely continue moving forward in this restricted zone of life.

"Hoo…" He exhaled a white breath, watching the mist dissipate rapidly before his eyes, his gaze firm.

He didn't know how long he had been walking; the snow beneath his feet had already passed his thighs, and every step required tremendous effort.

Lu Jing stopped and looked around, discovering that this was a relatively open ice field. There were no obvious ice rocks to provide shelter, but it also lacked blind spots where Spirit Beasts might hide.

"This is the place." He said to Tian Meng.

In the mental sea, the chubby body of the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm moved: "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Lu Jing nodded, voluntarily yielding control of his body.

The next moment, a vast Mental Energy erupted from his body, spreading outwards in all directions like an invisible giant wave.

This Mental Energy was powerful yet irresistible, carrying Tian Meng's unique aura, echoing over the Far North ice field.

"Ice Empress, come out and meet me."

Tian Meng's voice was transmitted through his Mental Energy, ringing clearly across this ice field, even drowning out the sound of the howling wind and snow.

Just as the voice fell, the weather, which had slightly subsided, changed drastically!

A brilliant emerald green light suddenly lit up on the distant horizon. The light pierced through the clouds like a sharp sword, instantly shooting up into the sky and dyeing the entire sky emerald green.

The wind and snow seemed to freeze at this moment. Between heaven and earth, only that dazzling emerald color remained, carrying an aura of extreme cold that made one's heart palpitate.

"She's here." Tian Meng's voice rang in Lu Jing's mind, carrying a hint of imperceptible nervousness.

The next moment, an emerald green figure sped over from behind the distant ice peak. The speed was as fast as lightning, crossing a distance of several thousand meters in an instant and appearing before Lu Jing.

It was a huge scorpion, its entire body covered in emerald green armor, the armor covered with diamond-shaped ice crystal patterns, shimmering with a cold luster.

Several thick scorpion legs stepped on the ice, leaving deep marks. The most eye-catching part was its scorpion tail, which looked like it had been carved from jade, held high. The tail hook shimmered with a dark green light, exuding a deadly aura.

It was none other than the patriarch of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, the Ice Empress!

However, when she sensed that familiar Mental Energy and saw the aura belonging to Tian Meng on Lu Jing, her massive scorpion body suddenly lit up with emerald green light. As the light faded, a human figure stood in its place.

It was an extremely beautiful woman with a cold and glamorous face, skin fairer than snow, as if carved from ice.

She had a tall figure with perfect curves. A short emerald green dress outlined her slender waist and long legs. Her snow-white jade legs were exposed without reservation, forming a sharp contrast with the icy aura on her body.

She wore a pair of black high heels, yet she was completely unaffected by the icy surface. Her long green hair cascaded down like a waterfall, with faint ice crystals at the tips.

At this moment, the usual coldness on her face was gone, replaced by a hint of undisguised excitement and agitation. Her gaze towards Lu Jing was as if she were looking at Tian Meng himself: "Tian Meng? It really is you!"

Her tone was joyful, as if she had seen something incredible, and she said: "I didn't expect you to actually come to my door today. This really is a huge surprise for me!"

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes narrowed, and she reached out with her right hand, carrying a sharp, cold aura, as she grabbed towards Lu Jing—obviously wanting to verify whether the person in front of her was truly Tian Meng.

Regarding the heavenly tribulation after ten thousand years, she could be said to have no certainty at all, but if she swallowed the power of the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm, it would be different.

Let alone breaking through four hundred thousand years, even fifty thousand, or even sixty thousand would not be much of a problem. After all, the power of the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm was at the level of nearly a million years.

However, just as her hand was about to touch Lu Jing, an incomparably vast Mental Energy suddenly erupted from Lu Jing's body, like an invisible giant net, instantly enveloping her entirely!

The smile on the Ice Empress's face instantly froze. She discovered in horror that her body was completely unable to move!

The Soul Power in her body seemed to be frozen; her limbs and bones were firmly locked by a gentle yet absolutely powerful force, and she couldn't even move a finger.

A stormy sea surged in her heart, and she understood instantly.

She had been set up by the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm, but the question was, why would it do this?

"Don't talk nonsense, come with me!" Tian Meng's voice sounded through Lu Jing's mouth, his tone urgent.

Before the voice faded, he controlled Lu Jing's body, while using his Mental Energy to envelop the restrained Ice Empress, and turned to speed away in the opposite direction from where they came.

The speed was so fast that only an afterimage was left sweeping across the ice field.

Tian Meng knew clearly in his heart that the Ice Empress's aura had already been exposed, and other powerful Spirit Beasts in the Far North had likely already sensed the disturbance, especially the Snow Empress!

Given the Snow Empress's personality, if she discovered that he was "abducting" the Ice Empress, she would definitely appear to stop him.

By then, let alone taking the Ice Empress away, whether he could escape unscathed would be a problem.

After all, with the Snow Empress's strength, coupled with the advantage of her home field in the Far North, even if Di Tian came, he might not be able to firmly trap her.

Therefore, he had to leave this place as soon as possible, the further the better!

The wind and snow howled again, covering the traces of their departure.

The emerald green sky gradually returned to normal, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

Only on that vast, empty ice field did a trace of faint Mental Energy fluctuation remain, proving that everything that had happened just now was not unreal.