54: Chapter 54 Snow Empress in her Girl Form, Ilex Falls into a Deep Sleep

The originally formless ball of energy was now contracting and condensing inward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wisps of Ultimate Ice aura emanated from the light sphere.

They condensed into ice crystals in mid-air and were then pulled by an invisible force, attaching themselves to the surface of the light sphere.

Within moments, a massive giant cocoon of ice crystals quietly formed in the center of the secret room.

This giant cocoon was over three meters in diameter and crystal clear throughout.

Purple-gold, ice-blue, and grayish-white brilliance flowed across its surface, emitting an aura that was both holy and majestic.

"Whoa, this appearance..."

Su Chen smacked his lips; this was far cooler than the Soul Spirit he had imagined.

Through the translucent ice crystals, he could vaguely see that inside the giant cocoon, a curled-up figure had already begun to take shape.

Long silver hair drifted gently within the energy flow.

Although he couldn't see clearly yet, the exquisite facial contours and skin so fair it was almost transparent already heralded the birth of a peerless beauty.

Just then.

Buzz—

At the brow of the figure inside the giant cocoon, a speck of light quietly lit up.

The light quickly condensed, eventually forming a profound mark shaped like a hexagonal snowflake.

Within Su Chen's Spiritual Sea, Electrolux's slightly transparent soul phantom slowly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion.

"The time has come! Kid, get ready!"

"Use your soul contract with her to awaken her slumbering true spirit!"

Su Chen took a deep breath, concentrated all his mental power, and sent out the strongest call on the soul level toward the giant ice crystal cocoon.

"Snow Empress! Wake up!"

Boom—

The giant ice crystal cocoon instantly erupted with an extremely blinding white-gold light.

Crack... crack...

Crisp sounds of shattering rang out one after another.

Dense, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the giant cocoon, and light leaked out from the fissures.

The next second.

Rumble—

Accompanied by a loud bang, the entire giant ice crystal cocoon exploded!

Countless ice crystal shards containing pure life force and ice power scattered in all directions, quietly melting before they even hit the ground.

The light faded.

Where the giant cocoon had been, a graceful figure stood quietly.

Su Chen's mouth slowly formed an "O" shape.

The person before him was nothing like the Soul Spirit baby he had imagined.

It was clearly an exquisite young woman who appeared to be about eighteen years old.

She had a graceful figure, skin whiter than snow, and long silver hair that fell to her waist like a starlit waterfall.

Her features were delicate, and her ice-blue eyes were currently scanning her surroundings with a hint of post-awakening confusion and curiosity.

Ethereal, noble, and carrying a hint of celestial aura that seemed detached from the mortal world.

The young woman seemed to feel the slight chill in the quiet room; she frowned slightly and instinctively gathered her silver hair hanging in front of her.

Then, her vermilion lips parted slightly, letting out a confused murmur.

"Where... is this?"

Her voice was cold and pleasant, like wind chimes ringing softly in the snow.

Su Chen was completely stunned.

The script is wrong!

What happened to the 'raising from a baby' plan?

How did it fast-forward straight to the mature maiden form?

He hurriedly called for outside help in his mind.

"Elder Yi, what... what's going on? Did something go wrong with our Soul Spirit plan?"

Electrolux's aged voice carried a hint of contemplation, but more so a sense of calm control.

"No, kid, this isn't an error."

"It seems it's the result of the combined effect of the Undead Guardian Power I added and your vast Chaos Qi."

There was even a hint of a smile in Electrolux's tone.

"The Snow Empress's origin was too powerful. With the support of the triple insurance, her soul and life level underwent an unexpected leap, directly skipping the most fragile infant stage."

"She is now not just your Soul Spirit, but more like a true human girl with a brand new body."

"This might be a better outcome."

Just as he finished speaking, her ice-blue eyes quickly lost their luster, and the light dimmed.

Her body swayed and she went limp, falling to the side.

"Careful!"

Su Chen was startled. Forgetting about admiring her beauty, he lunged forward and caught her limp body just in time, pulling her into his arms.

She felt soft and warm to the touch, yet carried a faint coolness.

But soon, Su Chen felt the young woman's aura in his arms rapidly weakening, as if the brief moment of awakening had exhausted all her strength.

He didn't dare delay and hurriedly circulated his Soul Power, wanting to channel some into her body to help stabilize her condition.

But as soon as his Soul Power touched the Snow Empress's body, it was pushed back by a gentle but firm force; it couldn't enter at all.

Her meridians seemed to be frozen, completely sealed off.

Now Su Chen was truly panicked.

He looked up at Electrolux's soul phantom in mid-air and asked in confusion:

"Elder Yi! What's the situation? What happened to the Snow Empress? Why did she faint right after waking up?"

Electrolux's soul phantom watched this scene. His aged voice held no surprise; instead, it carried a hint of understanding.

"Don't panic, kid. It's a normal phenomenon."

"The Snow Empress's true spirit has been slumbering for tens of thousands of years. Forcing her awakening this time using your power consumed most of the strength she had accumulated."

Electrolux slowly explained, "That moment just now was merely her true spirit briefly returning to its place, forcing itself to stay awake."

"Now that the energy is exhausted, her body has activated its self-protection mechanism and naturally fallen into a deep sleep. This is to better integrate with this new body."

"Energy exhausted?" Su Chen's pupils constricted sharply upon hearing these words.

He hurriedly followed up, "When will she wake up again? What do I need to do to help her?"

In mid-air, Electrolux's phantom shook slightly, and his tone slowed a bit, as if to soothe Su Chen's anxiety.

"Rest assured, the Snow Empress has simply over-exhausted her strength; there is no danger to her life."

"Once the ice and snow true spirit within her body re-accumulates strength, she will naturally wake up. It's just that this process will take some time—perhaps a few days, perhaps a few months—it all depends on the speed of her own recovery."

A complex look flashed through Electrolux's eyes, like relief mixed with sentiment.

"Being able to awaken directly in the form of an eighteen-year-old maiden has exceeded my expectations. This shows that her true spirit origin was not only undamaged but was even more robust than I imagined."

"It's just that... this robustness also meant she consumed more power when she woke up."

After explaining the Snow Empress's situation, Electrolux's soul phantom became noticeably more transparent, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

Looking at him like this, Su Chen's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous feeling welled up.

He hurriedly asked, "Elder Yi, are you... alright?"

Electrolux forced a faint smile, and his voice became much weaker.

"Don't worry about me."

"To awaken the Snow Empress this time, I consumed too much Soul Power. This soul phantom was originally formed from a lingering wisp of my consciousness, and now it has reached the point where the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dry."

"I need to sleep for a while..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Electrolux's soul phantom could no longer maintain its form and suddenly drifted apart.

Finally, in Su Chen's mind, he left behind a faint, ethereal sentence.

"Child, the future... depends on you all..."