In the core of the Extreme North, amidst the fierce cold winds, deeper than the Saint Spirit Mountain Range, atop a towering ice mountain, a moon-white mecha stood in the snow. In front of it were enormous creatures, each towering over a hundred meters tall.
Beside these massive beasts were smaller soul beasts, though their aura was no less powerful.
Among them, five were over 100,000 years old.
In a place like the Douluo Continent, seeing five 100,000-year-old soul beasts in one spot was a rare sight.
However, this was the core of the Extreme North. While soul beasts were scarce, a thousand years ago, because human interference was minimal, the number of 100,000-year-old soul beasts here greatly exceeded the Star Dou Forest, with as many as several dozen.
Now, only these few remained.
"Is everyone here?" The white mecha spoke.
"Lord Ice God, all the powerful soul beasts of the Extreme North are here," the Titan Snow Demon, towering over 150 meters, said with a fervent look in his eyes.
Indeed, this white mecha was none other than Summer Yi's soul spirit, Ice God's Heart, or simply Ice God.
"Ah Tai, didn't the Star Dou Forest contact you to move your people? Why haven't you left?" Ice God's Heart questioned.
"Lord Ice God, the Extreme North was entrusted to me by the Snow Empress before she left. Without her permission, how could we leave so easily?" The Titan Snow Demon King knelt on one knee, looking up at Ice God's Heart, and continued, "Besides, I don't trust the Star Dou Forest."
"I think you're just afraid that the Snow Empress won't find you if she returns," Ice God's Heart shot back, glaring at the Titan Snow Demon. "Look at yourself, you're the ruler of the Extreme North, and you could have any female you want. Why cling to a Snow Empress who doesn't even care about you? And with your bloodline as an Ice God, you have neither strength nor courage. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? If you aren't, I'm embarrassed for you."
Hearing Ice God's Heart's fiery words, all the soul beasts, including the Titan Snow Demon, were so frightened that they didn't dare to make a sound.
Even though Ice God's Heart was not powerful now and many of them could overpower her, the Titan Snow Demon had already confirmed with his bloodline that she truly was "Ice God."
The Ice God was the belief of the Extreme North.
And she was also the ancestor of the Titan Snow Demon King.
Although no one knew how Ice God had become like this, she remained Ice God.
How could the soul beasts of the Extreme North dare to offend her?
"I've contacted the master. She will send strong individuals to help you. Prepare to migrate. Take everything you can and get ready to leave the Douluo Continent," Ice God's Heart coldly commanded.
"Lord Ice God, what if the Snow Empress and Ice Emperor return?" the Titan Snow Demon couldn't help but ask.
"If they were going to return, they'd have done so by now. Stop with the nonsense and do as I say. Prepare to move," Ice God's Heart said coldly, glaring at the Titan Snow Demon. "Since you are the ruler of the Extreme North, act like it. Stop being so wishy-washy. What you should be considering now is the survival of the entire species in the Extreme North. With the current state of the land, do you think it will last long if you don't migrate?"
"Yes!" The Titan Snow Demon nodded and reluctantly left.
Once all the soul beasts disappeared into the snowstorm, Ice God's Heart looked up at the sky and said indifferently, "Since you've come, reveal yourself."
"As expected of the former Ice God, I only released a bit of my aura, and you noticed me right away," a voice came from the snowstorm, as a woman dressed in a dark red gown, Leng Yulai, appeared beside Ice God's Heart. With a graceful motion, she used her fingers like a blade to smooth a block of ice before sitting down.
"You came to test me," Ice God's Heart said indifferently, sitting down beside Leng Yulai.
Had it been anywhere else, Ice God's Heart wouldn't have detected her, but this was the most core area of the Extreme North, and a powerhouse like Leng Yulai would surely trigger the rules of the land, allowing Ice God's Heart to sense her presence. Moreover, Leng Yulai had intentionally released her aura.
"I've always wondered, you were the Ice Goddess, the first Ice Maiden, beautiful beyond compare, how could you fall for a big lump of a Titan giant? Look at the descendants now, turning into ugly, beastly monsters. Even if I went to the Snow Empress, I wouldn't look at your descendants," Leng Yulai chuckled, teasing.
"And you, with your strength, aren't you also in love with the Master? I remember when the Master was only a Soul Master, and you, a being with divine-level spiritual power, could have had anyone. But you willingly clung to a Soul Master, silently playing the role of a quiet, inconspicuous woman. Don't you find that strange?" Ice God's Heart countered.
"At least my man is handsome," Yulai smiled smugly, her lips curling into a grin. "I've had enough of scheming and fighting for power when I was in the Holy Spirit Cult. It's much better now. Whatever my man wants, I do. I don't have to think about anything else. It's so easy. I wouldn't want to live like you and your sister, so tiring."
"You're so sharp, yet you choose to..." Ice God's Heart paused and shook her head helplessly before asking, "You didn't come to say this, did you?"
"I know what you're up to. I came to remind you, the Lord of the Plane is waking up quickly. You'd better hurry, or when the Lord of the Plane splits its power to control the rules of the Extreme North, you may not be able to do anything," Cold Rain Lai stretched lazily and looked unconcerned.
"The Lord of the Plane is waking up quickly." Unlike Leng Yulai, who was calm, Ice God's Heart was visibly shocked.
"Take care of yourself. I'm off to do some heavy lifting," Leng Yulai shrugged, her body turning into a flame as she headed toward the Northern Sea.
"The Lord of the Plane..." Ice God's Heart gazed at the vast snowstorm, her eyes slowly growing solemn.
North Sea, Devil Island!
Tang Wulin arrived at Devil Island and planted the Seed of Nature in the Life Light Column. Nourished by the life force, the seed rapidly sprouted and grew into a small tree, now over a meter tall.
"A Yin, you need to absorb more life energy. This is the leftover power of the Goddess of Life. The more you absorb, the more it will help me," an urgent voice echoed beside the life tree.
"No, Brother Hao. Wulin is still on the island. I can't absorb more. If I do, the balance between the destructive power and life energy on Devil Island will be broken. If the destructive energy explodes, Wulin will be in danger," came the response from within the life tree.
"Fine. As long as the god-level soul beasts don't intervene, my current strength should be enough. We can absorb more once Wulin leaves," the voice compromised.
At this moment, on Devil Island, Tang Wulin saw that the Shrek Academy students and Tang Sect disciples who had come with him were all locked in separate caves.
Each cave was small, only about ten square meters, with a pink glowing orb hanging above. Mist swirled within it.
"See? They're all fine, at least for now," Nightmare Old Demon said, his smile eerie and maddening.
Tang Wulin coldly stared at him. "What do you want?"
Nightmare Old Demon grinned, "See the pink mist in their rooms? That's the strongest aphrodisiac I could find, one that targets both men and women. Whether human or beast, once they inhale the mist, they can only do one thing."
He snapped his fingers, and three pink clouds of mist began to swirl in the air.
"Make love," he said, his grin widening.
Tang Wulin's eyes widened, a rush of blood boiling inside him. "I'll fight you!" He stepped forward and threw a punch at Nightmare Old Demon.
But Nightmare Old Demon's body flickered, and Tang Wulin's punch passed right through him. In the next moment, Nightmare Old Demon appeared at Tang Wulin's other side.
"Little one, don't be impulsive. Do you really want me to release those three mists now?" Nightmare Old Demon waved his hand, and the three mist clouds began to swirl.
"Don't!" Tang Wulin clenched his fists tightly. His nails dug into his palms from the force of his anger.
It was terrifying. He knew what would happen if the mist was released. It would be a disaster.
He bit his tongue, trying to snap himself out of the fear. "Nightmare Old Demon, what do you want me to do to spare my companions?"
Nightmare Old Demon chuckled, "It's simple. You've been cursed by my nightmare. You can't escape my control. If I want, I can kill you anytime. I know you're not afraid of death, but are you afraid of what will happen to your companions? After I make them do it, I won't kill them. I'll send them back to Shrek Academy and show them everything that happened. Imagine how Shrek will react. Isn't that fun?"
Tang Wulin's heart trembled. "I'll do whatever you want, just don't let that mist spread. Otherwise, I'll never forgive you."
Nightmare Old Demon sneered, "We're already dead. Do you think ghosts fear ghosts? Threats don't work on me. Let's do something more meaningful. Go to the North Sea Legion, steal a plane, and bring it back here."
Steal a plane?
Tang Wulin's heart relaxed a little. This wasn't as dire as he feared.
At least it wasn't something completely destructive.
He had stolen a plane before, so stealing one more didn't seem like a big deal.
(End of Chapter)