Chapter 76 How come you only have so little left?
After a long silence, the Snow Emperor finally spoke, her voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "Fine, I’ll believe you for now."
Now that the most critical value—the collective buff it provided to the clan—had been lost, relying solely on the Imperial Auspicious Beast’s inherent luck and potential—though still precious—was no longer worth the risk of completely falling out with Di Tian, or potentially even triggering a conflict between the two great Soul Beast factions.
Seeing that the Snow Empress seemed to have temporarily abandoned the idea of forcibly taking Jiang Li’er away, both Bi Ji and Jiang Li’er secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness...
If I really had been whisked away to that frozen wasteland, by the time Uncle Di Tian came looking for me—even with Sister Bi Ji pleading on my behalf—I probably wouldn’t have been able to save my legs!
They definitely would have been broken!
...
The conflict had temporarily subsided, and the atmosphere grew more relaxed.
The group decided to simply build a bonfire in a sheltered mountain hollow and pitch two makeshift tents.
Moments ago, the tension had been palpable; yet now, in a strange turn of events, they sat gathered around the fire.
While the atmosphere wasn’t exactly warm or convivial, they were at least coexisting peacefully.
After all, with the exception of Jiang Bai, everyone present was a Soul Beast.
Although the Far North and the Star Dou Great Forest were geographically distant—with inhabitants possessing different habits and no prior history of interaction—Bi Ji’s presence made all the difference.
Her gentle, inclusive aura—brimming with the vitality of life itself—made it difficult for even the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress to harbor any genuine ill will toward her, let alone entertain thoughts of further confrontation.
As the night deepened, the bonfire crackled merrily.
Bi Ji took Jiang Li’er to a nearby stream—one that hadn’t yet completely frozen over—to wash up and freshen up, after which Jiang Li’er changed into a clean dress.
When they returned to the campsite, however, they found that only Jiang Bai remained by the fire.
He sat cross-legged beside the flames, his eyes gently closed and his breathing long and steady; he had clearly entered a state of meditative cultivation.
"Jiang Bai," Bi Ji called out softly, careful not to disturb him, "where did the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress go?"
Jiang Bai slowly opened his eyes, a faint, clear light—the residual glow of recent cultivation—flashing within their depths.
"They’ve gone into the tents to rest. You two should go get some rest as well; I’ll keep watch out here tonight—it’s a perfect opportunity for me to cultivate and consolidate my progress."
Upon hearing this, Bi Ji smiled gently: "In that case, thank you very much."
Taking Jiang Li’er—who was still curiously sizing up Jiang Bai—by the hand, she walked toward another tent.
Once the tent flap fell shut, Jiang Bai closed his eyes once more and resumed his meditative cultivation.
However, unbeknownst to him, a momentous event was unfolding within his tower at that very moment.
...
Inside the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
At the center lay the miraculous Eye of Ice and Fire—a pair of springs, one red and one blue, whose waters remained distinctly separated yet coexisted in perfect harmony, exuding an intense aura of the world’s elemental energy.
Surrounding it stretched a vast expanse of icy plains interspersed with scattered volcanic terrain; four colossal dragons lay sprawled within their respective territories, absorbing the pure energy of the place to aid their cultivation.
The four dragons had originally been immersed in their individual cultivation, and all was tranquil.
Suddenly, without the slightest warning!
The distinctly red and blue waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well began to boil violently!
It was not a boiling caused by a change in temperature, but rather as if something—something deep within the very core of the springs—were awakening and struggling to break free!
"Roar—!"
"Aung—!"
The four dragons were startled awake almost simultaneously; terrified, they lifted their heads to gaze at the wildly churning waters.
A terrifying pressure—originating from the very depths of their souls and the source of their bloodlines—descended upon them like an invisible mountain, crushing down with overwhelming force!
It was... a majesty that transcended all else—the majesty of the true King of the Dragon Clan!
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
The Earth Dragon and the Wind Dragon were the first to succumb; their limbs went limp, and their massive bodies slumped directly onto the ground. With their heads pressed tight against the earth, they let out whimpers of terror, trembling uncontrollably—lacking even the courage to lift their heads for a single glance.
The Fire Dragon and the Ice Dragon fared slightly better.
Yet, they too managed to hold out for only a few more breaths before they, too, collapsed helplessly into a prostrate position. Their draconic bodies quivered, and their crimson and ice-blue eyes were filled with a mixture of awe and terror.
Amidst the terrified gazes of the four dragons, from the very center of the boiling springs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, two masses of light—incredibly dazzling, incredibly ancient, and incredibly majestic—slowly began to rise!
To the left stood a mass of crimson light, burning with the essence of eternal, undying flame. Within it appeared a sinuous, slender, and power-infused draconic apparition—every single scale seemingly condensed from the purest fire!
To the right flowed a mass of ice-blue light, circulating with the aura of primordial, eternal frost. Within it, too, appeared an elegant yet majestic draconic apparition—its entire form appearing as if carved from ice crystals, radiating an aura of absolute, bone-chilling cold!
They had not yet fully solidified and appeared somewhat ethereal; yet, the terrifying aura they exuded—one of supreme dominance over the world and absolute mastery over the elements—was undeniably real.
Most notably, their massive draconic eyes—shining upon the world like the sun and the moon—were at this moment fixed upon the four trembling, prostrate dragon-beasts below, regarding them with supreme majesty... and a distinct trace of bewilderment and fury.
A brief silence ensued.
Then, the crimson draconic apparition—the Fire Dragon Soul—was the first to speak.
Its voice resonated like the tolling of a great bronze bell, thundering deep within the very souls of the four dragons.
"You lot... as members of our Dragon Clan, why is your bloodline so thin and impure? Why is your cultivation so feeble and weak?!"
Its voice was charged with an incredulous rage... and a deep, aching sorrow—the anguish of seeing one’s own kin fall so far short of their potential.
"Answer me!"
The voice of the Fire Dragon King roared with explosive fury, like a volcanic eruption of molten rock: "Why has the pride and power of you—pure-blooded dragons—fallen to such depths?! To think you have actually degenerated into mere sub-dragons?!"
The Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon trembled even more violently; from the depths of their souls arose waves of stinging pain and a profound sense of inherent humility rooted in their very bloodlines.
They could clearly sense that the two ethereal dragon souls hovering before them were the true progenitors of their entire dragon lineage—the legendary... Dragon Kings!
The Ice Dragon King appeared relatively more composed, yet his spiritual fluctuations carried an equally chilling interrogation: "This place... bears the aura of intermingling Ice and Fire Origins—the very sanctuary where my brother’s and my own lingering remnants of consciousness took refuge after our demise... How did you find this place? And how did you manage to rouse our dormant souls? Furthermore, what is this strange realm... this peculiar world?"
The four dragons exchanged terrified glances; overwhelmed by the oppressive might of the Dragon Kings’ residual souls, even their telepathic transmissions became disjointed and incoherent.
"K-King... Your Majesty... have mercy..."
"We... we do not know..."
"It was our Master... our Master who brought us here..."
"This place... is our Master’s Martial Soul Space..."
They offered their chaotic explanations, disjointedly relaying every scrap of information they possessed.
Listening to the four dragons’ rambling, disjointed account, the residual souls of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings fell silent for a moment.
Within those two pairs of massive dragon eyes, anger and bewilderment gradually gave way to a deeper, ineffable complexity of emotion.
There was sorrow over the decline of the dragon race; curiosity regarding Jiang Bai’s enigmatic Martial Soul; astonishment at this miniature world capable of evading Heavenly Tribulation and accelerating spiritual growth; and—perhaps—a faint glimmer of relief... at seeing that their bloodline descendants still survived in this world, and appeared to have stumbled upon an extraordinary destiny?
The Fire Dragon King’s spiritual fluctuations resounded once more—still volatile, yet now tinged with less fury and more inquiry: "A Martial Soul? A human? A nine-storied pagoda? To think it can encompass heaven and earth, nurture spirit beasts, and evade Heavenly Punishment... Bizarre! Truly bizarre!"
The Ice Dragon King, however, remained the picture of calm; his icy-blue dragon eyes seemed to pierce through the confines of the pagoda’s interior, gazing outward toward Jiang Bai—who was currently immersed in cultivation: "This youth... is wreathed in destiny and possesses a truly singular fate; moreover, his destiny is inextricably intertwined with that of a Imperial Auspicious Beast... Perhaps, this encounter was no mere coincidence."
Two powerful currents of draconic consciousness communicated and probed within the miniature world—at times sweeping over the four trembling dragons, at others sensing the unique laws governing this realm, and occasionally extending a thread of extremely subtle perception beyond the tower.
Inside the tower, draconic might permeated the air, and space-time stood frozen.
Outside the tower, moonlight flowed like water, and a young man sat in quiet meditation.