Chapter 50: Reunion with the Xue Di, Breaking Through Eight Hundred Thousand Years!
After arranging matters for Huo Yuhao, Lei Chen no longer lingered.
His gaze swept over the still-agitated youth and the Ice Empress with a complex expression. His figure then faded away as if merging with the wind, vanishing completely into the blizzard the next moment.
Deep within the core region of the Far North Land, a palace was constructed from eternal, unmelting profound ice.
The interior of the palace was vast and silent. Only in the center was a bed, carved entirely from ten-thousand-year cold ice jade marrow, emitting pure, extreme ice-attribute energy and a bone-chilling cold.
The Xue Di sat upright on the cold ice jade marrow bed. Her eyes were slightly closed, her peerlessly beautiful face as cold and pure as snow. A visible vortex of icy-blue energy swirled around her, breathing in and out the ultimate cold of heaven and earth.
At this moment, she was in deep meditation, refining her cultivation. Her aura was profound and vast.
Suddenly, a faint yet exceptionally clear spatial ripple, like a pebble dropped into a still lake, spread through the absolute silence of the ice palace. This ripple was not a covert infiltration but carried an air of announcement, naturally declaring the arrival of the visitor.
The Xue Di's long eyelashes trembled slightly as she instantly awoke from her deep meditation.
She abruptly opened her icy-blue eyes. A flicker of displeasure and wariness at being disturbed flashed within them first. But when her gaze caught the figure that had appeared silently at the center of the palace, its form flowing with a faint, multicolored halo, that displeasure instantly turned into astonishment, then transformed into unconcealable joy.
She immediately rose from the cold ice jade marrow bed, moved with light, graceful steps, quickly approached, and respectfully bowed to Lei Chen. Her voice was ethereal and pleasant, carrying a trace of barely detectable excitement: "Senior! What brings you here?"
Lei Chen smiled, his gaze gentle as it fell upon the Xue Di, giving a slight nod.
In his perception, the Xue Di's current aura was far stronger than it had been over half a year ago! That vast ice-attribute energy had already condensed to a tangible level, surging unceasingly within her body, having clearly reached the terrifying level of seven hundred and ninety thousand years!
"I am here, naturally, to protect you and the Ice Empress safely through the next heavenly tribulation that is soon to come."
Lei Chen spoke calmly, stating his purpose.
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of gratitude flashed in the Xue Di's icy-blue eyes, and she bowed again: "Thank you, Senior, for your concern! It is truly our great fortune that Bing'er and I can receive your protection."
She paused slightly, feeling the surging power within her, her tone carrying sincere gratitude: "If not for Senior's generous gift of the divine object, the Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow, my cultivation would have had no possibility of reaching this level in such a short span of over half a year."
Lei Chen nodded slightly, unsurprised by this. The Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow was a supreme treasure of heaven and earth, its effect on ice-attribute Soul Beasts could be called heaven-defying.
His gaze swept over the Xue Di, his tone carrying a hint of praise: "An increase of nearly a hundred thousand years in cultivation, the speed is not slow. It seems you did not rush for quick success but understand the principle of gradual, steady progress."
Hearing Lei Chen mention this, a serious look appeared on the Xue Di's peerlessly beautiful face as she explained: "Senior is wise. Although the energy of the Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow is vast, we deeply understand that in the path of cultivation, a solid foundation is paramount."
"Therefore, after discussing with Bing'er, we set a rule. After refining and absorbing one piece of Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow, increasing cultivation by roughly ten thousand years, we must spend at least one month meticulously tempering and stabilizing the newly gained power. Only after the foundation is completely solid will we continue refining the next piece."
"Precisely because of this, over this past half year, we have each refined ten pieces of profound ice marrow, and our cultivation has only increased by a hundred thousand years. If we disregarded our foundation and refined a large amount in a short time, the speed might be faster, but it would likely sow the seeds of endless future calamity."
"Excellent!" Hearing the Xue Di's words, the smile on Lei Chen's face deepened a few degrees. "Not arrogant, not impatient, holding fast to your true heart. It is rare that you possess such insight and deeply understand the importance of consolidating your foundation. Acting in this manner is the only way to avoid repeating the mistake of that Tianmeng Ice Silkworm."
"That Tianmeng Ice Silkworm only knew how to devour, not how to refine. It possessed the 'quantity' of a million-year cultivation but lacked the matching 'quality.' As a result, its combat power was weak, not even comparable to an ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. It ultimately fell to a lower tier. It is excellent that you understand this principle."
Receiving the personal affirmation of the Plane Master, a warmth and joy arose in the Xue Di's heart. Her cold, pure face seemed to soften as if ice and snow were melting.
She then inquired respectfully: "Thank you for your recognition, Senior. To be frank with you, Senior, it has been nearly a month since my last refinement of the Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow. The newly gained cultivation has been completely stabilized. My current state is at its peak, and I am ready at any time to refine the next piece and assault the barrier of eight hundred thousand years. Does Senior think I should begin now?"
Lei Chen nodded, his tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable sense of support: "Since all preparations are complete, then begin now. With me here to guard you, you need only focus on your breakthrough. There is no need to worry about the heavenly tribulation."
"Yes! I will trouble you, Senior!" The Xue Di's heart settled greatly. She hesitated no longer.
With a flip of her slender hand, a prismatic crystal, entirely translucent and emitting a terrifying cold, appeared in her palm. It was precisely the supreme treasure that could drive countless ice-attribute Soul Beasts mad—the Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow.
She sat cross-legged back on the cold ice jade marrow bed, placed the profound ice marrow in front of her, formed hand seals, and her pure ice-attribute Soul Power wrapped around the profound ice marrow like threads, guiding the vast, ocean-like energy within to surge into her body like rivers flowing to the sea.
As the energy poured in, the aura around the Xue Di began to climb at a visible speed.
The temperature inside the ice palace plummeted sharply. Even the air seemed on the verge of freezing. Thick frost began to condense on the walls and floor, continuously thickening.
Her snow-white hair, long and pure, stirred without wind, emitting a faint, radiant glow. Under the impact of the vast energy, her peerlessly beautiful face appeared even more sacred and majestic.
Time passed bit by bit. The Soul Power within the Xue Di's body surged like raging tides, constantly battering against that intangible barrier.
Eight hundred thousand years is an extremely important threshold for Soul Beasts. It signifies drawing closer to the ultimate goal of a million years to become a god and also means the power of the next heavenly tribulation will increase exponentially.
Finally, at a certain moment, the Xue Di's delicate frame trembled slightly. A faint sound of something shattering seemed to come from within her body. The next instant, an ultimate cold far more vast and terrifying than before, like an ancient ice-field behemoth suddenly awakening, erupted from her body with a roar!
"Boom——!"
The entire ice palace shook violently. The eternal ice layer enveloping the palace groaned under the strain. The Xue Di abruptly opened her eyes, icy-blue divine light bursting forth from her pupils, shooting straight towards the palace ceiling.
Her aura, at this moment, completed a qualitative leap. It had thoroughly shattered the shackles of seven hundred and ninety thousand years and steadily stepped into the new realm of eight hundred thousand years!