"Brother Lin Mu, how exactly do we search for them here?"
Ye Lingling asked softly, clinging tightly to Lin Mu's strong arm as if desperately trying to warm herself.
Seeing her shivering slightly from the cold, a bright flame suddenly rose directly from Lin Mu's open palm.
The surrounding heavy ice and snow instantly began to melt rapidly. The ambient temperature rose noticeably around them, gradually lessening the biting chill.
A brief moment later, Lin Mu looked out into the freezing distance, calmly stating, "This entire area is the undisputed territory of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North. We honestly don't need to actively search for them; they'll definitely come straight to us."
As soon as he finished speaking those words, an incredibly heavy, invisible pressure steadily emanated from afar.
Instantly, Lin Mu's vast spiritual power confidently locked onto the precise source of this oppressive pressure, a massive Titan Snow Demon, well over 100,000 years old.
For any other normal soul master with lower cultivation, facing this sheer pressure alone would be completely enough to terrify them.
However, for Lin Mu and his highly capable companions, this intense pressure was entirely negligible. Even Ye Lingling, with her own cultivation rapidly approaching Level 97, could easily and completely ignore it.
"RROAAR!!"
A deafening roar loudly echoed from the absolute highest point of the nearby glacier, so incredibly loud it sounded like it could effortlessly shatter the surrounding snow-capped mountains.
The three quickly looked in the direction of the booming sound and clearly saw a massive, snow monster-like soul beast standing proudly atop the glacier. It was well over a hundred meters tall, its entire, massive body completely covered in incredibly thick, snow-white fur.
Without a single doubt, this giant was the Titan Snow Demon King, one of the legendary Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North.
Judging entirely by sheer physical size alone, the Titan Snow Demon King easily surpassed most known ferocious beasts. Only the mythical Deep Sea Demonic Whale King could definitively overpower it in terms of pure mass.
However, sheer size absolutely did not always directly represent combat strength.
Let alone comparing it to the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, even the ninth-ranked ferocious beast, Zi Ji, could easily and decisively defeat the lumbering Titan Snow Demon King.
At this tense moment, the massive Titan Snow Demon King was staring intently down at the tiny intruders below with its huge, ferocious eyes.
Then, a sudden, blinding beam of brilliant emerald light flew in rapidly from afar.
The very moment it smoothly landed on the frozen ground, it finally fully revealed its true, physical form: an incredibly beautiful scorpion composed of shimmering ice and brilliant emerald green, about 1.5 meters long, noticeably smaller than Tang San's 100,000-year-old mantis shrimp.
It was absolutely none other than the legendary Ice Empress, the official second-ranked of the Three Kings of the Extreme North.
Seeing the Ice Empress dramatically appear, Lin Mu's lips curled up slightly into a smile, and he immediately stopped completely concealing his true aura, deliberately releasing an overwhelming pressure perfectly comparable to a true god.
"Buzz—"
Instantly, the massive glaciers within a staggering radius of 10,000 meters began to violently tremble, reacting exactly as if a massive, catastrophic avalanche had just occurred.
In addition to the environment, this terrifying pressure, acting exactly like an invisible mountain, pressed down brutally on the proud Ice Empress, completely subduing her in a single, devastating exchange.
Even the massive Titan Snow Demon King, standing far away on top of the glacier, was violently forced to tumble clumsily down the slope.
Due to the Titan Snow Demon King's truly enormous size and mass, when it rolled violently down, the entire, massive glacier shook violently, nearly breaking its entire top half clean off.
Fortunately, Lin Mu actively intervened just in time, easily using his own physical strength alone to casually block the Titan Snow Demon King's massive, tumbling body.
Witnessing Lin Mu's truly terrifying, effortless strength firsthand, the Ice Empress was instantly filled with deep dread. She honestly hadn't ever expected such an impossibly powerful soul master to possibly appear among mere humans.
This terrifying level of strength far exceeded the established realm of mortal soul masters, likely already firmly touching the legendary god-level.
After quickly stabilizing the chaotic situation, Lin Mu calmly walked right up to the struggling Ice Empress and said perfectly calmly, "I want to actively make a highly beneficial deal with you. As long as you agree to sacrifice yourself to my disciple..."
"You must be completely dreaming! This Empress will absolutely never yield to you!"
Before Lin Mu could even fully finish speaking his offer, the Ice Empress immediately, aggressively stated her absolute position; even if it meant certain, painful self-destruction, she would absolutely never willingly become a lowly human's soul ring.
Seeing this stubborn reaction, Lin Mu helplessly covered his forehead in exasperation.
These powerful soul beasts were seemingly all exactly the same; they absolutely never patiently waited for him to actually finish speaking. Usually, after he fully explained the incredible pros and cons, they all eagerly agreed.
Just as he was about to patiently explain the concept of a soul spirit, a deeply chilling yet exceptionally melodious voice suddenly came from high above them.
"Human, release Bing'er immediately!"
As soon as the demanding words fell, an incredibly pure, stunningly snow-white figure silently appeared hovering in mid-air.
Incredibly long, pristine white hair cascaded all the way down to her delicate feet, and her sky-blue eyes were completely clear and ethereal, looking exactly as if they could easily see through absolutely everything in the entire world.
Her highly slender, perfectly delicate body was utterly flawless, and her simple white dress, though entirely unadorned, naturally made her appear so incredibly noble and stunningly beautiful.
Looking up at this almost completely unreal beauty, Lin Mu simply swallowed the explanatory words he was just about to say and instead said teasingly, "If you haughtily tell me to release her like that, wouldn't I lose a lot of face?"
Hearing this casual, arrogant response, the Snow Empress frowned slightly. This incredibly powerful human was indeed clearly up to absolutely no good.
Although judging carefully from the terrifying aura currently emanating from this person, their true strength was definitely far beyond imagination, Bing'er's safety was actively at stake, and she simply couldn't ignore it.
Thinking of this dire situation, the Snow Empress said absolutely no more and immediately, decisively swung a delicate palm downwards.
"Emperor's Palm, Absolute Cold!"
The graceful palm strike appeared incredibly gentle, yet it instantly and completely dissipated the surrounding raging snow and biting wind, making it feel exactly as if surprising warmth had suddenly descended.
However, if actually struck, this terrifyingly deceptive move was completely enough to instantly freeze a powerful soul master's blood, meridians, soul power, and even their very soul completely simultaneously.
Lin Mu absolutely did not choose to foolishly withstand it head-on. He simply flashed away in a blur, instantly, effortlessly dodging the Snow Empress's ultimate attack.
As one of the Snow Empress's most absolute signature techniques, Emperor's Palm genuinely contained absolute zero destructive power. Even fully utilizing his powerful Qilin Fire, he honestly couldn't confidently claim to withstand it completely unscathed.
Besides, since he could so easily dodge it, he definitely wouldn't just stay put to needlessly take the beating.
"He actually dodged it so easily!"
A distinct hint of deep seriousness flashed clearly in the Snow Empress's beautiful blue eyes. This person's incredible speed completely exceeded her highest expectations.
Although some rare soul masters possessed unique teleportation skills, they generally could only teleport a few short meters at most, making it physically impossible to completely avoid the massive attack range of her Emperor's Palm.
Lin Mu, however, could casually fly hundreds of meters in an instant.
Unless it was a true instantaneous skill, Lin Mu could easily, casually dodge it every time.
However, the proud Snow Empress flatly refused to believe she couldn't somehow defeat this arrogant person, coldly saying, "Human, if you're truly so capable, try taking just one of my sword strikes."
"Absolute nonsense, exactly why should I willingly take one of your sword strikes? Besides, you've already rudely attacked me first; logically speaking, it's absolutely my turn to strike back now."
Lin Mu had absolutely no intention of patiently indulging the Snow Empress's demands; he'd just quickly teach her a harsh lesson and then formally take her as his soul spirit.
Although the Snow Empress was purely of the ice attribute, ice and his water attributes absolutely didn't conflict, and her massive cultivation was incredibly close to 700,000 years, making her a truly rare and excellent soul spirit choice.
The very next instant, Lin Mu completely vanished entirely from the Snow Empress's sight; even her incredibly vast spiritual power completely couldn't detect his presence anywhere.
When Lin Mu suddenly reappeared, he was already hovering directly behind the Snow Empress, casually delivering a powerful, blunt punch squarely to her back, violently sending her crashing hard into the snow below with a loud thud.
"Xue'er!"
Seeing the Snow Empress unexpectedly injured for her sake, the Ice Empress nearly completely collapsed emotionally, immediately transforming out of her beast form into a young girl and frantically rushing towards exactly where the Snow Empress had fallen.
Because Lin Mu absolutely hadn't used his full, terrifying strength, the Snow Empress honestly only suffered relatively minor injuries.
Compared to her previously stunning, ethereal appearance, the slightly injured Snow Empress now looked rather disheveled and messy.
Carefully supported by the worried Ice Empress, she slowly stood back up, her beautiful expression incredibly grave as she looked at the relentlessly approaching Lin Mu, and asked, "What exactly do you truly want from us?"
"I simply need a soul spirit, and you are absolutely perfect for it," Lin Mu said entirely frankly.
Hearing this strange term, the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress were slightly taken aback.
Although they definitely didn't know exactly what a "soul spirit" was, they quickly figured it must be highly similar to a traditional soul ring.
After a brief, tense moment, the Ice Empress bravely shielded the injured Snow Empress behind her, her face completely resolute, and said firmly, "This entire matter has absolutely nothing to do with Xue'er. I am fully willing to become your soul spirit instead."