Returning to the Land of Extreme North after a thirty-year absence, Fang Chang found the region in a markedly better state than during his last visit.
With the threat gone, the population of native ice-type soul beasts had clearly increased, adding a richer sense of vitality to the frozen tundra.
Fang Chang swept the area with his divine sense, and his expression suddenly became a little strange.
He discovered that not too far from him, thunderclouds seemed to be gathering. And beneath those clouds was the Ice Empress, with whom he had a brief acquaintance.
Doing the math, when he last came, the Ice Empress's cultivation was over three hundred and ninety thousand years, approaching the four-hundred-thousand-year mark. It seemed she was now about to face her fourth heavenly tribulation.
Fang Chang concealed his figure and quietly crept near the Ice Empress, watching her undergo the tribulation from a short distance away.
The thunderclouds finished gathering and unleashed the first bolt of tribulation lightning upon the Ice Empress.
The Ice Empress had already reverted to her true form. A crystalline protective layer covered her small body, and she formed a shield of soul power in front of her.
The thunderbolt crashed down, first shattering her shield, then striking her body and sending her emerald-green form flying five or six meters away.
"Hiss~" The Ice Empress let out a hiss. A faint smell of burning came from her body. Although there were no obvious wounds, she had likely sustained considerable injuries.
Before she could even catch her breath, the second bolt of tribulation lightning descended from the sky.
The Ice Empress grunted, a layer of ice crystals covering her two front pincers as she slammed them heavily against the incoming lightning.
Boom! Her attack deflected most of the lightning's power, but her pincers were blasted open, the carapace cracking in multiple places and seeping blood. From a distance, she looked rather miserable.
Seven bolts of lightning descended one after another. The Ice Empress's injuries grew heavier and heavier, and her breathing became ragged.
As she looked up at the impending eighth bolt, a look of helplessness and bitterness appeared on her face.
For the vast majority of soul beasts, every heavenly tribulation was a trip to the underworld. Surviving meant another hundred thousand years of life.
But if they failed, only death awaited them.
Before the tribulation, she had been very confident. After all, she had already experienced similar calamities three times and could be considered a seasoned veteran.
But this time, her heavenly tribulation was stronger than any before. Compounded by her impure thoughts and distracting thoughts, her condition had worsened.
She ultimately endured the eighth bolt of lightning with great difficulty, but by now, her two front pincers were limp, and more than half of the shell covering her body had shattered, leaving her looking bloody and mangled.
How could she possibly withstand the strongest, ninth bolt of lightning in such a state?
The Ice Empress was clearly aware of this. A touch of sorrow filled her eyes as she sighed to herself, "Is this the end?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt a black light fly towards her from nearby. Before she could react, it shot into her mouth.
The foreign object turned into a warm current the instant it entered her mouth, suffusing her body, healing most of her injuries, and rekindling her will to live.
Her heart steeled, she gathered the last of her strength for a final, desperate struggle against the heavenly tribulation.
With a muffled clap of thunder that exploded across the snowfield, the Ice Empress's body was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground and losing consciousness. The thunderclouds then dissipated.
Several hours passed before she slowly regained consciousness. She saw a bonfire lit beside her, with a man sitting by the fire, roasting a silver fox.
"It's you!" The weakened Ice Empress became more alert upon seeing him. "Did you save me?"
She transformed back into her human form and tried to prop herself up to get closer to the man, but a sharp spasm of pain from her injuries made her flinch.
"It was me. With such a strong bloodline, how could a little girl like you not even pass a heavenly tribulation?" Fang Chang asked.
"Well... I've been slacking in my cultivation lately, I wasn't prepared," the Ice Empress pouted, trying to defend herself.
"Never mind, never mind. It's a good thing I was passing by today, otherwise your little scorpion life would have been over." Her proud and cute demeanor made Fang Chang find her very amusing.
"Hmph, even if you hadn't come, I would have passed it," the Ice Empress was extremely concerned with her pride and hated being indebted to others. Wasn't Fang Chang's statement making her owe him a life-saving favor?
"It's just a heavenly tribulation, as if anyone can't pass it!" Just as she finished speaking, she coughed violently, spitting out a few more drops of blood.
"Stop trying to act tough. Eat this first," Fang Chang tossed her a dark, round pill, which the Ice Empress caught.
"I... alright. I'll just consider it a favor I owe you," she hesitated for a moment before finally choosing to eat Fang Chang's pill.
Once the pill went down, her injuries immediately improved, and she recovered some mobility. Only then did she slowly shuffle closer.
"The fierce dragon big sister who was with you last time, she didn't come?" The Ice Empress glanced around suspiciously and finally relaxed.
"Oh, she's here. Right behind you. See, isn't that her?" Fang Chang said, pointing behind the Ice Empress.
"Ah?" The Ice Empress was so startled she nearly jumped up from the ground. Her small head whipped around, only to realize she had been tricked.
"You! Hmph!" She raised a small fist, attempting to threaten Fang Chang, but ultimately lowered it. "How bold of you to trick me! Do you believe I'll..."
The words left her mouth before she remembered the terrifying strength of the man—no, the male spider—before her. She quickly cut herself off.
"Believe you'll what?" Fang Chang sniffed the roasted silver fox. "Believe you can kill me?"
"No, nothing." The Ice Empress stared at the silver fox in Fang Chang's hand, her eyes practically glued to it.
She had expended a great deal of energy to pass the tribulation and hadn't eaten all day. She was already starving, and this detestable, rotten spider was actually tempting her!
"Want some? If you want it, take it and eat." Fang Chang handed the roasted silver fox to the Ice Empress.
She pursed her lips but ultimately refused with a firm attitude. "Hmph, I, the great Ice Empress, how could I eat such handout food? I don't want it!"
"You really don't want it?" Fang Chang asked again, a playful tone in his voice.
"I don't!" the Ice Empress said righteously. She absolutely could not keep bowing her head to this man!
"Alright then. I'll just leave this here," Fang Chang casually hung the silver fox meat on a nearby low-hanging branch and stood up. "Since you're alright, I'll be on my way."
"You're leaving?" Hearing this, the Ice Empress's eyes shifted without a trace.
Fang Chang turned back, his tone slightly ambiguous. "What? Can't bear to see me go?"
"W-who said that? If you want to go, then go quickly. Don't ruin my refined mood for watching the snow," the Ice Empress pouted and turned her head away, no longer looking at Fang Chang.
After a long while, she turned her head back, but Fang Chang was already gone from the snowy ground.
The Ice Empress stomped her feet in anger. How could this rotten man not understand a girl's heart at all! So infuriating!
Then she saw the silver fox meat Fang Chang had hung on the tree. After a brief hesitation, she walked over, snatched the meat, and began to gnaw on it in large bites.
As she was happily eating, she felt a pair of large hands wrap around her small waist from behind.
The Ice Empress first struggled violently for a few moments, nearly dropping the silver fox meat from her mouth.
But when she sensed the aura of the figure behind her, she quickly gave up all resistance, allowing him to hold her.