Lin Xiao quickly regained his composure, but there was no longer any trace of the Snow Empress before his eyes. Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, each one seemingly containing the Snow Empress's aura, filled with killing intent.
All the snowflakes, all the mist, and even the ice crystals condensed from the moisture in the air had become part of the Snow Empress. A cold wind suddenly rose from an unknown direction, carrying those snowflakes as they turned into sharp blades.
A faint killing intent came from behind him. Lin Xiao abruptly turned around, but that aura vanished in the blink of an eye. A snowflake fell from behind him, leaving a long wound on his back. The blood had not yet flowed out before it was frozen by the pervasive chill in the room.
Feeling the cold intent continuously seeping from the wound, Lin Xiao scanned his surroundings. Every snowflake around him seemed to contain the same power as before, and the killing intent from all directions stung his skin painfully.
He still could not sense the Snow Empress's figure, making it impossible for Lin Xiao to find a suitable target even if he wanted to attack.
In his previous life's memories, the Snow Empress's domain did not seem particularly impressive, but now that he was truly immersed in it, Lin Xiao realized that the domain released by the Snow Empress with her 700,000 years of cultivation was absolutely incomparable to the one Huo Yuhao had released at the Soul King level.
Slowly exhaling a breath, Lin Xiao gradually calmed down. The four golden patterns on his eighth soul ring grew increasingly bright.
This was not the first time he had faced a domain-type soul skill. The last time, against the Great Elder, he had used an almost endless army of undead creatures to forcibly break through her domain. But now, he had a better method.
Lin Xiao's eyes suddenly changed, the deep blue and blood-red colors in his pupils becoming more intense. His eighth soul ring radiated brightly, the blood-red soul ring intertwining with the golden patterns' light, dyeing every surrounding snowflake in shades of gold and red.
His figure seemed to become somewhat illusory, as if an identical shadow had appeared behind him.
The next moment, a Higanbana flower appeared at his feet and rapidly bloomed.
Soon, following the blooming of the first Higanbana, a sea of flowers spread out with him as the center.
The surrounding snowflakes and the pervasive chill in the room completely vanished. A slender figure slowly condensed and took shape in front of Lin Xiao.
The Snow Empress looked at herself, seemingly stunned for a moment, then sharply raised her head to look at Lin Xiao, meeting only those eyes shining with a deep blue light.
Her figure flashed as she raised her palm to strike again, but this time Lin Xiao neither dodged nor evaded, nor did he release any soul skill. He simply raised his palm to meet hers.
When the two palms connected, the Snow Empress instantly realized something was wrong. The familiar power in her palm was gone, and the strength of the Lin Xiao before her was not inferior to her own in the slightest.
Borrowing the momentum to retreat, the Snow Empress looked at Lin Xiao's figure from afar and finally spoke slowly.
"Human—"
The Snow Empress's voice seemed to come from beneath ten-thousand-year-old ice, as if the mere act of speaking would freeze the air.
"Where is this place?"
Lin Xiao did not speak immediately. Instead, he also looked up at the place where he was.
Although he had vaguely known what the soul skill was after obtaining the Great Elder's soul ring, this was the first time he had fully released it.
As a member of the mermaid clan among sea soul beasts, the Great Elder naturally possessed mental attributes. However, whether due to a mutation or some other influence, her power was no longer pure; it had gained an additional aura of death.
These two powers did not disappear after becoming Lin Xiao's soul ring; instead, they fused very well with him.
Legend has it that on the road to the other shore, there grows a flower as red as blood, guiding people to their destination after death.
Yet this flower seems cursed: its flower and leaves are like a pair of lovers who love each other but can never meet, forever unable to appear at the same time.
Just like now, when the domain granted by Lin Xiao's eighth soul ring unfolded here, the souls and bodies of everyone within the domain appeared in two different worlds, like a flower and leaf.
It was called Eternal Farewell of Flower and Leaf.
This was also why the Snow Empress's figure at this moment was not that of the little girl, but her appearance after reaching adulthood.
In terms of soul power, Lin Xiao indeed could not compare to the Snow Empress with her 700,000 years of cultivation, but in terms of soul and mental strength, he was not inferior to her.
When her soul was stripped from her body by Lin Xiao's domain, in this domain where souls resided, Lin Xiao no longer feared the person before him.
However—
In the room storing "Plan N°1," another identical Lin Xiao stood amid a sea of flowers, though this sea of flowers had already been destroyed for the most part. The overwhelming ice and snow still filled the entire domain, with snowflakes reflecting in Lin Xiao's blood-red eyes.
Despite losing her soul, the Snow Empress's instincts and the powerful strength within her body still prevented Lin Xiao from approaching.
The Snow Empress's petite figure suddenly appeared amid the vast snowflakes, raising her palm to strike forward, but there was no trace of Lin Xiao there.
After the strike landed, she had no intention of attacking again and simply stood quietly in place, as if waiting for something.
Lin Xiao understood in his heart that her soul, stripped to the other domain, had already sensed something amiss.
Although the Snow Empress was temporarily trapped by his domain, he seemed to have no way to deal with her for the time being.
The gap in soul power was evident, and the outcome on the soul side could not be decided in a short time.
If he rashly attacked and the Snow Empress discovered the essence of this domain, it might instead allow her to forcibly break the domain's restraints with soul power, just as he had dealt with the Great Elder back then.
As Lin Xiao and the Snow Empress remained in a standoff, something suddenly fell from above. A smell of earth instantly assaulted Lin Xiao's nose.
Lin Xiao looked down at his feet. In the dim light, he could make out that it was a piece of soil and stone that had fallen from the ceiling.
Illustrious Virtue Hall was located underground. Although extensive reinforcements had been made during construction, and this room storing "Plan N°1" had been specially strengthened,
It had first been affected by the Snow Empress's extreme cold power, then endured several impacts, and finally that palm strike from the Snow Empress earlier. Clearly, it could no longer hold up and was gradually collapsing.
It probably would not be long before both he and the Snow Empress were buried under the rubble.
"This place is about to collapse."
As the owner of the soul domain, although Lin Xiao's soul and body were also separated, he could naturally perceive changes in both domains simultaneously.
"Are you afraid of death?"
The Snow Empress sneered, "I'm not afraid. I have witnessed death more than once, and I have had enough of being imprisoned by you humans."
"Compared to that, I would rather die here."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao let out a soft sigh and looked around. It seemed as if figures were passing before him, one after another, familiar or unfamiliar faces of those who had already died.
"Who in their right mind would willingly choose to die?"
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