Yun Xiao caught the scent too. It was something that even the Mortal Dust Devil Blood took note of. Surely, it wasn't ordinary blood.

This was likely the blood of a high ranking Immortal spirit. Even a single drop could surpass the effects of the Blood Devil Ruins.

"As expected of a world 1,000 times the size of the Great Dao Celestial Realm, opportunities abound everywhere," Yun Xiao remarked.

“Shall we go?” the War Princess asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

The Extreme Yin Celestial Realm was fraught with danger, and being new to it, she dared not be reckless.

“Of course, we go!” Without a moment's hesitation, Yun Xiao stepped ahead, gliding like a swallow through the sky of pink-white snow, weaving through the forest, drawn by the scent of blood.

After cultivating the Mortal Dust Blood Calamity, the War Princess had become like a deep-sea shark, highly sensitive to the smell of blood.

The source of the blood scent was, in fact, quite distant!

Fortunately, the world was vast enough, an endless expanse of white, with pink-white trees thick on the ground and people flitting about like specks of dust, hardly noticeable.

After racing through the snow for a long time, Yun Xiao finally spotted a pale abyss ahead!

“It's just below,” he whispered, halting his steps.

To the War Princess, the ravine was visibly swirling with a thick mist of blood.

“There’s a scent of beasts, but it seems… dead?” The War Princess turned to Yun Xiao.

“I’ll send my spirit ahead to scout.” Settling into a meditative pose, Yun Xiao’s spirit left his body, taking his Heaven Burial Sword Soul with him, plunging towards the abyss below.

This method of scouting was safe unless he encountered a powerful spirit creature or an Anima Immortal, though the chances were slim.

With the Buddha's Treasure Spirit attached to the sword, the abyss revealed its secrets to him.

Before him stretched a vast array of strangely shaped ice crystals, intermingled with pink and white hues, and stalactite-like icicles, as well as many deep holes from which a deep wind and bursts of cold air emanated.

The deeper he went, the colder it became, causing even the Heaven Burial Sword Soul to crackle with the cold, affecting its Sword Prisons.

“This drop of blood…”

On some of the ice crystals, Yun Xiao found traces of blood.

It was ice-blue blood, clinging to the crystals and emitting a pearly glow. Despite the bloodiness, it was oddly pleasant to smell.

“It seems there’s something special coagulated in the blood.”

For a moment, Yun Xiao couldn’t quite say what it was. The presence of the blood meant they were getting closer to their target…

The three-inch Flying Sword delved deeper, the traces of blood growing more plentiful beneath their feet, pooling in patches of blue, solidified yet fragrant.

“Here!”

The Flying Sword turned sharply, and before them lay a lake shimmering like a sea of blue phosphorescence!

At first glance, it was a lake, but a second look revealed the truth: it was a pool of blood.

For within this pool of blue blood, lay a corpse—an ice-blue serpent, about a foot thick and 60 feet long, truly a colossal creature.

Its scales were heart-shaped, embedded with tiny blue diamonds, and it bore a pair of horns, diamond-blue, turning the serpent's corpse into a piece of art, stunningly beautiful.

Its body bore many sword wounds; the blue crystalline lake was formed from its blood.

“No demon energy, not a demon, but a beast without awakened intelligence,” Yun Xiao deduced immediately.

Not all beasts aspired to become demons—demons generally being malevolent creatures that gained intelligence but might lose some innate gifts.

Some beasts, especially auspicious ones, retained their animal forms, silently cultivating, hopeful of one day transforming into human form, possessing profound wisdom.

Creatures like the Nian and the Yaksha Ancestor were of this kind.

“It is indeed dead," Yun Xiao remarked. He could only imagine how much stronger it would be if it were alive.

His Flying Sword circled the icy blue lake, scouting the surroundings to ensure no danger lurked, then he signaled the War Princess, “Go in quickly, absorb the blood, and leave as soon as you can.”

“So urgent?” the War Princess asked.

“It just died; it might attract other dangers,” Yun Xiao explained.

With that, his spirit and Flying Sword returned, widening their defensive perimeter to escort the War Princess.

Without further question, the War Princess transformed into a shadowy blood dragon, diving into the pale abyss, crossing paths with Yun Xiao's Flying Sword. She navigated through the ice crystals and caverns, arriving at the blue lake.

“What kind of beast was this, to bleed such beautiful blood?” the War Princess marveled.

“Unknown. Hurry,” the Mortal Dust Devil within her urged.

“Impatient.” With a huff, the War Princess leapt into the icy blue lake. Her snow-white skin instantly frosted over with ice crystals, giving her an almost ice princess-like appearance.

However, whether tainted blood or crystal blue, in the face of the Mortal Dust Blood Calamity, it was all

delicious

. As Yun Xiao had instructed, she didn’t rush to assimilate it but sucked the icy blue blood into her body, first gathering it within the Mortal Dust Devil Blood.

When the ice-blue blood mingled with the Mortal Dust Devil Blood in her veins, it was like a little blue snake meeting an ancient dragon—immediately softened, subdued, and willingly controlled.

It was the oppression of blood hierarchy!

“Have you noticed that there seems to be a special significance within this blue blood?” the War Princess asked, feeling the oddity as she began to absorb.

“Indeed.” Yun Xiao, whose Mortal Dust Devil Blood coursed through her heart, sensed it too.

“We’ll ponder it more when we refine it later.”

With that said, the War Princess didn't dwell on it and continued to drink deeply. As she consumed, she observed the blue crystal serpent.

“Who would have thought a snake could be so beautiful?”

Such creatures typically exuded a sense of fear, hardly ever thought of as beautiful.

“All its essence seems concentrated in its blood. As it bleeds out, its flesh and bones slowly crystallize, eventually turning completely to ice,” she explained.

“Oh? And here I thought after you drained it, we might scavenge it again. Guess not,” Yun Xiao remarked offhandedly.

“But I've discovered something interesting!” the War Princess suddenly exclaimed.

“Go on.”

“This snake has six hearts,” she revealed.

“Six?”

That was indeed rare.

Normally, no matter the size of the beast, one heart was sufficient.

“Is there any special use for them?” Yun Xiao inquired.

“They’ve turned to crystal; I can’t discern anything,” the War Princess said earnestly.

“Then keep draining it.”

“Understood! It’s an easy task…” She was confident. However, as time passed, her pretty face grew increasingly tense.

With the rising quantity of icy blue blood in her system—eventually exceeding her own voluminous blood supply by a hundredfold—the situation subtly shifted. The icy blue blood surged through her, nearly freezing her into a statue, her whole body frosted, even her hair and eyes tinted blue… she looked more like an ice queen now.

“So cold, so cold!” She shivered, her fiery hot body seeming to have been sealed in ice.

“Finish absorbing, then leave,” the Mortal Dust Devil Seed within her commanded.

“Aren’t you coming to get me?” the War Princess shivered violently, her voice echoing coldly.

"Fine then." Yun Xiao had no choice but to stop keeping watch and go down to meet her himself.

Upon meeting, he saw that the girl had grown larger, her body somewhat bloated, her arms and legs thickened, as if she were embracing two blue iron pots.

"Am I ugly now?" the War Princess said, nearly in tears.

"Yes, you've turned into a fat pig." Yun Xiao laughed.

The War Princess, furious, snapped back, "I wanted comfort, not insults!"

"Alright, fatty." Yun Xiao still chuckled, but he approached and turned to hoist the oversized ice princess onto his back, his primordial yang void celestial power at least helping to melt some of the ice.

"We'll find a safe place to refine it later," Yun Xiao comforted her.

"I suppose you have at least a shred of decency," the War Princess huffed, clutching his neck.

“It hurts with your frozen cones poking my back like that." Yun Xiao, carrying her up from the abyss, couldn't help but complain.

"What did you say?" the War Princess gritted out right by his ear.

"Frozen cow," Yun Xiao said.

"Ugh, I’ll crush you to death!" the War Princess grumbled.

Yun Xiao paused, then smiled wryly to himself. "She's quite adorable, actually."

Despite his teasing, he didn’t slow down, quickly ascending from the abyss.

"Hmm?" Just as Yun Xiao was about to speak, he turned his head back, only to see the northern sky swirling with snow, a storm in chaos and a formidable overwhelming pressure; clearly someone was heading this way.

"Time to go." Yun Xiao's gaze turned cold, his steps quickened, and he slipped into the snowstorm and quietly departed, entering a vast range of snow-covered mountains.

This range was engulfed in more snow, the air filled with pink icy fog.

"Someone's coming?" the War Princess whispered.

"Mhm." Yun Xiao nodded, silent, his head down as he hurried along.

After covering enough distance, he ascended a towering ancient tree, standing amid its branches, looking back towards the pale abyss they had left.

From this distance, the view was unclear, but faintly, he could see a group of people appearing there!

JustLivingJL's Thoughts

"Am I ugly now?" the War Princess said, nearly in tears.

"Yes, you've turned into a fat pig." Yun Xiao laughed.