Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

"Ugh…"

A small grunt leaked out of Mira's mouth as her eyes quivered. Slowly, her eyes completely opened, revealing to the world a mesmerizing yet terrifying set of crimson eyes with vertical cat-like pupils that exuded an unrestrained bloody pressure.

The killing intent unconsciously leaking from Mira's eyes startled Elenei and Rhydian, who were currently flying through the air.

"Mira! You're awake?!" Elenei exclaimed in shock, and even Rhydian looked at Mira in bewilderment.

"Ugh… I guess I survived, huh… Ha… Haha… Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHA! I SURVIVED! I knew that orb and those items wouldn't let me die so easily!! I guess my gamble really did pay off!! HAHA! But damn, who knew the Heavens were so overpowered. I thought I was really going to die for a while there." Mira let loose a hearty laugh full of various emotions when she realized that she was alive. She was happy, angry, and a bit downcast all at the same time as she understood that she really was nothing but an ant in front of an almighty power like the Heavens.

She really wanted to start cursing at the Heavens right now, but as she had just narrowly escaped death, she didn't feel like being struck by lightning again.

It took her a while to come back to her senses, but before she could say anything or inspect her body, she heard the Guardian's voice appear in her head.

"Congratulations on breaking through to the Core Formation Realm and surviving the Heavenly Punishment Tribulation. I thought you would really die for a minute there, but it seems I was worried for nothing! HAHA! Just look at you now! Stronger and more beautiful than ever!"

Mira had many things she wanted to ask him, but part of her also felt like it was better not to interact with him more than needed. He clearly knew that she would face a Heavenly Punishment Tribulation when she tried breaking through to the Core Formation Realm, but he didn't bother telling her.

Of course, she's not some child that would get mad at him over this. The man clearly stated that he would take a non-interference stance in her life as long as the coming troubles weren't far out of her reach.

Maybe others would blame him for not sharing such crucial information, but Mira didn't. In fact, she liked the fact that he didn't interfere in her life more than necessary.

They both had a mutual respect and understanding for each other. They both knew that if he were to interfere and protect Mira from all external threats, she'd never grow.

Instead, Mira was more curious about something else.

"What rules did I break for the Heavens to try and kill me like that? And will the Heavens keep trying to kill me with every subsequent breakthrough? Because if that's the case, then I'll surely die, except this time I won't have the chance to revive." Mira asked.

"Well, let's just say that you committed several taboos by using that orb and those items to breakthrough. For one, your talent is not something that should be allowed under Heaven's rule, but if it was only that, you probably could've survived the Tribulation with just your strength alone. What the Heavens were truly furious about was that orb that merged with your dantian. Let's just say that there's a lot more to that orb than it simply acting as a furnace for your breakthrough." The Guardian said, but he didn't reveal more information than necessary.

Mira nodded and didn't ask anything else, understanding that he wasn't willing to share any more information. She was already satisfied, knowing the benefits that orb would bring weren't over yet.

Mira then began inspecting all the changes that her breakthrough caused in her body and couldn't help but become a bit shocked.

Although she expected major changes, she didn't think they'd be so big! She didn't even look or feel human anymore!

Well, feeling the 9 tails on her backside and the furry fox ears on her head, she knew that she had definitely stopped being human. However, she wasn't sure if it was correct to call her a demi-human either.

She seemed more like a mythical beast that had taken human form, but that also wasn't quite right since she wasn't born a beast, nor could she instinctually feel the ability to transform into one.

Instead, she felt more like a perfect fusion between a human and a beast. She kept most of her human features but gained a few beastly features as well.

Mira could also tell that she didn't have the body of a little girl anymore! Finally! Her current body is actually similar to the body she had in the World Tree Seed trial.

She's over two meters tall with long silvery-blue hair with black highlights. She has two silvery-blue fox ears on her head and nine different colored tails. The colors are white, silvery-white, icy blue, pinkish blue, pink, turquoise, gold, sapphire, and black.

These tails weren't normal either. They were like nine extra limbs on her body! Each tail contained massive amounts of energy, and any random swing from one of them could contain the strength of Mira's full-powered punch.

The colors on each tail also represented their different properties and effects. For example, the gold tail was much heavier than the others and was definitely the most dangerous in a physical confrontation. Maybe even stronger than her actual body!

Her body was incredibly toned, and she could only think of one word to describe her body: perfect.

She had long legs and arms, a flat stomach that showed her abs, and about C-cup-sized breasts that wouldn't get in the way when she was fighting.

She didn't have that perfect hourglass figure that many women desire, but she had a body that looked incredibly domineering and was perfect for combat. One could say that her body matched her personality almost perfectly.

However, what surprised her a bit were the black runes running down both sides of her body. The black runes started at the base of the backside of her neck and ran down her shoulders, arms, torso, hips, and legs. They also ran down her spine to her waist.

Though Mira described them as runes, she actually had no idea if they were or not. She just assumed they were runes, but they looked more like tattoos that only added more to her domineering beauty.

Those were just the changes to her outward appearance! When she inspected the inside of her body, she could barely recognize herself! Her blood was no longer red but instead icy-blue with specks of gold. Her bones were black inlaid with gold. Her organs and muscles were still red, but they looked more like magma than organs and muscles!

Her skin even changed from the abnormally white skin she had before to something a bit more tan, giving her a more wild and exotic beauty.

Her heart was made up of the same colors as her tail and continuously pumped her Sub-Zero 9-Tailed Fox Progenitor Bloodline to the rest of her body, filling her entire body with strength.

She also noticed that her meridians had undergone a massive change. There was no longer just her Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Principle Meridians. Now, there were thousands of meridians filling her body! They branched out from her dantian like a tree reaching every part of her body, including her soul!

Her meridians also weren't just one color. They were constantly changing colors, probably due to the Chaotic Silk properties.

She also realized that Qi seemed to flow through her meridians seamlessly. As long as she willed it, the Qi inside her dantian would instantly pass through her meridians to the desired location.

There were also array runes integrated all along her meridians and dantian, subconsciously pulling in the atmospheric Qi.

Mira also felt like she had begun cultivating the Water Body Transformation Technique, but she'd have to revisit that thought later as there are currently more things she needs to check out. Mainly her mind and soul.

When she woke up, she felt like the world around her was much clearer. The mysteries of Heaven and Earth seemed more open to her, and her ability to comprehend these mysteries went up several notches.

However, when she inspected her mind, she didn't see anything different, so she could only shrug her shoulders and move on to her soul.

When she inspected her Soul Sea, she noticed that there were meridians in it as well. The majority of them just weaved around the edges of her Soul Sea, but there was a particularly large one that attached itself to a bubble in the middle of her Soul Sea. This bubble actually contained her new scythe!

When she saw her scythe, she was ecstatic! Although it seemed like it regressed in rank and power as it was once a Mid-Stage Earth Grade Scythe, and now it was… well, a Stage 1 Core Formation Scythe, it's actually much more powerful than it was before Mira's breakthrough.

Her scythe also looks quite different than it did before. Now, it has an icy blue blade, a silver shaft with blue runes running down it lengthwise, and an icy-blue point at the bottom of the shaft.

All of these were just some of the changes that Mira could see both inside and outside her body and soul. She could also feel her affinity towards the elements had increased, and her Physique had changed or evolved into something else as well.

However, she'd have to explore these things more in-depth later. Right now, she needed to ask Elenei some questions and also go pick up Dominque back in Lunar Fox City.