Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

When Mira appeared inside the hut, it was like she had entered an entirely different world. Contrary to what was seen on the outside, the inside of the 'hut' was huge! Though, it seemed Elder Sandra kept the rustic aesthetic with the wooden walls and floors.

It looked like a countryside house a rich old person would stay in after retiring.

'That's probably not too far off the mark.' Mira chuckled inwardly, eyeing Elder Sandra.

"Is this place covered in an illusion or concealment array or something?" Mira asked.

Elder Sandra wasn't shocked by Mira's sudden question and replied, "It's an illusion array. There's no need for a concealment array since there's nothing important here. I only stay in this residence whenever I have to visit the Outer and Inner Courts frequently."

Mira didn't even need to look around much to know she was right. Other than the comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, there was nothing special about this place.

"Anyways, what are you going to do with him?" Mira pointed at Zander, whose maddened state worsened.

"Originally, I was going to interrogate him to see if I could uncover any noteworthy information about the Crimson Slayer Sect, but it seems like his heart demon has corrupted his mind already. Though, it seems like you're his heart demon. I wonder how that came to be?" Elder Sandra asked, curious as to what Mira did to make him end up in such a pitiful state.

Mira just shrugged her shoulders and said nonchalantly, "Well, since his shitty master appeared to save him, I had to leave a little present for the man who tried to kill me. I just didn't expect his willpower to be so poor that he couldn't even handle the brunt of my killing intent."

Now, Elder Sandra's curiosity was officially piqued, "Oh? That's all it took? Now I'm curious as to just how fierce your killing intent is for it to make a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator go insane."

While it sounded like Elder Sandra was asking out of pure curiosity, there seemed to be something deeper as well. However, Elder Sandra could be considered an old monster; thus, reading her emotions was incredibly difficult.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Facing someone's killing intent is a great way to build willpower artificially. I'm sure you already know this, but killing intent is essentially a manifestation of all the lives you've taken and your resolve to keep reaping lives. It's not as simple as just expressing your desire to kill."

"Against someone with such tremendous killing intent is the same as facing a wall of death. However, new, sturdier walls appear with every life you've reaped, further increasing the necessary willpower to surpass them."

Elder Sandra explained, and Mira nodded since she already knew all this.

"So, you're basically saying that depending on the intensity of my killing intent, it could be a great training tool," Mira commented, causing Elder Sandra to chortle.

"Exactly!"

"Then, why don't you and the other Elders do it?"

"Eh? Do you really think we're so free? Also, why should we do something so troublesome for free? You should also know how burdensome it can be to release your killing intent constantly."

Mira nodded deeply, knowing full well how troublesome it was. Not just that, but without sufficient willpower, just suppressing one's killing intent was hard enough!

"Then you can probably imagine the consequences of having a Mortal Shedding Realm elder running amok in the Sect."

Mira didn't even want to think about it.

"You're right. Preferably, I wouldn't want to die without even knowing how."

"Hahahaha! Precisely! However, it's fine if a weak little brat like you does it." Elder Sandra laughed.

"Hmph! Anyways, If you really want to know 'my resolve', then I'll show you during my fight with that guy." Mira pointed at Zander, and Elder Sandra's expression turned strange.

"Well, whatever. However, just know that if you are close to dying, I won't save you. Even though it would be a huge loss to the Sect, this is what you wanted. Me interfering would be a huge insult to your resolve as a cultivator!" Elder Sandra said firmly, and Mira couldn't agree more.

In fact, she preferred it this way.

The three made their way into the basement of the house, where a large room, at least several kilometers wide, appeared before them.

Mira wordlessly looked at Elder Sandra, and the two nodded simultaneously. Then, Mira walked to the middle of the room, took out her scythe, and prepared herself.

Elder Sandra gave Mira one last look before tossing Zander into the room. She then crossed her arms and proceeded to watch the battle unfold.

As soon as he was free from Elder Sandra's grasp, Zander released a howl filled with anger and malic.

"ARRRRRGHRGRGRGRGRGR!"

A dense amount of crimson qi appeared in one of his hands, creating a long sword that looked like it was made out of blood. At the same time, 4 bloody-red semi-illusory arms holding giant greatswords appeared out of his back.

This, combined with his maniacal red eyes, almost made him appear as an asura.

Mira didn't want to be outdone and used her strongest ability, her Paragon Wings. She also partially activated her 'Perception Tail' so her mind could fully keep up with his movements.

Suddenly, the two seemingly disappeared from their positions.

*Clang!*

Their weapons clashed against each other, and Mira was pushed back a few tens of meters!

'Heavy!' She couldn't help but comment in surprise.

Just from that one clash, she could tell that his strength was above hers. However, that's all he has going for him.

"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!"

By now, his mind was already gone, and he was only acting purely on instinct.

After pushing Mira back, Zander kept wildly charging at her, swinging his swords around. Since most of his attacks were extremely simple and easy to read, she had no problem deflecting them, but the power behind each of his attacks was still a problem.

Aside from that, Mira also couldn't find a way to close in and attack, despite his simplistic movements.

Nevertheless, Mira still felt like she could win as long as she took the fight's momentum from him. She still had plenty of cards up her sleeves that she hadn't played yet.

Right now, she was just testing the waters, attempting to gauge Zander's true strength. However, after going a few rounds with him, it became clear to her that this would be an easy win as long as he couldn't react or instinctively predict her movements.

Fortunately, Mika knows just the right martial art that's perfect for this situation! She hadn't spent several months constantly fighting seemingly impossible enemies in the Abyssal Battle Ladder for nothing, after all.

The Chaos Body Martial Art! This, combined with the first move of her Boundless Scythe Technique-Atmospheric Slash, should allow Mira to grasp victory!

All of a sudden, the atmosphere and aura around Mira became harder to read and comprehend, making her almost seem like a ghost going in and out of existence.

Her footwork turned strange, the way her body moved was completely different, and the areas she attacked were seemingly random.

Elder Sandra raised both her eyebrows, and her eyes shone with interest as she watched Mira's movements.

'What is she doing? Is that some kind of movement technique? No, it's not just a movement technique. Every action she takes is seemingly random and chaotic, with no set patterns, yet at the same time, they seem calculated. How interesting! Show me more, Mira!'

She was also slightly impressed by Mira's Atmospheric Slash, but she was much more excited about the Chaos Body Martial Arts.

Zander, who was now unable to comprehend Mira's movements, was forced to go on the defensive after taking one Atmospheric Slash after another.

Wounds slowly started building up all over his body, which only seemed to fuel the hate and rage in his heart!

"ROAR!!"

A beastly roar left his mouth once he reached a breaking point and his aura grew!

6th Stage Nascent Soul Realm.

7th Stage Nascent Soul Realm.

8th Stage Nascent Soul Realm.

His body grew, and his muscles bulged in tandem with his raging aura, but Mira could tell he was sacrificing his lifespan for this burst in power.

However, this didn't make her feel any better. Although his realm of power was forced and temporary, he had still become much more powerful. He could also probably stay in his current state for a while since a Nascent Soul Realm's lifespan isn't exactly short.

With how young he looked, Zander definitely had thousands of years of lifespan at his disposal if he was really ready to give it all away.

Still, she wasn't too worried, even with his newfound increase in power.

"Did you perhaps lose even more brain cells after using such a suicidal technique?! Just because you became bigger and uglier doesn't mean you can suddenly beat me!" Mira yelled while launching a flurry of feathers at him from her Paragon Wings!

*Boom!**Boom!**Boom!**Boom!**Boom!*

"ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!" Zander screamed in anger as the feathers exploded after penetrating his skin.

Chunks of flesh separated his body and covered the ground, but he just used more of his lifespan to heal his wounds quickly.

Mira opened her arms wide provocatively while hovering in the air and said, "Come at me."

So, that's exactly what Zander did! He lowered his stance, flexing his muscles, then exploded out with power, flying toward Mira at supersonic speeds!

*Boom!*

He instantly closed in on Mira and swung all of his swords, but Mira didn't move. She just watched all this happen with a bloodthirsty smile on her face.

When the swords collided with her body…

*Poof!*

She exploded into a mist, shocking both Zander and Elder Sandra!