Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

"There is always a higher mountain to climb"- a famous saying among the myriad of worlds, regardless of status, power, race, or gender. It doesn't stop there. Although the wording might change, the meaning is always the same.

It means there is always something higher to aim for, whether that be power, status, strength, knowledge, or whatever it is you want to excel at. You can always be better and should always strive for something better.

Cultivation, at its core, is essentially the manifestation of this saying. For a normal village child, someone at the Qi Condensation might be the top of the mountain for them. While for a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, it's the Foundation Realm or the Core Formation Realm.

For a Divine Sea Realm expert, the top of the mountain is the Ascension Realm. That's not only the case for Divine Sea Realm experts either. The Ascension Realm is the peak for all in the Mortal Realm!

A true cultivator's primary goal in life should be to want to reach this peak, surpass it and transcend, giving themselves a new set of mountains to climb! This is what makes cultivation and the power that comes with it so addictive, as it is tangible proof that you are improving.

However, this could be said about any hobby, profession, or livelihood.

For example, a new blacksmith might only be able to create shoddy daggers initially, but as they practice and gain experience, someday, they might be capable of making legendary items that can throw the world out of balance!

However, what if you were just one step away from reaching the peak of your profession and were about to take the final step in creating the best weapon in the history of the world, only for the materials to be monopolized by another party?

What if they had absolute power over you and would slaughter you and your entire bloodline for daring to confront them about this matter?

How would you feel?

Lost? Angry? Resentful? Bitter? Depressed? Like your life had just lost all meaning?

Probably a mixture of all those feelings combined with a few more.

Now, what if you had to live with that feeling for thousands of years? There would always be that sliver of hope of taking that final step, reaching heights you'd only dreamt of, but despite your best efforts, everything was in vain.

Nothing mattered. The other party was too strong. Even if you built an empire of blacksmiths or maybe… a Sect full of talented young cultivators who could help you in your quest… it mattered not.

You could never take down the absolute overlord reigning over you like a tyrant.

That's how those in the Divine Sea Realm on the Western Continent feel, with the Central Continent being the tyrant preventing them from going any further on their journey to power.

This is especially so for beings like Aelina and Alexander, who have lived a very long time, wanting nothing more than to reach the apex of what the Mortal Realm has to offer, only for their oppressor, the Central Continent, to shoot them down like worthless ants!

These people would go to great lengths and would almost do anything just to get a glimpse of hope of reaching the peak!

The thought of rallying the 4 continents and waging war against the Central Continent was always in their minds. What stopped them from acting on this was simply the fact that they wouldn't win. It wouldn't even be close!

They have Ascension Realm experts there! Not just one or two either, but multiple! Hell, there might even be people at the peak of that Realm! Just a handful of Ascension Realm experts were more than enough to dismantle the 4 other continents, killing all the Divine Sea Realm experts.

This isn't mere speculation either but runs deep in the history of the Continents.

There have been numerous wars against the Central Continent, with every single one of them ending in the latter's victory. No, it could hardly even be called a war. It was more like entertainment for the higher-ups who use these so-called wars as "training grounds" for their Divine Sea Realm cultivators.

Simply put, it's nothing more than a silly farce for those in the Central Continent. One those bastards might even look forward to.

Nevertheless, it goes without saying that someone like Alexander would want to do everything in his power to break the shackles that bind him and find a way to become an Ascension Realm expert.

So far, the only option is to wait for a heaven-defying disciple to show up and enter the Top 3 in the Central Continent Competition, but that doesn't mean Alexander or even the other Sects have stopped looking for alternative ways to breakthrough.

One of those alternatives is the Ancient Beast Mountain Range! It was only speculation, but this Mountain Range has always been mysterious, even today. He refused to believe that there was nothing that could help them break through to the Ascension Realm.

The rumor the Ghost Reaper King mentioned only solidified this ideal!

"As long as there's not an Ascension Realm beast, I have found a way we humans might be able to fight back against the beasts and finally take control of a piece of this Mountain Range!"

Flora, Damon, and The Ghost Reaper King were both shocked and skeptical at Alexander's bold statement. They were also wondering why he shared this information with them.

Knowing exactly what they were thinking, Alexander explained, "I've discovered that the Battle Maiden Sect's Sect Master has a unique cloning technique that can essentially turn a one-on-one situation into a two-on-one!"

"..."

Silence fell over the four of them as the atmosphere turned heavy. Even the Ghost Reaper King's aura fluctuated slightly, indicating this news flustered him.

They all understood the underlying meaning of his words and couldn't help but think,

'Doesn't that make them the strongest Sect on the Continent?!'

Damon felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it. He was a relatively new Sect Master, and although he was also in the Divine Sea Realm like the others, he's never seen Aelina in battle.

Still, he didn't need to know. He was confident he'd win against almost anyone, especially a woman, in a one-on-one scenario, but he knew better than to challenge two people at her level.

If she really had a technique like Alexander said,

'I'd be fucked!'

Meanwhile, Flora thought about what Alexander was trying to get at by telling them this information.

'He's saying that if we can obtain this technique, we can effectively double humanity's powerhouses and might be able to put up a fight against the beasts. That's all well and good, but I doubt this technique has no side effects.'

"Where'd you come to learn this information?" Flora asked.

Alexander just smiled but didn't say anything. She understood what he was trying to convey and decided not to pursue it.

Still, she had to confirm something, "How reliable is this information?"

Alexander pondered for a moment, which was a bad sign in Flora's book, and said, "Around 80%."

Flora and the Ghost Reaper King nodded, satisfied with that answer. Learning anything about Aelina was hard enough, so if he was 80% confident in the reliability of this information, then there's most likely some semblance of truth there.

"Alright, but what do you want us to do about it? Like I said before, I have no intention of waging war against the Battle Maiden Sect for such a technique. It would also be counterintuitive for you to want to kill Aelina as she would be of great assistance in a fight against the beast clans."

Alexander nodded, "You're right. I don't want to wage war against her, nor do I want to kill her. Instead, I want to bargain with her. Not just her, but you three as well."

"Bargain?" The three of them tilted their heads. What could he possibly have to barter?

"What if I have information pertaining to an ancient inheritance site in the Ancient Beast Mountain Range that can help not only our disciples increase their strength and cultivation but us as well?"

*Boom!*

It was like a bomb went off inside their heads as three enormous pressures leaked out of their bodies, crashing into Alexander, but he just sat there with a faint smile on his face.

"Now, now. I didn't say I actually have this information. I just asked, 'what if'. However, it looks like you guys are fairly interested! Hahaha!" He chuckled before narrowing his eyes and shrugging the pressure off of him, "Now, shall we get down to business?"

***

Meanwhile, as multiple conversations were taking place among the upper echelons of the Western Continent were taking place, high in the sky, above Lunar Fox City, a large crack appeared.

Out of this crack came 11 beautiful women who examined their surroundings.

After a few moments, the woman who seemed to be the leader nodded and said, "It looks like Master dropped us off at the right place. Now, let's get to searching for this Mira girl!"