Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

As if a sea erupted out of Mira's body, a wave of darkness spread out from where Mira was standing, corroding everything in its wake. Though, if one were to look closely, one would see that this 'sea' was simply an amalgamation of runes.

The vibrant green grass instantly lost its luster and withered. The ground became soft, leaving behind a sticky black goo and the surrounding air grew heavy, making it hard for the man to breathe.

A blob of black goop encapsulated Mira's scythe, giving it a sinister and disgusting appearance that sent chills down the man's spine. Right now, instead of a heaven-defying beauty, all the man saw was an abominable creature!

'Fuck! Why does it seem like this woman is more devilish than anyone in the Unorthodox Faction?!'

Even Master Izaria, Ryuu, and the others were stunned by Mira's technique.

He hurriedly jumped out of Mira's [Death Dominion] before it touched him, his expression solemn. He felt if he were to come into contact with that black stuff, his life was as good as forfeited.

Mira followed after him. Her [Death Dominion] followed wherever she stepped, sucking the vitality of everything it touched.

Not wanting him to escape again, Mira launched 100 ice feathers at him, 50 on each side. Then, to cut off his retreat path, she used her [Frozen Terrain Change] Technique to place a giant ice boulder in front of him.

'Shit!'

The man hurriedly tried to fly over it, but Mira had already predicted this!

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

She exploded all the ice feathers she sent, disorientating the man for a second, but that was all she needed for him to enter her [Death Dominion].

Feeling his vitality and Qi draining, the man's expression changed, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed through his eyes.

'You forced my hand!'

With a roar, he channeled his Qi into the ground, causing a fissure to form and molten lava to shoot out toward Mira!

*Rumble!*

*BOOOM!*

Mira hurriedly tried to cover the hole with her ice and Yin Magma, but it was too strong and demolished her efforts.

Basketball-sized spheres of red-hot stone shot out of the lava, indiscriminately attacking the nearby land, causing widespread destruction.

Not wanting to retreat and with no choice but to dodge, Mira attacked the man. Clumps of lava landed on her skin and battle armor, but the damage was minimal, filling Mira with confidence.

Once she was 5 meters away from the man, Mira swung her scythe.

"It seems you swung a bit too early. What? Getting nervous?" The man sneered, but that didn't last long as his expression froze.

The black goop around the blade of Mira's scythe extended a bit over 5 meters and solidified, looking no different than the actual blade.

The man didn't have any time to dodge and could only reduce the damage by covering himself in a protective suit of Qi.

*Schlick!*

Unfortunately, that didn't help much, as Mira's scythe cut through it like butter, facing hardly any resistance.

The man tried to move out of the way just enough to protect his vitals, but Mira's attack still cut off a significant chunk of flesh. Unknown to him, a small black blob latched onto him the moment Mira's blade made contact with his skin.

"Urgh…!"

The man gritted his teeth in pain, but he held it in. He needed his complete focus for this battle! His death was assured if he sat there wallowing in pain and agony!

He controlled a fist-sized clump of lava and smeared it over his injury, cauterizing the wound, then he used a unique technique that allowed him to heal 'superficial' wounds like this with lava.

However, the effects were severely reduced as his vitality and Qi were constantly draining from Mira's [Death Dominion].

'Ugh! This damn domain! What even is this, and how is it draining my life?! This certainly isn't a technique that those stuck-up bastards from the Orthodox Faction would practice! Hell, I don't think I've seen many techniques from the Unorthodox Faction as sinister as this!'

The man grumbled, feeling confused, but he quickly discarded those thoughts, putting his attention back on Mira, which was the wisest thing he could've done as she swung her scythe again.

*Swish!*

This time, the man had plenty of time to dodge and was able to move out of the way…

Or so he thought.

"ACK!"

He screamed in pain as Mira scooped out another chunk of flesh with her blade.

'What?! How did she still hit me?! I clearly dodged before the attack could even reach me!'

He quickly replayed the scene and noticed that the black goo on Mira's scythe had rotated slightly to follow him.

The man was baffled and dumbstruck by what he saw!

'Are you fucking kidding me?! That attack can follow me?! HOW?!'

He's only heard of a few techniques capable of doing such a thing, and they all had one thing in common.

'There must be something on me that allows that weird substance to track me down!'

As a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator, all it took was a brief scan of his body, and he soon identified a small black blob on his torso.

'It must've latched onto me when her first attack landed. I guess I need to avoid getting attacked by her, so this doesn't happen again.' He narrowed his eyes and swiped the goo off his body.

'Sigh… I guess it's time to bring out my Soul Idol, or I'm afraid I'm going to lose. I'll be out of commission for a while afterward, but it's better than dying.'

His consciousness soon connected with his soul, which was in the form of an erupting volcano.

A Soul Idol is what makes the Soul Transformation Realm so unique and sets it apart from the Nascent Soul Realm.

Although the Nascent Soul Realm was incredibly important because that's when one unlocks their Soul Sense, allowing them to 'see' their surroundings with their mind in great detail.

The Soul Transformation Realm is when one confirms their path, their Dao. Upon reaching this Realm, a cultivator's Soul will transform into whatever their Dao is. There is a multitude of benefits from accomplishing this, and one of them is that they are able to manifest the image of their Dao onto the outside world, similar to how Mira can manifest her Absolute Ice Dao.

This is generally called a Soul Idol, which can significantly boost one's combat prowess when externalized, but doing so places a tremendous burden on one's mind and soul.

Thus, the man was a little reluctant to use it as putting such pressure on one's soul isn't exactly pleasant and can be very dangerous if not used properly.

With just a thought, a large, translucent volcano appeared behind the man, with the top of the volcano facing Mira.

The man waved his hand and roared, "Meteoric Canon!!"

*BOOOOOOOOM!!*

A massive molten rock shot out of the volcano toward Mira at supersonic speeds!

Mira's hair stood on ends as she sensed fatal danger from that attack, but a subtle smile appeared on her face.

'I suppose it's time to test out the 2nd Stage of the [Ruler of Death: Scythe Technique].'

She channeled her Qi and black runes, cloaking her entire body and making her look semi-transparent. Black Qi gathered around her scythe, but this time in mist form rather than a goopy liquid.

A long, black, hooded robe also appeared around her body, covering most of her features, making her look like some sort of Celestial Death Goddess.

'Haaa… This feeling of weightlessness never changes, and I still can't get used to it. This technique really makes me feel like I've transformed into a ghost.'

She's practiced this technique numerous times over the last month, so she wasn't surprised by the feeling, but she had to admit that it was weird. Not bad. Just weird.

Then, with just a tiny bit of effort, Mira glided through the air as if she didn't exist in reality, dodging the giant rock heading toward her.

Seeing Mira's new appearance, the man was stunned, and the feeling of death swept over him and consumed him like the plague. Just looking at Mira and sensing the baleful and deadly aura around her, he felt his mind slowly collapsing.

It was as if he was on death's door, staring at the grim reaper, awaiting his inevitable demise.

"Tch!" The man bit his tongue and regained a bit of clarity, but he soon felt Mira's aura rise even higher than it already was, and he sensed something unique about it.

'Intents! And two of them!! How has this bitch comprehended two Intents?!'

He waved his hand, sending a few more molten rocks out of his Soul Idol Volcano. Then, he controlled the lava from the ground and stuck it to his body, creating a set of Magma Armor.

*Shing!*

Mira's scythe slashed through the air-

*Splat!*

-causing a head with a dumbfounded expression to fly.

The man's last thought before he died was, 'HOW DID SHE GET PAST MY ARMOR?!