Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

After Mira killed everyone and looted the place, she decided to sift through Huoyan's memories.

Sitting on Rhydian's back as she flew through the air, followed by the Star-Horned Wolves, Mira closed her eyes and entered her Mind Palace.

Inside an empty room in her Mind Palace, Mira's consciousness stood in front of a chaotic, translucent blob.

Reaching out her hand, she touched it, and choppy, unknown memories immediately flowed through her mind.

There was information about Huoyan's home world, his life, and the Ashuras, but it was incredibly limited.

However, two things were untouched in all the memories: Huoyan's experience fighting against the Heavens and a technique called the Soul Forge Technique.

Not only were those memories untouched, but they were linked.

From the snippets of Huoyan's life she received, she understood that the Soul Forge Technique was one of the techniques he created to take advantage of his racial talent. There was another one, which he called the Body Forge Technique, that was also the reason for his meteoric rise to power.

However, the one that the Heavens had a problem with was the Soul Forge Technique.

The premise of the technique was to strengthen the soul. That wasn't abnormal, as the Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, and Divine Sea Realms also accomplish this, but what happens during those Realms is different than what the Soul Forge Technique does.

While the 3 Soul Realms in the standards cultivation system focus more on absorbing energy and passively increasing the strength of one's soul through this, the Soul Forge Technique directly strengthens the Soul from the outside with no middleman.

Huoyan found a way to use the ambient Qi around him to refine his soul. That still wasn't abnormal, as there were techniques out there that did something similar. However, what set his apart from those was that he didn't need to absorb any Qi.

Instead, he used the ambient Qi to grind parts of his soul into tiny fragments, then filled in the gaps, making it stronger and more durable.

Doing it this way, Huoyan could separate the cultivation of his soul from the normal cultivation system. Then, with the Body Forge Technique, he split his body cultivation as well, effectively creating 3 different cultivation systems, each with 9 Realms.

One didn't need to be a genius to understand the benefits of doing this.

By the time Huoyan reached the Ascension Realm, he had gone through an extra 18 Realms of power compared to everyone else, making him invincible in the entire Mortal Realm. Of course, that wasn't exactly correct, as those "extra 18 realms" didn't have 9 sub-stages in each one. In fact, they didn't have any sub-stages.

Still, that was more than enough to set him apart from the rest.

However, the Soul Forge Technique was the foundation that allowed him to pull this off. Without that, the Heavens wouldn't have set its sights on him.

As for its counterpart, it wasn't any better than any other Body Cultivation technique; it was just unique to him and his race.

The reason the Heavens decided to strike Huoyan down during his ascension to the Immortal Realm was that he had set himself on a path that would remove Heaven's influence from him.

If he continued down that path, his soul would become so strong one day that the Absolutes would no longer have any control over him.

How could the Heavens allow someone like that to exist?

So, they erased him, and with that, someone who might one day have the qualifications to stand amongst them left this world for good…

Or so they thought.

They probably didn't expect his soul to be captured and sent to a Secret Realm, which looked and acted almost exactly like Hell. Unfortunately, Heaven's job was smiting sinners, not looking after them.

Thus, Huoyan's soul escaped under the eyes of the Absolutes by a mysterious force.

Ingraining this technique into her Mind Palace, Mira instantly learned and understood everything she needed to know about it, but she wasn't all that happy about it.

'I'm sorry, Huoyan, but I don't think this technique is for me.' Mira thought, her expression forlorn.

In this world, Huoyan was by far the first man she had ever respected. Ryuu was on his way to earning Mira's trust, but Huoyan literally gave up his soul and, with that, his chance of reincarnating.

With his talents, Mira was sure that even in his next life, he'd still be a supreme genius and might even reach a point where he could learn more about his past lives. However, he didn't hesitate to give all that up for her.

If she could carry on his legacy by using this technique, she certainly would, but it didn't take more than a glance for her to understand that using this technique would be a waste of her potential.

She had a damn World Core in her soul, after all! If she didn't use it, that would simply be a waste of a treasure she might never encounter again!

'However, I'll use this Soul Forge Technique as the basis for whatever soul technique I create in the future. I won't let his knowledge and genius go to waste like that!'

That was all she could do to soothe the deceased soul of the only made who had her respect.

As Mira continued to contemplate the Soul Forge Technique, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness for Huoyan. From what she saw in those memories, he was a great guy. Not only was he a genius, but he was kind-hearted and cared more about his race than himself.

He learned everything for the benefit of his race, not for some selfish power trip like most cultivators.

Seeing how happy he was during his life made Mira think about her life, her goals, and what she had done up until now.

'Mostly, I've only cared about advancing in cultivation and getting stronger, ignoring almost everything around me.'

'The only people I actually care about are Maria and Dominique, but… can I readily abandon my goals just for the sake of them? Can I give them my all like how Huoyan gave his race his all?' Mira didn't think so.

Abandoning her goals was almost equivalent to forsaking her life. As long as that god still existed, he would always be a nuisance, looking for ways to torment her and her loved ones.

If she gave up on pursuing personal power and focused more on the benefit of the group, she had no doubt that her life would return to what it once was: a living nightmare.

However, that's not to say his memories didn't leave any impact at all. Seeing how happy he was to help those he loved shook Mira's consciousness.

She… she also wanted…

'Sigh,' Mira sighed, not continuing that thought, 'Whatever. For now, I'll focus on modifying the Soul Forge Technique to suit me better.

Mira left Huoyan's memories behind and focused on her own training. She began experimenting with the Soul Forge Technique, testing its limits and exploring its potential.

At first, she found that the technique was too limited for her needs. It focused too much on strengthening the soul in a singular way and didn't consider the complexity of the human mind or how the Soul links to one's Qi cultivation.

So, Mira began to modify the technique, incorporating her own experiences and insights into the process. She started by using the ambient Qi to grind not just the shell of her soul but also any negative emotions or traumas that were holding her back.

She visualized these emotions and traumas as blocks of ice and used the Qi to melt them away, leaving behind a purified and refined soul. She also incorporated different elements, using these practices to further strengthen and refine her soul.

As she continued to refine the Soul Forge Technique, Mira found that it not only made her soul stronger but also more flexible and adaptable.

But Mira wasn't satisfied with simply refining and improving the technique. She wanted to take it to the next level and create something entirely new. Something that only she could use!

Unfortunately, fate seemed to be playing tricks on her as she suddenly sensed a powerful, sinister aura approaching.

She opened her eyes and looked around but saw nothing at first. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a young man with long black hair and silver eyes with purple slits.

In the depths of her body, she could feel her bloodline throbbing as the presence of this man seemed to agitate it.

Understanding that the situation was much more serious than she initially thought, Mira pulled out her scythe and readied herself for an attack.

"You're quite difficult to find, little fox," the young man said with a cold smile, "It almost took me an entire day to find you! In fact, it probably would've taken me much longer if it weren't for that giant beacon you call a wolf!"