C1312 The Snow Bear's Fawning

The arrival of the snow bear, with its overly aggressive behavior, took everyone by surprise.

After piercing through Zhu Huan's Divine Visage, the Uxthar Tree in the Spirit World underwent a transformation.

The Abyssal Winged Lizard quickly met the same fate as Zhu Huan, impaled by the tree's sharp branches, which drained it of its flesh and blood.

As a result, the divine tree grew to an impressive fifteen thousand meters!

Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes and could discern the branches' sharp edges, which emitted a mysterious glow, as if they harbored some enigmatic rule or order.

With its newfound power, the divine tree stood tall in the Spirit World, with the Origin Gate lying open beneath it. With the half-conscious Voidweaver as its ally, the snow bear wouldn't dare challenge it.

"Ignorance," murmured Denise, the noble lady from Kuvrepros, as she tilted her fair neck and her diamond-bright eyes shimmered with a look of sympathy.

The snow bear, robust as a mountain of snow, had a coat of dense, white fur that appeared both soft and endearing.

From high above, this ninth-level extraterrestrial alien beast seemed to exude a charming naivety.

Unseen by Denise, the snow bear's gaze upon the Spirit World was filled with violence and brutality.

She couldn't help but feel that this seemingly innocent snow bear would be pitiable if it fell into the Spirit World and met its end, impaled by the divine tree like the Abyssal Winged Lizard.

Boom!

The nearly two-thousand-meter-tall snow bear charged ferociously into the Uxthar Tree's towering trunk, causing the tree's roots to tremble beneath the Spirit World.

The Uxthar Tree's foundation quivered, and the Spirit World was rocked by sudden collapses, accompanied by a terrifying storm and hail.

Upon closer inspection, the storm and hail appeared to be composed of countless descending snowflakes.

Many fierce plants, shrubs, and flowers were caught in the upheaval and burst apart.

Despite colliding with the divine tree's main branch, the snow bear remained suspended in the void. It clearly had no intention of descending into the Spirit World for a direct confrontation with the Uxthar Tree.

It seemed to understand that as long as it stayed out of the Spirit World, the onslaught it faced would not be too formidable.

"Hmm?"

Chen Qinghuang, who had been gazing toward the distant Star River, turned her direction, casting a brief glance at the snow bear with her clear, mirror-like eyes.

"A rather clever snow bear," the empress remarked with a gentle nod, her estimation of the creature rising.

In the next moment, everyone witnessed an odd spectacle.

The snow bear that had collided with the Uxthar Tree managed to create a suitable distance from the divine tree's trunk. At the other end of the Spirit World, it seemed to be laughing at Chen Qinghuang, Yu Yuan, and the others, its furry face blanketed in thick snow, its once fierce eyes now exuding a goofy charm.

"This snow bear is kind of adorable," Denise whispered with delight.

At that moment, Beru returned from the Crucible of Evil and positioned himself in front of her and Leo.

Beru gazed intently at the snow bear, his thoughts deepening. The Great Sage's expression grew solemn.

"This snow bear might be the one from the legends. Odd, it should be highly intelligent and not typically found in the Brugeth," Beru mused, shaking his head.

"It looks like it's trying to curry favor with Chen Qinghuang," Xu Jingyao remarked with a huff.

Wei Zhuo, from within the thunder vortex, nodded in agreement but remained silent.

It was not unusual for alien beasts like the Abyssal Winged Lizard and the snow bear to be ingrained with a fear of the secular bird.

Just as the Abyssal Winged Lizard in the Spirit World gazed longingly at Chen Qinghuang, yearning for rescue, the snow bear seemed to be seeking her favor as well, hoping to preserve its spiritual wisdom for an extended period to avoid the Voidweaver's illusions and not charge into the Spirit World impulsively.

"It's both conjuring snowflakes and crashing into the roots of the giant tree, stirring up storms and hail to demonstrate its worth and power," Xu Jingyao observed, impressed. "Such intelligent alien beasts are indeed rare. I've heard that most are as simple-minded as the Abyssal Winged Lizard."

"Alien beasts have always been this way," Wei Zhuo responded. "They will never be able to build a civilization and order as complex as the archdemons of the Everlands, with their ancient heritage and culture. That's why they are defined as they are."

"Regardless of their past, once the great archdemons of the Shadow's Keep undergo transformation and take human form, they can be referred to as 'he'."

The distinction between "it" and "he" lies in the fundamental difference between spiritual wisdom and intelligence.

In that moment,

Yu Yuan felt an odd sensation stirring within him. With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, he made small talk, "This snow bear is quite clever."

Xu Jingyao's speculation from afar coincided with Yu Yuan's own thoughts. He too believed that the snow bear's actions were aimed at ingratiating itself with Chen Qinghuang to demonstrate its value.

This indicated that the snow bear possessed an astonishing level of spiritual wisdom.

"It certainly is very clever."

Chen Qinghuang, whose eyes seemed capable of piercing through all mysteries, suddenly showed a hint of astonishment. She shifted her gaze from the greylag and looked at Yu Yuan, her lips barely moving.

Without a sound, a remnant soul silently reached Yu Yuan's Heart Lake.

It doesn't want to ingratiate itself with me, but with you, to gain your favor...

Yu Yuan's form shook subtly.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the seemingly naive snow bear was actually gazing at him!

Not at Her Majesty the empress!

Why me?

Yu Yuan's mind drifted into a haze, and he instinctively scratched his head, overwhelmed with confusion.

He pondered the peculiar feeling that had surfaced when he first observed the snow bear.

It was a vague sense of familiarity...

Where had he encountered it before?

Despite racking his brain, he couldn't recall any past interaction with a ninth-level snow bear.

In his second life, Hong Qi had never ventured into the extraterrestrial Star River, and in this life, it was his first time.

If there was any chance he had seen it before, it must have been in his first life!

But why was there no memory of it? No memory sparkle had burst forth to jog his recollection of the snow bear.

After some time, Yu Yuan shook his head, entertaining a notion that seemed almost laughable.

Maybe, in his first life, he truly had encountered this snow bear, but he hadn't paid it much mind, and that's why it left no significant impression.

Lacking depth, there was no memory sparkle to instantly remind him of it.

"Hehe, hehe."

The enormous snow bear chuckled in its simple way, as the tempest and hail lashed the Spirit World, standing firm like an unyielding mountain of snow, refusing to fall.

Unaffected by the onslaught of the Uxthar Tree, Voidweaver, and the combined forces of Diggs and Pei Yuling, it remained unscathed.

Whoosh!

Thousands of miles away, the Solar Spirit that the Empress had dispatched suddenly returned, merging once again with her real body. Upon the Solar Spirit's return, Chen Qinghuang's aura surged exponentially.

"Where's Brie?" Beru cried out in alarm.

"Senior, I've made it. Thank you for your concern."

A giant wooden scepter entwined with withered vines arrived as swiftly as lightning.

The current leader of the Shadowkin wore a grimace. His dark green robe was tattered, with numerous charred holes, and his once handsome face, weather-beaten, was now blackened as if coated in dust. Strands of gray-white death lightning still snaked through the vines, their residual power lingering.

At that moment, Brie appeared more like a beggar than a patriarch, clutching the now-diminished scepter with a sigh. He cast a meaningful glance at Chen Qinghuang and once again expressed his gratitude to Beru before gracefully descending into the Spirit World. "Old Diggs, I've fulfilled your desire by stepping back into the Spirit World you once zealously sacrificed for."

Boom!

Brie touched down, casually driving the shrunken scepter into the earth. He crouched down, his left hand gripping the vine-covered scepter, while his right fingertip brushed the cold, hard ground. He began to murmur in the ancient Shadowkin tongue, long since forgotten.

A wave of dark green light, matching the hue of his robe, rippled swiftly from his position. In mere moments, it had spread across a third of the Spirit World's surface and continued to expand.

Countless plants, once dead from the snow bear's blizzard of snowflakes, storms, and hail, sprang back to life under the cover of the dark green light. The reborn flora no longer bore any trace of malevolence, as if all traces of evil energy had been purged.

It was evident to all that the Shadowkin patriarch was using his mastery of plant life, his own bloodline, and the power of his scepter to purify the Spirit World, tainted by darkness.

"You're still as arrogant as ever!" Diggs declared, his face stern and his voice ominous, "But you've forgotten our ancestors! You are the true sinner of the Shadowkin! I intend to resurrect our forebears and allow them to walk the earth once more. What is so wrong with that?!"

Brie bowed his head, tuning out the accusations, continuing to murmur to himself.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

In the reconstructed Spirit World, three areas suddenly cracked open, revealing dark caverns. From these, three massive altars emerged, overgrown with weeds and dead branches, and presented themselves before everyone.

The altars, each spanning a hundred acres, were laden with a variety of skulls, clearly from different tribes.

The skulls were stacked in mounds atop the altars.

Among them were those of the Crypt Clan, Silverscale Tribe, Shura, Voidweavers, Wingkind, and Starborn, with the majority being from the Shadowkin.

These skulls, coated in dust, some bore bloodstains that had persisted for millennia.

A ghastly, horrifying, and malevolent presence permeated the three colossal altars, enveloping the skulls of varying sizes and causing onlookers to feel their souls and vitality oppressively weighed down.

Finally, Brie lifted his head, his eyes brimming with tears. "These are the souls you've sacrificed, many of whom were warriors who loyally followed you to their deaths! I couldn't stand to see their heads exposed, so I buried them, unwilling to let our tribe's disgrace be revealed."

"Old Diggs! If the return of the Ancestral Tree demands the death of our kin, I'd prefer it never to reemerge!"

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