"We are not related by blood, but they are my daughters as much as they might pretend otherwise!" The Snow God's Empress exclaimed while shooting a fierce look at the two girls as if daring them to respond. Though they both turned red neither of them said a thing. Lineir, however, was merely perplexed. As his head tilted slightly Bing Wei sensed his confusion and clarified.
"When the Snow God took me as his Empress Qing-er and Ting-er were already born. However, I've raised them since before they could walk! They believe they have burdened me but it is just the opposite! None of this is their fault at all!" Bing Wei vehemently said and the two mortal girls immediately burst into tears! Lineir was startled but said nothing as the girls ran out of the room and disappeared into a side hallway. Their foster mother sighed,
"But they won't listen to me. That old Jie bat took everything from me. If I survive this calamity I will ensure she suffers every moment until I plunge her to the Yellow Springs myself!" The gentle Snow God's Empress suddenly turned wrathful as Lineir watched.
"Did the Jie clan ambush you? Qing Wei said something like that." Lineir questioned.
"The Jie clan ambushed me a year ago in Snowfall Citadel after my husband was gone. At the time, I was with Qing-er and Ting-er fortunately and managed to escape preserving all our lives. However my only choice against the ancestor the Jie Clan sent was to activate a forbidden technique and freeze time. Afterwards my cultivation base dropped immensely and I've been steadily losing my touch with the Laws. Soon...I may become just as mortal as they..." The Snow Empress said with an air of finality. She had not given up, but she understood like most cultivators, when the end of the road was near. Lineir's expression grew grave when he heard her tale. He knew the cost forbidden techniques, Mei had warned him many times of this. Luckily for him, he had an Undead Heart and cultivated the most forbidden technique, The Nine Paths of Asura, what was forbidden for others may not be so for him.
"What happened to your husband?" He asked. Bing Wei sniffed.
"The Snow God disappeared two years ago. I've been looking for him ever since but there are absolutely no clues! He just went off for secluded training in the mountains of Snowfall as usual and never returned. Of course I suspect the damn Jie Clan ambushed him as they did me, but to be honest I haven't a scrap of proof it was them. Additionally, their strongest experts combined would not have been able to defeat my husband! He was a peak expert of his generation! Even I don't know his true cultivation level but he was far stronger than I was at the time and I was approaching the boundary of Divinity." Her eyes turned misty as she remembered a time not so long ago. She turned to Lineir,
"I'm sorry, that's not really your concern. I used most every treasure I had and all my cultivation treasures to escape and evade the Jie Clan as well as to establish a concealment formation in this area. I'm afraid I cannot repay you with anything most cultivators of your level would desire. But if it's information you said you desire, I used to know of many secret spots and there is...something more. However..." She stopped thinking and staring deeply at Lineir. Lineir eventually picked up on what she was getting at,
"You're unsure of my cultivation level?" He said and she nodded.
"That place that I am thinking of is quite valuable, but you would need the required level of strength to go there. Seeing as you're not from around here, you would not be able to rely on anyone else." She said as if embarrassed. It was obvious Lineir was the kind of rogue cultivator who would not easily reveal his cultivation level as it was quite dangerous to do so. After all, even the slightest hint could tip the scales in a potential enemy's favor. However, Lineir felt fine mentioning,
"My combat power is perhaps not as strong as yours was at your peak, however, I am completely confident in my concealment abilities. Unless there is anything I would need pure strength for I do not believe this area would pose a threat to me. Please enlighten me Miss Wei, what benefits does this place hold?"
The Snow God's Empress smiled hearing this,
"If you're sure, then it should be alright. Just remember that I entered this place back when I was at my peak touching the great boundary of Divinity. If you sense that it has become dangerous to you in that place you absolutely must leave immediately! Unless you are confident in being able to fight many Tier 8 and Tier 9 beasts at once that is. In that case, there should be no danger for you."
Lineir nodded his head hearing this. He was not too worried. He had already fought a Tier 8 Cold Heart Bear in the Higher Realms. While multiple would pose some problem, there should not be an unreasonable risk to his life, he was confident he could escape even if multiple Tier 9 beasts had him surrounded.
"Very well, the place is located deep inside Ice Heart Mountain. I will imprint a jade slip for you with the precise coordinates. I used to use it as a hidden treasury to store some of my life saving treasures, alas I emptied it when my husband disappeared as a precaution. It was fortunate I did however as those live saving treasures are the only reason I've managed to survive and protect my daughters from the Jie Clan." The Snow Empress explained.
"But if it is empty then what value is it to me?" Lineir asked. A light gleamed in the Snow Empress's eye,
"It is true that that place was used as a treasury by me. However, before that, it was a proving ground for the original inhabitants of Ice Heart Mountain! Humans only recently settled the Snowfall Citadel several million years ago. That is why we are but a poor rural area, we have simply had far too little time to cultivate and spread our roots! Additionally, the environment here is truly too harsh for most cultivators to thrive. Only those who cultivate certain ice laws will truly flourish in this frozen land."
Lineir was stunned. He had thought the levels of the people here were a little too low. However, he merely attributed that to the Higher Realm's enormous size! Even if the standard level of cultivation was much higher, there were simply far too many people for them to all be powerful. However, it seemed this area had a good reason for being so weak. Indeed, the "Snow Empress" Bing Wei had only been touching the great boundary of Divinity in her peak. To be clear, the great boundary of Divinity was a border which one usually reached once they surpassed the capabilities of a Tier 9 beast and prepared to reach a half step into the Divine Realm. However, while that was a boundary which would have been incredibly powerful in Lineir's homeland, here in the Higher Realm, where the Laws were richer and the Qi dense and pure? It would simply be an unbelievable joke if one of the highest cultivators in the area was merely touching the Divine Realm. For instance, the Celestial Hummingbird which Lineir had encountered above the Necropolis was at the Celestial Realm. This was a mere hummingbird in the scheme of things! And yet it was a full realm and then some above the Snow Empress's level!
"A proving ground? But if not for humans, for who?" Lineir grew excited. He had heard of these proving grounds before, indeed the Chosen Cups Trial had essentially been one combined with a live tournament. Great powers usually left them behind for their descendants and future generations to test themselves and obtain legacies. If Lineir could enter one of a foreign race and obtain their benefits, the benefits would definitely not be bad! After all, even if the foreign race was weak in the Higher Realms, they were still a race of the Higher Realms. Lineir who came from a backwater in a Lower Realm was already salivating at the thought of getting his hands on some ancient treasures!
"The original race of Snowfall Mountain can be the one and only Ice Fey!"