âWe already discussed this topic before, and my answer is still no,â the Snow Lady said, tilting her head slightly to look at him. âAre you humans all as overly sensitive as this?â
Zu An was speechless. He really couldn't say anything else at this point. In the earlier battle, even though the Snow Lady was injured, she hadnât entirely been without any fighting strength left. Later, the Iron Fist Rock had been killed with her help. As such, he didnât try to convince her further, and instead took out both the Skycloud Sword and Ninefoot Mirror. He didnât know which of the two items would be used for the next mountainâs seal.
Fortunately, the mountain reacted soon after he took it out. The Ninefoot Mirror in his hands lit up. Then, it was brought away as if by a pair of invisible hands and taken straight to the mountain. A warm light poured out from the Ninefoot Mirror and surrounded the entire peak. Because the mountain had been continuously bombarded by the Iron Fist Rockâs attacks, there were already massive cracks and collapsed holes in its surface; but after the light shone on it, the cracks actually sealed at a visible rate. Streak after streak of light appeared between the cracks, and an invisible power repaired them. As the last crack began to close, the Ninefoot Mirror flew toward it and entered the mountain just like the Soul Capturing Jade.
The entire mountain shone with profound runes. Just like the previous mountain, the entire place seemed to carry a holy air. Zu An keenly sensed an invisible fluctuation spread out.
The Snow Lady said, âIâve been rather restless recently, but now, I seem to feel much more at ease.â
Zu An gave her a look.
This woman isnât actually the incarnation of the Great Snowy Mountains, is she?
...
After finishing with the two mountains, Zu An didnât tarry. He set out for the third mountain with the Snow Lady. Along the way, he asked tentatively, âDo you still remember when you came to these snowy mountains?â
The Snow Lady shook her head and said, âI only remember that it has been a long, long time, but I donât remember exactly when it was anymore. Actually, for beings like me who have lived extremely long lives, time itself has already lost pretty much all meaning.â
Zu An was speechless.
Is this woman showing off? Does she know how many people lose their minds and give up everything for the sake of immortality, yet end up with nothing? And yet these beings that are actually immortal donât think it's anything special.
âThen were you here before the Great Snowy Mountains existed, or did you only come into being after the Great Snowy Mountains were already here? Or did both of you appear at the same time?â Zu An asked, trying to figure out the Snow Ladyâs origins.
The Snow Lady didnât seem to pick up on that and instinctively replied, âIt should be the Great Snowy Mountains that came first, and then me after...â
âShould be?â Zu An repeated, stunned.
âDidnât I already tell you that I canât remember many past events anymore?â The Snow Lady clutched her head as she spoke, as if she was in a bit of pain.
âThen donât think about it anymore,â Zu An hurriedly said. When he saw her in pain, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity.
However, he quickly laughed in self-mockery. He really only cherished people when they were pretty...
...
While they were talking, the two quickly arrived near the third mountain. Both of them narrowed their eyes, as it was just too blindingly bright. Their first thought was that a second sun had appeared in the sky, but then, they realized that there was a glowing being at the top of the snowy mountain. The light it released was even more dazzling than a real sun. After all, the position of the Great Snowy Mountains was special, so the sun wasnât as bright here.
âThe fact that the two of you are here means those fools have already been killed,â the glowing sphere said.
Zu An took the Snow Lady behind a hill and said, âYour distinguished self doesnât seem to be surprised.â
Previously, that Bramble Bone Dragon mentioned that as long as you were seen by this radiant being, something would happen.
Even though he didnât know what would happen, it was definitely not a good thing. As such, he remained on guard so he wouldnât be taken advantage of.
âWhy would I be surprised? Even though those guys had some skill, they were quite lacking in the intellect department. Even though they all said that the bone dragonâs brain was the size of a walnut, I donât think the other twoâs were that much bigger,â the radiant being said. Its voice was extremely indifferent, as if the ones who died werenât even its companions. When it saw Zu An hide behind the hill and not talk to it face to face, the radiant beingâs voice seemed to convey a hint of interest as it continued, âIt seems like you obtained a bit of information from them.â
âYou donât even care about their deaths, so why would they remain loyal to you? Of course they told me all of your secrets.â Zu An said deliberately to try to provoke it.
âI doubt that.â The radiant being chuckled. âSetting aside the restriction I set in their bodies, even if you had some way of obtaining any intelligence from them, you should have pretended you didnât know anything instead of speaking like this... Hmm, let me think for a moment... You likely know a bit, but not everything, so you're deliberately trying to feel out the situation. Youâre trying to figure out some things from what I say, right?â
Zu An sighed, saying, âAs expected, you're a bit smarter than those other guys.â
âEven though those guys were stupid, they were still pretty strong. Not even that Snow Lady should have been able to kill them. The only one who has such ability in this weak world...â The radiant being paused for a moment. âYou're the one who killed the War Priest, Demonic Motherbug, and Manipulator of Death, right?â
Zu An was a bit surprised. He said, âNow even I have a bit of respect for you. You actually pieced together so much from just a bit of information.â
âYou are indeed a talent, and I admire talents,â the radiant being said. It thought for a bit and offered, âHow about this? Iâll give you a chance. If you come to my side, I can spare you your life and also the lives of your friends and family. You can also conquer worlds much more vast than this one with the rest of us. I just happen to be lacking a smart subordinate like you.â
âI was just praising you for being smart, and yet now youâre suddenly showing me how dumb you are. Iâve already refused all the previous offers, so why try the same thing again without much sincerity?â Zu An sneered. âYou're clearly at a disadvantage right now, and Iâve already reinforced the other two seals. As long as I deal with this one, Iâll be able to completely seal all of you demons. I really donât know where you get your confidence from, thinking you can actually make me bow down to you.â
The radiant being chuckled. âIt seems the one who doesnât fully understand the current situation is you. Previously, because of the world barrier, we decided to hide ourselves for a decade or two to slowly infiltrate your worldâs powers and attack by coordinating attacks inside and outside. However, we never expected your world to have a Fiend race prince with such vigorous ambitions, someone who would actually take the initiative to collaborate with us, helping us loosen the seal and letting us invade this world. From that point on, all of you were doomed to lose.â
Zu An frowned.
This guy really knows how to act like a pretentious prick.
The radiant being continued, âDo you know why I didnât decide to help those idiots even though I could sense the changes that were happening to the sealing nails?â
âWhy?â This time, it was the Snow Lady who spoke.
âThatâs because, as long as I could occupy this sealing nail, the two of you would come sooner or later. After I dealt with you two, I could refine the other two sealing nails, so wouldn't it all be the same then? Meanwhile, if I left and you two just happened to rush here, wouldnât I have been lured away like a fool?â the radiant being said matter-of-factly
Zu An was speechless. He replied, âIsnât your distinguished self a bit too overconfident?â
The radiant being sighed, saying, âAfter conquering countless worlds and coming to such a low level world, itâs very difficult not to be confident.â
âThe mountain canât take much more,â the Snow Lady muttered with a frown. She could clearly sense the mountainâs groans. She couldn't hold herself back anymore. With a wave of her sleeves, a wild snowstorm swept forth from the bottom of the mountain up to the summit.
Suddenly, a streak of light appeared on the mountaintop. The roaring and surging blizzard seemed to become completely still.
The radiant being said, âI have experienced a myriad of worlds and encountered snow women in some worlds. However, you are different from them. You seem like a human, and yet you arenât. You also resemble a monster, and yet you aren't. Just what kind of a being are you, really?â