Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Master Izaria huffed in annoyance but didn't chase after them. Turning to Mira, whose aura was stronger and more domineering, Izaria grinned, "Someone's been busy, haven't they?"

Mira stared at Master Izaria deeply without saying a word. Mira knew that Master Izaria and Ryuu had been keeping tabs on her, while the latter knew that Mira could sense them.

Feeling a little awkward under Mira's knowing gaze, Izaria looked away and said, "I'm glad we could make it in time to help you. I wonder what secrets you're hiding for those old fellas to come out of their hiding."

Mira's expression never changed, even though she did have quite a few treasures on her. Not only did she have all the loot from the fallen Crimson Slayer Branch Sect, but Aelina had given her countless rare herbs to put in her Infinity Garden. Right now, she was a literal walking treasure trove that would make all the Sects drool with greed.

Not that anyone other than her and Aelina knew about the herbs…

However, thinking about those herbs made Mira pause. She stared at the Master-disciple duo and felt she should give them some sort of reward for saving her. The two of them, while nosy, had taken time out of their lives to make sure nothing untoward happened to her.

'Hmmm~ What should I give them?' Mira sent her consciousness into the Infinity Garden and sifted through the hundreds or even thousands of different herbs in her possession, many of which have multiplied under the effects of the garden.

After a few moments, she took out 3 items; an herb, a fruit, and a root.

The herbs had sharp, gold petals. The fruit glowed like a galaxy and had six glowing silver stars on it. Lastly, the root was brown and looked like ginseng.

"I don't like to owe favors, so I'll reward you for saving me. All three of these are Mystic-Grade items." Mira handed over the ingredients to Ryuu.

Ryuu's eyes widened upon seeing what Mira just took out, and Master Izaria wasn't any better. While only Divine-Grade items would be helpful to her, it's not like Mystic-Grade ingredients are common. Even she would have to expend much effort to find one!

"The herb is-" Mira was about to explain the items, but Master Izaria cut her off.

"The Razor-Edged Light Flower. The fruit is a Six Star Earthly Star Fruit that seemed to evolve into the Mystic Grade, and the root is a Dragon Ginseng! Where did you even get these items?!" Master Izaria's eyes shined like stars as she stared at the ingredients in Ryuu's hands.

For both of them, not just Ryuu, these items were priceless! Even if she searched the entire Western Continent, she might not find another one of these without getting lucky! Not only are they incredibly rare, but beasts and other Sects usually find these items first and hide them, not allowing anyone to catch a glimpse of them.

Mira shrugged, "I just found them during my travels. Since I have no use for them, I might as well give them to you as a reward for saving me."

Master Izaria was stunned for a moment before she burst out laughing, "Hahaha! That's right! A good woman should know when to pay back favors! I knew it was the right idea to stalk-ahem, protect you during your travels!"

Mira's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything else and just turned around. Rhydian cried out and followed after Mira, and the two of them went deeper into the mountains. She didn't have time to waste talking with them as the next Hell of Weakness trial had begun, and it was one that would be more tedious than the others.

Ryuu wanted to stop her and return the items she had just given, as he felt it was wrong for him to take from someone he considered a friend or at least an acquaintance, but his Master stopped him.

He turned to look at her to complain, but she shook her head, "I know what you want to say, but don't do it. Rewarding you is her way of saying thank you, so just accept it gratefully. Doing anything else might bring her ire instead."

Ryuu tilted his head, not understanding what his Master was talking about, but she didn't bother to explain.

"Putting that aside, things are getting more and more complicated. At first, it was just the Unorthodox Faction making moves, but now, even the Yin-Yang Sect is after her. Yet, for some reason, Mira is always in the center of it." Master Izaria stroked her chin, "I wonder what other players will join the game before war breaks out."

Ryuu's eyes widened, and his mouth went agape, "Do you really think an all-out war will happen, Master?!"

Izaria nodded, "Tensions are already high between the Battle Maiden Sect and the Unorthodox Faction. Just a little push is all they need for the spark that will ignite the flames of war to light. The only question now is, will it just be them, or will others join the party?"

***

Not long after Tobias and Amora left with the rest of the Yin-Yang Sect, Sue Ming, who sat in a cave, meditating, was interrupted by one of her subordinates. Without opening her eyes, she said, "You better have something important to report, or I'll have your head."

The woman shivered, kneeled before her, and said, "Tobias from the Yin-Yang Sect failed to capture Mira, Mistress."

Sue Ming's eyes shot open and a deep frown formed on her face, but soon it changed to confusion.

"How did he know where Mira was when those idiots from the Unorthodox Faction couldn't? I feel like I just spoke to him a few days ago."

Although she asked that, the question was more rhetorical than anything, nor did she care about Mira's location all that much. All that mattered was that she knew her general location.

Her Master sent her down here not to kill Mira but to make her life a living hell. She didn't need to keep a watchful eye on her 24/7, nor did she want to. While she didn't know a whole lot about Mira, she knew that she was special and not just in terms of the Mortal Realm. No, her Master/Husband thought of her as special, which was a title he never gave out!

From Sue Ming's experience, these kinds of people generally have an abnormal perception. If she kept an eye on her all the time, Mira would know that someone was following her, defeating the purpose of her mission.

Sue Ming's subordinate knew this as well, but she still answered, "Apparently, their Prime Disciple already had an eye on her and was able to sniff her out. However, I don't know how he did it."

Sue Ming's frown eased up, "Alright, enough about that pervert. Where is Mira now? Is she in the Ancient Beast Mountain Range?"

The subordinate nodded, "Yes, Mistress. However, from the report that Tobias gave, she is doing something abnormal."

Sue Ming raised an eyebrow, "Abnormal, you say? Like what?"

The subordinate hesitated for a moment before answering, "I… I haven't checked the sites personally, but apparently, Mira is running around absorbing lakes and volcanoes."

Now, this surprised Sue Ming a little. Ever since she arrived in this world, she's gathered as much information about Mira as possible and has learned quite a few things. For one, she now has nine fox tails and looks like a goddess. However, the one that stood out the most was her affinity with ice.

From all the information she's gathered, not a single one stated that she had more than one affinity, nor did it talk about any sort of unique physique. Although she assumed that the tails were from a unique bloodline, it's not like that would allow her to control every element.

'Why would she need to absorb lakes and volcanoes? Is she practicing a new technique or cultivating her body?' Sue Ming thought but shook her head, 'No, if she weren't stupid, she'd pick something more in line with her affinity rather than branch out to something completely different.'

Her eyebrows creased, and she lowered her head with a frown. For some reason, this new information made her feel like she was missing something important.

'Is all the data I've gathered until now just the tip of the iceberg?' The image she had of Mira in her mind seemed to fog over, and she didn't like it one bit.

Knowledge was power, even in a world of earth-shattering deities and mountain-splitting immortals. The less she knew about Mira, the less likely her plans would work.

However, an idea quickly formed in her mind, and she stood up, stopping her meditation.

She motioned for her subordinate to rise, then left the cave, "Come. I think it's about time for us to meet a few of the Beast Clans. I'm sure a few of them would love to have the chance to mate with a 9-tailed fox! Hahaha~"

Sue Ming's sensual and diabolical laughter echoed inside the cave, but unfortunately, nobody aside from her subordinate was around to hear it.