Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

The Mortal Shedding Realm expert nodded, relieved that the Sect Master had calmed down. He knew better than most how dangerous Cyrus could be when he lost control of his emotions.

As the man left the room to carry out his orders, Cyrus sat down in his chair, deep in thought.

'I can't beat Aelina or Sue Ming head-on, but maybe I can pit them against each other and use their own strengths against them.'

He had a plan, a dangerous one, but one that might work.

Soon enough, the Toxic Blade Sect Master arrived, his face stern and serious.

He was a tall and lanky man with a subtle aura, but his piercing snake-like eyes and rippling muscles underneath that weak-looking body told a completely different story.

"Why have you called for me, Cyrus?" The Toxic Blade Master, Dorian, asked, a little annoyed. He had been researching in his lab, only to be disturbed. It was no wonder he just wanted to leave.

"I have a proposition that you might be interested in," Cyrus said with a light smile.

"Oh?" Dorian raised an eyebrow, "What kind of proposition?"

"Instead of just purchasing your products, I want to create an alliance with you." Cyrus went straight to the point. They both didn't have time to waste, after all.

Who knows when Aelina might strike back?

"Hmm?" However, contrary to Cyrus' expectations, Dorian frowned. The man knew exactly why Cyrus wanted an alliance as news of Aelina's declaration of war against the Crimson Slayer Sect spread like wildfire. "Why would I want to join you in your war efforts? My Sect is doing perfectly fine! In fact, it's doing more than fine. I don't need to get in the middle of this troublesome fiasco."

Dorian knew Sue Ming had bought and used some of his poisons, but he didn't know what she did with them. Though, even if he did know, he probably wouldn't care as not only did she pay him a hefty sum for them, but it wasn't his responsibility as to what happened afterward.

People from the Unorthodox Faction buy his poisons all the time. What they do with them is their business; he's just the supplier.

However, Cyrus knew what Sue Ming had planned and done on the day he invaded the Battle Maiden Sect. That was one of the few times he had interacted with her, after all...

Much to his dismay.

"What do you mean you're not interested in the war?" Cyrus released a cold smile, "You're already in it, my friend!"

Dorian was stunned by Cyrus' words, but soon, his eyes sharpened, and he glared at Cyrus.

"Explain." He demanded.

Cyrus might be a psychopath, but he didn't think he was someone who'd lie to him.

"Hehehe~ Don't worry. I'll explain everything, but for now, let's lose these prying eyes."

Cyrus waved his hand, creating a dome around them that blocked off all sight, sound, Soul Sense, and aura.

While they were inside, Cyrus waved his hand, and the two were teleported to another, more secretive location. One nobody besides him knew about.

***

After a few hours of rest, Mira woke up with poison still wrecking her body. The pain was horrible, but she knew she couldn't afford to rest for too long. She had to find the antidote for Dominique as soon as possible.

She tried to get up, but her legs gave out from under her, and she fell back onto the bed. She groaned in frustration but could do nothing as her body was still recovering.

'Whatever. I'll just focus on recovering.'

Laying on the bed, she closed her eyes again, ignoring the pain.

Seraphina, who was sitting beside her, meditating, opened her eyes, but when she saw Mira lay back down and close her eyes, she returned to recovering her Qi.

Mira swept her consciousness through her body and focused on the poison that had invaded her body.

It kept trying to worm its way in deeper and deeper, seeking refuge in her bone marrow, heart, and even blood essence.

Fortunately, her vitality was strong enough to push it back, but that's all it could do.

'What a deadly poison!' Mira exclaimed.

No doubt, if Nova and the others had been hit by that blast earlier, they would have died within minutes.

'...It feels... oddly satisfying.' Mira thought, a thin smile creeping up on her face. She wasn't quite sure what this particular emotion was, but she felt good that she was able to save them from certain death.

"Now, I just need to save Dominique.' Her expression turned serious when she thought of Dominique's decaying body.

'But first, I need to get rid of this poison.'

Mira wrapped her body in Yin Flames, hoping to chip away at the poison, but she paused before the two could make contact.

'Wait.' Suddenly, her eyes brightened, 'Why should I try and destroy the poison when I can use it to temper my body?'

Tempering one's body is all about destruction and recreation. While she's often thought of it as sitting in a pool of magma due to her Magma Dragon Body technique, that's not always the case.

Whether it be repeatedly lifting heavy weights, breaking one's bones, or sitting in a tub of poison, they all destroy the body in some way.

From that point onward, it's all about completing the second half of the equation.

'Although I don't have a Body Cultivation technique for poison, I don't need one. My physique and vitality should be more than enough to compensate.'

With that thought in mind, Mira controlled her blood to stop attacking the poison, letting it deeper into her body.

It rapidly dug deeper into her body, latching on and corrupting everything it touched. The only parts Mira bothered to defend were her brain and her heart, as both her vital organs that she couldn't allow such a devious poison to penetrate.

In a matter of seconds, Mira's entire body was infiltrated by the poison. Her skin had turned a sickly dark green with flakes falling off her body, and the rest was decaying at a rapid rate.

Seraphina's eyes shot open, alarmed by what she saw happening to Mira's body.

"What the hell?! What happened?!" She shot up and dashed over to Mira.

She was about to intervene, but Mira stopped her with a wave of her hand, indicating that she knew what she was doing.

After the poison had reached every part of her body, Mira unleashed all the vitality that she had stored after absorbing so many corpses during the war!

The vitality surged through her body, pushing the poison back as the two entered a relentless battle of destruction and creation, making her stronger with every cycle.

Every second, her body underwent a rapid change from almost dying to perfectly healthy, over and over and over again.

Seraphina watched in both horror and awe as Mira went to the brink of death nearly every second.

'What is going on? Why is her body doing that? How does she have so much life? Who really is Mira?' All kinds of questions swirled around in her head, but all were left unanswered as Mira's entire focus was on tempering her body and exhausting this poison.

After dozens of minutes, the transformations slowed down, and Mira's skin started to shed, except this time, it was different. The decaying skin was replaced by new, vibrant skin, and her body started to glow as if she were a newborn baby who had just entered the world.

However, she was incredibly skinny, like she hadn't eaten in years. Her ribs protruded out of her abdomen, and her arms were much thinner than normal.

She still had her muscles, but they weren't nearly as defined.

When it was over, Mira immediately stood up, feeling a newfound strength coursing through her veins. She looked at Seraphina with a faint smile on her face.

"Thanks."

After saying that, Mira left the room, not wanting to sit on her ass any longer. She had been bedridden for long enough! It was time to go save her pesky disciple!

The poor girl, Seraphina, just stood there, stunned by what had happened. In all her years, she had never seen something so... abnormal!

Everything happened so fast that she wasn't quite sure how to process it.

Still, one question lingered in her mind after all was said and done.

'Who really is Mira?'

For the first time in a long time, she felt interested in another person. She wanted to know her secrets, her powers, her drive... everything.

The corners of her mouth tugged at her lips when she thought of the 9-tailed fox woman who, ever since she had appeared, had caused one ruckus after another.

Seraphina turned to the door and followed Mira out, a smile growing on her face.

'It looks like the future will be interesting from now on.'

For some reason, as she left the room, the world seemed just a bit brighter to Seraphina.