Divine Emperor of Death

"I'm not mocking you." The little girl raised her hand, "I'm merely interested in other ice arts, and the legendary Forsaken Yin Lotus Manual is one of them, as not many cannot find them to train it in another way, much less unravel it and make it to your level without getting crippled."

Hearing the Frostcloud Sword Empress speak through a dead little girl, not to mention fake, Natalya had a hard time adjusting to reality. However, she couldn't help but doubt one thing.

"Is the Forsaken Yin Lotus Manual that powerful?"

"So you're not from the Forsaken Yin Lotus Sect?" The Frostcloud Sword Empress returned a question instead of answering it.

"I'm not." Natalya shook her head, "I got this manual through my husband."

Just as she said it, the Frostcloud Sword Empress's eyes went wide.

"How bold of him to give it to you. Is he not afraid that one day you'll abandon him?"

'Well, it seemed like he didn't know at that time…' Natalya's brows twitched, but she happily smiled.

"Yes, my husband is not afraid. He even said that if I were to forsake him that he'll make me fall in love all over again~"

"What an amusing man~"

The little girl broke into a light smile as she turned away and giggled, causing Natalya's smile to fade as she became a bit taken aback.

"This is quite… different."

"What is?"

The Frostcloud Sword Empress returned her gaze to Natalya, causing the latter to raise her hands and shake.

"I don't mean to be rude, but when I heard the title Frostcloud Sword Empress, not to mention made to experience this kind of trial, all I could imagine was a cold, indifferent woman who wouldn't enjoy these kinds of topic."

"That is indeed… rude, but never mind. " The little girl wryly smiled, "Instead, tell me how you were able to get past or delay cultivation deviation by not practicing indifference."

"Well…" Natalya didn't know how to answer this question, but she tried to make sense of it in her head and moved her lips.

"I think the reason why I still don't encounter cultivation deviation is that I think I can forsake everything else for my husband. Whenever I use my energy, I always think of him as this was the manual he gifted me on our marriage night..."

"Mhm?" The Frostcloud Sword Empress couldn't help but blink, "Such a thing works too?"

"I don't know." Natalya sounded contemplative, "I'm not sure, but as you can see, that silver-robed woman Yuren also spoke the same thing about me. I'm too passionate when it comes to my husband. But what's also true is Yuren's circulation of yin energy is more powerful than mine, so I guess although I haven't tread on the wrong path, it is also not the most optimal path of the Forsaken Yin Lotus Manual."

Natalya reluctantly spoke. No matter what, she had to admit that Yuren's yin energy was more powerful than hers. Only along with ice energy was she able to match Yuren's power.

"Of course." The Frostcloud Sword Empress lightly laughed, "Something that many ancestors and erudite Immortal Emperors worked on wouldn't be suddenly unraveled and opened a new path by a junior."

"Haha~" Natalya beamed with a bit of embarrassment, "I guess I got ahead of myself."

"I didn't say that to put you down." The Frostcloud Sword Empress shook her head, "After all when I was an Immortal, I was probably weaker than you all."

"Frostcloud Sword Empress…" Natalya became dumbfounded.

"I'm not being humble but real. Your current power doesn't indicate your future, but your potential does, so don't stop following your path unless you truly encounter an undefeatable bottleneck. Although I said many geniuses obtained Attainment and had their future paths impeded, there's also a select few of them successfully finding a new path and making an illustrious name for themselves."

The little girl revealed a mischievous smile, "Although it's unfair to the other trialists, I'll give you a hint. It isn't necessary for you to forsake your values to become indifferent. Merely think of it as a state you must enter, and it'll completely change your perspective."

"A state one must enter..."

Natalya's eyes flashed as she suddenly realized something. A few seconds later, she couldn't help but look at the little girl.

"Is it fine for the Frostcloud Sword Empress to favor one over the other?"

To Natalya's question, the little girl's lips merely curled.

"Remember, no lifeform could be completely indifferent. If they are, even if they are physically present, they are no longer living in this world."

"…"

As the little girl's voice turned mature and cold into one resembling the Frostcloud Sword Empress, the little girl fell to the side, but before she could hit the ground, the space became reset once again.

The ordinary village huts appeared in Natalya's view.

"What an extraordinary teacher..."

However, she took a deep breath before she shook her head, "Life is indeed unfair. But… I have no plans to take what belongs to my sister Tanya. After passing the second level, I'll have myself exit."

"Now then… thinking of entering a state is easy, but actually entering it is another thing altogether..."

Natalya wondered out loud, but there was a languid smile on her face that said that she was completely confident in the new way she thought of entering a state of indifference.

Who was she? She was a woman who was bent on being obsessive whenever Davis was involved, only having eyes for him, so to attain indifference, she knew exactly what she should imagine.

"Everything one perceives is also a form of self-delusion. Taken to the extreme, even a sensible person would start imagining things that aren't truly happening around them like a crazy person..."

Natalya imagined the words Davis spoke to her a few times and conjured her own understanding of them as she worded them out loud, manifesting her will. Her pupils dilated as she saw the bandit near the little girl, intending to stab her heart with the gleaming silver spear. However, before the spear could stab into the little girl's heart, ice filled the world.

*Ching!~*

The entire village was abruptly buried in a tomb of icicles as they grew to the size of a tower. From a distance, those icicles appeared like a crown, magnificent and breathtaking.

Natalya disappeared from her location, leaving behind a frozen village.

"Just one try after hearing my advice?" Suddenly, a voice resounded with surprise, "Amazing. How far has her obsession with her husband gone? The scenario hadn't even advanced further to cement her indifference… Perhaps, to conjure her indifference way earlier, I should've created a different scenario to allow it to come out easily..."

The Frostcloud Sword Empress, who was watching the trials with the utmost curiosity, couldn't help but comment.

"But still… you child can't decide who gets to keep my inheritance. However, would your sister Tanya be able to transcend Niel Bladeheart? Unexpectedly, he is in possession of a Phyletic Law, the Imposing Sword Laws that don't impede his sword comprehension, allowing him to comprehend icy sword intent as fast as the ones who have an advantage with their comprehension of Ice Laws."

The Frostcloud Sword Empress turned to look towards the other trialists as she panned her gaze across five individual spaces. However, her eyes couldn't help but flicker at this moment again as her gaze fell on a particular space.

"Oh? Little Tanya has cleared the second level this quickly…?"