Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Mira shelved the idea of creating a world inside her soul for now and focused her attention on what the Nascent Soul Realm and Absolute Ice Dao are.

'The Nascent Soul Realm is the beginning of the cultivation stages where one's soul finally becomes usable. However, for most people, the soul is still in its infancy during this Realm. Only when one enters the Soul Transformation Realm will their soul change into something more akin to a small world.' Mira thought, but that wasn't exactly correct.

Souls are similar to miniature worlds, or more precisely, small rooms, except they are completely empty. However, the Nascent Soul Realm changes that by forming a Soul Sea, unlocking Soul Sense, and making the soul more practical overall.

The Soul Transformation Realm takes it a step further by using all that power built up over the course of 9 stages and altering it according to the user's wishes. Most people use their Dao as the basis of this transformation as that's literally a manifestation of one's existence, but that doesn't always have to be the case.

Still, regardless of how people change their souls, the result is the same; they fill up the "room" with "stuff" to increase its power and versatility.

In Mira's case, her soul was of such high quality that it had already formed a Soul Sea.

However, it's not like she can skip the Nascent Soul Realm entirely, as the size of her soul and the quantity of the energy inside is still the same as someone in the Core Formation Realm.

'So, it seems like I need to combine the Nascent Soul Realm and Soul Transformation Realm together. If I add the Absolute Ice Dao on top of that, I'll be able to create something truly unique.'

'Maybe that's why I needed the World Core, not necessarily to help me create a world, but to act as a catalyst to transform my soul as someone in the Soul Transformation Realm would do.'

Mira's thoughts hit the nail right on the head! Her soul might be strong in terms of quality, but it did not have the amount of energy someone at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm would have! If she wanted to transform it, she would fail miserably.

However, that wasn't the only reason why a World Core was necessary.

The purpose of a World Core was to help sustain a world, but it does so through an energy called Genesis Essence.

Huoyan might not know what Genesis Essence was or what it does, but the Firmament gave Mira a brief introduction to it.

Simply put, it's the beginning of things, the beginning of creation. One could even argue it's the foundation of the known universe.

Thinking of Genesis Essence, Mira's mind drifted toward the "Big Bang Theory" from her time on Earth in a previous life. Rather than an all-powerful god or some omnipresent alien being, Mira thought it was probably Genesis Essence that started everything!

'How lame! I remember that so many scientists went crazy trying to learn more about the creation of the universe, but the answer is that it's just the natural order of things.' Mira chuckled.

Aside from that, it's also one of the eight absolutes! It might not be nearly as flashy or well-known as the others, but it is necessary.

What better energy is there to create the foundation of one's soul and Dao?!

Suppose a Dao is just a manifestation of one's existence, and a soul is a way to portray that in physical form. In that case, Genesis Essence is a way to turn that manifestation into reality and truth!

Mira's eyes brightened once her thoughts reached this far.

'Is this what the Firmament meant by saying I must carve out a piece of the universe for myself? That I need to use this World Core to create something which is mine, and mine alone?'

Mira didn't need to think any further than this. Her body and soul screamed that this was the answer she was looking for!

Closing her eyes and focusing on herself, Mira circulated her Hell Scythe Cultivation Technique, sucking in all of the nearby Qi through her meridians and into her core. Once she filled it up until the point when she felt like it was about to burst, she began condensing it like the stages before.

Even though the Nascent Soul Realm was more heavily focused on the soul, the cultivation system Mira followed still relied on Qi to become stronger.

After Mira condensed the Qi in her core to the absolute max, she moved her attention back to her soul!

The newly condensed Qi flowed through the meridian that went into her soul, providing it with energy while also increasing the grade of her scythe. However, even with this hyper-condensed Qi, its power was minimal for her high-quality soul.

'No, that's not quite right.' Mira shook her head, 'The energy is more than enough for me to break through, but it's not enough for me to transform it.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the spot she had cut off to form a connection with the World Core. Normally, such an injury would be close to impossible to heal, but Mira wasn't bothered by this.

She had absorbed countless souls while in that Secret Realm, after all!

'If those, plus the World Core, couldn't heal my soul, nothing could.'

Before Mira started, she wanted to heal that hole so no possible problems would arise later in the breakthrough. So, Mira focused her mind on all the souls she absorbed and picked the strongest one of the bunch.

Naturally, that was Huoyan's.

While the thought of using his soul to heal hers left Mira feeling bitter, it was the most logical choice.

'If I do this, I might as well use the best ingredients. I might even be able to increase the quality of my soul by using his!'

Part of Mira's mind linked with the World Core, and a small tendril of energy reached out and latched onto Huoyan's soul. Then, with the help of the World Core, Mira pasted his soul over the injury and began stitching them together.

To most people, this would cause so much pain that they would prefer death or torture over this!

However, Mira did it without so much as an eyebrow twitch.

How many times was her soul tortured in the Firmament? On the Abyssal Torment Steps?

She's literally had her soul ripped apart over and over again! This pain wasn't even half the pain the Firmament had put her through!

The process only took a few minutes, as the World Core was a much bigger help than she thought it'd be.

After she finished, the wound was completely healed, and his soul had fully merged with her own.

'Hmmm?'

Suddenly, Mira felt a foreign entity enter her Mind Palace, but since she was in the middle of a breakthrough and didn't sense any malicious intent, she put checking it out on hold.

'I'm guessing it's related to Huoyan's soul. The Guardian did say that something would happen once I began my breakthrough.'

Mira shook her head, pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind, and focused on her breakthrough.

Closing the eyes of her consciousness inside her soul, Mira began to meditate on her Absolute Ice Dao. As she did, a feeling of intense coldness spread throughout her body.

However, that wasn't all.

Mira felt her connection to her other affinities as well. While the feeling wasn't nearly as strong or prevalent as the ice flowing through her body, they were there.

She didn't need to think about what the Absolute Ice Dao meant to her. When she first began her journey in this world, her desire to stand above all things and never be controlled or oppressed by the powerful stood out.

Sure, she wanted to be strong, but that was too relative. For example, right now, she might be strong in the eyes of an ant, but to an immortal, she herself is the ant.

No, what Mira wanted was to be invincible! To never again be bothered by these troublesome existences!

She wanted to be the one to stand above all things and look down at them in disdain!

It was this strength that she needed to obtain the freedom she had always wanted.

However, what was invincibility? What did it look like? How does it relate to ice?

What do the words "absolute ice" mean to Mira, and how do the other elements play into that?

Every little thing affects the image one has of their Dao; their past, the present, and the desired future all affect it in some way. It is an actualization of one's existence!

Mira can't just cover her soul in ice, create an ice throne, and call it a day. There needs to be more depth to it.

However, Mira didn't need to think too hard about such a thing. She already knew who she was.

As Mira meditated, her past experiences, who she is today, to who she hopes to be in the future flowed through her mind like water.

Suddenly, her soul trembled, and a seed of ice began to bloom inside it.