Prime Originator

Of course, Lynne knew she would overpower Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits. However, she didn't know it would be such an insurmountable difference.

She didn't even need to do anything at all.

Just by summoning her ice domain and making her presence known, the vengeful spirits would be lured into an inescapable death trap.

After slaying her first batch of vengeful spirits, the misgiving and fear she once had towards vengeful spirits disappeared without a trace.

Why should she fear something weaker than herself?

'Don't just leave the shattered ice souls. Instead, collect them all into your interspatial ring. Then, you can use the ice power of the True Permafrost Divine Art to refine their soul energy later,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.

"Yes, Master!" Lynne complied.

Shortly after, she collected all the shattered ice souls. Then, she continued to venture deeper into the misty forest. At the same time, she attracted more Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits.

Nevertheless, they all fell victim to her ice domain.

Even so, Lynne didn't expect there would be so many Transcendent-level vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. But then again, it was her first time venturing into the inner region.

However, Extreme Misty Forest was enormous; it was equivalent to the size of two kingdoms. Even if she was in its inner region, she was still far from the heart of the forest.

Who knows many more Transcendent-level vengeful spirits there are.

"Master, after collecting these shattered ice souls and refining them, you want me to cultivate according to the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art with them, right?" Lynne inquired.

'That's right, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied.

'The Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art will strengthen your soul and increase your lifespan. Nevertheless, we can't make up quality with quantity. This is only a temporary fix on your soul. You'll still need to increase your cultivation.'

'Even so, the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art should help you improve your awakening cultivation at a quicker rate. It's unfortunate that there isn't any ice phoenix blood to complete the other half of the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art.'

'You would have been able to cultivate a Divine Ice Phoenix Soul. This will grant you the ability to undergo rebirth once in your lifetime when you die. But, alas, I don't have much hope for you to reach True Divinity. Otherwise, you can increase this rebirth limit.'

'Furthermore, each time you achieve nirvana, you'll become stronger than your former self,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress explained with a sigh.

A True Phoenix's nirvana was the closest thing to a true soul cultivation method. But, unfortunately, a True Phoenix's rebirth wasn't limitless.

Lynne was intrigued by the topic as she traveled. She continued to slay vengeful spirits and collected their shattered ice souls as she encountered them.

After covering twenty miles in her journey, Lynne accumulated two hundred vengeful spirits' worth of shattered ice souls. Furthermore, half of it belonged to Mid Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits.

In fact, she had encountered much more than two hundred vengeful spirits. However, she already hit the limit of her Tier-3 Interspatial Ring's storage space.

'It's a waste to continue like this. Don't let these shattered ice souls go to waste, child. Find a safe spot to stop and refine the shatter ice soul,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.

The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress couldn't keep watching Lynne leave so many shattered ice souls in silence.

Although this level of cultivation resource is nothing compared to what the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had in her heyday, she no longer has those high-level cultivation resources to offer Lynne.

'It's not good to waste cultivation resources, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added.

"I understand, Master."

Shortly after Lynne started looking for a place to construct an ice chamber to take shelter in, she suddenly stumbled upon a large hut in the forest.

Or rather, it looked like a miniature palace—ignoring the fact that it was made entirely out of twigs and dead branches. The design and construction were amateurish, but it was still impressive in its own way.

"There's a building here, Master. Someone lives here," Lynne uttered with surprise.

'I can see, child,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied. She shared Lynne's senses—or rather, Lynne shares them with her.

Lynne didn't believe the vengeful spirits could build such a place, given the low intelligence of vengeful spirits in the Extreme Misty Forest. Even if there were a vengeful spirit with high intelligence, it still wouldn't do such a thing.

The building owner had to be someone or something other than a vengeful spirit.

After Lynne circled the twig building several times, she deemed no one home. When she inspected the interior, it also looked abandoned.

At the very least, it didn't seem like a place for a normal living person to live. It lacked the daily necessities inside.

"It's so strange. Why would there be such a grand twig building this deep in Extreme Misty Forest? Who would build such a thing in this place?" Lynne wondered.

'Regardless of its origins, it doesn't look like anyone lives here anymore. You can use this place, child. If you noticed, there are low-level runes installed to ward off vengeful spirits. You won't be interrupted in this place,' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress said.

Nevertheless, Lynne was a bit skeptical about the twig building.

"Would it be fine? This twig building doesn't look all that sturdy," Lynne lightly patted the twig building to test its durability.

However, the light pat was all it took for the whole place to come crumbling down.

Very shortly, Lynne heard a second series of twigs dropping to the ground not far from the twig building ruins.

She immediately turned her gaze to the source before discovering a beautiful yet homeless-looking woman with black and red hair. The woman stared at the twig building ruins with a stunned and devastated look.

"W-was this your home? Sorry… I didn't mean to…" Lynne quickly apologized to the person. She felt guilty after seeing the person's expression.

It was as if the twig building's collapse had crushed the person's heart.

"It's fine… I'm used to it," Arana said.