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The silver spaceship moved through the dark void at an incredible speed.
Suddenly, the entire ship gave a soft shudder, and the bright stars outside the viewport twisted into long lines of pure white light.
When the ship stopped shaking, the view outside changed completely.
The sky was no longer pitch black.
It was filled with beautiful, glowing clouds of purple and gold energy that drifted between massive planets.
Sam stood up from the pilot's seat and looked out the front glass.
He took a deep breath.
Even inside the sealed ship, he could feel a change in the air.
"So, this is the Realm of Gods,"
Sam said, his voice completely calm.
Jasmine walked up next to him.
She looked out at the glowing clouds, and a small, cynical smile appeared on her face.
"To be honest, it is just another dimension,"
Jasmine said, shrugging her shoulders.
"The people here think they are special because they live up here. But it is just a larger space with better resources."
"The energy feels different,"
Xia Qingyue noted, walking over to join them. She held her hands out, sensing the air.
"It feels much heavier than the energy in the lower realm. It makes my own profound veins feel warm."
"That is because it is not normal profound energy,"
Jasmine explained, turning to look at her.
"This is primordial qi. It is the ancient, original energy that existed when the universe was first created. The lower world lost its primordial qi millions of years ago. But up here, it is everywhere."
Sam looked down at his palms.
The faint, dense light beneath his skin was pulsing faster now.
It was hungry for this new energy.
"This primordial qi is exactly what I need,"
Sam said.
"It is thick enough to support my breakthrough. In the lower world, my energy was too compressed. Here, it can finally expand."
Jean checked the main console, her fingers moving quickly over the smooth glass buttons.
"The ship is absorbing the energy well. I am looking for a stable place to land. We need a realm that is quiet, where you can focus on your breakthrough without any interruptions."
"Look for somewhere cold,"
Sam said.
"I need Yin energy to balance my golden core."
Jean nodded and adjusted the sensors.
After a few moments, a large, brilliant white planet appeared on the main radar screen.
"I found a place,"
Jean reported.
"It is completely covered in ice and snow."
"The Snow Song Realm,"
Jasmine muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"It is a medium-tier realm. The energy there is very pure, but the people can be quite cold."
"That doesn't matter to me,"
Sam said, sitting back down.
"Land the ship there."
The silver ship descended gracefully through the thick white clouds of the Snow Song Realm.
Outside, a massive blizzard was howling, throwing heavy sheets of snow against the metal hull.
The ship touched down softly on a wide, frozen plain surrounded by giant mountains of solid blue ice.
When the engines finally quieted down, the silence of the frozen world took over.
Sam stood up and walked toward the exit door.
Jean, Qingyue, and Jasmine followed right behind him.
"Before I start my breakthrough, we should do one thing,"
Sam said, adjusting his collar as the heavy door began to slide open.
"What is that?"
Jean asked.
"We need to greet the Realm King,"
Sam replied, stepping out onto the thick snow.
"We are guests in this dimension. It is always better to say hello to the master of the house first. It prevents people from asking too many annoying questions later."
"The Realm King of this place is extremely powerful,"
Jasmine warned, her voice serious as she stepped into the cold air.
"She is not someone you can just casually talk to. She has a terrible temper."
"Power doesn't bother me,"
Sam said simply, his boots crunching loudly on the frozen ground.
"A quick conversation is all it takes."
They didn't have to walk far at all.
In fact, they didn't even have to look for the path.
The heavy snowstorm in front of them suddenly split apart.
The violent wind died down to a gentle breeze, and the falling snow began to drift gracefully around a single figure walking toward them.
It was a woman.
She wore a long, flowing white dress that seemed to blend perfectly with the snow.
Her hair was as white as ice, and her face was incredibly beautiful, though it carried an expression of deep, permanent sadness.
"You do not need to look for the Realm King,"
The woman said. Her voice was soft, like the sound of falling ice, but it carried clearly through the cold air.
Qingyue gasped softly when she saw the woman's face.
"Grand Palace Master... Mu Bingyun?"
The woman stopped a few paces away from them.
She looked at Qingyue, then her gaze shifted directly to Sam.
"You know her?"
Jean asked Qingyue.
"She is the one who helped create the Frozen Cloud Asgard in the lower realm,"
Qingyue explained quickly, her eyes wide with surprise.
"She is from the Snow Song Realm, but she left her heritage down below."
Mu Bingyun nodded slowly.
"That is correct. And I know exactly who you are. I have been observing you through the connection of the Frozen Cloud Asgard for a very long time. I saw how you helped them."
"So you were watching us,"
Sam said, his hands still in his pockets.
"I thought I felt a faint gaze from the upper realm a few times."
"I did not mean to spy,"
Mu Bingyun said gently.
"But the lower world was in great danger, and your presence changed everything. I came down to this frozen plain because I knew the moment your ship entered our sky. You are welcome in the Snow Song Realm."
"Thank you,"
Sam said.
"I am here to find a quiet place to break through. The energy here is perfect."
"I can grant you a safe place in our main palace,"
Mu Bingyun offered.
"No one will disturb you there."
Before Sam could answer, Jean suddenly took a sharp step forward.
Her eyes completely changed.
They flashed with a brilliant, intense golden light, and a powerful wave of heat radiated from her body, instantly melting the snow around her boots.
The Phoenix force inside Jean was stirring violently.
Mu Bingyun felt the sudden heat and took a step back, her icy eyes widening in shock.
"That fire... that is the power of the Divine Phoenix. But it feels entirely different. It feels older. Purer."
Jean closed her eyes for a brief second, listening to the ancient voice echoing in her mind.
When she opened them, the golden light faded back into her normal eyes, but her expression was incredibly urgent.
Jean looked directly at Mu Bingyun, then turned to Sam.
"Sam, the Phoenix force just spoke to me,"
Jean said, her voice shaking slightly with emotion.
"She told me that Mu Bingyun carries the bloodline of the Ice Phoenix. But that is not all."
Sam looked at Jean, his brow furrowing.
"What did she say?"
"The Phoenix force can sense one of her daughters,"
Jean explained rapidly, turning back to Mu Bingyun.
"And right now... she can sense that her daughter is dying."
Mu Bingyun's face went completely pale.
The calm, icy composure she had maintained completely shattered.
She clutched her dress tightly over her chest, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
"You... you can feel her?"
Mu Bingyun whispered, her voice trembling with pure terror.
"My sister... the Realm King... she is the one who holds the core of the Ice Phoenix. She has been suffering from a deadly soul poison for years. It is eating her alive."
"The Phoenix force says the poison is reaching her heart right now,"
Jean said to Sam, her face full of deep concern.
"The connection is growing weak. If we do not help her daughter as soon as possible, she will die. The entire realm will lose its spirit."
Sam looked at the crying woman in front of him, then looked toward the massive ice palace visible in the distance.
He remembered his promise to the Azure Dragon about saving a daughter in this upper realm, and he realized that the threads of karma were already moving again.
"It seems my breakthrough will have to wait for now,"
Sam said, his voice turning firm and decisive.
He looked at Mu Bingyun.
"Take us to her."
Mu Bingyun wiped a tear from her cheek and nodded quickly.
"Follow me. Please, hurry."