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Jean stood in the icy cavern.
She looked at Sam, but her face was tight with worry.
"Sam, I can hear her,"
Jean said softly.
She pressed a hand over her chest.
"The Phoenix Force inside me is very restless. The Ice Phoenix is crying out. Her voice is getting so weak. She is fading away."
Sam looked at Jean.
He felt absolutely wonderful.
His new body was perfectly still, but it held the power of a raging star.
He didn't feel the cold of the room anymore.
He didn't feel any limits.
"Where is she hibernating?"
Sam asked.
His voice was calm and steady.
Mu Xuanyin stepped forward.
Her heavy blue robes dragged on the ice floor.
"She is at the bottom of the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake,"
Mu Xuanyin answered.
She looked very serious.
"It is located just behind this main courtyard. It is the coldest place in the entire Snow Song Realm. The water is so cold that it freezes profound energy instantly. No human can survive down there. Not even me. I can only stand near the edge."
"I will go down,"
Jean said firmly.
"The Phoenix Force will protect me from the cold. She needs help right now."
A sudden burst of bright golden fire popped out of Jean's shoulder.
The flames danced in the air and shaped themselves into a tiny girl.
She had bright red hair, small wings of fire, and a very proud look on her face.
This was Little Sue, the spirit avatar of the True Fire Phoenix.
"I am coming too!"
Little Sue chirped loudly.
"I want to see the ice bird. Maybe I can warm her up with my awesome fire."
Sam smiled at the tiny fire spirit.
"Be careful, Sue. Don't melt the whole lake by accident."
"I make absolutely no promises!"
Little Sue laughed.
She zipped around the room like a tiny golden rocket.
"Go,"
Sam told Jean.
"Bring her back here. I will fix her."
Jean nodded.
She turned and walked quickly out of the ice cavern.
Little Sue flew right beside her head.
They walked out of the palace and into the freezing winds of the courtyard.
The Heavenly Netherfrost Lake was huge.
It didn't look like normal water.
The lake was a deep, terrifying black color.
Heavy white mist rolled off the surface, hiding the other side.
"It looks very scary,"
Little Sue said.
She stopped flying and sat on Jean's shoulder, hugging Jean's neck.
"We have to hurry,"
Jean said.
Jean took a deep breath and jumped straight into the black water.
The moment Jean hit the surface, a massive golden shield of fire wrapped around her body.
The black water hissed loudly.
Large bubbles of steam rushed to the surface.
The terrible cold tried to bite through the fire shield, but Jean's power was much too strong.
They sank deeper and deeper into the dark water.
The pressure was immense.
"Do you see her, Sue?"
Jean asked.
"Down there!"
Sue pointed her tiny finger.
"I see a blue light."
At the very bottom of the lake, sitting in the dark mud, was a massive block of solid blue ice.
Inside the clear ice, a beautiful blue bird was sleeping.
Its feathers looked dull and gray.
Its life force was barely a tiny spark.
"She is so sad,"
Little Sue whispered.
"She swam through the water bubble and pressed her tiny warm hands against the blue ice. Wake up, ice bird! We came to help you!"
Jean placed her hands on the ice block, too.
She sent a gentle, steady wave of Phoenix heat deep into the frozen block.
Slowly, the hard ice began to melt.
The water around them grew warm.
The blue bird fell limply into Jean's arms.
It doesn't open its eyes.
"She doesn't have enough energy to wake up,"
Jean said, looking down at the bird.
"Her spirit is broken. I have to take her to Sam right now."
Jean blasted upward with a burst of golden fire.
She broke through the surface of the black lake and landed softly on the snowy ground of the courtyard.
Sam was already waiting for them outside.
Mu Xuanyin, Mu Bingyun, Xia Qingyue, and Jasmine stood behind him.
They all watched closely.
Jean gently placed the blue bird on the white snow.
"She lost her physical body a long, long time ago,"
Jean explained to Sam.
"This is just her divine spirit. And it is dying."
Sam knelt down in the snow.
He looked at the bird.
He felt wonderful.
The power of the Reality Stone and the Space Stone flowed easily through his new veins.
The world felt like clay in his hands.
"She needs a vessel,"
Sam said simply.
"A strong one."
"You cannot just find a random vessel for a divine spirit,"
Mu Xuanyin warned him.
"The energy will make a normal body explode."
"I won't find one,"
Sam replied, not looking away from the bird.
"I will make one."
Sam held out his right hand.
The dark red Reality Stone glowed brightly inside his palm.
He focused his mind completely.
He reached out with his new power and pulled the pure, heavy primordial qi from the air.
He mixed it with the freezing energy of the lake.
"Take shape,"
Sam commanded.
The red light rushed forward and wrapped around the dying blue bird.
The light grew incredibly bright.
Mu Bingyun had to cover her eyes with her sleeve.
When the red light finally faded away, the bird was entirely gone.
In its place sat a little girl on the snow.
She looked exactly the same age as Little Sue.
She had very pale skin, big bright blue eyes, and long hair the exact color of fresh snow.
She wore a simple, elegant blue dress.
The little girl slowly opened her eyes.
She looked at her small hands.
She wiggled her fingers in amazement.
"I have a body,"
She whispered.
Her voice sounded like tiny ice crystals chiming gently together.
"Yes, you do,"
Sam smiled.
He reached out and patted her white head.
"Welcome back to the world. I am going to call you Lily."
Lily looked up at him.
She could feel the massive, terrifying power hiding inside him.
She nodded quickly.
"Thank you, master,"
Lily said respectfully.
"Lily is a very good name."
"Hey!"
A loud voice shouted from above.
Little Sue flew down and landed right in front of Lily.
Sue crossed her arms.
Her red hair flared up like a bright torch.
"I helped save you!"
Sue announced proudly.
"I am Sue. I am the True Fire Phoenix. That makes me your big sister. You have to listen to me now."
Lily stared at the fiery girl.
She blinked her big blue eyes slowly.
Then, she stood up and calmly brushed the snow off her blue dress.
"You are very loud,"
Lily said in a flat voice.
"And you are far too hot. You are melting the nice snow around my feet."
"What did you just say?"
Sue gasped.
She pointed a tiny, angry finger at Lily.
"I am glorious! Fire is the best and strongest element!"
"Ice is much better,"
Lily replied smoothly, crossing her own arms.
"Ice is neat and quiet. Fire just ruins things and makes a terrible mess everywhere."
"A mess?!"
Sue yelled.
A small, bright fireball appeared in her right hand.
"I will show you a mess, you giant walking ice cube!"
Lily didn't back down at all.
A sharp, freezing icicle formed in her small hand.
"Try it, you loud walking matchstick."
Jean sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead.
"Oh no. Not even five minutes in the new world, and they are already fighting."
Sam laughed out loud.
The sound echoed loudly across the frozen courtyard.
"Let them fight,"
Sam said.
He looked highly entertained.
"It is good for them. They are opposite elements. It is completely natural for them to clash."
"But they are going to destroy the courtyard,"
Mu Bingyun said, looking very worried at the growing fireball in Sue's hand.
"No, they won't,"
Sam waved his hand lazily.
A thin blue cube of space energy instantly trapped the two little girls inside.
Inside the cube, Sue threw her fireball as hard as she could.
Lily blocked it perfectly with a thick ice shield.
Thick steam filled the small space inside the cube.
"Take that!"
Sue shouted from the steam.
"Weak,"
Lily replied flatly.
She threw three fast icicles back at Sue.
"They act like real sisters,"
Xia Qingyue said with a small smile.
"They fight because they care."
"I don't think they care right now,"
Jean said.
She watched Sue try to jump and bite Lily's arm.
"I think they just want to win the argument."
Lily pushed Sue's face away with her cold, flat hand.
"You smell like burnt toast."
"You smell like old bath water!"
Sue yelled back, kicking at Lily's shins.
Sam sat down on a nearby frozen rock and watched the show.
He felt completely at peace.
The heavy chains of karma were completely gone.
His power was endless and fully his own.
He had helped the Ice Phoenix, just like he promised.
"So,"
Sam said, looking over at Mu Xuanyin.
"Now that the local problems here are completely fixed. Where do we go to find the Azure Dragon's daughter?"
Mu Xuanyin looked away from the fighting little girls.
She looked deeply at Sam.
"That will not be easy at all,"
Mu Xuanyin said seriously.
"She is not hiding in a normal realm. She is in the Dragon God Realm. It is the most powerful and dangerous place in the entire universe."
"Good,"
Sam smiled.
He rested his chin on his hand.
"I was hoping for a real challenge."
"You must be very careful,"
Mu Xuanyin warned him.
"The Dragon Monarch is not like me. He doesn't listen to reason or polite words. He only listens to absolute strength."
Sam stood up slowly.
He stretched his arms.
The space around him warped and bent slightly with his movement.
"Then I will speak his language,"
Sam said simply.
"We are going to the Dragon God Realm today."
Inside the blue space cube, Sue and Lily suddenly stopped fighting.
They both pressed their faces against the blue energy wall.
"Can we come?"
Sue asked loudly.
"Yes, can we go too?"
Lily asked.
She pushed Sue out of the way to look at Sam better.
"Hey, I was talking first!"
Sue shoved Lily hard.
"You are in my way, matchstick,"
Lily shoved her right back.
Sam chuckled.
"Yes, you both can come. Just try not to kill each other before we get there."
"No promises!"
They both yelled at Sam at the exact same time.
Then they glared angrily at each other for agreeing on something.
Jean smiled and shook her head.