╠ Essence Sky World ╣
The Heavenly Ice City has a very famous restaurant called the Star Heart Restaurant. This is also the place where Alex came with Olav right after entering the city. On the seventh floor of this restaurant, he met a mysterious woman, Serena Lightfoot, as well.
Currently, Alex and Aurelius are eating delicious food and drinking aromatic wine.
Alex didn't go to meet Olav who was now one of the strongest people even in the entire Essence Sky World. He just silently ate and drank in the Star Heart Restaurant, enjoyed his time there, and left for the Heavenly Ice Palace.
Asna is famous in the entire Ice Sky Region. Not only was she the granddaughter of Heavenly Ice Palace, but she also had a very special physique.
Last time, when Alex came to the Heavenly Ice City, he found out that Asna was about to break through to the Holy Lord Stage just after a few years of cultivation. This speed is enough to shock the entire world.
Due to her abilities and strength, she was made the successor of the Heavenly Ice Palace.
Alex was unable to meet her earlier, but this time, he was determined to see her. His current strength was enough to destroy the entire Heavenly Ice Palace with just a finger, there is no need for him to first inform the Heavenly Ice Palace before entering.
He was straightforward this time, descending directly into the Heavenly Ice Palace.
As Alex descended directly into the Heavenly Ice Palace, his sudden appearance sent shockwaves through the entire palace. The disciples and elders rushed out, startled by the powerful presence that appeared without warning. Alex's imposing aura overwhelmed them, and whispers spread like wildfire throughout the palace.
"Who dares trespass into the Heavenly Ice Palace without permission?"
Perhaps because he didn't hide his presence or because his presence was extremely powerful, it immediately alerted all the higher-ups of Heavenly Ice Palace. All of them immediately arrived at the place where Alex had descended. One of them even roared loudly, trying to intimidate Alex.
But Alex paid no attention to their panic and roar. His eyes were fixed on one goal. All he wanted was to meet Asna.
As the palace's highest-ranked figures hurried to confront him, Alex stood there calmly, exuding an overwhelming sense of dominance. The palace's defenses were futile in his presence.
Ignoring everyone, Alex announced the reason behind his arrival, telling everyone his identity and that he was here for Asna.
To his surprise, no one answered him. They looked at him weirdly, as if he had said something wrong.
Perhaps, they feared his strength or perhaps it was the result of his words, he and Aurelius were led to a garden.
Heavenly Ice Palace was not located within the Heavenly Ice City. It was actually located at the exact center of a vast ocean. There is a huge floating island that is suspended 100 meters above the water's surface. There was something like a triangular tail growing out of a corner of the island and touching the water.
This triangular tail was actually the path that people could walk on to go to the island. [Ref. Ch - 279.]
There were a few empires on this island, and all the empires together were called the Heavenly Ice Palace.
This Heavenly Island is huge, so huge that it can easily cover two out of three Cultivation Lands.
Right at the center of the island, there was a very unique place. This place was surrounded by nine tall mountains, and a huge land of ice and snow was in the middle of these mountains. A huge Ice Palace was at the core of this land of ice and snow.
Asna used to live in this palace with her mother and several core disciples of Heavenly Ice Palace.
Alex and Aurelius were personally escorted by an elderly man at the Divine Emperor Stage to this grand palace. Upon arrival, they were greeted by a group of graceful core disciples, who led them to a serene garden filled with an array of vibrant flowers.
At the heart of the garden was a small pond, above which a charming bamboo hut had been constructed. The tranquil atmosphere was soothing, but Alex's focus was elsewhere.
They were guided to the bamboo hut where a strikingly beautiful woman and an old man with a commanding presence were waiting for them. By now, both had already been informed of Alex and Aurelius's arrival and understood that they had come for Asna.
When Alex saw the beautiful lady, his eyes flashed. Her resemblance to Asna was immediately apparent. She had the same striking features and the same icy yet elegant demeanor. Without thinking, he called out, "Aunt…"
Yes, she is Asna's mother.
Asna's mother is a woman of dignified beauty. She is not weak as well. She looked at Alex with a mix of curiosity and warmth. Though she hadn't met him before, she had heard a lot about him from Asna. Asna even wanted to go back just to meet this boy in front of her.
"You must be Alex. Asna always spoke of you. I never expected you to become so powerful that even a powerhouse like my father is feeling the pressure just from your presence," she replied with a faint smile, acknowledging his familiarity.
Alex raised his eyes in surprise. It turned out this old man was Asna's grandfather. He looked at the old man, who in turn nodded slowly. The old man's stern gaze was evaluating Alex and Aurelius carefully.
"You've come a long way," he said in a deep voice. "I hope your intentions are clear. Tell me, are you truly here only for Asna?"
The tension in the air was subtle but present, as if they were all aware that this meeting held great significance. Aurelius felt slight pressure. Alex, however, remained calm. His expression was steady and unwavering.
He looked directly at Asna's grandfather and, in a voice that was as calm as it was direct, responded, "If my intentions weren't good, do you think you—or even the entire Heavenly Ice Palace—could stop me from doing what I wanted?"
The old man's eyes narrowed as he looked at Alex. He knew Alex's words were not wrong. Just Alex's presence alone was putting great pressure on his body.
He is not an ordinary man; he is a Divine Emperor and the leader of Heavenly Ice Palace. He is someone who has been leading the Heavenly Ice Palace for more than a thousand years already and has been through countless situations.
How can he not understand the simple fact that Alex is powerful, several times more powerful than him? It simply means that Alex has already surpassed the limit of Essence Sky World, entering the stage of Three Tribulations Life Destruction.
While answering, Alex had already released his spiritual sense, letting it sweep over the entire island. His vast power flowed silently, yet unmistakably, through the entire land, giving Alex full awareness of every movement, presence, structure, and situation on the floating island.
Even though no one could directly sense it, the elders and disciples present instinctively felt the weight of his presence the instant he released his spiritual sense.
Of course, everything was just for a fleeting moment. Alex withdrew his spiritual sense seconds after releasing it. He didn't find Asna which worried him a little.
In the end, he couldn't help but look at Asna's mother and ask again, "Aunt, can you tell me where Asna is?"
"Asna..." Asna's mother sighed deeply, and a worried expression appeared on her face that caused a bad feeling to rise in Alex's heart. As expected, the next moment, Asna's mother said, "She is not here."
"Not here? What do you mean?" Alex became slightly anxious and raised his voice. Although his voice was slightly loud this time, it didn't lack the respect he should give to his mother-in-law.
Lucia Snow, Asna's mother didn't mind Alex's loud voice. After all, Alex was also worried for her daughter. She simply explained, "A few months ago, Asna obtained a map from a ruin that was supposedly left behind by a mighty force more than a million years ago. That map marked the location of an extremely secretive place named the Four Direction Purgatory Dungeon.
"Four Direction Purgatory Dungeon?" Alex frowned. He never heard of such a place in the Essence Sky World. Of course, he had also not spent much time in this world yet, and there are many things that are still unknown to him. For example, the Valley of Death. He never went to the Valley of Death, so he doesn't know what kind of place it actually is.
All he knows is Valley of Death is a place filled with countless dangers, and death is almost certain there. No one, who entered the Valley of Death, ever returned alive.
Of course, this is just a rumor. He never went there so he doesn't know the real situation. He had only been to the border of the Valley of Death years ago. It was then he met mother and daughter Light Devouring Beast.