The names of the treasures echoed in her mind like sacred chants.
"Ice Phoenix Bone Essence"—a rare and majestic relic from a fallen divine beast. Once a proud phoenix poised on the threshold of godhood, it had perished during its Divine Tribulation, its soul scattered before it could ascend. Iram Rai had witnessed its fall with her own eyes. That day, fortune had smiled upon her.
The Divine Phoenix failed to transcend its heavenly trial and collapsed in a storm of ice and lightning. From the smoldering remnants of its glorious body, she had harvested several invaluable treasures. That moment marked a turning point in her journey—a cosmic accident that had become the catalyst for her breakthrough into the Spirit Fusion stage.
She still remembered the blistering cold, the scent of scorched snow, and the eerie silence that followed the divine beast's fall.
It had been the luckiest day of her life.
"Ice Blood Essence"—another gift, also born of the phoenix's death, though it had not been she who refined it. A dear friend—wise, loyal, and unfathomably kind—had used her senior cultivator's secret technique to extract three precious drops of divine blood and bestowed them upon her.
Back then, Iram had neither the cultivation nor the confidence to dare refine the phoenix's blood herself. Yet her friend gave them freely, trusting in her potential. She had used the first drop to ascend, to shatter the limitations of her former self.
The second drop… she had entrusted to a man she once believed in with all her heart.
A name she no longer uttered.
A face she no longer remembered with fondness.
Only a single drop remained now, kept hidden, sacred, and untouched.
"Moon Spirit Water"—a treasure purchased by her friend using her own spirit stones, solely for Iram's sake. Its profound compatibility with her Divine Moon Body made it one of the rarest finds in existence. It was more than a resource—it was a token of love, of trust, of unwavering friendship. She had vowed to preserve it for a time of true need.
That man—that bastard—had constantly pestered her.
"Let me sell it," he'd said. "I'll get you a complete Divine Treasure in return."
But every time she looked upon the vial of Moon Spirit Water, she saw her friend's smile, her silent sacrifices. She could never bring herself to let it go.
Now, as she stood on the precipice of transcendence, Iram Rai whispered into the still air, "Thank you, my friend."
This water, radiant with moonlight and purity, would be the keystone in forming her external Divine Body. Its rare ability to cleanse all impurities—even those embedded within Law—elevated it to the rank of a Half-Divine Treasure. Had it been fully divine, its worth would have rivaled a city of cultivators.
But she did not need perfection.
She would create perfection.
Clenching her fists, her voice steady with resolve, she declared, "I may lack a complete Divine Treasure... but I shall forge one—using these three."
She had one more trump card.
Her Ice Soul Bone.
A marvel of nature, a Soul Bone was a once-in-a-million phenomenon—a crystallized essence of a Law embedded in a cultivator's soul at birth. In her entire sect's history, only two had ever been born with one, both women. One had perished under suspicious circumstances during a mission long ago.
Iram did not linger on the past.
Not now.
Seating herself cross-legged, she began to still her breath, calling forth the Laws that resonated within her.
She wove her Law Power into the three Half-Divine Treasures, channeling them with precision, shaping their essence through sheer force of will. Slowly, they began to merge. A radiant orb of golden light formed before her, its surface alive with ethereal patterns—like a beating heart of cosmic flame.
With utmost care, she placed her incomplete Ice Soul Bone into the heart of the orb.
The light quivered.
She closed her eyes, willing the orb to mold her Divine Soul Body—to shape her celestial self, her divine reflection.
The size of a Divine Soul Body was determined by the depth of one's Law Comprehension. Ten percent comprehension was the minimum required to step into the Soul Transformation stage. Iram had achieved 18% in Ice Law and 5% in Poison Law.
Each 10% allowed for a 100-meter projection.
Her dual affinity would grant her a body 230 meters tall—a true giantess among mortals.
She envisioned the image clearly in her mind, then began shaping the soul essence using her comprehension of the Heaven and Earth Pillar Laws as a foundation.
From the golden radiance, a towering silhouette began to emerge—180 meters of divine majesty.
It was her—but more. Ethereal, luminous, indescribably beautiful. The divine projection stood, unadorned yet regal, her form woven from moonlight and starlight. She drew upon the remnants of the fused treasures, conjuring a robe of golden soul light that wrapped her celestial form like flowing silk.
Upon its back, the insignia of an Ice Phoenix took shape—its feathers like frozen fire, shimmering beneath an invisible moon. The sleeves extended into sweeping wings of frost, graceful and formidable.
With the final traces of power, she summoned a radiant crescent moon that hovered behind her projection, illuminating it with serene brilliance.
As the crescent completed, her projection's eyes opened.
Brilliant white, tinged faintly in glacial blue.
An otherworldly beauty bloomed across her features—timeless, untouchable.
Her Divine Soul Body was complete.
Now came the final step.
Iram shrunk the colossal figure, drawing it into her real form. The moment they merged, her Divine Power surged forth like a tidal wave.
Her body trembled, then steadied.
Her eyes transformed—brilliant white, glowing faintly blue—imbued with the serene wrath of winter.
A crescent sigil formed across her back, emanating waves of Ice and Poison Law.
White Law lines slithered across her skin, forming the outline of a mighty Ice Phoenix with wings fully extended, as though ready to take flight from her very soul.
Any man who laid eyes on her now would be struck speechless.
Captivated.
Undone.
Iram Rai rose slowly, feeling the strength coursing through every fiber of her being.
"My Divine Power has increased tenfold," she thought. "But my physical strength... it's nearly a hundred times greater. Why?"
It defied reason. A jump in spiritual power was expected—but not this. Not such overwhelming physical might.
Two possibilities stirred in her heart.
First—the child growing within her.
Second—her Divine Body.
"I've read of cultivators born with Divine Bodies," she mused, "but never one whose physical prowess grew a hundredfold."
Her gaze sharpened.
And yet—here she stood.
No longer just a cultivator.
But a force of nature.
One capable of striking down a Middle Soul Transformation cultivator with raw strength alone.
She exhaled, a soft mist of frost curling in the air.