“Extinction timer? What’s that?” An Lin was quite intrigued.
Shangguan Yi replied with a grave expression, “It is basically a countdown timer that has been engraved into the minds of all snow maidens by a mysterious power. Once the time is up, all of us will die!”
An Lin’s brows furrowed slightly. “How do you know you’ll die for sure when the time is up? Perhaps it’s only bluffing, or perhaps something else will happen when the time is up, like all of you will turn ugly or something like that.”
“That would be even more terrifying!” Yan Hua exclaimed.
Shangguan Yi: “…”
“Ahem…” Shangguan Yi turned to Yan Hua with a stern expression and only continued after Yan Hua lowered her head and reluctantly fell silent, “The reason why we’re convinced is that there have been one thousand three hundred instances of snow maidens having the same timer appear in their minds. After their timers ticked down to zero, their vitality suddenly disappeared and they melt into puddles of snowy water. Not even the Great Empress was able to do anything.
“In the beginning, everyone was only panicking but not to the point of despair yet. However, since then, our entire race of over a hundred million snow maidens have had that same timer appear in our minds…
“There are still just over nine days left on our timers. If we can’t find a resolution during this period of time, we are all going to die.”
Shangguan Yi paused before continuing, “The Great Empress has tried to erase the timers from our minds, but she can sense an extremely similar type of energy enshrouding each of the timers like an absolute protective barrier capable of keeping all powers at bay. It was the exact same type of power as the barriers around the snow mountains.
“This is no longer something that we can take care of. We have to find a way to break through this barrier and kill that mysterious living being.
“We suspected that there were some hidden circumstances behind the incident that had taken place just recently at the Heavenly Court, so our Great Empress used the Ice Matriarch Eye to survey the situation, and we finally saw the savior of our entire tribe!”
Shangguan Yi turned toward An Lin with anticipation in their eyes.
The other dozen or so snow maidens also turned toward An Lin with beseeching, helpless eyes.
An Lin knew that there was no point in denying anything now.
He met the eyes of the snow maidens and said with a calm smile, “Alright, I won’t deny the fact that I’m bad*ss, but why should I save you?”
“You snow maidens have almost killed me in the past, so it’s no exaggeration to say that we’re sworn enemies.” An Lin spoke in a firm voice, “If all of you die, the Kingdom of the Nine States will have one less enemy. Hence, give me a reason for me to save you.”
“If you’re worried about us becoming your enemies, we can all swear dao heart vows to never harm anyone from the Kingdom of the Nine States ever again!” Yan Hua interjected.
An Lin chuckled upon hearing this. “Wouldn’t it be the same result for the Kingdom of the Nine States if all of you were to be exterminated? In fact, we wouldn’t even have to worry about any future mishaps.”
Yan Hua had no response to this, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
She was quite hurt by the fact that he was talking about the extinction of the snow maidens in such a nonchalant manner.
Shangguan Yi pursed her lips as she looked up at An Lin. “If you’re willing to save us, we can give you everything we have!”
All of the snow maidens were extremely dejected upon hearing this.
However, they didn’t say anything. They were clearly mentally prepared for a scenario like this.
“When you said everything…” An Lin was a little hesitant.
“Our entire race can accept you as our ruler, and you can take all of our treasures!” Shangguan Yi looked up at An Lin with tears shimmering in her golden eyes. “But please let our race retain a shred of dignity, and please treat them as living beings…”
All of the snow maidens lowered their heads.
Some of them were even holding onto the hems of their shirts with white-knuckled grips as their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
An Lin fell silent.
He knew just how much internal conflict the snow maidens would’ve had to have gone through in order to make such a humiliating decision.
“Who would have thought that the snow maidens would fall to this extent.” An Lin heaved a forlorn sigh.
The snow maidens became even more dejected upon hearing this, and some of them had already broken down in tears.
The sudden onslaught of disasters and wars forced them out of their homeland and resulted in countless snow maiden casualties on the Opposite Shore Realm.
However, they were now being struck by another cataclysmic disaster, which would have doomsday-like consequences for them. Just what had they done to deserve this?
An Lin didn’t look at the other snow maidens. His eyes remained firmly trained on Shangguan Yi. “Tell me why you’re doing this for the snow maidens.”
“I’m a snow maiden too, so I’ve been afflicted by the death timer, and I don’t want to die,” Shangguan Yi replied.
“I want to hear the truth!” An Lin was a little angry.
This was a woman who was still willing to give up her life for her fellow sect disciples who had shunned her and insulted her all her life. She was not a coward who feared death.
A conflicted expression appeared on Shangguan Yi’s face, which was soon replaced by a wry smile. “Alright, An Lin, I’ll tell you the truth…”
“No!”
“You can’t! Have you forgotten your promise to the Great Empress?”
All of the snow maidens present instantly began to panic upon hearing this.
Shangguan Yi gave them a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, I know what kind of person An Lin is. He won’t harm me.”
She began in a faint voice as she said, “I’m actually the reincarnation of the snow maidens’ Ice Matriarch and the hope of the snow maiden race. I knew this from the moment the soul of the Ice Matriarch was awakened within me. As the reincarnation of the Ice Matriarch, my body, my blood, my soul, none of it will allow me to watch as they perish…”
An Lin was shocked. He was not expecting this kind of response from Shangguan Yi.
Shangguan Yi flipped over her hand, and a pyramid-shaped crystal appeared over her palm.
It released an extremely soft blue light that pulsed rhythmically.
“This is the heart of the Ice Matriarch and also my heart…” Shangguan Yi gently grabbed onto An Lin’s hand before transferring the crystal over to An Lin.
She smiled. “My life is now yours. I beg of you, please help us.”
An Lin was a little dazed.
He could sense that the crystal in his hand was connected to Shangguan Yi’s life.
He had initially thought that the Great Empress and the High Priestess had only sent Shangguan Yi here due to her friendship with An Lin.
However, he didn’t think that they had sent such an important figure within the snow maiden race!
The Ice Matriarch of the snow maiden race was begging him with her life!
All of the other snow maidens were racked with sobs. Shangguan Yi handing over her Ice Matriarch heart to An Lin was not part of the plan. Only now did they realize just what Shangguan Yi was willing to do to save their entire race.
She was betting everything on this man!
