Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

After leaving Plum Blossom City, Mira and Hana continued heading toward the Battle Maiden Sect while occasionally stopping at nearby cities to allow Hana to rest up. She was only a mortal and couldn't handle the stress of traveling at full speed in Mira's arms.

Thankfully, Mira wasn't completely indifferent to her well-being and stopped at various cities and towns along the way.

It took them two weeks to reach Snow Maiden City, and during that time, they heard a lot of strange rumors.

"Hey, did you hear about the trouble the Battle Maiden Sect is causing?"

"Yeah, I've heard they are killing anything and everything that appears in their territory!"

"I've heard from my brother's wife's second cousin that the Mercenary Association is trying to take advantage of the chaos going on around the Battle Maiden Sect!"

"Really? I've also heard that the Hidden Blade Sect and the Crimson Slayer Sect have been hunting in that area as well."

"Hunting what?"

"I-I'm not sure, but from what I know, the beasts all over Maiden Mountain have been running wild, wreaking havoc and destroying everything in sight."

"Maiden Mountain? What's that?"

"Ah! That's what people are calling the mountain the Battle Maiden Sect resides on."

"So, you're saying that the beasts are running wild? Why?"

"I've heard a massive earthquake shook the mountain around 3 months ago, which caused all sorts of devastation, waking up the slumbering beasts. Now they are rampaging, trying to find new territories to settle down in."

"Then wouldn't this be the perfect chance for the Battle Maiden Sect to expand? If they can kill a lot of the rampaging beasts and take over the unclaimed territories, they might be able to increase the size of their Sect!"

"Yeah, I think that's why some of the major powers and Sects are getting involved. Although the Battle Maiden Sect generally stays out of the limelight, their power and influence are nothing to scoff at. If they are able to grow, they might eventually become the number one powerhouse on the continent!"

"You're thinking too much! How can a bunch of women possibly dominate us, men, into submission?!"

"Hmph! Why don't you go say that to your wife's face?"

"Ah-ahahaha. There's no need. No need. Women can dominate me all they want! In fact, I prefer being dominated!"

"..."

These kinds of rumors became more prevalent the closer Mira neared the Battle Maiden Sect.

She didn't know exactly what was happening, but she was sure that the Sect had a rough time over the last few months, and it was partly her fault.

However, Mira was mostly indifferent to the news. She was a little concerned about Maria and Dominique, but she had confidence that the Battle Maiden Sect wasn't so weak they couldn't last more than a few months.

After two weeks of traveling, Mira and Hana finally arrived in Snow Maiden City.

"So, you're a Battle Maiden Sect disciple, huh? It seems I, and everyone else, overestimated your status. To think you were only an Outer Disciple. Tsk. Tsk. Poor Azaar would be fuming right now if he knew." Hana commented as they made their way to the Sect.

Mira didn't respond, silently agreeing with Hana, but she also thought Hana was underestimating the Battle Maiden Sect. While she is merely an Outer Court Disciple, she is still an Outer Court Disciple of one of the Top 7 Orthodox Sects on the Continent.

A few Inner and Core disciples from any of the Top Orthodox 7 Sects would be able to run rampant among the Lionel Family without consequences. The only way to stop them would be if the Patriarch and Ancestor of the family got involved, but that would risk them being hunted by Mortal Shedding Realm experts from any one of the Sects.

Even Azaar wouldn't want to offend someone from one of the Top 7 for fear of messing with the wrong person.

Mira walked around Snow Maiden City a bit and gathered information on the Battle Maiden Sect's situation, and just like she thought, they were doing just fine.

The only thing that concerned Mira was that the number of people entering Snow Maiden City had increased significantly over the last 3 months. Many of these people wandered outside the Battle Maiden Sect's territory as if they were scouting the area.

Still, Mira didn't understand why the other Sects and powers were moving around the Battle Maiden Sect. Even if they became the number one power on the Continent, it's not like they would immediately go to war with all the other Sects.

'I'm probably missing something important; I just don't know what.' Mira thought after examining all the information.

She knew she was still fairly ignorant about the cultivation world as a whole.

"Are you ready to see your new home?" Mira asked Hana as they appeared before the mountain that would take them straight to the Outer Court.

Hana stayed silent and nodded, but complex emotions were hidden deep within her eyes.

'I'll bide my time here, grow stronger, and then storm the Lionel Family's mansion to confirm what happened to my mother!' Hana thought with clenched fists.

The two of them quickly made their way up the mountain and appeared outside the Outer Court in a few hours.

Mira didn't have any trouble entering. She had to get Hana registered as a Trial Disciple, but she passed the test without any issues.

The two of them then began walking around the Outer Court, but they quickly noticed it was basically empty!

All except for two spots: The Mission Hall and the Healing Center.

However, the Healing Center wasn't there before Mira disappeared from the Sect around 6 months ago.

Curious, Mira walked over to it and noticed tens of disciples lying on beds with all sorts of wounds and numerous other disciples treating them.

Suddenly, Mira felt a familiar aura come charging at her like a golden bullet, but she didn't bother dodging it.

Mira smiled, opened her arms wide, and caught the 'golden bullet'.

"MIRA!!! You're finally back!!" Maria yelled as she dove into Mira's chest, tears staining her clothes.

Mira gently stroked the back of her head and wrapped Maria's body with her tails.

"It's only been six months; what are you crying so much for?" Mira teased, but Maria didn't seem to hear and continued embracing her.

Hana looked at this scene with wide eyes as she's never seen Mira have such a soft and gentle look on her face. The entire time they were together, Hana had only seen Mira with a cold, indifferent expression. Even when she smiled slightly, it still looked cold in Hana's eyes.

"I… I knew you'd be fine. I just… I just couldn't help but worry about you. Y-You were gone for so long…" Maria muttered, and Mira silently listened.

Truthfully, Mira did feel a bit bad for disappearing so suddenly, but that wasn't exactly something she could control.

The two of them embraced each other for a few minutes before Maria finally let go.

Mira could see that Maria had plenty of questions but was tactful enough not to ask them in public.

"When did you get back?" Maria asked.

"Just now. When I returned, I saw something that wasn't there before I disappeared and got curious. What's this whole 'Healing Center' thing about?"

"Oh! That's because I saw an opportunity to make some money and took it!"

Maria then went on to explain how the Healing Center came to be.

It took around 10 minutes for Maria to finish explaining, but apparently, the Elders and Sect Master noticed Maria's healing talent. With all the chaos going on around the Sect right now, Maria decided to ask for permission if she could earn some Merit Points and Spirit Stones by offering her healing services to the disciples.

They readily agreed since Maria's healing capabilities were so good that, she alone might contribute the most toward the expansion of the Outer Court. Her ability to get the disciples back to peak condition was amazing. As long as they weren't dead or hadn't lost a limb, Maria could bring them back to peak condition without any issues.

Plus, the Sect wouldn't need to overwork the Alchemists to pump out healing pills continuously, allowing them to work on more important tasks.

Maria's abilities allowed the disciples to fight more, which would let them earn more Merit Points. More disciples fighting also meant more disciples getting hurt, which meant more Merit Points for Maria!

It was a positive feedback loop that served as the backbone of the Outer Court during these chaotic times.

Thus, the creation of the Healing Center!

Mira was impressed by Maria's ingenuity and ability to take advantage of the situation.

Not to mention, Maria wasn't the biggest fan of killing, to begin with. So, if she could earn more by helping people than hurting them, she'd rather do that in a heartbeat.

"That… That's pretty amazing, but what exactly is going on around here? I had heard rumors about beasts rampaging and other Sects invading, but I'm not sure what to believe."

"Well… I've been here healing most of the time, so I'm not really too sure what's going on. All I know is that the Elders made an announcement about three months ago that basically said they are giving away contribution points for every beast they kill. Various rumors are going around, but it's hard to tell what's the truth and what isn't. I've had your army running around collecting information for me, but there's a limit to what they can find."

Mira was surprised by this as she was sure someone as sociable as Maria would be able to gather information relatively easily.

"Anyways! Enough serious talk! Why don't you follow me back to my office and introduce this little girl?" Maria asked with a smile.