The crisp sound of shattering ice erupted in the bedroom just as Qin Si stepped in front of the Carved Porch, holding a cup of Calming Tea.
The crash of the porcelain cup hitting the ground startled the Ice Spikes hanging from the Dome, causing countless tiny Ice Shards to fall like crystal divinations poured from Destiny, cascading onto Aelia's flowing silver hair.
"Madam!" The maid rushed in, stepping on the Bing Hua frozen into the carpet. The Ice Lotuses, which should have melted in the summer heat, were visibly turning a deep purple. "The Third Young Master said, 'In the name of the Moon Goddess, seal your treasure.' The Guardian Spell..."
Her voice abruptly cut off.
Qin Si gazed at the Ice Rose Necklace hovering above the Grooming table, feeling as if her throat had been stuffed with shards of eternal glaciers.
That legendary Eternal Ice Crystal, harvested from deep within the Extreme North Icefield, was now oozing dark red Blood Veins in a spider web pattern. The Snow Spirit curled around it, gnawing on Ice Shards that reflected Leonard and Leonard's Concubine strolling hand in hand through the Eternal Rose Garden on Leonard's Last Night.
"So even the marriage vows were a trap." Aelia's fingertip, tinged with frost, brushed over the Marriage Document Box. The Ice Spirit Stone embedded in the Golden Lock shattered with a sound.
From the Outer Wall of the Magic Castle came a sickening sound of Ice Layers peeling away. The Millennium Ice inscribed with Guardian Spells transformed into Purple Hail, crashing down onto the Fountain Statue in the courtyard—the Ice Lotus statue that Leonard had personally sculpted for his wife last year.
At the end of the corridor, an eerie blue glow erupted from the Magic Teleportation Circle. The creaking sound of a Wheelchair rolling over an Ice Surface accompanied a violent surge of fire elements that burst through the door.
The Eldest Son's pale face flickered amidst the Elemental Turbulence, seven Explosive Fire Crystals floating above his bandaged knee. "Mother, the Dungeon Guard said Father took away the Eternal Winter Stone three days ago."
"He used your Fated Ice Soul to nurture his Illegitimate Child!" The Second Son barged in, clutching a shattered Communication Crystal. A Curse Mark left by a treacherous friend glowed with dark energy at his neck. "A spy from the Northern Territory reported that Father set up an Ice and Fire Reversal Array at Eternal Manor..."
San Zi silently wiped his Dragonbone Staff, but the Ice Elemental Core embedded in its tip unexpectedly ignited with Crimson Flame.
This once-promising genius, whose talent had been misjudged and thus wasted in cultivation, now unleashed a Magic Fluctuation powerful enough to shatter the Protective Spell on the walls.
Aelia slowly turned around; her skirt hem embroidered with Ice Lotuses swept across the ground and solidified into sharp Ice Blades.
Her Hand Back emerging with a Purple-Black Totem had spread up to her collarbone. The unique Magic Pattern of a Sacrificer from the Northern Territory greedily absorbed her crumbling emotions. "Leonard even calculated Resonance with Ice Spirits into his scheme..."
Suddenly, the entire Magic Castle shook violently. The Light Spots cast by the Crystal Chandelier twisted on the walls into grinning Gui Mian faces.
From deep within the corridor came the resounding cry, "In the name of the Moon Goddess, seal your treasure!" The barrier shattered completely with a deafening roar as Lucius and the fierce Han Qi burst through the window. The young boy Palm barely managed to maintain the Frost Barrier that held up the crumbling beams of the room. "Mother, the Eternal Rose in the East Wing's Outer Wall is corroding the Defensive Matrix!"
The Eldest Son, seated in a wheelchair, suddenly had the Explosive Fire Crystal levitate into a battle formation. This disabled individual, who had been silent for three years due to Magic Backlash, unleashed a surge of magic that blasted the door to powder. "I will burn his Eternal Manor to..."
"Elder Brother!" Lucius swiftly blocked the flying Ice Blade, healing magic coursing through his brother's bulging veins. "Your Elemental Circuit can't withstand this..."
A thunderous Long Xiao suddenly tore through the night sky, and the Protective Dome of the Magic Castle revealed spiderweb-like Ice Cracks.
At that moment, as the Second Son crushed the Communication Crystal, a projection appeared showing Leonard cradling his pregnant concubine. They activated the Ice Fire Array during Leonard's Last Night—strangely, the Eternal Winter Stone embedded in that woman's earlobe was of the same origin as the Snow Spirit worn by Aelia.
"He used Ice Spirit Resonance to steal your Original Magic Power!" The Three Sons' Staff struck heavily against the ground. The boy who had strayed into practicing Fire Magic released an Ice Flame that froze falling shards of the barrier mid-air. "Those Sacrificial Patterns... Mother, cut them off quickly..."
Aelia suddenly let out a light laugh.
Her fingertip, stained with ice crystals, traced over the yellowed Tiny Inscriptions on the Marriage Certificate—the "Eternal Union" written when the Northern Queen's only daughter married the Border Lord. Each character now oozed with a curse-like dark blood.
The Ice Rose that sprouted from her ring finger had spread to her shoulder blade, its thorny vines winding across the Sacrificial Totem in eerie patterns.
"Twenty Years..." The crystallized palm of Lady brushed against Eldest Son's trembling shoulder. The raging fire element instantly became as docile as a lamb. "So every time my magic surged, he was helping me sort out my elements for Illegitimate Child..."
Suddenly, the entire East Wall collapsed, and a cold wind carrying Eternal Rose and Cedar Fragrance swept into the room.
Lucius’s Frost Barrier emitted a painful cracking sound. Blood burst from his forehead as he gritted his teeth to reinforce the Defensive Formation. "Second Brother! Quickly take Mother away..."
The Cradle erupted with a soft Silver White Halo.
Luna clutched at the torn Coral Fleece Blanket and Liu Su, her glass-like pupils reflecting the swirling Magic Turbulence above.
As the ice crystal imbued with Leonard's Concubine's magic swept past, the infant Chubby's palm suddenly struck and shattered the Tracking Spell with precision—this action caused Aelia's crystallized fingertip to halt abruptly in midair.
"Mother!"
San Zi suddenly cried out in terror.
Everyone followed his gaze and discovered that outside the window, amidst the peeling Ice Layer, countless Ice Roses were blooming, radiating the same Purple-Black glow as the Sacrificial Totem.
The sound of footsteps echoed from deep within the corridor, accompanied by the distinctive clattering of Leonard's Ice Crystal Boots, mixed with the seductive laughter of Leonard's Concubine drawing closer.
Luna suddenly emitted an urgent Yiya Sound, clutching Liu Su's small hand and drawing chaotic tracks in the air.
Those silver-white Dark Purple Threads eerily adhered to the drifting ice crystals, weaving a hazy Light Cocoon around the Cradle—when a Bing Hua stained with Aelia's Tears floated into the Halo, it miraculously shed its eerie purple hue.
As the old Grandfather Clock in the attic struck thirteen, Luna forcefully tore away the swaddling embroidered with a Sleep Spell.
The infant's fingertip, glowing with Silver Light, swept across a floating ice crystal without awareness. A drop of Aelia's tear that had fallen by the Grooming table suddenly refracted a rainbow-like Halo amidst the Magic Turbulence—this fleeting warm hue coincidentally reflected in the lady’s gradually dimming pupil.
The ice crystals floating within the Silver White Halo began to spin, refracting shards of light like Xing Xu.
Luna tilted her head to gaze at Aelia’s frost-laden eyelashes; within those drooping Ice Pearls flickered fragments of the lady’s shattered memories—Twenty Years Ago on her wedding night, an Ice Sculpture Rose, and the Frost Flower that had entwined around the Cradle when their Eldest Son was born, along with Leonard’s fingertip weaving her magic with glistening blue ice threads.
"Yiya..." The infant suddenly grasped the ice Lacrima hanging before her, while coral-soft Liu Su tangled in Aelia’s flowing silver hair.
When the baby's warm palm pressed against the Sacrificial Totem spreading across the lady's collarbone, those eerie Purple-Black Patterns emitted a sizzling sound as if roasting ice and snow.
Aelia's crystallization abruptly halted.
She looked down at the infant dancing joyfully in her swaddling; within the baby’s Liuli Color pupil reflected a complete Magic Circle Diagram of the Eternal Rose Garden—the Crimson vines entwined around the ice crystals now revealed a fatal Magic Node in Luna's eyes.
"Mother!" Lucius suddenly pointed at the East Wall in astonishment.
The Eternal Rose, which had been corroding the Protective matrix, shed its icy disguise in an instant as the Silver White Halo passed over it, revealing the writhing Dark Red Blood Vein beneath.
The Ice Flame at the tip of the Three Sons' Staff suddenly split into two-colored Liuguang. The boy was shocked to discover that the Ice and Fire Fusion Magic he had inadvertently practiced could freeze those bizarrely wriggling Bloodvines.
Luna suddenly burst into laughter, her drool-covered fist slamming onto Aelia's Hand Back totem.
The Ice Rose Vine spreading from Madam's Shoulder Blade shattered in response, and the falling petals were enveloped by Silver Light before they touched the ground, transforming into sparkling snow powder that drifted toward the Explosive Fire Crystal on Eldest Son's Wheelchair.
The Veins that had erupted on the Wheelchair Armrest suddenly calmed down. The eldest brother stared in disbelief as seven floating Huo Jing automatically arranged themselves into a Purification Array.
The Elemental Circuit that had been blocked for three years unexpectedly connected the magical power cycle the moment the snow powder merged with the Huo Jing.
When he tentatively released fire elements, the flames rising around the Wheelchair were no longer a violent Crimson but shimmered with a silver-blue akin to an Aurora over a snowy expanse.
"Second Brother, look!" Lucius suddenly grabbed Second Son's Wrist.
Beneath skin once eroded by a Curse Mark, dark energy was flowing along the Frost Barrier's patterns toward the Light Cocoon woven by Luna.
Second Son trembled as he tore open his collar. The deceptive curse left by his close friend manifested in Silver Light as writhing Rune Worms, all devoured by the swirling ice crystals surrounding the Cradle.
Aelia suddenly buried her face in the swaddling cloth, ice shards from her silver hair falling onto Luna's pink form.
The infant immediately let out a sob like a Little Beast, her chubby fingers clumsily brushing away the Frost Flower from Madam's eyelashes.
As her Milk Fragrance-laden Palm pressed against Aelia's cold cheek, those Sacrificial Magic Runes surging beneath her skin suddenly receded like a retreating tide back to her Collarbone.
"Mother!"
"In the name of the Moon Goddess, seal your treasure!" The core of the Guardian Spell was undergoing a reorganization. Qin Si suddenly burst in, holding the Ice Prism.
The maid, with Hair Tips crystallized into Purple Ice Crystal, looked into the Magic Mirror, which reflected an astonishing scene from Leonard's Last Night—what had once been corroded by the Eternal Rose was now being rewoven by some kind of Silver Substance.
The Silver Light swirling in the ruins bore an uncanny resemblance to the Halo surrounding Luna.
San Zi suddenly thrust the Dragonbone Staff heavily into the ground.
The magic power of Ice and Fire intertwined and spread along the floor's patterns. As the Elemental Fluctuation emanating from the young man touched the Silver Light, it projected a complete Magic Vein Diagram onto the wall.
Everyone gasped—the Guardian Spell that should have belonged to the Glorious Demon Fortress was now entwined with Blood Magic as fine as Silk.
"My Father took Twenty Years to transform our home into a living altar." The Second Son crushed the last piece of Communication Crystal, revealing the surging Ice Soul Power beneath the Ice and Fire Reversal Array.
As Leonard gently caressed Leonard's Concubine's pregnant belly during a fleeting moment in the Projection, Luna suddenly began to tap on the mirror, and where the Silver Light swept across, a hidden Ice Spirit Resonance Spell was revealed.
Aelia's fingertip trembled as it brushed against the Magic Mirror.
When the Silver Light seeped into the mirror through her magic, the Eternal Rose Garden underground suddenly emerged with twenty flickering Nodes—each Node corresponded to an important High-Level Protective Spell of the Magic Castle, now channeling magic outward through Ice Spirit Resonance.
"Luna..." The lady with Frost Snow-dyed lips gently brushed against the baby's head, and the small body in her arms suddenly erupted with an even stronger Silver Light.
The infant's flailing arms struck the edge of the Magic Mirror just right, causing those marked Nodes to connect into a complete route map for breaking the formation.
The Eldest Son's Fire Crystal Array on his wheelchair suddenly soared into the air, assembling into a miniature model of the Magic Castle.
As Silver Light infused into the model, everyone clearly saw that within a crack in an Ice Sculpture on some part of the East Wing's Outer Wall lay an Eternal Winter Stone engraved with Leonard's mark.
"So Father hid the formation eye..." Lucius's words were abruptly cut off by a deafening Roar.
Suddenly, the blood-red moonlight pierced through the Magic Castle Dome, and the sound of Ice Crystal Boots striking the ground was almost upon them, mingled with Leonard's Concubine's sweet, light laughter: "Sister, why are you playing with fire while bringing the children along?"
Luna suddenly began to thrash violently, the Coral Fleece Blanket entangling Aelia's Wedding Ring.
As the lady instinctively tried to pull away the entangled Dark Purple Thread, the infant's fingers, shimmering with Silver Light, pressed against the Ice Spirit Stone embedded in the ring—what should have been a dull life magic stone suddenly erupted with a brilliant Blue Light that purified the Evil Spirit.
Aelia's pupils constricted sharply.
The Original Magic Power that she had never truly mastered over the past twenty years surged forth at that moment, driven by the infant's unaware actions.
Trembling, she raised her right hand and watched as the Guardian Spell projected by the Ice Spirit Stone rebounded all of the Blood Moonlight.
"Qin Si." The lady suddenly lifted Luna before her eyes; a droplet of saliva from the infant's mouth fell perfectly onto her collarbone where the Sacrificial Totem rested.
The dormant Magic Pattern emitted a searing hiss as it shrank into a small rose mark under the dual purification of Silver Light and Ice Spirit.
A maid immediately stepped forward to take the whimpering infant but discovered that the Sleep Spell embroidered on the inside of the swaddling had somehow transformed into a Guardian Array.
When her fingertip touched the mutated Magic Pattern, a blessing mark from Aelia's wedding bestowed by the Northern Queen twenty years ago suddenly emerged beneath the fabric.
"Go get..." Aelia's gaze swept over Luna's ice crystal-stained embroidered swaddling, and her silver hair, soaked with tears, began to move without wind. "Find that sandalwood box inlaid with snow spirit silver."
The hail falling from the Dome suddenly turned into fine snow. When the first snowflake drifted into Luna's outstretched palm, a unique Ice Crystal Birthmark of the Northern Royal Family quietly emerged on her neck.
Qin Si took a step back while holding the infant and suddenly became aware of a garment made from Eternal Winter Silk stored at the very bottom of the lady's Dressing Table—a baby cloak prepared as a Full Moon Gift for her eldest daughter who had passed away twenty years ago.
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