41 Ice Jade Empress Scorpion

They were shaped like hexagons and shone with an incomparably bright luster, and were akin to a diamond in shape. They covered the front section of its body, and its six slender legs. Beneath the green sky, they emitted an incomparably brilliant luster. It was almost as if they’d become another source of light as it reflected all a myriad of rays of light.

Its two pincers were both a meter long, and they were both covered with the strange diamond-like hexagonal protrusions. Only, the foremost parts of its pincers were covered in a mirror-like silverish-white color just like its mouth.

However, the things Huo Yuhao paid the most attention to were its eyes. Its eyes were yellow, as if two yellow diamonds had been embedded within its sockets. They were also hexagonal, and the flickering of their crystal-like yellow light gave off a feeling similar to that of a gem glistening.

If its upper body could be considered sufficiently resplendent, its lower body–the long, yet upward pointing tail, was the core that dazzled everything around it.

Unlike the finely segmented tail of an ordinary scorpion, the tail of the Ice Emperor only had five segments. Each segment shone with an alluring jade-green light that was filled with luster. Its five segments were identically colored, and the segment nearest to its upper body was the widest of the five; the further away from its body, the narrower it got. The last segment was also inlaid with the diamond-like protrusions, and the very tip of its tail similarly flickered with a mirror-like, silverish-white luster.

How could a soul beast with a gem-like resplendence like this not be deserving of the title of ‘beautiful’? Furthermore, merely describing it with the word ‘beautiful’ didn’t seem to do it justice.

As the Ice Emperor appeared, the Skydream Iceworm unconsciously let an intoxicated look appear on his face. Staring at the Ice Emperor with a passionate gaze in his eyes, he said, “You’ve come.”

Seeing the Skydream Iceworm’s bright-gold body which was created by spiritual power, the Ice Emperor seemed to be taken somewhat aback. A trace of astonishment appeared in its crystal-yellow eyes.

“Skydream, did you think that I’d be unable to find your true body just because you hid it and used your spiritual power to create a virtual body to come see me? Even if your spiritual power’s strong enough to create a body for yourself, you’re still using the appearance of a human. You can’t be too far away from your true body.” The Ice Emperor said icily.

The Skydream Iceworm smiled slightly. His eyes were filled with an infatuated look, and he nearly started drooling, “You’re still as charming as ever. I remember the last time I saw you, you still had six segments on your tail. However, they’ve already fused to five segments! I just love this attractive shade of green that you have. It seems like I wasn’t wrong; you’re not too far away from your limit.”

Snorting disdainfully, the crisp, female voice of the Ice Emperor rang out again, “Useless words like that will only hasten your death. You’ve been hiding so well all these years, but you’ve suddenly come back now. Did you only come here to get yourself killed?”

With an adoring voice, the Skydream Iceworm said, “I’ve naturally come to let you live on! My suffering from the one-sided love I’ve had will finally come to an end. During these long years, I’ve always dreamt of you during my deep sleep. My beloved, we can finally stay together forever.”

The Ice Emperor was no longer able to tolerate the Skydream Iceworm’s infatuated appearance. Her tall, pointed tail suddenly lit up, and a spotlessly white beam of light instantly pierced through the Skydream Iceworm’s body.

Huo Yuhao felt the Skydream Iceworm’s spiritual power surging violently, and even his vision became somewhat fuzzy.

“I don’t know what plans you have, but since you’ve come all the way here, you have to die. After absorbing your energy, I’ll become the strongest soul beast in the entire continent.”

After piercing through the Skydream Iceworm’s body, the white ray didn’t disappear. On the contrary, it started spreading through the Skydream Iceworm’s golden body, destroying it in a berserk manner.

However, the Skydream Iceworm didn’t reveal any signs of pain. Somewhat regretfully, he said, “I was originally planning to chat with you for a while, since I didn’t want to be so heartless. However, I’ll have to start it now, so that we can truly be together.”

Having cultivated to its current level, the Ice Emperor could discern danger very well. She instantly felt that something was wrong, because the Skydream Iceworm’s body had suddenly turned blurry. Right after that, he suddenly appeared right in front of her.

There was no need to doubt the Ice Emperor’s speed, but she suddenly felt herself slowing down in this instant. The air around her seemed to have suddenly turned viscous, and the Skydream Iceworm’s terrifying spiritual power had become a vast ocean that trapped her within it.

The Ice Emperor’s gaze instantly turned ferocious. Forcefully waving her jade green tail, it erupted with a brilliant light.

“Skydream, you’re courting death. You actually dare to use spiritual power in this manner? Aren’t you scared of being unable to return to your original body? Moreover, regardless of how hard you try, it won’t change the fact that you’re trash. How long can you even keep me here for? One or two seconds?”

The Skydream Iceworm said gently, “Not much! One second’s more than enough!”

At this moment, a membrane made of a pale white light slid across the ground noiselessly. No matter how strong the Ice Emperor was, she hadn’t noticed it.

On the other hand, the hidden Huo Yuhao felt his body shake violently. Clenching his teeth, he concentrated all his soul power to defend against the extreme cold that had abruptly arrived.

Though he had the ice room, which was able to block out the outside cold, as well as the warmth created by the Skydream Iceworm’s ignited shedded skin, he was still frozen solid instantly. He didn’t know how low the temperatures here had reached, but it seemed as if his heart could stop beating at any time. He could only urge his soul power as if his life depended on it, maintaining the trace of warmth in his heart.

Right, a single second was enough for the Skydream Iceworm. The Ice Emperor was releasing all of her strength in preparation for the Skydream Iceworm to waste all of his spiritual power, but she suddenly felt her body tighten. Unexpectedly, she had lost the ability to move.

Astonished, the Ice Emperor immediately twisted about madly. White and green intertwined and flickered as she released all of her tyrannical skills without holding anything back.

However, this powerful several hundred thousand year-ranked soul beast who’d roamed about the Extreme North unhindered felt fear in the next instant. No matter how hard she struggled, it was unexpectedly to no avail.

The sensation of constriction was strengthening at an astonishing rate, unexpectedly causing a gurgling sound to ring out. Regardless of how she struggled, the strength of her bindings continued to strengthen unceasingly. Unexpectedly, she had no way to resist it.

The frontal pincers she’d raised up into the air were gradually pushed downwards, and her raised tail was pressed up against her body. The Ice Emperor, one of the Extreme North’s Three Emperors, had actually been constricted this rigidly.

“No, no! This isn’t possible. Skydream, how could trash like you be able to tie me up? What skill is this? Why can’t I use my energy?”

The golden light vanished, and the Huo Yuhao-shaped Skydream Iceworm reappeared in front of her. With an indifferent smile on his face, he said, “I’ve truly waited for this day for too long already. You don’t know what’s happening? Right, I’ll give you an explanation, but not now. Once we’ve left this area, I’ll have a good chat with you. Right now, we should be on our way.”

With that, he raised his right hand and pointed towards the Ice Emperor. Amidst the flickering golden light, the Ice Emperor’s body vanished into thin air.

Facing the sky, the Skydream Iceworm let out a sigh. “I didn’t think that I’d be able to use the few abilities I wouldn’t have dared to use in the past after losing my body. Unfortunately, that was my only chance to use them. Ice Emperor, oh Ice Emperor, I really hope you won’t disappoint me.”

The pale white membrane reappeared, but the Ice Emperor had already vanished. The membrane slowly fell through the ground, re-entering Huo Yuhao’s body, which was located within the ice room.

The extreme cold was instantly isolated from the ice room, but Huo Yuhao’s body remained as hard as steel. A layer of frost had covered the surface of his body.

The golden light vanished into his forehead, and the Skydream Iceworm called out to him softly, “Yuhao, Yuhao, how are you? I’ve succeeded.”

Though Huo Yuhao’s body was frozen solid, he was abnormally clear-headed.

“Why?” Within his spiritual world, Huo Yuhao asked coldly.

Puzzled, the Skydream Iceworm asked, “Why what?”

Huo Yuhao’s icy voice rang out, “Why did you lie to me? Did you really come here just to awaken my second martial soul? If so, how can you explain what you just did?”

The Skydream Iceworm fell silent.

His voice filled with grief, Huo Yuhao said, “Skydream, you know, after leaving the Duke’s Mansion, you’re the first partner in my life who’d given me hope. I considered you as a teacher, as well as my closest friend. You’re the person who’s finally given me a target I can work towards, but why did you have to lie to me? Why? Did you just want to use me as a puppet to come here? I used all of my energy to come here, but the only thing I saw was the love you had towards the Ice Emperor. I don’t mind taking risks with you. If you had told me in advance, I would’ve been willing to follow you all the way, even if I had to climb through mountains of blades or swim through seas of fire. However, you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

The Skydream Iceworm let out a long sigh, “Sorry, Yuhao. I did lie to you. I didn’t fully trust you. I didn’t know whether you’d still be willing to follow me if I told you everything. You’re not wrong, I had my own selfish motives. I hope to be with the Ice Emperor forever. Ever since I was born, the only person I’ve liked is the Ice Emperor. It’s just like the ‘love’ you humans have. Even if she only treats me as food, I’ll still love her without any second thoughts.”

“I didn’t realize that doing things this way would hurt you. I don’t wish for you to look down on me. It’s just as she’s said, I’m a piece of trash and a coward. The Ice Emperor’s full name is the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, and she’s one of the true rulers of this freezing earth. The Ice Jade Scorpion tribe she belongs to takes my Iceworm clan as food, but I’ve loved her incorrigibly since I the first time I met her two hundred thousand years ago.”

“I know what you’re going to ask me: Why do I love her, even though we’re from completely different races? Realistically speaking, a difference in race doesn’t really matter at our level. Besides, what I’m pursuing is more of a spiritual relationship. You’ve seen what she thinks of me. To tell the truth, one of the main reasons that I was so eager to become your soul ring was because I simply couldn’t wait any longer. I was scared that she’d reach her limit early, and that she’d pass away. Even though I love her, I won’t force her to love me. However, I’ll do everything I can in order to ensure that she stays alive, no matter what. It’s my selfish wish that I can live with her beside me. Even if she ends up cursing me everyday, I’ll still be willing to listen to her voice. Do you understand what I’m saying? This is love.”

The Skydream Iceworm’s voice was filled with several emotions. An intrinsic transformation seemed to have occurred in his usually lazy voice, so much so that even Huo Yuhao was gradually swayed by his words. Huo Yuhao was only twelve after all, thus it was natural for him to not understand what exactly love was. However, he had unwittingly been moved by the Skydream Iceworm’s words.

“What if an accident had happened before we found the Ice Empress? What if you hadn’t been able to restrain her?” Huo Yuhao blurted out.

The Skydream Iceworm calmly replied, “There was basically no chance of that happening with my Spiritual Detection. Furthermore, there’s no chance that she wouldn’t have been restrained by me. When I died, my corpse became the strongest weapon that a soul beast has ever produced in the world. Not to mention her, I’m confident that I could’ve trapped the first-ranked Snow Empress if it had been within fifty meters of us. Unfortunately, I could only use it one time. This was the first time that I’ve fought outside your body after fusing with you, and it will also be the last. The strength of my spirit won’t allow me to do this again. After all, I’m your soul ring; I’ve already completely fused with you. The dangers that you’re worrying about couldn’t have happened either, as I have a last-ditch skill that allows me to instantly teleport you several hundreds of miles away. As such, I wouldn’t have had any problems making sure that you were safe. Yuhao, you need to remember this: Even though I was somewhat vigilant towards you this time, we’re still a single entity. We share both our glory and our losses.”

Huo Yuhao fell silent. The Skydream Iceworm’s lie had hurt him quite a lot, but he felt the sadness in his heart gradually disappear when he heard the Skydream Iceworm’s explanation. Afterwards, another feeling took its place.

“I can only do what I do best. Even if there hadn’t been any feelings between the Ice Empress and me, I still would’ve brought you to this place, as this is the only place where I could utilize all of my abilities to help you find a good choice to awaken your martial soul with.”

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, then muttered, “Brother Skydream, is my heart too fragile?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “No. I can’t blame you for how you reacted. A person’s mental state is truly determined by one’s past experiences. You just rely too much on me. Haven’t you realized it? Whether you’re cultivating, undergoing an assessment, or even whenever you encounter danger. Every single time, you subconsciously tell yourself, No matter what, I still have Brother Skydream, or something like, As long as I cultivate diligently, Brother Skydream will help me become even stronger. Am I right?”

Huo Yuhao nodded subconsciously. By this point, the stiffness in his body had more or less receded. His blood had begun to flow quicker as he circulated his soul power, which in turn gradually caused a warm feeling to rise from his body.

The Skydream Iceworm continued, “This reliance can sometimes be a good thing for you, but it can also sometimes be a bad thing. Relying on me too much will cause you to lose your way. You are yourself; you are Huo Yuhao, a human soul master, and a human soul engineer. I, on the other hand, am the Skydream Iceworm. I’m currently an intelligent soul ring. And who do I belong to?”

“Me, ” Huo Yuhao replied.

The Skydream Iceworm said, “That’s right. I’m your soul ring. Even if I’m an intelligent soul ring, I’m still your soul ring. Therefore, you have to remember that, while I am a part of you, you aren’t a part of me. You’re my master, and as such, you’re the person who rules this body that we share. Because of that, I should be the one who’s relying on you; you shouldn’t be the one relying on me. If you keep thinking this way, you won’t have any feelings of doubt towards me. If it continues like this, I’ll have to consider whether or not any of my actions will affect my relationship with you. I’ll only be fine if you’re fine. Do you understand?”

After hearing the Skydream Iceworm’s words, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his mind clear up. He finally understood what he’d just felt—it was maturity.

In this short period of time, his heart had matured. The hatred he’d accumulated over the past several years seemed to have dulled by a large amount while, more importantly, his heart had matured. His fragile heart had firmed up, and the constant self-reflection he’d done had caused him to discard his resentment.

Once he realized this, his eyes became full of confidence once again.

I’m the master here. I’m the one who will grab the sun and moon, and who will pluck the stars from the sky in the future.

After digging his way out of the ice room, Huo Yuhao climbed out from underneath the snow. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt an urge to let out a shout towards the heavens.

“Don’t make any noise. Immediately run in the direction I tell you to. The Ice Empress’s clansmen are coming, as they’ve more than likely sensed her aura disappear. If we don’t leave, they’ll definitely find us quickly. Now then, we need to quickly leave this place. We can handle the issue regarding the Ice Empress once we reach a safe place.”

“Okay.” Huo Yuhao didn’t waste any time as he immediately began running towards the direction they’d come from. His mind had cleared up, thus his footsteps had become extraordinarily swift. The Skydream Iceworm’s powerful spiritual power concealed all traces of his aura, and there wasn’t any need for Huo Yuhao to worry about leaving any footsteps behind. In this freezing world of wind and ice, all traces of his presence were wiped away with a single gust of wind.

As he ran, Huo Yuhao spoke to the Skydream Iceworm, “Brother Skydream, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have doubted you. However, I’m still angry as, in the end, you still lied to me.”

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “Okay, please don’t be angry. You’ll be able to see how beneficial this adventure was to you once we’ve taken care of the Ice Empress.”

Huo Yuhao said, “What’s the Ice Empress got to do with me? She’s your lover. Don’t tell me that you truly have the heart to kill her and make her into my soul ring?”

“Hehehe….” The Skydream Iceworm laughed. “You’ll see, but not right now. However, I promise that I’ll never lie to you again. You’ve passed my test.”

“What test?” Huo Yuhao asked, a somewhat blank look in his eyes.

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “Your heart, of course. Although your small heart’s somewhat fragile, and even though your emotions are affected very easily, I’ve still felt the complete trust and dependence you have in me. I did say that it wasn’t a very good thing for you to do, but it’s destroyed the last barrier between us.”

Somewhat helpless, Huo Yuhao replied, “That doesn’t really make me feel very good.”

The Skydream Iceworm chuckled. “What’s not good about it? Every experience always has its benefits. This isn’t really a bad thing for you. Besides, you’ll trust your friends more in the future, and you won’t doubt them as easily.”

Huo Yuhao replied, “If you won’t tell me how you plan to deal with the Ice Empress, then at least tell me the story between you and her. I want to hear what this ‘love’ is all about.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you a little story. Run a bit faster; if we’re discovered, all our previous efforts will have been for nought….”

“I’m already running as fast as I can.” Huo Yuhao brought his soul power to the maximum as he ran along the surface of the snowy ground using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Because of both his speed and the packed snow of the Extreme North, he left a trail of shallow footsteps in the snow without actually sinking into it. This was the quickest way he could move forward.

The Skydream Iceworm said, “I’ve been in love with the Ice Empress for two hundred thousand years. I’d just woken up from my sleep back then, and I was about to find another place to continue sleeping. But then, she suddenly appeared. She’d been looking for the Ten Thousand Year Ice Pith. Unfortunately, this Brother had already eaten all of it. The first time we met, we were both astonished. You’ve seen my original body; it’s beautiful, it’s big, it’s round, and it has a golden luster to it. Well, she was very beautiful too. The first time that I saw her resplendent body and her large, jade-green tail, I was deeply captivated by her. In particular, I was charmed by her cool temperament. She looks the most beautiful whenever she’s cursing at me. To me, it doesn’t matter even when she wants to kill me; her personality’s just that perfect.”

Huo Yuhao was left somewhat speechless when he heard this. “Brother Skydream, I don’t think you need to continue anymore. I just can’t sympathize with the love between you soul beasts. Also, I can’t help but say that you’re really infatuated with her. Even when she’s trying to kill you, you still find her perfect! Hahahaha…”

Enraged, the Skydream Iceworm yelled, “Huo Yuhao, how dare a stinky brat like you laugh at me. Do you really think that I wouldn’t dare to destroy your spiritual sea!?”

“I don’t believe you. If you have the ability to do it, do it. However, if you destroy my spiritual sea, you’re screwed as well. And if that happens, you won’t be able to see your Ice Empress ever again. Are you really willing to go through with that? If you are, come at me! I’m not scared of you.”

“You…” Huo Yuhao’s words had struck the Skydream Iceworm’s soft spot. He indignantly replied, “Getting too intimate really isn’t good for me! Now that we’ve gotten closer, you’re no longer afraid of the consequences for insulting me! I feel like I’ve lost out on this deal….”

Huo Yuhao snorted. “Haven’t you heard the phrase ‘being put at a disadvantage sometimes gives you an advantage’? Whatever, quiet down a bit. I don’t wanna get distracted.”

This time around, Huo Yuhao had truly unleashed the entirety of his potential. In his current situation, one where he couldn’t guarantee when he would even get to eat, he dashed wildly onwards in a way that seemed to overdraft his body. Only when his soul power was fully drained would he stop, shove two mouthfuls of snow into his mouth, then meditate.

He didn’t even consider eating the frozen food that he’d brought with him.

The drain on his physical energy by merely relying on water to replenish his energy could be imagined, but he didn’t have a choice. Repeatedly urged on by the Skydream Iceworm, he continued to run for twenty-eight hours straight. By that point, he’d finally left the core regions of the Extreme North and had arrived back at the border.

“Pu—” Huo Yuhao fell to the ground atop the thick snow. He wasn’t able to crawl back up no matter what the Skydream Iceworm said.

The excessive overdrawing of his physical strength had caused him to enter a state of extreme tiredness. Fortunately, the surrounding temperature had increased considerably once he’d reached the outer areas of the Extreme North. At the very least, it had become a bit easier for him to hydrate himself by eating snow.

“I can’t do this anymore, Brother Skydream. I just can’t run anymore. I have to rest. If I don’t eat any longer, I’m going to die.” Huo Yuhao muttered inwardly.

Huo Yuhao gasped for air as he lay atop the snow, which caused bursts of white mist to unceasingly emerge from his mouth. His vision had become blurry, and waves of dizziness were assaulting him. Currently, he was weak to the point that he wasn’t even able to activate his Spiritual Detection. The only thing he wanted to do right now was sleep. He’d never felt like this before, even during the most difficult moments of his training in Shrek Academy.

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “Let’s do it here then. I just did a quick search. It’s relatively quiet for around a hundred miles around us. As such, there shouldn’t be any soul beasts roaming about. However, Yuhao, you can’t rest yet; your true test is coming now.”

“Ah? You still want to test me? Just let me die.” After his last conversation with the Skydream Iceworm, their relationship had evidently improved by a significant amount. At the very least, Huo Yuhao had less misgivings when he conversed with the Skydream Iceworm.

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “Are you sure you don’t want to take this test?”

“What test?” Huo Yuhao asked, speechless.

The Skydream Iceworm smiled mysteriously. “Why did we come to the Extreme North in the first place?”

“To awaken my martial soul! What, are you saying that you want to take care of the Ice Empress right now?” Huo Yuhao finally came back to his senses. However, he really didn’t have any strength left. Just attempting to sit up took half of the little energy he had left, thus he chose to lie back down.

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “Right. I’m going to use my shedded skin to trap the Ice Empress’ body, then use my spiritual power to create a spiritual prison that’ll trap her temporarily. However, even though my spiritual power is my origin energy, I won’t be able to maintain it for too long. The Ice Empress’s so strong that I can’t truly trap her for long.”

Curious, Huo Yuhao asked, “What’s a spiritual prison?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “It’s a skill that’s activated by spiritual power. After I gave up my body in order to fuse with you, the origin of my spiritual power became independent from my body, allowing me to use a few skills. Unfortunately, my spiritual brand fused even further with you after I left your body. As such, I won’t be able to do this again. As of now, I can truly only be your subordinate. You need to prepare yourself as well, as there’s a prerequisite for the Ice Empress to fuse with you and become your martial soul—she has to do it of her own accord. However, even if she willingly agrees, you’ll still have to withstand an enormous amount of pressure. It won’t be as easy as it was when I fused with you in the Great Star Dou Forest. At that point in time, I was fully drained of my energy. All I had left was my spiritual origin. Contrary to myself, she’s a true three hundred thousand year soul beast; her cultivation is even at the 399,000 year rank. You definitely won’t be able to absorb such a terrifying amount of power by yourself. As such, I’ll have to seal her energy up in order to make sure that you won’t explode. However, this will still come as an enormous shock to your body. Thus, you’ll have to persevere no matter what. If you don’t, all three of us are screwed. Do you understand?”

Huo Yuhao nodded. “I understand. But… will the Ice Empress really agree?”

The Skydream Iceworm smiled mysteriously. “Even though we’ve lived for so many years, we’re actually more afraid of death than you humans. After all, is anyone truly willing to give up an extremely long life? No matter how much she looks down on me and how unwilling she is, preserving her own life is still more important! The reason that I created a situation like this was to force her; besides, those descendants of hers won’t even be able to find us. Just watch me. You just need to lie down and stay still.”

Huo Yuhao’s eyes slowly lit up, while a strong golden light flickered within them. Immediately afterwards, he felt the mind-numbing cold. Even though it wasn’t as intense as the freezing cold parts of the Extreme North, he shivered instinctively, and his body curled up subconsciously. The Skydream Iceworm had evidetly taken his shedded skin away.

A ball of golden light emerged from in between Huo Yuhao’s brows, then slowly rose into the air. It was only a golden dot when it emerged, but it gradually expanded as it rose. In the blink of an eye, it had become a disk of light with a one meter diameter.

The light that the golden disc had suddenly began to become illusory. If you were to look directly at it, your gaze would be sucked into a seemingly bottomless abyss.

A light flashed, and a figure emerged from the golden disc. The instant it appeared, the golden light in the air disappeared. A fist-sized ball of golden light surged out from Huo Yuhao’s forehead and proceeded to float in midair. The trapped figure within was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

Currently, she’d already been trapped by the Skydream Iceworm’s shedded skin. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t get free. After all, the Skydream Iceworm’s shedded skin was the crystallisation of his million years of cultivation. Even though his energy—which he’d accumulated after many years—had been continuously sucked out by the powerful soul beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest to the point where he’d almost dried up, he’d deliberately nourished his body with his energy during the extraction process. If it hadn’t been for his durable body, he would’ve died god knows how many times already.

After choosing to give up his body in order to fuse with Huo Yuhao, the Skydream Iceworm’s shedded skin had become an extremely valuable treasure. Even with the Ice Empress’s terrifying level of energy and soul power, she had still been unable to break free from it. Its durability could be seen from this. Only, Huo Yuhao’s current cultivation was far too weak to control it, thus only the Skydream Iceworm himself could do so. However, the drain on his spiritual origin would be extremely large whenever he used it, and as such, he could only use it at extremely important moments.

“Ice Empress, stop resisting. You’ve already tried so many times, you should know that it’s useless by now.” The Skydream Iceworm said in its distinctively lazy voice.

The Ice Empress replied coldly, “What do you want?”

The Skydream Iceworm gently said, “I only want to stay with my beloved forever.”

“This is your way of showing me your love?” After thinking it over for an entire day or so, the Ice Empress had already come to the understanding that she’d been duped. At that time, if she hadn’t been so close to the Skydream Iceworm, his plans would definitely have failed. Unfortunately, there was no use in her crying over spoiled milk. She’d already fallen into the Skydream Iceworm’s hands, and she wasn’t able to escape from this strange power. An existence like the Ice Empress, someone who had lived for almost four hundred thousand years, naturally wouldn’t give up easily. Thus, she could only rely on her other abilities to escape from this strange power that she couldn’t seem to resist.

The Skydream Iceworm smiled slightly. “Don’t be so impatient, listen to me.”

The Ice Empress replied coldly, “What did you say? You said that you loved me? If you really love me, then why haven’t you released your true body? I’ve already fallen into your trap, so what do you have to be afraid of?”

The Skydream Iceworm sighed. “I’m naturally not afraid of you, it’s just that there’s no way for me to let you see my true body! My true body no longer exists. Haven’t you realised that you’ve been looking at my spiritual origin all this time, not a virtual body? After ruling over your domain for so long, you’ve lost your cautiousness. If you hadn’t, I definitely wouldn’t have succeeded so easily.”

The Ice Empress was stunned. Astonished, she replied, “What? You only have your spiritual origin? So your body…” At that moment, she finally noticed Huo Yuhao, who was lying on the ground. Because of the cold, Huo Yuhao’s face had already turned somewhat pallid. Fortunately, his resistance to the cold had increased by a large amount after his journey to the core regions of the Extreme North.

“You couldn’t be referring to this human, right? Even though you’ve trapped me, I can easily tell how insignificant he is, just by using my eyes. Is he your puppet?”

“No, no, of course that’s not the case. He’s my host, or rather, he’s my master. The current me is a soul ring that belongs to him; you should know about the soul rings that these humans have. On the other hand, I’m the continent’s first ever intelligent soul ring.”

The Ice Empress cried out involuntarily, “What? You’ve actually become a human’s soul ring? How can this be?! Even though you’re a piece of trash, you’ve still lived for this long. How could a human’s fragile body withstand your enormous energy?!”

The Skydream Iceworm smiled bitterly. “Don’t bring that up. My tragedy began with you. At that point in time, you were so persistent on eating me… there was no way that I wouldn’t run away! I still needed a body to continue loving you, thus I drifted along the ocean and reached an area down south…”

The Skydream Iceworm used the most miserable voice he could muster as he recounted his experiences from the past hundred thousand years. Huo Yuhao had already heard his story, but the Skydream Iceworm used a much more sorrowful tone as he explained it to the Ice Empress. Moreover, he described himself with a much more miserable tone, describing how he’d been ‘beaten up till he was a mass of bruises’, and how ‘death would have been preferable to living’.

“…You know how terrifying limits are to us. You also know that no soul beast has lived longer than me. Even though I’m only a piece of trash in your heart, I’m still an old piece of trash who’s lived long enough. My energy’s foundation had been drained, and I was about to reach my next limit soon. However, I’ve already lived for this long—I naturally didn’t want to die! I believe that you feel the same as I do. I can sense that your limit will arrive within a hundred years. Because of that, you’re extremely worried.”

“You and me, we both don’t want to die. We’ve already lived this long; how could we be willing to simply turn into pile of dust? As such, I’ve found the best way to get past this.”

The Skydream Iceworm’s story finally aroused the interest of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. She subconsciously asked, “How?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied in a low voice, “By creating God.”

“Creating God?” The Ice Empress was stunned. She immediately became even more curious. “What do you mean by creating God?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied in a low voice, “My beloved, let me ask you this: Which race on this continent has the highest potential of all?”

After becoming ensnared in the Skydream Iceworm’s words, the Ice Empress subconsciously followed his train of thought. “Are you referring to humans?”