Relying on the near-perfect ability of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's shedding to isolate its aura, coupled with the powerful spirit ability of mental detection, Huo Yuhao trekked through the perilous Extreme North Land for several days. He skillfully avoided most of the hidden deadly threats and never encountered an enemy he could not handle head-on.
Several days later, the surrounding cold suddenly escalated to a new level. Towering, hundreds-of-meters-high deep-blue ice peaks began appearing in his vision. Huo Yuhao knew he had finally stepped into the true core circle of the Extreme North Continent's forbidden zone.
This place was an absolute forbidden zone for life, a manifestation of the rules of ice and snow. All things were silent and dead; only the eternal howl of the wind and the bone-chilling cold dominated everything.
"Yuhao, stop here." After traveling for another half day, the voice of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm rang out in his mind.
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, as a spirit soul, instantly materialized on Huo Yuhao's shoulder. Its small eyes intently stared at the terrifying area ahead that seemed to hide another world of ice and snow.
"We can't go any further. The core circle is fraught with danger; rashly entering could lead to immediate peril." It paused, then stated solemnly, "Next... leave it to me."
As its voice faded, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's shedding, which had been covering Huo Yuhao's soul tool suit, suddenly began to wiggle and peel off on its own. This jade-colored silk, which seemed alive, quickly slipped off Huo Yuhao and tightly wrapped itself around the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's ethereal spirit soul body!
Its originally somewhat ethereal spirit soul body began to solidify and fill out at a visible speed the moment the shedding covered it! Immediately afterward, one brilliant golden orb after another emerged from Huo Yuhao's glabella, sinking into the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's newly solidified body.
These orbs were originally the origin of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, and the fusion of each orb caused a qualitative leap in the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's aura! In the next second, vast and mighty mental force erupted from the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's newly solidified body like an awakening tide!
Invisible mental pressure spread out from it, forcing the relentless wind and snow away to create a vacuum zone. The ten thousand year glacial ice beneath its feet emitted faint, cracking sounds under the immense strain.
The powerful mental force transformed into an invisible giant wave, surging toward the deepest part of the Extreme North core circle. Accompanying this mental force was the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's deliberately amplified shout.
"Ice Empress! I know you can hear me! I, Tianmeng, have returned! This time... I have come for revenge! Do you dare to come out and face me?!"
This declaration, loaded with hostility, echoed between heaven and earth, causing the surrounding ice crystals to rattle. Huo Yuhao's expression instantly became strange, and the corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly. He had not expected this to be its first line.
Inside the spiritual sea, Little Silver's reaction was even more direct. Its huge silver eyes suddenly widened, and one of its spiritual tentacles even curled up in astonishment as it openly complained, "This... is what you call friendship?! After all that, they turn out to be enemies!"
Time flowed by, second by second, amidst the tense wait and the fierce wind howls. However, not long passed before a sudden change occurred!
At the edge of the lead-gray, snow-filled sky, a dazzling emerald-green light pierced the pale canopy without warning. It spread with astonishing speed like concentrated ink dropped into clear water!
That emerald green was not the vibrant green of vegetation, but the cold, translucent color of the finest jadeite. Wherever the light passed, the sky seemed to be stained into an immensely large piece of emerald glass, and even the howling winds and flying snow motes were illuminated in a deep, ethereal green.
Simultaneously, a violent, aggressive, and terrifying aura, like an invisible iceberg, crushed down from all directions! Following that, a voice as crisp as shattering ice crystals, carrying substantial sound waves and mental shock, rolled forth from the core direction where the emerald light was strongest.
"Tianmeng! You piece of trash, you're... actually still alive?!"
The identity of the voice's owner was self-evident. It was none other than one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, the supreme ruler of the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan, the vicious beast controlling ultimate ice—the Ice Empress!
If Huo Yuhao had been the only one present at this moment, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, driven by hundreds of thousands of years of lovesickness and obsession, probably would have been unable to restrain itself. It likely would have poured out the nauseatingly sweet words—prepared over countless years and enough to give an iceberg goosebumps—toward that emerald figure it had yearned for.
However, the reality was that not only was the unfathomable Electrolux quietly observing the ceremony inside the spiritual sea, but beside him was Little Silver, who had always been at odds with it, staring with its massive silver eyes! Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's stubbornness regarding its face forcibly suppressed the surging words from its heart.
It could only follow its self-prescribed avenger script, twisting its complex emotions into rigid-sounding provocation, and responded to the spreading emerald color in the sky. "Ice Empress, since you haven't died, how could I possibly go first?!"
"You audacious worm!" The Ice Empress's crisp voice was laced with undisguised fury and the cold killing intent of someone offended. She clearly had not expected this useless ice silkworm—which in her memory only knew how to run and whose flesh was merely nutritious—to dare speak to her in such a tone.
Whoosh! The boundless emerald-green light in the sky suddenly contracted inward, then violently burst forth! A supremely brilliant emerald light and shadow, like lightning tearing through space, instantly crossed the vast distance and appeared on the ice surface not far in front of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
The light dispersed, revealing its true form. It was a scorpion approximately 1.5 meters long. Its size was not particularly huge, but every inch of its body seemed to be carved and forged from the purest jade and ten thousand year profound ice in the world.
Its carapace was a deep and noble emerald green, perfectly interwoven with diamond-like ice crystals that refracted piercing cold light, forming armor of strange beauty. Its two front claws were each a meter long, covered in strange, hexagonal, diamond-like protrusions.
Only the foremost pincers and the mouthparts were mirror-smooth, glossy silver-white. The rising segments of its tail, culminating in the hooked tip, flashed with a deep emerald cold light that stung the very soul. It was the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, with a cultivation base of three hundred and ninety thousand years—the Ice Empress!
The Ice Empress's eyes, like yellow gemstones, coldly locked onto the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm. "Tianmeng! Since you dare to appear before me again, then after all these years, I will accept this gift of yours. I can feel it. Your power of origin... is even more tempting than before. Devouring you will definitely be of great benefit to my cultivation, perhaps allowing me to become the strongest spirit beast on the continent!"
The law of the jungle, where strength reigns supreme—this was the cold, iron rule imprinted on the very foundation of the spirit beast world. It had nothing to do with grudges; it was only about evolution and survival.
At this moment, the Ice Empress's gaze toward the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was no different in essence from how she looked at it hundreds of thousands of years ago. It was the gaze of a predator standing at the top of the food chain, looking at prey that was incredibly plump and highly nutritious.
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had fallen almost hopelessly in love with the Ice Empress, but in her eyes, it had probably always been nothing more than a delicious meal. One side felt a deep, sea-like unrequited love, while the other only wanted to dig out the heart and lungs for a satisfying meal.
Barring any surprises, no matter what happened next, there should be no future for them.
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