Southward, Icebound Forest (Second Update)

Jade Ice Lake.

Ice Empress flew back from outside the valley, carrying a Snowfield Mammoth over ten meters tall on her shoulders. Tian Meng dangled from one of the mammoth's thick legs like an ornament, swaying precariously.

With a toss from Ice Empress, the entire Snowfield Mammoth crashed straight onto the surface of Jade Ice Lake, sending up a great spray of frost. Tian Meng crawled out from it, coughing and gasping.

Snow Empress rose from the Mystic Jade Bed and looked up at Ice Empress descending from the sky.

"Xue Er, how are your injuries?" Ice Empress was still most concerned about Snow Empress's condition.

"I'm fine." Snow Empress nodded.

Ice Empress's gaze swept over Huo Yuhao. She gave a faint snort of dissatisfaction, then turned and walked toward the fallen Snowfield Mammoth.

Soon after, the Snowfield Mammoth was dismembered with a series of crunches, turning into a huge pile of raw ingredients.

Huo Yuhao found it rather strange.

You're an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion with four hundred thousand years of cultivation, yet you don't eat things whole and raw?

Then, Ice Empress brought over a large slab of dark red lean meat. Its surface was covered in frost, and all traces of blood had been cleaned away.

"Here." Ice Empress sounded rather proud, yet somewhat disdainful.

Only then did Huo Yuhao realize that the mammoth had actually been food she had brought back specifically for him.

He was the only human here. His cultivation was shallow, and he was still far from the stage where he could go without food.

So this had been prepared especially for him?

Huo Yuhao felt something stir within him.

He had been unconscious for so long that he had not noticed anything before, but once reminded of it, he immediately felt so hungry that his head spun.

Looking at the carefully selected meat before him, he could hardly just pick it up and gnaw on it raw.

"Snow Empress, could you help me make a sharp Ice Blade?" Huo Yuhao looked toward Snow Empress.

Snow Empress did not hesitate. She raised a hand, gathering the power of frost in her palm.

Then, she condensed it into an Ice Blade the size of a dagger, its cold gleam dazzling.

She had even thoughtfully sealed away the chill within it.

Huo Yuhao took the Ice Blade from her hand. It felt cool and smooth to the touch.

"Thank you."

Then, Huo Yuhao took out the cauldron he had previously used for pill refining from the Undead Plane, then retrieved various seasonings from the Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch. He arranged them neatly on the Mysterious Ice platform and began to work.

Ice Empress watched as he methodically washed the meat, cut it into evenly sized pieces, blanched it, and put it into the pot to stew, adding spices from time to time.

Before long, a rich meaty aroma drifted from the cauldron.

Ice Empress sniffed lightly, visibly moved.

Tian Meng followed the scent of the meat over.

Huo Yuhao controlled the heat while Ice Empress and Tian Meng waited nearby. Once the meat in the cauldron had stewed until tender, the moment he lifted the lid, a thick fragrance burst forth.

Ice Empress and Tian Meng gathered around the cauldron of meat soup and began eating.

Huo Yuhao ladled out a bowl of meat soup and handed it to Snow Empress, receiving only a quiet, "Thank you."

He sat down beside them and eagerly drank the soup and ate the meat, replenishing his strength as quickly as possible.

Snow Empress sat quietly nearby with her bowl and chopsticks in hand. Her gaze inadvertently swept over Huo Yuhao's profile. Then she lowered her head and took a light sip of the soup, gazing toward the pure white snow peaks in the distance.

After several days of nourishing meals, Huo Yuhao's physical condition had mostly recovered.

Thanks to her powerful self-healing abilities, Ice Empress's injuries had long since healed. She was now gradually adapting to her four-hundred-thousand-year cultivation.

Although Snow Empress had suffered injuries during the Heavenly Tribulation, leaving hidden wounds in her body, she was still in decent condition as long as she did not fight with all her strength. She remained the ruler of the ice plains.

As for Tian Meng, they had only stopped pursuing him out of consideration for him being a fellow soul beast.

"How are we supposed to get to the Icebound Forest now?" Tian Meng asked, his gaze sweeping over the Ice and Snow Two Emperors and Huo Yuhao.

The three of you can fly, but I can't.

"Although I can fly, I can't maintain it for long, and I'm not particularly fast either," Huo Yuhao clarified.

Although his External Soul Bone: Golden Ghost Butterfly Wings granted him the ability to fly, his flying speed was not fast, and it consumed a tremendous amount of Soul Power. With his two-ring, rank-thirty cultivation, he could not sustain it for long, much less travel a great distance.

If he had a choice, why would he travel by dog-pulled Sled Carriage?

"It's fine. We'll give you a ride," Ice Empress said.

Snow Empress nodded slightly. This distance was no problem.

"M-Me! I can't fly either." Tian Meng hurriedly raised a claw.

"Why are you coming along? To get in the way?" Ice Empress's gaze turned icy as she threatened him from above.

"My Mental Detection is very strong. I'm best suited for searching for things. Besides, didn't Yuhao say that the Ten Thousand Year Ninth Grade Ginseng King might possess the ability to seek fortune and avoid disaster, always managing to hide from people? I suspect that thing has very high Spiritual Power and can sense the aura of powerful beings in advance. I can help you simulate and conceal your auras, which will increase the chances of success," Tian Meng explained.

When Ice Empress heard that, it did seem to make some sense.

Tian Meng might be useless in actual combat, but he possessed exceptionally high Spiritual Power.

When she had first clashed with Huo Yuhao, it had been Tian Meng's burst of spiritual tidal waves that offset part of the mental attack, allowing her to counterattack.

When it came to Spiritual Power, there was no denying that Tian Meng had some ability.

"Let's go."

Snow Empress took Huo Yuhao's hand of her own accord.

"Ah, okay." Huo Yuhao nodded woodenly, only to immediately find himself swept up by a mysterious force.

"Ice." Snow Empress looked toward Ice Empress, then pulled Huo Yuhao along as she transformed into a streak of white light and shot toward the southern horizon.

Seeing this, Ice Empress immediately pulled out a rope and tied up Tian Meng.

Grasping one end of the rope, she suddenly pushed off with the tips of her feet and leaped into the air. The rope instantly snapped taut, and Tian Meng's terrified scream soared into the clouds.

The Green Rainbow tore through the air southward, rapidly chasing after the white streak ahead.

Led along by Snow Empress, Huo Yuhao crossed the vast snowfield. As far as the eye could see, everything was white.

Herds of soul beasts from the ice plains migrated, leaving long trails of hoofprints in the snow;

Predators hidden within the snowy wilderness waited for their chance, watching the Snow Rabbits ahead;

An ice bear broke through the ice and reached its paw beneath the frozen lake to catch fish. Seemingly sensing something, it happened to look up and saw two streaks of light flying south across the sky. Then it turned back and continued fishing.

Life thrived in countless forms.

Watching the vibrant northern landscape, Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. When he looked up, he saw Snow Empress's profile, her silver-white hair billowing in the fierce wind.

Snow Empress noticed his gaze, yet continued looking ahead.

Ice Empress dragged along Tian Meng, who had been frozen into an ice sculpture.

Along the way, Tian Meng occasionally came into intimate contact with snow peaks and steep cliffs. After being battered about, he would directly faint, only to be frozen into a block of ice by the extreme weather.

After an unknown amount of time, while heading south, Huo Yuhao saw that endless black forest again.

Deep within the forest stood a towering mountain range like a natural barrier, blanketed in frost that had endured for ten thousand years.

Icebound Forest, Snow Dragon Spine Mountain.

Deep within a certain cave.

"Ah-choo!" The shadowy creature that had been sleeping suddenly sneezed loudly, waking with a start and sitting upright.

"Could I be facing another calamity?" the shadowy creature muttered to itself.