A few days later, at the edge of the Extreme North's Core Zone.
The temperature here had fallen to a truly horrifying level. Even a breath of warm air turned to ice crystals in an instant.
An ordinary Soul Master who came here—even a powerful Soul Emperor—would have to keep circulating Soul Power to resist the cold poison. One moment of carelessness, and they would become an everlasting ice sculpture.
Yet Gu Yuejin strolled along as casually as if he were taking a walk in his own garden.
The blue-and-gold cocoon of Blue Silver Emperor light was like Absolute Defense, keeping all the extreme cold at bay.
In the Sea of Consciousness, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was on the verge of losing its mind.
"Stop! Make your master stop!"
"Any farther, and we'll be in the real Core Zone! That's the territory of the Three Heavenly Kings!"
"My plan was just to find a place on the outskirts and release my Aura to lure Ice Empress out for a negotiation."
"But now we're going straight to their doorstep! What if we alarm more than one Heavenly King, or attract a whole pack of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts? We won't even be left with scraps!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice trembled. "I... I'm starting to think bringing you here now was a mistake..."
It was genuinely afraid of dying.
It had gone to so much trouble to escape from Star Dou Forest. If it died here, it would be the most unfair fate imaginable.
Huo Yuhao had no firsthand understanding of just how terrifying the Extreme North was, but the deep, soul-level fear in Brother Sky Dream's voice still sent a chill through him.
His master was powerful, but this was the Human Forbidden Zone.
"Ma... Master."
Huo Yuhao forced himself to speak. "We've been walking for so long. What exactly are we looking for?"
Gu Yuejin didn't slow down or even turn around.
Only the corner of his mouth curled into a knowing, amused smile.
"Oh? That bug who just woke up in your Sea of Consciousness told you to ask, didn't it?"
The words rang out like a thunderclap.
Huo Yuhao froze, his pupils contracting.
In his Sea of Consciousness, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seemed to have been grabbed by the throat. Its shriek cut off at once.
They had never told anyone about this secret!
Only then did Gu Yuejin stop and slowly turn around.
His deep eyes seemed to pierce through Huo Yuhao's body and look straight into that vast Sea of Consciousness.
"Why hide your head and tail?"
"Since you're here, come out and meet me."
Gu Yuejin stood with his hands behind his back, his tone calm. "Don't worry. I'm interested in your meager, withered origin, but I care more about my apprentice's future."
Silence.
A deathly silence.
A moment later, golden light flashed between Huo Yuhao's brows.
A slightly translucent, plump and adorable silkworm-shaped figure, white as jade, slowly emerged. It was Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in its Soul Spirit form.
Its enormous golden compound eyes were filled with uncertainty as it stared fixedly at Gu Yuejin.
"When I first met Yuhao, you tried to hide your Aura."
Gu Yuejin began bluffing without so much as a change in expression. "But that unique Spiritual Power of yours—vast, yet incredibly insubstantial—couldn't escape my eyes."
In truth, he hadn't sensed a thing. He'd simply read the Original Work and had the advantage of hindsight.
But his "ability to see the future" had clearly stunned both human and silkworm.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Second Martial Soul you planned to give Yuhao is the second-ranked Ice Jade Scorpion, isn't it?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shuddered and blurted out, "How do you even know that?!"
Could this human read minds?
"Ice Empress has the Extreme Ice attribute, is immensely powerful, and is nearing the end of her lifespan. She really is the best partner for Yuhao's Spirit Eyes Martial Soul..."
"Shortsighted."
Gu Yuejin cut it off coldly, his tone firm and domineering, leaving no room for argument.
"The Ice Jade Scorpion is powerful, but its potential is limited."
"She can only go so far."
"If we're going to choose, if we're going to create a god, then we should choose the true ruler of the Extreme North, the spirit of heaven and earth—"
A sharp gleam flashed in Gu Yuejin's eyes as he slowly spoke four words:
"Heavenly Snow Woman, Snow Empress!"
"Snow Empress?!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shrieked, as if it had just heard the most absurd joke in the world.
"Are you insane? She's a Ferocious Beast with nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation! She's the Lord of the Extreme North!"
"I might have some chance of persuading Ice Empress with an appeal to her feelings. But Snow Empress? That's a death sentence!"
Huo Yuhao stood nearby, dumbfounded.
Ice Empress? Snow Empress?
Just hearing those names was enough to make him feel their boundless pressure bearing down on him.
At the same time, a deep sense of guilt welled up inside him.
His master had treated him so well, even risking his life to venture into the forbidden zone for the sake of his Second Martial Soul. Yet Huo Yuhao had kept deceiving him, hiding Brother Sky Dream's existence.
"Master... I'm sorry..." Huo Yuhao lowered his head, his eyes reddening.
Gu Yuejin ignored his apprentice's self-indulgent remorse and fixed his gaze on Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, launching into a taunt.
"What? Are you scared already?"
"You even sacrificed yourself to Yuhao. How come you're more timid than a mouse now?"
"Ice Empress is decent, but compared with Snow Empress's body, formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, she's not even in the same league."
"What we're doing is a feat never attempted before or since, not some petty little scheme."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm grew frantic. "This isn't about courage! It's a matter of life and death! How could an arrogant being like Snow Empress possibly—"
"What if she can't survive the Heavenly Tribulation either?"
Gu Yuejin played his trump card. "Then we offer her a chance at eternal life..."
Gu Yuejin's words were sharp and struck straight to the heart of the matter.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell silent.
The promise of becoming a god that Gu Yuejin had dangled before it was simply too tempting—and, logically speaking... annoyingly convincing.
If they really could secure Snow Empress, Huo Yuhao's future would be limitless, and his chances of becoming a god would rise dramatically.
"This human... is completely insane."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sighed. It realized there was no way to argue with this man, who seemed reckless but had actually planned every step.
"Fine. I admit you make a good point."
"But Snow Empress is elusive. I might not be able to sense her."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm relented. It closed its eyes and cautiously spread its vast Spiritual Power, trying to catch the Aura of the Ruler of the Far North.
A moment later, it snapped its eyes open, looking puzzled.
"That's strange..."
"What is it?" Huo Yuhao asked nervously.
"I'm getting a response, but... it's very faint."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm furrowed its brow, its chubby face scrunching up. "Snow Empress's Aura should be as vast as the sea. It shouldn't be this faint. It's as if... something has sealed it away."
"And the location isn't deep in the Core Zone. It's nearby."
It told Gu Yuejin the direction it had sensed.
"Faint? Sealed?"
A gleam flashed in Gu Yuejin's eyes. He immediately thought of a certain key item from the Original Work—
The Rank Nine Soul Tool, the Platform of Deification!
It seemed that, because of his interference—or a shift in the timeline—the Rank 9 Soul Master from the Sun Moon Empire had already succeeded.
"Truly... heaven's help."
Gu Yuejin's lips curled. This saved them the trouble of a one-on-one fight. They could just go and "rob the robber."
Meanwhile, deep in the Extreme North.
Inside a crystal-clear ice cavern.
A jade-green scorpion, only about a meter and a half long and seemingly carved from emerald, suddenly raised its head.
A flash of panic and fury crossed its green eyes.
"Xue'er..."
"Xue'er's Aura is calling for help!"
"Damn humans! You dare set foot in the Extreme North and lay hands on my sister!"
BOOM—!
An overwhelming Aura of Extreme Ice erupted. The Ice Jade Scorpion transformed into a streak of emerald light and sped toward the place where Snow Empress's Aura had disappeared, carrying a murderous intent that shook the heavens.
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