Contracting the Ice Empress

The sky pulsed with emerald light, conveying her joy.

The Ice Empress appeared before Mu Xuanheng once more.

She paid no attention to Mu Xuanheng, only to the Snow Empress. "Xue'er, you're back."

The Snow Empress rose into the air and looked straight at the Ice Empress. "I'm back, but not to become the ruler of the Extreme North. I came to take you away."

A contract, almost identical to the last one, floated before the Ice Empress. She rejected it in exactly the same way.

"Xue'er, I won't become someone else's slave."

"How could you be a slave with me here?"

A Master-Servant Contract was still a Master-Servant Contract. At most, the Snow Empress could have Mu Xuanheng add more restrictions on himself and grant the Ice Empress more freedom.

No matter how many conditions they added, they couldn't change the fact that it was a Master-Servant Contract.

It was only natural that the Ice Empress didn't want to sign it.

"Xue'er, I know you're doing this for my sake. But even if I sign this contract, what difference will it make? I'll only be clinging to life for a little longer."

The Snow Empress glanced at Xuan Zi, telling him to get out of the way.

Unwilling as he was, Xuan Zi was led away by Mu Xuanheng. "Old man, wait a moment. The Snow Empress and I will talk her into it and be right back."

The Ice Empress raised a barrier, leaving only the three of them inside.

"Xue'er, what do you want to say?" After spending hundreds of thousands of years together, she knew her friend well.

"What we want isn't to cling to life. We want to become gods and live forever."

"Become gods? Humans did become gods ten thousand years ago, but Xue'er, can you be sure he can become one?"

"I can. He's an unparalleled genius. Whether or not the Divine Realm pays attention to him, he has what it takes to become a god." She looked at the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, hoping to make her understand just how much faith she had in him.

"I need a reason," the Ice Empress said.

Inside Mu Xuanheng's Spiritual Sea, Electrolux said, "Let me handle this."

His eyes turned gray, and the currents of air swirling around him fell still. "Because of me!"

Those brief words conveyed absolute confidence.

"Who are you?" The Ice Empress instantly took a defensive stance.

His aura was weak, but his level was astonishingly high.

The Snow Empress flew to Mu Xuanheng's side. "This is what gives us confidence: a being from another world who once had the potential to become a god."

As Electrolux returned to the Spiritual Sea, the slightly revised contract floated before the Ice Empress once more.

Mu Xuanheng smiled. "Ice Empress, I know you still won't agree. But I hope you'll keep this contract anyway. If one day you happen to feel like signing it, you'll enter the same state as the Snow Empress. Of course, you can also change the contract and choose a different state."

"Contracts don't come in more than one form?" the Ice Empress asked, puzzled. This was the only kind she'd ever seen.

"Of course they do." Equal Contracts came in many forms, and Master-Servant Contracts could be even more varied. Mu Xuanheng calmly explained, "Given your situation, I recommend only two options: either become a spirit body like the Snow Empress, or keep your strength and continue living here as you are."

The Snow Empress hurriedly stopped the Ice Empress from choosing. "Bing'er, I suggested you become a spirit body because we're aiming to become gods. If you choose to keep your strength, you won't be able to join us in the future."

Every choice had its pros and cons. The Snow Empress explained the differences between the two options to the Ice Empress once again.

The Ice Empress still made no choice.

Mu Xuanheng left the contract in the Ice Empress's hands. "If you decide you're willing, you can sign it at any time."

He knew Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would arrive soon. When that happened, the Ice Empress would have only two choices left: become Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul or sign a contract with him.

"Ice Empress, I'm warning you: be careful these next few days. Even delicious food can be a hunter's trap."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

After handing the contract to the Ice Empress, they left first.

They rested on the outskirts of the Extreme North's core region. A simple snow hut served as his temporary home.

Soul Masters didn't need to sleep anyway; they could just meditate and cultivate.

"It'll be in the next few days."

In the core region, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm brought Huo Yuhao to find the Ice Empress.

The white Soul Ring revealed its true colors, and golden light radiated with an imposing presence.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm drew out the Spiritual Origin inside Huo Yuhao, forming a golden figure of light just like him.

It stood still, its spiritual form at the center of a wave of thought. "Ice Empress, I know you can sense my presence. I, Tian Meng, have come to take my revenge."

Mu Xuanheng, who had been meditating, immediately woke. At the same time, the Snow Empress and Xuan Zi were already outside the snow hut. "What powerful spiritual energy."

"Is this the Snow Empress's power? No, that doesn't seem right."

"Someone is simulating my power. It really is that worm." She glanced at Mu Xuanheng, knowing he had many more secrets. Since he didn't bring them up, she wouldn't ask.

"We should get moving, then. Bing'er may be in trouble."

"Let's take our time," Mu Xuanheng said. "There's no rush. We should at least give the Ice Empress a chance."

Just as expected, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion went out to hunt Sky Dream Ice Silkworm—and just as expected, she was captured by Sky Dream's million-year-old cocoon.

Huo Yuhao stood before the Ice Empress. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, "He's my host, my master. I'm his Soul Ring now—the first Wisdom Soul Ring in the history of Douluo Continent."

The Ice Empress burst out laughing. "So that's it. No wonder that guy said food could also be a hunter. Tian Meng, your thinking really is twisted enough. If he hadn't come along, I might actually have agreed to your idea."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately sensed something was wrong. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying someone else came to see you? Impossible. I'm the only one in the world with this method. I'm the only one who can let you keep your intelligence." It couldn't accept that the plan it had worked so hard to come up with might be second-rate. Nor could it bear the thought of the Ice Empress boarding someone else's ship.

"Brother Sky Dream?" Huo Yuhao couldn't understand this twisted love, but he could tell the Ice Empress had another option.

"Even if someone did come to you, so what? You can't escape my control now. Only I can open my million-year-old cocoon."

He was venting his frustration, convinced there was nothing wrong with his plan. The Ice Empress had no choice but to accept his terms.

A layer of white snow covered the sky. The terrifying aura was faint, but there was no doubt it belonged to the Snow Empress.

"Fine, Bing'er, you win. You even got the Snow Empress to come. Aren't you afraid she'll use this chance to eat you? Yuhao, let's go!"

A vast surge of spiritual power carried Huo Yuhao away.

Even from far away, they could still see the Ice Empress.

Mu Xuanheng, Xuan Zi, and the Snow Empress found the trapped Ice Empress.

"I fell for his trap. Tian Meng used his million-year-old cocoon to trap me. If you hadn't already come to see me, I really would have agreed to his offer."

The Ice Empress had thought it through: either way, she'd have a master. But as for whether she'd spend the future with Tian Meng or the Snow Empress, she didn't need to think twice.

"Kid, I'll sign a contract with you. Can you deal with this cocoon on me? Otherwise, you may lose out on a hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone."

"The cocoon is only trapping you. My dragon claw can pull your body out of the void." This was a fantasy world; destroying the cocoon wasn't the only solution. Going through space was another option.

"Good. Xue'er trusts you, so I'll trust you too!"

The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's name appeared on the contract, in resonance with Mu Xuanheng.

Contract complete!

The second contracted soul beast: the 390,000-year-old Ice Jade Empress Scorpion of the Extreme North.

Soul Power broke through to level 40. The Snow Empress's cultivation was higher, so the fourth Soul Ring was still orange.

And the Soul Bone was none other than the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's torso bone!

Refining the Ice Empress's Soul Bone was nowhere near as painful as refining the Snow Empress's.

Even with the Snow Empress forcibly sharing the pain back then, it had hurt far more than it did now.

Xuan Zi had a whole host of questions he wanted to ask, but Mu Xuanheng didn't look too well, so he decided to hold them for later.