The Extreme North was a forbidden zone for humans.
The biting wind howled, whipping the goose-down snow into a frenzied storm.
The temperature had fallen so low that water froze on contact. Any ordinary Soul Master who dared venture here would turn into an ice statue in less than half an hour.
Yet amid the raging snowstorm, a streak of silver raced close to the ground.
Huo Yuhao rode a Soul Tool sword. He wore a specially made, silver, form-fitting inner armor: the Level 3 Soul Tool he had crafted for himself before setting out, the Constant Temperature Barrier.
Though it offered no defense, the Blazing Fire Core Array engraved inside it provided a steady source of heat, keeping him warm even in the bitter cold, with temperatures nearing a hundred degrees below zero.
"Brother Sky Dream, have we arrived?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"We have, we have! This is the place!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice trembled inside the Sea of Consciousness, caught between excitement and nerves. "This is the Core Circle of the Extreme North, the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan's territory!"
Huo Yuhao immediately brought his sword to a halt and slipped into a sheltered ice hollow. He concealed his presence and buried himself beneath the thick snow.
"Yuhao, are you ready? I'm starting! If we win this gamble, we'll take off straight to the top. If we lose... ahem, we're both done for!"
"Enough talk. Get started!" Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and composed himself.
The next instant, an immense, utterly pure wave of spiritual power erupted from between Huo Yuhao's brows!
This aura did not belong to a human. It belonged to an Ice Silkworm with a million years of cultivation!
Only a moment passed before the gray-white sky suddenly turned emerald green.
A terrifying pressure descended from above, so intense it left everyone breathless. The surrounding snow and ice froze in an instant, as though even the air had turned to ice.
"Sky Dream! How dare you come back!"
A clear female voice, brimming with murderous intent, rang across the heavens and earth.
Then, a scorpion only five feet long appeared outside the ice hollow. Its entire body was emerald green, as if carved from jade.
The second-ranked of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, a super Ferocious Beast with 399,900 years of cultivation—the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, Ice Empress!
"Ice Empress, it's been a while!"
A flash of golden light, and the plump, ethereal figure of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm emerged from Huo Yuhao's body, floating in midair with an infuriatingly smug look.
Killing intent filled Ice Empress's jade-green eyes. Her tail stinger glinted coldly. "You worthless little morsel! I let you escape once, but today I'll make you my nourishment and use you to break through the 400,000-year mark!"
"Hold on! Eat me? Take a look at my condition!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm pointed at his own translucent body, then at Huo Yuhao below. "I've already sacrificed myself! I'm this human's Soul Ring now! Eating me won't do you any good!"
Ice Empress froze. Only then did she notice Huo Yuhao below. Shock flashed in her eyes. "You... you became a human's Soul Ring? Have you lost your mind?"
"I haven't lost my mind. I did it for eternal life!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm instantly slipped into fortune-teller mode, speaking with fervor. "Ice Empress, your time is almost up too, isn't it? How confident are you of surviving the 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation? Ten percent? Five?"
Ice Empress fell silent. The killing intent in her eyes faded, replaced by deep wariness and helplessness.
"I have a God-Making Plan!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm pressed on, opening Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness completely. "Look at this human! He has a Golden Eyes Martial Soul, powerful spiritual strength, and a body I've modified. He's a vessel the likes of which only appears once in ten thousand years! If we join forces and help him become a god, we can gain eternal life too!"
Ice Empress examined Huo Yuhao closely, growing more and more astonished. The foundation of this human boy was so solid it was almost unbelievable.
After a long while, Ice Empress sighed. "Sky Dream, I can't stand you, but this time... you really have convinced me. I have no confidence in surviving the 400,000-year Heavenly Tribulation."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Huo Yuhao were delighted. It worked!
But Ice Empress's tone shifted. "However, Sky Dream, your plan isn't perfect. You said you would give him an Ultimate Ice Second Martial Soul. I may be the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, but when it comes to controlling and understanding ice, I'm not the best choice."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm blinked. "You mean..."
Ice Empress lifted her head and looked toward the deepest part of the Extreme North. Awe and affection showed in her eyes. "Snow Empress!"
"Snow Empress?!" Sky Dream exclaimed. "The leader? Isn't she in seclusion?"
"She's preparing for the 700,000-year Heavenly Tribulation," Ice Empress said gravely. "But she knows herself that it's a death sentence. Better to take a chance than to vanish completely. If this human truly has the potential to become a god, Snow Empress may need this opportunity even more than I do."
Huo Yuhao's heart pounded.
In the original story, Snow Empress had been captured by humans using the God-Sealing Platform while trying to take human form. In the end, she had been forced to self-destruct, nearly killing Huo Yuhao.
But now, because he had arrived ahead of time, he had a chance to get Snow Empress in her prime!
"Come on! I'll take you to meet Snow Empress!"
Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm exchanged a glance, unable to contain their excitement.
At the Peak of the Extreme North, there was no wind, only deathly silence and a cold capable of freezing time.
A stunning woman in a pure white gown stood quietly atop the snowy peak, her beauty matched by her aloof air.
She was the ruler of the Extreme North, Snow Empress, with 700,000 years of cultivation.
When Ice Empress brought Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and explained why they had come, Snow Empress's eyes, which seemed to have seen through the vicissitudes of the world, settled on Huo Yuhao.
"Become a god..." Snow Empress's voice was ethereal and cool. "Human, do you know how difficult that path is?"
"I do." Huo Yuhao met Snow Empress's gaze, his eyes as firm as iron. "But I also know that if you don't take the chance, you'll all die. And I'm your only hope."
Snow Empress was silent for a long time. She looked over the Extreme North where she had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, then finally gave a slight nod.
"Very well. I'll take the gamble."
There were no needless words, no hesitation.
An unprecedented sacrifice began atop the Peak of the Extreme North.
"Yuhao, hold on! This is 700,000 years of cultivation!" Sky Dream shouted.
Boom!
Snow Empress turned into a swirling blizzard and enveloped Huo Yuhao in an instant.
The extreme cold seemed ready to tear his very soul apart.
Huo Yuhao's face contorted in agony. He growled inwardly, System, spend as many Anger Points as it takes. Max out my health bar and help me hold on!
[Ding! Applying a health-bar boost to the host...]
Then a gentle yet powerful force began to reshape his body.
Huo Yuhao clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound.
In his Sea of Consciousness, a stunning humanoid phantom slowly took shape in the vacant Second Martial Soul slot. It was the peerless Heavenly Snow Woman!
At the same time, a translucent, ice-blue crown appeared soundlessly atop Huo Yuhao's head, then merged into his brow: the 700,000-year External Soul Bone, the Ice Snow Crown!
A blood-red Soul Ring with seven golden stripes slowly settled around the Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul.
700,000 years! A First Soul Ring!
But it wasn't over yet.
"Now it's my turn!" Seeing Snow Empress succeed, Ice Empress didn't hesitate any longer. She turned into an emerald-green beam of light and rushed into Huo Yuhao's body.
The agony struck again. Even with Sky Dream's guidance and the two Ferocious Beasts compressing their power with all their might, their combined cultivation of over a million years was enough to tear Huo Yuhao's body apart hundreds of times over.
But the system continually spent Anger Points to replenish Huo Yuhao's life force, and he managed to endure it.
An emerald-green glow radiated from Huo Yuhao's spine. The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion torso bone fused with him!
Then a blood-red Soul Ring edged with four golden lines slowly settled around Huo Yuhao's Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul.
Rumble!
The energy from the two Ferocious Beasts' sacrifices was devastating.
Huo Yuhao's Soul Power Level shot upward like a rocket!
Level 20... Level 25... Level 30!
He broke through the Level 30 bottleneck in an instant.
But there was simply too much energy to compress any further. Even Level 30 couldn't contain it all.
"Seal it! Hurry, seal it!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shouted, scrambling to direct the process.
The excess energy was forcibly compressed.
But as it was compressed, the energy grew so concentrated that Snow Empress had no choice but to form a third Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for Huo Yuhao's Heavenly Snow Woman Martial Soul!
Before you continue