The Extreme North.
Huo Yuhao trudged along wrapped in thick cotton clothes, sneezing as he went.
It was freezing!
The weather in the Extreme North was like being trapped in an ice cave. The extreme cold made it completely unsuitable for human survival.
He seriously suspected Brother Sky Dream was pulling his leg.
Huo Yuhao wiped the snot that had frozen into ice crystals from his nose and asked, "Brother Sky Dream, are you sure I can really find my Second Martial Soul here?"
In the Spiritual Sea, Tian Meng thumped his chest and promised, "You really don't trust me? I picked out an incredibly powerful Second Martial Soul for you. It's definitely stronger than the Martial Soul of that guy who called you useless."
"So what if he has a mere Golden Dragon Martial Soul? I'll give you a Second Martial Soul with the Ice God Bloodline!"
Listening to Brother Sky Dream boast, Huo Yuhao felt his hopes sink halfway.
His senior's Golden Dragon Martial Soul was the Ancestor of Strength, a True Dragon Martial Soul rarely seen on the continent. How could any Martial Soul possibly be stronger?
Unless it was a Dragon King Martial Soul.
But that was just wishful thinking. It was impossible.
Seeing how dejected Huo Yuhao was, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm grew anxious and snapped, "What's so special about a Golden Dragon? No matter how powerful his Martial Soul is, it has no intelligence. I'll give you one with a mind of its own. Hurry up—we need to reach the depths of the Extreme North before nightfall."
Huo Yuhao nodded and continued forward, wrapped in his thick cotton clothes.
Elsewhere, outside the Extreme North Core Circle.
After several days on the road, Yu Daoyun reached the Extreme North ahead of Huo Yuhao. He ventured in alone, evading the attacks of quite a few Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old along the way.
The Extreme North was an endless expanse of white. In the distance, he could make out glaciers and icebergs, along with great numbers of ice-attribute Soul Beasts.
There was no denying it: the Extreme North was truly cold.
This environment was suited only to Ice Jade Scorpions and those Soul Beasts with the Ice God Bloodline. Soul Beasts from the Star Dou Great Forest wouldn't stand a chance here.
And yet this was the place that had nurtured Douluo's top-tier beauties among Soul Beasts—renowned for both their strength and their looks.
Yu Daoyun was really going all out for a powerful backer.
Before long, the true forbidden zone of life came into view. No Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could be seen anymore, and even signs of life were scarce.
This was the forbidden zone where the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North resided. The cold here was on another level.
Even with the Golden Dragon King's blood and qi bolstering him, Yu Daoyun could feel his blood freezing in his veins. He was starting to get sleepy.
No. He couldn't sleep!
If he did, he'd never wake up.
After gazing deep into the Extreme North, Yu Daoyun concealed his aura and lay in wait outside, waiting for the Snow Empress to appear.
Going by the timeline, the Snow Empress wouldn't choose to take human form and cultivate anew until after the Ice Empress sacrificed herself. Then she would be captured by human Soul Engineers and reduced to a pitiful older beauty on an auction stage.
He was here to save her this time. Nothing should go wrong, right?
He had to admit, this was a bit of a gamble with his life. Yu Daoyun didn't even know where he'd gotten the nerve.
Could Tang Shenwang have put a gambling curse on him?
Bah, bah, bah... Why think of anyone else when he had to go and think about Little Scumbag?
He was just making a calculated gamble: high risk, high reward.
Time slipped by.
In the blink of an eye, another two days passed. Heavy snow buried Yu Daoyun completely, masking every trace of life.
Fortunately, he had eaten enough before setting out, so he hadn't gone hungry.
Just as Yu Daoyun was preparing to fake his death again, he suddenly sensed an overwhelming surge of extreme cold. A violent snowstorm sprang up, and a graceful silhouette, like a spirit of the snow, slowly appeared in the depths of the Extreme North.
Her long hair was white as a cascading waterfall. Her magnificent white gown trailed along the ground, tracing the perfect curves of a woman's figure as it wrapped her flawlessly. Her chest rose high, and her exquisite oval face was touched with an otherworldly beauty.
Yet between her brows lay an emperor's domineering aura, and an icy mark at the center of her forehead proclaimed her extraordinary identity.
She was the Snow Empress, the true ruler of the Extreme North.
Yu Daoyun was startled.
It really was the Snow Empress. She had appeared.
But... it seemed she had just picked a hundred-thousand-year-old Snow Lotus and was making preparations for her future plan to take human form.
Just then, the Snow Empress let out a soft sigh. Worry crept across her exquisite face as she said, "My attempt to form the Yin Yang Soul Core failed, and my Soul Core has developed cracks. I have no confidence in surviving the Seven Hundred Thousand Year Heavenly Tribulation. I can only choose that path."
"If I had the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, I could form a Second Soul Core and repair the damage to my first. Bing'er would also be able to face her fourth tribulation with ease."
"If something happens to me, what will become of Bing'er?"
As she spoke, anger surfaced on the Snow Empress's brow. She wished she could drag out that detestable Ice Silkworm from ten thousand years ago and whip it until its very source of power had been drained dry.
It was all because that damned Ice Silkworm had eaten all the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow that they had ended up in this predicament.
The Snow Empress wasn't worried about her own safety. If something happened to her, the Ice Empress wouldn't be able to withstand her fourth Heavenly Tribulation either. Disaster would befall the Extreme North, and human Soul Masters would no longer fear its Soul Beasts.
That would spell disaster for the entire Extreme North, and she would have failed the Ice God's expectations.
But just then, the Snow Empress's vast spiritual power swept over the area, and she noticed something amiss in the Core Circle.
Someone had been here!
The Snow Empress barked, "Who's there? Show yourself!"
Yu Daoyun ignored her.
The Snow Empress spoke again. "Do I have to come and drag you out myself?"
Yu Daoyun sighed. He hadn't expected her spiritual power to be so keen. He had no choice but to slowly rise and face the Snow Empress.
"A human?"
The Snow Empress knitted her brows and scrutinized Yu Daoyun. In a low voice, she asked, "A human Soul Master with five rings. How did you get into the Extreme North Core Circle?"
Her first instinct was to kill the human before her, but she couldn't help wondering how he had managed to get in.
Normally, only a human Soul Master with seven rings—and an ice Martial Soul at that—could withstand the cold here.
This human had only five rings, and his Martial Soul wasn't ice-attribute, yet he had still made it here.
She could ask first and kill him after. She could kill him whenever she wanted—or keep him around like a dog for a while.
Yu Daoyun smiled faintly and asked, "How did you find me?"
The Snow Empress replied, "I didn't find you. I learned that trick from cunning humans."
I got bluffed... Yu Daoyun's mind filled with sarcastic remarks, and the corner of his mouth twitched. He felt utterly humiliated.
A Soul Beast had bluffed a cunning human. What a disgrace.
Why was the Snow Empress so smart—smarter than Gu Yuena? Who was the real ruler of the Soul Beasts, anyway?
The Snow Empress said sternly, "Answer my question, or I'll kill you right now."
At that, Yu Daoyun took two or three steps back and said, "Snow Empress, I want to make a deal with you."
The Snow Empress almost laughed in exasperation. What deal could a human possibly make with a Soul Beast? It was always some trick to fool a Soul Beast into becoming a Soul Ring.
The Blue Silver Emperor had fallen for that very trick ten thousand years ago. Did he really think the ruler of the Extreme North was some brainless lovesick fool like the Blue Silver Emperor?
At the thought, anger surged through the Snow Empress. She raised her hand, ready to slap the insignificant creature before her to death.
Just as Emperor's Palm was about to fall, Yu Daoyun slowly spoke. "The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. I know where the Ice Marrow is..."
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