The Ice Jade Scorpion's Left Arm Bone Appears!

Su Hui felt the power of ice surging within his body.

That extreme cold seemed to have merged with his very bloodline, and every limb and bone felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

The power of the ice had undergone a qualitative change.

The phantom of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion flickered behind him, and the sensation of controlling the heavens and the earth left him intoxicated.

Suddenly, Elder Yi's aged voice exploded in his mind: "Su Hui, stop gloating. An aura far more potent than that of the little scorpion is approaching rapidly, and at an incredible speed."

"Hm?"

Su Hui was taken aback.

The next moment, he realized the surrounding temperature was plummeting sharply.

As a Soul Master possessing the Ultimate Ice martial soul, he should have been immune to the cold.

Yet, this chill pierced through his soul power defenses, drilling straight into his bone marrow.

Even within the ice cavern, howling winds and snow appeared, and snowflakes began to crystallize in the air.

Snow?

He suddenly recalled a name—the true ruler of the Far North, the Snow Empress!

"Damn it!"

Su Hui's heart shook violently.

The Snow Empress must have sensed the changes occurring with the Ice Empress.

He had only managed to persuade the Ice Empress through his Kotoamatsukami Mouth and a series of coincidental opportunities, but would the Snow Empress grant him the same chance?

Though her personality was as gentle as snow, she was far more cold and detached toward her enemies than the Ice Empress.

What was worse, with the Ice Empress in a deep slumber, he had no way to explain everything that had transpired.

"I have to run!"

Su Hui made his decision in an instant.

He took to his heels.

The Anywhere Door still stood open where it was, emitting faint spatial fluctuations.

Su Hui's figure moved like lightning as he dove headfirst into the gateway.

The moment he passed through the door, he turned his head to look back—

Wind and snow surged into the cavern, and the overwhelming aura of extreme cold dyed the entire ice cave a snowy white.

Amidst the sky-filling snow, a graceful, ethereal figure flickered in and out of sight, stepping through the frost.

"Bing'er, where are you?"

The voice was soft and melodious, carrying worry and urgency, yet it made Su Hui's scalp tingle.

The soul power contained within that voice was such that even a mere ripple of it made his spirit tremble.

It was indeed the Snow Empress!

"Close!"

Su Hui shouted lowly, and the Anywhere Door snapped shut.

The spatial rift healed rapidly, completely isolating that voice and the ice cavern.

Above the wilderness, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.

Su Hui collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

His heart hammered against his ribs, and his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

That was the closest he had ever come to death.

The oppressive feeling of being locked onto by a peerless powerhouse had made even breathing feel stagnant.

"The Snow Empress... a creature of heaven and earth with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, she truly lives up to her reputation. Just a wisp of her aura made it impossible for me to even conceive the thought of resistance."

He took a long while to calm his nerves.

Only then did he notice the changes in the Anywhere Door.

The spatial traversal ability had entered a cooldown.

However, the countdown displayed was not one year, but three hundred days.

"Shortened by sixty-five days?"

Su Hui frowned in thought.

Could it be that because he had absorbed the Ice Empress's soul ring and soul bone, his strength had surged, and thus the cooldown time had decreased accordingly?

That was the most reasonable guess.

If he were to become even stronger in the future, the cooldown time might shorten even further.

He then recalled another question.

"Elder Yi, how long did it take for me to fuse the spirit ring and spirit bone?"

Elder Yi's voice sounded even weaker: "Fifteen days."

"Fifteen days. Counting the time I spent here before, that makes twenty-five days in total."

Su Hui calculated silently.

If thirty days was the deadline for forced return, he likely had at least five days left.

But just then, Elder Yi spoke again.

"I need to enter a deep slumber as well; trapping the little scorpion consumed quite a bit of my spiritual power. Su Hui, you must rely on yourself for the time remaining."

"Elder Yi..."

"Say no more. Be careful from here on out."

As the voice faded, his mind returned to silence.

Su Hui offered a helpless, bitter smile.

"Ice Empress is asleep, Elder Yi is asleep; I have to walk the path ahead on my own."

He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"Since there is still time, I'll head back to Shrek City first."

Seven days later.

Su Hui stood before the window of his inn room, his expression strange.

The thirty-day deadline had passed, yet the Anywhere Door had not forcibly pulled him back to his original timeline.

The clock on the door was still ticking backward, clearly indicating he could stay longer.

"So, the duration of each time travel isn't necessarily fixed? As long as the indicators haven't reset, the forced return won't trigger?"

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

At the same time, based on the movement of the clock hand over these seven days, he estimated he had about one more day left.

With time still relatively abundant, there was much he could do.

He touched the storage Soul Tool at his waist, which contained the Gold Soul Coins he had saved up recently.

He had sold a batch of first-grade Soul Tools he made for practice, along with a few second-grade ones he crafted after just promoting to a second-grade Soul Tool Master.

Although they were only first and second-grade, the Soul Tool arrays within them were products of ten thousand years in the future.

The effects of the first and second-grade Soul Tools he produced were still quite novel in this era.

Not to mention that this was during a time when the Douluo Continent had yet to develop Soul Tool technology.

Thus, they sold for a good price, and he had saved up a total of twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

With this sum of Gold Soul Coins, there would be no need to buy barbecue once he returned to Skywater City.

"I'll go take a look at the auction house."

The Shrek City auction house held auctions every day.

Su Hui donned a bronze mask and blended into the crowd, finding a corner seat in the cheapest general section.

The auction was in full swing.

A pill for strengthening the body was bid up to eight thousand Gold Soul Coins.

A palm-sized piece of Cold Iron was snatched up by the young master of a blacksmithing family for twelve thousand.

The items were decent, but none could move Su Hui.

To be precise, he lacked the funds.

That was until a spirit bone was brought out.

On the display stand, a crystal-like left arm bone lay quietly in the brocade.

It was entirely translucent, emitting a faint blue glow with wisps of cold air rising from it.

"That is..."

Su Hui's pupils contracted sharply, and the spirit power within his body surged uncontrollably, as if the spirit bone were calling out to him.

"Damned human! How dare you slaughter my kin!"

The Ice Empress's angry voice suddenly exploded in his mind.

Su Hui was startled; it was too sudden.

"Ice Empress, you're awake?"

"Hmph, I awakened upon sensing the aura of my kin. This spirit bone... it belongs to one of my people."

The Ice Empress's tone was filled with both fury and regret.

On the auction stage, the auctioneer was vividly introducing the item: "Distinguished guests, this left arm bone comes from a ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion of the Far North!"

"It has an extremely high level of integrity and contains pure ice-attribute power. It is a treasure that every ice-type soul master dreams of. The starting bid is five thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Before her voice had even faded, discussions erupted one after another.

The allure of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone was no small matter; even those in the ordinary seating area were eager to raise their paddles and bid.

Su Hui asked in his mind: "Ice Empress, is there anything special about this soul bone?"

Ice Empress let out a cold snort: "It is only ten thousand years old; it is not worthy of you."

"However, this soul bone originated from an elite warrior of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, and the bone contains an extremely powerful soul skill—Ice Explosion Technique."

"!!!"

Su Hui's heart shook violently.

Ice Explosion Technique—that was one of the divine skills that had appeared in the original work!

Although this soul bone was only ten thousand years old, the essence of the Ice Explosion Technique remained unchanged.

His gaze grew scorching hot.

"You aren't thinking of fusing with this soul bone, are you?"

Su Hui's eyes immediately lit up; this soul bone truly possessed the Ice Explosion Technique.

He had to admit, he was tempted.

Although a ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone was not worthy of him, and he did not intend to fuse with it, this left arm bone might have an even more ingenious use.