Sky Dream Ice Silkworm guided Huo Yutong onward.
Along the way, he helped her avoid a great many Soul Beasts.
"Get down, quick! Hide in the snow, and whatever you do, don't move!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm urged her anxiously.
The Titan Snow Demon King passed by her.
It was only "by her" in the sense that it was several dozen meters away. But the Titan Snow Demon King stood over a hundred meters tall, so that distance was no more than a single step to him.
Only after the sound had faded did Huo Yutong emerge from the snow.
She was soaked, but the heat rising from her body quickly dried her off.
"Brother Sky Dream?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said, "You're in luck. The one who just passed was the Titan Snow Demon King, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North. He's cultivated for over two hundred thousand years. He's a little weaker than the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion you're looking for."
"He's amazing."
"He really is. His clan is incredibly powerful. When they gather together, they're invincible in the Extreme North." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm scoffed. "Too bad that's just talk. He ranks last among the Three Heavenly Kings. He's nowhere near invincible."
Huo Yutong mused, "Then, Brother Sky Dream, are you ranked first?"
The Titan Snow Demon King ranked third, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion ranked second. That left first place unaccounted for.
Innocence was the sharpest weapon of all. Her question stabbed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm right in the heart.
"Ahem. You know the Ice Silkworm Clan isn't suited for battle. Just like the Soul Skills I gave you, our combat abilities are rather weak. I'm not one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, much less their leader." His tone turned serious. "The Snow Empress, who ranks first, is truly invincible in the Extreme North. Even all the other Soul Beasts in the Extreme North combined couldn't defeat her. If your Second Martial Soul were her, you might be able to give Ji Siyuan's Geocentric Red Lotus a run for its money."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice grew even heavier. "Don't get any foolish ideas. We can't face the one ranked first. I don't have any way to restrain her, either."
The Snow Empress was far stronger than the Ice Empress. The method that worked against the Ice Empress might not work against the Snow Empress.
Even if it did, the Snow Empress could still kill him.
Huo Yutong wasn't disappointed. She knew that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had already done well to find a method that might work. She couldn't let greed swallow her whole.
"Actually, there are two reasons I'm targeting the Ice Empress. First, she really is weaker than the Snow Empress. Second, I've been preparing this move for many years. She hunted me back then. Now's my chance to get revenge!"
There was no hint of resentment in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words. Huo Yutong wouldn't blame him for not telling her everything, either. After all, she had chosen this path herself.
They continued north until they reached the Core Zone.
She didn't need to go any farther.
She built a small Snow Hut on the spot and crawled inside.
"I was supposed to let you experience just how cold the Extreme North really is. But Ji Siyuan gave you a Lotus Seed, so you haven't suffered at all." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sighed. She really was getting the royal treatment.
"Si Yuan gave me the Lotus Seed because he didn't want me to suffer from the cold." A smile appeared on Huo Yutong's face without her noticing. Her expression was calm, but tinged with infatuation.
"All right, all right. You came to hunt the Ice Empress for that boy, and now you're thanking him, too." After grumbling a little, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm told Huo Yutong to stay hidden and not come out under any circumstances.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm released his Spiritual Origin, and his spiritual power began rippling across the entire Extreme North.
The Soul Ring on Huo Yutong also changed from white to gold. That was the true color of a Million-Year Soul Ring.
His spiritual power covered almost the entire Core Zone. Huo Yutong sensed something different, as if she had become its ruler.
Her mindset shifted slightly. I'm not just here to play a supporting role. I can't just be Si Yuan's accessory, either. I'm Huo Yutong, and I'm a genius too! I have Soul Rings that exceed the standard, too! I'll catch up to Si Yuan for sure!
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded in satisfaction, but also felt that something was off. Did every goal have to be tied to Ji Siyuan?
There was no point dwelling on it. His job was to lure the Ice Empress over.
Of course, he didn't know Snow Empress's situation at the time, so he deliberately avoided her territory.
He also chose to simulate the Snow Empress's aura, keeping the other Soul Beasts in the Extreme North from daring to approach him and Huo Yutong.
"Ice Empress, I know you can sense my aura. I, Tian Meng, have returned for revenge! If you aren't afraid of dying, come and get me!"
His voice rippled through the Core Zone, wave after wave.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was absolutely certain the Ice Empress would come for him.
He was the greatest bait there was. The Ice Empress would never pass up the chance.
The Ice Empress was just as confident that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm couldn't turn the tables on her. After all, the Ice Silkworm Clan had practically no fighting ability. They were prey for the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan.
Minute after minute passed. Huo Yutong was completely unaffected as she hid inside the Snow Hut.
The frigid air of the Extreme North was blocked by the warmth around her.
"Yu Tong, don't come out!"
The sky turned a clear, alluring jade green.
Her target, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, had arrived. The snowstorm around them intensified, and the cold grew even more bitter.
"Tian Meng, I can't believe you're still alive—and that you dared to call me here." The Ice Empress appeared in her field of vision, but Huo Yutong could only sense what was happening. She couldn't move.
"If you survived a Heaven's Tribulation after thirty hundred thousand years of cultivation, despite your damaged origin, then I could certainly survive, too." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was every bit as imposing. He immediately called out the Ice Empress's weakness. "Your four-hundred-thousand-year Heaven's Tribulation is coming, isn't it? There's no way you'll survive it."
The Ice Empress brandished her scorpion pincers. "I couldn't before, but now you're here. If I kill you and take your energy, I can break through to a higher realm."
"Unfortunately, that won't work." What appeared before them was the spiritual body formed from Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Origin, not his original body.
"You called me here just to show me your spiritual body?" The Ice Empress didn't care. "I'll find your real body no matter what."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked at the Ice Empress, no longer feeling the excitement he'd once felt. "My original body is gone. All that remains is my Spiritual Origin."
The Ice Empress felt a little regretful, but even his Spiritual Origin was a huge opportunity. "Your Spiritual Origin seems incomplete?"
It wasn't an effect of being divided. There was a hole in it.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't want to talk about it. It hurt too much.
"I once said that I wanted you to be my mate. I can't do that anymore, but I still won't let you go."
"You're asking for death!"
The jade-green light closed in on Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in an instant, steadily shrinking the area he could defend.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power suddenly erupted. His body turned gold as he charged toward the Ice Empress.
He was using himself as a decoy to cover for his Silkworm Slough.
"Tian Meng, aren't you afraid you won't be able to return to your original body? No matter how many tricks you have, how long can you keep me trapped?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm replied calmly, "Not for long. I'm about to win."
Before the Ice Empress could show off her formidable strength, she felt her body being bound.
"Yu Tong, now."
A human girl walked out of the small Snow Hut nearby.