When he came back to his senses, the familiar figure had already disappeared from before him. Only the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's frenzied cheering echoed in the Sea of Spirit.
"Congratulations, Yuhao! You've successfully won your mother-in-law's heart. That's wonderful! If only my Bingbing were here too. Elder Yi, you'll have to help me when the time comes."
"We'll see how you perform."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes lit up. He wriggled over to the gray energy mass, raised his head, and gently poked at it with his topmost pair of hands.
"Is this pressure to your liking, Elder Yi?"
It didn't look like a massage at all.
Huo Yuhao gave a couple of wry laughs and headed out of town.
After walking for about half a day, he looked back. The town had already vanished into the wind and snow. Huo Yuhao shivered from the cold. "We're here, Brother Sky Dream."
"Here we are! Same as always—take off your clothes!"
Huo Yuhao took the heating Soul Tool he had made from his bracelet. It was shaped like a disk about the size of a palm.
All he had to do was hold it in his hand and channel Soul Power into it, and it would continuously provide warmth to the surrounding area. It was much better than simply circulating Soul Power to fend off the cold.
Then he took a deep breath and quickly stripped naked.
As a patch of white skin emerged from his chest, grew larger, and fitted itself over his body, he no longer felt cold.
"Life really is amazing..."
Even though he had experienced it once before, Huo Yuhao still couldn't help marveling at the feeling.
"Of course. You know who I am." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang out.
"Quick, quick, Yuhao! I can't wait to see Bingbing. I bet they've sensed your aura too and are on their way. We're meeting each other halfway!"
After getting dressed, Huo Yuhao followed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's directions and continued toward the core area.
Two days later.
"Stop. I can sense Bingbing's aura. She's already heading this way."
Huo Yuhao let out a breath of relief. This was much easier than it had been in his previous life. He took out the Soul Tool again and nodded. "I'm ready."
"Good. Then I'm calling out to her."
After taking control of Huo Yuhao's body and expertly going through the motions, he began to call out.
"Hello? Hello? Ice... Empress, you're nearby, right? Come out and meet me."
In an instant, a mass of emerald-green light shot toward them, turning even the clouds in the sky emerald green.
"Tian Meng? You actually came back!? So that aura was yours... No, what happened to your body? Have you been reincarnated as a human? How is that possible?"
"Ahem, it's complicated. Come over here first, and I'll explain everything."
"Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, I'll eat you one bite at a time. Your energy will become part of me too."
A moment later, a flash of emerald light appeared before Huo Yuhao. A familiar figure came into view—it was the Ice Empress.
"Hello, Ice Empress," Huo Yuhao said simply, regaining control of his body.
"Hm? A human?" Only when she got closer did the Ice Empress realize that this wasn't the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm transformed into a human. He was an ordinary human!
"Wretched human, what happened to Tian Meng?!"
Though Soul Beasts had natural enemies among themselves, they still stood united against humans.
"It's a little complicated. I mean you no harm... Brother Sky Dream, why don't you explain?" Huo Yuhao wasn't sure where to begin.
Tian Meng materialized a golden body beside Huo Yuhao and gazed at the Ice Empress with infatuation. Then he began to explain why they had come.
"Heh. You know I still have ten thousand years to live. Why do you think I can't find a chance to break through in that time?"
After listening, the Ice Empress sneered. If the human hadn't carried her aura, she would have attacked long ago.
Tian Meng gave a wry smile. "Because... Yuhao came here from ten thousand years in the future."
"You can even come up with a lie like that? You must be at the end of your rope." The Ice Empress sneered.
But a layer of white light swiftly flew off Huo Yuhao and toward the Ice Empress. Before she could dodge, she lost the ability to move. Seeing her restrained, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded. "Elder Yi, it's up to you."
An old man in gray appeared beside Huo Yuhao. Just as before, he pointed a finger, and a golden orb of memories flew toward the Ice Empress's head.
"What is this..."
Unable to resist, the Ice Empress instantly fell into a daze, passively absorbing the vast memories.
Just then, an utterly terrifying aura erupted not far away, and a figure arrived beside the Ice Empress in the blink of an eye.
With a wave of her hand, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's cocoon came undone and fell to the ground.
Only then did Huo Yuhao get a good look at the newcomer. She wore a white dress and was white from head to toe. It was the Snow Empress.
Seeing the Ice Empress standing rigidly still, her expression turned icy. She looked back at Huo Yuhao and said coldly, "What did you do to her?!"
Just as she was about to attack, the Ice Empress spoke up. "Snow Empress, I'm fine."
"You're all right? What happened? What was that just now?" the Snow Empress asked anxiously.
"It was a mass of memories... his memories. They have to do with us."
The Ice Empress's gaze was complicated as she looked at Huo Yuhao. By then, Huo Yuhao had covered himself with the cocoon again, while Tian Meng gazed at the Ice Empress with deep affection.
"Bingbing, you..."
The Ice Empress trembled, and the tip of her tail began to turn faintly red. In a flash, she darted away.
"Looks like she'll need some time to process it."
Seeing the Ice Empress's reaction, Huo Yuhao smiled at Brother Sky Dream. "Brother Sky Dream, congratulations."
Watching the Ice Empress's bashful manner, Tian Meng couldn't help chuckling.
The Snow Empress frowned at Huo Yuhao. "What exactly is going on? If you don't explain, none of you are leaving here today!"
"As Brother Sky Dream said, I came here from ten thousand years in the future. Ten thousand years from now, you and the Ice Empress are both my most trusted companions."
The Snow Empress's gaze flickered. "So that's why your aura is on you?"
When Huo Yuhao nodded, the Snow Empress immediately said, "Give me a copy of that memory orb."
Huo Yuhao didn't refuse. He looked at Electrolux. A moment later, an orb of light flew out from Huo Yuhao's forehead and sank into the Snow Empress's forehead.
She fell into the same daze. Huo Yuhao looked at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Brother Sky Dream, looks like we'll have to wait a while."
That night, the storm died down, and the sky cleared. Looking up, they could see the beautiful aurora hanging across the sky like a river, its stars shining down on the snow. It was peaceful and beautiful.
Huo Yuhao ate his roasted meat one bite at a time and couldn't help looking back in the direction he had come from. Someone was still waiting for him there.
"What is it? Thinking about someone?" a cool voice asked.
Huo Yuhao awkwardly coughed twice. Looking at the Snow Empress, who was pretending not to know, he held out the roasted meat. "Want some?"
The Snow Empress took it and tried a bite, then frowned. "It still doesn't taste as good as yours, Dad. The flavor's nowhere close."
How could Huo Yuhao not know she was imitating the way Xiao Wu had spoken a few days ago? His old face flushed red.
The Snow Empress was also a little embarrassed by her reckless remark, but luckily she was a Snow Girl and couldn't blush.
"It's all right. I'm with Tian Meng on this one. You have my support."
Huo Yuhao grew even more awkward.
"Bing'er should be done soon too. So, chef, how about treating us to a meal? Tian Meng's already had some, so you can't play favorites."
Seeing Huo Yuhao's wonderfully complicated expression, the Snow Empress smiled as she spoke.