The Worm Sleeps at Home, Disaster Falls from the Sky

Snow Empress stood where she was, a rare look of bewilderment appearing on her face.

A trace of confusion flickered across her face, as if she did not know how to judge this Soul Beast described as being so "miserable."

So pitiful... How is this any different from a mobile cultivation resource vault?

If it got caught by other Soul Beasts, it would be a walking blood bag!

Ice Empress froze at first, then tilted her head in thought, the tip of her foot tapping rhythmically against the ground.

Wait... This feeling...

Why do I feel like I know this Soul Beast?

It feels familiar...

Could it be that one?!

Snow Empress came back to herself, her gaze focusing once more on Zhang Qingxuan's face. "Is what Mr. Zhang said true?"

"Absolutely true." Zhang Qingxuan nodded with a smile, his tone calm and unhurried.

"It is a Sky Dream Ice Silkworm that lucked into falling into an ice cave filled with ten-thousand-year Mystic Ice Marrow."

"According to my deduction, even if it has not reached nine hundred and ninety thousand years yet, it should have at least over nine hundred thousand years of cultivation."

He paused before slowly revealing his goal. "I want it to become my Ninth Soul Ring."

"Deduction?!" Snow Empress's pupils contracted slightly at those words.

Zhang Qingxuan said no more. He extended his right hand flat, palm upward.

The next instant, a black-and-white halo rose from his palm, rapidly spinning and expanding before finally condensing in the air into a slowly rotating Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram.

The black-and-white martial soul rotated slowly in the air, radiating an unfathomable aura.

"This is my second martial soul," Zhang Qingxuan introduced calmly.

"It possesses a certain ability to deduce things and can predict some minor matters."

Although this deductive ability had awakened only recently and he was still far from proficient in using it, it was more than enough to bluff—or rather, persuade Snow Empress to believe him.

Xiao Bai stared wide-eyed at the spinning Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram, her little face full of question marks.

What?! Young Master has a second martial soul?! How did I not know that?!

Snow Empress stared at the profound martial soul, a hint of shock flashing through her icy blue eyes.

She could clearly sense the principles of heaven and earth contained within it. Within the shifting black and white, it seemed to conceal the trajectory by which heaven and earth operated.

This martial soul... is somewhat heaven-defying, she silently sighed.

Snow Empress spoke again, her voice returning to its usual cold clarity. "Mr. Zhang, if things are truly as you say, then the value of this Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seems rather too high."

"Indeed!" Zhang Qingxuan readily admitted, the smile on his face deepening.

"If you can devour this Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, passing the seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation would naturally be no problem. But what about the eight-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation? Can you still survive it?"

Snow Empress fell silent for a moment. "Then Mr. Zhang means..."

"I suspect that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm has not consumed all the ten-thousand-year Mystic Ice Marrow in that ice cave. There should still be quite a lot left," Zhang Qingxuan laid out his plan.

"As long as you hand Sky Dream Ice Silkworm over to me, I will take care of your and Ice Empress's Heavenly Tribulations from now on. That remaining Mystic Ice Marrow will be enough to help you quickly break through your realms."

His gaze swept over Snow Empress and Ice Empress. "It serves two purposes at once. What do you two think?"

Snow Empress sank into thought. Her silver-white hair drifted softly in the cold wind, while the snowflakes swirling around her sped up and slowed down, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

After a long while, she nodded lightly. "Alright. I agree to this deal."

Meanwhile, deep within the Far North, inside a hidden ice cave buried beneath layers of frost.

A large, chubby ice silkworm with a crystal-clear body and nine golden stripes suddenly woke from its sleep, shivering involuntarily.

"Hiss—why do I suddenly feel a chill down my back?" it muttered, sweeping the ice cave with its spiritual senses.

"Something's wrong... I'm an ice-attributed Soul Beast!"

"Why would I shiver?"

"Could someone be plotting against me?!"

The ice cave was utterly silent. Only the faint glow emitted by the ten-thousand-year Mystic Ice Marrow illuminated the surroundings, while ice walls dozens of zhang thick sealed off every trace of aura.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shook its round head, unable to make sense of it. It wriggled its plump body over to a half-person-tall chunk of Mystic Ice Marrow, bit off a small piece with a crunch, and began chewing with relish.

"Forget it, forget it. I won't think about it. I'll eat, then go back to sleep..."

"This place is so well hidden. Who could possibly find it?"

"Besides, how many even know I exist?"

With that, it sighed contentedly, curled back into a ball, and soon resumed its steady breathing.

"Then how do we find it?" Snow Empress asked the crucial question.

The Far North was vast and boundless, with ice caves and hidden dwellings as numerous as the stars. If they searched them one by one, they might find nothing even by the end of time.

However, Zhang Qingxuan turned his gaze toward Ice Empress, a meaningful smile curling across his lips. "That will depend on Lady Ice Empress."

"Bing'er?" Snow Empress looked at Ice Empress in confusion.

Ice Empress grew a little uncomfortable beneath their stares and shifted her body. "I... I do know of a Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, but I'm not sure whether it is the one you mentioned..."

"It is." Zhang Qingxuan stated with certainty.

"But when I saw it back then, it only had five hundred thousand years of cultivation!" Ice Empress shook her head in disbelief.

"It has only been a few tens of thousands of years. How could it possibly have eaten its way to over nine hundred thousand years?"

"You underestimate the amount of Mystic Ice Marrow in that ice cave," Zhang Qingxuan said leisurely.

"I even suspect that deeper within the ice cave, there may be Mystic Ice Marrow at the hundred-thousand-year level."

Snow Empress and Ice Empress both froze.

How could that ice silkworm's luck... possibly be this good?

But immediately afterward, they looked at the smiling Zhang Qingxuan, and another thought flashed through their minds.

No... It would be more accurate to say that it is terribly unlucky.

Meeting you is the greatest calamity of its life.

"Alright!" Zhang Qingxuan clapped his hands, drawing the two women out of their thoughts.

"Time waits for no one. You two should set out as soon as possible. How much Mystic Ice Marrow you ultimately obtain depends entirely on when you find it."

Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged a glance, each seeing the same determination in the other's eyes.

That's right!

Ice Empress spoke first, urgency in her voice. "I know the general area. Shall we leave now?"

"With Snow Empress's help, I can find it within a few years."

Snow Empress nodded lightly as cold energy began gathering around her. "Time waits for no one. Mr. Zhang, we will go find it first."

"Wait!" Zhang Qingxuan called after them, taking a talisman from his robes.

"Take this. Once you find it, tear it apart, and I will arrive immediately."

Snow Empress accepted the talisman. It felt warm in her hand, and it seemed to contain some sort of spatial fluctuation.

She gave Zhang Qingxuan a deep look, said no more, and transformed with Ice Empress into two streaks of light that vanished instantly into the vast snowstorm.