"Roar—!!!"
A deafening bear's roar rang out nearby!
Right after that, Xiao Bai came charging toward them with a thunderous rumble!
Its enormous bear eyes were fixed on the conspicuous, plump white figure beside Xue Chen—the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!
In Xiao Bai's mind, that lazy bug had vanished for tens of thousands of years, and now it had suddenly appeared beside the missing Xue Chen. It definitely couldn't be up to any good!
That bug must have kidnapped or bewitched Xiao Chen!
A terrifying pressure bore down on the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!
Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power was unrivaled on the continent, its combat strength was a glaring weakness. Faced with a top Ferocious Beast like Xiao Bai, whose strength was purely physical, it heard a buzz in its brain and went completely blank.
Its enormous body stiffened in place, scared half to death by the sudden roar and pressure!
"X-Xiao Bai! It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!!!"
Seeing this, Xue Chen knew things were bad. He darted in front of the frozen Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and waved frantically at the charging Xiao Bai, calling out in a panicked voice.
Hearing Xue Chen's cry and seeing him deliberately shield the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Xiao Bai abruptly stopped. Its enormous paws gouged deep furrows into the ice, and it came to a halt just a few meters from Xue Chen.
A trace of confusion flashed through its fierce eyes, but its violent aura eased a little.
It lowered its huge head, ignoring the trembling fat bug nearby, and spoke with lingering fear and concern:
"Xiao Chen! Where did you go? I've been looking for you forever!
If anything had happened to you, Mother would've skinned me alive!"
It checked Xue Chen's body with its spiritual power and confirmed he was unharmed.
Only after the terrifying pressure faded did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm manage to recover from its paralysis. Its body visibly relaxed, and it felt a lingering dread as it muttered to itself:
*Holy crap... That scared the life out of me... That big lunk's still as reckless as ever...
But it looks like this human kid really wasn't bluffing. He really is that close to them?*
Xue Chen smiled and patted Xiao Bai's thick foreleg as he explained:
"It's fine, it's fine. I just got swept into a really deep ice crevasse by that avalanche.
I owe it to Brother Sky Dream. If it hadn't happened to be down there and brought me out, I might still be trapped inside."
He smoothly credited Brother Sky Dream, which also served to put in a good word for it.
At that, Xiao Bai finally turned its enormous eyes toward the still-shaken Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Its gaze remained guarded and tinged with confusion:
"What a coincidence?
Tian Meng, you've been gone for tens of thousands of years. What were you doing at the bottom of that Ice Abyss?
And another thing..."
It carefully sensed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's aura, and clear surprise showed on its bear face:
"What happened to your cultivation?"
Before it could finish asking, Xiao Bai's massive body suddenly spun around. The guarded gaze it had directed at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm turned instantly sharp and wary as it fixed on another direction!
A powerful pressure, utterly unlike the bone-chilling cold of the Far North and instead filled with a violent, scorching heat, was closing in on them!
"Hmph!"
Xiao Bai gave a warning growl. Icy-blue light gathered around it as freezing Soul Power surged outward:
"An outsider's entered the core of the Far North!
That hateful, scorching aura... It's one of those creatures from the Star Dou Forest!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also felt that familiar, heart-stirring aura. Its heart, which had just settled, leapt back into its throat. Tension covered its pudgy face, and it instinctively shrank behind Xue Chen and Xiao Bai.
Through the distant snowstorm came a dark-red figure. Six eyes blazed crimson across its three savage heads, and a silver scale on its chest shone with dazzling moonlight, locked firmly onto Xue Chen!
The Scarlet King had finally reached his destination, carrying Beast God Di Tian's orders and Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena's token!
Wherever the Scarlet King passed, the Far North's ice—frozen for ten thousand years—hissed as it rapidly melted and vaporized, sending up thick clouds of white mist.
The Far North's bitter cold seemed to meet its natural enemy in the hellish dark-red flames surrounding him. The cold couldn't penetrate them in the slightest, and was instead driven back by the scorching, violent aura.
He strode along the path he had forcibly carved through the ice plain, steadily drawing closer.
His sharp gaze swept across the three figures.
He naturally recognized Xiao Bai, the Titan Snow Demon Bear and one of the Far North's overlords.
And that plump white bug with the powerful aura, which was still cowering away—wasn't it the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm he'd seen once in the Far North many years ago?
But the one provoking the most intense reaction from the scale on his chest was the human child, who looked no older than six or seven and stood partly shielded behind Xiao Bai!
"Titan Snow Demon King? Why are you so close to a human child?"
The middle head of the Scarlet King spoke in a low, hoarse voice, perplexed.
As he drew closer, the silver dragon scale on his chest blazed like a small moon, pointing clearly toward Xue Chen!
Could this human child be the target my Master sensed—the one she woke me up to find?
The thought made the pupils in all three of the Scarlet King's heads contract slightly, deepening his confusion.
A human? How could the target his Master sought be a human child? But there was no mistaking the dragon scale's reaction!
Just then, Xiao Bai roared at the Scarlet King, its voice brimming with defiance and displeasure:
"Scarlet King! Why aren't you holed up in your Star Dou Forest? What are you doing in the core of the Far North?!
Your stinking smell of fire isn't welcome here!"
Xiao Bai leaned forward slightly, taking a defensive, ready-to-attack stance. Icy-blue light flowed across its body, creating a stark contrast with the scene around the Scarlet King.
As a mighty warrior under the Lord of the Far North, Xiao Bai showed no fear in the face of a Ferocious Beast king from the Star Dou Forest, only the resolve to defend its territory.
All three of the Scarlet King's heads turned toward Xiao Bai. Flames danced in his six crimson eyes. He clearly wasn't surprised by Xiao Bai's hostility, but he had no intention of backing down, either.
The middle head spoke again, his voice rumbling with unquestionable authority:
"Titan Snow Demon King, I came under my Master's orders. I have no intention of offending the Far North."
His gaze passed over Xiao Bai and locked onto Xue Chen once more:
"I came for this child.
Hand him over to me, and I'll leave at once. I will not make an enemy of the Far North."
At those words, Xiao Bai's enormous eyes widened, and its violent aura erupted!
"Bullshit! You want to take Xiao Chen? You'll have to step over my dead body first!"
How could it let a Ferocious Beast from the Star Dou Forest take away Xue Chen, whom it regarded as its own little brother?
Especially not in such a forceful and utterly baffling manner!
Before you continue