Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast, Frost Hoof Kicking Up Dust (Seeking Recommendations)

Time passed amid monotonous white and howling winds. Jing Hongchen's group advanced cautiously, occasionally having to stop, able only to roughly estimate the passage of time.

Yi Hongchen and Jing Hongchen worked together to set up a simple linked soul-tool defensive position. Once activated, it formed a translucent energy barrier for them to rest within, while Liu Yueming searched according to the feedback and direction indicated by the Deep Ice Spirit Detector.

During their rest, Liu Yueming held the detector in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed. They had ventured deep into the Extreme North for several days now, and along their planned route, they had detected quite a few traces of soul beasts.

But their cultivation was either too low, their bloodlines too ordinary, or their attributes unsuitable. Finding a soul beast that suited her wishes was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

Yan Hongchen noticed Liu Yueming's anxiety and moved closer to comfort her. "Mom, don't worry. The Extreme North is so vast, and we've only been searching for a few days. As long as we keep looking patiently, we'll definitely find one."

Hearing this, Liu Yueming's expression eased slightly. She stroked Yan Hongchen's head. "Mm, Mom knows. Searching for soul beasts here has always depended on fate and patience. We'll soon reach the place you saw in your dream."

Yan Hongchen nodded seriously. The two said no more, only focusing more intently on guarding against the snowstorm outside the barrier so that Jing Hongchen and Yi Hongchen could recover their soul power in peace.

The four rose once more, maintaining a tight defensive formation as they cautiously advanced according to the map Yan Hongchen had provided and the detector in Liu Yueming's hand.

The wind sweeping across the ice plains seemed to have grown fiercer, the snow pellets it whipped up rustling against their bodies. Just as they had traveled for about a quarter of an hour and entered an area strewn with jagged glacial rocks, a sudden change occurred!

Ding ding ding—!

The pale-blue crystal of the Deep Ice Spirit Detector hanging before Liu Yueming's chest suddenly began to tremble violently without warning. Its steady detection tone was replaced by a series of crisp, rapid shrieks, like ice jade constantly shattering and reforming!

No words were needed. Everyone instantly entered their highest state of alert. Jing Hongchen, Yi Hongchen, and Liu Yueming took up a triangular formation, protecting Yan Hongchen in the center.

What met the eyes of Jing Hongchen's group was an incomparably majestic giant horse of the ice plains, radiating a chillingly solemn aura!

Its body was sleek and elegant, every line seeming meticulously sculpted. The hair covering its body was not ordinary fur, but strands of ice crystal formed from the purest frost, refracting a dreamlike pale-blue glow. They rose and fell gently with its breathing, as though it wore a flowing gown of ice.

Most captivating were its eyes. They were a pair of pure silver-white pupils, as if formed from wind and snow that had never melted for ten thousand years. No emotional ripples could be seen within them—only eternal indifference and silence. It stood there quietly, yet an aura that made one's heart tremble lingered around it.

Its four hooves were completely different from those of ordinary horses. They were covered in a layer of crystalline ice, their edges growing hooked ice spikes, each one gleaming with a sharp, frigid light.

At this moment, those four hooves made no sound as they rested upon the ice. Only the frost patterns slowly spreading beneath them revealed how perfectly it had merged with this land.

"Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast..." Liu Yueming's murmur was swiftly carried away by the snowstorm, but in that instant, an unprecedented brilliance burst from her eyes!

She had researched this legendary soul beast before. For her Snow Jade Ice Toad, its compatibility could only be called perfect!

The Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast—a rare existence of the Extreme North—was famed in the oldest polar legends for its "ice heart" and "snow eyes."

Its heart was not made of flesh and blood, but a naturally formed essence of ultimate ice. This allowed it to remain absolutely calm at all times, rendering it nearly immune to all mental bewitchment and emotional interference.

Those silver-white snow eyes could pierce even the fiercest blizzards and could even capture the faintest sources of life deep within the Extreme North.

Its pure ice heart and clear snow eyes both suited Liu Yueming's Snow Jade Ice Toad exceptionally well. There might even be room for further advancement.

Yet amid her delight, intense vigilance suddenly rose in Liu Yueming's heart. The reason Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beasts were so difficult to find in the Extreme North lay in their temperament and abilities.

They were extremely fast. If they judged their pursuers to be no threat, they would toy with them. But if they could not escape, they would fear neither life nor death and directly self-destruct!

Liu Yueming had set her sights on one before coming here. Now that they had encountered one, she had to be even more cautious. This was absolutely not an opponent they could take lightly, and they could not let it escape!

"Everyone, listen to me!" Liu Yueming's voice transmission entered the minds of Jing Hongchen and the others clearly through the snowstorm, rapid but distinct.

"This is an Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast! I estimate its cultivation at around fifty thousand years! Its greatest strengths are speed and concealment, but we also need to beware of its self-destruction if we push it too far! Once it feels certain death is unavoidable, it will choose to perish with us!"

Her gaze remained locked on the ice-crystal giant horse standing in the distance, her voice growing increasingly solemn.

"We must suppress it to a certain extent, but we absolutely cannot truly drive it into a corner! The final strike must be dealt by my own hand."

Jing Hongchen understood that Liu Yueming wanted this soul beast as her soul ring. His eyes sharpened, and the vast aura of a Titled Douluo surged up like a mountain rising from the earth!

"Understood! Yi'er, you and I will suppress it together. Leave it the illusion of a chance to survive, so it won't dare readily choose death! Yueming, seize the opportunity!"

Almost at the same instant, the Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast's silver-white snow eyes shifted slightly, already locking onto the four intruders.

It did not attack. It merely watched them silently, its gaze so indifferent that it seemed to be looking at a few insignificant specks of dust.

But in the next instant—

Neigh—!

A clear, drawn-out neigh tore through the wind and snow. It was not a sound wave, but a blast of chilling cold that struck directly at their souls!

The phantom image of an ice heart faintly appeared within the Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast's chest before flashing. An invisible, intangible chill capable of freezing thought itself swept toward the four like a tidal wave!

Jing Hongchen snorted coldly. "Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul True Body!" The true body of his Golden Toad Martial Soul instantly fully manifested!

Jing Hongchen's martial soul was an ordinary metal-attributed toad with considerable Metal Control ability. The enormous metallic toad phantom merged with his body as he pressed both hands through the air, his first and sixth soul rings blazing with black light.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Metal-Binding Barrier!"

Jing Hongchen was the first to fling out numerous spheres, scattering them around the area without activating them, preventing the enemy from having nowhere to attack.

More visibly, countless dark-golden rays burst from his body, intertwining to form a massive dark-golden grid covered in profound geometric patterns!

When that chilling blast crashed into the barrier, it seemed to fall into a golden quagmire. It was split apart, absorbed, and dissolved layer by layer by countless grids, finally turning into specks of icy light that vanished into nothingness!

More dark-golden rays then spread throughout the surrounding area, intending to seal off the Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast's escape routes!

"Yi'er!" Jing Hongchen shouted deeply.

Yi Hongchen had long been ready. His Martial Soul True Body was likewise activated; the muscles all over his body bulged, his skin gleamed with a metallic luster, and every strand of his short hair stood on end as violent power of blood and qi erupted like lava!

He did not charge directly at the Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast. Instead, his figure flashed like a burning meteor as he circled around its flank, viciously smashing down toward its head!

Boom—!

A faint ripple passed through the Ice Soul Mystic Hoof Beast's silver-white snow eyes. It did not panic. Its four hooves shifted lightly, and four crystalline ice wheels condensed beneath them. The instant they touched the ground, the ice wheels began to spin!