The Far North

On the snow-covered ground where the wind howled, Huo Yuhao lay buried in the snow, his ears frozen bright red.

"Brother Sky Dream, has the Titan Snow Demon King left yet?"

Huo Yuhao's body was numb from the cold. Even though the molted shell of the Sky Dream Iceworm helped him resist a portion of the harsh chill, it still could not completely ward off the low temperatures of the Far North.

"That bastard finally left. You can come out now, Yuhao." After detecting that the Titan Snow Demon King had departed, the Sky Dream Iceworm hurriedly spoke up to alert him.

"Phew, I was frozen stiff. Brother Sky Dream, let's continue our journey. We need to find the Ice Empress quickly and move on to the next step of our plan."

Huo Yuhao sprang up from the snow and continued walking in the direction indicated by the Sky Dream Iceworm, heading toward the dwelling of the Ice Empress, one of the three great kings of the Far North.

After Electrolux entered the Eye of Life to repair his divine consciousness fragments, Huo Yuhao had informed the Sky Dream Iceworm of some future plot points from the original story.

Upon learning that the Ice Empress would eventually agree to join them, the Sky Dream Iceworm was overjoyed and hurriedly took Huo Yuhao on the journey to find her.

There had been a small hiccup earlier when they encountered the Titan Snow Demon King patrolling its territory, but fortunately, they had passed safely without being discovered.

"Yuhao, this is close enough." The Sky Dream Iceworm estimated the distance and told Huo Yuhao to stop.

"Alright, Brother Sky Dream, the rest is up to you."

As soon as Huo Yuhao finished speaking, the Sky Dream Iceworm temporarily detached from his body, transforming into a young man suspended in mid-air.

The youth formed by the Sky Dream Iceworm waved his hand, and the remaining origin power within Huo Yuhao's body flew out, pulsing rhythmically around him.

"Ice Empress, do you dare to come out and meet me?" The voice of the Sky Dream Iceworm rang out, and as his origin power was released, the entire sky was dyed gold.

"Sky Dream, you actually dare to return." At this, a furious female voice echoed. The sky, which had just been rendered gold by the Sky Dream Iceworm's spiritual power, instantly turned emerald green on one side.

A crystal scorpion, entirely emerald green and nearly the height of a person, crossed the snowfields at an incredible speed, looking like a streak of green light shooting toward them.

In just a few seconds, the Ice Empress stopped in front of the Sky Dream Iceworm, staring at the youth he had transformed into.

"A body condensed from spiritual power? It seems your true form isn't far from here. My forty-thousand-year tribulation finally has hope of being overcome," the Ice Empress said in a cold tone.

Seeing that the Sky Dream Iceworm was about to start reminiscing with the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao, hiding in the snow, immediately interrupted from within his spiritual sea:

"Brother Sky Dream, stop the small talk! Hurry up and act. The molted shell has already set the trap for you; I can't hold on much longer."

"Alright, then, Bingbing, let's chat later." As soon as he finished speaking, the Sky Dream Iceworm used the molted shell to temporarily trap the Ice Empress.

"Yuhao, run! Bingbing's kin will be chasing us soon."

The Sky Dream Iceworm merged his origin power back into Huo Yuhao's body and guided him to sprint toward a snow-capped mountain.

"Phew, this should be safe. Brother Sky Dream, I'm going to have a good talk with the Ice Empress."

After sprinting for about half a day, Huo Yuhao brought the Ice Empress to the foot of a mountain, preparing to talk to her first.

"Sky Dream, you piece of trash, you actually became a soul master's soul ring?"

The Ice Empress looked at the Sky Dream Iceworm, who was fused with Huo Yuhao, and questioned him with intense anger.

The Sky Dream Iceworm did not respond; instead, Huo Yuhao spoke first.

"Ice Empress, I know your situation. Your four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation is approaching, and you have no confidence in overcoming it on your own. In other words, you are about to perish."

Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, the Ice Empress immediately mocked him: "Oh? So, by your logic, I should become your soul ring to fulfill your needs, so as not to waste this cultivation of mine?"

Huo Yuhao did not mind her hostile tone and continued to explain:

"Brother Sky Dream and I are preparing to embark on a path to godhood. He used his million-year cultivation to help me condense a second martial soul, intending to use this to turn you into a sentient soul ring similar to his own, so we can walk this path of eternal life together."

"Oh? Then how do I know you can definitely become a god, and why should I choose you?" The Ice Empress was somewhat moved by his words, but she still asked with hesitation.

"First, with Brother Sky Dream's help, my first martial soul, the Spirit Eye, is about to evolve. Combined with the Ultimate Ice you bring when you join us, I will become an unprecedented genius on the Douluo Continent."

"Second, my teacher is a deity. He possesses the experience and methods to achieve godhood. That is enough to help me complete that final step."

"Third, the truth is that you have no other choice. Unable to overcome the four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, your life is like a candle in the wind. You have no time, and you cannot wait for anyone else."

After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, he asked Elder Yi to exert the pressure of a divine realm for a split second, giving the Ice Empress a chance to feel it.

Feeling the oppression of the divine-level spiritual power, the Ice Empress's attitude shifted instantly; her hesitation vanished, leaving only resolve.

"Fine. Since that is the case, I agree. But the Sky Dream Iceworm must swear to the Ice God that he will help me become a sentient soul ring."

Hearing the Ice Empress's words, the Sky Dream Iceworm jumped out in excitement: "Bingbing, I knew you would agree! I, the Sky Dream Iceworm, swear to the Ice God that I will definitely help the Ice Empress become a sentient soul ring."

Seeing the Sky Dream Iceworm take the oath, the Ice Empress finally set her mind at ease and began preparing for the fusion with him.

"With your current physical constitution, after I seal my origin, you will be able to absorb the torso bone I manifest. However, the process will likely be quite unpleasant. You must endure it."

After the Ice Empress finished speaking, her own spiritual origin merged into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, and her massive body transformed into an emerald-green torso bone, slowly merging into Huo Yuhao's body.

Instantly, intense pain surged into Huo Yuhao's brain, causing his entire body to tremble.

"Whoa, this pain of changing bones is quite interesting. It really packs a punch," Huo Yuhao muttered to himself, trying to distract his attention.

As the fusion deepened, the Life Gold finally began to take effect. A large amount of green life energy surged within Huo Yuhao's body, beginning to cooperate with the Ice Empress's torso bone to strengthen and repair his body.

With the help of the Life Gold, Huo Yuhao felt the pressure diminish significantly and let out a long sigh of relief.

Two hours passed, and Huo Yuhao finally completed the fusion with the Ice Empress's torso bone, his physical constitution having been significantly strengthened once again.

"The effect of absorbing the soul bone is quite good. It used even less of the sealed origin than I imagined. Next is the fusion of the soul ring."

The Ice Empress praised Huo Yuhao after he finished absorbing the soul bone.

Huo Yuhao channeled the Ice Empress's four-hundred-thousand-year soul ring and gradually drew it toward himself. It was a red soul ring marked with four golden patterns.

Earlier, after Sky Dream and the Ice Empress had negotiated, the Sky Dream Iceworm had used some of his origin power to completely raise the Ice Empress's cultivation to four hundred thousand years while Huo Yuhao was fusing with her soul bone.

As Huo Yuhao absorbed the four-hundred-thousand-year soul ring, his originally formless second martial soul, the Ice martial soul, gradually took on the appearance of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

Huo Yuhao's soul power also gradually began to carry the attribute of Ultimate Ice.