Across the vast ice plains of the Far North, a huge, dark figure raced onward.
Er Ming held Xiao Wu close against his chest as he fled desperately, but the wounds on his limbs and chest slowed him down.
"Er Ming, Da Ming..." Before Xiao Wu's tears could fall in the extreme cold of the Far North, they froze into Ice Crystals, stinging her eyes painfully.
"This was what Big Brother and I discussed. We'll use the sacrifice to make him explode. This is our only chance," Er Ming said quietly. Yet he stumbled again. His limbs, which had been broken earlier, had only been forcibly set and had not healed. Under such intense running, they had split open once more.
But Er Ming endured it silently, not letting Xiao Wu notice in the slightest.
The terrain of the Far North was not complicated, but the identical scenery stretched endlessly to the horizon, making it easy to lose one's bearings. Er Ming could only grit his teeth and charge forward in one direction.
Just then, an enormous wall of ice rose before him. Unable to stop in time, Er Ming could only twist sideways and use his own body to shield Xiao Wu from the violent impact.
Boom—
Crunch—
The sound of the violent collision and the crisp shattering of bones rang beside Xiao Wu's ears. When the ice shards and dust settled, Xiao Wu was unharmed, but Er Ming had completely lost consciousness.
"Er Ming!" Xiao Wu cried anxiously, but Er Ming gave no response. Only then did Xiao Wu begin to hate herself—hate herself for choosing to cultivate as a human, hate herself for neglecting her cultivation in order to grow up alongside Tang San. If she had been strong enough, would this have happened?
With tears in her eyes, Xiao Wu looked up into the sky. A breathtakingly beautiful woman floated there, her silver hair fluttering in the wind. Her snow-white dress blended into the ice and snow of the Far North, beautiful yet dangerous.
"Why can't you just let us go?! You're a Soul Beast too. Why are you helping humans kill us?!" Xiao Wu shouted the question once again.
The answer she received was a blizzard with no end in sight.
The enormous snowstorm swept up Xiao Wu and Da Ming. When the wind and snow finally dispersed, Xiao Wu found herself in a palace made entirely of ice.
At the center of the palace lay two people side by side. One was the demon who had captured them, while the other looked like a young girl. Yet Xiao Wu could sense that she too was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
The Zombie Ice Bear that had injured Da Ming and Er Ming, whose strength was unfathomable, stood guard over them. Several other Soul Beasts with formidable auras guarded the sides. Yet what made Xiao Wu's soul tremble most was the sphere of light floating above the young man's head. A tiny Sky Azure Bull Python was sealed inside it, while Da Ming's body was frozen within a massive ice spike and tossed into the corner of the hall.
"Da Ming! What is going on? What did you do to Da Ming?!" Xiao Wu cried out.
But no one present paid her any attention. Even Snow Empress, who had brought them here, ignored them. With a casual raise of her hand, she formed a cage of Ultimate Ice around the two of them, ensuring that not even the faintest sound could pass through.
"Er Bai, tell us what happened," Snow Empress asked Er Bai. After all, Er Bai was the strongest person present. Though Little White possessed the same memories as him, her way of thinking had not yet transformed to match his.
"Yuhao is exhausted. He'll be fine after resting. Sister Liya is the troublesome one. Violent emotional fluctuations can damage the origin of one's life force, and Sister Liya is in exactly that state right now. It would be manageable if she were awake, but she's unconscious and can't control the loss of her origin," Er Bai said, pointing at Liya, who remained unconscious yet still shed golden pearls from time to time.
"I have a way to restore the spiritual origin and vitality she's lost. I already had Lijing return to retrieve the Sea Dragon Marrow. But first, we need to stop the loss from continuing." Eve looked at her daughter, anxious at heart.
"Ice Empress, go find a Snow Lotus that is at least ten thousand years old," Snow Empress said as she looked at the two lying side by side. Suppressing a trace of displeasure in her heart, she spoke to Ice Empress.
Snow Lotuses found it difficult to develop intelligence, but they contained the purest essence of heaven and earth, making them highly suitable for performing a secret technique to seal one's origin.
"Alright, I'll go now." Ice Empress nodded. She knew where to find Snow Lotuses.
"Wait. Take these two things with you." Er Bai rummaged around on himself, then took out a round red disk that looked as though it had been carved from pure crystal. He had his own exclusive Storage Soul Tool. Fearing that the three of them might truly self-destruct, he had prepared the Soul Ring Storage Device long ago. Then, he pulled the White Tiger Dagger from Huo Yuhao's waist.
"Use this to cut through the Snow Lotus's roots. Don't use Soul Power. Once the Snow Lotus falls and the Soul Ring forms, press here. This will store the Soul Ring inside. A Soul Ring stored here can remain intact for at least a week without dissipating." Er Bai pointed at a raised spot on the disk as he explained.
"He made this too?" Ice Empress accepted it with both alarm and curiosity. A ten-thousand-year Soul Ring could remain intact for a week without dissipating, and from what Er Bai said, it could even be absorbed by someone other than the person who killed her. If something like this spread, it would be an utterly terrifying disaster for Soul Beasts.
"No. But now, Yuhao is the only one who knows how to make it, and this is the only finished one." Er Bai shook his head.
Only then did Ice Empress sigh in relief. Carrying the items, she left to search for a Snow Lotus.
For a moment, the hall fell silent. Snow Empress looked at the young man lying on the bed in a deep sleep and suddenly asked, "His name is Yuhao, right?"
"Dad... mm... his name is Huo Yuhao." Er Bai had almost called him Dad, but Snow Empress's gaze stopped him cold, and he immediately changed his words.
"Is this a Soul Spirit?" Ice Empress pointed at the sphere of light suspended there.
"Yes." Er Bai nodded.
"But it seems to have no consciousness at all." Eve had been watching it for quite some time. If a Soul Spirit had no awareness, how was it any different from being dead? Fortunately, she had apparently won her gamble earlier. How could the Sea God possibly reject a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast as his first Soul Ring? She had merely kept silent because her relationship with the young man was not particularly close here.
"It should be because it was struck by Yuhao's Asura Three-Eyed God-Sealing Spell. It should recover after some time." Er Bai once again took on the role of an encyclopedia.
Er Bai's explanation was far too brief, leaving Eve even more anxious. What was wrong with Er Bai? Why didn't he explain more? Wasn't Yuhao seeking her out precisely for this Soul Spirit contract?
Fortunately, Ice Empress did not keep them waiting long. She soon returned with a palm-sized Snow Lotus.
Snow Empress accepted the Snow Lotus without hesitation. With a tremor of her Ultimate Ice and Snow Soul Power, the palm-sized Snow Lotus instantly transformed into a cluster of Ice Crystals.
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