Snow Empress Awakens

"Ugh—"

It was as though a thunderclap had exploded within his Sea of Spirit. As the world spun, he clearly "saw" his consciousness split in two. His original Sea of Spirit remained, with the Snow Empress's enormous egg floating at the center of its glazed world. Cracks had spread across the shell to the utmost extent, and through the ice-blue mist, a pair of half-open golden vertical pupils could faintly be seen. Yet beside it, an entirely new spiritual domain had appeared out of nowhere—there were no tangible scenes within it, only endless streams of blue-gold light surging forth. Every strand of light contained pure life essence, like a sea of stars formed from life force.

Connecting the two Seas of Spirit was the ribbon of light formed from Life-Spirit Gold. Like a brilliant bridge, it linked the spiritual source of the Glazed World on the left to the energy core of the Life Star Sea on the right. The two powers circulated endlessly through the band of light, producing a humming resonance.

"Th-this is Twin Seas of Spirit?!" Skydream Iceworm's voice changed pitch as its massive body darted back and forth between the two worlds. "The left is your spiritual source, carrying your soul spirits and consciousness. But the right is actually a sea of pure life energy—it's like someone installed a perpetual-motion machine in you!"

Before Huo Yuhao could recover from his shock, the blue-gold vertical eye on his forehead suddenly opened slightly. In that instant, the world in his eyes changed—countless pale-green specks floated through the air, the life force of grass and trees; dark gray vapor hid within the beams and pillars of distant buildings, signs of decay; even the soul power flowing through his fingertips clearly revealed trails where ice-blue and blue-gold intertwined.

"These eyes..." He raised a hand to his forehead. The vertical eye trembled gently, conveying an extraordinary perception—it could peer into souls like the Spirit Eye, but it could also see the flow of life, as though it could directly read the paths of all things' birth and death.

At that moment, the band of light connecting the Twin Seas of Spirit suddenly brightened. Within the Glazed World of the left Sea of Spirit, the Snow Empress's enormous egg violently burst apart! Amid the scattering ice-blue fragments, a slender figure clothed in white fur slowly stretched. Her skin looked sculpted from ice and snow, silver hair fell to her waist, and a miniature blue-gold vertical eye was likewise imprinted upon her forehead. It was the awakened Snow Empress!

The moment she steadied herself, the light band drew her in. She became a streak of light and shot into the Life Star Sea on the right. The previously surging currents immediately grew docile, flooding toward her like tides and condensing around her into a blue-gold robe of light. The Snow Empress opened her eyes, a hint of confusion flashing through her golden pupils before she looked toward the other end of the connecting band—where Huo Yuhao's consciousness resided.

"Yuhao..."

A cool voice, carrying a trace of weakness, echoed directly through his mind. It was not spiritual communication, but more like a resonance formed by the two Seas of Spirit through the Life-Spirit Gold.

Huo Yuhao's heart jolted, and his eyes instantly reddened. He could clearly feel the Snow Empress's consciousness—it was no longer the hazy sensation from her slumber, but a real consciousness with warmth. He could even "see" her sitting cross-legged in the Life Star Sea, absorbing the streams of light to recover her strength.

"Snow Empress!" he replied in his heart, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

Skydream Iceworm flew to the Snow Empress's side and circled her twice, clicking its tongue in amazement. "Good heavens, this Life Star Sea was practically tailor-made for you! Your Ultimate Ice needs an enormous amount of energy to sustain it. The life force here can neutralize your icy chill and nourish your soul as well—your recovery speed can be at least ten times faster now!"

The Snow Empress ignored Skydream Iceworm. She merely gazed at Huo Yuhao's consciousness through the light band, soft ripples appearing in her golden pupils. "This Life-Spirit Gold... is actually a fragment of the Life Core. It chose you, and it has fulfilled both you and me." She raised a hand and touched the band of light. Blue-gold energy flowed along it into the Sea of Spirit on the left. "Of your Twin Seas of Spirit, the left governs 'spirit,' carrying soul spirits and will; the right governs 'life,' providing endless energy. In your future cultivation, you may use the Life Star Sea's power to temper your soul power, then have the spiritual source on the left refine it. Your progress will far surpass what it was before."

Only then did Huo Yuhao finally understand. The blue-gold vertical eye on his forehead gently closed, turning into a pale-gold mark that complemented the Spirit Eye perfectly. He could feel the two Seas of Spirit operating in tandem—the Life Star Sea's energy flowed along the light band into the left side, nourishing the Snow Empress's soul spirit and causing his soul power core to shine with a blue-gold radiance. Meanwhile, the spiritual power from the left fed back into it, making the light currents of the Life Star Sea even purer.

"So... it wasn't trying to harm me. It wanted to completely merge with me." Huo Yuhao touched his forehead, where a warm sensation still lingered. The Life Carving Blade had never harbored any malice. From the moment he tamed it, it had been waiting for this moment—to use itself as a medium and build him a bridge between spirit and life.

The Snow Empress rose to her feet within the Life Star Sea. The robe of light around her turned into flowing radiance and merged into her body, and her aura visibly strengthened. Looking at Huo Yuhao, her voice carried a rare gentleness. "Don't get carried away. Twin Seas of Spirit may be powerful, but they also require balance. If life energy overflows, your body will bear too great a burden. If your spiritual power cannot keep up, the Life Star Sea will devour your consciousness instead. From now on, you must cultivate both together. Neither can be neglected."

"I understand." Huo Yuhao nodded heavily, unprecedented light shining in his eyes.

Starlight outside the window passed through the paper panes and fell upon the pale-gold mark on his forehead, reflecting a faint scattered glow. He could clearly feel that the Snow Empress's consciousness was beside him. He could sense the resonance of the two Seas of Spirit and control that unceasing torrent of life force.

The Snow Empress slowly paced through the Life Star Sea. Blue-gold currents rippled beneath her steps, and the once-rushing energy seemed to have been combed through by an invisible force, becoming gentle and rhythmic. She suddenly stopped, her pupils turning toward Huo Yuhao's consciousness. Raising a fingertip, she sent an extremely fine strand of ice-blue soul power drifting along the light band, where it landed upon the mark on his forehead.

"Try sensing this strand of soul power with your Spirit Eye." Her voice traveled through their resonance, carrying a guiding tone. "It is wrapped in the Life Star Sea's energy. What you need to do is make your spiritual power like a sieve—filter away the excess aura of life and retain only the part that can merge with Ultimate Ice."

Huo Yuhao focused and did as she instructed. His Spirit Eye shone with ice-blue light, and his spiritual power formed a fine net that slowly wrapped around the strand of soul power. At first, it felt awkward. The warmth of life energy collided with the chill of Ice Soul Power, stirring a faint prickling pain in his consciousness. Remembering the Snow Empress's words about "balance," he hurriedly slowed the rhythm of his spiritual power. Rather than forcefully suppressing them, he guided the two energies to spiral along the light band's path like flowing water winding around stone.

Skydream Iceworm watched nervously from the side, flying circles around the light band without pause. "Slow down, slow down! Life energy is too lively, and Ice Soul Power is too rigid. Don't let them start fighting!"

The Snow Empress glanced at it but did not reprimand it. She only said to Huo Yuhao, "Imagine that your spiritual power is wind across an ice field. It can support snowflakes without scattering the ice. Life energy is a stream, and Ice Soul Power is the riverbed. Only when the stream follows the riverbed can it irrigate the ice field rather than wash it away."

Her words were like a flash of inspiration, instantly illuminating Huo Yuhao's thoughts. He no longer deliberately separated the two energies and instead focused on "guiding" them—letting the blue-gold currents of the Life Star Sea slowly flow into the Glazed World on the left along the "riverbed" of his spiritual power. With every inch they passed through, he carefully combed them with the Spirit Eye's spiritual power, settling the excess aura of life along the edges of the light band and allowing only the purest energy to merge with the Ice Soul Power.

In just a short while, a blue-gold stream appeared upon the icy surface of the Glazed World. Wherever it passed, the ice did not melt. Instead, it glowed with a warm, lustrous sheen, like ice crystals nourished by life energy, becoming even more translucent.