Nearly Burst

In the Star Dou Forest.

Beneath Song Que and the Snow Empress, the six-pointed star shone ever brighter. Strange symbols rose one after another and circled their bodies. Gentle waves of spiritual energy and Soul Power surrounded them as well.

Within the light, the Snow Empress began separating her soul imprint from herself, slowly drawing together her essence, consciousness, and all her ice energy. The power in her physical body faded bit by bit until she became a luminous, translucent spirit of ice and snow.

The spirit followed the golden chain of light, moving little by little toward Song Que.

Song Que's Soul Rings lit up in succession. His meridians tingled as wave after wave of bone-chilling cold swept through his body. He gritted his teeth and silently endured the onslaught.

As energy continued to flow along the golden chain, Song Que's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. His face gradually twisted in pain.

Everyone around the perimeter held their breath and watched the center of the ritual in silence.

Du Busi and the others looked tense. Di Tian and Bi Ji stared without blinking, tracking every change in the ritual.

Suddenly, Di Tian raised an eyebrow and looked at the trembling Song Que. "I'm afraid this human brat can't hold on much longer."

Du Busi and the others tensed, their gazes falling on the wisps of blood-red mist seeping from Song Que's body.

"So it's happening after all? Those two brats really are reckless."

Du Busi clenched his fists. Watching Song Que's condition, he asked grimly, "If he can't take it, can we stop the ritual outright?"

As soon as he spoke, an immense spiritual pressure appeared around Song Que.

Everyone started and turned toward him.

"You really are reckless, Lord Song Que."

A low voice suddenly sounded in Song Que's mind.

Right after that, the Hōgyoku inside the Zanpakutō slowly released a strange energy, instantly enveloping Song Que and the Snow Empress within the array.

The next moment, the wounds splitting open across Song Que's body began to tear open and heal again and again.

Bi Ji froze at the sight.

"Self-healing? Or high-speed regeneration?"

"He even has an ability like that..."

Di Tian frowned slightly and quietly extended his spiritual senses, trying to detect the strange energy around the array.

After several failed attempts, he suppressed his surprise and gave up.

Watching Song Que's condition gradually stabilize, Bi Ji said hesitantly, "He's stable for now. Let's keep watching. Interrupting the ritual rashly would cause terrible harm to both him and the Snow Empress."

Du Busi nodded and held back for the moment.

Just as most of the ice-and-snow spirit merged into Song Que's body, another violent tremor ran through him.

The vast energy flowing from the Snow Empress kept building, growing ever more volatile. Once the fusion reached a certain point, it erupted.

"Careful!" Bi Ji warned in a low voice.

Huo Yuhao poured out all his spiritual power. Through Huo Yuhao's body, Electrolux extended his divine consciousness and suppressed the restless essence and overloaded energy.

Floating in the Sea of Spirit, Electrolux spoke calmly, his voice reaching only the few people present:

"The Snow Empress's energy is too vast. His body as it is now cannot contain all she has to give."

"I'll adjust the incantation, redirect her power, and seal it in layers."

"Each time he breaks through to a new major realm, one seal will release on its own, and the corresponding Soul Ring will form."

As he spoke, golden runes flowed steadily, bringing the Snow Empress's immense power into order.

Everyone exchanged stunned looks.

"So this is the remnant soul of a god from another world that Yuhao mentioned?" Du Busi murmured.

"Extraordinary indeed."

Di Tian's expression turned grave. He recalled the strange energy that had seeped from Song Que's body earlier and compared the two in his mind.

This god's power was immense, but it still fell well short of the unknown energy Song Que had just revealed.

Time passed slowly.

At last, the Snow Empress became a luminous spirit of ice and snow and merged completely into Song Que's body.

Song Que shook violently, and an orange-gold glow rose higher and higher from him.

Then all six Soul Rings around Song Que lit up and floated in midair.

Yellow, yellow, purple, gold, black, gold.

As the light slowly faded, a gleam of ice-white light drifted out of Song Que's body.

The light gathered into the Snow Empress's true form.

She wore a simple white dress and carried a cool, aloof air. Snow-white hair fell down her back, her skin was fair, and her clear sky-blue eyes held the solitary pride of the ruler of the Far North.

This was the true appearance of the Heavenly Snow Woman, the Snow Empress, foremost of the Far North's three great rulers.

The entire gathering fell silent.

Jinpeng's eyes widened, and his breath caught.

"An orange-gold Soul Ring?! It really worked?"

"But why did his fourth Soul Ring turn gold too?"

Du Busi's pupils contracted slightly. His gaze stayed fixed on the Soul Rings and the Snow Empress.

Di Tian trembled faintly. His golden slit pupils rested on the Snow Empress, his expression conflicted.

"It really worked. Even after becoming a Soul Spirit, she can still appear in the world."

Bi Ji drew a soft breath, a hint of joy appearing on her face.

Huo Yuhao let out a breath and hurried over to Song Que. "Brother Song Que, are you all right?"

"It's my fault for not thinking this through. I nearly caused a disaster."

Song Que wiped the cold sweat from his brow and shook his head with a rueful smile. "I'm fine. It was close, but I made it."

"It wasn't your fault. I was careless myself."

Fear lingered in him. He had been completely misled by his assumptions from the original story.

In his previous life, the Snow Empress Huo Yuhao had fused with had been missing part of her essence and had lost much of her power. This time, she was relatively whole and far stronger than she had been then. The two situations were nothing alike.

Huo Yuhao was young and inexperienced. He hadn't understood the risks.

The Snow Empress, Du Busi, and the others knew nothing about the Soul Spirit system, so they had no way to foresee the danger.

He alone had known what to expect, yet he had still let his guard down. He had no excuse.

"What a mistake," Song Que muttered. "I nearly got myself killed."

Fortunately, Electrolux had stepped in just in time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

At that thought, Song Que paused.

Had he heard a voice just now? Could Aizen have awakened?

He tried reaching out, but received no response, so he set his doubts aside for now.

Du Busi asked, "Song Que, how are things now? Did it work?"

Song Que nodded. "It did. Yi Lao helped redirect the excess energy. Some of it flowed into my fourth Soul Ring, which had already been touched by the Snow Empress's power. The rest was sealed inside me in layers."

Huo Yuhao added, "Yi Lao also used this accident to improve the Soul Spirit incantation."

"In the future, when someone fuses with a high-level Soul Spirit, any excess energy can be sealed in advance. Once the host breaks through, it can form a new Soul Ring."

"But Soul Spirit fusion demands tremendous spiritual power and a strong body. Crossing such a vast gap in cultivation like Brother Song Que did is extremely risky. It would probably be very hard to succeed."

Du Busi looked at Song Que, his eyes filled with complicated feelings and envy.

Di Tian stood in silence. Looking at the Snow Empress, whose aura was steady even as she remained bound to a human, he let out a heavy breath.

He turned to her and asked, "Snow Empress, are you still conscious? Is this a Soul Spirit's form?"

The Snow Empress nodded gently. "Yes. The path of Soul Spirits truly is viable."

She looked at Song Que, guilt showing in her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect to cause you trouble again."