The Second Spirit Ring

"Yuhao, how are you feeling?"

Seeing Huo Yuhao crawl out from the thick snow, Tian Meng asked with concern.

"I feel like my whole body is filled with power right now!"

Huo Yuhao felt the surging energy within his body, casually pulling his shattered fur coat off his shoulders and tossing it onto the snow beside him. He stood in the snow dressed only in a single layer of clothing, his upper body continuously radiating heat. Yet, he could not feel the cold in the slightest.

Because after absorbing the Ice Empress's spirit ring, his second martial soul had already mastered the power of Ultimate Ice. Therefore, even in a place like the core circle of the Extreme North, he still could not feel any cold.

After confirming that Huo Yuhao was unharmed and the ritual had succeeded, Tian Meng let out a long breath of relief. Immediately, he switched to a completely different expression.

"Hehehe! Yuhao, where is Bingbing?"

"The Ice Empress said she was a bit tired and is currently resting in my sea of consciousness."

"Really?!"

Hearing Huo Yuhao's reply, Tian Meng's eyes lit up. With a whoosh, he transformed into a streak of golden light and flew into Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness.

A short moment later, Huo Yuhao heard Tian Meng let out a miserable scream, followed by the Ice Empress's exhausted yet furious voice.

"Tian Meng! Get the hell out of here, you bastard!"

Tian Meng was directly beaten out of the sea of consciousness by the Ice Empress.

"Brother Sky Dream, what are you...?"

Looking at Tian Meng, who had been kicked out, Huo Yuhao found it extremely strange. That was because, at this moment, not only was there no regret on Tian Meng's face for being driven out, but his expression instead carried a sort of nostalgia and lingering aftertaste.

"Yes! That's the feeling. After all these years, Bing'er's strength is still just as familiar. Come on, Bingbing, give Brother another taste."

"Ugh."

Watching the infatuated Tian Meng, Huo Yuhao looked as though he had just seen some unspeakable monstrosity, curling his lip in disgust.

Ignoring Tian Meng, who was having another episode of madness, Huo Yuhao walked over to Jiang Ziya and the Snow Empress, bowing slightly as he said:

"Thank you, Teacher and Senior Snow Empress, for protecting this junior."

Facing Huo Yuhao's gratitude, the Snow Empress merely nodded slightly and did not say much.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ziya also chuckled and said:

"Yuhao, how is it? Your harvest this time is not bad, right?"

"A huge harvest! Although I haven't officially broken through to level twenty yet, relying on the spirit ring and spirit bone given to me by Senior Ice Empress, I have a feeling that after I acquire my second spirit ring, the day I reach my third spirit ring won't be far off either."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao released his second martial soul, and a blood-red spirit ring rose from beneath his feet. Inscribed along both sides of the spirit ring were four golden patterns, indicating that this spirit ring was a staggering four hundred thousand years old.

Yes, four hundred thousand years old. After making her final sacrifice, relying on her vast soul power, the Ice Empress had forcefully crossed that four-hundred-thousand-year threshold at the very end.

The moment the blood-red spirit ring appeared, the pressure belonging to the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion began to vent outwards in all directions without restraint.

Before long, rumbling sounds echoed all around the core circle, as if something was sprinting frantically toward them.

"Oh no, it's the Ice Empress's kin! Earlier, when Brother used his shed skin to shroud the Ice Empress, the Ice Empress's aura was masked along with it. Now, the spirit ring you released, Yuhao, carries the Ice Empress's aura. Her kin sense the Ice Empress's aura and are rushing over here!"

Just as Tian Meng was anxiously pacing back and forth in place, the Snow Empress's cold, clear voice interrupted his rambling.

"I'll go take a look. Bing'er is resting right now and shouldn't be disturbed again."

A gust of wind blew past, and the Snow Empress's entire body dissolved into snowflakes and vanished from the spot. Yet within the span of a moment, the deafening roars growing closer and closer all around slowly quieted down until they completely vanished.

A cluster of snowflakes materialized in the spot where the Snow Empress had disappeared, condensing into her likeness.

"Alright, Bing'er's kin have been persuaded back. Without further ado, let's go help you find your second spirit ring."

On the outer edges of the Extreme North, Huo Yuhao stepped on Auspicious Clouds as he flew mid-air. Directly beneath him was Li Jun, the Star Luo Sleep King, wrapped up tightly from head to toe.

After acquiring the Ice Empress's spirit ring, Huo Yuhao no longer needed to worry about his body freezing stiff from the frigid high-altitude air when flying. Furthermore, the aura emitted by the Snow Empress beside him dispersed any soul beasts that dared to approach.

"Senior Snow Empress, do you happen to know where the Titan Snow Demon King is?"

As he flew, Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered Cheng Gang, who had stayed behind to cover their retreat—he wondered how he was doing now.

Hearing Huo Yuhao's inquiry, the Snow Empress frowned slightly and pondered for a moment.

"Are you asking about that Titled Douluo who accompanied you inside?"

Now it was Huo Yuhao's turn to be surprised.

"Senior Snow Empress knows?"

"Hmph! As the ruler of the Extreme North, every single snowflake in this realm can become my eyes and ears. That's also why I knew you kidnapped Bing'er."

Hearing the Snow Empress's words, dark lines webbed across Huo Yuhao's forehead. Fortunately, they had successfully convinced the Ice Empress to join them; otherwise, what they would have faced was a joint beatdown from the two rulers of ice and snow.

"Hey! Snow Empress, since when did you have such an overpowered ability? When I escaped from the Extreme North back then, it seemed you weren't this strong yet!"

Facing Tian Meng's question, the Snow Empress only replied indifferently:

"I only mastered this ability in recent years. Over these past few years, I've felt my connection with the Extreme North grow increasingly profound. I can sense that relying on the enhancements bestowed upon me by the Extreme North, even if Di Tian himself were to come, I would not fear him in the slightest."

When the Snow Empress said this, her cold and clear face radiated a confident expression.

"Whoa! So freakishly OP? Good thing Brother left early, or else I wouldn't have been able to run out of the Extreme North at all."

The Snow Empress remained noncommittal regarding Tian Meng's remark; if she had mastered this ability back then, she indeed could have kept Tian Meng trapped in the Extreme North.

After closing her eyes and sensing for a brief moment, the Snow Empress opened her eyes and said:

"That Titled Douluo you mentioned is already at the edge of the Extreme North. His current condition is very bad—he must have taken a terrible beating from A-Tai!"

Hearing this nickname, Huo Yuhao paused slightly.

"A-Tai?"

"That's the Titan Snow Demon King we ran into earlier."

Tian Meng crept up to Huo Yuhao's ear and whispered.

"When you boil it down, he's just a big blockhead who only knows how to use brute force."

As he spoke, Tian Meng didn't forget to badmouth the Titan Snow Demon King in Huo Yuhao's ear, likely because he had suffered losses at the latter's hands previously.

Listening to Tian Meng's gossip, Huo Yuhao asked curiously:

"Brother Sky Dream, what kind of second spirit ring did you pick out for me?"

Hearing Huo Yuhao ask about the second spirit ring, Tian Meng proudly lifted his head high.

"Yuhao, the spirit ring Brother picked out for you is extraordinary. Aside from Brother, he is a rare supreme genius among the Ice Silkworm clan!"

"A supreme genius?"

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly lit up. With the unprecedented million-year soul beast, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, serving as a towering benchmark, Huo Yuhao naturally held high expectations for the so-called genius he spoke of.

"Then, Brother Sky Dream, what is the age of this genius you mentioned?"

Tian Meng stated matter-of-factly, "A thousand years!"