"Uh, you said your name was Nishang?"
Huo Yuhao composed himself slightly and looked at the blue-haired girl before him as he asked.
Compared with the missing ten-thousand-year Profound Ice Marrow and Ice-Skin Divine Crystal, the girl's appearance now commanded all his attention.
Heavenly treasures were precious, treasures a Soul Master could only hope to encounter by chance. But this being, hidden beneath ten thousand years of ice in the cold pool and possessed of a complete mind of her own, interested him far more than either treasure.
Huo Yuhao stood on the ice. Cold crept slowly upward through the soles of his shoes, but it did not affect him in the slightest.
His spiritual power spread quietly around him, probing the girl gently and cautiously. He released not a trace of hostile Soul Power.
Nishang's hair held a faint ice-blue sheen. Her long locks fell over her shoulders, while a few strands floated in the thin icy mist around her.
Her skin gleamed white as cold jade frozen for a thousand years. Her eyes curved with a smile, and a faint smile rested on her lips. A thin veil of chilly mist surrounded her, and her bright, lilting voice sounded like ice beads striking a jade plate.
"Of course! Master gave me this name himself♫" Nishang raised her eyes to Huo Yuhao. Her tone was gentle, and her clear ice-blue eyes held neither calculation nor hostility.
"The master you mean is me?" Huo Yuhao pointed at himself, his brows drawing together as he sought confirmation.
Waves rose in his heart. He was certain he had never set foot in this cold pool of the Earth Dragon Sect, much less devoted himself to nurturing an artifact spirit with a mind of her own.
He silently retraced everything he had experienced.