The moment Huo Yuhao woke, his chest began heaving violently, as though he had just been hauled out of icy water. His vision swam with darkness.
Instinctively, he reached for his waist. Thankfully, the Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night was still there.
"Where... am I? Who are you..." Huo Yuhao surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings and the two middle-aged men before him, both radiating terrifying auras.
Niu Tian pressed a hand to his shoulder, sending warm, gentle soul power through his palm to steady Huo Yuhao's chaotic breathing.
"Don't move. This is the Clear Sky Sect. My name is Niu Tian, and this is my second brother, Tai Tan. You fainted in the Far North. Tai Tan and I brought you back."
Just then, Huo Yuhao noticed an icy sensation against his back.
Eight bone cocoons rose and fell slightly with each breath as though alive, their gray-white markings flickering like the blinking eyes of a nightmare snow spider.
A cold, savage emotion crawled up his spine and rushed straight into his head.
He suddenly clutched his head, veins bulging at his temples as eight spider legs emerged from his back.
"Brother, this..." Tai Tan immediately turned to his elder brother. He was just a rough fellow who knew nothing beyond fighting.
Niu Tian's expression changed. He brought two fingers together, and a strand of soul power instantly entered Huo Yuhao's forehead.
"Focus! Treat it as part of your body, not an enemy. Let your energy flow. Don't force it!"
Niu Tian's voice crashed directly into Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness like a peal of muffled thunder.
"Yuhao, don't resist!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's plump body trembled anxiously. "Let it in! Let it become your own bones!"
With the help of Niu Tian's soul power, Huo Yuhao's breathing finally steadied.