Inside Yun Luo's room in the Body Sect.
The room was furnished in a simple, elegant style, with sparse yet imposing furnishings.
Seated cross-legged on his bed, Yun Luo slowly opened his eyes after a long while, exhaled a long breath of stale air, and sighed softly.
"Alas, I used the Ice Emperor's origin essence to form the foundation of a second Martial Soul,
but even after absorbing four hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings and the remaining origin essence, I only reached rank seventy."
Five days had passed since Du Busi and the others returned from the Extreme North.
After returning to the Body Sect, Yun Luo immediately went into seclusion in his room to digest the remaining origin essence.
As for Su Tong, since her Martial Soul could resonate with Yun Luo's and he had brought her back, Du Busi naturally arranged for her to stay beside Yun Luo's residence after she arrived at the Body Sect.
As for the news about Huo Yuhao, Du Busi had learned of it through the voice-transmission soul tool in his hand while he was still on his way back, but he was in no hurry.
After all, traveling from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion in the Star Luo Empire to the Star Dou Great Forest would take Huo Yuhao, a soul master of only rank ten, ten days to half a month even without stopping to eat or drink.
Yun Luo, on the other hand, was a Soul Sage. Even with a delay of a few days, he could still make it to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Besides, if he could not make it in time, he could simply tell Du Busi to call someone over to fly him there.
So, as far as he was concerned, he might as well use that time to stabilize his cultivation.
Just as Yun Luo was muttering to himself, a voice rang out in his Sea of Spirit.
"Count your blessings. This Emperor used practically all her origin essence to condense a Soul Bone and Martial Soul. Otherwise, would I have spent these past few days unconscious?"
Hearing the Ice Emperor's words, Yun Luo closed his eyes and entered the Sea of Spirit, where he saw her lying on a bed, rolling her eyes and looking at the youth before her with disdain.
Yun Luo nodded and smiled helplessly.
"Yes, I was too greedy."
"You're right to reprimand me, Lady Ice Emperor."
The Ice Emperor had awakened on the first night after Yun Luo returned to the Body Sect.
He had been cultivating at the time, and the sudden appearance of the Ice Emperor's voice had given him quite a fright.
As for why he called her Lady Ice Emperor, it was because Yun Luo had discovered that she was truly childish and tsundere.
Whatever else he called her, she barely acknowledged him. Only when he addressed her as Lady Ice Emperor did she nod haughtily.
"Hmm, that will barely do. Just call me 'my lady' from now on."
"And cultivate properly. If you fail, this Emperor won't spare you."
After a moment without a response from Yun Luo, the Ice Emperor urged him impatiently.
"Hey, hey, hey! Damn you, Yun Luo, this Emperor is talking. Why aren't you answering?"
Only upon hearing the Ice Emperor's words did Yun Luo come back to his senses and scratch his head in embarrassment.
"Uh, I didn't quite catch what you just said. Could you repeat it?"
"Hmph, is this Emperor's human form really that pretty? You keep staring at me."
Mistaking his distraction for being mesmerized by her, the Ice Emperor immediately puffed out her chest and looked at Yun Luo with contempt.
"Uh..."
Hearing the Ice Emperor's words, Yun Luo was somewhat speechless. Then he looked over her figure and could not help grumbling inwardly.
An airport runway. What's there to look at?
Seeing that Yun Luo had fallen silent, the Ice Emperor could not be bothered to keep him guessing.
"Enough. This Emperor wanted to ask, now that you've reached rank seventy, do you plan to have your Soul Spirit keep providing Soul Rings, or...?"
Hearing the Ice Emperor's words, Yun Luo dropped his playful manner.
"I already have a plan. For my next Soul Ring, I'm going to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"All right. As long as you have a plan."
"Knock, knock, knock."
A series of knocks interrupted their conversation.
"All right, let's stop here. I'll get the door."
With that, Yun Luo left his Sea of Spirit and walked toward the door.
When he opened it, he found the Body Sect's sect master, Du Busi, standing outside.
Seeing who it was, Yun Luo bowed respectfully.
"Sect Master, what brings you here?"
Du Busi nodded slightly and got straight to the point.
"Word came from over there. Huo Yuhao will reach the Star Dou Great Forest in a few days. Do you have any plans?"
At Du Busi's reminder, Yun Luo nodded.
"Yes, I do have a plan. I'm going to make a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Are you going to fetch that Huo Yuhao?"
"If you want him to join the Body Sect, I can simply have that elder bring him back."
Hearing Yun Luo's words, Du Busi offered his guess.
Yun Luo shook his head and spoke evenly.
"No, Sect Master. I'm not going to the Star Dou Great Forest to invite him into the Body Sect. I have something else to do."
Yun Luo thought silently to himself.
Bring Huo Yuhao into the Body Sect and nurture him? What a joke.
My system has openly told me to suppress Huo Yuhao. How could I possibly help him?
Besides, even if I helped him, Huo Yuhao would still end up helping Tang San because his mother's soul is in Tang San's hands.
Since Yun Luo had not said what he intended to do, Du Busi naturally could not press him.
"In that case, when do you plan to leave?"
"In a little while. Once I've packed, I'll leave for the Star Dou Great Forest."
Du Busi nodded and said,
"Yes, that's fine. Also, take this-the voice-transmission soul tool for our sect's Titled Douluo. Once you're close enough to him, you can send him a message."
As he spoke, Du Busi held out the voice-transmission soul tool in his hand.
"Thank you, Sect Master."
"Mm. Since that's what you've decided, this old man has other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
After giving those instructions, Du Busi turned and left.
Once Yun Luo had packed his luggage and opened the door, he found Su Tong pacing around his courtyard.
"Su Tong, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Yun Luo emerge, Su Tong nervously pinched the hem of her clothes.
"I... I passed by the entrance just now and saw the Sect Master. I heard you were leaving, so I came to see you."
"It's nothing major. I'm just going out to handle a few things. I'll be back before long. Just focus on cultivating in the sect."
"Okay, then I'll wait for you to come back."
Hearing his words, Su Tong let out a sigh of relief.
"Mm, goodbye."
With that, Yun Luo quickened his pace, left the courtyard, and ran toward the Body Sect's gates.
Three days later, on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The first ray of morning light cut across the sky, passed through layers of leafy shade, and shone into the forest.
Yun Luo leaned lazily against a tree, gnawing on a piece of dry rations in his hand.
"Why isn't he here yet?"
When he reached a spot not far from the Star Dou Great Forest, Yun Luo had already contacted that Titled Douluo and learned that Huo Yuhao was less than twenty kilometers away from the forest.
So he waited there for Huo Yuhao to arrive.
Naturally, he was waiting for Huo Yuhao so he could follow him to find the Skydream Iceworm.
Although the Skydream Iceworm's luck had been weakened, it was still a child of destiny. Huo Yuhao might take it away before Yun Luo could even find it.
The reason he did not simply release the Ice Emperor's presence was that, while her presence could attract the Skydream Iceworm, it would also attract other fierce beasts.
So he chose to follow Huo Yuhao and wait until the Skydream Iceworm appeared before releasing the Ice Emperor's presence, letting him choose Yun Luo and offer up his spiritual origin essence.
As for why he dared to come here alone, it was because a voice had sounded in his mind two nights earlier, after he successfully stabilized his cultivation.
While Yun Luo quietly waited and gnawed on his dry rations, Huo Yuhao had already reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. He looked at the scenery before him and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I finally made it to the Star Dou Great Forest."