"Phew..."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm let out a long breath, his golden figure dimming somewhat. "I never expected that after losing my body, I'd actually be able to use my million years of spiritual power to this extent."
"Unfortunately, this was the only time I could do it."
Tian Meng's voice rang out in the Sea of Consciousness. "Done, Xiao Yan! I've trapped Bingbing in the Sea of Consciousness! Now you just need to convince her, and our plan will succeed!"
Xiao Yan didn't take up the subject. He rose straight from the snow shelter and ran outside. "Lead the way. I'll get out of here first. We made too much noise just now. If it draws any Ferocious Beasts, we'll be in trouble."
"Right, right, right!"
Tian Meng came to his senses and hurriedly gave Xiao Yan directions. "Southeast. There aren't many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts over there."
Xiao Yan immediately roused his Soul Power and ran at full speed. The snow beneath his feet automatically condensed into ice, keeping him from sinking into it.
As for the Xiao Clan Soul Saint farther away, he had long since received Xiao Yan's instructions and was waiting on the outskirts, ready to provide support at any moment.
The Far North's frigid wind whipped into his face, carrying flecks of snow. He was moving so fast, and without the shed skin to protect him, it stung his face and made the ground ahead hard to see. Still, he didn't stop, running for two hours in one go.
Only after reaching the outskirts of the Far North did he stop beneath an ice slope sheltered from the wind.
"This should be far enough."
Tian Meng's voice rang out. "There aren't many Soul Beasts within a hundred li."
Xiao Yan caught his breath and wiped the ice chips from his face. "How much longer can you keep the Ice Empress trapped?"
"Another few hours won't be a problem." Tian Meng sounded a little smug. "Don't worry, my shed skin is plenty tough."
Xiao Yan nodded. "Let the Ice Empress out. We'll talk to her first."
"Sure thing!"
A mass of golden light poured from between Xiao Yan's brows and condensed in midair into a sphere a meter across. The light flashed, and a figure of ice and green was released from within.
The moment the Ice Empress landed, she was about to go berserk, but the white membrane immediately pressed against her, binding her tightly once more.
Her pincers were pinned against her body, and she couldn't raise her tail stinger. She could only twist her body in fury.
"Tian Meng! You good-for-nothing, let me out!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's golden apparition floated nearby, his voice carrying a smug note as he sought credit. "Bingbing, stop struggling. You've tried so many times, you should know it's no use."
The Ice Empress shot him a cold glare. "Hmph. Once I get free, you'll be the first one I eat!"
The smile on the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's face faded somewhat, and his voice grew somber. "Bingbing, I didn't come looking for you today to trade barbs."
The Ice Empress's movements paused slightly.
Tian Meng continued, "I came back this time because I'm already dead."
"What?"
The Ice Empress jerked her head up, her jade-green eyes fixed on him.
"I escaped."
"Escaped?" The Ice Empress was baffled, though she had calmed down considerably.
Now she was the fish on the chopping board, and the human Soul Master behind Tian Meng didn't seem to have come with friendly intentions.
The bounce and laughter vanished from Tian Meng's voice. "Back then, deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, a few Ferocious Beasts caught me. They wanted to drain my origin dry."
"Luckily, I found a chance to slip free like a golden cicada shedding its shell. Unfortunately, my body was already close to collapse by then. But even without them, I wouldn't have survived my next million-year heavenly tribulation."
He paused. "I suppose it was a blessing in disguise, since it let me meet Xiao Yan. He's a spiritual-type tool Soul Master, and he's exceptionally gifted. Even his physique is extraordinarily strong. So I willingly became his Wisdom Soul Ring, and that was how I preserved my Soul Spirit."
"You're crazy." The Ice Empress's voice was low. "Living in symbiosis with a human? You're a million-year Soul Beast..."
"A million years?" Tian Meng smiled, a trace of bitterness in his smile. "So what? Do you think I could have survived the heavenly tribulation?"
The Ice Empress fell silent.
Tian Meng floated half a meter forward. "Bingbing, you know better than I do. In less than a hundred years, your four-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation will come. Do you think you can make it through?"
The Ice Empress said nothing, but a barely perceptible flicker of uncertainty passed through her jade-green eyes.
Tian Meng knew he'd hit the mark and struck while the iron was hot. "I don't want to die, and neither do you. So I have a suggestion."
"What suggestion?"
"Create a god."
The Ice Empress froze. "Create a god?"
Tian Meng's golden figure moved aside, revealing Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan's face was calm. His deep black eyes met the Ice Empress's gaze, his expression neither servile nor overbearing.
Tian Meng said, "Bingbing, this is Xiao Yan, the human Soul Master most likely to become a god in this era!"
The Ice Empress studied Xiao Yan for a few breaths. She could tell his Soul Power was at level thirty-three, but his spiritual power was comparable to a Soul King's. Such monstrous talent made him a top genius among humans.
Even so, she paused. "Becoming a god... is too difficult."
"That's why I came to you."
Tian Meng's voice grew earnest. "I can help him improve his spiritual power, and you can grant him Ultimate Ice as his third Martial Soul. As long as we join forces, Xiao Yan will definitely become a god!"
"Then neither of us will have to die. We can become gods and live forever with him!"
The Ice Empress fell silent for a long time. The human before her actually had Twin Martial Souls!!
Ice and snow swirled around her, but not a single snowflake could land on the white membrane.
She looked at Xiao Yan again, complicated emotions entering her jade-green eyes.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm watched her expression from the side, and one third of the stone weighing on his heart fell away.
He knew he'd said everything he needed to say. The rest depended on what Bingbing chose.
Xiao Yan stood where he was without speaking, his gaze calm and composed.
In the original story, the Ice Empress's choice of Huo Yuhao had been a desperate gamble with no other way out.
But now, with his own talent for Twin Martial Souls, becoming a god was inevitable. The Ice Empress's help would merely speed up the process.
"Will you agree, Bingbing? The two of us can work together to create a new god and enjoy endless life alongside Xiao Yan!!"
"That's enough."
Xiao Yan spoke up, cutting the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm off.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze for a moment. "...All right."
"Ice Empress, it seems you still haven't grasped the situation."
Expressionless, Xiao Yan took two steps forward until he faced the Ice Empress, looking into her yellow eyes.
"I'm destined to become a god."
Xiao Yan's voice wasn't particularly loud. "My third Martial Soul could be the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, or it could be the Polar Demon Bear. Any of the Far North's ten great Ferocious Beasts could be my Martial Soul."
"You should be grateful you have this chance. If not for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, you wouldn't even have met me today. Do you understand?"
Xiao Yan's words were arrogant to the extreme, but he did have the strength to back up his confidence.
The Ice Empress's topaz eyes narrowed slightly. "Human Soul Master, you seem very confident."
"I've always been confident. You'll find that out eventually. Of course, that's if there is an eventually..."
Xiao Yan smiled confidently, then his expression suddenly turned cold. "So, starting now, you have three minutes to consider."
With that, Xiao Yan said no more and sat down cross-legged, perfectly composed.
Once Xiao Yan had finished speaking, the atmosphere grew somewhat tense.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explained to the Ice Empress, "Bingbing, Xiao Yan is young, and he spoke a little impulsively, but his talent can definitely-"
The Ice Empress cut him off. "Shut up. I don't need you to tell me. I can judge for myself!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately fell silent.
The Ice Empress sank into thought, her heart far from calm.
She had lived for nearly four hundred thousand years and seen countless powerful humans, yet now she felt the chill of death from a twelve-year-old boy.
She knew her own condition. In less than a hundred years, her four-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation would descend.
She couldn't survive it. She knew that better than anyone.
She feared death. The longer she lived, the more she feared it.
This brat was arrogant, but his talent was truly astonishing.
Add Tian Meng's ultimate spiritual origin and her Ultimate Ice, and they would create a Soul Master with Triple Martial Souls!
His chances of becoming a god would be immense!
Even if he ultimately failed to become a god, with his aptitude, he would at least become a Limit Douluo!
And a Limit Douluo could live for at least three to five hundred years!
By following Xiao Yan, she could live for at least several more centuries.
At worst, she could see the world for a few hundred more years. That was better than being reduced to ashes in a few decades.
"Three minutes are up."