Chu Qing opened his eyes, which were full of excitement, but his expression gradually changed.
He could feel Tang Wutong's Soul Power intertwining with his own.
He slowly realized what was happening.
They could even have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?
He was speechless. He shoved Tang Wutong awake as she leaned against him, still drooling.
Tang Wutong woke with a start and looked around in confusion.
"What? Have we reached the Far North?"
As she spoke, she frowned and asked in puzzlement:
"Strange. How did my Soul Power break through to level 39 on its own while I was asleep?"
Xu Jiujiu came over and offered her congratulations:
"Haven't you realized yet?"
"You two seem to be able to use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and judging by the look of it, your fusion compatibility is very high, possibly over ninety percent."
Tang Wutong looked at Chu Qing in shock and disbelief:
"How is that possible?"
Chu Qing looked her up and down and said:
"It really is surprising."
"But I have a feeling that, with or without you, I can still be invincible under heaven."
Tang Wutong puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"Hmph! You make it sound like I can't do the same."
"No matter how strong you are, you only have one Martial Soul. I have the noble Twin Martial Souls."
Xu Jiujiu found it even more unbelievable as she listened. She hadn't expected the two of them to have such high Martial Soul fusion compatibility despite this. She smiled and asked:
"Don't you want to try your Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"
"No."
"No."
The two answered in unison.
"All right, then let's continue on our way."
Xu Jiujiu smiled and climbed back on.
They traveled into the Heavenly Soul Empire and headed for the Far North on its northern frontier.
Chu Qing thought that Huo Yuhao should be somewhere in the Far North by now too.
A great deal had happened in the Far North over the past month or two.
The Ice Empress had become Huo Yuhao's Second Martial Soul, and the Snow Empress had been captured after recultivating into a human.
He thought that if the Ice Empress hadn't chosen to sacrifice herself, there was a very good chance she would have protected the recultivating Snow Empress until she reached at least level 70.
If he were the Ice Empress, swallowing the recultivating Snow Empress would have been a better bargain.
He looked over the attendants Xu Jiujiu had brought. There was only one Soul Saint with a snow-element Martial Soul, which struck him as a little strange.
They arrived at a small frontier town on the outskirts of the Far North.
Xu Jiujiu brought them to a courtyard residence.
Chu Qing looked over the people there and couldn't help feeling alarmed. Many had extremely powerful presences. Though they were concealing their cultivation, he felt that several of them were at least Titled Douluo.
Xu Jiujiu took a marked map and prepared to set out.
Chu Qing said to Tang Wutong:
"Senior Sister, stay here. Your cultivation is too low. It wouldn't be good if anything happened to you in there."
Tang Wutong, however, seemed extremely confident.
"Don't worry about me. Even if you die in there, nothing could possibly happen to me."
Chu Qing let her have her way.
Besides the three of them, only the Soul Saint with the snow-element Martial Soul accompanied them inside.
Chu Qing took the map from Xu Jiujiu and saw that quite a few Soul Beasts of suitable ages were marked on it.
They went to the area where an Ice Shard Phantom Deer had been spotted, but came up empty-handed.
Chu Qing looked at Tang Wutong, who was shivering from the cold, and said:
"You should go back first."
"It'll be even colder if we go farther in to look for the Nine-Tailed Snow Fox."
"Hmph, I'm not cold at all."
Partway there, he noticed that her lips had turned purple from the cold. Helplessly, Chu Qing took her hand, and their Soul Power mingled.
Tang Wutong still refused to concede.
"You brat, you've finally grown a bit of a conscience."
As they continued inward, they heard the sounds of fighting from afar.
They crept closer, but the battle had already ended. An Ice Jade Scorpion was devouring the corpse of a Nine-Tailed Snow Fox.
The Soul Saint was surprised:
"Why is there an Ice Jade Scorpion out here on the outskirts?"
Xu Jiujiu, however, was delighted. She grabbed Chu Qing's sleeve in excitement:
"Chu Qing, you really are my lucky star! Although this Ice Jade Scorpion is only eight thousand years old, I want it for my Fifth Soul Ring."
Chu Qing nodded, though he still had some reservations.
"But..."
The Soul Saint misunderstood, thinking he lacked the strength, and said:
"It's all right. This Ice Jade Scorpion is a bit formidable, but if you and I attack together, a mere eight-thousand-year Soul Beast won't be a problem."
Chu Qing said:
"That's not what I meant."
"Forget it. I'm interested too, anyway. Let's take it down first and talk later."
He used Martial Soul Possession, sprang out from behind the snowy slope, and flew toward the Ice Jade Scorpion.
The Ice Jade Scorpion immediately sensed him and turned around.
Azure light streamed from Chu Qing's eyes as he simultaneously unleashed his Slow Domain.
The Ice Jade Scorpion's movements were instantly restricted.
Chu Qing's Fifth Soul Ring lit up.
Imperial Rage Heaven Slaughter.
Seven bull-python shields in seven colors arrayed themselves between him and the Ice Jade Scorpion. Soul Power boiled within him, and azure feathers of light surged around his right hand, forming an eighteen-foot azure snake lance.
He hurled it with a sudden thrust.
The eighteen-foot snake lance pierced through the seven colored shields in succession. The shields transformed into terrifying power that converged on the lance.
Radiating a terrifying might, the eighteen-foot snake lance pinned the Ice Jade Scorpion to the snow with a single strike.
The terrifying power erupted in an instant, transforming into a Sky Azure Bull Emperor Python wreathed in a captivating seven-colored halo. It coiled around the Ice Jade Scorpion and crushed it.
The Sky Azure Bull Emperor Python raised its head and roared at the sky, then turned and swallowed downward in a single bite. Astonishing explosions erupted both inside and outside the Ice Jade Scorpion, their sound shaking the land for a hundred miles around.
A deep pit had been blasted into the ground. The Ice Jade Scorpion's remains lay in pieces, and a purplish-black Soul Ring floated in the air.
Killed in one blow.
The Soul Saint stared in shock. He knew he couldn't have withstood that strike.
Xu Jiujiu ran over in delight.
As Chu Qing gathered the Ice Jade Scorpion's remains, he stopped Xu Jiujiu, who was about to absorb the Soul Ring, and said:
"The Ice Jade Scorpion has Ultimate Ice. Even ice-element Soul Masters have difficulty absorbing it, and your Star Crown Martial Soul isn't ice-attributed. If you try to absorb it, there's a very good chance something will go wrong."
Xu Jiujiu frowned slightly. She was the only one here who needed a Martial Soul, so Chu Qing had no reason to lie to her.
She looked at the Soul Ring with great regret.
Chu Qing gave her half of the Ice Jade Scorpion's remains and said:
"Take these back and study them at your leisure."
"As long as I'm here, I won't let you absorb this Soul Ring."
"If you want to absorb an Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Ring, we can go back first. You can have someone else bring you here to hunt another one."
Xu Jiujiu sighed and said:
"There's no need. Chu Qing, of course I trust you."
"All right. Since I promised you, I'll help you find a suitable Soul Beast."
More than ten days after they left that place, they encountered a fifteen-thousand-year-old Frost Moon Phantom Butterfly on their way to find an Ice Soul Spirit Fox. It had a pair of transparent, silvery-white wings, and with a gentle spread of its wings, the surrounding air instantly condensed into frost.
Tang Wutong's eyes darted about when she saw it.
Chu Qing let go of her hand and unceremoniously punched her on the head.
"Stop looking. It's not suitable for you."
"Hers has been tested. She didn't just take a fancy to it on a whim like you."
Xu Jiujiu said:
"This is the one."
"All right."
Chu Qing immediately made his move.