The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm used his shed skin to trap the Ice Empress. She could hardly believe it.
"No, no, that's impossible!"
"Tian Meng, y-you useless wretch, how could you possibly hold me?"
"What kind of skill is this? Why can't even my abilities break through it?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had taken on Huo Yuhao's form, wore a faint smile.
"I've waited far too long for this day."
"You don't know why, do you? I'll answer that for you, but not now."
"Once we leave here, I'll have a proper talk with you."
Tian Meng Ice Tea looked up at the sky and sighed.
"I never expected that, after losing my body, I'd be able to use methods I never dared imagine before."
"What a pity! I could only use this method once."
With a flash of golden light, he dove into Huo Yuhao's sea of spirit beneath the ice cave and said excitedly:
"Yuhao, Yuhao, how are you?"
"Brother did it!"
"Let's get out of here. Once the Ice Empress's people discover that her presence has vanished, they'll come looking for her. We'll be in trouble then."
Although Huo Yuhao's body was stiff with cold, his mind was exceptionally clear.
"Why?"
he asked coldly from within his sea of spirit.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze for a moment, utterly baffled.
"What do you mean, why?"
"We're in danger right now. Whatever it is, we can talk about it once we're out."
Huo Yuhao said coldly:
"Why did you deceive me?"
"Did you really come here just to help me awaken a second martial soul?"
"Then what was all that just now?"
As he spoke, his voice gradually filled with grief and indignation.
"Tian Meng, you know that after I left the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, you were the first companion to bring me hope. I regarded you as a teacher, as my closest friend. You were the one who gave me a goal."
"But why did you deceive me?"
"Why?"
"Was it just to turn me into a puppet?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's face grew darker as he listened, and he cursed:
"Has your brain frozen stupid?"
"I brought you an unprecedented Million-Year Soul Ring, and now I've made plans to get you the Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, as your martial soul. What do you think I did it all for?"
"How have I harmed you in any way?"
After merging with Huo Yuhao, he had discovered that it was a trap, and he was missing a tenth of his origin power. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"Without me, what do you think you'd amount to?"
"Without my Million-Year Soul Ring, do you think Bei Bei and Tang Ya would have taken you into the Tang Sect with nothing but a ten-year First Soul Ring?"
"Without my Soul Ring, do you think you could have gotten into Shrek Academy? Would the Soul Tool Department have taken an interest in you?"
The silkworm and the human quarreled.
But the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's powerful spiritual power suddenly picked up something alarming. He sensed snowflakes swirling unusually all around them, and the snowfall was growing heavier.
"Shut your mouth for a moment!"
He sensed a terrifying pressure that made even his heart tremble.
"The Snow Empress is here!"
"Run! Run!"
the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm urged in a panic.
Huo Yuhao was still somewhat angry and hesitated without moving.
Furious, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm bit him.
"Run already! Are you trying to drag Brother down and have me buried here with you?"
Only then did Huo Yuhao leap out of the ice cave and run with all his might.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm watched the heavy snow falling for a hundred miles and beyond. The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became.
"Bingbing."
He looked at the Ice Empress wrapped in his shed skin, reluctant to part with her, but in the end, he painfully left her behind.
Huo Yuhao immediately grew anxious.
"Tian Meng, what are you doing now?"
"Didn't you say you'd make the Ice Empress my second martial soul?"
At that, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's anger flared.
"How can you even bring yourself to ask?"
"I told you to leave just now, but you wouldn't. You had to argue with Brother."
"Now the Snow Empress is here. With those short little legs of yours, even if we let the Ice Empress go, how much chance do we have of surviving?"
"Isn't that because you deceived me first?"
The human and the silkworm began arguing again as they ran.
The Snow Empress arrived with Chu Qing and landed beside the trapped Ice Empress.
The Snow Empress struck with her sword, somewhat surprised when she failed to break the seal.
The Ice Empress sensed her and rejoiced.
"Snow Empress, is that you?"
The Ice and Snow Empresses struck the same point together, breaking through the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed skin.
The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion broke free and glanced at Chu Qing, finding him somewhat odd. Furious, she said:
"Snow Empress, I'll explain later. First, I'm going to catch that bastard Tian Meng and bring him back."
As she spoke, green light flashed around the Ice Empress, and she turned into a beam of emerald light that streaked after them. It left ripples across the air, staining even the dark sky emerald green.
Meanwhile, the fleeing Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stopped arguing.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said wearily:
"There's no point running. Let's wait for death."
"If I'd known it would come to this, I should never have left the Far North. I let those bastards in Star Dou drain my Soul Power for nothing. I'd have been better off letting Bingbing have her way from the start."
Huo Yuhao was in a complete panic. He too could sense that terrifying presence on the distant horizon behind him.
"Brother Sky Dream, hurry and think of something!"
"I don't want to die yet. I haven't taken revenge on the White Tiger Duke's Mansion."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm only sighed.
At that moment, the gray bead in Huo Yuhao's sea of spirit sensed something and suddenly trembled.
Huo Yuhao was running for his life when a spatial rift suddenly appeared before him. Unable to dodge in time, he plunged straight into a deathly still world.
The instant he entered, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm became alert. He released his immense spiritual power and saw white bones buried in the ground. Farther out, there were many more terrifying undead creatures.
The gray bead in Huo Yuhao's sea of spirit transformed into Electrolux. Sensing the danger, he awoke and appeared before Huo Yuhao.
"I am Electrolux, the Holy Necromancer. There is no need to be afraid. This is my Undead Demiplane."
Astonished by the power of the old man before him, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm couldn't help asking:
"Are you a god?"
Electrolux shook his head.
"I am merely a mortal who was unwilling to become a god."
Outside, the Ice Empress had suddenly lost track of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Baffled, she searched the area over and over.
Before long, the Snow Empress arrived behind her with Chu Qing.
The Snow Empress said:
"Ice Empress, there's no need to keep looking."
"Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm has little fighting ability, he's first-rate at escaping. With his powerful spiritual power, once he's vanished from sight, there's no point chasing him."
The Ice Empress snorted coldly and stopped searching.
She turned into a beam of green light and landed before the Snow Empress and Chu Qing, having already assumed human form.
Her long emerald hair was tied into twin ponytails with golden ornaments, and she wore a crown on her head. She had orange-gold eyes and wore a green shawl, a white top, and a long emerald skirt.
Her lovely face had less pride than the Snow Empress's, but more of a cool, striking beauty.
Four emerald-green demonic markings adorned each side of her charming, fair face.
Her skin was as white as ice and snow, with a translucent quality.
Green light faintly flowed beneath her skin.
Her anger at failing to catch the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had yet to fade. She glared at Chu Qing and said:
"Snow Empress, is this a snack you brought me?"