Without the slightest hesitation, Huo Yuhao dove straight into the spring's eye. Snow Empress and Ice Empress followed closely behind.
The moment he entered the spring's eye—whoosh—his body suddenly felt weightless. The pressure around him dropped dramatically, and he found himself falling into a small cavern.
It was pitch black inside, yet oddly, there was no trace of spring water. Almost instinctively, Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and took a breath.
Instantly, an unimaginably frigid chill surged into his body with that single breath. In that moment, Huo Yuhao felt like everything within him—even his soul—had frozen solid. His entire body stiffened, paralyzed on the spot.
He hadn't expected the icy aura of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow within the cavern to be this terrifying—as if it could truly freeze one's soul.
On his forehead, the Eye of Destiny opened wide. The dual forces of destruction and life burst forth from his spiritual power, forcefully pulling him out from the soul-numbing grasp of the extreme ice.
At the same time, two rays of light—ice blue and emerald green—flared in front of him. Ice Empress and Snow Empress appeared, hovering in midair, casting light throughout the cavern.
It was a small space, no more than ten square meters across and only about one and a half meters tall. Huo Yuhao had entered at an angle just to fit.
Inside the cavern, a dozen strange ice pillars stood, crossing each other in random patterns, varying in size. Each one was pure white—so pristine that even the colored glow from Ice Empress and Snow Empress couldn't taint them. They remained flawless as jade.
Within those flawless ice pillars, liquid faintly flowed. The terrifying chill emanated from them—intense and pure.
Unlike the restrained cold of the Ice God Crystals, the chill here was uncontainable. The air itself felt thick. The concentration of ice elements had reached a level so dense that even Huo Yuhao couldn't absorb them.
"This is it. This is the Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow," Ice Empress said with deep reverence.
Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow...
Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up. Before him was a supreme treasure powerful enough to have elevated Snow Empress to the level of Beast God. If he could absorb it at his current cultivation level, what kind of boost would it bring to his future path? How much faster would it accelerate his journey to godhood? He couldn't even imagine.
Moreover, with this Ice Marrow, he could refine the perfect Jade Ice Pill to resolve the bloodline issue of Meng Hongchen's Ice Toad. That was just as important.
And that wasn't all—this Ice Marrow would also benefit Snow Empress, his soul spirit by equal contract, and Ice Empress, who had become his second martial soul. Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao calmly turned to look at them.
In the near-absolute-zero environment of the cavern, even with his extreme ice martial soul, Huo Yuhao could do nothing more than move his eyes. His body had already started to stiffen from the cold.
Noticing his gaze, Ice Empress turned to look at him. Seeing his frozen form, she said in a low voice:
"Yuhao, the temperature in the Ten Thousand Year Ice Cavern is nearly absolute zero. With your current extreme ice cultivation, you can't move at all. Don't try to do anything—just stay still. Even doing nothing will benefit you greatly. We'll begin absorbing some of the Ice Marrow to reduce the surrounding cold. Once the concentration drops, you'll slowly adapt. Just keep your mind clear and conscious."
"Okay," Huo Yuhao replied simply. He understood what Ice Empress meant. Experiencing this nearly unparalleled cold would be a tremendous benefit to his cultivation.
He knew he was in a passive state right now. But in the original story, both Snow Empress and Ice Empress were trustworthy. Now, with them by his side, he trusted these soul beasts completely. He didn't worry that they might try to use the Ice Marrow to rebuild their bodies and regain freedom.
Even so, trust aside, the Skydream Iceworm couldn't hold back. With a flash of light, it emerged from Huo Yuhao's body. Though not an extreme ice attribute being, it undoubtedly had the most experience when it came to the Ice Marrow.
Huo Yuhao concentrated his spiritual power and began quietly observing his surroundings. Though his body was frozen, an ice-blue sheen covered his surface, silently guarding him. With an extreme ice martial soul, he wouldn't freeze to death. He simply wasn't able to resist the cold right now.
"Bingbing, what do you plan to do?" Skydream Iceworm asked Ice Empress.
Ice Empress replied solemnly, "Even though we no longer have physical bodies, the Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow is the purest ice-type treasure in existence. If we use it as a base and merge our origins into it, it might be possible to form new bodies. These would still be energy-based forms, but if we succeed, we'd be able to survive even if separated from Yuhao. And if something were to happen to him, we could..."
She paused, her gaze falling on Huo Yuhao.
Through spiritual intent, Huo Yuhao responded. His expression remained calm.
"You'd be able to leave me and search for another host who might help you achieve immortality. With the Ice Marrow, your spiritual origins would gain a stable vessel, no longer at risk of fading away."
Hearing this, Skydream Iceworm was stunned and stared at Huo Yuhao in disbelief. Ice Empress gave a bitter smile and said helplessly:
"Across lifetimes, you're still the chosen one. Even with the chance of freedom and rebirth right in front of us... Yuhao, your brilliance is just too dazzling. I can't imagine my future being brighter than it is now, walking alongside you. I'm sorry, Yuhao. I shouldn't have tested you. I have no intention of reconstructing my body. Snow and I—we've both sworn never to betray you. That is the pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses."
Snow Empress, who had been silently watching, gently nodded. That pride meant they would never betray Huo Yuhao. She understood Ice Empress—despite her words, she would never actually act on the idea of regaining freedom by rebuilding a physical body.
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, unsurprised.
"It's alright, Ice Empress. I know you wouldn't do that. That said, we should absorb the Ice Marrow together. First, I couldn't possibly absorb all of it by myself. If I tried, I'd fall into a deep sleep like Brother Skydream did—and that would be a disaster. Second..."
(End of Chapter)
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