But in the very next moment, this mighty soul beast who had dominated the Extreme North for hundreds of thousands of years… actually felt cold.
In this frozen, bone-chilling land, the Ice Empress—one of the Three Great Rulers of the Extreme North—realized in shock that even as she thrashed with all her might, she could not break free.
The force restraining her was rapidly growing stronger, squeezing her with an audible creak that made one's teeth ache. No matter how much she struggled, the pressure only intensified.
Her raised pincers were forced downward. Her curled tail, with its sharp stinger, was now pressed tightly against her body.
At this moment, the Ice Empress was completely locked down by Skydream Iceworm's power—there was no escaping it!
"Skydream! What did you do to me?!" she roared furiously.
"Relax, Ice Empress. I won't hurt you—so long as the next part of the plan goes well," Skydream said gently, shaking his head as he looked at the fully restrained Ice Empress.
With a wave of his hand, the snow covering Huo Yuhao and Jiang Qingtong was swept away, revealing the two hidden humans.
Seeing them, the Ice Empress's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "These two humans… your puppets? Wait—what's that aura on this girl?"
She had sensed the overwhelming energy emanating from one of Jiang Qingtong's ninth-tier soul tools, shocked that such a fragile-looking human girl could emit a presence that even she found oppressive.
"Yuhao, pick her up! We need to get moving now. If the Ice Jade Scorpions sense what's happening to their ancestor and start swarming over here, we'll be in deep trouble!" Skydream quickly sealed the Ice Empress in his discarded cocoon and stored it away.
Gritting his teeth, Huo Yuhao glanced at the unconscious Jiang Qingtong, then slung her onto his back and sprinted off at full speed, not sparing an ounce of soul power in his desperate dash through the snow.
He didn't know how long he ran. When his soul power was completely exhausted, he collapsed forward, gasping, "I can't… go any farther… She's too heavy…"
"Come on, Yuhao!" Skydream snapped. "This isn't far enough yet. In this kind of terrain, Ice Jade Scorpions can move way faster than you! We're still within their tracking range!"
"Remember your vow, Yuhao! You swore to avenge your mother. You're carrying her hopes with you—keep running!"
Gritting his teeth, Huo Yuhao forced himself up again. His legs trembled with exhaustion, but he hoisted Jiang Qingtong back onto his back and stumbled forward.
In the distance, dark green figures were rapidly approaching through the snow—countless Ice Jade Scorpions! Most were at the hundred or thousand-year level, but several had cultivation over ten thousand years.
"They found us!" Skydream warned, his tone grim. "Yuhao, keep running! I'll do what I can to throw them off!"
"But—" Huo Yuhao hesitated, worry creasing his brow.
Just then, Jiang Qingtong's hand suddenly clamped onto his shoulder, making him jump.
"Hiss—!"
Huo Yuhao sucked in a breath and turned to look at her. "Cousin?"
Jiang Qingtong didn't know if she was the reason their escape had failed, but she did know that if they were caught now, they'd be in serious trouble.
She opened her eyes, slid off Huo Yuhao's back, brushed off the snow, and waved cheerfully at the golden spiritual form of Skydream floating beside them. "Nice to meet you, Brother Skydream."
Huo Yuhao and Skydream both stared at her, stunned.
Skydream even stammered, "Th-this… how… I clearly knocked you out! With my spiritual power, there shouldn't have been any mistakes…"
Jiang Qingtong smiled and shrugged. "Sorry! My spiritual power is just a little too strong. Plus, I've got a lot of useful trinkets on me. They blocked it."
She looked toward the rapidly approaching Ice Jade Scorpions. "Anyway, now's not the time to discuss this. Let's escape first and talk later."
"You have a plan?" Huo Yuhao asked, his eyes lighting up with hope.
Jiang Qingtong nodded and took out what looked like a mechanical sphere.
"This is a ninth-tier soul tool—Phantom Escape Sphere. Once activated, it moves at the full-speed burst of a Rank 92 Titled Douluo for fifteen minutes in a set direction. Escaping this Ice Jade Scorpion encirclement? Easy."
Seeing the tool, Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up. "That's incredible!"
"Hold on to me," Jiang Qingtong said, extending her hand.
As Huo Yuhao grabbed on, she activated the device.
The small sphere, no larger than a lychee, flared with radiant lines and expanded rapidly, enveloping both of them.
Electric arcs sparked as the device launched them forward with a thunderous bang.
In the blink of an eye, they were gone—leaving the pursuing scorpions far behind. After a quarter of an hour, the sphere finally decelerated and came to a stop in an unfamiliar region.
Skydream glanced around and exhaled. "We're safe now."
Jiang Qingtong recalled the Phantom Escape Sphere and sighed as she stared at its now-dim form. "Sigh… recharging this thing takes forever."
She and Jiang Shengyu had added auto-recharging runes to all their ninth-tier soul tools, but because they couldn't alter the original internal structure, the recharge rate was frustratingly slow.
She packed it away, turned to Huo Yuhao and Skydream, and asked, "So… you two can explain what's going on now, right?"
Huo Yuhao looked awkward and a bit embarrassed. He glanced at Skydream. "Brother Skydream…"
But Skydream turned his back and started whistling innocently.
Left with no choice, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and explained everything to Jiang Qingtong, waiting nervously for her reaction. Would she be angry? She had every right to be, after all the secrets he'd kept from her.
His heart pounded in his chest.
But Jiang Qingtong simply patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Chin up. So what if you have a million-year spirit ring with its own consciousness? It's not that big a deal!"
"Not that big a deal?"
Skydream turned around, frowning deeply. "Little girl, do you even know what you're saying? I'm the only million-year soul beast on the entire continent! My spirit ring is priceless!"
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