Tianmeng didn't know that not far from them, a human had silently avoided detection and was watching all their movements with a smile. At this moment, Tianmeng had already convinced the Ice Empress and was happily fantasizing about enjoying a romantic life with her inside Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
The Ice Empress, on the other hand, was devoting her full strength to helping Huo Yuhao absorb her soul bone. Since she had decided to trust Tianmeng's plan, she would give it her all. In the Ice Empress's mind, only one person could possibly stop her or make her change her mind—but would that person really appear? Her heart felt slightly bitter; after all, that person hadn't come to see her in a very long time.
Huo Yuhao didn't have the luxury of such complicated thoughts. He didn't dare. At this moment, he was pouring all his strength into fusing with the Ice Empress's soul bone. The pain, which drilled deep into his bones, made him want to give up multiple times. But giving up meant death. He couldn't die—not yet. He still had a blood feud to avenge!
"He's... absorbing a soul bone?" Zhu Ziyang seemed to understand what Huo Yuhao was doing, but the confusion in his eyes only deepened. He murmured, "But why? The Ice Empress isn't resisting—she's even cooperating! She doesn't look like she's being forced at all!"
Time ticked by. Huo Yuhao was successfully absorbing the Ice Empress's soul bone, and the next development finally answered Zhu Ziyang's doubts.
He saw a translucent, jade-green projection of the Ice Jade Scorpion appear behind Huo Yuhao. It was nearly identical to a martial soul projection, except this one had spirit—it was alive.
"He's fusing with a martial soul!" Zhu Ziyang's voice carried astonishment. "What a plan! But... can Huo Yuhao really handle it? That's the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion with a cultivation of 390,000 years. Even if you're the Child of Destiny, isn't this a bit too arrogant?"
Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao's body began trembling violently. The scorpion projection behind him, which had been stabilizing, started to dissipate.
"Tianmeng! This won't work! Even with my soul bone fused, he still can't withstand my bloodline!" Inside Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, the Ice Empress was panicking. She had given everything for this plan, and now the foundation of that plan was falling apart—was this some kind of joke?
"Don't panic, Ice Empress! We have to believe in Yuhao! I'm already taking countermeasures!" Tianmeng was panicked too. Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea was cracking, and if it shattered, not only would Yuhao die, but Tianmeng would perish with him. He was bound to Huo Yuhao's soul—his own fate was on the line.
"Brother Tianmeng, don't worry about me—I can do it, I can hold on!" Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth through the pain, thinking of his mother's words.
Tianmeng hesitated. The cracks in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea were slowly beginning to mend, though far too slowly. If his spiritual sea couldn't be stabilized in time, the martial soul fusion with the Ice Empress would be interrupted. Seeing this, Tianmeng couldn't help himself—he released part of his own origin to assist in repairing Yuhao's spiritual sea.
For now, Huo Yuhao's condition stabilized, and the martial soul fusion began inching forward again. However, an irreversible mutation had already begun.
Zhu Ziyang, watching from not far away, saw it all unfold. Watching the Ice Jade Scorpion's projection gradually form a cocoon behind Huo Yuhao, he realized that their plan had likely succeeded.
Snow Empress had been urging him constantly to rescue the Ice Empress. But... did the Ice Empress really need saving? Judging from the current situation, she had clearly agreed to become Huo Yuhao's martial soul. If Zhu Ziyang interfered now, it would likely lead to Huo Yuhao's death—he was only a Soul Grandmaster, after all.
That wasn't something Zhu Ziyang wanted. Huo Yuhao was also the bearer of Tang San's hopes to revive the Tang Sect. If Zhu Ziyang caused his death, Tang San would surely retaliate in a terrifying manner.
So, Zhu Ziyang decided not to intervene. He stood silently just a kilometer away, quietly observing what was undoubtedly a fated transformation in the making.
Whether this fate-changing evolution was caused by Yuhao's own destiny or arranged by the Sea God hiding in the Divine Realm, Zhu Ziyang didn't know. He only knew this path was full of twists and turns.
Suddenly, the cocooned Ice Jade Scorpion projection cracked open. Without warning, Huo Yuhao vomited a mouthful of blood. His complexion turned pale, and even his life force became unstable.
Zhu Ziyang was startled, and inside Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, Tianmeng and the Ice Empress were like ants on a hot stove—panicking.
Everything had been going so well. Huo Yuhao was so close to completing the martial soul fusion. But in the final moment, because Tianmeng had earlier used his origin power to repair Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, the Ice Empress's soul was unable to merge with the martial soul. Tianmeng's intelligent martial soul plan failed catastrophically, and now Huo Yuhao's life hung by a thread.
"Bingbing, I'm sorry—I didn't mean to!" Tianmeng was filled with regret. He never expected one misstep to result in such a devastating outcome.
"Sigh..." Ice Empress was angry, but also helpless. She knew she couldn't blame Tianmeng. She could only sigh and say, "Forget it. Rather than all three of us dying, it's better if I sacrifice myself. Tianmeng, your plan was brilliant. I hope you can carry the will of us soul beasts into the Divine Realm!"
With that, the Ice Empress prepared to leave Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
There were only two ways to fix the crisis. One was for a higher-level being to intervene—but the gods of the Divine Realm had forbidden interference in the mortal world, especially for soul beasts like them. The second option was for the Ice Empress to leave Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea. Her Ice Jade Scorpion bloodline would then form a new martial soul in Yuhao's body, resolving the issue.
But... without a body, only a soul, the Ice Empress would perish the moment she left.
"Bingbing... I'm sorry!" Tianmeng was already crying. His soul origin was so tightly bound to Yuhao's that he couldn't even leave Yuhao's spiritual sea. Otherwise, he would have taken Ice Empress's place in an instant.
In Huo Yuhao's pained yet grateful gaze, in Tianmeng's despairing powerlessness, the Ice Empress quietly departed from Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
There was no time to mourn. Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng immediately began trying to resolve the crisis by condensing the Ice Empress's Ice Jade Scorpion bloodline into a new martial soul.
After leaving Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, the Ice Empress's gaze turned toward the depths of the Extreme North. Longing and reluctance filled her eyes. She drifted in that direction—wanting, before her death, to see that one person again. If possible, she wanted to die in her arms and end her misguided life.
The moment her soul appeared outside, Zhu Ziyang noticed immediately. Inside his spiritual sea, the Snow Empress pleaded with him.
"Teacher, I beg you!" Zhu Ziyang hesitated for a moment, but his heart softened. He turned to Electrolux, who had been quietly observing all this.
"Piece of cake!" Electrolux laughed heartily. "That big scorpion doesn't seem to be just a soul—you might've picked up a rare treasure this time, Ziyang!"
"What?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned. Just then, the Snow Empress reminded him, and without further thought, he released his Heavenly Frost Holy Dragon Martial Soul—revealing four soul rings, all belonging to Snow Empress.
The moment her aura emerged, the Ice Empress, who had been floating toward the depths of the Extreme North, halted in midair. Then, she turned and flew toward Zhu Ziyang.
When she reached above his head, Electrolux extended a massive grey hand, easily grasping her soul and pulling her into Zhu Ziyang's spiritual sea.
As her soul entered, Zhu Ziyang finally understood what Electrolux meant.
The Ice Empress's soul was attached to a jade-green orb. Just like the Snow Empress's Snow Core, this jade orb was her life origin—the Ice Core!
When the giant hand grabbed her, she instinctively tried to resist. But sensing the Snow Empress's aura on it, she gave up all resistance and joyfully let herself be taken into the new space.
Inside Zhu Ziyang's spiritual sea, with the Snow Empress's aura surrounding her, Ice Empress immediately forgot everything else. All she wanted was to say one thing to Tianmeng:
"Tianmeng, don't come looking for me. I'm afraid Snow Empress will misunderstand!"
(End of Chapter)
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