Xu Guanzheng passed away peacefully.
When he grinned at the Snow Empress embryo, he was in an exceptionally joyful mood.
"Hehehe, in the hands of this uncle's God Conferred Platform, it is no disgrace to your identity as a 100,000-year-old soul beast!"
Xu Guanzheng was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.
Although Xu Guanzheng was an class 8 soul engineer, he was still short on funds. After all, he specialized in sealing-type soul tools, which was not mainstream and was considered more niche.
Some time ago, in his quest to break through to the class 9, he spent his entire fortune to acquire the class 9 soul tool, the God Conferred Platform. Although he still hadn't found a way to achieve the breakthrough, it didn't matter.
As long as he had this 100,000-year-old soul beast embryo, wealth and power were within his grasp.
A person's life revolves around money, power, and pleasure. Now, as long as he reached his destination and activated the God Conferred Platform, the second half of his life would be smooth sailing.
With this mindset, Xu Guanzheng arrived at the Snow Peak Lotus Pond.
"God Conferred Platform, activate..."
Xu Guanzheng: ?
At that moment, Xu Guanzheng felt a sudden daze, as if he had fallen into eternal darkness, and his thoughts came to a halt.
It was the work of Huo Yuhao's killing move!
'What happened?'
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Xu Guanzheng's brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy blow. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, his face twisted in agony, and his pupils dilated with disbelief.
At that moment, all his ambitions, regrets, and aspirations dissipated under the sudden mental assault.
Then, Xu Guanzheng collapsed heavily to the ground, his connection to the world severed.
A dignified Class 8 soul soul engineer had met his end in such a suffocating manner under Huo Yuhao's killing move.
The Mind-grabbing Gu began with a powerful control effect, followed by a soul shock amplified by the Witnessing Gu and the Power doubler Gu, forming a lethal combination that could threaten even a Titled Douluo—the Soul Explosion.
It could be said that unless Huo Yuhao encountered a being whose spiritual power had reached the level of tangible and intangible, there was virtually no chance of failure.
Clearly, Xu Guanzheng's spiritual power had not reached that level.
The ideal soul ring configuration is a 100,000-year red ninth soul ring, but not all soul masters possess the strength to successfully absorb such a ring.
…
Snow Peak Lotus Pond.
A dense white mist hovered above the lotus pond, with strands of ice-attributed elemental energy converging and continuously infusing into it.
It was faintly visible that whenever the elemental energy was injected, the white mist would flicker, and its aura would grow increasingly restrained and weak, as if a new life was about to emerge from within.
At this moment, the Snow Empress was extremely vulnerable, and her perception of the outside world was equally faint.
Suddenly, dozens of meters away, the elemental energy fluctuated, a hidden soul tool shattered, and a human soul master collapsed to the ground.
"Buzz—"
The white mist swirled and instantly retracted into the lotus pond, slightly puzzled and somewhat angered.
Snow Empress: What happened? A human soul master? When did he arrive?
"How could a human appear here?" The Snow Empress's soul trembled. Even with her calm demeanor, she couldn't help but be shocked at this moment.
At this point, she was compressing her original power, and her abilities were largely unusable. The only mental power she could muster covered a radius of just 100 meters, and it didn't even have offensive capabilities.
Her remaining options for counterattack were to ignite her original power and cause a massive explosion, or to forcibly halt her reconstruction, revert to her original form, gather all her power, and unleash her most potent attack.
Both methods would result in the complete collapse of her soul.
At the same time, the Snow Empress felt a deep sense of shame. At such a critical moment, she had been approached by a strange Titled Douluo, and the advanced soul tool in his possession...
Her spiritual power barely touched it, and that trace of energy was instantly devoured. What a domineering sealing ability!
Goose feather snow began to fall, and the temperature dropped several degrees in an instant.
At this moment, the Snow Empress prepared to forcibly halt her reconstruction and engage in a desperate battle with the impending threat.
"Despicable human, die! Go..."
"Xue'er, it's me! I am here!"
The voice of the Ice Empress dispelled the Snow Empress's thoughts just in time.
As Huo Yuhao teleported to the scene, the humanoid Ice Empress appeared on the snow, and the aura of the Ice Jade Scorpion Empress radiated unreservedly across the Extreme North, rushing toward the Snow Empress.
In her state of near-emergence, the Snow Empress felt the familiar aura and call, and the restless ice and snow energy around her momentarily stilled.
"Bing'er, is that you?"
From the lotus pond emerged a human child dressed in blue and white, appearing no older than four or five years old, with a serious expression on her delicate, adorable face.
The Snow Empress looked at the Ice Empress, now the size of a loli, and was momentarily stunned before she could no longer contain her excitement and joy.
"Bing'er, it's really you! How did you become like this? Have you transformed and cultivated before me?"
"Xue'er, don't worry. We are here to protect you. Hurry and continue your transformation and reconstruction. With your current state and the remaining energy in this lotus pond, you still have a chance to complete the process!"
The Ice Empress interrupted the Snow Empress's thoughts with a firm tone.
'We?'
The Snow Empress was confused, but she knew this wasn't the time for questions.
The little loli transformed back into a white mist, absorbing the energy from the Snow Peak Lotus Pond to resume her transformation.
However, with her current mental power, it was a difficult task.
Most of the Snow Empress's original power had been sealed. When the balance of the seal was artificially broken by her, it became nearly impossible to repair.
Unless more original power was used to break the seal, and the Snow Empress, now closer to her perfect state, could do so easily.
But this would be counterproductive.
It wasn't a method of breaking without building. The goal was to repair the seal, not destroy it further.
The Snow Empress was now stuck in a half-transformed state, in an awkward and precarious position.
Having already resolved herself to death, the Snow Empress abandoned the idea of survival after seeing her beloved sister, whom she had longed for day and night.
"Bing'er, it's too late. I can see you again before I die, my life is complete now. If you are fortunate enough later..."
"Xue Di, what nonsense are you talking about!?"
The Ice Empress's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth. "Yuhao, do you think there's any way?"
Huo Yuhao dismissed the Imitation soul skills, looked at the Snow Empress's embryonic form, and said slowly, "Don't worry, I have a solution. If all else fails, let the Snow Empress become my soul, and I will study it further."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, the Ice Empress breathed a sigh of relief.
But the Snow Empress was startled by the sudden appearance of the living person beside her. Under the pressure, she almost instinctively prepared to self-destruct.
It was only under the Ice Empress's persuasion that the Snow Empress calmed down.
"Bing'er, who is this person?" The Snow Empress was suspicious and finally noticed something amiss with the Ice Empress: "And what's wrong with you now?"
The Ice Empress looked at the serious Snow Empress and felt a pang of emotion. She hadn't expected that the two giants of the Extreme North would have fallen to such a state.
Skydream: I am also here!
Skydream remarked that even if a soul beast's cultivation reached the million-year level, it still couldn't become a god.
If it weren't for the Son of Destiny, Skydream might have followed the same path as the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, becoming a mere welfare task in the God Examination.
"This is a long story. Just a year ago..." The Ice Empress briefly explained her relationship with Huo Yuhao.
Then, she approached the lotus pond, took the Snow Empress's hands, and recounted her experiences and stories after meeting Huo Yuhao.
Sacrifice, the God-making plan, the soul...
And now, the Snow Empress had encountered the God Conferred Platform during her reconstruction.
"If we hadn't been here, Xue'er, you might have been captured by that cunning human soul tool..."
Looking at the Ice Empress seeking credit, even the Snow Empress had to admit that Huo Yuhao's story was bizarre and absurd!
From her perspective, she could see the potential value of the soul (soul contract).
And Huo Yuhao's strength—at just 13 years old, he had instantly killed a Titled Douluo. Such talent was unheard of.
If the Ice Empress's body hadn't been present, she might have thought she was dreaming.
At the same time, the Snow Empress couldn't help but marvel at the twists of fate. If it weren't for this series of events, she might have been captured by a human soul master and left with no choice.
Of course, the proud Snow Empress would never accept such a fate. She would rather perish with her enemy than submit.
The Snow Empress sighed, "Alas, I had searched for you before, hoping to help you survive the 400,000-year catastrophe, but you were gone. I thought you had already perished, but it turns out you've become a human soul."
The Ice Empress smiled bitterly, "Even with your help, I couldn't have survived the next catastrophe. I know my limits—390,000 years is my maximum. Unless there was a natural treasure like the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Essence, nothing would have made a difference. That's why I chose this path."
"I thought we sisters would never meet again, but who would have thought..."
Then, the Ice Empress held the white mist with both hands, pressing it against herself with a look of satisfaction and attachment.
Snow Empress: ?
Now, she had no power to resist and could only let the Ice Empress do as she pleased.
While the Ice Empress and Snow Empress chatted, Skydream, unwilling to be left out, poked her head into the spiritual sea, eager to join the conversation.
When the topic of the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Essence came up, Skydream also felt emotional.
It could be said that her fate with the Ice Empress began with this treasure. It was the existence of such a natural treasure that had given rise to the million-year soul beast today!
After emerging, Skydream looked at the little girl—the Snow Empress, now devoid of her usual dignity—and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. "Snow Empress, you're so cute now."
The Snow Empress frowned, looking at the blond girl who had suddenly appeared, and asked in confusion, "Are you also one of Huo Yuhao's souls?"
The Snow Empress was beginning to panic. 'Was there something wrong with this human soul master's tastes?'
"I am Skydream Iceworm, Snow Empress. Have you forgotten? The Ice Empress mentioned me earlier when she spoke of Yuhao..."
Skydream grew anxious and revealed her true form—a tiny ice silkworm with ten golden rings.
"So, you're the ice silkworm that Bing'er chased out of the Extreme North. I never expected that after all these years, when Bing'er's end was near, she would rely on you for a chance at survival. What a twist of fate."
Seeing Skydream's true form, the Snow Empress connected the dots.
"Yes, I must thank you, Snow Empress, for your initial help. But I didn't come here specifically for the Ice Empress. The main reason was that I couldn't find you, Snow Empress, so I settled for the next best option." Skydream sighed, her tone shifting between light and dark.
Hearing this, the Ice Empress frowned and retorted, "You're just lucky, Bin Bug. You stumbled into the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Cave and consumed so much Profound Ice Essence. If Snow Empress and I had absorbed that essence, we wouldn't have needed to worry about the next catastrophe, and we wouldn't have needed your help at all!"
The Ice Empress was clearly displeased: "What's worse, you ended up going to the Star Dou Forest and handed our Extreme North's opportunity to them at a bargain price. Those ferocious beasts are simply asking for death!"
The mystery was solved. The reason the Ice Empress and Snow Empress ranked so low among the top ten ferocious beasts was finally clear.
It was all because Skydream had coveted their opportunity! She was even an enemy!
And Skydream, with Huo Yuhao as her backer, stood her ground:
"Can you blame me? As Yuhao says, treasures of heaven and earth are destined for those who are fated, and I am the chosen one! I am now the first million-year soul beast on the continent! You should show some respect, Ice Empress. Even if you had obtained the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Essence, could you have survived for a million years? Besides, I am the continent's number one soul, and you're only the second!"
"Do you want to die!?" The Ice Empress was furious at Skydream's attitude.
This girl really couldn't go a day without causing trouble.
Skydream shot back, "Come on! Come at me if you dare."
The Ice Empress raised her pink fist, ready to strike.
Skydream dodged and hid behind Huo Yuhao, clinging to his leg. "Yuhao, look, the Ice Empress wants to hit me."
Huo Yuhao sighed, "Alright, the Snow Empress's crisis isn't resolved yet. Everyone, please stay focused and stop fooling around."
"It's fine, just use your soul method."
Skydream boasted about the superiority of her soul method.
Once the Snow Empress joined, it would fill the void left by Electrolux and restore the spiritual sea to a tripartite balance.
By then, the Ice Empress wouldn't be able to bully her anymore.
The Ice Empress looked at the Snow Empress, moved. "Xue'er, what do you say? Become Yuhao's soul and walk the path of eternity together!"
Finally, Huo Yuhao looked at the Snow Empress and said seriously, "Snow Empress, you have two choices. One is to become my soul with my help. The other is, I can assist you in continuing your reconstruction. Which will it be?"
…
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