Chapter 125: Ice Emperor

The last few words nearly turned into a terrifying shriek. The emerald-green sky suddenly darkened into an inky green as an overwhelming, frigid, and bloodthirsty aura descended. Huo Yuqing's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

Even Tianmeng's golden humanoid illusion showed a rare trace of solemnity. "It's not often that I return to the Extreme North. After all these years, you still refuse to come out and see me?"

The delicate and charming girl's voice did not answer his question directly. Instead, she let out a cold snort. "What's the rush? I already said I agreed to make you my mate, didn't I? Just stay there obediently and wait. I am very willing to merge with you!"

The Ice Jade Scorpion clan lived in the harshest region of the Extreme North. Their habits were no different from their close relatives in warmer regions—among them, the physically stronger females, who bore the responsibility of reproduction, would, under extreme circumstances, devour their mates.

This was an instinct formed over billions of years to adapt to their cruel natural environment and ensure the survival of their species.

Ice Emperor believed that now was an extreme circumstance. She had an urgent need for Tianmeng Iceworm's plump and delicious body.

Allowing Tianmeng Iceworm to be her mate for three seconds wouldn't change anything. No soul beast would ever know about it, and fulfilling this big bug's dying wish wasn't a bad idea.

Ice Emperor thought she was being incredibly merciful to her food.

Her voice was crisp and charming, yet her tone was chillingly cold. The terrifying sound waves stabbed into the snow-covered land like sharp ice spikes, sending plumes of snowflakes swirling into the air before crashing down with an imposing force.

The pale golden area Tianmeng Iceworm had been guarding was instantly compressed, leaving only a faintly glowing ring around him.

Without Tianmeng Iceworm's spiritual protection, Huo Yuqing was certain that the sheer force of the sound waves would have crushed her in an instant.

So this was the power of the second-ranking apex beast of the Extreme North?

At that moment, facing a top-tier powerhouse for the first time, Huo Yuqing didn't feel fear.

Instead, her heartbeat accelerated, pounding like a war drum in her chest.

That was the power of just a single sentence.

Ice Emperor had only used her voice, yet she could change the color of the sky and stir up a disaster-like storm.

Would she be able to achieve that in the future?

At this moment, she wasn't thinking about what great power could bring her—she was only experiencing the purest, most primal yearning for strength.

"If it were before, I naturally would have been willing to become your food and die for you." Skydream Iceworm said calmly. "Because you are the most dazzling color in my dull life, and you are also the one I love most in this world. How could I bear to let your life be extinguished in the frigid cold of the Extreme North? If I could trade my life for your breakthrough past the next Heavenly Tribulation, allowing you to live long into the future, I would gladly do so… But now, I can't die. I have found a new path, Bingbing."

"A path… that will lead to eternity—with you!"

For once, Tianmeng Iceworm's tone lacked his usual slick, playful teasing. There was no exaggerated display of deep affection, either. He spoke as if he were stating the most ordinary of facts, though there was an unmistakable fervor in his voice.

"How nice that sounds." Ice Emperor remained unmoved. She didn't believe a word Tianmeng said and only sneered coldly. "You're nothing but a weakling. Talking about eternity? You'd better just sit tight and wait for me to come eat you."

"Don't be so quick to draw conclusions, Bingbing." Tianmeng Iceworm said meaningfully. "Why don't you come stand before me first? Then you can decide."

Huo Yuqing sensed an extremely domineering, frigid energy appearing at the edge of Skydream Iceworm's spiritual detection range. That overwhelming cold seemed to extend along Tianmeng's spiritual power, nearly capable of freezing the soul itself, and it was rapidly approaching them.

"Don't be nervous." Skydream Iceworm's voice rang out in Huo Yuqing's mind. "Even if Ice Emperor truly intends to attack us, I'm confident I can subdue her… And if worst comes to worst, you can use your mimicry ability to simulate the aura of the Auspicious Beast. Though the Extreme North is not ruled by the Auspicious Beast, Ice Emperor would still have to show respect. No soul beast would willingly provoke the wrath of an Emperor Auspicious Beast."

The girl stiffly but resolutely nodded.

In the next instant, the dark clouds dissipated.

The sky, which had been as murky as ink, became clear again, but it was now a pure, jade-green expanse—like the finest emerald, pristine and translucent—yet within it was a bone-chilling cold.

A flash of emerald light streaked past, and a peculiar soul beast appeared before the golden humanoid illusion of Skydream Iceworm.

Huo Yuqing immediately retracted her previous doubts about Skydream Iceworm's aesthetic sense. She instantly understood why he was so obsessed with Ice Emperor.

Huo Yuqing had never imagined that she would use the word "beautiful" to describe a scorpion, but Ice Emperor was simply too breathtaking.

It was a beauty entirely different from that of the Emperor Auspicious Beast.

The true form of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion was dazzling and resplendent, yet at the same time, it was savage and sharp.

She was like the most exquisite killing machine crafted by the Creator—two completely opposite auras coexisting in perfect harmony upon her form.

Her exoskeleton was rigid and covered in sharp edges, exuding an inherent menace. Yet at the same time, her crystalline ice-laced body gleamed brilliantly, with an arresting vibrancy.

Most of Ice Emperor's body was a striking, liquid emerald hue—like the depths of water, like unfurled leaves—shimmering with the clarity of glacial ice. Countless diamond-like translucent ice particles adorned her exterior, radiating an unparalleled brilliance under the light. However, as that vibrant green extended toward the tips of her limbs, it gradually faded into a metallic silver-white sheen. Her mandibles, pincers, the ends of her six legs, and the tip of her tail stinger all glowed with an eerie, deadly luster.

She was a being both stunningly beautiful and terrifyingly lethal.

This was an apex soul beast of the Extreme North.

Ice Emperor stood before Tianmeng Iceworm, hesitating slightly. She could not immediately determine what the two identical golden humanoid figures—exuding the scent of prey—truly were. "What's going on with you…? Do soul beasts gain a chance to reincarnate as humans after reaching a million years?"

Suddenly, she realized something was very wrong. "You're a spiritual body… But that's a real human! His aura isn't exactly like yours! That can't be your body! Where is your actual body?!"

Ice Emperor shrieked, feeling deeply betrayed. It was like a starving office worker receiving their long-awaited food delivery, only to find an empty container with the meal missing!

"Go to hell!" Feeling utterly deceived, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion shrieked in rage, her high-raised tail stinger flashing as a blinding silver-white beam shot straight at Huo Yuqing.

That human brat's features were identical to Skydream Iceworm's illusion, and she carried his aura. There had to be a connection between them. Since Tianmeng was purely a spiritual entity, he couldn't stray too far from his true body… Ice Emperor's instincts told her that this seemingly insignificant human was the key to Skydream's ability to manifest as a spirit.

Thus, she didn't hesitate at all—she attacked Huo Yuqing directly.

"Sigh, you're as adorably short-tempered as ever." Skydream Iceworm sighed. Almost instantly, he appeared in front of Huo Yuqing, blocking the terrifying attack. "I was hoping we could catch up first."

Skydream Iceworm lacked techniques for manipulating spiritual power, so he could only rely on sheer volume to brute-force his way through.

But the vast mental energy he had accumulated over a million years was not something Ice Emperor could easily overcome.

The silver-white beam pierced into Skydream Iceworm's golden form but failed to completely penetrate it. However, instead of dissipating, the light began spreading within his spirit body, frantically tearing apart the golden figure.

At the same time, an immense, almost tangible mental force erupted from Skydream Iceworm's golden silhouette, engulfing Ice Emperor like thick resin, wrapping around the dazzling scorpion.

(End of Chapter)