Chapter 126: Kidnapping the Ice Empress

Thick, viscous spiritual power enveloped the Ice Empress like resin.

The Skydream Iceworm's talent was limited. Although his total spiritual power was vast, he had never been able to reach a level where it had form and substance. However, it was still not to be underestimated.

Trapped as she was, the Ice Empress did not panic or struggle. Instead, she raised her eyes coldly to look at the Skydream Iceworm. "Skydream, how long do you think you can hold me like this? Once your spiritual power is nearly exhausted, that will be the moment of your death. I advise you to give up while you still can—at least that way, your corpse might still retain some nutrients."

"It's fine. I only need to restrain you for a little while," the Skydream Iceworm said softly. "When I was alive, I was a worthless threat to you. But once I'm dead, everything changes."

A faint, white light film silently spread across the ground, blending seamlessly with the snow. Even with the Ice Empress's formidable strength, she did not notice it.

When the light film reached beneath her, it suddenly surged upward, directly enveloping her body!

Only then did the Ice Empress panic.

The Skydream Iceworm's immense spiritual power had merely restricted her movements. If she exerted her full strength, she could still break free. But that thin layer of white light was different.

That seemingly fragile, insignificant light carried a terrifying sense of oppression. Having survived in the Extreme North for so long, the Ice Empress had an exceptionally keen sense for danger. In that instant, she realized that this time, the Skydream Iceworm truly had the ability to threaten her. She immediately began to struggle frantically.

White and green light intertwined and flashed, and one overwhelming skill after another was unleashed with full force, without a single ounce of restraint… Yet, it was already too late.

"This is what remains of my corpse… the shed remains of a million-year soul beast. It should be enough to trap her for a while." The Skydream Iceworm's self-mocking voice echoed in Huo Yuqing's spiritual sea. "If I were still alive, I wouldn't have been able to do this."

That frail layer of white light contracted at an astonishing speed, yet no matter how powerful the Ice Empress's attacks were, they could not shake it in the slightest. The sturdy shell of her body even emitted a sharp, grating sound as it was scraped by the light!

Had the Ice Empress truly considered the Skydream Iceworm a real threat, the white light would never have been able to touch her… But who could have expected that the fried chicken on their plate would suddenly leap up and kick them in the face?

She had paid the price for her arrogance.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" The immobilized Ice Jade Scorpion was consumed with fury, yet her greatest weapons—her razor-sharp pincers and venomous stinger—were bound tightly to her sides by the white light, unable to move.

The Ice Empress shot a cold glare at the Skydream Iceworm before opening her mouth. A strange, soundless screech rippled outward.

Her hexagonal, yellow-crystal-like eyes even held a hint of satisfaction.

Huo Yuqing heard nothing, yet she could sense an unusual energy wave spreading through the air, making her brain tingle. Meanwhile, the Skydream Iceworm's expression immediately darkened.

With a somewhat panicked motion, he pointed at the Ice Empress. In a flash of golden light, the magnificent scorpion suddenly… vanished into thin air.

"Damn it all!" The Skydream Iceworm's face—an illusionary one identical to Huo Yuqing's—was twisted in comical frustration. "She's a four-hundred-thousand-year-old scorpion, and when she couldn't beat me, she actually called for her descendants? How shameless! Yuqing, run!"

Huo Yuqing immediately activated her soul power, using every ounce of strength to flee southward.

"What do we do now?" she asked calmly in her spiritual sea. However, her hands were trembling slightly, gripping tightly onto the claw blade that Wang Rui had given her—because within the range of the Skydream Iceworm's spiritual detection, countless terrifying energy fluctuations had suddenly appeared. These were likely the "descendants" the Ice Empress had summoned—and there was no way she and the Skydream Iceworm could handle them.

She could feel the Skydream Iceworm recklessly expending his spiritual power, using his Mimicry soul skill while simultaneously plotting an escape route for her that would avoid the greatest dangers.

"Thank the Auspicious Beast, the Ice Empress still has personal motives. The screech she sent out was the Ice Jade Scorpion clan's hunting signal—only Ice Jade Scorpions can hear it, so other species in the Extreme North won't be drawn in," the Skydream Iceworm said rapidly. Huo Yuqing could tell he was nervous; the more anxious he was, the more he tended to ramble. "Well, Iceworms can hear it too, since we have to avoid the Ice Jade Scorpions, but none of my kind will come after us… I mean, I've already hidden the Ice Empress's energy fluctuations. This was my mistake—I didn't expect her to be so dishonorable and just call for backup… Among her descendants, there are a few hundred-thousand-year-old scorpions. I'm doing my best to lure them in another direction—anyway, as long as we escape the core region, we win!"

Huo Yuqing nodded.

The vast, frigid energy of those terrifying creatures hovered just at the edge of the Skydream Iceworm's detection range. Gritting her teeth, she pushed her body to its limits, draining every last drop of her soul power as she sprinted for her life, without a moment's respite.

She was afraid, yet also strangely exhilarated.

The most fearsome hunters of the icy plains were chasing her, while she, Huo Yuqing, was escaping with their clan leader as her trophy!

She was weak, yet she was toying with these powerful soul beasts!

"Haha! That's right! Screw the Ice Jade Scorpions!" The Skydream Iceworm was laughing in her spiritual sea. He mocked his former predators, having kidnapped their leader, executing a plan he had schemed for so long. He had taken the scorpion he liked, and he had a friend and accomplice escaping the snowy wilderness alongside him. Among soul beasts, if you liked someone, you simply took them! He and his friend were running across the ice plains, while the greatest powerhouse of the soul beast world awaited them outside the frozen lands!

Huo Yuqing could feel the Skydream Iceworm burning through his spiritual power at an alarming rate, but he was ecstatic—so much so that he was nearly delirious.

Two weaklings had fooled the strongest hunters. Was that not thrilling?

She ran with all her might.

Thanks to the protection of her claw blade, she felt no fear of the Extreme North's bitter cold. The moment her sweat left her skin, it evaporated into tiny white mist particles and ice crystals, falling behind her.

In her extreme state of focus, she failed to notice the faint, golden-red specks of light drifting from the claw blade, merging into her body.

At that moment, the rate at which she was consuming and circulating her soul power was nearly identical to when she and Wang Rui used their fused soul power together.

Huo Yuqing pushed herself to the limit, pausing only briefly to catch her breath before continuing her mad dash forward… Repeating this process over and over, she finally saw the black expanse marking the end of the snowy plains—she had shaken off the Ice Jade Scorpions.

But was the last sharp cry Ice Empress let out really only meant for the Ice Jade Scorpion clan?

At the highest peak of the Extreme North, a towering mountain stood like a celestial pillar amidst the endless snowfields. No snow fell at its summit—only misty clouds drifted like sheer veils.

A beautiful woman, her entire being as white as snow, leaned against the bud of a flower at the mountaintop, absorbing the milky-white auspicious energy swirling around her.

She seemed to have heard something. Her eyelashes, delicate as fluttering snow butterflies, trembled slightly before she opened her eyes—crystal-clear, as vast and serene as the sky itself, a pure shade of azure.

"Oh? Interesting." The true ruler of the Extreme North murmured to herself. "Something in my domain… that requires Bing'er to summon her clan members just to deal with it?"

The Ice Snow Woman was a being of pure elemental essence. In the Extreme North, every snowflake was her eyes. Her control over this land was even greater than the Auspicious Beast's dominion over the Star Dou Forest.

She focused her senses carefully, but at this distance, Skydream Iceworm's Simulation ability was nearly flawless.

Skydream had completely concealed Huo Yuqing's presence—even Snow Empress didn't notice anything amiss.

Naturally, Snow Empress assumed Ice Empress had merely hidden herself for a hunt.

…Forget it, let Bing'er have her fun. She shook her head with a smile—after all, nothing in the Extreme North could threaten Ice Empress.

Within the vast expanse of the Extreme North, there was no presence strong enough to truly concern Snow Empress… Except in the southwest, far from where Ice Empress had sent her signal—there seemed to be two humans.

Too weak. A single strike would crush them.

Snow Empress couldn't gauge their exact strength, but even so, she felt an unpleasant sensation—like discovering cockroaches scuttling around her home.

The Snow Woman loathed humans who hunted for soul rings.

Those wicked, cruel, upright-walking apes—hearts filled with insatiable greed and endless desire.

She had forbidden humans from stepping foot in her domain.

However… she glanced at the snow lotus bud beside her. The flower she had guarded for so many years was about to bloom, reaching the hundred-thousand-year mark. The very moment it did, she would fuse with it and reincarnate as a human.

…She couldn't afford to divert her attention just to kill two upright apes.

Humming an ethereal and distant melody, Snow Empress sent the snowflakes into a rhythmic dance.

"There are two humans in the southwest—intruders in our home," she said softly. "Xiao Bai, before they harm our family… kill them."

Far away, an enormous white bear, as massive as a mountain, lifted its head. Its small, beady eyes focused seriously on the dancing snowflakes, making it appear almost endearingly clumsy.

The white bear nodded solemnly.

"I understand, Mama."