Chapter 131: External Spirit Bone

"But I have one condition," Ice Emperor said.

"Please, go ahead."

"If Xue'er reaches the end of her lifespan and still hasn't found a way to overcome her tribulation, you must help her," Ice Emperor said with a deeper implication in her tone.

"As long as it's within our abilities and does not go against the will of the Ice Sky Snow Lady herself, we certainly will," Wang Rui nodded. "After all, we are both soul beasts. Even if we have some differences in certain aspects, I have always respected the Ice Sky Snow Lady."

He would go with Di Tian to the core region of the Extreme North to warn the Ice Sky Snow Lady... but given his relationship with Xue'er, she might not necessarily appreciate the gesture.

Ice Emperor gave Wang Rui a deep look.

"Then let's begin. What do I need to do?" she asked in a solemn tone.

"For the plan to proceed smoothly, I also brought in an external helper from the Star Dou Forest."

A flash of dark purple light vanished in an instant, followed by the tender, vibrant green radiance of fresh leaves blooming over the desolate tundra of the Extreme North.

A stunning woman descended from the sky as lightly as a feather.

She had a pair of large, powerful emerald-green wings on her back, slowly flapping to keep her suspended in midair. Each individual feather gleamed like the finest jade, shimmering with a mesmerizing glow under the sunlight. Her long hair, the same emerald hue, flowed with the cold northern winds. She wore a thin, sleeveless, water-green dress, her delicate arms exposed to the air, yet she seemed completely unaffected by the Extreme North's freezing temperatures.

She spiraled down and landed so lightly that she barely disturbed the snow.

"This is Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan of the Star Dou Forest, and the most skilled healer in the world," Wang Rui introduced. "With her here, we can maximize the chances of success."

"Ice Emperor, it's a pleasure to meet you," Bi Ji greeted politely.

Even though Ice Emperor had spent her entire life in the Extreme North, she had heard of the Emerald Swan's reputation. Yet, even knowing that Bi Ji had no combat ability, Ice Emperor still regarded her warily—like a cautious wild beast.

Then again, technically speaking, everyone present except for Huo Yuqing was a wild beast. Wang Rui was merely using the expression to describe Ice Emperor's alertness... At this moment, she looked like a startled animal with its tail raised, ready to sting someone at random.

Ice Emperor felt a lingering sense of fear.

The immense and terrifying dark energy that had briefly flickered earlier undoubtedly belonged to none other than the Beast God, Di Tian.

And yet, his true body was nowhere within Ice Emperor's perception range.

Ice Emperor had a cultivation of 400,000 years. Her sensory range was vast, further amplified by the environment, yet Di Tian had managed to teleport Bi Ji here without alerting her in the slightest… In fact, until Bi Ji appeared midair, she hadn't noticed anything at all. This level of power exceeded Ice Emperor's expectations.

What if the one teleported here had been Di Tian himself?

A sudden realization dawned on her—she was fortunate that she hadn't been too disrespectful to the Auspicious Beast earlier.

Well, since she had already agreed, that meant the soul beasts of the Star Dou lineage were now allies.

"What should I do?" she asked calmly.

Tian Meng Ice Silkworm and Bi Ji gathered around her, discussing in low voices how to make the fusion as safe and efficient as possible.

Wang Rui didn't join them. The matter had already been deliberated countless times in the Star Dou Forest, and the core plan was long finalized. The only thing left was to communicate with Ice Emperor, and his presence wouldn't add much to the discussion.

Instead, he hesitated and glanced at Huo Yuqing. He considered using one of his alternative identities to subtly probe her thoughts about him. However, after mulling it over, he felt it would be a bit unethical—besides, having the Auspicious Emperor Beast suddenly ask if she liked anyone seemed... far too nosy.

After much internal debate, he finally squeezed out a simple question:

"Are you nervous?"

Huo Yuqing nodded, then shook her head.

"I'm nervous," she said calmly, "but I will succeed."

...That was kind of adorable.

After spending so much time among giant soul beasts and seeing himself as just a "kitten" in comparison, Wang Rui suddenly realized that, in his true form, he was also enormous. Standing next to him, Huo Yuqing looked so small... If he wanted to, carrying her off and hiding her away would be far too easy.

"Xiao Qing, take out the spirit bone that Wang Rui gave you!" Tian Meng Ice Silkworm suddenly called out, interrupting the somewhat questionable thoughts of the three-eyed big cat.

Huo Yuqing responded with a quiet acknowledgment and pulled out her soul tool pouch.

"Bone first, then soul, then ring... We have one more spirit bone," Tian Meng Ice Silkworm said. "See if you can use it."

He took the pouch and shook it as if emptying out trash.

A spirit bone floated into the air, its core a delicate pale pink, with nearly transparent outer edges, looking as if it were sculpted from crystal.

A rich wave of soul power spread outward, carrying a strange resonance. Huo Yuqing seemed to hear a deafening heartbeat reverberating through the void—faster and faster—

"Dong-da, dong-da, dong-da, dong-da, dong-da—!"

"Hiss!" Ice Emperor sucked in a sharp breath. "You Star Dou guys are really going all out!"

Her exclamation interrupted the rapid heartbeat, and Huo Yuqing suddenly felt as if her own heart had skipped a beat.

With a buzzing sensation, her pupils became engulfed in dazzling gold. Her Lingmou Martial Soul activated instinctively, sending a refreshing coolness flowing from her spiritual sea. Only then did she realize—something was wrong.

That thunderous sound she had just heard…

It was her own heartbeat!

At this moment, she felt an unbearable swelling heat spread from her face to her fingertips, as if her entire circulatory system was being forcefully expanded. It was as if her heart had been pumped into a state of extreme excitement, pushing blood into every capillary with so much force that she was about to explode.

She shivered, taking a deep, icy breath. It took quite a while before the discomfort finally faded.

Huo Yuqing steadied her gaze and examined the pale pink, crystal-like spirit bone.

It was a meticulously detailed scorpion tail!

However, unlike an ordinary scorpion tail, this one had far more segments—eleven in total—making it incredibly flexible. Instead of the usual curved barb, its tip was shaped like a straight stinger, resembling that of a wasp.

"An external spirit bone!" Ice Emperor looked at Wang Rui with complex emotions. External spirit bones were among the rarest treasures in existence, only forming under highly unique circumstances. The chances of obtaining one shaped as a scorpion tail… how minuscule must those odds be?

"You were this certain I would join your plan?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Well, I am the Auspicious Emperor Beast," Wang Rui replied casually, brushing off the question. His attention was already on the spirit bone.

"This external spirit bone comes from a soul beast species that functionally went extinct over ten thousand years ago," he said softly, as if afraid to disturb something.

No prizes for guessing whose tail this was.

(End of Chapter)