Chapter 629: You are the Ice God

Xia Yi closed his eyes, and his divine sense instantly spread across the entire Divine Circle.

This great war had brought calamity to many deities within the Divine Circle.

Especially the God Kings—aside from Death God A'Dai who had fled into the starry sky from the very beginning, the other God Kings were all slaughtered by Tang San and Chang Gongwei. A large number of their family members perished as well—some were killed, some died in grief.

Xia Yi's divine sense suddenly locked onto Tang Wutong, who was cradling Xiao Wu's corpse, and with one step covering thousands of miles, he appeared before them in an instant.

"Mother is already dead. What… what do you want to do?" Tang Wutong immediately shielded Xiao Wu's body behind her. Tang San had told her that Xiao Wu was a traitor to the soul beasts. Now that Xiao Wu was dead, Tang Wutong feared Xia Yi might not even spare the corpse.

She was worried Xia Yi would vent his anger on Xiao Wu's body.

"Husband!" Seeing Xia Yi about to act, Gu Yue, Leng Yaozhu, and the other women immediately gathered behind him.

"Bring him out," Xia Yi said, looking at the Demon Emperor. The Ocean Cauldron in the Demon Emperor's hand flew out, releasing Huo Yuhao who had been suppressed.

Huo Yuhao had no idea what had happened.

As soon as he was released and saw Xiao Wu's corpse being protected by Tang Wutong and Xia Yi standing in front of her, his heart nearly burst with fear.

The Eye of Eternity at the center of his brow suddenly opened, and a beam of golden light shot straight at Xia Yi.

"I only want two things: the Snow Empress Order and the fortune of the soul beasts," Xia Yi said as he allowed the Eye of Eternity's attack to hit him. Huo Yuhao had been gravely wounded and then suppressed—his current attack couldn't harm a being above God King level like Xia Yi.

Above Xia Yi's head, the Earth Cauldron rose into the air and descended upon Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao.

With a suction force coming from the Earth Cauldron, both Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao were forced into their martial spirit possession states.

Behind Tang Wutong, a pair of blue-gold dragon wings resembling butterfly wings suddenly spread open.

Huo Yuhao's eyes and the Eye of Eternity grew brighter.

Xia Yi activated the Earth Cauldron, and streaks of golden light were involuntarily drawn from Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao.

As the golden light drained away, the golden color on Tang Wutong's butterfly-like dragon wings gradually faded, eventually turning into the pure blue of the Goddess of Light Butterfly.

Tang Wutong's martial spirit was originally only the Goddess of Light Butterfly. It was Tang San who had fused a part of the soul of the Emperor Auspicious Beast—Three-Eyed Golden Lion—into her body, nourishing her with its golden dragon bloodline and allowing her to evolve into the Light Dragon Goddess Butterfly.

That was also the reason she could use the Golden Dragon Spear.

As for Huo Yuhao, the golden light on his body was even more dazzling, reaching the point of physical manifestation. This terrifying golden light was the fortune energy of soul beasts.

In truth, Three-Eyed Golden Lion wasn't the only auspicious beast among soul beasts that carried fortune energy. However, the Emperor Auspicious Beast—Three-Eyed Golden Lion—was, to date, the one with the most fortune among all known soul beasts.

So much fortune was being drawn out that even his cranial soul bone was forcibly stripped away, causing Huo Yuhao's spiritual world to tremble violently.

It was only because Xia Yi used the Moon Gazing Palm to sever Huo Yuhao's connection with the fate-linked cranial bone of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that Huo Yuhao's spiritual world didn't collapse entirely.

"Who exactly are you people?" Feeling his spiritual world rapidly diminishing and sensing he might fall below the God King level, Huo Yuhao's seven soul spirits couldn't help but emerge.

Their fates were tied to his—if Huo Yuhao fell, so would they.

It was the Snow Empress who spoke first. Among Huo Yuhao's seven soul spirits, she was the leader.

The Ice Empress, Ice Bear King, and Skydream followed her unconditionally.

As for the Mermaid Princess and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, both were only at the hundred-thousand-year level and couldn't possibly challenge the Snow Empress's authority.

The Evil-Eyed Tyrant Ruler had the strength, but Huo Yuhao didn't like him, so there was no chance of him taking the Snow Empress's place.

"Snow Empress!" Behind Xia Yi, the Ice God's Heart slowly appeared.

This time, she no longer wore mecha armor and appeared directly in her true form behind Xia Yi.

"You… you're the Ice Heavenly Snow Maiden? Why haven't I seen you before? Don't tell me you were born after I left?" Snow Empress asked curiously.

"Think of it that way if you want." Ice God's Heart replied coolly and indifferently.

"How… how is the Extreme North doing now?" Snow Empress opened her mouth and finally asked the question.

"Let's talk somewhere else. Don't disturb the Master. Don't worry, the Master won't kill him. Even if he does, it won't be now." Ice God's Heart glanced at Xia Yi, then turned back to Snow Empress.

Snow Empress looked at Huo Yuhao with some concern, but sensing the overwhelming auras behind Xia Yi, she knew she couldn't change anything by staying.

Disobeying might only provoke these terrifying beings, so she reluctantly nodded.

"You all come too," Ice God's Heart said as she glanced at Ice Empress, Skydream, and Ice Bear King before leaving.

"Follow her!" Snow Empress quickly led the others after her.

"Who are you people?" Snow Empress asked again once they caught up.

"Who I am isn't important. What's important is: who are you?" Ice God's Heart asked calmly.

"What do you mean?" Snow Empress's face changed slightly. She could vaguely tell there was a deeper meaning in Ice God's Heart's words, but didn't understand what.

Ice God's Heart's gaze slowly swept over the fierce beasts from the Extreme North, finally resting on Snow Empress. "Let's start with you, Snow Empress. Ruler of the Extreme North, captured in human form due to betrayal. Huo Yuhao saved you, and you followed him, helping him. That's understandable, both emotionally and logically. You even let Xiao Bai follow Huo Yuhao and sacrificed herself for him. Fine. You said you feared that once you and the Ice Empress were gone, he and Ah Tai would fight for dominance, weakening the strength of the Extreme North. I accept that."

"Next, the Ice Empress. You saw no hope of transcending your tribulation and were tricked by Skydream, sacrificing yourself to Huo Yuhao, seeking an alternative form of survival. I won't judge that. To live—one can do anything. If I were in your place, I would have done the same. Xiao Bai, you obey Snow Empress unquestioningly—I won't bother with you."

Her voice remained emotionally flat, but her words made the faces of the beasts from the Extreme North subtly change.

Ice God's Heart had commented on everyone—except Skydream.

What did that mean?

"If you have something to say, just say it," Ice Empress stepped forward, shielding Skydream. Now that they were all soul spirits, their strength came more from their host than from their past lives.

Even if Ice God's Heart was just a ten-thousand-year Ice Heavenly Snow Maiden, her "Master" was Xia Yi, someone beyond the God King level.

All of them combined wouldn't be able to defeat her.

"In that case, I'll speak plainly. Because of our incompetence, the Dragon God War failed, leading to all soul beasts—yourselves included—living in an era of despair. We bear inescapable responsibility for your suffering. I feel ashamed. But no one can accuse me, because we did our best. In the Dragon God War, we gave our lives. I fought until my last drop of blood, until the final wisp of my divine sense was destroyed. Because of our failure, the soul beasts that followed lived in a ruined world. You became soul spirits to survive and pursue immortality. I understand that. I don't blame you."

Her voice was cold but calm.

She knew how hard cultivation had been for soul beasts in the past. Given Snow and Ice Empress's situation ten thousand years ago, she understood their choices.

"But if you turn around and harm the Extreme North—then you deserve to die a thousand deaths." Her eyes turned sharp, landing on Skydream. She said coldly, "No matter what your reasons are, they're no excuse for persecuting the Extreme North."

"Who exactly are you?" Ice Empress stared coldly at her. She knew what Ice God's Heart was referring to, and added, "I made that choice willingly. No one forced me. If you have a problem, take it out on me. And Skydream did it for my sake."

"If I'm not mistaken, you're not just an ordinary Ice Heavenly Snow Maiden. You're the first of your kind in the Extreme North—the one known in legend as the Ice God," Skydream said suddenly, lifting his head to speak in Ice Empress's place.

He knew Ice Empress could be reckless. He feared she might truly anger the Ice God's Heart.

"You already figured it out, didn't you?" Ice God's Heart said coldly.

"That's right. I may not have other talents, but I know how to survive. I existed before the Dragon God War, even before you became a god. I sensed your divine might spreading across the entire Extreme North when you ascended. Though I was still not fully sentient back then, I never forgot that feeling." Skydream spoke calmly.

He was different from other top-tier soul beasts. Take Snow Empress for instance—though she had 700,000 years of cultivation, she wasn't actually that old.

Most of her cultivation had been built up through training and absorbing heavenly treasures.

It was only after 100,000 years that she stopped cultivating for fear of the heavenly tribulation.

But Skydream… with his talent, even with the best resources, he could only use them to prolong his life. His cultivation could only be achieved by enduring through time.

He was a true million-year soul beast.

In his time, the Douluo Plane still had many divine soul beasts. But those divine beasts followed the Dragon God into the Divine Realm and perished in the Dragon God War.

(End of Chapter)