Chapter 28: Ice Emperor Scorpion

His chest felt tight. Gu You propped himself against the wall with one hand while clutching his chest with the other. His vision gradually blurred. In his daze, he saw a beam of purple light flying ahead. He tried to grasp it, but it remained just out of reach. The light kept moving forward, and Gu You followed.

"What just happened?" Gu You snapped back to reality. Deep, guttural roars echoed through the corridor around him. This place resembled a massive warehouse, lined with towering iron cages containing unknown creatures.

As he approached, a pair of blood-red eyes emerged from the shadows.

"Damn! Scared the hell out of me!" Gu You exclaimed, startled by the enormous beast before him. It was a hundred-year Ice Crystal Bear. And… there were so many other hundred-year spirit beasts!

Mystic Ice Feather Snake, Ice Silkworm...

All of them were species unique to the Extreme North. Judging by the situation, this must have been the work of those evil soul masters.

ROAR!

Another deafening roar resounded, carrying an intensity that surpassed the other hundred-year spirit beasts.

A thousand-year Ice Crystal Body Bear! A variant of the Crystal Bear.

Seeing a thousand-year spirit beast in real life for the first time, Gu You felt an unexpected surge of excitement. Even a hint of satisfaction—though it was hard to describe.

Suddenly, his soul rings rose beneath his feet. A dragon's roar echoed, and the entire cage-filled warehouse fell silent. The eyes of all the spirit beasts softened.

"What the hell? My martial soul can activate on its own? This advanced?"

Frowning, Gu You looked up and was immediately stunned. The thousand-year beast had obediently lowered itself before him, its once-fierce eyes now gentle.

This…?

Slowly, Gu You extended his hand and touched the Ice Crystal Body Bear. Its fur felt refreshingly cool. The beast showed no resistance. Even its natural passive ability—turning anything it touched into ice—didn't harm him.

Just as he was enjoying the sensation, the Ice Crystal Body Bear suddenly transformed into specks of light and merged into his consciousness. A powerful wave of cool energy washed over him, making him let out a soft gasp.

Other caged hundred-year spirit beasts also turned into particles of light, merging into his mind.

Inside his spiritual sea, the surface of the mental lake churned violently. An abundance of life force emerged, expanding the space. The lake's waters roiled, and in the blink of an eye, land began to take shape, a snowfield appeared, and the sun and moon took their rightful places. Two continents were formed.

From a higher perspective, the snowfield occupied the majority of the area, while the highlands and forests took up only a small portion. It seemed the distribution was based on the spirit beasts' natural habitats. The highland and forest areas suited creatures like the Mystic Ice Feather Snake and the Ice Crystal Body Bear, while the snowfield housed a much greater variety of species adapted to the extreme cold.

"I have… a world inside my mind?!"

For a moment, Gu You was completely lost. The transformation was too shocking, and his thoughts were in turmoil.

"Looks like I'm not such a bad person after all." Gu You chuckled, glancing at his dragon-scaled hand.

At that moment, the Mystic Ice Feather Snake looked utterly confused, staring blankly at the enormous new arrival before it. "Why is this guy bigger than me? And… where is this place?"

Exiting his spiritual sea, Gu You felt a newfound surge of mental energy, as if he had an endless reservoir of spiritual power at his disposal.

Limitless Spirit, Creation Realized.

This unexpected fortune had pushed his spiritual power straight into the Spirit Sea Realm, likely between 1200 and 1400 points.

If I can increase my spiritual power just by absorbing spirit beasts… doesn't that make me invincible?

Excited by the prospect, Gu You continued searching for more stragglers.

Splash!

He discarded a wooden plank and jumped down. It had taken him quite some effort to locate this secret chamber—there had to be something valuable inside.

The surroundings were damp. The aged blue bricks were the only support beams holding up the underground structure. The deeper he went, the clearer his vision became.

As expected!

Another room filled with countless iron cages, containing even more spirit beasts. Most were thousand-year-level, with some hundred-year ones as well.

But there were no ten-thousand-year beasts.

Well, that makes sense. If they had ten-thousand-year spirit beasts here, that'd be insane.

Still, Gu You had to admire the evil soul masters' methods. To capture so many live thousand-year spirit beasts—this would be worth a fortune to the Spirit Pagoda.

But Gu You wasn't that ruthless. Once again, he unleashed his martial soul's aura and absorbed all the spirit beasts into his spiritual sea.

Once more, the mental world expanded. The snowfield now occupied almost his entire mind, leaving only a tiny patch of highlands and forest.

This feels amazing!

By his estimation, he had now reached the mid-stage of the Spirit Sea Realm.

Time to go!

With a spring in his step, he strode forward—only to suddenly fall into yet another trap.

The surrounding air turned frigid. Gu You curled up slightly—these evil soul masters sure knew how to play tricks, layering secret rooms one after another.

It's too cold!

Even though he had endured sub-zero temperatures before, this was different. It felt like a regular human standing exposed in -30°C conditions.

"Human!"

What the hell?!

A chilling, ethereal voice echoed.

In the mist ahead, a pair of ice-blue eyes slowly opened. They shimmered like frost-covered emeralds. A massive form emerged from the fog. The closer it came, the colder Gu You felt—breathing became difficult.

What a beautiful scorpion…

Its translucent blue armor reflected the icy mist, shimmering with a mesmerizing glow. The razor-sharp stinger at its tail seemed less like a weapon and more like a decorative masterpiece.

"Die!"

Before Gu You could react, the massive scorpion tail lashed toward him.

Holy shit!

Gu You dodged just in time. The tail pierced into the ground, embedding itself deep.

"Uh… does that thing have venom?" Gu You swallowed nervously. If that had hit him, he would've been skewered.

"Why don't you find out?" the Ice Emperor Scorpion sneered before launching its massive pincers at him.

"Stop attacking! You can speak, which means you have intelligence. You should know there's an old human saying—'Peace is precious'!" Gu You blocked the attack with his dragon claw.

"Ugh! If not for this suppression array, I'd tear you to pieces right now!" The Ice Emperor Scorpion stomped its feet in frustration.

"I can tell you're anxious, but violence won't solve this issue. Are you a hundred-thousand-year beast? Your speech is incredibly refined."

But the Ice Emperor Scorpion ignored him, suddenly collapsing motionless—completely lifeless.

"Oi… are you faking? I know spirit beasts love playing dead to lure in prey before delivering a fatal strike. I won't fall for it—I'm too smart for that." Gu You squinted.

Still no response.

"Come on, stop pretending." He reached out and poked the scorpion's claw.

"Heh… gotcha."

"AH! SHIT! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

Gu You panicked, launching his first soul skill in retaliation. But the attack merely bounced off the scorpion's sturdy armor with a dull thud-thud.

I'm screwed. Curiosity really does kill the cat… This time, I might actually die to a spirit beast.

(End of Chapter)