In this moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if the icy spring water around him had already reached absolute zero. The extremely low temperatures were starting to make his body go numb. However, the soul power within his body was greedily absorbing that extreme chill.
“Whoosh—” Huo Yuhao’s body suddenly lightened, and he suddenly felt the pressure around him plummet as he fell into a small cave.
Everything was completely dark inside the cave, but there wasn’t any spring water at all. Huo Yuhao almost subconsciously opened his mouth to breathe.
A wave of terrifying and chilly air followed his breath into his body. In that moment, Huo Yuhao felt as if everything – including his own spirit – had frozen. His entire body went stiff as he just stood there, motionless.
Huo Yuhao thought that he had a very deep understanding of the element of ice, but only in this moment did he truly understand that everything that he knew was insufficient. At least, he had never believed that ice could cause even spirits to freeze. Was this the true element of ice?
His Eye of Destiny opened on his forehead. The deep, profound, and tranquil vertical eye opened as the soul core in his body rotated hysterically. Tremendous spiritual power rippled outward and forcefully helped Huo Yuhao’s spirit struggle out from the icy rigidness.
Bluish-green light glowed in front of him at the same time. The Ice Empress hovered in front of him quietly, and Huo Yuhao could finally see everything around him with clarity.
He was inside a very small cave. It was only about ten square meters, and about one and a half meters high. Huo Yuhao had to come inside with his body bent down.
There were strange pillars of ice inside the cave. There were more than ten of various sizes, some big and some small, and they were all intertwined with each other. Every pillar was white, and they were still white and clean even when the Ice Empress’ bluish-green light shone on them.
Liquid seemed to flow within those white, icy pillars. The frightening chill came from these icy pillars.
The extreme cold here was different from that contained inside the Divine Ice Crystals. The cold here couldn’t be contained, and even the air seemed to be sticky. The elements of ice were so thick here that even Huo Yuhao couldn’t absorb them, and only the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, the Star Anise or other Spirits like them wouldn’t be too affected in such an environment. That wasn’t because they were in spiritual form, but because their original bodies were formed from Ultimate Ice.
“We are here. This is the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.” The Ice Empress spoke with much sorrow.
The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence!
Huo Yuhao’s spirits were rekindled when he heard those words. Huo Yuhao couldn’t move at all, and his entire body seemed like it was frozen. However, with his soul core helping him, his thoughts and spirit were very normal.
The Ice Empress said, “Don’t worry, Yuhao. You’re just not used to the extreme cold in this place. The area here is too small, and there is too much Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, and that’s the reason why the temperature is so low. The temperature here is about five degrees from absolute zero. Even though these five degrees are still calamities, this is the lowest temperature I have ever come across.”
Thoughts spun in Huo Yuhao’s head as he turned to the Ice Empress and asked, “Does that mean our Ultimate Ice isn’t absolute zero?”
The Ice Empress shook her head and said, “Of course not. Temperatures can be considered at the extremes when they are one hundred and fifty degrees below zero. That is already a range forbidden to life. However, that threshold is still quite far from absolute zero. But this place is different. This place is truly a place with a temperature close to absolute zero! There isn’t as much Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence as the place that the Skydream Iceworm discovered by chance, but the space here is small, and the cold air cannot be released outside. The cold air has been accumulating and trapped here. Therefore, low temperatures such as this are few and far between even in our lives. Don’t do anything now – just stay here quietly, and it will be beneficial for you. We will absorb the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to reduce the icy air’s thickness, and then you can slowly adapt. Just make sure that your mind remains clear.”
“Alright,” Huo Yuhao said nothing more. He understood what the Ice Empress was saying – that he had to feel and experience more of a place like this that hardly ever occurred in the world, if at all. It would be very beneficial for his cultivation with Ultimate Ice.
Huo Yuhao concentrated his spiritual power and began to quietly feel everything around him. Even though his body was frozen, there was an icy-blue layer around his body that was protecting him. Huo Yuhao’s martial soul had Ultimate Ice, and he couldn’t be frozen to death. The only problem was that the chilly air here was too strong, and he didn’t know how to deal with it yet.
Light flickered as the Skydream Iceworm emerged from Huo Yuhao’s body. Even though the Skydream Iceworm didn’t originally have Ultimate Ice, he was undoubtedly one of the most experienced in dealing with Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence.
“What do you plan to do?” The Skydream Iceworm asked the Ice Empress.
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Their consciousnesses were the most intact amongst Huo Yuhao’s four Spirits. The Star Anise was similar, but it was a plant-type soul beast, and it only had a hundred thousand years of cultivation, so its intelligence was relatively lower. The Snow Empress’ memories were sealed after she became Huo Yuhao’s Spirit, so she couldn’t help them make a decision.
The Ice Empress lowered her voice and said, “We are without our bodies. However, the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence is the purest and most valuable treasure for our elements of ice. We may be able to recreate our bodies if we use this ice essence as materials and absorb them through our origin energy. These bodies will still be based on energy, but if our fusion is to be successful, we will be able to leave Yuhao for a certain distance in the future and still be able to live. At the same time, if anything happens to Yuhao, we can still…”
She paused here and glanced at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao passed his message with his thoughts. “Can what?”
The Ice Empress took a deep breath and spoke with radiating eyes that were trained on him. “We can leave you, and we can find another person who can help us attain eternity. With the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, our spiritual origins can possess a vessel that isn’t so easily dissipated.”
Huo Yuhao said, “That’s great! That is a good thing. Hurry up and absorb it.”
The Skydream Iceworm’s eyes became a lot deeper than before. “That’s not good.”
The Ice Empress stared at him coldly and said, “What’s not good?”
The Skydream Iceworm frowned. “I can understand what you are feeling. However, since we have chosen to follow Yuhao from the beginning, we have to give our entire hearts and souls. Everyone has been through life and death struggles so many times – have you forgotten?”
The Ice Empress paused momentarily and said, “I just wish to use the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to strengthen my origin so that my spiritual origin can rely on something. What’s wrong with that?”
The Skydream Iceworm shook his head. “No, that’s not all you are thinking of. I understand that you want to try to recreate your physical body with all this Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. I can tell you two things – first, you can’t possibly do that. This ice essence is a very valuable ice-type treasure, but there isn’t enough here for you to recreate your physical body. How can you recreate your body without any dependence? Secondly, even if you manage to do that, you will no longer be with us. I understand how you feel about seeing all this Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, but I have to stop you. This is not our path. Have you not seen hope in Yuhao? Since we already have hope, why do you have to take this risk?”
The Ice Empress retorted defiantly, “I didn’t think of hurting him. I just…”
The Skydream Iceworm’s voice suddenly became very severe. “Shut up. I know you never wished to harm him, but why didn’t you tell him that he would have to sustain such enormous pressure in the process of coming in? You didn’t want him to stop you after coming here. Absorbing the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence to strengthen your own body is alright, but I’m afraid that your mentality will become unstable. Don’t take the wrong path!”
The Ice Empress fell silent. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, she understood that the Skydream Iceworm was telling the truth.
The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence had caused a ripple in her heart that had always been calm, and she felt as if she had seen hope. She had never fused with a treasure such as this before, but she held onto that tiny thread of hope, that she could use it to try and recreate her physical body. She did see hope by following Huo Yuhao, but she craved freedom more.
“Brother Skydream,” Huo Yuhao called out.
The Skydream Iceworm turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry, Yuhao. She didn’t do it intentionally. The Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence is unimaginably alluring to any ice-type soul beast.”
“I understand. I don’t blame her,” Huo Yuhao continued, “I understand the value of freedom. Brother Skydream, I called you because I wanted to ask if I can truly help you guys recreate your physical bodies by leveraging the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence – or rather, by using it as the main material. If that’s possible, I am willing to help you. Really. I don’t mind even if you absorb every single inch of the ice essence here.”
The Skydream Iceworm frowned even more tightly. “What do you mean, Yuhao?”
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Brother Skydream, Ice Empress – I’ve always known that you guys have high expectations and hopes on me, and this expectation has been an enormous burden for me! If you guys can recreate your physical bodies, then this burden will naturally disappear. I can do some things that I wish to do with a lightened heart. You guys don’t have to worry about anything – my Spirit Eyes have grown, and even if the Ice Empress leaves me and takes my second martial soul, that’s not a big deal. I am very clear about how valuable freedom is. Therefore, if you have a solution to this, brother Skydream, please help the Ice Empress and yourself. There will be no problem if the Snow Empress can awaken because of this. The original rationale of becoming my Spirits was to live better lives! Since you guys have this opportunity, why are you giving it up?”
The Skydream Iceworm’s knotted eyebrows relaxed, but his expression became one of astonishment. He could tell that Huo Yuhao’s words were very sincere, and there wasn’t a single trace of sarcasm.