Chapter 41.1: Ice Jade Empress Scorpion
They were shaped like hexagons and shone with an incomparably bright luster, and were akin to a diamond in shape. They covered the front section of its body, and its six slender legs. Beneath the green sky, they emitted an incomparably brilliant luster. It was almost as if they’d become another source of light as it reflected all a myriad of rays of light.
Its two pincers were both a meter long, and they were both covered with the strange diamond-like hexagonal protrusions. Only, the foremost parts of its pincers were covered in a mirror-like silverish-white color just like its mouth.
However, the things Huo Yuhao paid the most attention to were its eyes. Its eyes were yellow, as if two yellow diamonds had been embedded within its sockets. They were also hexagonal, and the flickering of their crystal-like yellow light gave off a feeling similar to that of a gem glistening.
If its upper body could be considered sufficiently resplendent, its lower body–the long, yet upward pointing tail, was the core that dazzled everything around it.
Unlike the finely segmented tail of an ordinary scorpion, the tail of the Ice Emperor only had five segments. Each segment shone with an alluring jade-green light that was filled with luster. Its five segments were identically colored, and the segment nearest to its upper body was the widest of the five; the further away from its body, the narrower it got. The last segment was also inlaid with the diamond-like protrusions, and the very tip of its tail similarly flickered with a mirror-like, silverish-white luster.
How could a soul beast with a gem-like resplendence like this not be deserving of the title of ‘beautiful’? Furthermore, merely describing it with the word ‘beautiful’ didn’t seem to do it justice.
As the Ice Emperor appeared, the Skydream Iceworm unconsciously let an intoxicated look appear on his face. Staring at the Ice Emperor with a passionate gaze in his eyes, he said, “You’ve come.”
Seeing the Skydream Iceworm’s bright-gold body which was created by spiritual power, the Ice Emperor seemed to be taken somewhat aback. A trace of astonishment appeared in its crystal-yellow eyes.
“Skydream, did you think that I’d be unable to find your true body just because you hid it and used your spiritual power to create a virtual body to come see me? Even if your spiritual power’s strong enough to create a body for yourself, you’re still using the appearance of a human. You can’t be too far away from your true body.” The Ice Emperor said icily.
The Skydream Iceworm smiled slightly. His eyes were filled with an infatuated look, and he nearly started drooling, “You’re still as charming as ever. I remember the last time I saw you, you still had six segments on your tail. However, they’ve already fused to five segments! I just love this attractive shade of green that you have. It seems like I wasn’t wrong; you’re not too far away from your limit.”
Snorting disdainfully, the crisp, female voice of the Ice Emperor rang out again, “Useless words like that will only hasten your death. You’ve been hiding so well all these years, but you’ve suddenly come back now. Did you only come here to get yourself killed?”
With an adoring voice, the Skydream Iceworm said, “I’ve naturally come to let you live on! My suffering from the one-sided love I’ve had will finally come to an end. During these long years, I’ve always dreamt of you during my deep sleep. My beloved, we can finally stay together forever.”
The Ice Emperor was no longer able to tolerate the Skydream Iceworm’s infatuated appearance. Her tall, pointed tail suddenly lit up, and a spotlessly white beam of light instantly pierced through the Skydream Iceworm’s body.
Huo Yuhao felt the Skydream Iceworm’s spiritual power surging violently, and even his vision became somewhat fuzzy.
“I don’t know what plans you have, but since you’ve come all the way here, you have to die. After absorbing your energy, I’ll become the strongest soul beast in the entire continent.”
After piercing through the Skydream Iceworm’s body, the white ray didn’t disappear. On the contrary, it started spreading through the Skydream Iceworm’s golden body, destroying it in a berserk manner.
However, the Skydream Iceworm didn’t reveal any signs of pain. Somewhat regretfully, he said, “I was originally planning to chat with you for a while, since I didn’t want to be so heartless. However, I’ll have to start it now, so that we can truly be together.”
Having cultivated to its current level, the Ice Emperor could discern danger very well. She instantly felt that something was wrong, because the Skydream Iceworm’s body had suddenly turned blurry. Right after that, he suddenly appeared right in front of her.
There was no need to doubt the Ice Emperor’s speed, but she suddenly felt herself slowing down in this instant. The air around her seemed to have suddenly turned viscous, and the Skydream Iceworm’s terrifying spiritual power had become a vast ocean that trapped her within it.
The Ice Emperor’s gaze instantly turned ferocious. Forcefully waving her jade green tail, it erupted with a brilliant light.
“Skydream, you’re courting death. You actually dare to use spiritual power in this manner? Aren’t you scared of being unable to return to your original body? Moreover, regardless of how hard you try, it won’t change the fact that you’re trash. How long can you even keep me here for? One or two seconds?”
The Skydream Iceworm said gently, “Not much! One second’s more than enough!”
At this moment, a membrane made of a pale white light slid across the ground noiselessly. No matter how strong the Ice Emperor was, she hadn’t noticed it.
On the other hand, the hidden Huo Yuhao felt his body shake violently. Clenching his teeth, he concentrated all his soul power to defend against the extreme cold that had abruptly arrived.
Though he had the ice room, which was able to block out the outside cold, as well as the warmth created by the Skydream Iceworm’s ignited shedded skin, he was still frozen solid instantly. He didn’t know how low the temperatures here had reached, but it seemed as if his heart could stop beating at any time. He could only urge his soul power as if his life depended on it, maintaining the trace of warmth in his heart.
Right, a single second was enough for the Skydream Iceworm. The Ice Emperor was releasing all of her strength in preparation for the Skydream Iceworm to waste all of his spiritual power, but she suddenly felt her body tighten. Unexpectedly, she had lost the ability to move.
Astonished, the Ice Emperor immediately twisted about madly. White and green intertwined and flickered as she released all of her tyrannical skills without holding anything back.
However, this powerful several hundred thousand year-ranked soul beast who’d roamed about the Extreme North unhindered felt fear in the next instant. No matter how hard she struggled, it was unexpectedly to no avail.
The sensation of constriction was strengthening at an astonishing rate, unexpectedly causing a gurgling sound to ring out. Regardless of how she struggled, the strength of her bindings continued to strengthen unceasingly. Unexpectedly, she had no way to resist it.
The frontal pincers she’d raised up into the air were gradually pushed downwards, and her raised tail was pressed up against her body. The Ice Emperor, one of the Extreme North’s Three Emperors, had actually been constricted this rigidly.
“No, no! This isn’t possible. Skydream, how could trash like you be able to tie me up? What skill is this? Why can’t I use my energy?”
The golden light vanished, and the Huo Yuhao-shaped Skydream Iceworm reappeared in front of her. With an indifferent smile on his face, he said, “I’ve truly waited for this day for too long already. You don’t know what’s happening? Right, I’ll give you an explanation, but not now. Once we’ve left this area, I’ll have a good chat with you. Right now, we should be on our way.”
With that, he raised his right hand and pointed towards the Ice Emperor. Amidst the flickering golden light, the Ice Emperor’s body vanished into thin air.
Facing the sky, the Skydream Iceworm let out a sigh. “I didn’t think that I’d be able to use the few abilities I wouldn’t have dared to use in the past after losing my body. Unfortunately, that was my only chance to use them. Ice Emperor, oh Ice Emperor, I really hope you won’t disappoint me.”
The pale white membrane reappeared, but the Ice Emperor had already vanished. The membrane slowly fell through the ground, re-entering Huo Yuhao’s body, which was located within the ice room.
The extreme cold was instantly isolated from the ice room, but Huo Yuhao’s body remained as hard as steel. A layer of frost had covered the surface of his body.
The golden light vanished into his forehead, and the Skydream Iceworm called out to him softly, “Yuhao, Yuhao, how are you? I’ve succeeded.”
Though Huo Yuhao’s body was frozen solid, he was abnormally clear-headed.
“Why?” Within his spiritual world, Huo Yuhao asked coldly.
Puzzled, the Skydream Iceworm asked, “Why what?”
Huo Yuhao’s icy voice rang out, “Why did you lie to me? Did you really come here just to awaken my second martial soul? If so, how can you explain what you just did?”
The Skydream Iceworm fell silent.
His voice filled with grief, Huo Yuhao said, “Skydream, you know, after leaving the Duke’s Mansion, you’re the first partner in my life who’d given me hope. I considered you as a teacher, as well as my closest friend. You’re the person who’s finally given me a target I can work towards, but why did you have to lie to me? Why? Did you just want to use me as a puppet to come here? I used all of my energy to come here, but the only thing I saw was the love you had towards the Ice Emperor. I don’t mind taking risks with you. If you had told me in advance, I would’ve been willing to follow you all the way, even if I had to climb through mountains of blades or swim through seas of fire. However, you shouldn’t have lied to me.”
The Skydream Iceworm let out a long sigh, “Sorry, Yuhao. I did lie to you. I didn’t fully trust you. I didn’t know whether you’d still be willing to follow me if I told you everything. You’re not wrong, I had my own selfish motives. I hope to be with the Ice Emperor forever. Ever since I was born, the only person I’ve liked is the Ice Emperor. It’s just like the ‘love’ you humans have. Even if she only treats me as food, I’ll still love her without any second thoughts.”
“I didn’t realize that doing things this way would hurt you. I don’t wish for you to look down on me. It’s just as she’s said, I’m a piece of trash and a coward. The Ice Emperor’s full name is the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, and she’s one of the true rulers of this freezing earth. The Ice Jade Scorpion tribe she belongs to takes my Iceworm clan as food, but I’ve loved her incorrigibly since I the first time I met her two hundred thousand years ago.”
