The overwhelming array of ice needles and blades, carrying extreme cold, sliced through the icy mist and pressed down on Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng Ice Silkworm with overwhelming force.
Each ice needle contained the full force of the Ice Emperor's attack over four hundred thousand years. Wherever the cold air passed, even the space itself was filled with fine ice shards, making it impossible to avoid.
Huo Yuhao stood frozen, his soul power in complete chaos. The spiritual power released by his spiritual eye was instantly frozen upon touching the ice blade, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.
The shadow of death completely enveloped him; his fingertips were icy cold, yet he clenched them tightly, refusing to close his eyes.
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's illusory insect body trembled violently as it faced the oncoming attack.
It knew very well that it couldn't withstand the full force of the Ice Emperor's attack from 400,000 years ago.
The consequence of its stubborn resistance was that it and Huo Yuhao were frozen in ice and perished completely in this far north.
The god-making plan hasn't even started yet, and it absolutely cannot let Huo Yuhao die here!
"There's no other way... we have to use that trick!"
A resolute glint flashed in the eyes of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm. It was a secret technique that it had cultivated over millions of years, which could only be used once in its lifetime, and would deplete most of its original power after being used.
But at this moment, it had no other choice.
"Yuhao, hold yourself tight, no matter what happens, don't resist!"
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's voice was solemn like never before. Before it finished speaking, a dazzling silver-white light suddenly emanated from its body.
That was the spiritual essence of a million-year-old soul beast, its light gentle yet carrying immense power, instantly enveloping Huo Yuhao.
A silent scream exploded in Huo Yuhao's mind. The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm exhausted its accumulated power over many years, and its illusory insect body began to become transparent. Countless threads of spiritual energy wrapped around Huo Yuhao's body, forcibly tearing apart the surrounding space.
Click—
A dark crack was forcibly torn open in space, and a chilling spatial turbulence surged out, but it was firmly blocked by the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's source power, and Huo Yuhao was not harmed in the slightest.
Ice Emperor's attack crashed down at that moment, striking the spot where Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had been standing.
The deafening roar blasted a crater tens of meters deep into the ground, sending ice flying everywhere. Thick layers of ice spread for thousands of meters, but the two figures had already vanished the moment the attack landed.
Ice Emperor looked at the empty ice pit, a hint of surprise flashing in his scorpion eyes. He then gathered an even denser power of ice and cold, frantically scanning his surroundings with his divine sense, but could no longer sense the slightest trace of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and Huo Yuhao.
"They actually ran away?"
Ice Emperor frowned slightly, its body radiating a chilling aura. It could feel the power of the space just now, never expecting that the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm would pay such a high price for a human.
Ice Emperor stared coldly into the void for a moment, then finally withdrew his aura, his body sinking beneath the ice layer, returning to his territory.
Meanwhile, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm carried Huo Yuhao, rapidly traversing through the spatial rift.
Huo Yuhao felt dizzy and surrounded by a warm, silvery-white light. He could not hear any sound, nor feel the extreme cold of the far north. Only endless darkness swept past his eyes.
The aura of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm within his body grew weaker and weaker, its illusory form almost dissipated, its originally translucent white body became dull and lifeless, and even the fluctuations of his spiritual power became intermittent.
"Brother Tianmeng..."
Huo Yuhao was anxious and wanted to speak, but he found that he could not make a sound and could only be passively carried forward by the light.
After an unknown amount of time, the spatial rift suddenly closed.
Huo Yuhao crashed heavily onto the thick snow, far from the core of the far north, and back to the relatively safe edge of the far north.
With a thud, Huo Yuhao fell onto the snow. His whole body ached, and blood spilled from his mouth again. Ignoring his injuries, he quickly got up and looked around.
The figure of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm hovered in mid-air, becoming incredibly thin, almost merging into the wind and snow. Its originally lively insect eyes were tightly closed, and its aura was extremely weak.
"Brother Tianmeng! How are you?"
Huo Yuhao hurriedly reached out, trying to touch the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, but his hand passed right through it, his eyes filled with panic and worry.
"I...I'm fine..."
The voice of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind, intermittently.
"Finally... I managed to escape with you... but this secret technique consumed a lot of my life force... I need to sleep for a while..."
It used up its only chance to use the secret technique in its lifetime, losing most of its essence. Not to mention interfering with external affairs, it couldn't even maintain its illusory form. It could only shrink back into Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea and fall into a deep sleep.
"I'm sorry, Yuhao... I failed to find you a second martial soul and even dragged you into danger..."
Tianmeng Bingcan's voice grew softer and softer, filled with guilt, "When you wake up... I will definitely help you fulfill your wish..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the illusory figure of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm completely dissipated, turning into a faint white light that entered Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea and fell into complete silence, with no trace of its presence emanating from it.
Huo Yuhao stood in the wind and snow, his body icy cold, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He finally realized that the second martial soul that Tianmeng Ice Silkworm spoke of was a scheme from the very beginning. However, at the critical moment of life and death, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm spared no effort to exhaust its own resources and used its only secret technique to save his life.
The cold wind continued to howl, blowing the snow off his body. His wounds throbbed with pain, but he stood there motionless for a long time.
He looked down at his hands. He had only level one innate soul power and only one spirit, the Spirit Eye. In this dangerous world of soul masters, he was still incredibly weak.
First came his mother's passing, and now he faces a life-or-death crisis in the far north. The repeated feelings of powerlessness only strengthened his resolve to become stronger.
"Brother Tianmeng, I'll wait for you to wake up."
After a long while, Huo Yuhao murmured softly, his eyes losing their panic and despair, leaving only an unprecedented determination.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, circulated the last of his soul power, identified the direction, and walked step by step toward the outside of the far north.
The wind and snow in the far north were still fierce, but they could not dispel the determination in his eyes.
This sudden crisis, this escape at the cost of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's essence, did not break him; instead, it planted an even stronger belief in his heart.
He knew that only by becoming strong enough could he control his own destiny, repay the kindness of Tianmeng Bingcan who protected him with her life, and fulfill his wish to avenge his mother.
As Huo Yuhao continued forward, his steps became increasingly steady. Even with his soul power depleted and his body covered in injuries, he did not stop.
He walked with difficulty along the snow-covered edge of the far north, his figure gradually disappearing into the swirling snow.
Meanwhile, the Ice Emperor in the core of the far north remains the ruler of that forbidden land, his extreme icy power of four hundred thousand years enveloping the entire region.
No one knows what kind of waves this unexpected clash in the far north, this escape bought with secret techniques, will stir up in the future.
Huo Yuhao was unaware that although he failed to obtain a second martial soul during this trip to the far north, it planted the seed of ultimate ice in his heart, allowing the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's god-making plan to remain dormant, awaiting the opportunity to be restarted in the future.
He simply took one step at a time, gritting his teeth and moving forward through the wind and snow, with only one thought in his mind.
He will survive, strive to become stronger, and one day he will have enough power to never again face such a hopeless situation where he has no way to escape, and never again let those who are good to him pay a heavy price to protect him.
As the snowstorm subsided, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the far northern snowfield, illuminating Huo Yuhao's solitary yet determined figure as he strode towards his return journey.
...............