"Yuhao, we've reached the edge of the core area. The temperature here is extremely low, but it is home to the most powerful soul beasts in the Extreme North. For instance, the Titan Snow Devil King we encountered before could even evade my mental detection. Some beasts here are so fast that it's hard to react in time. We must be very careful."
In the vast expanse of snow and ice, a figure trudged slowly, each step sinking deeply into the snow. Surprisingly, despite the temperature being cold enough to freeze water instantly, this person wore only a thin, white outfit, seemingly unfazed by the freezing cold.
"Tianmeng, since I've acquired the Ice God's legacy, shouldn't I be the master of the Extreme North? Why should I hide? Shouldn't they be bowing to me?" The person was, of course, Huo Yuhao. Hearing Tianmeng's words in his mental sea, he responded helplessly.
"You wish," Tianmeng almost laughed in exasperation. "With your current minimal cultivation, what difference does the Ice God's legacy make? Even if some soul beasts sense the Ice God's aura on you, they might hesitate but would still attack.
"If you encounter those with intelligence on par with humans, or even those fierce beasts like the Three Great Kings of the Extreme North, your Ice God's legacy would be a coveted treasure for them. No soul beast wouldn't want to achieve godhood and immortality. By devouring you, they could obtain the Ice God's legacy themselves!"
Huo Yuhao shook his head in frustration. "So, I still need to become stronger before I can command the entire Extreme North. But by the time I'm strong enough, I could already dominate the Extreme North. What use would their allegiance be then? This Ice God's legacy doesn't seem that useful!"
"Yoohoo!"
A furry white fox head emerged from Huo Yuhao's collar, barking at him discontentedly.
"Alright, alright, it's my fault. The Ice God is the best, the Ice God is invincible, okay?" Huo Yuhao said, half laughing, half crying, raising his hands in mock surrender, which made the little beast retreat back into his collar.
"Yuhao, your luck is extraordinary. As far as I know, only some extremely rare strange fires can develop intelligence and even transform. After absorbing the Profound Ice Cold Flame, it turned into this fire spirit. Truly a marvel of creation," Elder Yao marveled in Huo Yuhao's mental sea.
"No, Master. In my opinion, the Profound Ice Cold Flame is on par with your Bone Spirit Cold Fire in quality and couldn't have transformed on its own. Xiao Han's existence must be due to the magic of the contract," Huo Yuhao replied.
Having obtained the strange fire, Huo Yuhao had already left the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave. The fire spirit formed from the Profound Ice Cold Flame was casually named Xiao Han by Huo Yuhao.
Before leaving, he and Yao Lao didn't forget to collect the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal and the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, precious treasures scarce across the entire continent.
The ice-blue lotus flower, having absorbed countless years of the cave's cold, originally used by the Ice God for cultivation, had evolved to an unknown degree and was naturally taken by Huo Yuhao.
He had tried meditating on the lotus platform, which tripled his cultivation speed. Such a treasure couldn't be left behind.
Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky. The beautiful, dreamy, and dazzling aurora added a touch of eerie charm to this desolate place.
In the core area of the Extreme North, even the snowflakes were hard. The biting wind whipped up the snow, and the icy particles stung his face. When the wind was strong, Huo Yuhao had to crawl on the ground. Though he wasn't afraid of the cold, he wasn't immune to the wind.
However, with the help of the Profound Ice Cold Flame, heating his provisions was easy, and he could sometimes even roast meat in an ice hut, living rather comfortably.
With the Ice God Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao wasn't afraid of the cold, didn't worry about losing heat, and could quench his thirst with snow.
Compared to the original Huo Yuhao, his current life was almost heavenly.
"Alright, this should be the right spot. Now we just need to lie in wait," Tianmeng Iceworm said in the mental sea.
Huo Yuhao chuckled and nodded. The little fox on his shoulder suddenly released a strong heat. The heat melted the ice beneath him, and Huo Yuhao immediately fell through.
Once he stopped falling, he used his Heavy Black Ruler to dig out a small space about ten square meters, leaving a vent for air above. This had been his method for days, resting deep beneath the snow.
Comfortably lying in his self-made snow nest, Huo Yuhao gave Tianmeng in his mental sea an "OK" gesture.
Suddenly, a great wave surged in his mental sea. Huo Yuhao's sole white million-year soul ring quietly appeared, emitting a gentle glow, rhythmically pulsating around him.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao felt his perception rapidly extending outward, expanding far and wide. It felt like viewing from a god's perspective, vastly different from his usual spiritual detection.
In the vast core area of the Extreme North, spanning over ten thousand square kilometers, the light suddenly dimmed, as if transitioning from day to night. An invisible majesty expanded instantly, accompanied by an overwhelming spiritual force, radiating outward from Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was astonished to find his body turning bright gold.
Shaolin Temple's Eighteen Bronze Men? Offend the abbot and expect to leave?
While Huo Yuhao was internally joking, the million-year soul ring turned bright gold. Or rather, this golden color was the true hue of the one and only million-year soul ring on the Douluo Continent.
Ten orbs of golden light began to emerge from Huo Yuhao's forehead. These were Tianmeng Iceworm's spiritual essence, its core power.
Except for the last orb, partially absorbed by Huo Yuhao and extensively used by Electrolux, the remaining nine golden orbs all left Huo Yuhao's mental sea.
The nine golden orbs combined and gradually formed a golden figure identical to Huo Yuhao, even the golden uniform it conjured resembled Shrek Academy's attire.
The usually lazy Tianmeng Iceworm now exuded an imposing and awe-inspiring presence.
"With the power to grasp the sun and moon and pluck the stars, none in the world can compare! Ice Emperor, I know you can sense my presence. I, Tianmeng, have returned for revenge. Dare you meet me?"