Huo Yuhao's body trembled uncontrollably, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent. Gu Yuena observed him with a calm expression, her eyes flickering slightly. Suddenly, a somewhat complex voice echoed in her ear.
"Aren't you afraid that you might kill him by doing this?"
Gu Yuena didn't respond, not even bothering to glance at the speaker, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Her hands unconsciously clenched into fists as she continued to stare intently at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's clothes had already been completely destroyed by the terrifying energy left behind by the two Dragon Kings. His once fair skin was now like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, with one part flushed a bright red and the other pale from extreme cold.
"Though I'm not sure how you sealed that energy, no matter how much of it he absorbs, the pain won't lessen in the slightest. No one can endure such torment."
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass wasn't sure how this girl had discovered the secret buried beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but after observing her closely, it could roughly guess a few things.
Even so, the audacity of these two went far beyond its imagination. If it were that dragon-like girl absorbing the energy, that would be understandable, but the one doing it was clearly a human boy!
From what it sensed, this human was weak. It was already a miracle that he hadn't been annihilated by this terrifying energy. And yet, he dared to try and absorb it?
Gu Yuena seemed affected by the comment, casting a cold glance at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and speaking calmly, "As long as I'm here, he won't die."
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass' branches trembled slightly, as if something had dawned on it. "A human is actually worth this much to you?"
"I'm only…"
Gu Yuena gazed silently at Huo Yuhao before murmuring softly, "I'm only seeing a certain future in him."
"That future makes me full of hope, and it's worth taking a gamble on."
"This is just a bit of energy—why wouldn't it be worth it?"
"You know that's not what I meant. I'm talking about your so-called method to ensure he doesn't die."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena glanced at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass once more. "That's none of your concern. Instead of worrying about him, you should focus on your own future."
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass fell silent immediately, understanding what Gu Yue Na meant. Without the support of dragon energy, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's existence was uncertain—would it last a thousand years? Ten thousand?
For plant-type spirit beasts, who lived far longer than most, those timeframes were still painfully short.
If Huo Yuhao spoke of those things, many of them might feel resentment. But ever since they realized they were nothing more than parasites in captivity, their perspective had shifted.
Even if the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well remained, how many would willingly stay behind, only to be plucked by humans to become supplements?
Before the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass could ponder further, Gu Yue Na seemed to sense something and turned her head toward Huo Yuhao, whose body had started shaking violently. The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass spoke in an oddly serious tone, "He's nearing his limit."
Just as Gu Yuena was about to intervene, Huo Yuhao's body suddenly radiated with golden light. Bathed in the glow, his trembling body miraculously calmed down.
"What… How is this possible!?"
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass was incredulous. "What is that golden light?"
Gu Yuena didn't answer, quietly observing the shimmering golden light fluctuating like breath around Huo Yuhao. After a long while, she spoke with a meaningful tone.
"It seems that the little silkworm isn't just sleeping after all."
In Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, the pressure had suddenly lifted, giving him a much-needed moment to catch his breath.
"Brother Tianmeng, you're awake?"
"Mhm, I woke up just in time to see you absorbing such terrifying energy. You nearly scared me to death… Damn, it hurts! How did you find something like this?"
"That's a long story, thanks to Gu Yuena…"
After briefly explaining, Huo Yuhao noticed Tianmeng Iceworm had gone quiet.
"Brother Tianmeng, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just… suddenly feel emotional." Tianmeng Iceworm's voice choked up. "The difference between humans and silkworms is just too much… The pain, it's unbearable. Don't talk to me anymore."
"..."
Outside, Gu Yuena continued watching Huo Yuhao intently. As time passed, the red and pale hues on Huo Yuhao's skin gradually faded. A chilling aura, though weaker than before, began spreading from his body.
Moments later, crystal-clear, ice-white, diamond-shaped dragon scales began to grow from his palms, slowly extending up his arms until they covered both forearms. The scales then stopped growing.
Watching Huo Yuhao's martial soul evolve up close, even Gu Yuena found it somewhat miraculous.
"Did… did it really succeed?"
Not far away, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass murmured to itself in disbelief. It was unimaginable that this young human had survived through sheer willpower.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao, who had kept his lips tightly shut for a long time, finally exhaled a slow breath of white mist.
When he opened his eyes, his once blue irises had transformed into a silver-white, like mirrors. But the most striking feature was the thin, slit pupils within—vertical pupils.
For beast martial soul masters, the closer their physical traits resembled their martial soul during soul possession, the higher their martial soul fusion rate, and thus the stronger their combat abilities. The change in his eyes was undoubtedly a significant milestone.
In his past life, Qiu'er had been considered a genius by the Heavenly Dragon Gate because of her vertical pupils. Now that Huo Yuhao had absorbed the Ice Dragon King's power and completed his martial soul evolution, his fusion rate was exceptionally high.
Without even a single spirit ring, his soul possession allowed his arms to be covered in dragon scales and granted him dragon-like pupils. The strength of his ice-element martial soul was undeniable.
"Did it succeed?"
Huo Yuhao, who had been examining his arms, looked up with a smile when he heard the voice beside him.
"Mhm, I have to thank you for this."
"How does it feel?"
"Amazing."
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but marvel at the power. Though he had only absorbed a sliver of the Dragon Core's energy, the evolution of his ice-element martial soul far surpassed his previous Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion in both strength and physical enhancement.
His evolved beast martial soul retained the ice-control abilities from his earlier form, allowing him to manipulate the surrounding temperature at will.
In terms of combat strength, he wasn't just a step stronger—he had leaped several levels. And this wasn't the end. With future spirit soul contracts with Ice Emperor and Snow Empress, his martial soul would evolve again. The thought filled him with anticipation.
Hearing this, Gu Yuena glanced at the two Dragon Cores in her hand before storing them. Then, just as she had when they arrived, she gently took Huo Yuhao's hand.
"Since it's over, let's go."
"One moment."
Huo Yuhao tugged at her hand and surveyed the gathered plant-type spirit beasts, speaking loudly.
"I don't know what your plans are. Whether you want to stay here or venture beyond the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, if you choose the latter, I can help."
He explained the benefits of a spirit soul contract and even summoned Brother Tianmeng from his spiritual sea as an example.
"I'll give you time to consider. The next time I visit, if any of you are willing to become a human spirit soul, I will do my best to find you the most suitable host."
Unlike beast-type spirit beasts, plant-type spirit beasts could regenerate from energy even if their host died, making the offer quite tempting.
Noticing the plants' growing interest, Huo Yuhao nodded at Gu Yuena.
"Let's go."
(End of Chapter)