After Huo Yuhao obtained his sixth spirit ring, the group immediately began hunting powerful spirit beasts in the Extreme North.
They couldn't count on someone selling them an ice-attribute left arm bone.
After all, spirit bones were rare and valuable. Ordinary soul masters would absorb them immediately and keep it a secret.
No one would trade their own arm and future as a soul master for a few seemingly attractive benefits—
—unless the offer was simply irresistible.
But Huo Yuhao and his group had nothing that tempting to offer, and Shrek Academy wouldn't foot the bill either.
So their only option was to search for and hunt spirit beasts while keeping an eye out for bones.
The stronger and more unique the beast, the higher the chance it would drop a spirit bone. Even if it wasn't a left arm bone, they could trade it later.
Just in case someone did have a left arm bone, they didn't want to be unprepared.
Although killing spirit beasts made Zhang Lexuan and the other two girls uncomfortable, they didn't object. To save Ling Luocheng's arm and future, it was worth it.
After all, those beasts would only lose their lives. But Ling Luocheng had already lost an arm—and possibly her bright future.
What's more, the soul beasts in the Extreme North had just caused a beast tide. They were all evil soul beasts, and death was coming for them anyway. Clearing them out would help prevent another outbreak.
They began in the Thorn Forest.
Eventually, the four split into two-man teams to hunt more efficiently.
Huo Yuhao teamed up with Wei Na. Since they had a martial soul fusion technique, their combined strength was comparable to that of a Soul Sage, so they were safe.
Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan also split up but hunted in the same direction to quickly back each other up if needed.
Everyone carried signal flares in case of emergency or danger.
Each day, they returned to a set location to rest and check in with each other.
The real hunt had begun.
Huo Yuhao secretly released two Centipede Leg Clones to follow Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao, hoping to pick up some benefits from their hunts.
He didn't care about flesh, but he had to bring back the souls.
Because Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan were targeting ten-thousand-year beasts, some over fifty thousand years old.
…
Half an hour later—
Huo Yuhao absorbed the spirit ring of a 30,000-year-old Cold Thorn Poison Spider, upgrading his second ring.
Wei Na stood dumbly to the side, eyes blank, her consciousness lost in a dreamlike memory Huo Yuhao had woven for her.
The two Centipede Clones soon returned, having slaughtered every ten-thousand-year beast nearby—most of them Cold Thorn Poison Spiders too.
Huo Yuhao personally harvested the ghosts into his ghost banner, consumed the beasts' blood and essence, and collected all the spirit rings.
Whether ten years or ten thousand—it all added up.
Huo Yuhao's own absorption was far more efficient than using the Centipede Clones to craft pills.
Once all traces were cleaned up, he took Wei Na to the next monster respawn zone. With his Aura Vision skill active, he had full map visibility—he could see exactly where high-level monsters were hiding.
His next target: a 40,000-year-old Ice Thorn Snake!
Perfect to upgrade his fourth ring.
On the way to hunt the snake, Huo Yuhao lit a cigar.
"Let's test out Cai Tou's sixth soul skill…"
Sixth Soul Skill: Daddy's Got a Hard Cigar!
Thorny Rebound Hard Cigar!
As he puffed smoke, a faintly glowing thorny shield surrounded him.
Huo Yuhao confronted the Ice Thorn Snake and tested the cigar's effects.
Huo Yuhao: "Open up! Water meter check!"
Ice Thorn Snake: "Take my ice spikes!"
When the spikes hit the thorny shield, the Ice Thorn Snake recoiled as if wounded by its own attack. It even showed signs of cold poison infection.
But since it was a venomous beast, its poison resistance was strong. Instead of weakening, it went berserk and attacked more furiously.
Huo Yuhao calmly activated the Frost Centipede Armor and continued absorbing damage with his reflective thorns.
In the end, Huo Yuhao didn't move at all, while the Ice Thorn Snake was left battered and bruised.
Eventually, the snake tried to flee—but Huo Yuhao caught up and ate it like a spicy snack.
Hmm… a bit toothy.
This fight helped Huo Yuhao better understand the effects of the Thorny Rebound Cigar and the Reflective Thorns.
Reflective Thorns: Only triggers on physical contact. Damage is physical. No time limit or discovered damage cap. Damage reflects 100% of what was received.
Thorny Rebound Cigar: Reflects soul skill attacks, poisons enemies, and boosts defense. Has a time limit. Damage reflection is 60%, but will increase as Cai Tou gets stronger.
Simply put—one reflects physical, the other reflects magic.
Different soul skills from the same beast—mutated because of different martial souls.
He cleaned up the battlefield and absorbed the ring.
And there it was… a soul bone.
An ice-attribute left arm bone.
40,000-Year Ice Thorn Snake Left Arm Bone!
Huo Yuhao: "…"
Fate?
Yuhao wasn't convinced.
He still wanted to test an idea on Ling Luocheng. If it worked, she could essentially gain a second martial soul.
Huo Yuhao: "Don't worry. Brother Hao will get you something better~ Be good~"
"Anyway, I'll stash this bone for now."
With that, he resumed hunting.
At night—
The four regrouped at the agreed spot.
Wei Na had returned to normal. In the false memory, she and Huo Yuhao had hunted together, deepening their bond. She was happy, and had no suspicions.
Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao had no trouble either.
The Centipede Clones brought back a few souls and pills from the beasts they'd tracked.
A good haul.
Then it was rest time.
This time, Zhang Lexuan insisted on taking the first night watch. Huo Yuhao second. Ma Xiaotao last.
She just wanted Yuhao, Ma Xiaotao, and Wei Na to get whatever they wanted out of their systems—so it wouldn't disturb her later.
An hour should be enough.
Though Ma Xiaotao and Wei Na were confused, neither objected.
Then…
When Ma Xiaotao went outside—
Zhang Lexuan, trying to rest, was again woken by sounds that made her blush and feel flustered. She had to suppress her emotions with soul power.
"Wei Na? No, Lexuan-senpai is still here?"
"It's fine, Yuhao. She's asleep… And doesn't it feel even more exciting this way?"
"But…"
"You spent the last hour with Sister Xiaotao! I want my turn~"
Zhang Lexuan: "Huh?"
An hour wasn't enough?
Another restless night for Zhang Lexuan.
And then… a whole week passed. Zhang Lexuan began to adapt.
Because it was always either Wei Na or Ma Xiaotao playing "little games" with Huo Yuhao while she pretended to sleep.
It was like she had become a prop in their play.
Over time, she got used to it—maybe even curious. She wasn't sure how to feel anymore.
After seven days—
Huo Yuhao perked up.
The pills were finally complete!
Day Eight.
Another day out hunting.
By now, Huo Yuhao and his three companions had explored a valley. Their hunting pattern remained unchanged—split into two groups, targeting only soul beasts over ten thousand years old.
Over the past few days, Huo Yuhao had gained much.
But today, Huo Yuhao had something personal to take care of.
He led Wei Na through a tunnel he'd prepared in advance, sneaking into the interior of a mountain.
Wei Na was placed in a separate, safe space where she slept peacefully.
Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, entered a stone chamber carved into the mountain.
The centipede-legged clone that had excavated the tunnel and chamber had even thoughtfully crafted a stone meditation cushion for him.
Sitting cross-legged on the cushion, Huo Yuhao took out the egg.
The once vibrant egg had turned an ashen gray, lifeless and cracked all over. It looked so fragile it might crumble at a touch.
But this wasn't a sign of failure—it meant success.
All the vitality and energy of the egg had been completely absorbed by the elixir hidden within.
Carefully, Huo Yuhao broke the egg apart.
Inside was a heap of shriveled fragments resembling a dried corpse. The vague outline of the little Bone-Melting Ice Catfish could still be seen, but everything was thin and brittle, crumbling at the slightest touch.
At the heart of where the catfish's heart once was, Huo Yuhao found a blood-red elixir.
Though it was called an elixir, it was actually the catfish's heart refined into its original form—blood-red like a blood jade, still pulsing rhythmically. It looked eerie and unsettling.
But who says elixirs must be round?
Who says they can't beat like a heart?
A heart-shaped elixir was perfectly valid.
The moment he held it, Huo Yuhao sensed the life force, hidden medicinal energy, and even a hint of spiritual essence that surpassed the soul.
He admired it briefly, then swallowed it in one gulp without hesitation.
It didn't dissolve in his mouth—
It felt like gulping raw meat, nearly choking him, but he forced it down.
Once it hit his stomach, he sat cross-legged and activated his Demonic-Buddha Technique, cultivating to extract and dissolve the elixir's hidden properties.
This special elixir would normally take a full day to absorb.
But Huo Yuhao had an exceptional helper—
The Seven-Colored Sea Heart Snow Lotus!
Its roots, spread throughout Huo Yuhao's body, extended from his stomach lining and pierced into the elixir, extracting its power and distributing it throughout his body.
Ordinary soul masters or cultivators only had one set of meridians.
But for Huo Yuhao, the lotus roots formed a second network, helping him absorb the elixir more efficiently.
As the potent medicinal energy surged through him, Huo Yuhao grunted—because it was poisonous!
The first wave coursed through his body, turning his skin blood red—tiny blood droplets seeping from his pores dyed him completely. His face was horrifying, as if bleeding from all seven orifices—he looked moments from death.
This was the work of a deadly poison, a fusion of nine kinds of exotic toxins from the Nine-Colored Poison Seed!
Refining it into an elixir maximized its power, but made absorbing it extremely dangerous. The risk of death was immense.
A true life-or-death gamble.
But so what?
For Huo Yuhao, this elixir wouldn't kill him. Even if he failed, he'd only be seriously injured.
If it wouldn't kill him—why not take the risk?
His Frost Centipede martial spirit immediately armored his body.
He channeled his extreme ice to resist the toxins, used his own poison attribute to absorb and fuse the toxins, and supported himself with his light and spiritual attributes.
His Evil Eye martial spirit activated, enhancing his constitution and allowing him to detect any flaws in the process and correct them.
Above him floated the Ghost Banner martial spirit, unleashing both its Life Devour and Blood Fiend domains to enhance Huo Yuhao's strength.
As his life-bound artifact, the Ghost Banner poured power into him, aiding in absorbing the elixir.
And the Seven-Colored Sea Heart Snow Lotus, not willing to see him suffer, released radiant lotus light to envelop him, soothing his pain and pressure.
With the snow lotus's help, Huo Yuhao was more confident in his success and could devote more attention to precisely guiding the process and maximizing the benefits.
His Golden Core in the lower dantian shook, drawing in the medicinal, soul, and cultivation energies—refining and transforming them into a higher form:
True cultivation power—mana!
In Buddhist cultivation, it's golden mana. Demons cultivate black demonic energy.
Though he practiced the Demon-Buddha Technique, Huo Yuhao was human, so he cultivated mana, with a slight demonic tint.
By contrast, someone like Pudu Cihang cultivated demonic energy with mana-like qualities.
Not much difference—just different appearances.
Pudu Cihang's energy glows gold. Huo Yuhao's mana carries black mist.
No big deal~
What mattered was power.
Huo Yuhao's cultivation officially began to transform toward the Arhat (Zen Master) path.
His only limitation now was a lack of bloodline power.
His White Tiger visualization hadn't improved. If it did evolve on its own, he could break through even without supplementing his bloodline.
But obviously, using external power to enhance his bloodline would be faster and easier.
Reaching this level in under two years was already astonishing in the cultivation world.
But Huo Yuhao had a Destiny fate-level constitution.
For him, this was simply... normal progress.
As for soul master levels?
To Huo Yuhao, they were just numbers.
With his quality of power and cultivation steadily rising, he could grow stronger even if his rank didn't increase.
Moreover, Huo Yuhao had a feeling:
Once he supplemented his bloodline and advanced to the Arhat stage, he might be able to condense his own mana soul ring.
Still, he would eventually need to absorb a seventh soul ring.
He wasn't there yet.
The black-misted mana flowing from his Golden Core passed through his heart, was tempered by his Heart Flame, and became even more refined.
It fused with the deadly poisons in his body, merging with his poison attribute.
At last, his poison attribute reached its absolute peak.
And then—Huo Yuhao had a flash of insight.
His Evil Eye evolved into the Eye of All Laws, opening the path to comprehension.
He began to comprehend the nature and application of poison on a profound level.
So profound that he forgot the passage of time—forgot even himself.
This was—true enlightenment.
And as he entered this state, his entire being began to transform.
The poison attribute that had reached its limit now took a final, quiet step forward...
...and ascended to the realm of Ultimate Poison!
As Huo Yuhao's poison attribute officially evolved into the Ultimate Poison, icy-white cold poison gas spread out from his body, permeating the stone chamber, freezing the hard rock, which then completely shattered.
It seemed simple, yet it wasn't caused by Huo Yuhao intentionally attacking—it was the "lethal poison" effect brought about by the Ultimate Poison!
All Ultimate Attributes possess an indelible nature and also come with derivative effects.
For example:
Ultimate Ice brings extreme cold,
Ultimate Fire brings extreme heat,
Ultimate Light has a purification effect.
The derivative effect of Ultimate Poison is called "Absolute Destruction."
If it touches a living organism, it destroys their internal cells. If it touches matter, it destroys its internal structure. Anything that comes into contact with Ultimate Poison will be broken down and destroyed.
Only other Ultimate Attributes can resist Ultimate Poison.
Ultimately, poison is a form of destruction to its target, and Ultimate Poison takes that to the extreme.
Of course, Ultimate Poison also granted Huo Yuhao a new ability: Poison Synthesis. He could combine Ultimate Poison with other attributes or abilities to create a variety of special poisons.
Ordinary poison attributes—and even life or purification-related powers—are suppressed by Ultimate Poison.
This includes the Seven-Colored Sea Heart Snow Lotus.
The Ultimate Poison entered the Snow Lotus through its roots, suppressing and damaging its life attribute.
At that very moment, within his epiphany, Huo Yuhao instinctively suppressed his Ultimate Poison and instead transformed it into nourishment to support the Snow Lotus.
The Snow Lotus's damaged life attribute began to recover and gradually formed a unique bond with Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Poison. Their soul power became compatible and began to cultivate together.
Wasn't this a form of dual cultivation?
The transformation into Ultimate Poison brought the most significant change to his Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul!
The Frost Centipede Armor reverted into the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul, floating above Huo Yuhao's head. This time, without the Sky Dream Iceworm's divine core, it existed on its own.
Compared to the core form, the current Mutant Frost Centipede looked even more like a real centipede.
It had been completed!
It was the spirituality within the elixir that completed it.
From a cultivator's perspective, this Martial Soul, now partially refined into a spiritual artifact, had given birth to its own Artifact Spirit!
Though faint, the presence of an artifact spirit marks a massive transformation for any artifact.
The Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul immediately awakened a new divine ability!
It opened its mouth and began to devour everything around it, wildly sucking in the shattered stone fragments in the chamber like a hurricane.
Its stomach was like a deep-sea vortex—bottomless. Despite consuming massive amounts of stone, it remained unsatisfied.
Yet, the stones didn't harm it at all—they were digested and converted into energy, increasing its physical durability.
Possibly due to the essence of the Icebone Catfish, which filled in its flaws, the divine ability it awakened was similar to but stronger than the catfish's racial talent.
This divine ability was called:
Devour and Assimilate!
It can devour anything to enhance itself.
In simple terms: "You are what you eat."
Even breathing air might grant wind control powers.
After consuming the stone fragments, it slightly enhanced its toughness.
But the divine ability was just one of the transformations.
Six soul rings floated around the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul, revealing their true colors:
Red, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red!
The soul rings pulsed wildly.
Finally, the transformation began. A strange aura spread from the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul—
It was a Domain!
The Mutant Frost Centipede had awakened its own domain!
…
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes again, half a day had passed.
Although his appearance was wretched and he was covered in blood, he felt incredibly powerful.
His physique and spiritual power had both been strengthened.
But that wasn't what Huo Yuhao cared about the most.
He felt the Ultimate Poison, a force equal in might to Ultimate Ice, and couldn't help but twitch his cheek—then burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! The Ultimate Poison—has succeeded!!!"
"From today on, I'm not just dual-ultimate… I'm a Five-Ultimate Attribute Soul Master!!!"
The Ultimate Attributes of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and Jin Qiu'er were now also part of his own!
His joy at mastering Ultimate Poison nearly made Huo Yuhao giddy.
After a while, he calmed down, though he still couldn't hide his grin.
Next came the time to organize his gains.
His physical and mental strength had improved—his physique rivaled a Super Douluo, and his mental strength nearly matched a Peak Douluo. And this was just his normal state.
As for soul power… or rather, magic power, his cultivation had transformed, devouring his soul power. But his realm hadn't broken through yet.
"So… am I now a Half-Step Zen Master? Though this black aura magic power looks a bit shady." Huo Yuhao mused.
His Soul Master level hadn't advanced. Before becoming a Zen Master, he still needed to hunt for soul rings. But a 200,000-year soul ring shouldn't be difficult for him anymore.
Through a serendipitous event, his Ultimate Poison had fused with the Snow Lotus's life attribute. While the Snow Lotus benefited more from their joint cultivation, Huo Yuhao didn't mind—he even looked forward to the lotus's growth.
This fusion could one day be developed into a new fusion technique.
Finally, the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul's transformation:
It was now complete and could exist independently.
Main attributes: Ultimate Poison + Ultimate Ice.
Secondary attributes: Spiritual Power + Light (both strong in their own right).
It had developed a faint intelligence—a kind of spirit consciousness.
While the soul ring years hadn't changed, the first true soul ring now had a second soul skill!
The original was "Frost Centipede Poison," the signature innate skill.
The new one, born from its transformation, was:
Frost Centipede Doom!
Effect: Harness the power of Ultimate Poison and Ultimate Ice to strike with devastating force, inflicting massive damage to a single target. The poison and ice invade the opponent's body, damaging their body, Martial Soul, potential, and even lifespan.
"This soul skill… is definitely OP!" Even Huo Yuhao was shocked.
Never mind the "massive damage"—just being able to damage a Martial Soul, potential, and lifespan was terrifying.
He suddenly had a bold idea:
"Those old guys—strong, sure, but they don't have much lifespan left anyway, right?"
"Right, Elder Mu~"
Beyond the soul skill, the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul also formally awakened its own domain:
Frost Centipede Domain!
Created from the fusion of Ultimate Poison and Ultimate Ice.
Effects (Three):
Self Buff: Physical attributes (strength, speed, attack speed, defense) increase by 10%. Enemies' attributes decrease by 20%.
Attribute Suppression: Within the domain, all enemy attributes are weakened by 10%. If enemies possess Poison, Ice, Spirit, or Light attributes, those are weakened by 20%. Huo Yuhao's own attributes are boosted by 20%.
Environmental Effects: The domain is filled with Ultimate Poison and Ultimate Ice, causing corrosion, destruction, freezing, and extreme cold. These effects cannot be purified or dispelled.
Note: The natural suppression of ordinary attributes by Ultimate Attributes is not included in the domain's listed effects.
After sensing the domain's effects, Huo Yuhao could only say:
"Strong! So strong! Incredibly strong!"
Finally, there was the divine ability — the Devour and Transform Technique.
Once Huo Yuhao understood the effects of the Devour and Transform Technique, he saw even greater potential and higher achievements for the Mutant Frost Centipede martial soul.
Huo Yuhao now had his own Golden-Horned Beast~
"When we visit friends in the future, souls and top-tier materials go to the Ghost Banner martial soul. The flesh essence, herbs, soul rings, soul bones, and special bloodlines go to me. As for the rest of the bloodline and regular materials, they go to the Mutant Frost Centipede. If there's really nothing edible left, just eat some dirt, rocks, buildings — they're great for stamina and defense."
"We absolutely need to make our friends feel like they're right at home!"
Huo Yuhao was thrilled, but Skydream Iceworm was dumbfounded.
Skydream Iceworm emerged from the spiritual sea, circling the Mutant Frost Centipede martial soul several times, as if seeing it for the first time. Eventually, he muttered,
"This isn't the divine ability I was helping it awaken…"
It didn't matter that the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul Express could no longer be ridden.
But if the awakened divine ability wasn't the one he had been working on — that was a huge problem!
Let's not forget, Skydream Iceworm had been working hard all this time to help awaken the centipede's divine ability.
Just as the awakening was about to succeed — another divine ability took its place.
It's like being right at the final boss of a game, only for your save file to be overwritten.
The worm couldn't take it!!!
Skydream Iceworm lay down and threw a tantrum.
Huo Yuhao kicked him in the chest, bringing him back to his senses.
"Skydream bro, quit howling. Your development progress wasn't lost!"
"Really?" The kicked Skydream stopped howling, looked up, but before Huo Yuhao could answer, he fell flat on the ground again.
"Ow~"
How could a primordial spirit even feel pain?
Maybe he thought it hurt — so it did.
But a second later, Skydream Iceworm reappeared beside Huo Yuhao, unhurt and full of anticipation, with a flattering look:
"Yuhao bro, tell me the details~"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes.
"When I was sensing the Mutant Frost Centipede's condition just now, I found that the divine ability you were working on hadn't disappeared. In fact, thanks to this opportunity, it's been fully developed. It transformed from an innate divine ability into an acquired one. The effect should still meet your expectations."
Normally, a martial soul can only awaken one innate divine ability. But acquired divine abilities, which are learned through cultivation, can be multiple. However, acquired ones are usually weaker than innate ones, thus often considered a "downgrade."
For example, the Centipede Legs Clone Technique of the Mutant Frost Centipede was learned from Pudu Cihang's clone technique and was thus a downgraded acquired ability. It can only create clones equal in number to its centipede legs, whereas Pudu Cihang could produce endless clones.
Fortunately, thanks to the differences between worlds and the soul master system's fusion power, the strength of the clones was enhanced.
Given the centipede's bloodline, it could only awaken one innate divine ability. Thus, the divine ability developed by Skydream Iceworm became an acquired one.
He had intended to merge his strongest mental attribute with the centipede's ultimate ice and poison attributes to develop a spiritual-type divine ability.
In cultivator terms, this would be called a divine soul transformation technique.
Now, that previously unawakened ability had fully taken shape during the centipede's evolution. Although it became an acquired divine ability, its power and effect were on par with innate ones.
Divine Ability — Heavenly Dream Transformation.
Named after Skydream Iceworm, it originated from the simulation skills of the Iceworm race and evolved into a transformation technique.
Effect:
By forming a mental connection with a target, the user can transform into the target — including appearance and aura, even memories. If the target is killed and its power absorbed, the user can replicate the target's martial soul, attributes, and soul skills. The transformation reproduces about 70% of the target's power. As the user's own power increases, so does the transformation's strength.
If wearing the target's skin, transformation is perfect.
No time limit. Can transform repeatedly.
As for accessing the target's memories — you think that initial mental connection was just a simple link?
Also, the one who uses this divine ability isn't Huo Yuhao, but the Mutant Frost Centipede!
After understanding the ability, Skydream Iceworm's expression turned complex. It was similar to what he had imagined — but not quite the same.
"It kinda resembles the Mirror Beast's abilities, but stronger… Just a bit… evil."
"Who cares if it's evil? As long as it's useful, I'm not picky," Huo Yuhao laughed.
"True…" Skydream nodded.
The Mutant Frost Centipede then tested the ability by transforming into the forms of Wei Na, Ma Xiaotao, and Zhang Lexuan.
But without mental connection, it could only mimic their appearance, not their aura or memories.
Suddenly, Skydream Iceworm had a brainwave:
"Yuhao bro, do you think… do you think the centipede can transform into soul beasts?"
Huo Yuhao was stunned, then turned to the centipede.
"Transform!"
Mutant Frost Centipede: "…"
Are humans no longer enough for the master?
Later that night.
Huo Yuhao and Wei Na arrived at the designated meeting spot. Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao had already returned.
However, judging by their expressions, neither of them had any real gains, and their emotions were less stable than before.
Wei Na was in a similar state.
Huo Yuhao, however, was faking it.
Because he gained something every day.
And when it came to Ling Luocheng, Huo Yuhao wasn't worried at all.
Though today brought little gain, his breakthrough in strength made him even happier.
"Let's rest," Ma Xiaotao said helplessly.
Huo Yuhao started pitching tents.
Zhang Lexuan watched him at work, then glanced at Ma Xiaotao and Wei Na — falling into a moment of silence.
In the boredom of the Far North, the daily antics of Huo Yuhao and his group had become an unexpected source of entertainment.
"What's wrong with me?" Zhang Lexuan suddenly shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
Night fell.
Though the sky still remained bright.
Now it was Huo Yuhao's turn to keep watch. He stood alone outside the tent, gazing at the icy plains ahead. A golden light shimmered in his eyes.
Aura Vision — activate!
The originally barren icefield was suddenly lit with golden streams of fate and fortune, creating a unique landscape in his view.
Amid these golden lights, powerful and rare soul beast projections darted about.
Eventually, his eyes locked onto one majestic projection:
200,000-year Titan Snow Demon King!
Ice attribute, Titan bloodline, suspected Ice God bloodline.
Perfect for the seventh soul ring of the Mutant Frost Centipede!
Now that the poison attribute was no longer necessary, Huo Yuhao could be more flexible with the soul ring's type.
And they weren't far from the Titan Snow Demon King's territory.
After all, it was the only one of the Three Great Kings that would occasionally roam near the outer areas!
Several more days of exploration and hunting had passed.
Including the previous seven days of hunting, Huo Yuhao had gained immensely—he had collected over a hundred ghost souls of soul beasts with cultivation over ten thousand years, approaching a hundred and fifty.
As for those below ten thousand years, their numbers reached into the tens of thousands, densely packed throughout the Ghost Banner Martial Soul's space.
Naturally, this caused the power of the Ghost Banner Martial Soul to skyrocket.
It also worsened the already scarce soul beast resources in the Extreme North.
But—who cares~?
Huo Yuhao had also gathered a large number of blood essence pills and useful materials from soul beasts.
He even found many rare herbs and ores.
Most of the lower-quality or mediocre ones were fed to his Variant Ice Jade Centipede Martial Soul, allowing it to grow stronger.
The blood essence pills, on the other hand, were absorbed by Huo Yuhao to strengthen his body and boost his power.
Of course, Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao had gains as well.
Their goal was soul bones—and they actually managed to get two. Given their strong luck and the strength of the soul beasts they killed, it wasn't surprising.
Unfortunately, while both bones had ice attributes, neither was a left arm bone. One was a right arm bone, and the other a left leg bone.
Huo Yuhao also revealed a trunk bone he had obtained to show his own harvest.
That particular trunk bone, newly acquired, was only 10,000 years old and came from a Glacier Pangolin.
In fact, after obtaining the Ice Thorn Serpent's left arm bone, Huo Yuhao had obtained four more soul bones. The 10,000-year-old trunk bone was just one of them. The other three had even higher age limits, and two of them were already integrated into his body.
Since they were all ice-attribute bones, they were merged into his existing left arm bone.
This boosted the age of the left arm bone to 190,000 years!
It was on the verge of breaking through to the 200,000-year mark.
But Huo Yuhao had a hunch—once a soul bone surpasses 200,000 years, something unusual would happen. That's why he held off on fusing the last 20,000-year bone.
However, after the integration of the two bones, while the power of his soul skill was enhanced, it didn't evolve into a new technique.
Because the integrated bones weren't extraordinary enough, they didn't spark an evolution in his soul skills.
Excluding the spirit-forged external soul bones, Huo Yuhao now had four regular soul bones, namely:
Ice Radiance Left Arm Bone (with partial palm bones), upgraded to 190,000 years. Attributes: Ultimate Ice + Light.
Soul Skills: Dragonification, Ice Radiance Dragon Strike.
Bone Spirit: Ah Hui, with soul skills Ice Radiance Dragon's Roar, Ice Radiance Dragon's Radiance.
Bone Trait: Ice Radiance, which strengthens both ice and light powers.
Tyrant Dragon Right Leg Bone, now 150,000 years after absorbing two golden-bloodline soul bones from the Tyrant Dragon's nest.
Attribute: Strength + Golden Bloodline.
Soul Skills: Tyrant Armor, Tyrant Shockwave.
Bone Spirit: A successfully tamed Tyrant Dragon with Tyrant Transformation and Tyrant Roar.
Bone Trait: Golden Power, boosts physical strength.
110,000-year Golden Heartshield, an external bone whose age increased naturally with Huo Yuhao's growth.
Attributes: Earth + Water, with Auspicious Power.
Soul Skills: Golden Turtle Barrier, Auspicious Protection.
70,000-year Terror Demon Dragon Skull Bone.
Attribute: Spirit.
Soul Skill: Terrifying Gaze.
Only soul bones enhanced through spirit-forging developed special traits.
His original external spirit-forged soul bones had also been enhanced by the Golden Ancient Tree and the Sea God's power, all now reaching the 10,000-year level, with soul power amplification increased to 15%.
Additionally, Huo Yuhao gained three new spirit-forged external soul bones:
Left thumb from a 1,000-year Snowfield Wolf,
Right middle finger from a 1,000-year Frost-Spike Venom Spider,
Right index finger from a 1,000-year Snowfield Venom Scorpion.
Each provided a 10% boost in soul power.
With that, all five fingers of his left hand were equipped with external soul bones, connecting to the palm bone in his left arm, forming a complete soul bone assembly in his left arm.
Interestingly, these bones began resonating faintly, seemingly trying to merge into a unified set.
Huo Yuhao would need to nurture them further to fully fuse them.
He suspected this might be the embryonic form of a soul bone set.
Because all these bones had been forged by him and bore his aura, they were starting to synchronize and had potential to fuse.
As for his soul rings, aside from the third, all others had been raised above 50,000 years.
The third ring hadn't been upgraded simply because lizard- and dragon-type soul beasts were scarce in the Extreme North.
Even so, this massive improvement made Huo Yuhao more confident about his next hunt—the Titan Snow Demon King.
A rare-bloodline super soul beast, the Titan Snow Demon King far outmatched ordinary 200,000-year vicious beasts in combat power.
With continued hunting, Huo Yuhao and his team were nearing the outer edge of the core region.
Even Zhang Lexuan grew serious.
She had gathered intelligence from Shrek Academy and Tian Dou City about the Extreme North, and she knew just how dangerous the core region was. She'd heard of the legendary Three Great Kings of the Extreme North—each one stronger than a 100,000-year soul beast.
Huo Yuhao's ancestors had passed down some related information as well.
Xuan Zi had even fought the Titan Snow Demon King and been chased by the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor. And these were only second and third-ranked. The top-ranked Snow Empress was said to be even more terrifying.
In this environment, encountering any one of the Three Kings meant certain death—no escape.
Even after the beast tide, the Extreme North remained dangerous. Many soul beasts who ventured into the core recently never returned.
So Zhang Lexuan knew—they couldn't go any further.
"We can't go any deeper. But soul beasts here are stronger and more numerous. That gives us a higher chance of obtaining the soul bones we need."
"So, we'll start hunting sideways across this region. But we only have one day! After that, regardless of whether we find the left arm bone or not, we must retreat from the Extreme North."
"And while hunting, everyone must stay alert. If you notice anything unusual, retreat immediately. Don't wait for signals or look for others—your own safety comes first!"
Her tone was far more serious than before.
Everyone, including Huo Yuhao, nodded solemnly.
"No time to waste. Let's begin today's hunt!" Zhang Lexuan concluded.
The four of them split into two teams again and moved in different directions.
Once Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao were out of sight, Huo Yuhao made a sharp turn—and headed straight into the core region.
As for Wei Na, the light in her eyes had dimmed once again, but she didn't follow Huo Yuhao. Protected by her four centipede-leg clones, she continued today's hunt while slowly retreating toward the outer edge.
Huo Yuhao looked off into the distance at the fate projection of the Titan Snow Demon King and licked his lips.
"Titan Snow Demon King, Hao-ge is coming~"