Chapter 55: Fusion
"Hurry up and release me!" the Ice Emperor said coldly to Tianmeng.
Deep within the Far North, inside the ice cavern, the moment the Ice Emperor's bone-chilling voice rang out, the golden orb of spiritual light that was the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm visibly flickered with glee. The spiritual bindings entwined around the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion receded as swiftly as the tide.
"Of course, Bingbing! I'm releasing you right away! That's my dear Bingbing for you—one day, you'll be endlessly grateful for this wise decision you've made today!" Tianmeng's voice was overflowing with relief and irrepressible joy, his eagerness so thick it nearly spilled over.
However, the newly freed Ice Emperor showed not the slightest inclination to be grateful. Her crystalline yellow scorpion eyes gleamed with cold, sharp light as she cut off Tianmeng's chatter without the faintest courtesy. "Tianmeng, you useless worm, shut your mouth this instant! I will proceed with this so-called God-Creation Plan alongside you. But I have one demand: from this day forward, when there is no proper business at hand, you will spare me your incessant, babbling nonsense!"
"Uh... don't be so heartless, Bingbing... I endured untold hardships and came all this way specifically for you..." The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice immediately took on a wounded, plaintive note.
The Ice Emperor merely cast the golden orb of light a single frigid glance. She deigned to argue no further and turned her attention directly to the core of their plan—Huo Yuhao. Her formidable spiritual power swept across Huo Yuhao's still somewhat slight and fragile frame like invisible tendrils. Her icy voice rang out once more, carrying the weight of rigorous, uncompromising scrutiny. "This child's physical foundation is far too weak. I have serious doubts as to whether he can endure the domineering force of my nearly four-hundred-thousand-year cultivation." Though she had agreed to cooperate, the pride and exacting standards of a Far North Heavenly King remained.
"No need to worry, Bingbing. I already anticipated this issue and considered it thoroughly. Allow me to explain in detail," Tianmeng quickly chimed in, laying out his preliminary plan.
Yet after listening, the Ice Emperor still shook her head. Drawing upon her profound cultivation and absolute mastery of her own power, she proposed a more secure—yet more resolute—method. "No. With your approach, the success rate is at best seventy percent. We must first maximize the strengthening of his physical constitution, and only then proceed with the complete fusion. Since I have decided to participate as an intelligent soul ring on this path of god-creation, I will transfer my power in the most complete and most effective manner possible. The nature of my soul power is exceedingly domineering. Even if I suppress it to the utmost and layer seal upon seal, there will inevitably be trace energies, impossible to fully control, that spill over during the fusion process. Even the most minute leakage could prove fatal to him in his current state. We must leave nothing to chance."
Tianmeng's voice, moved by this unreserved trust, grew ever gentler—even carrying a faint tremor, as if he were on the verge of tears. "Bingbing... you're actually... To do it this way, you would first destroy your own physical body, leaving yourself not even the smallest path of retreat. This truly... it moves me beyond words!"
"Get lost!" The Ice Emperor's voice instantly dropped to absolute zero, dousing him with a bucket of ice water. "I am doing this not out of trust in you! What I trust far more is this young woman, Furina. That Water God Divine Trial mark on the back of her hand cannot be faked. She is the genuine inheritor of the Water God. Since she, in the name of a true deity, declares that this child Huo Yuhao is extraordinary—that he possesses the potential to become a god—I am willing to place my faith in her judgment."
She paused for a moment, her tone returning to the characteristic decisiveness and pride befitting a sovereign of the Far North. "Besides, since when has the Ice Emperor ever needed a path of retreat? Once a decision is made, one must commit everything to it. Timidity and hesitation will only let fleeting opportunities slip through your fingers. And you—spare me your sniveling. Tianmeng, don't you forget: once I have successfully fused with Huo Yuhao, all of my power will belong to him as well. And when that time comes, hmph hmph..." She left the sentence unfinished, but the threat was unmistakably clear.
"Er..." Upon hearing this, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm immediately reined in that sticky, sentimental emotion. Even his golden orb of light seemed to shrink slightly.
Huo Yuhao, standing to the side and listening to the conversation between two of the soul beast world's most supreme existences, felt both deep gratitude and mounting curiosity. He couldn't help speaking up: "Ice Emperor, what exactly do you mean by 'bone first, spirit after'?"
The Ice Emperor's manner toward Huo Yuhao was noticeably more patient. She explained in detail: "According to Tianmeng's original idea, I would directly become your second martial soul. After completing the shaping of the martial soul, I would then condense my source power into your first soul ring. But the method I propose is far more thorough. When we hundred-thousand-year soul beasts perform a sacrifice, a soul bone is inevitably produced. And the soul bone born of my nearly four hundred thousand years of cultivation will be of a quality far beyond any ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul bone. What's more—I can autonomously determine the form and placement of this soul bone upon your body."
She continued, her voice crisp and clear: "Therefore, I have decided that we will first carry out the fusion of the soul bone. I will take my torso bone—specifically, your entire spinal column, along with all connected ribs and sternum—and replace and fuse them with your own bones. A soul bone tempered by nearly four hundred thousand years of cultivation will fundamentally and thoroughly reconstruct your physique, laying the most solid possible foundation for bearing my immense soul power in the subsequent stage. Because this is done by my own will and under my active control, the soul bone fusion process itself will not provoke rejection, and the energy will be perfectly guided and sealed. However..."
The Ice Emperor's voice grew exceptionally solemn, underscoring the risk. "There is one issue of paramount importance. You will have to endure a magnitude of pain that ordinary people can scarcely imagine. This is no simple matter of breaking and resetting bone. It is the systematic decomposition of the primary supporting bones of your upper body, which will then be reconstructed with my soul bone as the core. It is akin to having your bones dismantled inch by inch, and then—using the power of Ultimate Ice as the catalyst—forged and pieced back together anew."
"Tianmeng, Furina, and I can protect your heart, your vessels, and your physical body from perishing. But we cannot shield you from this pain—pain that will sink into the very marrow of your bones and reach the depths of your soul. If, in the midst of this prolonged torment, your will should waver for even the slightest moment—if your spirit should collapse—then all the efforts that have come before, including my own sacrifice, will have been in vain. This kind of suffering... Are you certain you can endure it?"
Huo Yuhao drew a deep breath of the icy air. Images flashed through his mind: Sister Furina's selfless aid and expectations; Brother Tianmeng's earnest, burning hope; the humiliation he and his mother had endured in the White Tiger Duke's Manor.
He raised his head. In his eyes there was not a shred of hesitation, and he nodded with unwavering resolve. "No problem. I can endure it. No matter how much it hurts, I will absolutely never give up." To repay Sister Furina's kindness, to live up to everyone's hopes, and even more, for his own conviction—to grow stronger, to seek justice—he had to see this through.
Just then, an ancient, serene voice quietly echoed through the ice cavern, carrying a steady calm born of having weathered countless ages. "Guarding the spirit, stabilizing the soul's foundation? This happens to be a field in which this old man excels." As the words faded, a blurred gray silhouette slowly coalesced at Huo Yuhao's side—none other than the elder dwelling within his spiritual sea, Electrolux.
He looked warmly at Huo Yuhao and continued, "Child, set your heart at ease. This old man shall guard the final rampart of your spiritual sea, ensuring it remains untroubled and serene. Though I have yet to recover the entirety of my memories and cannot yet systematically impart those ancient teachings, allow me to use this method to repay you—first for providing a sanctuary within your spiritual sea, and second for the spiritual power that dispersed as I absorbed that immortal herb. With this old man here, your consciousness shall not be extinguished."
Huo Yuhao felt the absolute, unshakable confidence and deep care carried in Electrolux's words, and a warm current seemed to wrap around his heart.
Furina stepped forward as well and gently patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder, her voice filled with deep respect and trust toward this elder. "With Old Electrolux personally protecting you, your spiritual world gains a double layer of security! Truly worthy of Old Electrolux!"
The Ice Emperor's spiritual power keenly detected the mysterious, damaged yet fundamentally exalted aura radiating from Electrolux's soul silhouette. Her heart shook once more, violently, and she couldn't help blurting out: "This is... divine essence, surpassing all mortal boundaries?! Tianmeng, you really have stumbled upon the most outrageous dog-shit luck imaginable! And Huo Yuhao—your karmic fortune is truly astonishing. To have so many mighty beings willing to stake everything on you, pouring all their strength into your aid."
This exclamation added yet another layer of confidence to the success rate of the "God-Creation Plan."
This is the Child of Destiny! Furina thought silently to herself.
The Ice Emperor gathered her focus and once more fixed her attention on the fusion before her. Her voice returned to its customary cool efficiency. "Since you have agreed, Sir Electrolux will ensure the safety of your spiritual world, and Furina stands guard as well—there is no time to waste. Let us begin at once. Remember—once it starts, there is no turning back. Huo Yuhao, hold fast to your true heart. No matter what you feel, believe this: after the pain... comes rebirth!"
"Understood!" Huo Yuhao's eyes burned with absolute determination.
Within the ice cavern, the temperature plummeted. Emerald-green light began to bloom from the Ice Emperor's scorpion body—as flawless as a work of art. A fusion that would determine futures and test the very limits of will had officially begun.