บท 49: Chapter 49: Journey to the North
"Huuu..." Huo Yuhao exhaled a puff of white air, light snow fell from the sky. This isn't the first time he'd see snow but this was the first time he didn't feel its frigid chill, mostly because of his incomplete second martial soul. He looked around the city he had stayed in for two days before departing towards his destination.
The Douluo Continent's Extreme North!
'Brother Skydream, are you absolutely sure you know the way to the Ice Empress?'
"Pfft. Am I sure I know the way?" Skydream's mockingly repeated his words. "Of course I know! It's my hometown for Ice God's sake! I know it like the back of my hand, or well, tail."
'Didn't you mostly sleep for thousands of years?'
"..." Skydream was silent for a moment. "D-Don't forget! I'm still a one million year old soul beast! Even though my combat capabilities are lacking, my immense and control of spiritual power is unmatched in this world! If we go to a certain location in the Extreme North, I'll be sure to find Bing'er."
"Hmph. Yeah, nothing fuels one's motivation more than finding one's soulmate." Huo Yuhao chuckled as he began running north with great speed.
"Hehe. Oh, Bing'er. My Bing'er..."
"And we lost him, again." Ancestor grunted voice sounded. "Forget about him for now. Little Yuhao, remember, we didn't just come here to awaken your second martial soul and hunt for your second and third soul rings."
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Yes, I know. For an entire half a year, I have to stay in the Extreme North to train myself and finally start on my Wind and Water elements." his voice held a tone of excitement and anticipation.
After all, he came out here to become stronger!
A few hours passed by, the snow gradually became heavier and the ground under him turned into a patch of thick white.
Pausing his footsteps, Huo Yuhao stopped to take a small breather. The white mist that left from his nose instantly turned into fragments of ice that dispersed into the air.
Huo Yuhao pulled his hood over his head to block the frigid wind from digging into his face. However, the freezing air still managed to pierce into his body like miniscule daggers via the small holes in his clothes.
Water would instantly freeze into icicles where he was now. As if to prove this point, a layer of frost had already covered Huo Yuhao's eyebrows.
"Woah."
Although the drop of temperature and icy winds were extreme, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration. Though completely barren and filled with mountains of snow and ice all around him, he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of it all.
Looking down, based on his current position on the map he purchased in the city, he'd reach an empty void if he continued to head northwards. There was a small warning above that void:
"The Extreme North! Numerous dangerous soul beasts roam about freely! The weak die here! Turn back now if you are five rings below!"
"Sheesh. To be this direct, the Extreme North really is dangerous."
Though he said that, Huo Yuhao unhesitatingly rush forward and entered the snowy plains.
'Brother Skydream, we're here! We're now in the Extreme North. Now, which way should we go?' Huo Yuhao inwardly called out, finally feeling the frigid chill assaulting his body.
"...I don't recognize this place!"
Huo Yuhao tripped on a small bump in the snow and fell forward, his face landing in a soft mound of white powder.
"What?! What do you mean you don't recognize this place? I thought you said you knew the Extreme North like the back of your hand!" Huo Yuhao complained as he picked himself up.
"I really don't–ah! What are you doing?!"
Skydream opened his mouth to continue but a sharp hand chop to the head cut him off.
Though faceless, Ancestor still gave off a strong aura of authority. "Enough of your nonsense, useless little worm. Didn't you want to see your beloved Empress more than anyone?"
"Ugh..." Skydream flinched before letting out a depressed sigh. "Alright, alright. I'll stop messing around. Even though I don't know what direction we need to head here, you've forgotten just how powerful my spiritual force is! I don't even need to worry about what direction we need to go. As long as we follow my spiritual force, we'll be able to find what we need."
"Oookaaay..." Huo Yuhao reluctantly agreed. He Skydream but, why was he feeling uneasy?
"A'ight, now strip." Skydream said with a straight face.
"What?!" Huo Yuhao exclaimed, shocked by Skydream's unexpected request.
"Brother Skydream, stop joking around! I'm going to freeze to death if I do that!"
"Just trust me. Quickly, take off your clothes so that I can help you out a bit. If you don't, you'll be finished in less than two days once we continue heading forward." Skydream grumpily said.
Huo Yuhao quickly asked the most reliable anf wisest person he knew that lived in his mind.
"Ancestor?"
"...Just follow the little useless worm instructions." Ancestor said with an exasperated tone. "He would joke around a lot but in a matter of a life and death situation, he will get serious. Especially with me around."
Helpless, Huo Yuhao quickly removed the thick cotton clothes from his body and his bag.
"Take your underwear off as well! Why did you even leave them on? If you don't wanna let me help you out for a bit, don't blame me when your little brother freezes to death." The Skydream Iceworm let out a devilish laugh.
Huo Yuhao angrily gritted his teeth, quickly taking off his underwear, he replied, "If it does, I'm going to make sure I'll cut off whatever makes you a man!"
As the bitingly cold wind slammed into his body, Huo Yuhao's body turned bright red, causing him to resemble a boiled shrimp.
'Brother Skydream? Anytime now!'
Suddenly a layer of pale gold light slowly spread out from his head. As the golden light dispersed, it expelled the cold from his body. Immediately, a warm feeling began to spread throughout.
"Ah~" Huo Yuhao couldn't help but let out a groan from the pleasure.
"Dude..."
"...."
Both Skydream Iceworm and Ancestor were speechless.
*Cough* *Cough*
Huo Yuhao softly coughed, embarrassed by his own reaction. "Alright, let's continue. Lead the way, Brother Skydream."
He looked down at his hands to see a white layer of light covering his body and he was amazed to find that he no longer felt the frigid chill.
"This is..." For some reason, he felt the white light over his body being familiar.
"This is my shedded skin from my original body. I've made it cover your entire body. Since I grew up in such a place, how could I be scared of the cold? The skin I shed is extremely good at ventilation, and can resist the elements. In addition to that, it can also hide your aura." Skydream nonchalantly explained. "Now then, quickly put on some clothes. Do you think that you look good naked?"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes, too lazy to respond, he just quickly put his clothes back on.
"So what now?"
"Continue heading northwards. We'll talk once you reach the central area of the Extreme North. Did you make sure to bring enough food? I reckon that we'll have to stay here for over ten days, as this place doesn't have any water or food for you to eat or drink."
Huo Yuhao nodded, patting his storage belt. "No problem, I'm all prepared." Saying that, he whipped out a pill and unhesitatingly popped it into his mouth, a bitter expression soon flickered across his face.
It was an emergency food pill that could fill one's belly and provide nutrition for an entire day. Huo Yuhao had prepared a large number of these pills before embarking on this journey, knowing that food would be scarce in the Extreme North. The only problem with this pill that it only provide the nutrients and vitamins, but it didn't really taste good.
With his belly filled for now, Huo Yuhao resumed his journey, heading further into the snowy plains of the Extreme North. The white mist from his breath turned into fragments of ice, swirling around him as he moved.
Unlike most soul masters and normal humans, with his soul power control and the training he went through, Huo Yuhao quickly traversed the snowy plains as if he was just running through solid ground. Making his journey a bit smoother.
As he continued to travel northwards, the advantage that his Spiritual Detection gave him became more and more pronounced as well: whenever he encountered an unfamiliar area, he could simply use his Spiritual Detection to continue travelling and avoid any possible dangers.
While travelling, Huo Yuhao was able to faintly sense that the Skydream Iceworm had been releasing some of its spiritual power in front of him. Compared to the Skydream Iceworm's terrifying spiritual power, he was like a grain of rice adrift in an ocean. The latter was acting as his navigational guide and advanced sensor to beings that were totally out of his league.
Although he had managed to beat the martial soul fusion; Netherworld White Tiger, which was at least a Soul Emperor, Huo Yuhao wasn't feeling overly confident in his abilities. The Extreme North was known to be a treacherous place, filled with powerful soul beasts and harsh weather conditions. He knew he had to be on guard at all times and not let his guard down.
As he continued on his journey, the surroundings became even more desolate, with only endless stretches of snow and ice as far as the eye could see. The wind howled fiercely, making it difficult to hear anything else. The temperature dropped even further, causing Huo Yuhao to shiver despite the protection of the shedded skin.
Unknowingly, a day had passed.
'Brother Skydream, how much longer until we reach our destination?' Huo Yuhao asked.
"We–" Suddenly, Skydream's expression changed and he anxiously said, "Quickly lie flat on the ground and bury yourself beneath the snow! Don't move an inch once you've done so. You can't move no matter what—even if something touches you!"
Huo Yuhao quickly obeyed, flattening his body against the ground and covering himself with the snow. He held his breath and tried to remain as still as possible, his heart pounding in his chest.
Not even ten breaths of time had passed before Huo Yuhao's body began to shudder uncontrollably. Even though he'd buried himself beneath the snow, he was still aware of his surroundings!
He was shuddering because he'd suddenly sensed an incomparably terrifying aura outside. However, the instant that this aura had appeared, the trace of spiritual power he'd left outside had instantly shattered. This was the first time that has ever happened to him! Moreover, he hadn't even been able to tell what the newcomer looked like.
But from what he could tell, it felt like an apex predator. A king! In fact, it seemed like it could wipe him off the face of the earth with a mere breath.
Immediately after sensing this, he felt a heavy pressure weigh down on his back and viciously shove him even deeper into the ground; his entire body sank so deep into the snow that he reached the soil beneath it.
Even though he was under such an intense situation that would certainly result in his death, Huo Yuhao was completely calm and focused. He tightly shut his eyes, closing off his Sharingan and his spiritual power, only having his soul power circulating throughout his body.
He continued to suppress his breathing, not daring to make a single sound or movement.
He was so afraid of getting caught that he didn't communicate with either Skydream and Ancestor for the time being.
The enormous pressure that was weighing down on Huo Yuhao suddenly disappeared, while the terrifying aura he'd felt began to move further and further away from him.
But he didn't move, not yet. He might not have sensed that terrifying being anymore but there was a possibility that being would sensed him. So until either Skydream and Ancestor say that it was safe to move, he would continue playing dead in the snow.
After some time, Skydream Iceworm finally spoke.
"It's fine now, Little Yuhao. That big fellow is finally gone..."
After getting to his feet with difficulty, Huo Yuhao immediately gasped for air. He was relieved that the danger had passed. Thankfully he had Skydream Iceworm's shedded skin. If it hadn't been for that, he would've been squashed into a meat patty.
"W-What the hell was that...?!" The moment he stood back up, astonishment involuntarily appeared on his face. The first thing that he'd noticed were the enormous footprints around him, and he was in the middle of one of these footprints.
Each footprint was around five meters long and two meters wide. In contrast, Huo Yuhao's imprint in the ground wasn't even a third of a single footprint. He was able to see the enormous footprints headed towards the distance.
After everything was said and done, Huo Yuhao was still just a kid. After encountering a situation like this, how could he not be scared?
"Brother Skydream, w-what was that... thing just now? How could its footprints be this big?!"
The Skydream Iceworm's somewhat nervous voice rang out, "That was so close. We nearly gave away our location. That fella's also a spiritual-type, thus he was actually able to block my Spiritual Detection. Fortunately, my spiritual power vastly exceeds his in quality. Because of this, I was able to notice him while he was still a certain distance away from us."
Skydream's voice turned solemn. "We're really lucky, kid. Y'know who that guy was? That was the Titan Ice Devil King, one of the Three Emperors of the Extreme North. Luckily, we were able to hide from that fella. If we hadn't, only one thing awaited us: death. Even if it was me when I was at my peak condition I would've died, let alone you."
"Titan Ice Devil King? The one ranked third between the Three Emperors of the Extreme North?! Something on par with the Ice Empress?" Huo Yuhao was stunned.
Before coming here, he was given a bit of knowledge of the Extreme North and its true rulers.
Simply put, the Extreme North has a large number of hundred thousand year soul beasts, so many in fact, that the amount exceeds the amount within the Great Star Dou Forest. After all, the environment here is extremely harsh, and very few humans dare to intrude.
In addition to this, the Three Emperors all share a common characteristic—their cultivations all exceed a hundred thousand years. And that's because it's rumoured that they have the Ice God's blood flowing in their veins!
They are beasts comparable to Super Douluos! Beings that stood at the peak of the mortal realm!
"Hmph. Are you kidding me? My Bing'er is obviously stronger than this guy! But, now that you encountered the fellow inferior to the Ice Empress that we're going after, what do you think?"
Huo Yuhao was silent, his face expressionless.
A moment later, a resolute and determined look appeared on his face. "You think this would be enough to scare me? I went to the Great Star Dou Forest, a forbidden area known to even kill a Titled Douluo, on my own with only a knife for the sake of becoming stronger, I went against a giant White Tiger with the power of Soul Emperor to start off my revenge."
He clenched his hands and took a step forward.
"I'm not gonna falter here and turn back. I'm gonna move forward and get that Ice Empress to make me stronger!"
"Little Yuhao..." Skydream sniffed, proud of Huo Yuhao's determination.
"Hmm." By the side, Ancestor was pondering for a moment. "Little worm, I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Do know about the Snow Empress's current location?"
Skydream quickly replied, "Nope. Not a clue. And even if I did, trust me, we don't want to go anywhere near her if we're going after Bing'er."
"I see... Well then, do you know of any soul beast in this area that has... a lot of energy?"
"Huh? Well, except for the Three Emperors, I don't know? I wasn't much of a traveller of my hometown. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just a certain...thought came to mind is all. A great way to boost my incarnation's power, but it needs a soul beast or something with a lot of energy, in order for it to work." Ancestor waved his hand.
"...Bing'er might know. She had been ruling this land ever since she became a hundred thousand years old. So we'll ask her when we get to her." Skydream slowly replied, uncertain.
"Hm. That will be fine."
....
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