“Eh?” An inquisitive look appeared in Nan Shuishui’s eyes.

Huo Yuhao said, “Auntie, when I went down to investigate, I discovered that deep within this well is the mouth of a spring. The water within this spring has a very low temperature, but there seemed to be something else hidden inside. I went into the cave to investigate, and now I want to enter that icy spring to see if there’s anything down there. This place can form rare metals that are considered one of the most precious between heaven and earth, so there must be something that they originate from.”

A thought occurred to Nan Shuishui as she said, “There’s such a thing? There aren’t any records in the Earthdragon Sect’s archives about that. The temperature in the icy spring is very low. Will that hurt you?”

Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Don’t worry, auntie. I have Ultimate Ice soul power. I’ll be able to judge if I can’t bear it, but there should be no problem protecting myself.”

Huo Yuhao was protected by the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress, and he also supported by the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass. If he couldn’t enter that icy spring, then nobody else in the world could.

“Alright. Go, then. Qiuqiu and I will keep watch for you outside.” Nan Shuishui didn’t advise him further. Huo Yuhao was a very reliable fellow in her eyes, and he was definitely sure of himself if he said he was. The more she looked at Huo Yuhao, the more she liked him – those eyes clearly belonged to that of a mother-in-law gazing upon her son-in-law. Even Huo Yuhao couldn’t take her gaze any longer.

Huo Yuhao bowed at Nan Shuishui before he leapt into the well and dove deep into the icy spring.

The Ice Empress had mentioned that Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence had to exist here, whether in small or large amounts. The ice essence wasn’t useful just for him; it was also beneficial to different degrees for each of his four Spirits, and he couldn’t give up on that.

Normal soul masters could still use soul tools crafted with Divine Ice Crystals with the help of formation arrays, but only a person with ice-type abilities like Huo Yuhao could use the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Furthermore, this was his own discovery, and thus using it wouldn’t weigh on his conscience.

Quite a bit of spring water had surged into the cave, and the surface level of the spring had dropped a little.

Huo Yuhao swiftly dove deeper than he had reached before, and he continued down while the water pressure around him began to increase, and the temperature swiftly plummeted.

The temperature of the spring water closer to the surface rose a little without the Ice Divine Crystals, but the temperature below didn’t change at all. Huo Yuhao quickly arrived near the mouth of the spring.

Such low temperature! 

Huo Yuhao was impressed even though he had just arrived. He could clearly feel that his soul power was circulating much more slowly due to the low temperature here.

He possessed Ultimate Ice soul power, and yet his soul power was being affected. It wasn’t hard to imagine how normal soul masters would be affected after coming to a place like this. Even Titled Douluo could probably only remain here for a few breaths, and even an Ultimate Douluo might not have the courage to investigate deep into this icy spring.

Two shadows gradually appeared behind Huo Yuhao’s back: the Ice Empress and the Snow Lady. The Ice Empress pulled the Snow Lady along like an elder sister holding her younger sister. They felt the extreme chill around them, and their faces showed expressions of enjoyment.

Bluish-green and dark blue colors glowed at the same time. These two lights merged together and turned a deep bluish-green, entering Huo Yuhao’s body and forming a layer of protection over his skin.

The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass came out on his shoulder. A layer of faint blue light emerged, and absorbed the chills that were invading Huo Yuhao’s body.

Huo Yuhao realized, to his amusement, that his soul power wasn’t weakening around this icy spring. Instead, with support from his three Spirits, his soul power was increasing continuously. This situation was similar to when he was in meditation. If he didn’t have to hold his breath in this place, he would truly want to spend more time cultivating here. His cultivation would be much more effective.

Things that were most suitable for him were always the best. Perhaps the origin energy of heaven and earth here was inferior to the Lake of Life, but the pure elements of ice were most suitable for his cultivation.

Huo Yuhao stopped one meter away from the mouth of the icy spring while he was thinking.

Huo Yuhao would never be blindly optimistic or careless even though he was confident. He had gone through far too many lessons and experiences, and no matter what, he wouldn’t let himself be placed in harm’s way so easily. 

Huo Yuhao gathered spiritual power and transformed it into formless energy as it went through the mouth of the spring. Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was like his eyes, and he would be able to accurately judge the situation as long as he could see inside the mouth of the spring.

However, Huo Yuhao was immediately astonished, as his spiritual power felt as if it had entered a sticky swamp. There was great difficulty in pushing it forward, and he would have to expend far too much spiritual power.

What…

How can elements affect spiritual power? 

This was the first time Huo Yuhao had encountered something like this.

“Pull your spiritual power back, Yuhao. Let me go down and take a look,” the Ice Empress’ voice rang out from behind him.

Huo Yuhao turned around to look at her and asked, “Why is this happening, Ice Empress?”

The Ice Empress answered, “Energies may be different, but they are all of the same kind once they reach a certain standard. Spiritual power is different from elemental energy, but it is still a form of energy. The elements of ice within this icy spring are as extreme as they can get, and your spiritual power will obviously be affected by it by going inside. You might be able to send your spiritual power inside if you use the power of your soul core, but that will expend too much energy. Furthermore, the situation is unclear, so it’s better not to take this risk. Let me take a look inside. My origin is inside your body, and a thread of my consciousness will have no problem going inside.”

“Alright, thank you for your trouble,” Huo Yuhao acknowledged.

The Ice Empress transformed into a beam of flowing light and disappeared into the mouth of the spring. Huo Yuhao’s four Spirits were evolving at different rates as he became stronger.

Amongst Huo Yuhao’s Spirits, the Skydream Iceworm wasn’t the one most intimately connected to him, it was the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress was his martial soul, after all! What the Ice Empress meant when she said that her origin was inside his body was that she was Huo Yuhao’s martial soul, so damage to a single thread of consciousness wouldn’t cause too much trouble.

His other three Spirits all took the true form of Spirits. The Skydream Iceworm and Huo Yuhao were inseparable, and their integration level was comparable to him and the Ice Empress. However, the Skydream Iceworm’s half-spiritual and half-ice abilities were inferior to the Ice Empress in a situation like this.

Huo Yuhao waited quietly outside the icy spring. He wasn’t hasty, as he had faith in the Ice Empress’ abilities. Even though only a thread of her consciousness went in, Huo Yuhao still knew far less than the Ice Empress did about the element of ice.

It didn’t take long before the Ice Empress emerged from the icy spring. She waved at Huo Yuhao excitedly and said, “Everything is fine, come in.”

“Alright!” Huo Yuhao couldn’t hold his breath for much longer. He was starting to feel stifled in his chest, and he passed a message to the Ice Empress with his spiritual power before he activated his soul power and dove in.

Huo Yuhao went into the mouth of the icy spring, and he immediately felt an intense wave of cold that invaded his body like millions of steel needles. The temperature of this wave of cold was something that Huo Yuhao had never felt before. From his perspective, this extreme cold exceeded every ice-type energy that he had ever encountered. He felt as if his entire skeleton were glowing as he was immersed in it.

Huo Yuhao had the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion’s skeleton and left arm bone to protect those parts. However, the other parts of his body were clearly feeling a little stiff.

The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and the Snow Empress displayed their powerful abilities in this moment. They had absorbed a large amount of the elements of ice around them, and now formed a protective layer around his body so that he could continue diving down, while the Ice Empress took point in front.

This icy spring was far deeper than Huo Yuhao had judged. He went thirty meters down, and the chills around him became increasingly strong. Huo Yuhao had to continue channeling soul power to resist the cold. He was starting to fall apart because he had been holding his breath for a long time, and this environment put a lot of pressure on him. 

A suffocating feeling was starting to appear, and that stifling feeling in his chest was starting to make his inner breathing a little unbalanced.

Oh no, problems might occur if this continues! 

Huo Yuhao was beginning to feel a little hesitant.

The Ice Empress clearly felt the changes in his body. She waved her hand at him to show that everything was fine as they continued descending into the depths.

The Ice Empress was a part of his body. The Ice Empress couldn’t live by herself if something happened to him, so Huo Yuhao had absolute faith in the Ice Empress as he gritted his teeth and continued downward.

Forty meters, forty-five meters, fifty meters…

Huo Yuhao almost couldn’t bear it anymore at this depth. His body was starting to tremble as the water pressure increased, and with the agony of the intense chill in addition to the harsh suffocating sensations, his body was starting to reach its limit.

Huo Yuhao was like Nan Qiuqiu when she was resisting his spiritual pressure before. He was relying only on his willpower to support his body under that enormous pressure.

The Ice Empress paused in front of him at this moment before she suddenly accelerated and continued down.

Huo Yuhao paused for a moment. He still had a chance to return if he went back now, but if he went deeper in and if he couldn’t extricate himself from this situation, then he would probably be in big trouble.

Should I trust the Ice Empress, or should I go up and take a breather before I prepare myself to return?

Those two thoughts resonated in his mind for but an instant before he made his choice. He grit his teeth and channeled all his soul power before he pressed his hand backward. Two waves of soul power surged and propelled his body as he suddenly burst forward and went deeper down.

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