Early the next morning, Tianlin suddenly awoke from meditation. In a place like this, it was impossible for him to enter deep meditation; any movement outside would never escape his notice.

He was currently at the foot of the Ice Polar Mountain, which, aside from the Frost Forest, was the other entrance to the extreme north.

Tianlin had calculated Tang Hao's walking speed precisely and was therefore waiting here in advance for his arrival.

Sure enough, at that very moment, the vast spiritual power he was constantly spreading out detected Tang Hao.

"Rongrong, wake up, it's time for us to go out," Tianlin called softly to Ning Rongrong, rousing her from her comfortable sleep.

Ning Rongrong opened her beautiful eyes. "Brother Sword, is the person you were waiting for here?"

"That's right. I also need to call a few guests. Let's go!" Tianlin took Ning Rongrong's hand and walked out of the cave, then summoned the Holy Spirit Pearl.

"First soul skill, Five-Elemental Purification!"

A massive holy light shot up into the sky. This soul skill, originating from the soul ring formed by the Skydream Iceworm, contained the spiritual power of the Skydream Iceworm. Anyone familiar with it would sense its mental fluctuations.

"Ice Empress, I—the Golden-Patterned Iceworm—have come back for revenge. Dare you show yourself? And Snow Empress, why don't you come and pay respects to the true ruler of the Extreme North, the unprecedented million-year soul beast of Douluo Continent, now known as the Skydream Iceworm, God of Soul Beasts!" Using his tremendous spirit power, the Skydream Iceworm transmitted his voice far into the distance.

Ordinary soul beasts with low cultivation or weak spirit power couldn't hear it, but the three great kings of the Extreme North certainly could.

As for Tang Hao, the Skydream Iceworm deliberately avoided him with his spiritual power—if Tang Hao, unaware of the truth, heard the words "million-year soul beast," he might be scared off on the spot.

On an icy throne in the Extreme North, a woman of otherworldly beauty stood up, a smile dazzling enough to sink nations on her face. "Oh, a million-year soul beast, the Skydream Iceworm? I've heard a little about it. It's a pity that back then, before I ever saw it, It was forced to flee the Extreme North by the Ice Empress. I never thought it would just deliver itself to my doorstep now."

"Today, let me see what a million-year soul beast is capable of!" With that, her body turned into snowflakes, riding the cold wind for thousands of miles in an instant toward Ice Polar Mountain.

This was none other than the leader of the three great kings of the Extreme North, the Snow Empress—the Ice Heaven Snow Maiden! Now with a cultivation of 690,000 years, approaching 700,000.

But she was always worried about whether she could cross the daunting 700,000-year threshold. If she could catch the Skydream Iceworm as a cultivation resource, she'd have some confidence. Otherwise, she might have to consider using special methods to become human and start over.

"Golden-Patterned Iceworm—no, now I should call you Skydream—you're still alive? As expected of the longest-lived creature in the Extreme North," echoed a crisp voice from the Ice Valley, as a giant Ice Jade Scorpion raised its head and communicated soul-to-soul with the Skydream Iceworm.

With the sound, a terrifying sonic wave lifted the snow on the ground around Tianlin and Ning Rongrong several meters high, like a sudden wave.

Tianlin casually pushed away all the snow around him. If he wasn't so powerful now, he might have been buried.

"Ice Empress, you're still alive, so why can't I be? Do you remember what I said all those years ago? If I survived, one day, I'd become your mate." The Skydream Iceworm's voice suddenly became gentle—so sweet and sticky that Tianlin's skin crawled.

"Skydream, you're courting death." At that moment, the Ice Empress' crisp voice was filled with murderous intent. The green sky instantly turned ink-black, a thick killing intent descending from above—a long-distance spiritual attack.

But in terms of pure spirit power, the Skydream Iceworm feared nothing from the Ice Empress. It smiled calmly and elegantly: "No, I mean every word from the bottom of my heart. I've lived for nearly a million years, and most of that was spent sleeping. Yet deep in my heart, the only one who ever moved me was you. Ice Empress, do you know why I came back now? Because I calculated your future. Your cultivation is now at 390,000 years; you'll have trouble crossing the 400,000-year threshold, and when you fail, you'll perish in this cold world. So I came back. I can't wait any longer—my endless life means nothing to me now. I returned just so you could live on, so we could truly be together."

The Skydream Iceworm's sincere confession left the Ice Empress silent for a while, before her cold voice returned: "Skydream, do you know that my species is a natural enemy to yours?"

The Skydream Iceworm smiled indifferently. "Of course, I know. But so what? Who says you can't fall for your own enemy? That makes me like you even more."

The Ice Empress scoffed, "It's a pity you're not qualified for my affection. Still, I'm touched you'd offer yourself up as food. By merging with you, how could I not fulfill your wish? You should sense that I'm coming for you. Wait for me. In a quarter of an hour, I'll be by your side. I'll repay your love by savoring your body and energy, making them part of me."

The Skydream Iceworm seemed used to this. Resigned, he said, "Can't you be softer? Always so cold and domineering. No wonder you're still single. By the way, I always wanted to ask—was that rumor true? Did you really fall for the Snow Empress? My rival is a woman?"

"Skydream, I'll tear you to pieces!"

The Skydream Iceworm's words struck a nerve. The Ice Empress' voice turned hysterical, the black sky deepening—was it rage or shame?

The two strongest soul beasts of the Extreme North were finally on the move. The Titan Snow Demon King had wanted to come too, but, having recently confessed to the Snow Empress and been beaten so badly that only his skull was left intact, he'd need nearly a thousand years to recover.

And since the two big sisters were already involved, what was the point of going except to get beaten up? He couldn't win the Skydream Iceworm anyway.

"All right, Xiao Tian, be ready. This time, we're facing the strongest ice- and snow-type soul beasts on the continent," the Skydream Iceworm warned.

Tianlin smiled slightly. "Rather than worry about us, let's spare a thought for Tang Hao. He's in for a miserable time!"