Chapter 136: Spiritual Core
Only after nightfall did Qi Tian, using the Ice Empress's body, return to the Frozen Forest.
Although they had not yet returned to the Extreme North, the Ice Empress's mental state had clearly relaxed a great deal.
She didn't particularly like the outside world. First, the southern regions weren't cold enough, making her extremely uncomfortable.
Second, she was accustomed to the icy plains of the Extreme North and simply disliked the human world.
Qi Tian returned control of the body to the Ice Empress. When she realized she could move again, joy instantly appeared on her face.
"Hah… he's finally out of my body?"
"Hmph! That damned human who dared to control me—don't ever let me find you!"
"Otherwise, I'll tear you into pieces just like that Ice Silkworm!" the Ice Empress said coldly.
She wanted to revert to her soul beast form, but when she noticed the storage soul tool ring on her finger, she forcibly held herself back, afraid that transforming would cause the ring to burst.
In the end, the Ice Empress merely clenched her snow-white fists and swung them forcefully in front of her, as if Qi Tian were standing there.
After venting her frustration, the Ice Empress gradually calmed down and began thinking about other things.
"Forget it. That human wasn't all that bad. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to catch up to that Ice Silkworm at all."
"If I ever catch him, I'll just lock him up in the Extreme North Ice Plains and make him my slave for life!"
Imitating the way Qi Tian had used the storage soul tool, she took Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's corpse out of the ring.
Looking at the Ice Silkworm, whose vital energy was still leaking out, the Ice Empress couldn't help but swallow.
This was a nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year-old Ice Silkworm—she had never eaten such a delicacy before.
"It's a pity that half of it went to those humans. Otherwise, I could've enjoyed it all myself," the Ice Empress sighed.
The corpse of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm continued to leak vital energy. Without waiting any longer, the Ice Empress directly dismembered it, preparing to eat it right here.
"It's a shame Snow Empress doesn't eat things like this. Otherwise, I could've saved a little for her."
Snow Empress was a naturally born spirit of ice and snow, untouched by worldly affairs, subsisting on ice and snow alone. Naturally, she wouldn't think much of flesh and blood.
Carefully removing the ring, the Ice Empress transformed back into her scorpion form and began to feast heartily.
Qi Tian watched this scene leisurely, finding it somewhat hard to stomach the Ice Empress's raw, blood-soaked eating.
Because he shared sensations with her, it was as if he himself were also consuming Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's flesh and blood.
Fortunately, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm didn't taste bad—more like icy jelly.
After a long while, without even realizing it, the Ice Empress had eaten the entire half of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's body.
It was hard to imagine how her body, not even two meters tall, managed to swallow a four-meter-long Ice Silkworm.
After finishing her meal, the Ice Empress transformed back into human form and carefully put the ring Qi Tian had given her back onto her ring finger.
This thing was very convenient to use—there was no way she'd be willing to throw it away.
In the blink of an eye, the Ice Empress once again became that bewitching ice beauty, as though the savage feasting from moments ago had nothing to do with her.
"Huh? What's this?" The Ice Empress crouched down and picked up a transparent crystal from the ground.
The moment she picked it up, the crystal suddenly shot into the air, flying straight toward the center of her brows.
"Hahaha! Looks like I, Tianmeng-ge, am still one step ahead—tricking that human was effortless!"
"Hmph, Ice Empress, is it? Let's see how I get my revenge on you!"
At that very moment, a dazzling five-colored divine radiance flashed forth, appearing directly in the crystal's path.
"What is this?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was stunned. The next instant, it plunged into the five-colored radiance and lost consciousness.
"Who's there?" The Ice Empress was startled.
She hadn't expected Tianmeng Ice Silkworm to still have a hidden trump card. If that sneak attack had succeeded, who knew what kind of consequences it would have brought?
No matter how weak Tianmeng Ice Silkworm seemed, it was still a nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year-old soul beast.
Fortunately, that five-colored divine radiance had saved her. But in the very next moment, her face flushed red.
Because she remembered clearly—when Qi Tian had given her that ring, the same five-colored divine radiance had appeared.
Who had just saved her—the answer was already obvious.
"Human, you didn't leave?" the Ice Empress asked.
She felt somewhat awkward. After all, she had just been badmouthing Qi Tian behind his back, even saying she wanted to get revenge on him.
Fortunately, she was not in her soul beast form at the moment. Stepping on the frozen ground were a pair of fair, jade-like feet that made men salivate at the sight.
If she were in her soul beast state, her scorpion claws could probably dig out a three-bedroom apartment right here in the permafrost.
"Ice Empress, if I had left, wouldn't you have been ambushed by Tianmeng Ice Silkworm?" Qi Tian said calmly.
"You can call me Qi Tian. I said I'd leave tomorrow—and after midnight, it finally counts as tomorrow," he added.
He had long guessed that the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm wouldn't die so easily, so he left himself a backup plan, waiting for Tianmeng's counterattack—and sure enough, it came.
What he hadn't expected was that he would also overhear the Ice Empress complaining about him behind his back.
But precisely because of that, Qi Tian was able to gauge her true attitude toward him. From the looks of it, it wasn't all that bad.
"I understand… Thank you, Qi Tian."
The Ice Empress didn't say anything more, her face slightly flushed as she continued rushing northward.
Qi Tian didn't tease her further. Instead, he withdrew his consciousness back into his main body and began studying the crystal Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had left behind.
The crystal seemed to be a core condensed from spiritual power, about the size of a baby's fist. Qi Tian injected soul power into it, but it showed no reaction at all.
Qi Tian summoned his spirit soul.
A pair of long, smooth, shapely legs appeared before him.
Moving upward was a mysterious, forbidden domain—a slender waist that could be encircled with one hand, full and rounded curves, and a delicate, rosy little face.
It was none other than the spirit soul—Xiao Wu.
"Qi Tian, you finally decided to let me out?" Xiao Wu complained.
She was a rabbit by nature, and Qi Tian's body felt like a rabbit cage to her—how could she possibly endure being shut inside for so long?
Fortunately, Qi Tian really had avenged her and allowed her to see Tang Hao's miserable state. The heavy stone in her heart had finally fallen away.
"Xiao Wu, try seeing if you can devour the soul imprint inside this crystal," Qi Tian said seriously.
Spirit souls could cultivate and grow stronger by devouring other spirit souls. Qi Tian wanted Xiao Wu to see whether she could deal with Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's remaining soul.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had already had a large portion of its soul power absorbed by Bibi Dong, so it should be in a weakened state now.
"I'll try!" Xiao Wu took the crystal.
Her current goal was to assist Qi Tian in becoming a god, and then see whether it would be possible to resurrect her mother.
Because of that, she was now fully devoted to Qi Tian, doing everything she could, never resisting his requests.
Holding the crystal, Xiao Wu activated the unique power belonging to a spirit soul and began attempting to devour the soul imprint within.
The spirit soul contract technique itself was derived from necromantic magic. Spirit souls could essentially be considered a type of undead existence.
Undead devouring one another was both a natural ability and an instinct.
Xiao Wu quickly grasped the trick and began tearing at Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's remnant soul.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, whose consciousness had been shaken into unconsciousness by the Sea Calming Pearl, slowly began to awaken.
When it clearly saw that the one devouring its soul was Xiao Wu, it immediately began begging for mercy.
Although it hadn't experienced ten thousand years of worldly wisdom among beasts, this was simply its innate nature—it knew when to yield and when to bend.
"Stop—don't kill me! We're both soul beasts. Let's talk this out properly!"
Xiao Wu didn't stop. She discovered that devouring Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's remnant soul brought her considerable benefits as well.
"Who's a soul beast? Your Sister Xiao Wu here is now the master's spirit soul!" Xiao Wu said proudly.
"What's a spirit soul? I can become a spirit soul too! I can serve the master as well!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said earnestly.
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End of Chapter