49: Chapter 49 Why don't you repay me with your body?

Wang Donger stared intensely at the way Ma Xiaotao was wiping sweat from Huo Yuhao's forehead.

Wang Qiuer leaned in from the side and nudged her with an elbow.

"See that? Nothing's even happened yet, and another one has popped up to curry favor." Wang Qiuer lowered her voice, her tone filled with teasing.

Wang Donger gritted her teeth.

"Don't talk nonsense. Sister Xiaotao is just thanking Yuhao for his help."

"Oh? Then why are your hands clenched so tight?" Wang Qiuer mercilessly exposed her.

Wang Donger snorted coldly, turned her head away, and ignored her.

Gu Yuena took it all in, a meaningful curve appearing at the corner of her lips.

She clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright, the fire-attribute one is settled. Who's next?"

Ling Luochen, who had been quiet the whole time, stepped forward.

"Sister Nana, I have an ice-element Spirit and currently need a fourth spirit ring."

Ling Luochen's voice was always cold and aloof, carrying an aura that kept strangers at a distance.

Gu Yuena looked her up and down and nodded slightly.

"A pure ice-element Spirit. Not bad talent."

"Come with me. I know a place that suits you well."

After speaking, Gu Yuena turned to lead the way, and the group continued to traverse the Star Dou Great Forest.

With a great deity like Gu Yuena paving the way, this journey was easier than taking a stroll on the Shrek Academy playground.

Ma Xiaotao was incredibly excited along the way, spinning a fireball in her left hand and conjuring a firebird in her right, playing with her newly acquired Soul Spirit with great delight.

"Yuhao, let me tell you, this Soul Spirit is just amazing!"

"I feel like I can take on ten people right now!" Ma Xiaotao ran to Huo Yuhao's side, enthusiastically recommending it.

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes.

"Sister Xiaotao, take it easy. There's wood everywhere in this forest. Don't start a forest fire later; Sister Nana won't let you off."

Walking in front, Gu Yuena didn't even turn her head as she drifted a sentence back.

"If you burn my forest, I'll keep you here to plant trees to pay off the debt."

Ma Xiaotao immediately and obediently put away her flames, sticking out her tongue.

Before long, the surrounding temperature began to plummet.

The once dense trees gradually became sparse, and a thin layer of frost began to form on the ground.

The white breath they exhaled instantly condensed into ice crystals in the air.

"We're here." Gu Yuena stopped.

Everyone looked up and saw a narrow, long ice valley ahead.

The valley was filled with swirling cold air, a vast expanse of white.

The ice-type Soul Power there was so dense it was almost tangible, and countless tiny ice spikes seemed to be floating in the air.

Just then, a haughty voice suddenly rang out in Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea.

"Huh?"

It was the Ice Empress!

"Yuhao, the ice veins in this place are actually not bad." The Ice Empress's voice held a hint of surprise.

Huo Yuhao responded in his mind: "Ice Empress, is there something special about this place?"

"There's a little guy hiding underneath, and its aura is quite solid," the Ice Empress evaluated.

Being able to make the Ice Empress, one of the three great kings of the Far North, call it a "little guy," it had to be a Spirit Beast with at least several thousand years of cultivation.

Sure enough.

Gu Yuena stood at the edge of the ice valley, slightly lifting her eyes to gaze into the depths of the valley.

"Come out."

Gu Yuena's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty.

A low rumbling sound immediately came from the depths of the ice valley.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

The footsteps were extremely heavy, causing the entire ground to tremble slightly.

A massive turtle slowly crawled out of the ice mist.

The turtle's shell looked like a single piece of massive ice crystal, with intricate ice-blue patterns flowing across it.

With every step it took, the surrounding cold air pulsed in rhythm with its breathing.

This was a 7,000-year-old Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle!

Just looking at that thick shell, one knew its defensive capabilities were absolutely maxed out.

After the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle crawled out of the ice valley and saw Gu Yuena standing in front,

its originally sluggish movements instantly became agile.

It quickly crawled to Gu Yuena, immediately stopped, and pressed its massive head tightly against the ice.

Its posture was extremely respectful, completely like a subject meeting their monarch.

Gu Yuena looked at it with satisfaction and began to communicate with it using her divine force.

"I've found a new job for you: be this human girl's Soul Spirit." Gu Yuena pointed at Ling Luochen.

The Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle raised its head, a flash of hesitation appearing in its bean-sized eyes.

It shook its head gently and let out a few low whimpers.

Gu Yuena wasn't angry; she turned to translate for everyone.

"This big guy has already developed intelligence."

"It says it has a long lifespan and usually likes to sleep under the ice. It's not in a hurry to break through and wants to continue lying flat."

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched.

Good grief, this is a turtle that knows how to maintain its health.

A flash of disappointment crossed Ling Luochen's eyes.

A forced melon is not sweet; she understood that principle.

Gu Yuena looked at the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle, her tone still calm, but every word struck home.

"If you want to lie flat, you have to see if you have the life for it."

"Your bloodline has reached a bottleneck. If you don't encounter a massive opportunity, you'll be stuck below ten thousand years for the rest of your life."

"Follow her and become her Soul Spirit; it's not impossible to break through your current situation."

The Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle fell silent, its not-so-bright brain working at high speed.

Should it just muddle along here waiting for death, or go out and take a gamble to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle?

It slowly turned its heavy body, its gaze falling on Ling Luochen.

Seeing this, Ling Luochen immediately released her ice-element Spirit.

Pure, flawless ice-blue light swirled around her.

Feeling that pure ice power without any impurities, the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle's eyes brightened.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, it finally nodded slowly.

"It has agreed," Gu Yuena said.

Ling Luochen took a deep breath, a flash of excitement in her eyes.

She walked up to the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle and sat down cross-legged.

Following the method Huo Yuhao had taught her earlier, Ling Luochen began to close her eyes and concentrate her Mental Energy.

The Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle also cooperated fully by releasing its extreme cold Soul Power.

The two ice-attribute forces made contact in the air and began to slowly merge.

Just at the moment Ling Luochen began to absorb the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle's Soul Power,

a sudden change occurred.

That extremely pure extreme cold force was like a key, instantly triggering a certain power within Huo Yuhao's body.

Huo Yuhao's eyes widened sharply.

"Holy— Ice Empress, what are you doing?!"

In the Spiritual Sea, the Ice Empress snorted coldly.

"This little girl's ice power is too pure. My aura was drawn to it and ran out automatically. Is it my fault?"

The next second.

A wave of cold air carrying endless pressure erupted uncontrollably from Huo Yuhao's body.

"Hum~"

A massive phantom of an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion flickered behind Huo Yuhao.

Emerald green light flashed, and the exclusive pressure of one of the three great kings of the Far North instantly filled the entire ice valley.

The surrounding temperature plummeted once again.

Even Gu Yuena, who was standing to the side, raised an eyebrow and took an extra look at Huo Yuhao.

Ling Luochen, who was currently forming the contract, felt it the most deeply.

Under the shroud of the Ice Empress's aura, her ice-element Spirit actually began to tremble violently.

It was an instinctive submission and resonance upon encountering a superior.

Ling Luochen was shocked to discover that her control over the ice element had surged by at least thirty percent in that instant!

The massive Soul Power that originally belonged to the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle, which had been somewhat difficult to shake,

now, under the shock of this pressure, became even more docile than a lamb.

It drilled into Ling Luochen's body along her meridians, unstoppable.

Ling Luochen couldn't help but open her eyes and turn back to glance at Huo Yuhao.

In those ice-blue eyes, which were usually always cold as frost, a strange look flashed for a moment.

Huo Yuhao felt his scalp tingle from her gaze.

He knew this was a critical moment and could not afford any carelessness.

"Senior, don't get distracted!"

Huo Yuhao immediately activated Spiritual Detection, a golden web of light instantly covering Ling Luochen and the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle.

"Follow my guidance!"

Through Spiritual Sharing, Huo Yuhao helped her precisely locate the best path for Soul Power fusion.

With Huo Yuhao's navigation, Ling Luochen was like a fish in water.

Huo Yuhao even helped her find the core nodes in the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle's Soul Power that were easiest to absorb.

With the indiscriminate resonance of the Ice Empress's aura and Huo Yuhao's cheat-like mental assistance,

the process of forming this Soul Spirit Contract was outrageously smooth.

It only took less than half an hour.

The Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle's massive body began to gradually become transparent.

Finally, it turned into a stream of ice-blue light, which merged directly into Ling Luochen's body, becoming her first Soul Spirit.

Immediately after.

A thousand-year spirit ring, purple with a hint of black, slowly rose from beneath Ling Luochen's feet.

"It's done!" Ma Xiaotao clapped her hands excitedly from the side.

Ling Luochen slowly opened her eyes.

She raised her hand, her mind stirring.

Fourth Spirit Ability, Ice Crystal Protection!

A thick ice crystal turtle shell barrier instantly condensed around her, even possessing its own intelligence for automatic defense.

Ling Luochen felt the surging and stable Soul Power within her.

And the gentle feeling coming from the Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle that was slowly strolling in her sea of consciousness.

On her usually cold-as-frost face, she actually revealed a rare smile for the first time.

Although it was very faint, it was real.

This scene, like an ice lotus blooming, left Ma Xiaotao stunned.

Ling Luochen put away her Spirit and spirit ring and walked straight up to Huo Yuhao.

Her ice-blue eyes gazed intently at Huo Yuhao, and the two stared at each other for a long moment.

The surroundings were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Finally, Ling Luochen moved her lips slightly.

She only spat out two words.

"Thank you."

The tone was completely different from her usual coldness that kept people at a distance.

Although brief, it was clearly warmer.

Huo Yuhao felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at, so he quickly waved his hand with a smile.

"Senior, you're too polite. It was mainly that Ice Crystal Xuan Turtle who chose you."

"I just gave a little help on the side; there's no need to be so formal."

As soon as Huo Yuhao finished speaking, the Ice Empress in his Spiritual Sea smacked her lips.

The Ice Empress's voice, filled with playfulness and teasing, rang out in Huo Yuhao's mind.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"Yuhao, oh Yuhao, your luck with women is truly something else."

"This girl has very heavy mental defenses; she's usually cold to everyone, like a stone."

"But now, she's actually opened up to you for once."

"That aura resonance from me earlier, by some stroke of luck, actually did you a huge favor."

"How do you plan to repay me? Why don't you offer yourself instead~"

After hearing this, Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched violently twice.

He complained frantically in his heart.

Ice Empress, can you please stop reading those messy romance novels!

Huo Yuhao stood where he was.

Facing Ling Luochen's warm gaze and the Ice Empress's crazy teasing in his Spiritual Sea,

he held back for a long time, unable to say a single word.