Chapter 83: Tian Dou Encounter with the Snow Empress (Two-in-One)

The soul guidance aircraft landed at the Tian Dou City Spirit Pagoda airport, and Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue Na stepped out of the plane, looking toward the tower-shaped building not far away.

Tian Dou City's geographical location is very special; it borders the Star Dou Great Forest, and its distance from Shrek City is also quite close.

And the Branch Tower Master here is a Fierce Beast — Xiong Jun!

Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at Gu Yue Na, his expression strange, "Is Xiong Jun okay?"

He really couldn't imagine what Xiong Jun would look like wearing formal attire and serving as a Branch Tower Master...

"No problem, but initially he actually didn't want to be a Branch Tower Master."

Gu Yue Na laughed, "It's just because he wanted to observe Divine Craftsman Zhenhua performing Heavenly Forging up close, to watch and learn, so he came. Moreover, 'after three days apart, one must look at them with new eyes' — that's what you said, Yuhao. With someone assisting by its side, presiding over one region by its own strength is still no problem."

"I was too subjective." Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly and walked out of the airport together with Gu Yue Na.

As a famous historical city, the Federation stipulated that all building heights must not exceed fifty meters to maintain its original appearance — that is, restricted to below ten stories. Therefore, no high-rise buildings can be seen here; instead, many ancient trees exceed fifty meters in height.

The Spirit Pagoda Branch here also followed this rule, without any special treatment; it is only fifty meters high, standing in the central area of Tian Dou City.

However, the two did not go to the Tian Dou Branch of the Spirit Pagoda, but headed to a hotel instead.

As Luo Yang Lu said, the person who asked them to come over lives here.

The hotel is situated in a bustling district of Tian Dou City; its exterior is elegant and imposing, blending modern and traditional architectural styles, full of historical charm.

Stepping into the hotel, Gu Yue Na glanced at the direction behind the hotel, fell silent for an instant, and looked at Huo Yuhao, "You two should catch up, right? Although I don't know why she wants to see me, you need some private space, don't you? I'll wait here for a bit."

She had also seen Luo Yang Lu's hint, and roughly knew who the person asking Huo Yuhao to come this time was.

The two sides haven't met for who knows how many years; they definitely need some time to catch up. She shouldn't go disturb them; she'll ask the other party the reason for inviting her later.

Huo Yuhao nodded, watching Gu Yue Na find a chair, sit down, and become a net addict girl. He did not walk toward the front desk to the side to find someone, but instead walked straight toward the pavilion behind the hotel.

Both he and Gu Yue Na could sense the spatial power there.

The person is right there.

……

The hotel's pavilion sits by a secluded lake, surrounded by verdant ancient trees; a gentle breeze brushes past, bringing bursts of fresh grass and wood aroma.

The lake water is clear to the bottom; occasionally a few small fish leap out of the water, stirring up layers of ripples.

Huo Yuhao stepped inside, disturbing the tranquility of this place.

At this time, logically there should be quite a few people coming to the pavilion to rest, but when Huo Yuhao walked in, he didn't see a single person.

"Cleared the venue, huh."

Huo Yuhao chuckled lightly, looking at the empty pavilion, and took another step forward.

Space shifted; in the blink of an eye, a white-clad figure had already landed in the pavilion a step ahead of Huo Yuhao.

It was a young girl of seventeen or eighteen, tall and slender with a perfect figure; a spotless white long dress set off a noble and peerless temperament.

Seemingly sensing Huo Yuhao's gaze, the girl slowly turned her head, looked at Huo Yuhao, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

Her eyes are sky-blue, ethereal and transparent; she possesses a head of pure white long hair like ice and snow, falling from the back of her head to her feet, dancing lightly in the lakeside breeze, carrying a trace of icy chill.

Two pairs of blue eyes met; one glance, ten thousand years.

Huo Yuhao smiled gently:

"I'm back."

The Snow Empress, cold and peerless in the world's eyes, looked at him and likewise bloomed a trace of a smile. That smile was like a ray of warm sun in winter, melting the surrounding chill, intoxicating the heart.

"As long as you're back."

……

"Elder Leng Yulai?"

Gu Yue Na looked at the cold woman who had suddenly appeared before her, no longer fiddling with the soul guidance light screen, her expression somewhat surprised, "Why are you here too?"

Leng Yulai looked at the black-haired, black-eyed girl before her, and for a moment didn't react. But recalling what her sister had told her before, she instantly understood, and said in a gentle tone: "It's Na'er. I came following the Snow Empress Pagoda Master. What about you?"

She still cares quite a bit about this disciple of her sister's.

"It should be the Snow Empress... Pagoda Master who asked me and Yuhao to come together." Gu Yue Na said.

"Yuhao?" Leng Yulai was stunned for a moment; hearing Gu Yue Na's gentle tone, she inexplicably recalled her own days of yearning for Yun Ming.

Thinking carefully, she was like someone possessed back then; it seemed she couldn't live without Yun Ming.

If not for the Snow Empress directly freezing her into an ice sculpture, letting her calm down for ten years, and her sister resolving the misunderstanding, her life would have been over.

She also doesn't know how she dared back then.

Could it be she thought the Holy Spirit Cult was stronger than the Spirit Pagoda? Or that becoming an Evil Soul Master, she could escape from under the Spirit Pagoda's hands?

What the First Generation Tower Master said makes sense; love-brain is unacceptable; one must be at least a bit rational. A mindset where nothing matters except the lover won't do; it's easy to lose IQ.

Thinking of this, Leng Yulai looked at Gu Yue Na.

"The Yuhao you speak of refers to the Huo Yuhao who passed the Red Level Assessment, right? What kind of person is he?"

This girl's luck is better than hers; the person she likes is in the Spirit Pagoda, so it doesn't count as violating ancestral precepts, and her talent is not bad, but regarding character she feels it needs observation.

"Yuhao?"

Although Gu Yue Na felt Leng Yulai asking this question was a bit strange, considering the other party's identity, she still said a few sentences, "In my view, he..."

Listening along, Leng Yulai roughly sketched out Huo Yuhao's image in her heart.

He's the type who "returns a foot of respect for an inch of respect"; if others treat him well, he will reciprocate, and his personality is calm and composed.

Such a person's view on love is probably more traditional; he won't be as passionate as her past self, but values a kind of natural progression feeling.

There are pros and cons. Achieving a happy ending will probably take a very long time, but at least the positive feedback obtained along the way won't be little, and in the end even if they don't end up together, they won't end up with nothing...

Leng Yulai glanced at Gu Yue Na, considered for a moment, and exchanged thoughts with her.

……

Huo Yuhao sat down in the pavilion and smiled:

"Why choose to meet in Tian Dou?"

"I came here with some matters to handle; I originally wanted to go to the East Sea to find you, but unexpectedly got delayed because of this."

The Snow Empress's eyes flickered slightly, carrying a smile. "Speaking of which, since you've cultivated anew, why didn't you go directly to the Extreme North?"

Clearly they hadn't met in ten thousand years, yet their conversation didn't seem unfamiliar at all — it was incomparably natural.

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "When I first heard the news that you weren't appearing before people, I guessed you had cultivated anew, so I didn't go, to avoid causing you trouble."

The Snow Empress laughed lightly. "I see you simply don't want to rely on me anymore, right? Your wings have hardened; you feel you can manage on your own now."

The three people in the Spiritual Sea nodded secretly.

Exactly, exactly, what the Snow Empress said is right.

Yuhao, your wings have hardened all right; you look down on this bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled.

"How could that be." Hearing this, Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly. "If you weren't here, I'd probably have to live the life of ten thousand years ago all over again."

Ten thousand years — many backup arrangements he couldn't make himself; he could only entrust them to people he trusted.

Su Tong wouldn't do, Jue Chen wouldn't do, Gu Yi wouldn't do either — not just because of trust issues, but also lifespan issues. Even if they themselves had no problems, their descendants might not be trustworthy.

The person he chose to entrust everything to ten thousand years ago was the Snow Empress, and he only trusted her.

Di Tian is certainly strong, but lacks flexibility. The original Spirit Pagoda also invited the Star Dou Great Forest to join, but they were ultimately driven out. Moreover, Di Tian is an outsider; Huo Yuhao doesn't trust him.

Over the past ten thousand years, during some gaps when the Spirit Pagoda had no Limit Douluo, it was the Snow Empress who personally presided over Headquarters, shielding the Spirit Pagoda from wind and rain.

The Extreme North is also an important faction of the Spirit Pagoda, avoiding the situation in the original work where one family dominated.

Without the Snow Empress, when he woke up, what he saw might still be that original Spirit Pagoda that leaves one full of regret...

Huo Yuhao's eyes rippled; he sighed.

"Ten thousand years since... I owe you so much."

Hearing this, the Snow Empress's watery eyes rippled. She looked at Huo Yuhao and asked a question seemingly unrelated to this topic. "Do you know what my four-word Battle Armor is named?"

Huo Yuhao blanked for a moment.

"Although I don't need it and haven't used it outside, I still gave the Battle Armor a name."

Looking at Huo Yuhao's expression, the Snow Empress's eyes grew even softer, yet her tone was very solemn.

"My four-word Battle Armor is named — Spirit Ice Ferries Snow!"

"Ten thousand years ago, you ferried me, letting me cross the Heavenly Tribulation, allowing the Extreme North to continue peacefully for ten thousand years. Now, I ferry you, helping you ascend to godhood!"

"..." Hearing this, Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress gazed at each other; ten thousand words seemed to have been spoken already.

Ferry?

Huo Yuhao recalled the experiences along the way he had come.

The Snow Empress, Gu Yue Na, Di Tian, Soul Spirits, Tang Wulin... the paths they walked had all become different.

Good? The future is undetermined, hard to say clearly. But at this very moment, they're living not badly, right?

It is indeed ferrying.

Ferrying all beings, ferrying the mortal world, ferrying others... also ferrying oneself!

A brand-new artistic conception rose from Huo Yuhao's body along with his Spiritual Power, causing the Snow Empress some surprise; she smiled and shook her head.

"In terms of artistic conception, no one in the current world is your match."

"Overpraised; it's just bullying those of the same realm." Huo Yuhao let out a long breath. "If not for your pointer, I'd still need to spend quite some time to get through the door."

"It's nothing."

The Snow Empress shook her head slightly. "Just as I said just now, don't speak of the gratitude of ten thousand years anymore. What I owe you — how is it any less? With the relationship between us two, why bother being so polite."

Huo Yuhao: "Even real brothers need to settle accounts clearly; great kindness can turn to enmity. Treating others' contributions as a matter of course is not good. From a soul beast's perspective, ten thousand years may not be long, but in my view, I owe a lot."

Hearing this, the Snow Empress glanced at Huo Yuhao; the corner of her mouth revealed a trace of a smile carrying deep meaning.

"Ten thousand years have passed, and you haven't changed a bit. Forget it; I can't out-argue you on these principles. If in the future you still can't repay it, and I want something, don't blame me for exploiting gratitude to demand repayment."

"..."

Huo Yuhao's brow furrowed slightly; looking at the Snow Empress's smile, he felt something was off.

The Snow Empress shouldn't go so far as to exploit gratitude for repayment in certain matters, right?

And whatever she wants, she can just say it directly; it's not like he wouldn't give it.

After all, in his heart, Tianmeng, Electrolux, the Ice Empress, and the Snow Empress hold the same status — no distinction of high or low. Others at most stand on equal footing with those four; it's impossible for them to be higher...

But the Snow Empress deliberately pointed it out; it also shouldn't be just empty words.

Thinking it over, Huo Yuhao still smiled and said: "Of course. If the one who hasn't repaid it is me, what qualification do I have to say others exploit gratitude for repayment."

The Snow Empress laughed lightly without speaking.

In the Spiritual Sea, the Ice Empress examined the Snow Empress in the outside world, watching Huo Yuhao and her start chatting about the events of the past ten thousand years; she narrowed her eyes.

After Xue Er took human form, her appearance didn't change much — just lost a share of cold clarity, gained a trace of human warmth...

After a moment of silence, the Ice Empress thought for a bit, then simply walked out from Huo Yuhao's body. "These ten thousand years, how have you fared? Are you used to the human world?"

"Bing Er, well met." The Snow Empress's gaze turned to her, smiling faintly. "I've fared fairly well; I imagine you feel the same. The Extreme North was ultimately a bit monotonous; the time passed these ten thousand years has been far more wonderful than the past."

"It's just that compared to when you all were there, it seems a bit lonely. Beside me only Xiao Bai can chat with me, but it's too dull — whatever I say goes. Others have some barriers. It also made me feel for the first time that ten thousand years... is a bit long."

The Snow Empress's gaze softened. "Fortunately, now you've all come back."

Hearing the Snow Empress's words, Huo Yuhao and the Ice Empress fell into silence for a time.

Ten thousand years — is it a bit long?

The few of them can gather a mahjong table in the Spiritual Sea; the Snow Empress...

"Why must your expressions be so heavy." The Snow Empress looked at their expressions and smiled helplessly. "Forget it; let's chat later. Now let's talk serious business. A long-awaited reunion — today I came to see Yuhao, and I've brought you a gift."

"A gift?" Huo Yuhao looked at the Snow Empress take out a small box from her Storage Ring; his eyelid twitched.

Right now, the two words "gift"... he was more or less a bit sensitive to them.

The Snow Empress placed the box on the table, opened it, and pushed it before Huo Yuhao.

In the center of the box, a strange object lay quietly, like a gemstone.

Its size was roughly comparable to a dragon eye, presenting an elegant teardrop shape. Its surface was covered in dense, tiny facets, emitting a clear, cold ice-blue luster.

Although its dimensions were unremarkable, when the sun's rays projected onto it, they were instantly reflected into countless brilliant rays — no longer the original gold, but transformed into dazzling ice-blue.

These resplendent ice-blue rays seemed to turn into sharp beams, crisscrossing through the space inside the pavilion.

Looking at it, Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted.

"Ice God Pearl!"

The Ice God Pearl, also called the Ice God Heart, is an ice-attribute divine artifact. Its capability is cold, extreme cold.

As for its original origin, Huo Yuhao wasn't very clear either; he only knew it might be in the Extreme North, and judging from the original work's Gu Yue Na's familiarity with it, it might also be related to the God Realm of the Dragon God era.

Ten thousand years ago he had searched for it but did not discover it; later he mentioned this matter to the Snow Empress, and unexpectedly, ten thousand years passed, and she actually found it.

(End of Chapter)