This was truly a baptism of ice and fire! One moment, he was shivering from the cold, the next, he was burning like fire. The blood in his body had to constantly change with the temperature; when it was cold, it almost froze, and when it was hot, it melted and boiled. Drops of fresh blood dotted his face.
The shift from extreme cold to extreme heat caused his body temperature to fluctuate. This process not only brought pain but also tempered his body. However, it was incredibly difficult for anyone to endure, and even someone with an iron will like him felt he could no longer bear it.
One could say that Huo Yuhao's integration of the Soul Bone at this moment was the most special and difficult case in history. Firstly, his cultivation was too low. Secondly, the quality of the Soul Bone he was integrating was too high. How could such a huge disparity between the two not be difficult?
Even though the Ice Empress tried her best to assist him, how could that Soul Bone change its value? Three hundred thousand years, three hundred thousand years! Even with all its energy sealed within, just a tiny bit of leaked aura was enough to make Huo Yuhao suffer pain worse than death.
When Huo Yuhao felt his head spinning, his consciousness gradually fading into a daze, as if he had reached his limit and could no longer hold on, a large amount of spiritual power was suddenly poured into him by the Heavenly Dream Iceworm, helping him return to a clear state of mind once more. At the same time, it bought him some time to rest, alleviating the pain.
The Heavenly Dream Iceworm wanted Huo Yuhao to temper his spirit to be even more resilient, but it absolutely would not let him collapse. It observed from the outside, and when Huo Yuhao could no longer endure, it would intervene, helping Huo Yuhao to persevere.
Although Huo Yuhao was tortured by mental pain that felt like dying and coming back to life, when the Heavenly Dream Iceworm intervened, clarity returned to him. At this moment, he no longer felt pain. Although the hot-cold transformation process was still ongoing, he felt much better. He tried to regain his composure and re-condense the spiritual power that had almost shattered earlier.
However, as soon as he finished these things, the Heavenly Dream Iceworm's assistance disappeared, and the pain from before returned once again.
Huo Yuhao screamed in his heart, "Brother Heavenly Dream, are you playing with me?!"
Time flew by. Every time Huo Yuhao couldn't bear it anymore, the Heavenly Dream Iceworm would appear, then disappear. Gradually, his endurance also increased.
What if the Heavenly Dream Iceworm had helped Huo Yuhao from the very beginning? Indeed, Huo Yuhao would have suffered less pain, and it could be said that he would have completed it more easily. But that would only be at the beginning. The Heavenly Dream Iceworm couldn't help him all the way through. The later it got, the more painful it would become, and at that point, he could only pray to the heavens. Therefore, the Heavenly Dream Iceworm's method not only ensured that he could overcome it but also thoroughly tempered both his body and his will, providing immense benefits.
The later it got, the more obvious it became. Although there was still pain, the time he needed the Heavenly Dream Iceworm to intervene and delay grew longer and longer. And the time the Heavenly Dream Iceworm delayed for him to recover his spiritual power also shortened. The two were completely inversely proportional.
After several such instances, Huo Yuhao finally understood that his "heaven," Tian Meng, was using this opportunity to temper his will! If it were anyone else, they would surely long for that comfortable feeling, but he was different. After a year of cultivation at Shrek Academy, he had become completely clear: the greater the price paid, the higher the reward.
Therefore, what the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm did not only gave him some time to rest but also affirmed his belief in everything. Thus, as he endured the pain, his will became even more resolute. This ultimately led to the results seen.
This discovery greatly shocked both the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress. These two powerful beings felt admiration for this tiny human for the first time. Because the level of pain Huo Yuhao had endured and was currently enduring, it was uncertain if even they could overcome it. Although the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm provided some assistance to Huo Yuhao, the entire process was endured by him alone.
From day to night, and then night to day, Huo Yuhao sat there, the dark blue light on his body becoming increasingly distinct. His skin rapidly alternated between white and pink, the speed increasing to the point where it became harder and harder to distinguish. And the qi and blood in his body began to grow much, much stronger than before.
Although the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion had divided its energy into many small parts, after fusing into Huo Yuhao's body, it was still a great tonic. The energy of a soul beast approaching the 400,000-year level—how could it not be powerful!
Throughout Huo Yuhao's entire body, including his flesh, bones, and internal organs, all underwent transformation. Even though the soul bone he was fusing was not an arm, leg, or head, it simultaneously transmitted a refreshing sensation to all parts. Following this comfort, the suffering Huo Yuhao was enduring gradually decreased step by step.
By this point, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm no longer needed to intervene. Huo Yuhao could already rely on his firm will to overcome the suffering from the hot and cold temperature changes. He could even feel the qi and blood throughout his body growing stronger and stronger, and his body becoming tougher. However, because his soul power was at the bottleneck of the twentieth rank, he couldn't accurately determine his current cultivation level. But, it was certain that after completing all processes, his soul power rank would increase significantly, at least two ranks without any problem.
"Yuhao, be a little careful. The basic fusion process of the soul bone is almost complete. All that's left is for it to fully integrate into your skeleton. Because I want to seal the soul bone's energy into your bone marrow, it might be very painful later, but that way you'll be able to slowly absorb that energy more easily in the future. All you have to do is endure. This process, I'm afraid even the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm will find it difficult to help you. It will probably take about an hour. Once this step is done, you will officially possess this soul bone of mine."
The Ice Empress's voice grew softer and softer, even her form of address changed. From the tone of her voice, it seemed she was a little tired. After all, she was fusing her own body into Huo Yuhao. Although her cultivation was powerful, the pain she endured was not small compared to Huo Yuhao's. It was just that she had cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years, so her will and endurance far surpassed Huo Yuhao's.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. The continuous torment of pain had left him unable to speak. All he could do now was try to maintain his unwavering faith, so that the Ice Empress could sense it and trust him even more.
Could the Heavenly Dream Iceworm truly not protect Huo Yuhao? Of course not, but the Ice Empress said so to increase Huo Yuhao's pressure and determination. Only then could he fully unleash his potential.
However, as this final step began, an extremely terrifying pain immediately surged through him, making Huo Yuhao shiver and tremble. Within his spiritual world, it became even more evident, almost on the verge of collapse.
Pain, he could endure. Alternating heat and cold, he could barely control. But this strange sensation now was not so simple, because it was itchy.
Indeed, after the Ice Empress began the final fusion process, Huo Yuhao's entire body immediately became terribly itchy, as if thousands upon thousands of ants had begun to crawl all over him and enter his skeleton. One could say it was an itch that reached the very marrow of his bones, a statement that was entirely literal.
In this moment, his only wish was to tear his body apart, then immediately rub and knead it to end this maddening sensation.
Huo Yuhao's entire body trembled and convulsed, completely uncontrollable, and his every joint continuously emitted cracking sounds.
The Heavenly Dream Iceworm knew that the pain the Ice Empress was enduring at this moment was not much less than Huo Yuhao's, because her spiritual power was constantly trembling. The process of fusing the Soul Bone into Huo Yuhao's body was just a basic step, because truly becoming a Soul Ring was not difficult; the difficulty lay in maintaining self-awareness, to be an intelligent Soul Ring.
On the Ice Empress's side, the Heavenly Dream Iceworm felt no worry; it was only concerned that Huo Yuhao might not be able to endure it.
The golden light in Huo Yuhao's spiritual world began to activate, sometimes trembling, sometimes like boiling ocean waves. And Huo Yuhao's skeleton was also transforming from green to emerald green, and then from emerald green back to green. It was precisely this transformation period that was the peak of agonizing pain.
Itchy... so itchy... I'm dying from the itch... Huo Yuhao felt he could no longer bear it; this sensation was even more terrifying than the torture before.
Finally, cracks began to appear in Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea. Evidently, if these cracks continued to spread, this spiritual world would sooner or later shatter into pieces. The Heavenly Dream Iceworm, standing beside him, saw this and acted without hesitation. A stream of deep golden light swiftly moved within Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea.
It was also at this moment that Huo Yuhao suddenly roared in his Spiritual Sea.
"Don't interfere, I can get through this, let me do it."
The Heavenly Dream Iceworm was stunned to hear him speak. It sensed Huo Yuhao's resilience, and unexpectedly, after this shout, the cracks in Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea slowly and miraculously closed.