The cold wind howled through the vast wilderness.
Two round figures trudged clumsily across the snowfields of the uninhabited zone.
They were Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei.
Both had bundled up in thick cotton-padded coats, layered inside and out, with warming soul tools tucked into their arms. These tools had been bought by Bei Bei in a small town during their travels.
Even if the people of Shrek had little regard for soul tools, practical ones for survival were still essential.
Especially in the Far North, one wrong step and your whole life could be over—people might even call you tough for dying that way.
Inside Huo Yuhao's coat was the shed skin of the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor, a thin layer more effective than several layers of cotton.
According to the Iceworm himself, his shed skin was the greatest weapon that any soul beast in the world could produce!
This million-year-old relic wasn't just incredibly tough, fire- and water-proof, and breathable—it could also conceal one's aura. It maintained Huo Yuhao's body temperature so well that even if he stripped off his coat and wore only the shed skin, he could still roll around freely in the core region of the Far North.
Though it looked like two people braving the cold, in reality, only Bei Bei was risking his life. Huo Yuhao wasn't worried about freezing to death at all.
Marveling at the effectiveness of the shed skin, Huo Yuhao chatted with the Iceworm. "Brother Iceworm, once this mission is over, I'll refine this shed skin into my personal artifact, okay?"
"...Seriously, Brother Hao? I'm already your beast companion, and you still want to peel off my skin?"
"What do you mean 'peel your skin'? You said it yourself in the original story—this is your shed skin! And it's useless to you now. I'm not wasting it—just recycling! Totally justified!" Huo Yuhao declared with righteousness.
"Ah... well, you do make a fair point." The Iceworm sighed. After all, he really had no use for it anymore.
He was frustrated because, unlike in the original story, he now fully understood how valuable his shed skin actually was.
In the original plot, the shed skin was only used once—to bind the Ice Empress. And it worked; she couldn't break free at all.
Sadly, that was the only time it was used. Afterward, neither Huo Yuhao nor the Iceworm ever thought about developing its potential further.
The reason? The Iceworm had already merged with Huo Yuhao as a soul ring and could only activate his powers once after separation.
But now, thanks to the power of destiny, the Iceworm could freely enter and exit Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea—with his permission—and even help activate soul ring abilities within a certain range around him.
However, to unleash the full power of the shed skin still required an enormous amount of spiritual energy.
So once this task was done, the Iceworm would be drained and need a long period of recovery.
When that spiritual energy recovered, he could try using the skin again.
But forcibly activating the shed skin's full power was essentially wasting it!
The only reason it could seal the Ice Empress was because it consumed all of the Iceworm's life essence. Not just the Ice Empress—if the Snow Empress showed up, the skin could bind her too.
Where did that power come from?
The answer: the residual energy within the shed skin!
That was the Iceworm's last act of defiance.
While the Iceworm's million-year spiritual origin now resided in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, his soul power and life force had been completely drained by fierce beasts. Yet during that process, he had subtly tempered his skin with his soul power and life force, making it incredibly durable.
Even after his sacrificial fusion, the shed skin still retained a significant amount of power!
Even when forcibly activated to bind the Ice Empress, it didn't drain the last drop of energy inside.
That said, if the Iceworm kept activating it multiple times in the future, eventually all the residual energy would be depleted. The skin had no way to replenish itself.
When that day came, the shed skin would lose much of its value and definitely degrade in quality.
After seeing Pudu Cihang's memories, both Huo Yuhao and the Iceworm realized the shed skin wasn't just useful for binding enemies—it had far more potential. There was no way they'd let its quality decline.
The Iceworm now deeply regretted it—if only he had refined his skin before the sacrificial ritual, it could have become his life-bound artifact!
Even in soul form, the bond with a life-bound artifact would have allowed him to use the skin more easily, minimizing damage to the artifact and reducing spiritual energy consumption.
One day, this relic might even evolve into a divine weapon.
Even as Huo Yuhao's beast companion, having a divine weapon of his own wouldn't hurt.
But it was too late. At that time, the Iceworm had no idea how to refine a life-bound artifact—or that it was even a thing.
So now, Huo Yuhao got a great deal.
Would he ever give it back to the Iceworm? Obviously not.
Of course, Huo Yuhao couldn't refine the artifact just yet—it would have to wait for the future.
Forging an artifact wasn't something that could be done in a few days. Huo Yuhao was still too weak and inexperienced. If he botched the process, he'd probably slap himself silly.
With only Level 15 soul power, he might collapse before the process even began.
He had to wait until he was stronger and had more experience in artifact crafting before trying to forge the shed skin into an artifact.
Even without refining it, the shed skin was already a superb defensive tool that could be worn directly.
Still, given the choice between consuming some of the shed skin's power or gaining the Ice Empress's sacrificial gift, Huo Yuhao chose the latter.
Why? Because he couldn't yet fully use the shed skin, while the Ice Empress's sacrifice would fuel his rapid growth and future gains.
He had already thought about what kind of artifact he would eventually forge from it.
"Brother Iceworm, should I make your shed skin into a defensive artifact? Or something that helps with control? Maybe both?"
The Iceworm: "..."
Why did this feel like someone dissecting his body before he'd even properly died?
Don't silkworms have rights too?
...
Huo Yuhao didn't lead the way for Bei Bei—he just followed him, searching through the Far North.
He was in no rush.
They were still on the outskirts, carefully exploring for useful ice-type herbs.
That's right—they were still in the outer region.
For humans, the Far North was even more dangerous than the Star Dou Forest—because unlike the forest, it came with harsh environmental hazards.
They actually found a few ice-type herbs.
"Brother Huo, do you recognize this herb? Do you know what it does?"
Huo Yuhao maintained his innocent, honest look, though his mind spun quickly.
Bei Bei was testing him!
"Let me take a look, Brother Bei." He calmly accepted the herb.
In truth, Huo Yuhao didn't recognize it—but thanks to Pudu Cihang's memories, he could use reference knowledge to deduce some of its properties.
But was he the kind of person to fake knowledge?
"Sorry, I don't recognize it."
Huo Yuhao: That's right! I, the Honest Young Lad, have arrived!
"Huh?" Bei Bei was dumbfounded.
He had genuinely wanted to test Huo Yuhao's medical knowledge. But why was he so straightforward?
Couldn't he at least pretend a little?
But before Bei Bei could say anything, Huo Yuhao hit him with a sorrowful look.
"Brother Bei, I told you already—my specialties are beauty treatments and male enhancement, not medicine in general."
His sincere tone left Bei Bei completely speechless.
As expected—sincerity is the ultimate trump card.
Secretly observing from a distance, Xuan Zi couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Bei Bei, you're still too green. That little Huo grew up poor—lost his parents young. Where would he have learned advanced medicine? At most, his family handed down a few home remedies. He probably doesn't even recognize most herbs, hahaha..."
Seeing Bei Bei humbled lifted Xuan Zi's mood slightly.
And his opinion of the amusing, candid Huo Yuhao also improved.