How Could This Million-Year Soul Ring Be So Nosy? (4k1 Combined Chapter)

Wang Rui opened his eyes.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's fusion still had not ended. The dense white light merging into Huo Yuqing's body gradually became more solid.

The little silkworm's true body was becoming increasingly illusory, while Huo Yuqing's body took on the lustrous texture of fine white jade. A beautiful, flawless white ring began to condense behind her.

It was the one and only million-year soul ring.

Golden light flashed, and Wang Rui returned to human form.

He whistled, and a Swift-tailed Swallow twice the size of its kin landed on his shoulder.

"Little White? Why are you here?" Wang Rui asked in surprise.

"Di Tian wanted to know what kind of human you chose." The Swift-tailed Swallow actually spoke, in a gentle female voice.

She was the Swift-tailed Swallow clan's leader, as well as the only Swift-tailed Swallow in the world with Hundred-Thousand-Year Cultivation.

The swallow hopped on Wang Rui's shoulder and scrutinized Huo Yuqing critically. "This human looks pretty ordinary. What level is his Innate Soul Power?"

"One and a half." Wang Rui answered casually.

"That low?" The swallow was stunned. "What's the difference between a human with one-and-a-half-level Innate Soul Power and trash? What do you even see in him?"

"Can't be bothered explaining it to you." Wang Rui rolled his eyes at her.

If you don't understand how awesome Huo Hang is, goodbye forever.jpg

"Go find me an opossum-type soul beast. Around ten years old."

"Hmph, all you do is order me around." The Swift-tailed Swallow grumbled, though her tone lacked the reverence other soul beasts showed toward an Auspicious Beast. She then turned into a streak of light and flew away.

Within seconds, she returned. A gray-black soul beast about the size of a puppy floated beside her, wrapped in white Soul Power.

It was a Leaf-Patterned Tree Opossum.

"Hmph. I flew a long way to bring it here. Every small soul beast nearby was knocked out by that giant worm." The swallow controlled her Soul Power and tossed the opossum at Wang Rui's feet.

"Mhm, mhm. Thanks for your hard work." Wang Rui replied perfunctorily.

Wang Rui stared at the soul beast for a while before a terrifying pressure suddenly emanated from him.

How could the poor opossum have ever seen anything like this? It immediately spat out a mouthful of blood-red liquid, toppled sideways, stiffened all four paws, twitched once, and then even its breathing and heartbeat stopped.

A somewhat illusory white ring slowly floated up.

...That was a little too realistic.

Then again, this little thing survived by playing dead. How could it manage without mastering a few tricks for faking its death?

"Take your soul ring back," Wang Rui ordered.

The opossum immediately understood the Auspicious Beast's command. The phantom white soul ring vanished with a pop.

"Tsk, tsk. Bullying the weak with your strength, are you?" The swallow shook her head at the sight.

Huo Yuqing stood in a pure white space.

Countless golden specks resembling stars were scattered throughout it. At the center of the space floated a crystalline, beautiful mass of blue-green liquid radiating a vast aura of life.

Huo Yuqing's state of existence was strange as well. She felt as though she had no physical form and was merely a mass of air, yet she vaguely sensed that she truly existed and could control her limbs. It was as if she were an invisible person or a humanoid cloud of air. It was extremely wondrous.

Faced with such an unfamiliar scene, Huo Yuqing did not panic. After a moment's thought, she guessed that this space was probably the Spiritual World the Auspicious Beast had mentioned.

Her Spiritual Power was still in its formless, intangible stage, and her Spiritual World was mostly blank. Thinking of the Auspicious Beast's ever-changing Spiritual World, the girl could not help feeling a little envious.

I need to work even harder. Huo Yuqing silently encouraged herself.

She tentatively reached out to touch the blue-green liquid, when she suddenly felt something touch her forehead. A cool, comfortable sensation flowed from her forehead throughout her entire body.

A strange feeling arose. All at once, she vaguely saw the light within the outline of her body distort, as though her form would soon emerge.

But before long, Huo Yuqing began to feel somewhat tired.

Just as she was experiencing the marvels of the Spiritual World, the space suddenly began to ripple violently, and brilliant golden light appeared.

Soon, that golden light gathered into ten enormous golden rings suspended in midair. The golden specks originally present in the space also grew brighter because of their appearance.

The ten golden rings slowly began to rotate. Milky-white vortices gradually formed at their centers, expanding until they became ten enormous jade-like spheres of light floating there.

The entire space expanded by an unknown number of times—and the most obvious change was to that mass of blue-green liquid.

The blue-green liquid had enlarged considerably and spun joyfully. The Spiritual Power around it seemed to carry a faintly viscous quality.

"Huh? What is this? Why does it feel like there's a miniature Sea of Consciousness nested inside your Sea of Consciousness? What kind of nesting doll is this?" A voice suddenly rang out. It was Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. "Whoa, what dense life force! Did it come from that piece of Gold of Life? Well, it definitely isn't anything bad, so let's just leave it there."

"Let me see... So your name is Huo Yuqing... Wait! You're actually a girl??" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shrieked in shock. "Y-you-you-you-you're a female human? You're a girl???"

"My mother taught me that it's very dangerous for a girl to travel alone, so I disguised myself as a boy when I left home." Huo Yuqing explained seriously. "I'm sorry. Um... were you looking for a boy as your host?"

"Whether you're a boy or a girl makes no difference to me. I'm from the Ice Silkworm clan, so why would I care whether you're male or female?" Tian Meng said, sounding conflicted. "But honestly, I'm not very good at telling human genders apart. It's just that the Auspicious Beast seemed utterly convinced you were a boy..."

Then Huo Yuqing heard Tian Meng muttering things like, "The almighty Imperial Auspicious Beast actually got it wrong," and, "Well, damn. There are actually things Three-Eyed Golden Lion doesn't know."

So when the Auspicious Beast had said that he and Huo Yuqing were fated to share a deep bond, he had not known she was a girl. Did that mean...?

Hehe, what could a deep bond of destiny between a male and female possibly be? A red thread of fate, of course! Sky Dream Ice Silkworm thought furtively, like a melon-munching weasel rolling gleefully through a melon patch. With destiny guiding them, the Auspicious Beast would probably fall into this little girl's hands sooner or later.

And when he thought about the two of them, one a girl disguised as a boy and the other a soul beast disguised as a human...

"Hehehehehehehe..." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm envisioned the future melon patch and let out a particularly lecherous series of chuckles. "This is going to be fun."

"What fun?" Huo Yuqing stared in confusion at the ten light clusters in her Spiritual World, which had abruptly begun acting crazy on their own, and sincerely questioned Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mental state.

"You're a girl, but nobody knows you're a girl." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said mischievously. "When you return to being a girl later, you'll give everyone quite a shock."

Especially the Auspicious Beast.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Auspicious Beast were very close, but that had absolutely nothing to do with his enjoyment of watching the Auspicious Beast make a fool of himself.

"Here, let me help you. I had already decided which four skills to give you, but since the fusion hasn't ended yet, I can still make some changes." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said excitedly. "My clan has a talent skill called Simulation. Even a thousand-year Ice Silkworm can provide this skill, so I originally planned to give you another one instead. But now, it looks like Simulation is the most important one for you."

Tian Meng said with a wicked grin, "Simulation can help you cover up your flaws and play the role of a boy perfectly."

Huo Yuqing was somewhat bewildered, but if she could play a boy without any flaws, it would naturally be of great help to her, so she agreed.

Thoughts of girls disguised as boys, romances between humans and soul beasts, and heaven-sent red threads filled Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mind, and his gossipy grin deepened.

Hehe. If the Auspicious Beast learns the truth and wants to be with this little girl, I'll help him out. Can't let an outsider have her, after all. And as payment for helping him, it's not too much to ask for a little entertainment, right?

He suddenly thought of something and maliciously asked, "Little Qing, look at how fated we are. And I'm so much older than you. It wouldn't be too much to call me Uncle Tian Meng, would it?"

Then I'll be a generation above the Auspicious Beast. Hehehe.

Huo Yuqing inexplicably felt that the ten platinum light clusters floating in her Spiritual World were radiating ill intent. Without hesitation, she refused. "I feel like you have a very young mindset. You don't seem like an elder at all, so I'd rather call you Brother Sky Dream."

"Brother Sky Dream... That works too." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm reluctantly agreed. Being the Auspicious Beast's brother-in-law was not bad either. "So, Little Qing, is there anything else you want to ask your brother?"

Huo Yuqing gave a soft hum. "Brother Sky Dream, can you tell me what exactly the Imperial Auspicious Beast means?"

"You've come to the right person. I'm the Auspicious Beast's best friend." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said smugly. "The Auspicious Beast is the only Three-Eyed Golden Lion in heaven and earth, the absolute core of the entire Star Dou Great Forest. He may not be the strongest, but every Fierce Beast in Star Dou will follow his arrangements. The Auspicious Beast can accelerate soul beast cultivation, increase the chances of Fierce Beasts successfully surviving their tribulations, and can even bring good fortune to soul beasts."

Huo Yuqing gave a quiet hum.

"The Auspicious Beast has always advocated peaceful coexistence between humans and soul beasts... Let me tell you something in secret. From your memories, you know about the Beast Sect, right? Those strange cultivation methods from the Beast Sect that the human named Beibei mentioned were actually invented with the Auspicious Beast's help," Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said mysteriously.

"Can you tell me more about the Beast Sect?" Huo Yuqing asked the question she cared about most. "How can I join the Beast Sect?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hesitated. "Uh... Well, actually, I've barely ever left the center of the Star Dou Great Forest. Back then, the Fierce Beasts had essentially placed me under house arrest. They needed my power to heal a mysterious existence beneath the ground at the very center of the Star Dou Great Forest... I don't know who it was exactly. It was the Auspicious Beast who saved me."

"So your brother doesn't actually know what humans need to do to join the Beast Sect." Tian Meng said sheepishly. "But I do know that the Beast Sect's headquarters is at the most central part of the Star Dou Great Forest... I heard that as long as you sincerely recognize the Beast Sect's ideals, they'll accept you as a disciple. So you should just try your luck in several affiliated cities where the Beast Sect is located, right? No matter what, joining the Beast Sect can only benefit you."

"Alright, I understand." Huo Yuqing said seriously. "Before that, I need to take revenge. Once I have my revenge, I'll find a way to join the Beast Sect."

"Good luck, Little Qing." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm encouraged her. "I'll help you. The Auspicious Beast's Gold of Life has improved your aptitude, so I gave you a little more of my sealed power as well. Your Soul Power should rise a little more. Also, I've brought you four Soul Skills in total. Besides Simulation, you'll have to explore the other three uses on your own. I can't give you a soul bone, but I've attached an ice-attribute martial soul to you. Once we obtain the first soul ring for this martial soul, it will awaken. Then you'll have Twin Martial Souls!"

"Huh? It sounds like someone's arrived outside. Go out first, and I'll talk to you later."

"Oh my, little brother Wang, what happened to little brother Huo?" Tang Ya crouched beside Huo Yuqing and asked worriedly.

"The Soul Power fluctuations around him are very stable. He probably just absorbed a soul ring and is still in meditation," Beibei said.

He raised a foot and kicked the opossum on the ground, which was playing dead. "This is a Leaf-Patterned Tree Opossum, a social soul beast that lives in trees. Look, Xiaoya, it has only one row of leaf-shaped markings along its spine, so it should be a ten-year soul beast... Somehow, it must have become separated from its pack. Little brother Huo is quite lucky. These opossums are very timid. Whenever they encounter an enemy larger than themselves, they play dead and remain motionless... It looks like little brother Huo took advantage of this opossum after it played dead and obtained its soul ring."

"So that's what happened." Tang Ya patted her chest. "I thought something had gone wrong with him."

"By the way, little brother Wang, did you chase after him because you were worried it wasn't safe for little brother Huo to be alone?"

Wang Rui nodded without saying anything.

Beibei found himself snubbed and did not speak again.

"Mmm..." Huo Yuqing let out a soft moan and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the red-haired youth beside her.

"Huh? Wang Rui! Why are you here?" she exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

"I was a little worried about you being alone, so I came after you." Wang Rui smiled and reached out to pull her up.

"Hehe, little Yuhao, why are you only looking at him?" Tang Ya asked sourly.

"Ah, Sister Xiaoya, Brother Bei, you're here too." Huo Yuqing smiled as she grabbed Wang Rui's hand and stood up, then suddenly widened her eyes in surprise.

Wang Rui's hand seemed to carry a faint pulling force that made her unwilling to let go.

"We were worried about you, so we followed you here," Beibei said gently.

Huo Yuqing did not have time to think further. She smiled and nodded at Beibei. "Thank you."

Then she calmed herself and sensed her Soul Power—

"Huh? Why is my Soul Power already at level thirteen?"

A silkworm who was also a melon-muncher. (Not really.)

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shipping a couple from the first-person perspective!

If you think the Swift-tailed Swallow clan leader might be that person, then she really is that person. The details will be explained later.

Playing the Swift-tailed Swallow card can make an important member of Tang San's faction defect on the spot. Nice!

And please, please keep reading for the next twenty-four hours! The story will get recommended this week, and follow-up reading is super, super important. Whether this eel can take off depends entirely on everyone!