That Big Maggot

Xu Jie looked at the Baboon's headless corpse, a little puzzled. Something was off. Where was that big maggot?

Suddenly, a voice arose in Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao's minds. At the same time, an invisible ripple spread outward. Within a hundred-mile radius, every living thing except Huo Yuhao and Xu Jie fell into stasis.

"Finally, I've encountered another human with a spiritual attribute. What a pity, though, the talent is a little too... Huh? What a peculiar soul."

Huo Yuhao jumped in fright. Xu Jie had been prepared, so he was not startled, though he was initially confused about why he could hear Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice too. Then, upon hearing what Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said afterward, he was thoroughly shocked as well.

Before Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao could react, the ground beneath them began to tremble. A crack suddenly appeared in the earth ahead, slowly widening with the shaking until it became a massive fissure. A faint golden-white glow shone out from within it.

Huo Yuhao instinctively tightened his grip on the White Tiger Dagger, his heart filled with tension. He turned toward Xu Jie and found that Xu Jie had summoned his Martial Soul and put it over his head, making him look as though his head had turned into a Fireball.

Xu Jie did not want to do this either. If possible, he actually wanted Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Million-Year Soul Ring, but this thing was Spirit-type. What if, the instant it entered his Spiritual Sea, it casually copied his memories?

Never mind the plots in his mind—even the embarrassing things from his previous two lives, things that made him want to crawl into a hole whenever he recalled them, could not be allowed to reach Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's ears.

That was why he did not want Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to copy his memories. Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao had spent a long time experimenting before discovering this method of putting his Martial Soul over his head. He had Huo Yuhao use his Spiritual Eye to observe Xu Jie's spirit, and they found that once Xu Jie covered his head with his Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao could no longer sense where his spirit was at all.

So, Xu Jie covered his head with his Martial Soul now in order to avoid Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual observation.

"Brother Jie, what's going on?" Huo Yuhao swallowed, unable to understand what was happening. He turned toward Xu Jie and was just about to ask.

A chill suddenly radiated from the fissure before them, and the surrounding temperature began to drop noticeably.

The fissure abruptly widened, and the golden-white light suddenly vanished. A peculiar figure leaped out.

It had a round, plump-looking head over a meter in diameter, while its body was more than seven meters long.

As it appeared, the temperature around them plummeted. Huo Yuhao unconsciously moved closer to Xu Jie, who had summoned his Martial Soul. Huo Yuhao exhaled a puff of white mist. Hah, it was a little warmer.

The insect before them was definitely a Soul Beast. It looked somewhat like a maggot from a latrine, except its head was much bigger.

"What the hell do you mean, maggot? I'm an ice silkworm, an ice silkworm!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seemed to sense what Huo Yuhao was thinking and snapped furiously.

After saying that, it turned in a circle and showed off the patterns on its body. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was entirely jade-white, with shifting halos of light flowing beneath its skin. Two tiny golden eyes glittered atop its head, and every half meter or so along its body was a gold pattern encircling it. From head to tail, there were ten in total.

Looking at the magnificent Soul Beast before him, Huo Yuhao felt a little embarrassed. It really did not look much like a maggot. It looked more like a silkworm caterpillar. Still, this Soul Beast was so large that it should at least be a hundred-year Soul Beast, right? And it seemed to have a spiritual attribute. If he killed it and made it into a Soul Ring, that should be about right.

At that thought, Huo Yuhao unconsciously tightened his grip on the White Tiger Dagger and looked at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm with longing.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's expression, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm understood what he was thinking. Its Spiritual Power rippled as it said, "Kid, you've got some nerve. But it's fine. I was planning to become your Soul Ring anyway."

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to attack, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power instantly suppressed him, leaving his body completely unable to move.

Though Xu Jie's head was covered by his Martial Soul, he could still sense the surroundings. Hearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words, he thought, What a fearless newborn calf. At a time like this, he's actually thinking of hunting Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

Huo Yuhao's body was completely immobilized, and with Xu Jie beside him standing motionless as well, fear inevitably rose within him.

Sensing Huo Yuhao's emotional change, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm comforted him. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." As it spoke, it released the spiritual suppression on Huo Yuhao.

The pressure on Huo Yuhao lifted, but he still held his dagger up at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Xu Jie could no longer keep pretending either. His Martial Soul slowly rose from over his head, revealing his eyes before stopping there, still protecting Xu Jie's brain and Spiritual Sea.

Xu Jie also assumed a defensive stance. Seeing Xu Jie move, Huo Yuhao turned and gave him a look that clearly said, Let's take it down.

When Xu Jie understood Huo Yuhao's look, his heart churned. Good lord, big brother, didn't it just suppress you? You still want to hunt it? He hurriedly said, "Yuhao, it means no harm." Then he gave Huo Yuhao a look that said they could not beat it.

Seeing this, Huo Yuhao relaxed.

"What are you trying to do?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm ignored the little exchange between them and said, "First, let me introduce myself. I am the embodiment of heroism and chivalry, the Soul Beast king among kings who possesses both wisdom and beauty, an unparalleled powerhouse who has cultivated for a million years and set the record for the longest lifespan on Douluo Continent—Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Mm, you may call me Brother Sky Dream."

Huo Yuhao was stunned. "A million years?" How was that possible? His heart was full of disbelief. He had heard Xu Jie say that the strongest Soul Beasts on Douluo Continent were only Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. He turned to look at Xu Jie.

Xu Jie could only shake his head, indicating that he did not know either. How could he explain it? That he knew Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was a million-year Soul Beast, and also an incredibly weak one at that? But weak was only relative to those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. As far as Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was concerned, simple spiritual suppression alone could wipe the two of them out.

He could not explain it clearly. The moment he spoke, that big maggot would definitely become interested in him. He could claim that those cultivation techniques had been left to him by his previous life's mother, but he had already used that excuse once. He could not use it a second time.

And even if he did use that excuse, this big maggot was not as innocent as Huo Yuhao. It definitely would not believe him.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm did not intend to say more either, because it had discovered that its Spiritual Power was useless against Xu Jie. Furthermore, ever since Huo Yuhao had stood beside Xu Jie, it could no longer communicate with Huo Yuhao through Spiritual Power.

Though puzzled, it had no time to investigate now. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm turned to glance toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest. The ten gold rings on its body began to pulse, transforming its formidable Spiritual Power into something tangible as it gently pushed Xu Jie aside. Then it became a streak of white and shot straight toward Huo Yuhao.

To Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the peculiar soul beside Huo Yuhao was of no use whatsoever, so it was completely outside his consideration.