What Gang Are You With?

"Anyway, that's the whole story. Kid, you're lucky I picked you!"

As if confirming Huo Yuhao's thoughts, Skydream Iceworm explained things much faster this time than in his previous life, so much so that he failed to notice the boy's somewhat unusual reaction.

"Time is tight. I'm starting now. Don't worry, I'll be gentle. I won't hurt you."

"?"

Huo Yuhao froze. He had not expected Skydream Iceworm to be this impatient and instinctively wanted to say something.

"W-Wait a—"

Before he could finish, however, the massive head slammed toward him.

Skydream Iceworm thought Huo Yuhao was afraid. Having been frightened senseless by that terrifying aura earlier, he could no longer be bothered with anything else. He only wanted to escape this nightmare-filled place as quickly as possible.

At the critical moment, the Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead suddenly opened. An indescribable aura swept out. Though it did not feel powerful to Skydream Iceworm, it made him shudder instinctively, bringing his charge to an abrupt halt.

"W-What is that thing?"

"Brother Tianmeng, listen to me first."

Ignoring Skydream Iceworm's shock, Huo Yuhao quickly explained the Soul Spirit Contract in his mind. Since Skydream Iceworm would become a Soul Spirit eventually anyway, they might as well do it properly in one go this time.

After hearing him out, Skydream Iceworm finally calmed down somewhat. His small golden eyes blinked twice.

"A Soul Spirit Contract... There's something this good? Why have I never heard of it before?"

"Because it came from the future. It was created by my teacher."

"...?"

What the hell are you talking about?

Why did I feel like I couldn't understand a word?

Listening to Huo Yuhao, Skydream Iceworm felt as though his little brain had shriveled up. For a moment, he did not know what to do.

To be honest, he did not entirely believe in this contract.

Based on Huo Yuhao's description, becoming a Soul Spirit was indeed better than becoming an intelligent Soul Ring, since he could occasionally leave the Spiritual Space to get some fresh air.

But the effects of this thing were entirely based on Huo Yuhao's word. No one knew whether they were real. Still, judging from what this human had shown, he was clearly no ordinary person, which made his words fairly credible.

As for whether Huo Yuhao might be deceiving him, Skydream Iceworm had not considered that at all. He had been rushing to become the other party's Soul Ring in the first place. Why would the other party go to the trouble of making up a lie to trick him?

There was simply no need.

Besides, for some reason, from the moment he saw this human, he had felt an inexplicable sense of closeness toward him. Even Skydream Iceworm himself found it strange. Though he knew deep down that it was abnormal, he simply could not feel the slightest wariness toward this human.

Could this be what people called fate?

Skydream Iceworm blinked his two eyes twice more. Looking into Huo Yuhao's calm gaze, he finally made up his mind after a moment. His voice rang out in Huo Yuhao's mind once again.

"I'll listen to you. Let's do the Soul Spirit Ritual. What do I need to do?"

"Just like with the intelligent Soul Ring you planned, you only need to seal your power. Oh, right, you also need to relax your mind."

Although the process was somewhat similar to a sacrifice, a normal Soul Spirit Ritual still required the host to have sufficient capacity. Thus, if they wanted to complete a Soul Spirit Ritual with Million Years Brother Tianmeng now, Tianmeng naturally had to use the Sealing Method he had developed over many years.

"Fine, hurry up, hurry up. Otherwise, that guy might notice me—"

That guy?

Huo Yuhao felt vaguely puzzled, but he did not ask immediately. Once both sides were ready, the ritual swiftly began.

Huo Yuhao raised a hand and placed it on Skydream Iceworm's head, beginning to chant an incantation. A golden Six-pointed Star Magic Array enveloped both human and worm completely.

The instant the magic array appeared, Skydream Iceworm understood what Huo Yuhao meant by their hearts being connected. Through this ritual, he could even clearly sense Huo Yuhao's emotions.

Calm, gentle, without the slightest malice.

As he further sensed Huo Yuhao's condition, Skydream Iceworm's two golden eyes immediately burst with delight.

"To think he has such powerful Physical Quality and Spiritual Power. I've really struck gold this time!"

As his words fell, the ten golden rings on his body began to pulse like waves. In an instant, an enormous fluctuation of Spiritual Power covered the entire Star Dou Great Forest. This reckless act directly left every creature in the Star Dou Great Forest frozen in shock.

Then, his enormous body began to melt and shrink like beeswax meeting flame. Even the colors on his body rapidly faded.

Just then, the previously clear sky suddenly darkened. After a thunderous boom, a gray mass of air pierced through space and appeared out of nowhere, plunging into Huo Yuhao's forehead. Skydream Iceworm, who had just been grinning happily, abruptly changed expression.

"Hey, hey, hey, I spotted him first! What gang are you with? You came to steal my person without even asking around about my name?"

Yet after the gray mass entered Huo Yuhao's body, it seemed to fall silent and gave no response at all. Seeing this, Skydream Iceworm could only curl his lip and reluctantly speed up the fusion.

"If I weren't in such a hurry, hmph!"

But once his consciousness entered Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Space, the sight before him immediately scared him into breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Good grief, this is way too lively! What kind of host did I choose?"

Within the not particularly large Spiritual Space, Spiritual Power rippled gently like a small pond. Floating above it were eight spheres of light. One was far away from the other seven, and judging from the gray mist constantly churning around it, it was clearly the gray mass that had tried to steal his host earlier.

Now, with the ten clusters of sealed Origin Power he had brought in, there were eighteen clusters of light within the Spiritual Space, making it seem rather crowded.

Other than that gray mass, the other seven light clusters were not too different apart from their colors and the auras they emitted. The dark-blue and dark-yellow spheres were the most conspicuous, while the other five had traces of color but remained more than half covered in gray.

After sensing them carefully, Skydream Iceworm was astonished to discover that they were also some kind of Origin Power. Whenever his spiritual body drew near, the corresponding emotions in his heart would be stirred. This frightened him into keeping far away from those seven light clusters, just like the gray mass did.

Fortunately, those seven light clusters had no self-awareness. They merely floated quietly within the Spiritual Space, without the slightest movement.

Yet this was not what shocked him most. When he looked up, he saw once again the golden Vertical Eye Huo Yuhao had revealed earlier. Feeling the aura of the Eye of Destiny from so close, he finally understood what it was.

"T-This is... a divine artifact?!"