Tian Meng's Opportunity

"By the time he received word of what happened here today, it would be at least three months later," Chen Ming said calmly.

"Impressive methods."

"There's still Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to deal with."

Chen Ming had Electrolux unseal Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual body.

"Now, I'll give you two choices."

Within Chen Ming's Sea of Consciousness, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm trembled as he felt two streams of Spiritual Sense lock onto him.

"My lords, I'll do whatever you tell me to do. Tian Meng will follow your instructions."

After being sealed for some time, he had finally recognized the situation.

"No, no, I said I'd give you a choice, so naturally I must respect your wishes," Chen Ming said solemnly.

"First, I kill you and absorb your Soul Ring."

Tian Meng wriggled backward, staring at Chen Ming in utter terror.

He hurriedly shouted at the top of his lungs, afraid he would choose too late.

"The second one! I choose the second one!"

"The second choice is for you to sacrifice yourself and merge your spiritual origin into my Soul Ring. I'll seal that origin away and save it to raise the age of my future Soul Rings."

Tian Meng's eyes widened.

Are you a devil?

"No, my lord, I actually have a better solution. I can become your Wisdom Soul Ring. Only that way can my benefits be fully brought out."

"A Wisdom Soul Ring?"

Chen Ming seemed not to understand and asked in return.

"That's right, a Wisdom Soul Ring. With my spiritual cultivation, I can preserve my soul and then sacrifice my Soul Ring to you. That way, both of us can survive, and my soul skills can be retained to the greatest extent. Also, also, because all the vitality in my body has been completely devoured, I can't produce a soul bone at all. But if my soul is preserved, I can alter that ability to the greatest possible extent. My Soul Ring could even have the effect of four soul skills."

Tian Meng had no time to think about his phrasing and blurted out a whole string of words.

"What else?"

Tian Meng raised his head and met Chen Ming's gaze. Under Chen Ming's stare, his heart pounded with fear, as though he had been seen through completely.

"I can also provide you with an additional martial soul, but it can only be of the Ice attribute."

"What else?"

Gritting his teeth, Tian Meng said, "I've already prepared a whole set of arguments. I'm ninety-eight percent certain I can persuade Ice Empress to become this additional martial soul of yours."

"Ninety-eight percent?" Chen Ming stared at Tian Meng, the corner of his lips curling up. One sentence nearly scared Tian Meng to death. "Wasn't it fifty percent?"

Tian Meng's heart nearly exploded at that instant.

He had always had the whole plan. He had estimated his own chances of persuading Ice Empress; taking into account that she was about to undergo her tribulation, along with his prepared arguments, fifty percent was already the limit.

But that had been his own estimate. He had never told anyone about it.

Then he suddenly realized something. The two before him both possessed Spiritual Sense!

Even if they had yet to attain the strength of true deities, in the spiritual realm, they absolutely qualified as gods!

So these two had searched his memories?

Trembling, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm confessed everything else as well.

"Ice Empress is about to undergo her tribulation, and her chances of surviving it aren't great. That was the opening I envisioned. I would invite her to join my god-making plan in the form of a Wisdom Soul Ring. It would be good for me, for her, and for my host. That fifty percent estimate was from before I considered the advantages my host could offer. Now, my lord, with your circumstances, you already have one foot in the divine throne. Naturally, my confidence is much greater."

"Also, I... I know my race is restrained by hers, but I've developed feelings for Ice Empress. I... I made this plan partly out of selfishness."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had truly confessed everything.

As for whether becoming a Wisdom Soul Ring would mean sharing memories, even he himself did not know.

Unfortunately, he did not know, but Chen Ming did. That was why he would never choose Tian Meng's plan.

"I understand your plan," Chen Ming said.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm took a deep breath, looking at Chen Ming with hope in his eyes.

Unfortunately, Chen Ming's next words made his heart sink.

"But regrettably, I have no need for a Wisdom Soul Ring, nor do I need Ice Empress as a second martial soul, because I already have three martial souls."

Upon hearing this, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit.

Three martial souls.

Heavens, this guy is absolutely an outrageously broken cheater.

The most hateful thing about the heavens was that they had made him run into such an outrageously broken cheat!

Chen Ming stepped forward, raised his right hand, and patted Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's bug head, examining him as he revealed the truth.

"Most importantly, you can't produce a soul bone, and your soul skills are useless to me. All I need is your origin energy."

"However—"

Hope rose in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's heart.

He raised his head again and cautiously peeked at Chen Ming's expression.

"However, sealing your power takes too much effort and is a drain on me. So if you willingly cooperate and choose the second option I gave you, I can consider stripping out your soul during the process."

"Don't you have a Wisdom Soul Ring plan yourself? Your soul doesn't need to merge into my Sea of Consciousness. I'll help you use this fragment of your soul to complete your transformation."

"Don't you want your Ice Empress? Don't you hate the thought of seeing her die beneath the heavenly tribulation? Cultivate on your own, then go and win her over."

In a calm tone, Chen Ming painted a beautiful picture, sending Tian Meng's heart soaring from hell to heaven in an instant.

Tian Meng's heart stirred with excitement, and even his lips began to tremble.

I... I... I, Tian Meng, have a chance to personally tame Ice Empress?

Just imagining such a scene made Tian Meng drool unconsciously.

"Hehehe, Ice Empress."

Chen Ming was somewhat speechless at the sight.

Hopefully, after this bug transformed, he would undergo some hardships and temper his mentality.

"If you have no objections, let's begin as soon as possible," Chen Ming said.

He was currently level forty-nine and intended to use this opportunity to break through to level fifty.

Back then, the restriction Du Busi had set for him was to consume one immortal herb a year. In truth, Chen Ming had his own measure as well. He had not rushed to consume them, instead planning to take one immortal herb every ten levels.

At the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes, he had consumed the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, purifying his fire attribute and raising it to the level of Extreme Fire. Later, he used the Blazing Gel of the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Crystal of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass to complete the Icefire Alchemy Body.

After obtaining his fourth Soul Ring, his Soul Power broke through to level forty-three. Immediately afterward, he consumed the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid and reached level forty-five.

His fourth Soul Ring had only raised him by three levels, while the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid had only raised him by two. Part of that was because Soul Power increased more slowly after level forty, and part was due to Chen Ming's dual extreme attributes. It might also have been related to the demands his body had after completing the Icefire Alchemy Body.

Another reason was that the age of his fourth Soul Ring truly had not been sufficient. Spatial-attribute soul beasts were simply too difficult to find, while the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid's medicinal potency was rich. It was easy to absorb but difficult to digest, and most of its medicinal power had settled into his Soul Rings.

After that, he began traveling.

At first, Du Busi had disagreed.

But Chen Ming's reasoning was highly convincing.

He had spent nearly a year looking for his fourth Soul Ring, traveling through three soul beast habitats, yet he had failed to find a target that exceeded the limit while still being just right. That showed the preparations had been inadequate. He needed to travel across the continent himself and gather information.

After hearing Chen Ming's reasoning, Du Busi did not stop him and let him go.

In truth, the Body Sect had already been doing its utmost to establish an intelligence network, gathering information on suitable Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts for Chen Ming.

Unfortunately, it was still not enough.

Du Busi himself felt that perhaps Chen Ming needed to encounter the right one himself, just like the Ice Phoenix in the Extreme North back then.