I Don't Want to Cover for Your Dark Past

She had been prepared for Xia Linyuan to mock the name she'd chosen for herself, but when he called it tacky, she still almost charged at him to fight to the death—even though she knew she'd lose.

Gu Yuena took a deep breath and said, "Since you think my name is tacky, why don't you come up with a less tacky one for me, Linyuan?"

Xia Linyuan stopped, glanced sideways at her, then continued walking without looking back. "Sorry, I don't want to cover for your dark past."

I don't want to cover for your dark past.

Gu Yuena was nearly driven mad by Xia Linyuan's words. How could this guy be so sharp-tongued?

She only wished she'd been born with a mouth even quicker than Xia Linyuan's.

After briefly sweeping his divine sense across the Star Dou Great Forest, Xia Linyuan spotted a Big Worm fleeing toward its entrance.

About twenty-five kilometers from the Star Dou Great Forest, a boy who looked around twelve stared at a roadside sign, excitement written all over his face.

So this was the current Son of Destiny, Huo Yuhao? Why did he look kind of familiar?

Though Huo Yuhao seemed familiar to Xia Linyuan, he didn't dwell on it. Compared to Huo Yuhao, he was more concerned about Electrolux's remnant soul.

After pinpointing Huo Yuhao's location, Xia Linyuan headed straight for the entrance, cutting across most of the Star Dou Great Forest from the Life Lake.

Since Di Tian had given the Spirit Beasts advance warning, they all gave him a wide berth. Nothing unexpected happened along the way.

By the time Xia Linyuan was still some distance from the forest entrance, Huo Yuhao had already run into Wind—Almost-God-Slaying—Baboon.

"Whoa! What powerful spiritual power! Am I still dreaming? After waiting all these years, I've finally found a human like this. What a shame I can't cry, or I'd be bawling my eyes out!"

A lecherous yet delighted voice suddenly came from behind Xia Linyuan.

At that very moment, the ground two meters behind him began to tremble without warning, and cracks spread across its surface.

"Huh? That human's back looks kind of familiar. Whatever, whatever. I've finally found a human with spiritual power strong enough to contain my mighty spiritual power. I can't let this chance slip away."

As the voice muttered to itself, the cracks widened into fissures. Faint pale-gold light could even be seen shining through them.

Hearing the voice, a mocking glint appeared in Xia Linyuan's indifferent golden eyes. He slowly turned around and looked at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm as it crawled out of the fissure. Its head was a meter in diameter, and its body was over seven meters long.

His nearly perfect lips moved slightly, and he uttered a crude word with impeccable elegance: "Get lost!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's massive body, which had been wriggling merrily, froze the instant it saw Xia Linyuan's face.

"Damn, damn, damn! Why is it you?!"

Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spent most of its time asleep, it had been waking more and more often in recent years as it felt its end approaching.

It had been imprisoned by Di Tian and the others to serve as a blood bag for Gu Yuena, but thanks to its abundant spiritual power, it could still sense what was happening outside.

Once, when it woke up, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had seen Xia Linyuan visiting Gu Yuena. The two of them had seemed quite close, so it had instinctively assumed Xia Linyuan was an ally of the Silver Dragon King.

It had finally found a human capable of containing it, only to discover that this human was an ally of the Silver Dragon King. Was he going to drag it back there?

Boo-hoo! Why did fate love playing tricks on people—or rather, on worms—so much?

The very next second, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm heard Xia Linyuan say, "I'll give you three seconds to drag that maggot-like body of yours out of my sight."

"Otherwise, you'll be responsible for the consequences."

Xia Linyuan's chilling voice snapped the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm out of its gloomy thoughts.

It twisted its enormous body and frantically burrowed into the crack in the ground.

Boo-hoo! This human was terrifyingly strong, and he was so vicious with his words. How could he bully a silkworm like this?

It was only a little silkworm that had slept for tens of thousands of years!

Watching the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm disappear from sight, Xia Linyuan calmly turned back toward Huo Yuhao.

Tearing its gaze away from Xia Linyuan, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also noticed Huo Yuhao. It immediately approached him, intent on becoming the unprecedented Wisdom Soul Ring.

Looking at the unconscious Huo Yuhao, Xia Linyuan seemed to sense something. His golden eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to look at the clear sky.

The sky, bright just a moment earlier, suddenly darkened. A thunderous boom rang out high above, and an immense pressure descended, so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

"With the sun and moon in my grasp, I pluck the stars from the heavens. None in this world can compare to me! I never thought I'd still have a wisp of my soul left. Hm? What's that? Such powerful darkness!"

A stream of gray air descended from the sky. It paused, then swiftly made its way toward Huo Yuhao.

Xia Linyuan's lips curled. "Get over here."

As soon as the words left his mouth, countless black tentacles shot out from every direction. In an instant, they wrapped Electrolux's remnant soul tightly, then brought it before Xia Linyuan.

"Nice to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nyarlathotep, and I come from the Abyss. Of course, you may also call me Xia Linyuan," Xia Linyuan said with a smile.

"The Abyss? What kind of place is that? Why do you possess such pure power of darkness?" Electrolux asked weakly.

"Your condition doesn't seem very good," Xia Linyuan replied, avoiding the question.

Electrolux fell silent for a moment, then said, "This is all that remains of my soul. After traveling such a long way, my soul flame is on the verge of dissipating."

"Then take some time to recover," Xia Linyuan said with a smile. "I'm quite interested in your necromancy. I don't want you to disappear just yet."

Electrolux fell silent. It seemed he had already fallen asleep.

Xia Linyuan waved a hand, and the tentacles withdrew into the darkness with Electrolux's remnant soul.

Looking at the unconscious Huo Yuhao, Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, then walked over and traced a rune between his brows.

"Little bug, I can't let you ruin my plans."

When he had finished, two figures came racing toward them at incredible speed.