Emergency Food?

Ice Empress froze, then said in surprise,

"What? You only have your Spiritual Origin left? Your body..."

Only now did Ice Empress notice Qin Yun standing behind Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

At first, Ice Empress had thought he was emergency food Sky Dream Ice Silkworm kept by his side.

He could be eaten whenever it got hungry.

After all, as the very bottom of the Extreme North food chain, there weren't many things Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could eat.

At his age and with his cultivation, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was certainly a seasoned eater.

But Ice Empress hadn't expected things to be quite so simple.

"Could it be this human?

You may have trapped me, but I can tell just by looking at him how insignificant he is.

If he isn't emergency food, then what— is he your puppet?"

"No, no, of course not!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spirit-form waved its hands frantically.

"He's my host—or rather, my big brother.

And now, I'm his Soul Ring.

You know what human Soul Rings are, right?"

Ice Empress replied, "Of course. Humans with ice-type Martial Souls have been venturing deep into the Extreme North for years, hunting members of my Ice Jade Scorpion Clan for Soul Rings."

This was one of those dead-end vicious cycles that were nigh impossible to resolve in Douluo Continent.

Knowing it couldn't explain things clearly at its level, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't quibble over the matter.

"As you can see, I'm his Soul Ring, and also the first Wisdom Soul Ring ever seen on the continent!"

Ice Empress cried out,

"What? You became a human's Soul Ring?

How is that possible?

You may be useless, but you've lived a long time. How could a human's fragile body possibly withstand your immense energy?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm smiled bitterly. "Don't get me started!

If we're talking about my tragic past, it all goes back to you.

Back then, you hounded me relentlessly and insisted on devouring me.

I had no choice but to run!

I had to preserve this useful body so I could keep loving you.

So I drifted downstream with the sea, ending up much farther south..."

In what it considered its most tragic voice, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm recounted the past ninety thousand years of its life.

A man's mouth was a liar's den.

To take advantage of a woman's soft heart and win her sympathy, then seize the chance to get close, that was when men were at their best at telling stories.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wasn't human, but the same logic applied.

As it recounted its experiences to Ice Empress, its voice was especially mournful, and it painted itself as utterly wretched.

It brought out everything, from being covered in wounds to wishing it were dead.

"...You know how terrifying the great limit is for us.

You also know there's no Soul Beast in this world that has lived longer than I have.

Even if you think I'm useless, I'm still a useless old thing that's lived long enough.

By my estimate, in at most another ten thousand years, the energy inside me will have been drained away, and I won't be able to survive the next great limit.

But I've lived so long—I don't want to die!

I believe you feel the same. I can tell that the approach of your next great limit has left you terribly anxious."

"Neither of us wants to die. We've lived for such a long time—how could we accept turning into a pile of dust?

So, in the depths of my despair, I came up with the best possible method.

Perhaps this is what humans mean when they say there's great terror between life and death, but also great opportunity!"

Skipping past the tale of woe, once Sky Dream Ice Silkworm got to the method, its story finally caught Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's interest.

Almost without thinking, she asked, "What method?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said gravely, "God Creation!"

"God Creation?" Ice Empress froze, growing even more curious. "What do you mean by God Creation?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm continued, "Dear, tell me: on our continent, which race has the greatest potential?"

Perhaps Soul Beasts weren't very bright, because Ice Empress had already fallen into the rhythm of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words. She followed its train of thought without thinking—and even overlooked the way it had addressed her.

"You mean humans?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded vigorously. "That's right, humans!

Although some of us Soul Beasts, like you, are nobly born and naturally possess powerful bodies, we have to admit that our potential is far inferior to that of humans.

Compared to your Ice Jade Scorpion Clan, human bodies are practically insignificant.

Yet a gifted human can cultivate for a few short decades and reach the strength of one of your clansmen who has cultivated for tens of thousands of years, or even a hundred thousand years.

Why? Because of the difference in potential!

It's true that humans have fragile bodies and very short lives.

But Heaven has favored their potential, and there's no way we can compare.

That's their advantage—and what we Soul Beasts lack!"

"Most importantly, humans can reach heights we could never attain. Do you remember what happened long ago?"

During the Douluo II era, when Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked back ten thousand years, it was naturally talking about Tang San, as well as Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong, and the Shrek Seven Devils ascending to godhood.

That was precisely what had cemented Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's resolve to pursue God Creation.

But during the Douluo I era, when it looked back into the past, it naturally wasn't talking about Tang San and the others.

Ice Empress said, "The world changing color, faith leading to godhood?"

Exactly. The example Sky Dream Ice Silkworm gave was that of special beings from long ago who had gathered the power of faith and become gods.

One was called Qian Yuhan!

After unifying the continent, she became the First-Level God, Angel God, and founded Spirit Hall, which remained one of the most powerful forces on the continent to this day!

The other was Poseidon, who had stolen the faith of the oceans and become a god through the worship of countless sea-dwellers!

Though Sea God Island was isolated overseas and not nearly as well known as Spirit Hall, Ice Empress was certainly aware of it.

In fact, Ice Empress, who hadn't yet grown as powerful as she was now, had witnessed the sight of someone becoming a god with her own eyes.

That kind of divine power...

Even after all these years, every time she thought of it, she couldn't help but yearn for it!

Seeing that Ice Empress was completely captivated, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm paused, then spoke in a deeper voice.

"Ice Empress, you have to understand: only gods possess endless life!"

Ice Empress fell silent.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm pressed on while the iron was hot.

"When our cultivation reaches a hundred thousand years, we Soul Beasts all have the option of starting over as humans.

But very few have the courage to truly reincarnate as humans.

After transforming, we all have Innate Full Soul Power, and we don't even need to hunt Soul Beasts for our first seven Soul Rings—we can condense them ourselves.

Once our cultivation reaches a certain level, even Titled Douluo can hardly see through our true nature, so there's little need to worry about our safety."