Though its spiritual power was formidable, it was actually somewhat cowardly by nature. But the devastating blow of having its hopes shattered made it lose its usual caution.
It instantly concluded that this man had helped that boy hunt the Wind Baboon, causing it to miss the best opportunity for sacrifice!
"You meddlesome bastard!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm roared angrily. Its immense spiritual pressure bore down on Zichuan like a mountain, trying to teach this insignificant pest who had ruined its plans a lesson.
"Kid, do you know who I am? I'm the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, a million years old! The spiritual sovereign among the soul beasts of this continent! You've never seen a being as great as me in your entire life! You ruined my plans, so today I'll let you experience what a mental breakdown feels like!"
Though it did not dare use an attack that was too powerful for fear of attracting Di Tian and the others, dealing with an ordinary human Soul Master—even a Title Douluo—was easy. With the foundation of its million years of spiritual power, a little intimidation would be more than enough to make him suffer badly.
It could already picture this ignorant brat clutching his head, screaming miserably with tears and snot streaming down his face.
Yet the scene it had anticipated never appeared.
Faced with spiritual pressure strong enough to make even a Soul Douluo's soul tremble, Zichuan merely raised an eyebrow. He did not even shift from his seated position.
He raised a hand toward the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and lightly clenched his five fingers.
"Bzzz—!"
An invisible, intangible force of spiritual power—more condensed and domineering, as though it contained the primal will of cosmic annihilation—erupted from Zichuan's brow!
It carried the lingering divine intent of the God of Destruction, mixed with Zichuan's surging spiritual power after Aromatic Silk Beauty's sacrifice, as well as the elevated status bestowed by the Dual God-King Mark!
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's overwhelming spiritual pressure collided with that force like ocean waves crashing against an ancient reef, instantly collapsing!
Not only that, but an indescribably terrifying pressure from a higher level of life followed the spiritual connection and struck back at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual core!
"What?!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's enormous body jolted violently, its tiny green-bean eyes filled with unimaginable horror.
It felt as if its spiritual power had slammed into an immovable wall of divine iron. Not only had it been effortlessly repelled, but the cold, final, supreme aura emanating from that wall made its very soul scream and tremble!
It was as though it was not facing a human at all, but... a sleeping deity who held dominion over destruction!
"Spiritual sovereign? That's it?"
Zichuan rose to his feet, dusted off nonexistent dirt from his clothes, and curled his lips into an amused smile.
With a thought, he slightly restrained the God of Destruction's aura. Yet the suppression stemming from the difference in life level and status still made the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm feel suffocated.
"Y-you... who exactly are you?!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice cracked with terror.
It finally realized that the youth before it was no ordinary person! Perhaps he was not even... human!
"Who I am isn't important." Zichuan walked toward the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm step by step. With every step, the invisible oppressive force grew stronger.
"What matters is that you just said... you were going to teach me a lesson?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was frightened out of its wits. Its enormous body instinctively tried to retreat, but its plump, round form was truly not very agile in midair.
"W-wait! It's a misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding! Boss! I was wrong! I was really wrong! I shouldn't have run my mouth! You're a magnanimous man, so please just treat me like a fart and let me go!"
It surrendered swiftly and thoroughly, displaying none of the dignity expected of a million-year soul beast. Before absolute power and overwhelming status, pride was meaningless. Staying alive came first.
But Zichuan had no intention of letting it off so easily. With a flash, he appeared beside the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's huge body and grabbed one segment of its slick, icy-cold form.
"A misunderstanding? That spiritual attack just now didn't look like a misunderstanding to me." Zichuan sneered, then exerted force through his arm and swung the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's seven-meter-long, ten-thousand-jin body around like a sack!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's crystalline body became a massive hammer in Zichuan's grasp, smashing viciously into the ground, trees, and rocks!
The earth shook, trees snapped, and shattered stones flew everywhere in its wake! Dust filled the air, accompanied by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's pig-slaughter squeals and desperate pleas for mercy.
"Stop, stop, stop! Boss! Grandpa! Ancestor! I was wrong! Really wrong! I'm going to throw up! My soul's about to scatter! Please show mercy! Spare this humble little worm!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had completely panicked and completely lost its nerve. It had never experienced such crude, brutal abuse while being utterly powerless to resist.
This youth's physical strength was simply absurdly terrifying! Worse still was that aura around him that made its soul tremble! What kind of monster had crawled out of some crack in a rock?!
After smashing it around a few more times, Zichuan decided it was enough. He casually tossed the dizzy Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, now covered in dirt and grass clippings with its glow noticeably dimmer, onto the ground.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm lay sprawled there like a gigantic slug that had been thoroughly played with. Its tiny green-bean eyes spun in circles, while its spiritual thoughts came in broken fragments, full of despair and utter hopelessness:
"Wuwu... why is my life so miserable... Those bastards imprisoned me for countless years and used me as a rechargeable battery. I finally found a chance to escape and even found a suitable host, only to be one step too late... And now I've been beaten like a punching bag by some monster... I might as well let Di Tian and the others catch me again... At least I wouldn't get beaten..."
The more it thought about it, the sadder and more hopeless it became. Its path to sacrificing itself to Huo Yuhao had been cut off. It could not defeat the monster before it, and Di Tian and the others were still hunting it... Was there truly no place in this vast world for a million-year ice silkworm like it?
Seeing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's utterly miserable appearance, Zichuan felt that the timing was about right.
He walked over to its massive head, crouched down, and tapped its icy-smooth forehead with his knuckles, producing a crisp "knock, knock."
"Hey, stop wailing. Isn't this just about a sacrifice? If that kid won't do, isn't there still me?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sobbing stopped abruptly. It rolled its huge eyes and stared at Zichuan in stunned disbelief. "S-sacrifice to you?"
"Yeah." Zichuan nodded, looking as though it were perfectly obvious. "Look, my Soul Power is sufficient, my body is tough enough, and my spiritual power... isn't bad either. Most importantly, I still have an open Soul Ring slot. If you sacrifice yourself to me, won't you be able to escape the restraints of this body and gain a new life?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze. It carefully "examined" Zichuan. His Soul Power... yes, it was indeed quite deep. Reaching Rank 60 at such a young age was practically monstrous.
His body... it had just experienced that firsthand. He was practically a ferocious beast wearing human skin.
His spiritual power... though its total amount might not match its own million years of accumulation, its quality was frighteningly high, completely suppressing it. And an open Soul Ring slot... that was indeed an advantage.
But...
Before you continue