Di Tian received the order and left, transforming into a streak of black shadow as he departed Gu Yuena's Healing Space.
At the bottom of Lake of Life, inside a special cavern, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm lay on a huge stone platform, its face wearing the same old numb, helpless expression.
Of course, all of that was just an act put on by the clever Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to lull the Ferocious Beasts guarding it.
When it learned that a human with a Mental Attribute had come to Lake of Life—and that there was even a version of itself from ten thousand years in the future inside his Sea of Spirit—Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was so happy it nearly leaped into the air.
Its future self had said they would find a way to get it out!
It was only a matter of time.
It sidelong glanced at Xiong Jun, who was absorbing its essence again, and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm curled its lip.
Go ahead and absorb it. You'll only get to do it for a little while longer.
Once I'm out, I'll focus on raising Huo Yuhao, and one day I'll hit you all with my heaviest blows!
It had no idea how soon its other self meant when it said "very soon." Should it take a nap first?
Having someone suck essence out of your body felt awful!
Just then, Di Tian walked in from outside.
He released the restraints on Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Its huge, chubby body seemed weightless in Di Tian's hands.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, which had just been lost in thought: "!!!"
Had its plan to escape already been discovered?!
"Di Tian, where are you taking that big bug?"
Xiong Jun, who had been cultivating, abruptly opened his eyes and blocked Di Tian's path.
"This is the Sovereign's order, Xiong Jun. Step aside."
Di Tian's voice carried an unquestionable authority. His golden eyes fixed on Xiong Jun without a hint of emotion.
Since the matter concerned the Sovereign, even though Xiong Jun was displeased with Di Tian's actions, he obediently moved aside.
Only after Di Tian had gone some distance did Xiong Jun slam a hand down on Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's special "bed."
"The Sovereign already said its essence was useless to her!"
"How could she suddenly need it now?"
Xiong Jun even suspected that Di Tian wanted to swallow Tian Meng himself, and was just using the Sovereign's name as an excuse!
Of course, he wouldn't dare say that out loud.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm dangled in Di Tian's hand, not daring to move a muscle.
Its little eyes, however, kept darting around, until Di Tian carried it into a space it had never noticed before.
Inside the space were not only Huo Yuhao, the human it had communicated with through their spirits outside and who had become the host of its future self, but also a young woman who seemed to be human.
"Sovereign, I've brought the Ice Silkworm."
Gu Yuena was tall in human form, so she simply sat down on the Gold of Life.
At Gu Yuena's invitation, Huo Yuhao sat down on it too.
The moment he touched it, its rich life force seemed to flow into him.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help letting out a soft sigh at the sensation.
"It seems the Gold of Life is also helping you grow."
Gu Yuena gazed at Huo Yuhao, who was still in his little dragon-man form, smiling brightly. The more she looked at him, the more pleased she felt.
"With the level of your Martial Soul, you should have learned its name when you awakened it. Can you tell me?"
There was no reason not to.
"It's the Ancestral Dragon."
"Ancestral Dragon..." Gu Yuena fell into thought. "I've never heard of such a race among the dragons. Perhaps it was a race that had already vanished before the Dragon God ascended to godhood."
"Too much time has passed, and the several Dragon Kings who fought alongside the Dragon God fell one after another. That's why there are no records of it."
Huo Yuhao sat as still as a chicken, listening as Gu Yuena continued adding details to his "background."
A thousand words from someone else couldn't beat a single idea they came up with themselves.
Other people could fill in his identity with their own imaginations!
He was just a child. He knew nothing!
"But now that you've appeared, the Ancestral Dragon race can flourish again."
Gu Yuena wanted to say "our dragon race," but that would be too abrupt. She would have to wait a little longer.
Just then, Di Tian returned with the Ice Silkworm, whose strength was unimpressive but whose essence was pure.
"Sovereign, I've brought the Ice Silkworm."
Di Tian let go, and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell to the ground. It bounced a couple of times, then slowly righted itself.
As soon as it entered, it sensed the space's rich life energy. Even its body, which had suffered years of ravaging, felt much more comfortable.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked up and saw two figures seated on the Gold of Life.
One of them had an aura so powerful it made a silkworm suffocate. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew this was the Sovereign of Di Tian and the other Soul Beasts—the one whose presence it could sense, though it had never seen her.
The other was the human Spirit Master it had been longing to offer itself to!
Before entering this space, the two Sky Dream Ice Silkworms had already communicated with each other. Now it was time to test their acting skills and their ability to improvise.
"Was it you who connected with me through your spirit and wanted to offer yourself to me?"
After more than a year of practice, Huo Yuhao had become a dependable child actor.
Besides, he wasn't lying.
"Yes, yes, yes! It was me!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded repeatedly. Its silkworm face showed no expression.
And Huo Yuhao's question didn't require it to lie. It only had to be itself.
"You're a Mental Attribute Spirit Master, right? Your big brother is a Soul Beast with a Mental Attribute at the 990,000-year level. There's no Soul Ring more suitable for you!"
"But my teacher told me the age of the Soul Ring my body can absorb depends on my physical strength. Otherwise, my body might explode."
Huo Yuhao couldn't seem too eager, or his intentions would be too obvious. That wouldn't do.
"Don't worry! Your big brother can place a seal on himself. I won't harm your body!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm moved beside the Gold of Life and forced a somewhat obsequious smile onto its silkworm face.
"My essence can also increase the age of your future Soul Rings! You're a Spirit Master, so you should know that Soul Skills from older Soul Rings are much, much more powerful than those from younger ones!"
Huo Yuhao had said this through his communication with Tian Meng in his Sea of Spirit. Then Tian Meng had used that strange, almost split-personality-like situation to make the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in front of them emphasize it.
Huo Yuhao could tell the dragon race really wanted to invest in him.
In that case, why not raise the stakes for them?
"You can actually do that?"
Gu Yuena was surprised by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words.
"Uh... I'm still a little short of being able to do it."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shrank back.
"You drained me way too much before!" That was a line Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had added on its own.
Seeing Di Tian frown, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurriedly continued, "I'm a 990,000-year Soul Beast now. If you let me cultivate for another ten thousand years, I'll become a Million-Year Soul Ring. Wouldn't it be better to offer myself to him then?"
"A Million-Year Soul Ring! It would be an unprecedented feat, something never achieved since the Spirit Master system was established!"
Its future self was already a Million-Year Soul Beast. It refused to be stuck at 990,000 years!
Even if they were both itself, it still wouldn't do!
Before you continue