Its entire body was crystal-clear and white, like the finest mutton-fat jade, and its skin looked springy and dewy.
Its body was segmented, and it looked especially plump.
Most eye-catching of all were the eight unmistakable, peculiar markings on its round body, each glimmering with a faint golden light!
Beyond the eighth golden marking, a ninth seemed to be slowly taking shape, barely visible, giving off an aura of profound mystery.
At that moment, the chubby giant worm lay on its back on the ice platform, its little eyes tightly shut. A glistening strand of... drool seemed to hang from the corner of its mouth?
The rhythmic snoring came from it.
All around and beneath it lay mountains of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. Wisps of its incomparably pure blue origin energy seeped out, as if drawn by some force, and poured ceaselessly into its plump white body, where it absorbed them unconsciously.
The scene before him was so jarringly absurd that Xue Chen's mind ground to a halt.
A... worm?
Sleeping on Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow and even absorbing it like a snack???
It was so utterly unbelievable that Xue Chen couldn't react for a moment.
He stared at the eight clear golden markings on the fat worm's body and the faint outline of a ninth. A powerful sense of déjà vu surged through him.
"Why does this look... so familiar?"
Xue Chen furrowed his brows, desperately searching his memories.
Fragments of his memories from before he transmigrated flashed past at high speed, finally settling on a detail from the later story of Douluo Continent.
A name struck through the fog in his mind like a bolt of lightning!
Xue Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart pounded so hard it felt ready to leap from his throat.
"The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm?!
The so-called number one simp in Peerless Tang Sect... no, the Soul Beast with the highest cultivation on Douluo Continent—the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm?!"
Information about this legendary Soul Beast flashed through his mind.
Through sheer luck, it had reached a million years of cultivation, though its actual combat strength was laughable. It possessed immense spiritual power and vitality, and eventually became Huo Yuhao's Wisdom Soul Ring.
The time and place matched perfectly!
In the original story, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been in the Far North, searching everywhere for Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. By absorbing the marrow, it had been lucky enough to break through the million-year bottleneck.
With only eight complete golden markings and a ninth that was barely visible, it was obviously still somewhere between eight hundred and nine hundred thousand years old. It had yet to reach a true million years of cultivation.
Based on Xue Chen's calculations and his hazy recollection of the original timeline, the eight and a half golden markings on Tian Meng meant this was very likely the last—and largest—Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave in the Far North!
The crucial place where the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would reach a million years!
"No!"
Alarm bells rang in Xue Chen's mind, and an intense sense of urgency welled up within him.
"I can't let this stupid worm keep absorbing it!
The Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow here is a vital resource for Mom, Aunt Ice, and Xiao Bai to improve their strength and face their tribulations!
If it absorbs all of it, wouldn't that be a waste? And what would I give them?"
At the thought that Snow Empress might one day face her seven-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, Xue Chen felt he had to do something.
He was determined to claim this Profound Ice Marrow!
His gaze fell again on Tian Meng's chubby, white body, sound asleep, and his feelings grew complicated.
"...But come to think of it, this guy... is pretty cute..."
Xue Chen unconsciously rubbed his chin. Looking at Tian Meng's springy, dewy, crystal-clear skin, it was hard to connect it with "over eight hundred thousand years of cultivation."
He knew that although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's cultivation was terrifyingly high, its actual combat strength was probably weaker than that of an ordinary ten-thousand-year attack-type Soul Beast. Nearly all its talent had gone into vitality and spiritual power.
So although Xue Chen was wary, he wasn't all that afraid—at least, not physically.
"Hmm... That's strange." Xue Chen suddenly realized something and furrowed his brows.
"With the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power, supposedly the strongest among Soul Beasts on Douluo Continent, its senses should be freakishly sharp even while asleep.
I'm this close, so how come it hasn't reacted at all? It's still snoring away?"
That wasn't normal.
Unless... it was at a critical stage of deep cultivation or evolution, fully focused on absorbing the energy of the vast amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. Its spiritual power would be completely withdrawn inward to guide and digest the energy, leaving it barely able to sense the outside world?
Xue Chen watched the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm snore away as his mind raced, weighing the pros and cons of every possible plan.
Attack it directly? The thought had barely appeared before he dismissed it.
Are you kidding? This is the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, with nearly nine hundred thousand years of cultivation and spiritual power unrivaled across the continent!
Even if its combat ability is trash, the moment its vast spiritual power instinctively defended itself or struck back, my little body would probably be blasted into a fool in an instant.
Besides, even if it lay there and let me hit it, with my current Soul Power of just over twenty levels, killing it would be a pipe dream.
"I can't beat it head-on. I'll have to outsmart it..."
Xue Chen stroked his chin, his eyes glinting with calculation.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind, and he recalled the events of the original story.
"Right!
In the original story, wasn't the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm the first great contributor to Huo Yuhao's path to godhood, known as the chief architect of the 'God-Making Project'?
It had willingly offered itself up as a sacrifice, becoming Huo Yuhao's Wisdom Soul Ring and setting him on the path to cheating his way through life..."
At that thought, Xue Chen's mind began to turn, and an indescribable confidence rose in his chest.
"Even that good-for-nothing Huo Yuhao could get Brother Sky Dream to willingly sacrifice himself... so what about me?"
Xue Chen lowered his head and looked at his hands.
"Born with full Soul Power at level twenty, two top-tier Martial Souls—the Thunder Dragon Emperor and the Radiant Thunder Dragon Spear—struck by the lightning tribulation that swept across the Far North, and carrying a mysterious seal...
How could my setup not be far more impressive than Huo Gua's was at the same age?
I'm the spitting image of an unparalleled genius!"
The thought made him tremble with excitement.
If the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's immense spiritual power could become an ally of mine, wouldn't that greatly increase my own chances of becoming a god someday?
And thinking back to the original story, aside from showing off and acting cool, Brother Sky Dream actually had a pretty good personality. He valued loyalty and would do anything for Ice Empress.
At heart, he wasn't an evil Soul Beast.
"Hmm... This could work!"
The more Xue Chen thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
"I'll go over and praise him first, butter him up until he's feeling good.
Then I'll show him my talent and potential, so he can see the huge returns he'd get from investing in me.
And most importantly..."
A crafty smile appeared on Xue Chen's face.
"I have Aunt Ice as a connection!
I can hint or promise that someday I'll help him make contact with Ice Empress and create a chance for them to get close!
For this 'ultimate simp,' that would be an irresistible temptation!"
Before you continue