Soul Sacrifice—Can I Produce My Own Soul Rings?

Ye Ming turned his head and saw another breathtakingly beautiful face.

Pinkish-blue eyes, long curled lashes, a slender, delicate figure, and long pinkish-blue hair cascading down her back.

A pure white dress set off her flawless face, making her seem like a goddess descended upon the world. Her pink lips were lush and enticing.

Looking closer, she bore a fifty-to-sixty-percent resemblance to the Tang Wutong from the anime in his memories.

After a moment of confusion, Ye Ming realized that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had taken human form as well.

As an imperial auspicious beast, her transformation was more akin to a "pseudo-transformation" or shapeshifting ability, allowing her to switch between her Three-Eyed Golden Lion body and human form.

What Ye Ming found strange was that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion clearly had not shared memories with Huo Yuhao, so why did her transformed appearance still carry traces of Tang Wutong?

Could it be... Tang the Buddha's hand had already reached into the Star Dou Great Forest?

A faint sense of urgency rose within Ye Ming.

If this had been the timeline of Douluo Continent I, Tang San might still have had one or two redeeming qualities, but this was the timeline of Douluo Continent II!

Tang San had already turned Douluo Continent into his own backyard.

Ye Ming's identity as part of the soul beast faction had already been decided. He could not just watch his little sister become another link in Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong's flirtation!

As he looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's soft pink little face, an idea arose in his heart.

If I don't go to hell, who will?

Tang Wutong was Tang San's weak spot, so he had to seize that weakness tightly!

Whip her!

Train her!

Control her!

As he thought about it, Ye Ming laughed at the wicked thoughts in his mind.

"Mm..."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion woke with a start. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she let out a soft whimper as she instinctively stuck out her tongue and licked her paw.

Finding the texture somewhat off, she licked the arm that had been serving as Ye Ming's pillow again.

Soft, tender, and slick... Ye Ming's scalp tingled, and his entire body felt as if he had been electrocuted.

"Little... little sister, you can't."

Ye Ming bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, cutting off his wild thoughts.

"Hm?" Only then did the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes regain some clarity. Tilting her head, she thought for a moment. Humans apparently did not do that.

She stuck out her tongue, sat up, and stretched lazily, then cast a provocative glance at Gu Yuena, who was pretending to sleep on the other side.

"Little brother, you all have human names. Give me a human name too, will you?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion blinked her pink eyes, which were filled with innocence.

Unlike Gu Yuena, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had remained by the Lake of Life since birth, receiving instruction from Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the others.

She had never encountered humans and had never experienced deception or intrigue.

Even with ten thousand years of cultivation, her temperament remained that of a little girl.

This only intensified Ye Ming's desire to protect her, and he blurted out, "You'll be called Wang Qiuer!"

"Wang Qiuer?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion repeated it once, and her pink eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Di Tian truly deserved to be the ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest. In just one day, he found two dragon-type soul beasts that met the requirements.

One was a ten-thousand-year Earth Tyrant Dragon.

The other was a fifteen-thousand-year Spineback Sword Dragon.

Though both soul beasts were subdragon species, their bloodlines were considered among the best of their kind.

Moreover, the two soul beasts Di Tian had found were both old and frail, the sort that would naturally die within days.

"My lord, both of them have willingly agreed to become Ye Ming's soul rings."

Di Tian slightly lowered his head toward Gu Yuena, a hint of difficulty on his face. "However... that ice silkworm refuses to agree to a soul sacrifice no matter what."

"It refuses to agree itself. If we force it, I fear it may backfire."

For soul beasts with cultivation exceeding one hundred thousand years, after cultivating for so long and finally developing their own intelligence, how could they be willing to so easily give up everything and offer their souls?

A trace of killing intent surfaced in Gu Yuena's cold eyes. For the great cause of the soul beast race, for the Dragon God's divine status, she did not mind killing a soul beast.

Even if the other party's cultivation was nearing a million years!

"Then kill her—"

"Wait, let me try."

Ye Ming stepped forward voluntarily and said with a smile, "I have a way."

He knew Tianmeng could become an intelligent soul ring, but a soul sacrifice would bring him greater benefits.

Since Gu Yuena had brought it up, he would give it a try.

If he could not persuade Tianmeng, he could settle for the next best thing.

As for an intelligent soul ring, he truly did not want that worm staying in his spiritual sea.

Di Tian looked toward Gu Yuena. After seeing her nod, he led Ye Ming to where Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was being held.

"Be careful. I'll stand guard at the door." After saying that, Di Tian withdrew from the wooden hut.

At the center of the wooden hut stood a huge vine cage. Inside it, a plump ice silkworm drooped its head lazily.

"Oh, so you're the one who wants me to make a soul sacrifice?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm sneered. "Don't give me that imperial auspicious beast nonsense. No way!"

"You've sucked up my heaven-and-earth energy for so long, and now you want me to make a soul sacrifice? I'm telling you, I'd rather die than agree!"

"Tianmeng, I know you have a backup plan." Ye Ming stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm. "You want to escape, find a human with a spiritual attribute, and become his intelligent soul ring, right?"

"And you have a god-making plan. You want to follow that human and become a god together?"

"How do you know that?!" A flicker of panic crossed Tianmeng's eyes.

It had taken him a long time to devise this method of escape, one that could also bypass the rule that soul beasts of Douluo Continent could not become gods.

Why was this imperial auspicious beast so aware of it?

Ye Ming did not answer, merely continuing, "I also know that you can give a human a second ice-attribute martial soul, and that you plan to make Ice Empress that human's solidified martial soul."

"You can read minds?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's beady eyes widened.

"Don't worry about how I know. I'll only ask you one thing: you say you like Ice Empress, so would you be willing to die for her?"

A savage look flashed through Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's eyes. "What are you trying to do?!"

"If you dare touch Bingbing, I'll self-destruct even if it kills me, just to take you down with me."

During his years in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had witnessed the power of Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts.

If they all moved together, Ice Empress definitely would not be able to withstand them.

Ye Ming paid no attention to his threat. He knew Tianmeng's temperament.

He raised two fingers. "I'll give you two choices."

"First, make a soul sacrifice to me. In the name of the Dragon God and the imperial auspicious beast, I swear that once I become a god, I will certainly revive you."

"Second, you die, and Ice Empress will be buried with you."

As fellow soul beasts, Ye Ming did not want to kill them all.

But he disliked Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, and he was even less willing to let this thing remain in his spiritual sea.

After all, what this fellow had done in Lovesickness Valley of Heaven and Earth in the original work truly made him impossible to like.

Tianmeng pondered for a long time before finally compromising.

He could only gamble on this.

Forget it. I've endured for tens of thousands of years already. At worst, I'll just treat it as taking a nap!

Buzz—

A golden light burst from Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's body and shot into the sky.

The heaven-and-earth energy surrounding the Lake of Life began to fluctuate violently.

Within the golden light, his chubby body began to fade. The ten golden markings on his body flickered continuously before pouring his immense life force, spiritual power, and the little heaven-and-earth energy he possessed... all of it into Ye Ming's body.

Ye Ming sat cross-legged on the ground and automatically released the Silver Dragon King martial soul.

Just as he accepted Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's soul sacrifice, a sudden realization rose within him.

"Huh, I'm an imperial auspicious beast in human form. It seems like I can produce my own soul rings too?"

Upon hearing this, despair flashed through Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's eyes.

Why didn't you say so sooner?

A soul sacrifice was irreversible!

At the final moment before his consciousness dissipated, he cursed aloud, "Fuck!!"