Arriving at Star Dou, Ants in the Eye of the Storm

At his current age and with his appearance, walking alone through crowded places would only invite endless questioning and unnecessary "kindness." He might even be mistaken for a lost child and sent to the city lord's residence.

Yu Chen had no time to deal with mortals like that.

Drawing on his wilderness survival knowledge from his previous life, as well as the keen senses granted by the bloodlines of two dragons, he always managed to avoid powerful soul beasts and ill-intentioned humans in advance.

"This should be the area."

Yu Chen stopped and looked up at the sky.

Rather than charging around like a headless fly, he relied on his vague memories of Huo Yuhao's route in the original story to roughly pinpoint an area in the mixed zone along the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Even while asleep and weakened, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's million-year spiritual power would unconsciously leak out. Ordinary soul masters could barely detect such spiritual fluctuations, but to certain special soul beasts—especially spiritual-type soul beasts—it was like a beacon in the night, filled with fatal temptation.

In the original story, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had crashed into Huo Yuhao, who was being hunted by the White Tiger Duke's wife, while fleeing from the pursuit of a Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

But now, the timeline had shifted forward.

Huo Yuhao was still in the duke's residence, serving as everyone's punching bag, while the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, as an imperial auspicious beast, was most likely still in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest. It would not be idly wandering out to the outskirts.

So the threat Sky Dream Ice Silkworm faced now should be another kind of predator drawn in by its spiritual power.

"Bzz..."

Just as Yu Chen was considering this, a faint buzzing sound came from the air.

Then, an almost imperceptible spiritual fluctuation drifted out from deep within the forest. It was immensely powerful, yet unbearably weak, like a torch about to burn out as it made its final struggle.

Found it!

Yu Chen's eyes lit up, and a confident curve touched his lips.

Without hesitation, he followed the spiritual fluctuation, his figure ghosting through the forest.

The deeper he went, the more deathly silent the surroundings became.

Not even the chirping of insects could be heard.

That was extremely abnormal.

It meant a powerful soul beast had cleared out this area and claimed it as its hunting ground.

Yu Chen stopped behind a massive ancient tree, suppressing every trace of his aura before peeking ahead.

Before him lay an open space roughly a hundred meters across.

At its center, a soul beast about a meter long lay sprawled on the ground, barely alive. Its entire body was snow-white, and it resembled an enormous silkworm. Its body flickered between light and dark, giving off a faint golden glow. It was clearly at the end of its strength.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!

Opposite Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, a gigantic spider soul beast stared at it with predatory greed.

The spider soul beast was pitch-black from head to toe, with eight thick legs covered in barbs. Most horrifying of all was the enormous, grotesque human face on its abdomen.

A Human-Faced Demon Spider.

An exceptionally evil and vicious soul beast.

Judging by its size and aura, this Human-Faced Demon Spider had at least three thousand years of cultivation. In the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, it already counted as a regional overlord.

At that moment, it greedily eyed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, dark green saliva dripping from its mouthparts.

It could sense that as long as it swallowed this strange "big bug," its cultivation would surely make a tremendous leap.

"Screech—!"

The Human-Faced Demon Spider let out a piercing shriek. Its eight long legs abruptly exerted force, and it pounced at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm like a black bolt of lightning.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm closed its eyes in despair.

It did not have even a shred of strength left to resist.

Yet just as the Human-Faced Demon Spider was about to succeed—

A cold, indifferent voice devoid of emotion rang through the clearing.

"Did I allow you to move?"

The voice was not loud, yet it seemed to carry the magical power of words becoming reality.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider's rapidly lunging body suddenly froze, as though an invisible hand had pinned it in place. Its eight legs carved long furrows into the ground as it halted less than half a meter from Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

The grotesque human face on its abdomen was now filled with terror and confusion.

It could not understand why its body had suddenly stopped obeying it!

Yu Chen slowly emerged from behind the tree.

Dressed in fitted black clothing, his childish face bore a trace of coldness wholly unfitting for his age.

When the Human-Faced Demon Spider saw the tiny human child, contempt first flashed through its eyes. Then it tried to break free from the invisible restraint.

"Ant."

Yu Chen softly uttered the word.

He could not even be bothered to raise a hand. With a single thought—

The martial soul mark belonging to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on his back faintly lit up.

A wisp of black flame, deeper than ink, appeared out of thin air above the Human-Faced Demon Spider's head before silently descending.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any miserable scream.

The instant the black flame touched the Human-Faced Demon Spider's carapace, it was like a branding iron falling onto snow. It instantly melted through its hardest skull, pierced it, and then spread across its entire body.

The entire process took less than a second.

That once-arrogant three-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider was completely "erased" amid an eerie silence.

Not even a speck of ash remained.

Only a charred, human-shaped pit was left in the clearing.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stared blankly at the scene, its enormous body trembling from overwhelming terror.

Its million-year spiritual power allowed it to see more clearly than any Human-Faced Demon Spider what had just happened.

That was not a soul skill!

It was not even pure flame!

That was... a law of pure "destruction" originating from a higher dimension!

What kind of monster was this seemingly harmless human child?!

"Your turn, big bug."

Yu Chen turned and walked toward Sky Dream Ice Silkworm step by step.

His gaze was calm as still water, but to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, those eyes were more terrifying than the abyss.

"D-Don't... don't come closer!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's weakened spiritual power surged frantically as it tried to convey its fear to the terrifying human child before it.

"I... I'm useful! I can bring you supreme glory! I can become your intelligent soul ring and give you a second martial soul!"

It hurriedly tried to sell itself, terrified that if it was even a moment too slow, it would end up like the Human-Faced Demon Spider.

In its long life, it had never felt such pure terror.

Within the body of this six-year-old child seemed to lurk two ancient ferocious beasts that even gods would tremble before.

"An intelligent soul ring? A second martial soul?"

Yu Chen stopped, a playful smile appearing on his face.

"That does sound nice. But..."

His tone shifted, and his gaze abruptly turned icy.

"Why should I accept your 'charity'?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze.

That wasn't how this was supposed to go!