The instant Tang Chuan died, the Eight Trigrams Seal at his Dantian failed.
A huge, translucent white silkworm shot out of Tang Chuan's headless corpse, circled in midair, then landed on the ground with a splat.
It was Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, fresh from nearly half a month of confinement in a tiny dark prison.
"Freedom! Brother Sky Dream is finally free!"
The moment he landed, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled around in excitement.
"That little bastard locked me in that cramped, pitch-black cage and did nothing but drain my Soul Power all day!"
"Sure, it was dark in there, which made it pretty good for sleeping..."
"But he wouldn't even talk to me!"
"The silent treatment! That was the silent treatment, plain and simple!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm grew more indignant with every word.
Then he glanced aside and spotted Tang Chuan's corpse.
His rant stopped dead.
"Holy shit!"
"He's dead?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shuddered.
"Brother Sky Dream, stop staring and fuse with me, quick!"
Huo Yuhao stepped forward and looked at the plump silkworm with a serious expression.
"You're a million-year Soul Beast. Your Soul Power and spiritual fluctuations are too strong. Even with Soul Tools blocking your aura around here, they won't hold for long!"
"Fuse?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze and eyed Huo Yuhao suspiciously.
"You little guy, do you know me?"
"Why does your aura feel familiar?"
Huo Yuhao smiled and gently patted Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's round head.
"Brother Sky Dream, you and I were supposed to be one from the start!"
"Tang Chuan cut in and sealed you inside his body."
"But I've killed him now."
"So that's what happened..."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly shrank back.
"Wait!"
"Why should I believe you?"
"That's easy."
Huo Yuhao smiled and suddenly formed an intricate series of Hand Seals before his chest.
"Eight Trigrams Seal!"
In an instant, a huge octagonal formation lit up on the ground beneath him.
Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui!
Eight ancient characters appeared at the formation's corners, blazing with light.
His Hand Seals and the formation's patterns were identical to the Eight Trigrams Seal Tang Chuan had used in the Star Dou Forest.
Huo Yuhao had watched every one of Tang Chuan's Hand Seals from beginning to end and memorized them carefully.
When he tried it himself, he had actually guided his Soul Power through the seals and performed the Sealing Jutsu.
Normally, memorizing the hand movements alone would never be enough to reproduce a technique without knowing how its Soul Power flowed.
But Huo Yuhao had done it anyway!
The world of a child of destiny simply worked in ways ordinary people could not understand.
"See, Brother Sky Dream?"
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly.
"I know this Sealing Jutsu too, but I won't use it to lock you up."
"Here's my idea: use the Eight Trigrams Seal to seal away the Soul Power, spiritual power, and Life Origin you need to contain."
"Your consciousness can then separate from your body, fuse with me quickly, and move into my Sea of Consciousness."
"That way, you can leave your Soul Beast form behind and coexist with me as a Wisdom Soul Ring."
"You won't be stuck in a tiny dark prison like you were with Tang Chuan. We can talk every day!"
"But if you keep delaying, you can forget about the God-Making Plan."
"Beast God Di Tian will probably follow your scent straight to Shrek City and capture us both!"
At the mention of Di Tian, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shuddered.
His round body went rigid, and fear flashed through his little golden eyes.
What would happen if Di Tian caught him again?
He would go right back to being a big slab of million-year meat, with Ferocious Beasts taking turns clinging to him and draining his power!
He did not want to endure another day of that!
"Okay, okay! I'll listen to you!"
"Just tell me how to seal it, and I'll do it!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded frantically.
In the next instant, ten golden lines lit up across his body.
Following Huo Yuhao's instructions, he began drawing his Soul Power, spiritual power, and Life Origin out of his body bit by bit.
The golden light grew brighter, while Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body gradually turned insubstantial.
His Corpse Husk became a vessel for those immense energies.
"Open!"
The Eight Trigrams Seal blazed.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Corpse Husk merged into the formation and became a golden rune branded onto Huo Yuhao's Dantian.
His consciousness turned into a streak of white light, entered through Huo Yuhao's brow, and merged with his Sea of Consciousness.
Once Huo Yuhao's cultivation reached Level 20, the Unprecedented Million-Year Soul Ring could fully take shape.
With the sealing complete, Huo Yuhao let out a long breath.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and began searching the battlefield.
Tang Chuan's Storage Soul Tool was an obvious prize. Ninjutsu from the Hokage world would be immensely useful on Douluo Continent and could greatly strengthen his combat ability.
Then there was that deranged old hag Zhou Yi. She had somehow gotten her hands on Battle Armor, something far ahead of its time.
Battle Armor could boost a Soul Master's strength by leaps and bounds.
A Soul Master who had only just become a Titled Douluo could even challenge a Limit Douluo while wearing Four-Word Battle Armor!
That also meant He Caitou, a transmigrator, must possess unfathomable strength.
But whatever treasures Zhou Yi carried now belonged to Huo Yuhao.
As for Zhou Yi herself, he could spare her life for the time being.
Much as Huo Yuhao wanted to kill that self-righteous princess Zhou Yi, someone had to take the blame for the deaths of Tang Chuan and Tang Ya.
With a ready-made scapegoat, no one would suspect "poor, helpless" Huo Yuhao, a mere Level 15 Soul Master.
Then Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on Tang Chuan's head, which had rolled across the ground.
He stopped short.
The Mangekyō Sharingan had not vanished from Tang Chuan's head.
His right eye still bore its Mangekyō form, as though it held boundless power.
Tang Chuan was dead, so his Martial Soul should have dissipated.
Yet somehow, that eye had remained, perfectly intact.
At the same moment, inspiration struck Huo Yuhao.
He suddenly remembered the milky-white Potion he had inexplicably made while under the effects of Felix Felicis.
At the time, he had not known why he had suddenly brewed it.
Now he knew!
A smile slowly spread across Huo Yuhao's face.
"So that's it!"
Before you continue