Two full weeks passed, the two of them relying on catching fish and picking wild fruit to stave off hunger along the way.
They had already stayed in the Star Dou Great Forest for three or four days, yet they still had nothing to show for it.
Of course I really am so useless, I can't even find a suitable Soul Beast.
Seeing Huo Yuyao in such a dejected state, Lin Mo gently stroked her head.
"There, there."
Touched so suddenly, Huo Yuyao narrowed one eye slightly, her body leaning a bit closer toward Lin Mo.
"Did I come too early after all? According to the original setting, Huo Yuhao only entered the Star Dou Great Forest when he was almost ten turning eleven. Is coming a year or two early still too soon? Tian Meng, where on earth are you?"
"They don't know your Martial Soul, but I certainly do. Yours is a Body Martial Soul, after all."
Huo Yuyao tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled.
"It's about time I give you a proper rundown on your Martial Soul anyway."
For the next while, Huo Yuyao listened to Lin Mo's explanation while grilling fish.
She also learned that her Martial Soul was an extremely rare Body Martial Soul, and the rule of Body Martial Souls was that the more vital a part was to the body, the greater its strength would be.
"Mental-attribute Soul Beasts are rare to begin with, so it's very hard to find a Soul Ring, but every single mental-attribute Soul Beast is extremely powerful, and the boost they give you is massive."
Just as he was speaking, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Without a second thought, he immediately summoned his Martial Soul, stepping directly in front to shield Huo Yuyao behind him while facing the epicenter of the tremors head-on.
"Who's there?"
Actually, he felt like this action was somewhat redundant even to himself, because he could feel the rapidly rising fluctuations of mental energy all around them.
"Oh my, little friend, don't be so nervous. This young lady's arrival is bringing a monumental fortune to the girl behind you."
"Eh?"
"Why does this voice sound like a girl? And what is this 'this young lady' business?"
"Isn't the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm a guy?"
Just as he was wondering, the ground in front of the two collapsed with a shudder, and a massive head poked out from within.
Huo Yuyao went from initial tension to curiosity, because she too had heard this female voice, and so she cautiously poked her head out to look.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's huge, white head appeared right before the two of them, its eyes blinking away.
"Does the little missy want to come play with Big Sister too?"
"Who on earth are you?"
"Humph humph, let me officially introduce myself. This young lady is called the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. Don't be scared when I say this, but I am the only million-year mental-attribute Soul Beast left in the entire continent."
Hearing this, Lin Mo was not surprised at all. Instead, what he found much more interesting was:
"Are you... a girl? Ah, wait, female?"
"Well of course! Do I look like a male to you?"
"What the hell, not only are you Huo Yuhao, but even the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm turned into a girl? Could it be that all the important characters in the story underwent gender swaps?!"
"Alright, alright, stop chattering away. I'm going to tell you something very important next, and for this girl, it's a fortune of epic proportions."
Lin Mo was actually already very familiar with what was said next-it was practically word-for-word what was told to the protagonist in the original work.
Only here, the other party talked a bit more, specifically speaking to him with the main purpose of getting his consent as well.
Huo Yuyao, who had been completely bewildered by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, looked dazedly toward Lin Mo.
"Brother Xiao Mo."
Lin Mo feigned falling into deep thought, while the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm beside them anxiously wriggled its body.
"Hey, if you weren't this little missy's older brother, this young lady would have swatted you away with a single tail flick! Make a decision already, do you have any idea how dangerous the Star Dou Great Forest is?"
"I understand. In short, you will definitely help Little Yao grow stronger, right? And you won't harm her?"
"Naturally. Once I become her Wisdom Soul Ring, her fate and mine will be bound together, so rest easy."
"Fine then, go ahead."
"Oh my, I never expected the hardest part would be convincing you. You really are a textbook little-sister-con."
"Huh?"
"Mhm?"
Huo Yuyao tilted her head in confusion as she listened to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words.
"Big Sister Tian Meng, what's a little-sister-con?"
"A little-sister-con? Well, it refers to someone who dotes and dotes and dotes endlessly on their younger sister."
"Mm-mm! Brother Xiao Mo really, really dotes on me a lot, so Brother is a little-sister-con then."
The young girl giggled, her smile exceptionally sweet. Lin Mo, who had still been somewhat unhappy, saw this smile and instantly let go of his annoyance, whereas the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm felt it was utterly inconceivable.
"I didn't end up bound to some silly kid, did I?"
"N-No, I'm not a silly kid!"
The young girl said with puffed-up cheeks, her two small hands clenched tightly into fists in an expression of I'm very angry, though the look on her face as she glared at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was instead fiercely adorable.
"Yes, yes, yes. Alright, Big Sister really doesn't have time to mess around with you kids anymore, I'm going in."
Giving them zero time to react, its massive head slammed straight into Huo Yuyao's forehead.
In an instant, light overflowed and scattered outward, and a powerful wave of mental energy enveloped a radius of two kilometers.
"Great! That way, Little Yao's first cheat item has arrived. As for the second one, I wonder if Elder Yi will appear at this time."
He clenched his fists tightly, watching the two merging with a mix of excitement and quiet contemplation. After all, he knew very well that Electrolux was also an important opportunity-and the person he respected most in the original work.
Sigh, I never imagined that I'd end up reduced to this state.
A terrifying wave of divine mental energy rattled the minds of the two, while high above in the sky, a tear was slowly ripped open. Gray auras burst forth, directly flooding into the Sea of Consciousness of both people.
I didn't expect Elder Yi to actually come, but why am I being affected too?
With my hand I grasp the sun and moon and pluck the stars, there is no one like me in this world!
These are truly two children consumed by immense vengeful emotion.
"Mhm!"
Just as Electrolux was observing the two, he found himself uncontrollably flooding into the body of one of the youths.
Noticing this change within the Sea of Consciousness, both the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Huo Yuyao were startled.
"What's going on? Such terrifying mental energy fluctuations-oh no, he's flooded into this brat's body!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm first glanced at the girl standing beside it, then drove its own intrinsic mental energy, beginning to frantically pour it into Lin Mo's body.
Hmph, this young lady is a million-year mental Soul Beast after all, hmm?
Yet just as it tried to use its mental energy to enter Lin Mo's Sea of Consciousness to help fend it off, it discovered that the power radiated by that gray orb was not ordinary mental energy at all, but rather-
"Divine Sense!"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuyao, who noticed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's expression turn extremely solemn, instantly grew somewhat flustered.
"Big Sister Tian Meng, is Brother Xiao Mo alright?"
"This... I'm sorry, it's hard to say. I originally wanted to help drive away that force, but the other party's power is even stronger than mine; it simply cannot be forced out."
"But, but aren't you the only million-year Soul Beast in the entire world?"
"Calm down, Huo Yuyao. If you truly want to save him, calmly complete the fusion with me, otherwise there's simply no way to ascertain your brother's condition."
Huo Yuyao kept observing Lin Mo, whose face showed a pained expression through the Sea of Consciousness, and ultimately gritted her teeth to proceed with the fusion.
At this moment, within Lin Mo's Sea of Consciousness.
Bearing Electrolux's Divine Sense fragments, the gray orb began its infinite self-reinforcement.
"Forgive me, child. Even I did not expect that I had grown too weak to control the trajectory of the fragments, and upon sensing the vengeful emotion within your body, I drilled straight in."
Electrolux's slightly vicissitudinous voice drifted from the gray orb inside Lin Mo's Sea of Consciousness.
Before you continue