"This..."
Skydream Iceworm's gaze instinctively swept over Huo Yuhao, who lay unconscious on the ground. He wanted to refuse, but the Ice Emperor's words kept echoing in his mind.
An internal struggle raged within him, but in the end, he decided to go with the Ice Emperor.
"Human, I'm sorry. Though I've taken a liking to you and really wanted to make you my human pet..."
"I'm sorry, but this human has Bingbing by his side. For Bingbing's sake, I can only stay with him."
"If there's a next life, let's meet again."
Skydream Iceworm thought silently to himself, but before he could speak, the Ice Emperor began urging him from the other side.
"Have you made up your mind?"
"If you aren't coming, we're leaving."
With that, the Ice Emperor made to retreat into Yun Luo's Sea of Spirit, turning to signal for him to get ready to leave.
"Yun Luo, let's go. Since he isn't choosing you, there's no need to stay here."
In truth, the Ice Emperor was deeply puzzled. Yun Luo's talent was clearly so much greater than Huo Yuhao's, so why did Skydream Iceworm insist on sticking with that rank-ten soul master before them?
Could that soul master have some special talent?
But even if he did, it could never compare to Yun Luo.
She did not regret her actions today. She was utterly certain that Yun Luo would ascend to godhood in the future.
Hearing that the Ice Emperor was leaving, the dazed Skydream Iceworm immediately shifted his enormous body and approached Yun Luo, his round form brimming with delight.
"Bingbing, Bingbing, I've decided! I'll become his Wisdom Soul Ring and go with him from now on."
Hearing what Skydream Iceworm called her made the Ice Emperor's stomach turn, and she could not help grumbling inwardly.
Yun Luo, you owe this emperor a huge favor. If it weren't for this Soul Ring of yours, I wouldn't have had to stoop so low.
"Since you're ready, I'll let Yun Luo talk to you."
With that, the Ice Emperor turned into a streak of emerald light and entered Yun Luo's Sea of Spirit.
After listening to their conversation, Yun Luo stepped forward and said:
"Skydream Iceworm, if you want to become my Soul Ring, sign a contract with me, then enter my Sea of Spirit."
"Human, your method is too much trouble. Let your big brother handle it."
Skydream Iceworm rejected Yun Luo's proposed contract method for two reasons.
First, he did not dare to readily trust a contract drawn up by a human. He only had one life, and even for the Ice Emperor's sake, he could not take that risk.
Second, he already possessed the sacrificial method for becoming a Wisdom Soul Ring. Compared with a contract, this was a method he had long since honed to perfection, requiring no additional cumbersome steps.
Moreover, the boy before him had such tremendous spiritual power that he was an absolutely suitable fusion target.
That was indeed the case. In the original story, Skydream Iceworm had successfully sacrificed himself to Huo Yuhao, a rank-ten soul master, by becoming a Wisdom Soul Ring.
"All right. Sorry for the trouble."
"Hmph, human, you're just lucky. If it weren't for Bingbing, I wouldn't go with you. After all, that other human was the one I chose."
Skydream Iceworm spoke.
You dead maggot, you've already courted death.
Just wait. Once you enter my Sea of Spirit, you'll get what's coming to you.
Hearing Skydream Iceworm's words, Yun Luo could not help grumbling inwardly.
After speaking, Skydream Iceworm gently pressed his enormous head against Yun Luo's forehead.
Dazzling white light erupted. His massive body dissolved bit by bit, transforming into an unending stream of power that poured entirely into Yun Luo's body.
The instant Skydream Iceworm's consciousness fully entered Yun Luo's Sea of Spirit, Yun Luo went limp and collapsed unconscious to the ground.
"Hehehe, Bingbing, I've come to find you."
The moment Skydream Iceworm entered Yun Luo's Sea of Spirit, he excitedly called the Ice Emperor's name.
Skydream Iceworm's soul took the form of a little boy with short, pale-yellow hair, dressed in loose little pajamas and not very tall.
But the gentle response he had expected from the Ice Emperor never came. Instead, the phantom of an emerald ice pincer suddenly smashed viciously toward him!
With a thunderous boom, Skydream Iceworm was blasted several meters backward through the Sea of Spirit and slammed heavily onto the ground.
"Bingbing... what are you doing?"
"Why are you trying to kill me?"
Skydream Iceworm struggled to his feet, staring in disbelief at the Ice Emperor nearby.
He could not understand. The Ice Emperor had clearly invited him to participate in the God Creation Plan, yet now that he had sacrificed himself to become this human's Soul Ring, she wanted to erase his soul within the Sea of Spirit.
"Bingbing, I've already sacrificed myself to become that human's seventh Soul Ring. Why are you attacking me?"
Skydream Iceworm's voice was filled with sorrow as he spoke.
"You delusional dead maggot. If I hadn't needed to trick you into coming here, this emperor wouldn't have bothered wasting another word on you.
"In my eyes, you've never been anything but food. Yet you dare dream of standing as this emperor's equal?"
Hearing the Ice Emperor's nearly mocking words, Skydream Iceworm still clung to one final thread of hope. He smiled and spoke.
"Bingbing, none of this is real, right?"
"Right, I must have come in the wrong way."
Watching Skydream Iceworm muttering deliriously, the Ice Emperor impatiently attacked him again.
"You dead worm, are you still going to deceive yourself like this?"
But even after the Ice Emperor had attacked him for a long while, Skydream Iceworm suffered no damage. He merely slumped there, utterly despondent, without launching a single counterattack.
After all, in terms of soul origin and reserves of spiritual power, Skydream Iceworm was stronger than the Ice Emperor to begin with.
The Ice Emperor saw that Skydream Iceworm merely lay there in despair, without the slightest intention of retaliating or resisting.
It left her both angry and exasperated. How could someone like this exist?
Yun Luo was also utterly speechless at the sight.
For crying out loud, Skydream Iceworm, could you be any more of a simp?
The fucking Ice Emperor is trying to kill you, and you can still put up with it. Looks like I'll have to step forward and raise the stakes myself.
With that, Yun Luo's spiritual body came directly to the Ice Emperor's side, and he mocked Skydream Iceworm.
"You dead maggot called Skydream Iceworm, you still dream of getting Bingbing? What a delusion."
"We called you here today so you could see how much we love each other, and why she sacrificed herself to me."
"And you, you dead maggot, are nothing but nourishment for me, a witness to our love."
After saying this, Yun Luo reached out and pulled the Ice Emperor into his arms to completely crush Skydream Iceworm's psychological defenses.
Abruptly embraced, the Ice Emperor's cheeks flushed scarlet, and she instinctively tried to break free.
But remembering the plan they had agreed on earlier, she only made two light, token attempts before she stopped struggling.
At this sight, Skydream Iceworm's eyes nearly split with rage, and he roared furiously.
All the spiritual power around him began to run wild, and even Yun Luo's entire Sea of Spirit began to destabilize.
"No, no, no! How could you do this?"
"Bingbing can only belong to me! You lowly human, how dare you touch her? I'll take you both to the grave with me!"
As he spoke, silver-blue light surged from Skydream Iceworm's body, violently churning this Sea of Spirit.
Agonizing pain swept through Yun Luo's spiritual power, like countless needles stabbing into it, yet the smile never left his lips.
He knew that only when he came infinitely close to death could the system emerge.
After he returned from the Extreme North, the system had briefly revived, notifying him that his progress in plundering Huo Yuhao had reached twenty percent.
It had also informed Yun Luo that, should he encounter a life-or-death crisis, it could intervene using the luck it had plundered.
"Ding... detected that the host is about to encounter a life-or-death crisis. This system will intervene using the luck it has stripped away."