Beneath the quiet night, on a narrow bed, two lonely souls mingled with each other.
Amid their wonderful union, Wang Dong'er sank into complete stillness, body and mind, and Huo Yuhao's spiritual power broke into her Sea of Consciousness without the slightest resistance.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and found himself standing on a tranquil lake. He took a step forward, and ripples appeared beneath his feet, spreading into the distance. The vast lake reflected the white sky, stretching without end.
It truly was a spotless Sea of Consciousness, untouched by any contamination!
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. An unseen force drew him onward.
Huo Yuhao then checked his bearings and walked in the direction of that pull.
A plump little white worm lay on Huo Yuhao's shoulder. He rolled over in utter boredom, his smooth belly wriggling incessantly and his eyelids fluttering.
Huo Yuhao reached out and poked his belly, flipping him over before continuing forward.
"Boss, what are we doing in this female's Sea of Consciousness?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm crawled onto Huo Yuhao's head in confusion, his two large eyes constantly scanning ahead as though hoping to find some clues.
Huo Yuhao could not be bothered to answer him. With a stir of his spiritual power, he slowly lifted him and placed him back on his shoulder.
After roughly two minutes of walking, a change finally appeared ahead in the monotonous Sea of Consciousness.
A golden gate stood before them, blocking the way forward.
The gate was magnificent and imposing, golden light shining across it. The golden iron gate had an arched front, with straight iron bars of metallic luster tapering from thick to thin. Their sharpness seemed capable of tearing souls apart.
Countless chains extended from behind the gate, tightly entwined around the lock opening. The chains shone with sacred light, continuously radiating pressure.
A large blue-and-gold lock secured the chains. A trident was carved in relief upon it, glittering beneath a faint golden glow.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm flew up from his shoulder in curiosity and drifted toward the large lock.
Just as he was about to touch it, the phantom of a trident on the lock instantly solidified. Bearing boundless killing intent, it abruptly stabbed toward the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body stiffened beyond his control, suspended rigidly in midair as the attack was about to land.
Huo Yuhao swiftly dragged him back with his spiritual power. His two feelers were severed in midair, but fortunately, Huo Yuhao had acted in time, sparing his life.
"B-Boss, this thing is terrifying! There's actually a deity's seal inside this female's Sea of Consciousness. I... I'm getting out of here."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was utterly terrified and did not dare linger. He burrowed straight into Huo Yuhao's body and returned to his Sea of Consciousness, trembling.
Only after a long while did he recover his senses and use their mental link to check on his boss, Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao studied the gate before him. The trident on its large lock kept flashing, ready to attack him at any moment.
Dark purple threads slowly extended from Huo Yuhao's hand, writhing like snakes as they inched toward the lock opening. The trident on the large lock showed no reaction, and the threads advanced more boldly.
Finally, when they came within half a meter of the large lock, the trident upon it began flashing, gathering an attack.
Huo Yuhao controlled them to continue forward. At the final ten-meter mark, terrifying power instantly surpassed the speed of light and rushed toward him.
Huo Yuhao was already prepared. He raised his right hand, and an invisible spiritual shield formed in an instant. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, directly reflecting the attack back. The rebounding ray instantly melted one of the chains on the gate.
Seeing the result he had expected, Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction.
Now he only needed to repeat these steps to open the gate. Opening it was merely a matter of time.
Through the long, long night, time was precisely what he had in abundance.
Huo Yuhao immediately began his work, doing as he pleased within Wang Dong'er's Sea of Consciousness.
With the Golden Ancient Tree destroyed, that so-called God King Tang San had long since lost the ability to observe what was happening in his daughter's Sea of Consciousness. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao would inevitably have faced a fierce battle.
Under his repeated efforts, the chains of divine power were destroyed one after another, leaving only a large lock hanging on the iron gate.
The trident upon it had dimmed, and its power was all but exhausted.
Huo Yuhao wasted no time. He walked straight forward, grabbed the large lock with his right hand, and wrenched it off the gate with a sudden burst of force.
Tossing the lock aside carelessly, Huo Yuhao pushed with his palm, opened the gate, and walked inside.
Countless scenes immediately appeared before Huo Yuhao's eyes. Their central figure was a little girl of about three or four, with two figures standing beside her, one blue and one pink.
The little girl was Tang Wutong in her childhood, and the two beside her were Tang San and Xiao Wu.
In the scene, Tang Wutong ran forward happily, with the two figures following behind her.
"Xiao Qi, slow down. There's no hurry..." the pink-clad Xiao Wu said with concern.
Tang San put an arm around Xiao Wu and watched Tang Wutong running ahead, smiling with gratification.
Huo Yuhao watched for a while, found it utterly boring, and began attending to business.
Through Tang Wutong's childhood memories, he gradually deduced the Divine Realm's general layout and the distribution of its factions.
His spiritual power sorted through countless pieces of information about the Divine Realm, packaging and compressing them before handing them straight to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to process.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was brimming with enthusiasm, tirelessly enjoying his work.
As his boss put it, if you, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, won't do it, there are plenty of other baby silkworms who will.
He had only managed to latch onto his boss's thigh after so much difficulty. How could he possibly just quit?
After sleeping for a million years, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had finally ushered in his brand-new life as a worker.
Once the memories had finished playing, Huo Yuhao swept his hand and threw all the scenes back through the gate.
Dark purple chains flew out from behind him and swiftly locked the golden iron gate. The opened gate was sealed once more.
Only this time, the marks left within Wang Dong'er's body belonged solely to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao turned and walked forward, his figure gradually fading until it vanished.
Beneath the green mountains to the east, a bright orb shone through the clouds and mist, illuminating the mortal world as wisps of cooking smoke rose.
Wang Dong'er's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes. Two trails of clear tears flowed out involuntarily, wetting the front of Huo Yuhao's clothes.
She wiped her tears hard and sat up in Huo Yuhao's bed, the swollen redness beneath her eyes making her a heartbreaking sight.
Wang Dong'er looked at Huo Yuhao, who slept peacefully beside her. Her small hand stroked his cheek as she whispered, "Yuhao, I think I dreamed of Mom and Dad... and I dreamed of you too..."
Beside her, Huo Yuhao breathed evenly, merely giving a soft hum as though in reply.
Wang Dong'er laughed in relief and wiped the corners of her eyes. She tucked the covers around them both, rested her head on Huo Yuhao's arm, and burrowed into his embrace, slowly falling asleep...