Chapter 54: Skydream Iceworm: Big Brother Has Truly Burned Himself Out This Time

With the dissipation of Elric's aura and the departure of the Skydream Ice Worm, the previously silent southern edge of the Star Dou Great Forest suddenly returned to normal. The rustling sound of gentle breezes swaying the flora and fauna, along with the chirping of insects and birds, reminded Ye Xixuan that this region had long since returned to the mortal realm.

However, his mind remained immersed deep within his own spiritual sea.

Ten massive golden light clusters floated silently in the space, orbiting a gray bead no larger than a soybean at the center.

"Elric, and the million-year-old origin of the Skydream Ice Worm." Ye Xixuan had never imagined that things would develop in such a direction. Moreover, the final words spoken by the Skydream Ice Worm left him deeply concerned.

A young girl with twin martial souls?

For the Skydream Ice Worm to abandon Huo Yuhao, a spirit-attribute soul master who was practically within its grasp, it meant that the young girl with twin martial souls it mentioned must also possess a spirit-attribute martial soul.

Through the memories of his past life, Ye Xixuan quickly locked onto a target.

"Twin martial souls, and possessing a spirit-attribute martial soul. Could it be Vina?" In this era, there were only a handful of twin martial soul owners, let alone female soul masters.

Xiao Xiao's two martial souls were both tool martial souls, which clearly did not fit the Skydream Ice Worm's requirements. The only ones left were Wang Dong and Vina.

Judging by the martial soul attributes, Wang Dong's two martial souls had nothing to do with the Skydream Ice Worm's abilities either, but given that she had a God King for a father, it was entirely plausible that he pulled strings behind the scenes to guide and induce the Skydream Ice Worm.

Therefore, Ye Xixuan could not be one hundred percent certain that the target mentioned by the Skydream Ice Worm was definitely Vina.

Regardless of these matters, purely for him, this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was indeed not in vain.

Just as Ye Xixuan was lost in a myriad of thoughts, the stagnant minds of Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao recovered, completely unaware of the preceding anomaly.

Tang Ya was still affectionately linked to Ye Xixuan's arm, while Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged with a face full of joy, beginning to guide the soul ring of the golden-eyed white lion to merge with his own body using his soul power.

Impacted by the Skydream Ice Worm's spiritual force just moments ago, Ye Xixuan discovered that the lingering resentment within the golden-eyed white lion's soul ring had been completely shattered. In a way, the Skydream Ice Worm had inadvertently done its original-plot host a massive favor.

A faint yellow soul ring slowly descended from above Huo Yuhao's head, but his body began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

Although the absolute limit for a normal tenth-rank soul master absorbing their first soul ring was around four hundred years, for someone like him whose physique was abyssal in weakness, enduring the energy impact of a century-old soul ring was undoubtedly a severe trial.

Huo Yuhao clenched his teeth, relying entirely on his own stubborn willpower to sustain himself. He felt the meridians throughout his body scorching hot, as if his entire body were melting, and cold sweat poured continuously down his forehead.

Seeing this, Tang Ya couldn't help but ask Ye Xixuan with concern, "Xixuan, will he have any problems absorbing this soul ring? Isn't the age of this soul ring just over a hundred years?"

"Rest assured, nothing will go wrong." Ye Xixuan offered a reassuring smile.

The reason his martial soul was named the Heart Demon Shadow actually had a specific correlated design. First was the Shadow, corresponding to the physical form of his martial soul itself, while the Demon naturally corresponded to abilities of the dark attribute.

As for the Heart, it manifested as the perception capabilities characteristic of the spirit attribute—not only for perceiving evil energies, but also possessing extreme sensitivity toward auras.

In Ye Xixuan's perception, though Huo Yuhao appeared to be in agonizing pain on the surface, his aura showed no signs of disorder whatsoever.

True to expectation, as Huo Yuhao gradually grew accustomed to this level of soul ring energy impact, his aura steadily stabilized.

Tang Ya finally let out a sigh of relief, leaning snugly against Ye Xixuan's chest, and remarked with deep sympathy, "Xixuan, seeing him come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone to hunt soul beasts, there probably isn't anyone else left in his family."

"What is it, Sister Ya? You wouldn't be thinking of recruiting him into the Tang Sect, would you?" Ye Xixuan looked at Tang Ya thoughtfully, instantly recalling the events of the original plot.

Tang Ya playfully tapped her delicate hand against Ye Xixuan's chest, letting out a haughty huff.

"What are you talking about? Do you really want an extra third wheel standing between us for no reason?" At this point, her gaze inevitably dimmed a bit.

"Besides, even if the Tang Sect were to take in disciples right now, what could we possibly offer them? When all is said and done, I only earn the qualification to discuss these things once I possess sufficiently formidable strength."

"I told you I would help you." Ye Xixuan caught the hand Tang Ya had rested on his chest, speaking in a sincere tone.

Moved as she was internally, Tang Ya's buoyant personality could never be truly restrained. With a cheeky giggle, she blurted out, "Great! Then why don't you just help me have a few more children instead? The children inheriting your genes will certainly have extraordinary martial soul cultivation talents. When the time comes, we'll just dump the task of revitalizing the Tang Sect onto them, and the two of us can go travel the continent and enjoy the scenery. Oh right, and eat all kinds of delicious food!"

Ye Xixuan shook his head helplessly.

"Sister Ya, you really don't want to put in any effort at all, do you? Who acts like a mother quite like you?"

"Let me ask you, if both of us bust our backs working hard, who gets to enjoy the fruits of it?" Tang Ya giggled and continued to tease, before shifting her tone.

"I was just saying that casually, of course. Naturally, the first part was completely serious. It's just that we're still too young right now, we have to wait a few more years."

Tang Ya always managed to say things that stirred the imagination with a completely straight face, making Ye Xixuan's heart grow warm all over again. He didn't overthink things as much as Tang Ya did, but he harbored the same yearning for those matters, asking half-seriously and half-jokingly.

"Sister Ya, could I apply to move the schedule up a little bit?"

"N-No." Facing Ye Xixuan's burning gaze, Tang Ya belatedly realized what he implied, her face flushing crimson instead, her delicate cheeks burning with shyness.

"You're still too young."

"I'm not young anymore!"

Meanwhile, in the southern outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.

A trio was swiftly moving through the Star Dou Great Forest, heading straight for its depths.

Aside from Princess Vina, who had appeared in the far northern ice seas, and Lang Ya, a second-generation disciple of the Body Sect, this group included another middle-aged man with a remarkably thick right arm.

Although the Body Sect's headquarters was located in the distant far northern ice seas, members had always walked the mainland, searching for soul masters who possessed body martial souls.

This thick-armed middle-aged man was also a second-generation disciple of the Body Sect. Having happened to be near Star Luo City, he was summoned over by Lang Ya using the Body Sect's special communication method. The middle-aged man was none other than Yu Tao, who had been disciplined by Elder Xuan in the original plot; his martial soul was his arms, and his cultivation was at the eighth rank of Soul Douro.

The few sparse strands of yellow hair on Lang Ya's oversized head twitched slightly, a subtle distortion appearing around his body as he abruptly raised a hand to halt his movement.

"Hold up."

"What is it, Second Brother?" Yu Tao looked at Lang Ya in puzzlement. With the strength of the two brothers, they wouldn't necessarily fall behind even against ordinary Titled Douro-level powerhouses; in the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, there shouldn't be any soul beasts capable of threatening them.

Lang Ya furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice, "A large number of soul beasts are approaching. Among them, there are at least ten soul beasts with over ten thousand years of cultivation."

"Ten ten-thousand-year soul beasts?! This is the outer perimeter!" Yu Tao widened his eyes in astonishment, a terrifying and ferocious aura releasing from his body.

Vina, who had remained silent on the side, also raised her head to look toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest, but her second martial soul, the brain, did not give her a sense of warning; instead, it felt as though there was some destined guidance.

The culprit stirring up these soul beasts was naturally the Skydream Ice Worm, which was currently streaking across the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest as a streak of white light. Aided by its million-year-old molted shell, it simulated an aura of dense heaven and earth elemental energy, thereby stirring up such a massive quantity of ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

"The cultivation of these two humans is formidable. Only by causing a riot can Big Brother seize the chance to merge with that young girl. Damn bastard, if it weren't for you, would Big Brother have to take such a huge risk?" The Skydream Ice Worm felt like crying without tears, but it knew in its heart that it had no choice but to gamble.

"Wuwu! Big Brother is really burning himself out this time!"