"Anyway, that's the gist of it, kid. You're lucky I chose you!"
It seemed to confirm Huo Yuhao's thoughts. Compared to his previous life, Skydream Iceworm's explanation was much faster this time, so much so that it didn't notice Huo Yuhao's somewhat abnormal reaction.
"Time's running out. I'm going to start now. Don't worry, I'll be gentle. I won't hurt you."
"Huh?"
Huo Yuhao was stunned. He didn't expect Skydream Iceworm to be in such a hurry and instinctively wanted to say something.
"Wait, hold on—"
But before he could finish, the huge head lunged toward him.
Skydream Iceworm thought Huo Yuhao was scared and, already spooked by the terrifying aura earlier, it didn't care much anymore. It just wanted to escape from this nightmare-filled place as quickly as possible.
At the critical moment, the Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead suddenly opened, and an indescribable aura surged forth. Although this aura didn't feel particularly strong to Skydream Iceworm, it still caused an involuntary shiver, abruptly halting its advance.
"W-What is this?"
"Brother Skydream, please listen to me first."
Ignoring Skydream Iceworm's shock, Huo Yuhao quickly explained the concept of the Spirit Soul contract in his mind. After all, it would eventually turn into a Spirit Soul, so he figured he might as well cut to the chase.
After listening, Skydream Iceworm calmed down a bit, blinking its golden eyes.
"A Spirit Soul contract? Something like that exists? How come I've never heard of it before?"
"Because it's from the future, created by my teacher."
"What?"
What are you talking about?
I don't get it at all.
Listening to Huo Yuhao's explanation, Skydream Iceworm felt like its brain had shrunk a little, unsure of what to do.
To be honest, it didn't fully trust the contract.
From Huo Yuhao's description, being a Spirit Soul did sound better than being a simple intelligent spirit ring. After all, it could occasionally come out of the spiritual space for a breather.
But the entire explanation was based solely on Huo Yuhao's words. There was no way to verify if it worked as described. However, judging by the strange things Huo Yuhao had already shown, it was clear he wasn't an ordinary human, which added some credibility to the story.
As for whether Huo Yuhao was deceiving it, Skydream Iceworm didn't even consider that possibility. It was eager to become his spirit ring—why would he go through the trouble of lying?
There was no need for that.
Besides, for some reason, from the moment it saw this human, Skydream Iceworm felt a strange sense of closeness. Even though it realized that something was off, it simply couldn't feel any wariness toward Huo Yuhao.
Could this be… fate?
Skydream Iceworm blinked again, staring into Huo Yuhao's calm eyes. After a brief pause, it finally made up its mind, and its voice echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind once more.
"Alright, I'll do as you say. Let's start the Spirit Soul ceremony. What do I need to do?"
"Just seal your power as you planned for the intelligent spirit ring. Oh, and make sure to relax your mind."
Although the process was similar to a sacrifice, a proper Spirit Soul ceremony required the host to have a certain level of spiritual endurance. In this case, to complete the ceremony with the million-year-old Skydream, it would need to use the sealing technique it had developed over the years.
"Fine, let's hurry. Otherwise, that guy might notice me soon."
That guy?
Huo Yuhao felt a bit puzzled but didn't ask right away. After both parties were ready, the ceremony began swiftly.
Huo Yuhao placed his hand on Skydream Iceworm's head and began chanting. A golden six-pointed star array enveloped them both.
As soon as the array appeared, Skydream Iceworm felt the meaning of "connected hearts" that Huo Yuhao had mentioned. Through the ceremony, it could clearly sense Huo Yuhao's emotions.
Calm, gentle, with no malice whatsoever.
Further probing into Huo Yuhao's condition, Skydream Iceworm's golden eyes gleamed with surprise.
"Such strong physical and spiritual abilities! I've really hit the jackpot this time!"
As it finished speaking, the ten golden rings around its body began to pulse rhythmically, and a tremendous surge of spiritual power spread across the entire Great Star Dou Forest, momentarily stunning all the creatures within.
Next, its massive body began to melt like wax in a flame, shrinking rapidly, and its color started to fade.
Suddenly, the once-clear sky darkened, and with a deafening thunderclap, a gray sphere of energy pierced through space, appearing out of nowhere and diving straight into Huo Yuhao's forehead. The originally content Skydream Iceworm's expression changed dramatically.
"Hey, hey, hey! I got here first! Which path are you from? How dare you come steal my host without even asking about my reputation?"
However, the gray energy sphere seemed to disappear into silence once it entered Huo Yuhao's body, offering no response. Skydream Iceworm could only pout, reluctantly speeding up the fusion process.
"If it weren't for the time crunch, hmph!"
But the moment its consciousness entered Huo Yuhao's spiritual space, the scene it saw shocked it to the core.
"What the heck is going on here? Who did I just choose as my host?"
In the relatively small spiritual space, which resembled a tiny pond, the spiritual energy rippled gently. Above it floated eight light spheres, one of which was isolated from the other seven. A gray mist swirled continuously around it—clearly, this was the same entity that had just stolen its host.
With the addition of the ten sealed sources of power Skydream Iceworm had brought, the spiritual space was now filled with eighteen light spheres, making it quite cramped.
Aside from the gray sphere, the other seven didn't seem too different, though two stood out—a dark blue one and a dark yellow one. While the other five had some color, they were still mostly covered in a layer of gray.
Curious, Skydream Iceworm discovered that these spheres also contained some form of origin power. As its spiritual body got closer, the corresponding emotions stirred within it, scaring it into keeping its distance, just like the gray sphere.
Fortunately, these seven spheres had no consciousness, merely floating in the spiritual space without any movement.
But that wasn't what shocked it the most. When Skydream Iceworm looked up, it once again saw the golden vertical eye that Huo Yuhao had shown earlier. Feeling the aura of the Eye of Destiny up close, it finally understood what it was.
"This… This is… a divine artifact?!"
(End of Chapter)