"Too weak, too weak. This is truly too pathetic. I am so pitiful! I have to apply some additional seals on myself just to make this weak body accept me. Who would have thought that being an intelligent Soul Ring wouldn't be easy?"
A powerful surge of mental energy from within the Tianmeng Ice Worm poured into Huo Yuhao's body, continuously diffusing outward over time. The terrifying nature of this mental energy fluctuation instantly enveloped everything within a hundred-mile radius.
***
Just as Bei Bei and Tang Ya were about to speed up to catch up with Huo Yuhao, they were enveloped by this mental fluctuation and dazed. This mental fluctuation did not possess great destructive power, but it could cause all living creatures to temporarily lose their ability to think.
At this moment, the majority of the southern region of the Great Star Dou Forest fell into a terrifying silence.
At that very moment, the sky suddenly turned from clear to gloomy in an instant. A clap of thunder exploded in the air, and in that split second, the usually dazzling light of the sun was completely swallowed by darkness. An immense pressure descended from the heavens, making it difficult for all living things to breathe.
Meanwhile, the Tianmeng Ice Worm, which was trying to fuse into Huo Yuhao's body, was violently shaken by the thunder. Its eyes stared up at the sky, its expression filled with terrified confusion. Clearly, this pressure in the sky had nothing to do with it, and was far beyond its comprehension.
A grey current of air descended from the sky, instantly slipping into the back of Huo Yuhao's neck.
"What on earth is this? How dare you snatch someone from this brother?"
Furious, the Tianmeng Ice Worm's mental fluctuations instantly surged as it attempted to expel the grey air current from Huo Yuhao's body.
An extremely blurry figure materialized behind Huo Yuhao, and an old voice rang out, carrying an indescribable majesty:
"Holding the divine bow of the Sun and Moon, plucking the stars, there are no rivals in this world. To think that a remnant of this old man's soul could still exist."
Facing the massive mental attack from the Tianmeng Ice Worm, the illusory figure did not show the slightest discomfort. With a swift *whoosh*, it slipped into the back of Huo Yuhao's neck and vanished.
The Tianmeng Ice Worm did not dare to continue its mental attacks, as thin lines of blood had already begun to seep from Huo Yuhao's seven orifices. It discovered that after entering Huo Yuhao's head, the grey air current had instantly transformed into a tiny, bean-sized pearl and lay there motionless. As long as it did not clash with its own power, it would not be affected.
"Am I really this unlucky? I went through so much trouble to find a suitable human, only to run into this bastard halfway. Could it be that heaven is jealous of geniuses? This brother is so pitiful!"
Although its mouth never stopped grumbling and lamenting, the Tianmeng Ice Worm's movements did not slow down in the slightest. The dense white light gradually solidified, slowly pouring into Huo Yuhao's body. In the process, its own physical body gradually became translucent, and its size rapidly shrank. From the moment it began pouring its power into Huo Yuhao's body, there was already no turning back.
Huo Yuhao's body had completely turned white like a piece of white jade, resembling the previous color of the Tianmeng Ice Worm. The wounds on his shoulders quickly closed up at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Wahahaha! This brother is finally free! Those bastards who treated me as food won't have a chance anymore. Haha!"
The Tianmeng Ice Worm laughed triumphantly, its laughter gradually fading. At the same time, the spiritual power that covered a hundred miles finally shrank at an astonishing speed, eventually disappearing completely.
Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, several terrifying auras surged simultaneously as if sensing something, but they did not attack and instead retreated.
Just as the Tianmeng Ice Worm's voice completely vanished, a white halo silently appeared beneath Huo Yuhao. It circled his body three times, spun once more, and then gradually faded, merging into his body until it disappeared without a trace.
Huo Yuhao was completely unaware that, without his knowledge, he had gained a Soul Ring—and a unique one at that, unprecedented in the history of the Douluo Continent.
As the white color gradually faded, a layer of blue began to surface beneath Huo Yuhao's skin. It lasted for about ten seconds before slowly dimming, returning to his original healthy, rosy complexion. His body then tilted, slumping down against the large tree he had been leaning on earlier.
A thin layer of gold silently rose from the ground, quickly condensing and shrinking before slipping into Huo Yuhao's chest and vanishing. Not a single trace of the Tianmeng Ice Worm's aura remained.
The large rift in the road had closed up at some unknown point. Aside from the collapsed Huo Yuhao, there was only the corpse of the baboon he had killed not far away. Everything had returned to how it was before.
Not long after, two figures appeared and rushed toward him as fast as lightning.
"Oh my goodness!"
A startled cry rang out, and one of the figures instantly accelerated, rushing to Huo Yuhao's side before coming to a halt.
"We're too late. Little brother Yuhao seems to have taken quite a few attacks. The Soul Beasts in this Star Dou Great Forest are truly ferocious."
Tang Ya carefully helped Huo Yuhao up, her face filled with deep sorrow and worry.
The other person was Beibei. He walked over to the baboon's corpse and flipped it over, immediately spotting a foot-long wound on its chest. Even its heart had been pierced; this was clearly the fatal blow.
"This is a Wind Baboon. Judging by its physical strength, it should be a Ten-Year Soul Beast. To think it's actually dead."
Beibei sat down next to Tang Ya to check on Huo Yuhao's condition with her.
What astonished them both was that although Huo Yuhao's clothes were completely tattered, not a single wound could be found on his body.
Beibei pressed his index finger against Huo Yuhao's wrist. The White Tiger Dagger fell into his palm. A blue glow flashed across Beibei's hand and vanished. Suddenly, a brilliant blue light radiated from the White Tiger Dagger.
"This is a soul tool. Yuhao must have used it to kill the Wind Baboon. Although the Wind Baboon is only a Ten-Year Soul Beast, its speed and strength are not weak, and it even has an innate soul skill to attack its enemies. For Yuhao to kill it at his age is quite impressive. It seems our previous assessment of him wasn't accurate enough; his rank should already be that of a Spirit Scholar."
Tang Ya anxiously examined Huo Yuhao's body and said:
"It's useless to say anything now. I shouldn't have taken so long to wash up, otherwise we wouldn't have been delayed. If anything happens to Xiao Hao because of this, I will never forgive myself. No matter what his talent is, I've made up my mind—I must convince him to join the Tang Sect."
Seeing Tang Ya's anxiety, Bei Bei's gaze softened even more. What he loved about her was precisely this innate kindness that shone from within.
"Don't worry just yet, he's fine. Don't you see his breathing is perfectly steady? And there isn't a single injury on his body. In my estimation, he probably collided with a tree canopy while fighting the Wind Baboon in midair and knocked himself out. He should recover after resting for a bit."
Tang Ya froze for a moment, then looked up and glared at Bei Bei, saying:
"Why didn't you say so earlier? You worried me for nothing!"
Bei Bei said helplessly:
"Who knew you wouldn't even notice something like that?"
"Hmph!"
Tang Ya held Yuhao, letting him lean against her. Only after confirming that he was indeed fine did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.