Deep within the Life Lake of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Bear Lord, isn't this a bit too much? After all, we are all Soul Beasts," Bi Ji said, looking up at the Sky Blue Bull Python that had distanced itself from the lake.
"The Beast God is currently healing. If he is disturbed now, who knows what might happen! Besides, the humans have already retreated. There's no need to expose our location over such a trivial matter."
A massive Dark Golden Claw Bear, using its sharp claws to pick its teeth, looked completely indifferent.
Probably just trying to keep the Sky Blue Bull Python from getting its hands on the Golden-striped Ice Silkworm, right? Bi Ji shot a glance at Bear Lord but swallowed the words she was about to say.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go cultivate."
Seeing that the Sky Blue Bull Python had wisely left, Bear Lord also decided not to waste any more time here and turned to head deeper underground.
Bi Ji sighed. Although she had also benefited from the Golden-striped Ice Silkworm, it would be a lie to say she felt no guilt.
However, the energy within that giant worm was too immense, and it had no means of self-defense. Falling into their hands was still better than being completely devoured by other Soul Beasts outside.
Once Di Tian recovered, she would try to spare the worm's life.
...
Not far from the Life Lake, in the same tunnel that had been dug out before, though Li Xun had concealed it when they left.
After uncovering the entrance, Li Xun informed Sword Douluo and then proceeded to sneak through the passage. Before long, he reached the deepest part.
As usual, he grew a vine to scout ahead, attaching his spiritual power to it and extending it toward the cave where Skydream Iceworm was imprisoned.
Since he had already located the spot last time, the vine quickly reached the cavern where Skydream Iceworm was.
Not in a hurry to make contact, Li Xun carefully observed the situation inside the cave.
Suddenly, a mischievous voice echoed in Li Xun's mind, and cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
"After more than two years, you've finally come to rescue me," Skydream Iceworm's voice was filled with both joy and grievance. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you every day?"
Li Xun now felt the urge to strangle this worm. Just moments ago, he thought he had been discovered.
"I'm talking to you, why aren't you responding? Hurry up and get me out of here! Recently, it's been that big bear's turn to absorb my energy, and it's much more aggressive than the others. It practically wants to devour me!"
Seeing that Li Xun wasn't responding, Skydream squirmed uneasily, its watery eyes gazing toward a section of the cave wall—exactly where Li Xun was.
After casting a layer of spiritual power to conceal Li Xun, Skydream began to pour out its grievances, recounting the hardships of the past two years.
But soon, it noticed something unusual: "Huh? How did your energy grow so quickly?"
Li Xun took a deep breath to calm himself, automatically filtering out Skydream's incessant chatter: "How's the research on your Spirit Ring method going?"
"How could I forget about that? I was just about to tell you. I've successfully researched the method you proposed. I have to say, I'm a genius."
Skydream chuckled, clearly pleased with itself: "Of course, you also played a small part in this..."
"That's good. Otherwise, it would be quite troublesome to move your massive body out now," Li Xun nodded in satisfaction. "How much longer before those Soul Beasts that absorb your Soul Power come back?"
"Call me brother. It's almost time," Skydream said with high spirits at first, but his enthusiasm quickly waned when he mentioned the other ferocious beasts.
"I suggest you hold on a bit longer. After all, this is a rare opportunity. If you alert those beasts, it'll be much harder to rescue you next time."
Sensing Skydream's low spirits, Li Xun comforted him, "You don't have to keep calling yourself 'brother.' You don't have a name yet, do you? How about I give you one?"
"A name? Let's hear it," Skydream perked up instantly.
Their kind had a generic name: Golden-striped Ice Silkworm. But such a mundane title couldn't possibly suit him, the only Soul Beast on the continent to reach the 100,000-year level, let alone the unprecedented 980,000-year mark.
"How about Sky Dream Iceworm?"
Skydream's mind jolted with excitement, and he wriggled happily. "What a great name! It's like it was tailor-made for me."
"Uh-oh, the bear's coming. Try not to make any big movements," Skydream warned, his joy short-lived as heavy footsteps echoed from outside the cave.
The cheerful atmosphere instantly froze, and Li Xun quickly retracted his presence, hiding his aura.
Moments later, a massive figure appeared at the cave entrance.
Nearly fifteen meters tall, its dark golden fur couldn't conceal the bulging muscles of its limbs. The moment it stepped into the cave, an overwhelming sense of pressure filled the air.
Skydream seemed momentarily stunned, his head drooping in silence.
But thanks to his innate nature and awareness of his own value, he quickly recovered.
Strengthening the area around Li Xun with his mental energy, Skydream resumed his endless chatter.
"Big bear, I knew it was your turn. How much energy are you planning to suck from me this time?"
Bear Lord's broad nose and brows furrowed simultaneously, his head buzzing with irritation.
This Golden-striped Ice Silkworm was indeed a treasure, but the downside was his incessant talking. Every time he came to absorb energy, he had to endure endless harassment.
"Shut up!" Bear Lord growled, his eyes flashing with menace as he bared his fangs.
With over 400,000 years of power and a fierce, battle-hardened aura, Bear Lord was indeed intimidating. Skydream was momentarily frightened, but as soon as Bear Lord began absorbing energy, he bounced back.
Skydream knew his current value and that there was an even more terrifying presence underground—one who held the power of life and death over him. No matter how ferocious the other Soul Beasts were, they couldn't harm him.
The endless stream of nonsense continued, as if there was no topic Skydream couldn't ramble about.
Bear Lord tried his best to ignore it.
While gaining strength was a good thing, he felt the time dragging on unbearably.
After a day, Bear Lord was like a volcano ready to erupt, his teeth bared as he glared at Skydream.
Skydream had been here long enough to understand the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's temperament. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he launched an even more aggressive verbal assault.
Two days was Bear Lord's limit, but it wasn't Skydream's.
"Roar!"
Bear Lord couldn't take it anymore. He rose in fury, his alloy-like claws poised to strike Skydream. But considering the Iceworm's usefulness, he slammed his claws into the already crumbling cave wall instead.
Ssssh—
The sharp claws sliced through the hard rock wall as if it were tofu, leaving deep gashes behind.
After venting his anger, the Bear Lord stormed out of the cave. Although he had held out longer this time than before, he still needed to find a quieter place to clear his mind.
Li Xun looked at the Sky Dream Iceworm with a complex expression. He too had been affected, but there was a certain amusement in seeing others suffer.
However, he now understood why the Sky Dream Iceworm had managed to survive for ten thousand years without dying. With such a tormenting existence, who could possibly endure it?
This survival method was truly mastered by this big worm. After all, it was the Bear Lord, who could even injure the Emperor of Heaven.
"How about that! Am I awesome or what?" Skydream, the Sky Dream Iceworm, tilted his head proudly and asked Li Xun after observing that the Bear Lord had gone far away.
"Awesome," Li Xun gave a thumbs-up. No matter the method, surviving was what mattered.
Skydream's small eyes darted around: "That big bear usually takes one or two days to return. Let's take this chance to make a quick escape."
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