A pair of deep purple eyes slowly opened in a pure white space, carrying a strange yet harmonious sense of contradiction.
Within this space, countless points of light stretched endlessly, yet his vision seemed able to extend into every corner of it.
Suddenly, golden rays surged into the space.
They converged into ten massive golden rings suspended in midair. All the points of light grew larger with their appearance.
The ten golden rings began to rotate slowly. Within each ring appeared a milky-white radiance, which grew stronger until ten giant spheres of light floated in place. The space itself expanded countless times in height and volume.
Xu Zihuang's consciousness became clearer. At the same time, the floating points of light descended, gathering into a pale golden ocean that supported the ten massive spheres.
Instinctively, Xu Zihuang looked down to see himself standing unclothed above that golden sea—right between the ten luminous orbs.
"Heh heh, I'll never call you 'little' Zihuang again. Though your foundation can't compare to mine, among humans you're certainly exceptional." Tianmeng Iceworm's voice rang out, as a crystalline worm instantly formed in front of Xu Zihuang—its true body.
Its golden eyes swept over him with a lewdly humanlike expression.
Xu Zihuang had no habit of standing naked under another male's gaze. Covering his lower abdomen with both hands, he spoke with suppressed irritation: "Hurry and give me some clothes."
"You're so anxious." Tianmeng Iceworm chuckled. Dots of golden light flashed over Xu Zihuang's body, turning into a tight black outfit.
"This is your sea of spirit. From now on, however you wish to appear here depends entirely on your own will. You'll get used to it. But I must say, Zihuang, your talent is remarkable. I didn't even need to help expand this space, and it's already full of life force. Not only does it stabilize my spiritual consciousness, it even let me condense a true form."
"See those ten spheres? They're the essence of my million-year cultivation—my origin power and spiritual force. Just now, when you absorbed that soul ring, I unlocked a seal. Your first and second soul rings are now both five-thousand years old. Well? Impressed by your big brother's strength?" Tianmeng lifted its round head proudly, looking plump and smug.
Xu Zihuang shot it a look that said, 'good for you,' then turned his gaze away to observe his sea of spirit.
When he noticed a small, silver-white orb pulsing rhythmically in a corner, his pupils contracted sharply.
His guess had been right.
"Tianmeng Iceworm."
"Call me Brother Tianmeng."
"Alright, Tianmeng Iceworm." Xu Zihuang replied perfunctorily. He could sense something was incubating within that silver-white orb—likely connected to the Silver-Scaled White Whale that had once willingly become his soul ring.
"That silver orb, was it here in my sea of spirit from the start?"
Hmph, fine, I won't argue with you. One day, I'll win you over with my charm.
Tianmeng muttered irritably to itself, but didn't dwell on Xu Zihuang's lack of respect. Its shimmering body shifted uneasily, its golden eyes showing a trace of dread as it looked at the orb.
"I saw part of your memory earlier. You should know the legend of Auspicious Beasts—there can never be two on the same continent. The Great Star Dou Forest already has one. That Silver-Scaled White Whale should be the ocean's Auspicious Beast. Its consciousness now dwells inside that orb, though heavily damaged.
"When I released part of my seal, most of the leaked origin power was absorbed by it. Otherwise, your first two soul rings could have risen to the same level as your third."
At this point, Tianmeng sounded depressed.
It didn't mind strengthening Xu Zihuang—that was necessary for its own survival beyond the limits of a soul beast. But losing power to nourish the whale's spirit? That it could not accept. Yet it was helpless against the whale's lingering consciousness.
Of course, it would never admit that.
Xu Zihuang withdrew his gaze, thoughtful. Having learned what he wanted, he no longer intended to linger in the sea of spirit.
Though the place where he absorbed the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's ring was secluded, there was no guarantee other soul beasts wouldn't appear.
The moment he thought this, his form vanished from the space.
Only Tianmeng Iceworm's bitter voice echoed through his sea of spirit:
"Don't leave, Zihuang! I haven't even told you my story yet. Aren't you curious why a million-year soul beast like me was in the Great Star Dou Forest, and why I chose to become your spiritual soul ring?"
Consciousness returned to his body. Xu Zihuang looked around joyfully. He was in an underground tunnel on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest—formed by Tianmeng's earlier burrowing.
Darkness surrounded him, making the three resplendent purple soul rings at his side gleam even more brilliantly.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had indeed been powerful, but its ring was still only of the thousand-year category.
Thanks to his second martial soul, the Purple Radiance Thunder Prison Dragon, the resentful spirit in the ring was easily erased. With his physique, he could withstand the impact of an eight-thousand-year soul ring.
From start to finish, the fusion had been smooth.
The soul power he had cultivated for nearly a year burst forth as soon as he gained the third ring. Even with the slowdown in cultivation after level 30 for those with ultimate martial souls, his soul power jumped four levels, reaching level 34.
Most exciting of all was his new third soul skill.
As expected from the ring of a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
With this skill, his strength had once again ascended qualitatively.
Meanwhile, Tianmeng continued rambling in his mind.
Despite its carefree nature, it also had a sensitive side. It could feel Xu Zihuang's cold attitude and wanted to deepen their bond gradually.
Having glimpsed parts of Xu Zihuang's memories, it knew well the hatred he bore. Thus, it could understand his aloofness.
Trust required time.
"Speak, I'm listening." Xu Zihuang finally replied as he climbed toward the surface.
He had indeed benefited greatly from Tianmeng—there was no need to dwell on the past.
Though his nature made it hard to truly accept anyone, so long as Tianmeng remained sincere, he would reciprocate.