Beibei and Tang Ya both nodded.
Tang Ya looked at the boy they had only just met with some concern. "Little Yuhao's cultivation is still low, and he followed us deep into the Star Dou Forest. It's normal to be tired. Rest well — Beibei and I will keep watch."
Huo Yuhao nodded and sat down beside a tree and the campfire, entering meditation to restore his drained spirit power and mental energy, using cultivation instead of sleep.
It wasn't because he trusted Beibei and Tang Ya could protect him — far from it. He simply trusted the Skydream Iceworm's protection far more than theirs.
With his eyes closed, aided by the Eye of Truth's deconstruction ability, he now understood how to freely enter and exit his spiritual sea.
As soon as he entered, he "heard" faint snoring. Looking over, he saw the enormous Skydream Iceworm sleeping soundly in the middle of his sea of spirit.
Huo Yuhao felt his forehead twitch. So much for reliable… I should've known better than to count on this lazy bug.
"Brother Tianmeng? Brother Tianmeng! Wake up!" He called repeatedly, but the Iceworm didn't stir — still sleeping blissfully.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao decided to take action. Channeling his mental power, he began simulating Beibei's martial transformation — the Thunder Dragon Claw — within his spiritual sea.
He had realized that his spiritual form could use the Eye of Truth here too, even without actively summoning his martial soul. The first time he entered the sea, he hadn't noticed because he was busy absorbing the original Huo Yuhao's memories.
Through the Eye of Truth, the massive Iceworm appeared as layered zones of color, each representing different concentrations of energy — and thus, different levels of vulnerability.
Locking onto the weakest spot, Huo Yuhao condensed mental energy into the shape of a dragon claw identical to Beibei's earlier form.
This wasn't just imagination — it was a precise reconstruction of the soul power pathways and bodily changes he had observed with the Eye of Truth.
Of course, the claw had no true energy behind it, only form — a mental projection rather than a real attack. But this was Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea — and the strike landed right on the weak point.
The Skydream Iceworm jolted upright as though electrocuted.
"Who—who dares attack me! Who's disturbing my beautiful dreams!" the Iceworm cried out in panic.
"It's me," Huo Yuhao said dryly. "I was gone for a few hours, and you're already asleep? What if something happened to me out there?"
"Eh? I—I set up a mental ward on you! If you were in danger, I'd wake up instantly! How was I supposed to know you'd come here yourself…" the Iceworm muttered, voice growing smaller.
"I told you before — once things outside settled, I'd come talk to you. Did you forget, Brother Tianmeng!?"
"Ahem… of course not! I was just waiting too long, that's all. Alright, don't interrupt me now — let me start from the beginning."
The Iceworm straightened up, feigning depth and wisdom as it tried to recover its dignity.
Huo Yuhao, knowing exactly what kind of "elder" he was dealing with, didn't interrupt his self-praise.
Only after the Iceworm finished its long, tragic tale of eating, sleeping, and being hunted down did Huo Yuhao clap perfunctorily.
"Bravo, bravo. So your million-year cultivation came from eating, sleeping, and… getting eaten in the end? That's really something, Brother Tianmeng."
The Iceworm's tone turned embarrassed. "W-well, now I've got you, don't I? My combat power may be lacking, but my million-year cultivation is the real deal!"
"With me assisting you, even with your fragile body, you'll still achieve my divine-making plan!"
Huo Yuhao nodded thoughtfully. "Brother Tianmeng, you mentioned you've already found a target for my second martial soul — the one of Ice without a spirit. Can I ask who this target is?"
The Iceworm blinked in confusion. Humans usually got excited at the mention of a second martial soul — but Huo Yuhao looked merely curious.
"Ahem, well of course, the best ice-type spirit beasts are from the Extreme North — my old homeland. I've already chosen one for you. Pure ice attribute — it's got style!"
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. "You're not forgetting that extreme attributes cultivate slowly, right? And you do realize how dangerous the Extreme North is? With my current body, that's a death sentence."
"Relax! With me around, you'll be fine! I used to be the overlord of that place!"
"Let's put off the trip for now," Huo Yuhao said evenly. "We'll go only once I'm ready. If you're really that confident, waiting a bit won't hurt, right?"
He knew the Iceworm was referring to the Ice Empress — and though that path succeeded in the original timeline, he didn't want to gamble his life on fate and the knowledge of the original novel. Rushing there as a two-ring Spirit Master was pure suicide.
The Ice and Snow Empresses could be approached later — carefully.
"Alright then," Huo Yuhao said, tone shifting serious. "Now that you're done, it's my turn."
"Ah? Go on, Little Yuhao!" The Iceworm straightened nervously, perhaps guilty about hiding the truth regarding the Ice Empress.
"You've been sleeping for years, right? Time to get active. You gave me four spirit skills — that means you can use them too, correct?"
"Of course," the Iceworm said proudly. "I am your spirit ring, after all. Using the skills myself is normal."
"Good," Huo Yuhao continued. "Then here's what I need from you — from now on, consume a bit of your mental origin and continuously maintain Spiritual Sharing with me. At the same time, I'll share my martial soul energy with you."
"Eh?" The Iceworm was puzzled. "Why use Spiritual Sharing on you all the time?"
"You'll see. Take a look."
Inside the spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Detection and projected his inner vision granted by the Eye of Truth through the shared link for the Iceworm to see.
The Iceworm stared, dumbfounded. "W-what are these… what even is all this!?"
"Don't worry about the details," Huo Yuhao said calmly. "Just watch."
He pointed at several glowing lines within his projection. "I've compressed my detection field to cover only my own body. These lines are the tracks of my spirit power circulating and refining under mental control."
"Normally, even Spirit Masters can't perceive their meridians this deeply — but my martial soul can. So here's the idea: you'll use your mental power through Spiritual Sharing to assist me in refining and guiding the flow."
The Iceworm froze. "Wait. You mean… you want me to do the cultivation for you?!"
"Assist," Huo Yuhao corrected with a smile. "I'm still using my own power — you're just lending me some focus. Besides, I won't be idle. I'll be working on other things while you handle the routine flow. Trust me, Brother Tianmeng. We're partners in this. The stronger I get, the longer you'll get to nap in peace when I ascend to godhood."
"But if I fail — well, human lives only last a century. That's just a blink to you."
The Iceworm frowned, hesitating. His mental energy was vast — he could do it — but wasting it on this seemed wrong.
Huo Yuhao, however, was already thinking ahead.
The Iceworm was only one of his "cheats." There were others he could awaken later. The Iceworm's stored mental essence was a resource — one best converted into power now, not hoarded until it ended up in Tang San's hands again.
A slow start meant being left behind forever.
"Ugh, fine! You win! Poor me, finally free only to become a laborer again…" The Iceworm wept dramatically but agreed.
And thus, Tianmeng's Auto-Cultivation Device v1.0 went online.
Huo Yuhao immediately began the first joint session.
"Careful there, Brother Tianmeng," he said, watching through the Eye of Truth as spirit power veered off course.
"Ahem, well, it's my first time cultivating, okay?" the Iceworm muttered. "I barely got to enjoy my million-year life before getting hunted down!"
Huo Yuhao sighed, but as the Iceworm adapted, the flow smoothed out. Guided by its immense mental strength, Huo Yuhao's soul power circulated steadily.
The narrow, blocked meridians within his body gradually widened, cleansed and strengthened by the Iceworm's essence.
Though the energy wasn't perfectly compatible, its sheer quality nourished his channels, mending micro-tears caused by spirit power surges.
It wasn't sustainable long-term, but for now, it was exactly what he needed.
Once things stabilized, Huo Yuhao said, "Alright, you've got the rhythm. I'll disable the shared vision for now. Keep cycling as we practiced — and mask my spirit power aura so no one notices."
"Don't worry," the Iceworm said smugly. "I'm an expert at hiding. With me covering you, no one will detect anything — not even if you use your skills right in front of them."
Huo Yuhao glanced toward a still-sleeping figure deep within his spiritual sea — the faint remnant of Electrolux's consciousness.
Looks like I'll need to find something that can nourish the soul, he thought. Even if his memory's fragmented, the knowledge of a foreign archmage is a literal dimensional advantage. Compared to the rigid spirit skill system, magic might fit me better.
After all, spirit skills are fixed patterns — not a true system. Magic, on the other hand…
Step by step, then.
Leaving his spiritual sea, he opened his eyes. The sun was already rising over the horizon.