The Million-Year Pact and the Uninvited Guest
The Star Dou Great Forest was a world apart. Ancient trees formed a cathedral ceiling so thick it dimmed the sun to a perpetual twilight. The air hummed with vitality—the smell of damp earth, decaying leaves, and something sharper, wilder: the aura of Spirit Beasts. To Huo Yuhao's newly awakened Spirit Eyes, the forest wasn't just shadows and light; it was a tapestry of spiritual energy. He could see the faint, pulsing glow of a century-old vine, the skittering, nervous energy of a rodent-like beast hiding under roots.
He moved with a caution born of necessity and guided by instinct. The "First Level" of the Sun Moon Star Technique—the power of reduction—hummed quietly within his soul, a dormant tool. His immediate goal was simple: find a suitable Spirit Beast for his first Spirit Ring. He knew from fragmented knowledge that for his Spirit Eyes, a spiritual or intelligent-type beast was ideal. But as he ventured deeper, a more profound, wordless pull began to guide him. It felt like a deep, rhythmic pulse in sync with the tick-tock of the Divine Golden Clock in his dreams, leading him off the known game trails.
The Wind Baboon's Lesson
His first true test came as a rustle in the canopy and a flash of malice. A creature with grey fur and vicious, intelligent eyes dropped before him—a Wind Baboon. Its spiritual aura was weak, perhaps only a few decades old, but its speed and aggression were immediate threats.
Huo Yuhao's body, tempered by hardship but not yet by true power, was too slow to dodge completely. The Baboon's claw raked his arm, drawing blood. Pain, sharp and clear, focused his mind. Anger wasn't the primary emotion; it was a cold, calculating survival instinct. As the baboon lunged again, he didn't just see its movement; his Spirit Eyes predicted its trajectory, the flow of energy in its muscles.
He drew the Carving Knife. It felt strangely warm in his grip, as if acknowledging the danger. He didn't attack head-on. Instead, he sidestepped at the last possible moment, and as the baboon passed, he willed the "First Level" technique not towards the beast, but towards a handful of dry leaves and dust on the forest floor where the baboon would land.
A wisp of spiritual energy, tinged with a colorless, destructive intent, left his hand. The patch of ground didn't explode; it dissolved. The top layer of soil, leaves, and twigs silently turned into a fine, unstable ash. The Wind Baboon landed, and its foot sank into the suddenly powder-like earth, throwing it off balance.
In that moment of imbalance, Huo Yuhao moved. He didn't stab. He placed the Carving Knife in the path of the baboon's stumbling lunge. The moment the beast's own momentum drove it against the blade, the knife reacted. Runes along its white tiger pattern glowed, and a white energy—the Baboon's own kinetic force—was sucked into the blade. An instant later, Huo Yuhao felt the knife grow hot and instinctively pointed it away. A concussive blast of white energy shot out, striking the baboon square in the chest and hurling it against a tree. It fell, motionless, a dim white Spirit Ring beginning to coalesce above it.
Huo Yuhao panted, examining the knife. The "Devour" ability had activated instinctively. This was not a tool; it was a treasure. He left the ten-year Spirit Ring untouched. It was pitifully weak. The deep, rhythmic pull in his soul demanded something far greater.
The Voice in the Earth
He followed the pull to a small, icy clearing where the air was unnaturally cold. The ground suddenly cracked at his feet. Before he could react, a colossal, jade-white form erupted—a silkworm of impossible size, radiating pure mental energy and cold.
"DO NOT BE AFRAID!" The voice boomed directly in his Soul Sea, shaking the calm ocean. "I am the one and only, the magnificent, the unparalleled Heavenly Dream Iceworm! A million-year Spirit Beast! You can call me Brother Heavenly Dream!"
Huo Yuhao stared, his Spirit Eyes seeing not just a giant beast, but a terrifyingly vast, dense, and desperate ocean of spiritual power. This being could shatter his mind with a thought. Yet, its energy felt… trapped, weary.
"You… you are perfect," the Iceworm's voice turned eager, pleading. "A pure Spiritual Attribute host! Little one, I want to make a deal. Become my vessel! Let me become your Wisdom Spirit Ring!"
The Iceworm spoke rapidly of its plan—the God-Making Project. It would sacrifice its immense form, becoming an intelligent Spirit Ring, a partner sharing Huo Yuhao's body. In return, it would grant him four Spirit Skills from the first ring, boost his cultivation, and eventually help him gain a second, ice-attribute Martial Soul.
Huo Yuhao listened, his innate distrust warring with logical desperation. This was the opportunity that aligned with the pull he felt. But the name "God-Making" sent a chill down his spine, an echo of a warning he couldn't remember. "Why me? And what's the catch?"
"The catch is, we share a fate! You die, I fade!" the Iceworm declared. "And you have… something. A warmth, a foundational power in your soul that is incredibly stable. It can anchor me, allow me to transfer more of my power without breaking you! It is our destiny!"
The Iceworm was sensing the foundational stability provided by the Black Book, the serene depth of the Soul Sea it created.
Huo Yuhao made his decision. He needed power. Now. "What do I do?"
"Just accept me! It will… itch a little."
The Fusion and the Gray Shadow
What followed was not an itch. It was an invasion of sublime power.
The Heavenly Dream Iceworm dissolved into a river of liquid gold and white light, pouring into Huo Yuhao's forehead. His Soul Sea, already vast, roared as a tsunami of pure spiritual energy flooded it. Ten golden halos—symbolizing the Iceworm's million-year cultivation—smashed into the sea, threatening to overflow its banks. The stabilizing power of the Black Book's presence activated, forming invisible levees, containing the deluge.
Inside his mind, a miniature, translucent form of the Iceworm took shape, looking around the astonishingly spacious and deep azure Soul Sea with awe. "So vast! And what is that?!" It stared at the distant, dark silhouette of the Black Book, a shape that refused to be perceived clearly, instilling a primal reverence.
Outside, Huo Yuhao's body convulsed. His meridians burned as the icy-hot energy coursed through them. The Divine Golden Clock within his soul chimed, its rhythm working to regulate the flow, to synchronize the foreign power with his own. In the deepest vault of his inheritance, one of the treasures reacted—a strand of Life Gold, a divine item of pure life force collected by the future God-King. A fraction of its energy seeped out, repairing the microscopic tears in his body as the immense power reshaped him.
Just as the fusion reached its peak, when the sky above the Star Dou Forest darkened with unnatural clouds, a third force intervened.
A tendril of gray mist, intangible and ancient, shot down from the turbulent sky. It carried a whisper of endless time and forgotten magic. "Holding the sun and moon in my hands, plucking stars from the sky, there is no one like me in this world… To think a wisp of my broken divine sense remains…"
The gray mist bypassed all defenses and slipped into Huo Yuhao's Soul Sea alongside the flood of Iceworm energy.
The Heavenly Dream Iceworm' new spirit form shrieked in alarm. "Who dares?! Another one?!"
The gray mist coalesced into the weathered, wise visage of an old man—Electrolux, the Necromancer Holy Magic God, a remnant soul clinging to existence. He observed the fusion with academic interest. "A million-year Spirit Beast performing a soul sacrifice to a human… and such a quantity of Life Gold as a foundation? Fascinating. Do not panic, large insect. I am not here to hinder you. In fact…"
Electrolux extended a wisp of his gray power. With incredible finesse, he helped guide the raging spiritual tsunami, weaving it more neatly into the fabric of Huo Yuhao's soul and the waiting structure of the Spirit Ring. He eased the burden on the Iceworm, allowing the fusion to be smoother, more complete.
"…I am here to ensure your mutual success. This one's soul is of… peculiar interest."
Awakening
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, he was lying on the cold ground. The forest was silent. He felt… different. Overflowing. In his Soul Sea, two presences now resided: a chubby, translucent Iceworm bubbling with excited chatter, and a serene, gray sphere of mist floating at a respectful distance.
His body thrummed with power. With a thought, a Spirit Ring rose from his feet—not white, yellow, purple, or black, but a revolutionary, dazzling golden-red. The million-year Spirit Ring. And the knowledge of four Spirit Skills was etched into his mind: Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing, Spiritual Interference, and Spiritual Invasion.
Brother Heavenly Dream's voice, now a constant cheerful presence, echoed. "Hahaha! Success! We are one now, little brother Huo! Oh, and we have a mysterious guest. He seems strong. And helpful."
A calm, ancient voice followed. "You may call me Elder Electrolux. I am but a remnant. Your fusion attracted me. I shall reside here, if you permit it."
Huo Yuhao sat up, feeling the phenomenal spiritual power at his command. He looked at his hands, then towards the deepest parts of the forest. The first step was taken. He was no longer just a runaway. He was a Spirit Master with a secret older than empires in his soul, two ancient beings in his mind, and a destiny he was now armed to challenge.
The first phase of the God-Making Project had begun. But the project's architect, Tang San, gazing down from the Divine Realm, felt a sudden, inexplicable shudder in the threads of fate he had so carefully laid for the boy named Huo Yuhao. A golden-red light, faint but defiant, had flickered into existence on his divine radar, where only a weak white spark should have been.
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