9: Chapter 9 is finished! It's completely theirs now! I want to eat papaya!

"Huo Yuhao, are you sure this is really okay?"

"The... formation you made? It looks so complicated. What if something goes wrong in the middle and I just go 'bang' and explode?"

"I haven't lived for a million years yet; I still want to see more of this World..."

In the basement, Tianmeng Iceworm circled the complicated formation that Huo Yuhao had drawn on the ground using threads of Soul Power.

As she circled, she chattered incessantly in her crisp, loli-like voice, her tone filled with unease.

Huo Yuhao didn't even lift his head, continuing to focus on completing the final stroke of the formation, answering calmly, "It won't. You won't die, and I won't let you die."

He stood up, brushed the dust off his hands, and looking at the near-perfect formation before him, explained to Tianmeng Iceworm, "I call it a 'Spirit Contract', a brand new, equal soul contract."

"Spirit Contract?" Tianmeng Iceworm tilted her massive head, looking completely bewildered.

"Yes."

Huo Yuhao nodded, "Traditional Spirit Master hunting of Spirit Beast is a form of plunder. The Spirit Beast dies, and the Spirit Master gains a spirit ring and Spirit Bone. But our contract is different; we are symbiosis, we are coexistence."

He extended a finger and tapped it on Tianmeng Iceworm's cold, smooth body.

"After signing the contract, you won't need to die. Your soul will reside in my Spiritual Sea in the form of a special energy entity. You can retain your complete consciousness and the ability to think independently, and you can even continue to cultivate."

Tianmeng Iceworm's large golden eyes suddenly lit up, "Really? I can still continue to cultivate?"

"Not only can you, but it will be faster than cultivating on your own."

Huo Yuhao continued, "We will share our growth rate. Furthermore, all your injuries, including the fundamental trauma left behind when you underwent the heavenly tribulation, will be healed by the power of the contract. Most importantly, if I die, you won't perish along with me; the contract will automatically dissolve, and you will simply lose a host."

These words completely overturned Tianmeng Iceworm's understanding from the past million years.

She had originally thought that becoming a sentient spirit ring was her only ending, and that death was inevitable.

The only difference was whether she would be drained dry by those bastards in the Great Fierce Lands, or if she would benefit this little boy in front of her who looked pleasing to the eye.

But now, Huo Yuhao told her there was a third path.

A path she had never heard of, yet one full of temptation.

"You... why would you do this?" Tianmeng Iceworm couldn't help but ask, "Wouldn't it be simpler to just kill me?"

"Because I believe that life shouldn't be so simply defined as plundering and being plundered."

Huo Yuhao looked at her, his eyes calm and profound, "Besides, a living million-year Spirit Beast is far more valuable than a dead million-year spirit ring."

Tianmeng Iceworm fell silent.

She looked at the boy before her; he was clearly so weak, yet his eyes seemed to hide a starry sky even more vast than the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Alright!"

She finally made up her mind, her massive body wriggling forward until it was almost touching Huo Yuhao's feet, "I trust you! I'm handing over the rest of my life... no, the rest of my worm-life to you! Come on! Huo Yuhao!"

Huo Yuhao smiled and said no more.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the formation and said to Tianmeng Iceworm, "Go to the opposite side of the formation, let's begin."

Tianmeng Iceworm obeyed, lying down obediently opposite Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, formed seals with his hands, and gently pressed his palms onto the very center of Tianmeng Iceworm's massive forehead.

His Mental Energy flowed in slowly like a gentle stream.

The moment they made contact, Tianmeng Iceworm's whole body shuddered violently!

What did she feel?

This Mental Energy... Pure! Vast! Warm! Majestic!

That was simply not something a six or seven-year-old child could possess!

The intensity of this Mental Energy was even more terrifying than some human Titled Douluo she had seen!

This... this was at least Spirit Douluo-level Mental Energy!

What kind of monster is this kid?!

Before she could recover from her shock, the formation on the ground was activated.

"Hum"

Threads of golden Soul Power lit up, forming an incredibly profound three-dimensional pattern, enveloping Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng Iceworm within it.

A golden band of light, composed of pure energy, extended from between Huo Yuhao's eyebrows and connected to Tianmeng Iceworm's forehead.

Tianmeng Iceworm felt her soul being drawn by an irresistible yet incredibly gentle force.

Her body, that massive, white jade-like worm body, began to become transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then transformed into billions of shining points of light.

These points of light did not dissipate, but instead formed a brilliant torrent, flowing continuously into Huo Yuhao's body along that golden band.

At the same time, an unprecedented spirit ring slowly emerged outside Huo Yuhao's body.

It was not white, not yellow, not purple, and not black.

It was... brilliant gold!

A gold as dazzling as the sun!

On the spirit ring, nine barely perceptible dark golden patterns emerged, exuding a supreme majesty that looked down upon the World and surveyed all living beings.

Million-year spirit ring!

Contract, complete!

...

Spiritual Sea.

When Tianmeng Iceworm regained consciousness, she realized she was no longer in that dark basement.

She was now "her".

She looked down at her own hands, fair and slender, then touched her face, smooth and delicate.

She had turned into the appearance of a human girl.

"Wow! I've become human! I've really become human!"

She excitedly spun around in place, her soft, white-gold hair dancing along with her.

She looked to be about eighteen years old, with a cute baby face, and two shallow dimples when she smiled, as radiant as sunshine.

However, when she looked down at her unremarkable chest, her radiant smile froze for a moment, and then she pouted with some inferiority.

"Why is it so small..."

She muttered to herself, "No, no, I have to make Huo Yuhao get me more papaya to eat in the future! I am a million-year Spirit Beast, I can't lose face!"

She quickly cast this little annoyance to the back of her mind and began to curiously examine this brand new World.

"Wow! Is this Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea? It's so big! It's practically bigger than the entire Star Dou Great Forest!"

There were no boundaries here; overhead was a brilliant galaxy, beneath her feet was a calm, waveless water surface, and in the distance, there was a golden tower radiating a sacred glow.

Just as she was marveling, an old and majestic voice drifted slowly from the depths of the Spiritual Sea.

"Hmph, another noisy fellow, and a big worm at that."

Tianmeng was startled, jumping up suddenly like a frightened cat.

"Eh? There's someone else here? Who? Who's talking? Come out!" She stood with her hands on her hips, shouting at the empty Spiritual Sea.

A translucent figure composed of gray light slowly appeared before her.

His hair and beard were all white, he wore a simple gray robe, and his eyes were profound, carrying a scrutinizing air.

Tianmeng looked at him and blinked; far from being afraid, she curiously leaned in: "Wow, grandpa, are you the native resident here? Who are you?"

The old man was none other than Electrolux.

He looked at this chattering big worm before him, who had no sense of awe, and frowned slightly.

"This old man is the Necromancer, Electrolux."

"Necromancer? Wow! What a cool name!"

Little stars appeared in Tianmeng's eyes, "My name is Tianmeng! The 'Tian' from Ice Sky Snow Lady, the 'Meng' from dreams coming true! From now on, we're neighbors! Please take care of me, Grandpa Electrolux!"

Electrolux: "..."

He felt a bit of a headache.

In all his years, this was the first time he had encountered such an... eccentric creature.

...

In the basement, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes.

Feeling the unprecedented, massive power within his body, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

A diamond-shaped mark like an ice crystal flashed and vanished between his eyebrows; that was the million-year head Spirit Bone formed after Tianmeng Iceworm sacrificed herself.

[Million-year Wisdom Skull]

Comes with three Spirit Bone abilities:

1. [Mental Immunity] (Passive): Can automatically exempt one Mental Energy attribute attack below god-level per day.

2. [Mental Healing] (Active): Consumes Soul Power to rapidly recover Mental Energy trauma for oneself or others.

3. [Sister Tianmeng Domain] (Active): Releases a Mental Energy field to conduct mental interference and suppression on enemies within the Domain. Enemies with Mental Energy less than half of the caster's will fall directly into a deep illusion, leading to mental collapse.

At the same time, he also obtained his first and second Spirit Ability.

First Spirit Ability: [Spiritual Detection Sharing]

Effect: With oneself as the center, releases invisible Mental Energy to conduct omnidirectional, three-dimensional detection, with a range of up to a five-hundred-meter radius.

Detection results can be mentally shared among multiple people. The range expands as the Soul Power level increases.

Second Spirit Ability: [Mental Interference]

Effect: Locks onto single or group targets, utilizing powerful Mental Energy impact to directly interfere with the Soul Power circulation within the opponent, causing Spirit Ability release delays, interruptions, or even failure.

The harvest far exceeded expectations.

...

At dinnertime, there was one more person at the small villa's dining table.

Tianmeng, in her human form, sat generously beside Huo Yuhao.

She was curious about everything, poking Tang Ya's braid one moment, and pinching Gu Yuena's sleeve hem the next.

"Huo Yuhao~ The grilled fish you made is so delicious!" She praised, speaking indistinctly while stuffing fish meat into her mouth.

"Huo Yuhao~ I think this Spirit Contract can still be improved. Look, if we add a spiral pressure-boosting structure during energy conversion..." She suddenly started discussing the technical details of the Spirit Contract earnestly.

"Wait, no, you're so amazing! You could even come up with this kind of idea!" Before Huo Yuhao could answer, she overturned her own words, looking at him with eyes full of admiration.

Huo Yuhao was driven crazy by her noise.

"Sister Tianmeng, can you finish your meal quietly first?"

"No!"

Tianmeng straightened her chest, which had nothing much to show, with righteous indignation, "I haven't really talked to anyone for over a million years! I was almost suffocated! Let me tell you, that black-faced god Di Tian even wanted to pursue me back then..."

She was talking with great enthusiasm when she suddenly felt an icy gaze land on her.

She turned her head and met Gu Yuena's indifferent purple eyes.

Tianmeng's voice came to an abrupt halt, her whole body subconsciously shrinking her neck, and the arrogant aura on her face vanished without a trace in an instant.

That feeling was like a mouse seeing a cat; it was a fear and submission stemming from the depths of her bloodline.

"Th-that... Big Sister, do you want more grilled fish? I... I'll get it for you!"

She immediately transformed from a chatterbox girl into an obedient and sensible little maid, trotting off to get freshly grilled fish for Gu Yuena.

Gu Yuena gave a faint "Hmm" and withdrew her gaze.

Huo Yuhao sat to the side, covering his forehead with a bitter smile.

This creature feared nothing in heaven or earth, daring to tease even Teacher Electrolux, so why was she so scared to death of Gu Yuena?

...

The night was deep.

Huo Yuhao lay in his bed, preparing to sleep.

With a "creak", the door was pushed open.

Gu Yuena, wearing her silver nightgown, walked in expressionlessly, lifted the blanket, and skillfully lay down on his left side.

Then, she reached out and placed her hand on his waist, pulling him into her embrace.

Huo Yuhao was already used to it.

However, before he could close his eyes, the door was pushed open again.

Tianmeng, wearing a small-sized pajama of Huo Yuhao's that she had dug out from who knows where, rushed in with an excited face.

"Huo Yuhao! Sleeping alone is so boring! I'll accompany you!"

After saying that, she pounced directly onto the bed like an octopus and lay down on Huo Yuhao's right side.

Then, she happily extended her leg and wrapped it around his leg.

"I also want to sleep while hugging Huo Yuhao~" She rubbed her cheek against Huo Yuhao's arm, acting coquettishly.

Huo Yuhao was sandwiched between the two girls, his body instantly stiffening, not daring to move a muscle.

On the left was Gu Yuena's ice-muscle and jade-bone-like body, carrying a trace of cool, faint fragrance.

On the right was Tianmeng's soft and warm body, carrying a lively, girlish scent.

He could clearly feel that the hand Gu Yuena had placed on his waist seemed to... tighten a bit.

Huo Yuhao felt like crying but had no tears.

It's over, I've completely become the property of these two grand-aunts...

From his Spiritual Sea came Electrolux's suppressed, gloating chuckle.

[Hehehe... young man, enjoy yourself.]