"Such a huge cavern! The creature residing here must be enormous. But how strange…" Tian Lin marveled at the cavern's size but quickly noticed how eerily quiet the place was.
Ever since he had entered the depths of the Star Dou Forest, ten-thousand-year soul beasts were everywhere. Yet, as he approached this area, not a single one was in sight.
"Hey, kid, don't just stand there gawking at the entrance. Hurry up and come inside!" An urgent voice called to him.
Tian Lin stepped into the cavern, and what he saw inside shocked him even more. The entire interior was golden, glittering with gold everywhere. No wonder the entrance had radiated a golden glow.
When he ventured further in, Tian Lin finally saw the source of the voice—a massive, snow-white silkworm-like creature. Its body was marked with nine golden patterns, exuding an air of nobility and grandeur. However, it seemed to be sealed within a transparent yellow crystal.
"Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm… so it is you."
Tian Lin recognized the creature. Its true name was the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, but it had chosen that name only after surpassing a million years of cultivation. For now, it was simply known as the Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm.
"You know me? Does that mean I'm famous not only among soul beasts but also among you humans? Oh no, I'm doomed!" The Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm wailed in despair. It was one of the soul beasts closest to reaching a million years of cultivation. If humans found out about its existence, they would spare no effort to hunt it down.
That would be far worse than falling into the claws of another soul beast. At least other soul beasts would let it live, treating it as nothing more than a power bank or a cultivation booster.
"Stop wailing. Don't worry. Aside from me, no other humans know about you." Tian Lin interrupted its cries. After all, on this continent, only two transmigrators existed, and of those, only he had read the Douluo Dalu series.
No wonder the silkworm's tone felt oddly familiar to him. He hadn't heard its voice before but had read about it in the original text.
"Phew, that's a relief. You scared me to death. But since you recognize me, that confirms it—you must be the one who saved me back then! Although I don't know why you've transformed from a pearl and a sword into a human, could you do a good deed and save me again?" The Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm pleaded pitifully.
Tian Lin caught a few key terms in its words: "pearl," "sword," and "saved again." Could it be that his martial souls had once saved this creature?
"Are the sword and pearl you mentioned these two?" He raised his hands, and the Demon Sword and Holy Spirit Pearl materialized in his palms.
"Yes, yes, those are the ones! So they've become your martial souls. It's a pity, though. There used to be more than just one sword and one pearl. If the others hadn't been taken, you'd undoubtedly be the strongest existence in history. In my tens of thousands of years, I've never seen artifacts as powerful as those." The Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm sighed deeply.
Hearing this, Tian Lin stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You said 'the others'... It seems something happened twelve years ago that I'm unaware of. There's a rumor about a meteor crashing into the depths of the Star Dou Forest twelve years ago. The crash site was probably the Lake of Life, wasn't it?"
"That's right, the Lake of Life. Back then, I was in a bad spot. The other soul beasts treated me like a resource, constantly draining my soul power for their cultivation. It was heartbreaking and pitiful. But just as I was about to give up, two beams of light suddenly fell into the center of the Lake of Life. Their immense power shattered the space around them, injuring all the fierce beasts. I took the opportunity to use my mental strength to repel Bi Ji, one of the less combat-oriented beasts, and fled in her direction." The Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm recalled.
"By the way, it wasn't a meteor at all. It was one black and one white beam of light colliding. When they fell into the Lake of Life, the black light disappeared, while the white light revealed itself to be two swords and six pearls."
"What?! Two swords and six pearls? Tell me, what did the other pearls and sword look like?" Tian Lin asked excitedly.
He had a hunch that the Demon Sword and Holy Spirit Pearl weren't the only ones that had accompanied him to the Douluo Continent.
"The other five pearls contained the elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and lightning. Such powerful treasures naturally sparked fierce competition among soul beasts. For instance, the Scarlet King nearly fought to the death with other beasts just to claim the fire-element pearl."
"So they're the Five Element Pearls. What about the sword? What did it look like?"
"It had a green hilt and a silver blade!" The Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm responded without hesitation. "Speaking of that sword, I owe it the most gratitude. Among the beasts, there was one called the Myriad Demon. Its attribute was darkness, so it didn't care about the pearls and instead tried to capture me."
"But just as it was about to catch me, its aura triggered the divine sword. The sword's divine energy alone suppressed it completely. If the sword had a master back then, killing that Myriad Demon would've been a piece of cake."
The silkworm's tone was full of regret, but Tian Lin was overjoyed. "The Reflecting Divine Sword! It must be it. This sword has absolute power over demonic and evil forces. Amazing! Do you know where the other pearls and swords are now?"
"I only know they ended up in the hands of the fierce beasts. I'm not sure exactly who has them. Back then, the competition for the treasures led to infighting among the beasts. In his rage, Di Tian unleashed a powerful attack that scattered the two swords and pearls. One sword and five pearls were taken by the beasts, while the other sword and one pearl must have transformed into your martial souls upon your birth."
As the Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm recounted the events from twelve years ago, Tian Lin realized he had gained a new mission. No matter how much effort it took, he was determined to retrieve the remaining sword and five pearls from the beasts.
"What concerns me even more isn't the swords or pearls, but the black light that suddenly disappeared. From that light, I felt an unprecedented darkness and malevolence. Compared to it, Di Tian and the Myriad Demon, both dark-attributed, were like crows compared to a phoenix. Do you have any idea what that black light was?" The silkworm asked.
Tian Lin shook his head. He had no clue about the mysterious black light the silkworm mentioned. There were still many truths waiting for him to uncover.
"By the way, didn't you escape? How did you end up here again?" Tian Lin asked curiously.
"Well… it's like this. Among the fierce beasts, besides the Myriad Demon, there was another beast whose attributes didn't match the pearls. It's called the Bear Lord, with a true form of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, and its attribute is metal. After the sword suppressed the Myriad Demon, the Bear Lord avoided the sword and chased after me from another direction."
"That selfish creature didn't plan to share me with the other beasts. After capturing me, it secretly sealed me in this cavern, turning me into a personal cultivation tool for itself and its sworn brother." The Golden-Patterned Ice Silkworm explained awkwardly. Escaping only to be recaptured—what a humiliating fate for a nearly million-year-old soul beast.
"That makes sense. No wonder there aren't any other soul beasts nearby. This is the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's territory." Tian Lin nodded, then suddenly thought of something. "Wait, doesn't that mean the Bear Lord could return at any moment?"
"Yep. I just sensed it. It should be reaching the entrance about now." The silkworm calmly replied.
At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the cavern. It sounded like two massive soul beasts. Tian Lin broke into a cold sweat. One of them was the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. This time, he had truly been dragged into trouble by the giant silkworm!