At the exact same instant that Xu Tianhao was feeling wild joy in his heart, Kong Deming, standing beside him, suddenly had his gaze sharpen.
Kong Deming's entire aura instantly became incredibly sharp, like a drawn sword revealing its keen edge.
A silver light flickered in the void; it was precisely Kong Deming's lifebound spirit tool: the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield.
Kong Deming's eyes, which had weathered many storms, swept across the surrounding void. His voice was cold as he barked in a deep tone:
"What kind of thing is hiding its head and showing its tail? Get out here!"
With Kong Deming's strength, his perception was keen to the extreme.
The moment the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's massive mental force was revealed to engage in mental communication with Xu Tianhao, it was clearly captured by Kong Deming.
Although Kong Deming could not yet completely lock onto its specific location because the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm was deliberately concealing its form,
he had accurately discovered the traces of this special existence hidden in the shadows, and his heart was instantly raised to the highest level of vigilance.
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm also understood that its aura had already been sensed by Kong Deming, and there was no longer any point in continuing to hide.
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm simply stopped concealing itself, and that flamboyant voice rang out in the void once more, carrying a hint of dissatisfaction and pride:
"Hmph, Brother is not some 'thing'!"
"Brother is the incarnation of heroism and righteousness, the King of Kings among Spirit Beasts where wisdom and beauty coexist, a peerless powerhouse who has cultivated for a million years and created the record for the longest lifespan of any Spirit Beast on the entire Douluo Continent, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm! Hmm... if you find that troublesome, you can also affectionately call me Brother Tianmeng!"
As these self-praising words, filled with a chuunibyou flair, fell, the last trace of doubt in Xu Tianhao's heart completely vanished.
He was one hundred percent certain of the other party's identity: it was indeed that million-year-old chuunibyou big bug—the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
After hearing these words, however, an extremely strange expression appeared on Kong Deming's face.
His brows furrowed tightly as he muttered to himself, his tone filled with disbelief: "A million-year Spirit Beast? The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?"
Even though Kong Deming had lived for over a hundred years, was well-traveled, and had experiences that were rich to the extreme—having seen countless rare Spirit Beasts and top powerhouses—
he was still stunned upon hearing the words 'million-year Spirit Beast'.
He knew very well in his heart that even the Beast God Di Tian, who currently ruled the Star Dou Great Forest and was known as the Co-Lord of Spirit Beasts, only had a cultivation of over eight hundred thousand years.
That was already the ceiling among the existing Spirit Beasts on the Douluo Continent, with strength so powerful that human Spirit Masters simply could not contend with it.
That Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King with over eight hundred thousand years of cultivation already possessed world-destroying power.
Then to what terrifying level would the strength of this Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, who had lived for a million years, reach?
Furthermore, the habitat of the Ice Silkworm clan should clearly be in the distant Extreme North; they were a unique, trash-tier Spirit Beast of the Far North Ice Plains.
Why would this Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly appear in the Star Dou Great Forest?
And even have a million-year cultivation?
Countless questions churned in Kong Deming's mind; he knew almost nothing about the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
An unknown existence, a cultivation far beyond his understanding, a bizarre location of appearance...
All of this caused the vigilance in Kong Deming's heart to climb to the peak, maintaining the utmost malice and wariness toward the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
In his view, regardless of whether this entity was truly a million-year Spirit Beast, and regardless of whether it was a real thing or just playing tricks,
as long as it showed the slightest intention of harming Xu Tianhao, Kong Deming would not hesitate to erupt with his full strength and go all out.
Even if he had to risk his life, he would protect Xu Tianhao's safety.
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm saw all of Kong Deming's wariness and cold hostility, and instantly understood the concerns of this human powerhouse.
It also knew that if it continued to act in such an exaggerated and pretentious manner, it would likely only draw even stronger vigilance from the other party.
It might even directly trigger a conflict, which was not the result it wanted.
Thus, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm quickly reined in its flamboyant tone and hurriedly spoke to explain:
"Please don't misunderstand. My appearance this time carries no malice whatsoever, and I'm certainly not here to cause trouble. I'm here to invest!"
As it spoke, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm seemed to feel that explaining with words alone was too slow and would make it difficult for Kong Deming to fully believe it.
At that moment, it no longer hesitated and directly activated its massive mental force, transmitting all the information it wanted to express into the minds of Kong Deming and Xu Tianhao via pure mental transmission.
This method of mental information transmission only conveyed pre-organized words and information; it would not cause any impact on the recipient's sea of consciousness and carried no danger, making it an absolutely safe way to communicate.
Kong Deming keenly perceived this and understood that the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm indeed had no intention of attacking at the moment. Only then did he not step in to stop it, quietly receiving the information flooding into his mind.
A moment later, when all the information transmitted by the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had been thoroughly received and understood by Kong Deming,
this well-traveled veteran powerhouse could not help but show a face full of shock. His pupils contracted slightly, and a storm of waves rose in his heart.
A Million-Year Intelligent Spirit Ring?
What kind of concept was that?
A Spirit Beast turning into a spirit ring was originally the only path for a Spirit Master to break through their cultivation.
But there had never been any Spirit Beast that could retain its intelligence after death, let alone actively turn into a spirit ring to coexist with a host.
The Million-Year Intelligent Spirit Ring the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm spoke of simply overturned Kong Deming's century of knowledge and exceeded all his understanding of the Spirit Master system.
Could this be the great opportunity that Xu Tianhao had sensed in the dark earlier?
Even though the information was clearly presented in his mind, Kong Deming still did not dare to fully believe it.
He still held a strong attitude of skepticism.
After all, this matter was too incredible and too far beyond common sense; he could not afford not to be cautious.
But on the side, Xu Tianhao knew everything about the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm like the back of his hand.
He was clear about its demands, its abilities, and all its subsequent plans.
Therefore, Xu Tianhao did not have the slightest hesitation, nor did he say any redundant nonsense.
Since the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had taken the initiative to appear, cooperation with it was already a natural progression.
Xu Tianhao looked calmly toward the direction in the void where the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's mental force was coming from and spoke:
"In that case, why don't you show yourself so we can see what you look like with our own eyes?"
"Fine, fine, since you've put it that way, Brother has to show you my sincerity and let you know that Brother isn't just talking empty talk!"
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's signature chuunibyou voice rang out again with a hint of pride, clearly very satisfied with Xu Tianhao's frankness.