56: Ethical drama

The screen full of question marks also indicated that this was a Saint Rank “Harvest Worm”.

“Damn it, Su Chen and Lu Chen really jinxed it; it’s actually in here,” Li Wen thought to himself.

So now, is it still not too late for him to actively withdraw?

If this was still considered part of the trial, there would be hope, but it was highly unlikely.

Li Wen made an initial attempt and surprisingly found that he could still actively withdraw.

He figured that perhaps this Hundred Transformations Worm was also a lazy bum, too lazy to even kick people out, so the trial-takers had to actively withdraw themselves.

There was another possibility: even if the fourth stage was passed, this creature might not necessarily be conscious, so to prevent trial-takers from being trapped, the function was retained.

Now that he had a way out, Li Wen could focus on how to “milk” it for benefits.

Unfortunately, after careful consideration, he couldn’t think of any connections.

It only had two super-tier Skills, and all of its attribute Skills were obtained through its trait.

Besides its appearance, there was nothing to suggest any relation to Qing Yan.

Now, he could only wait here for a while, hoping that the Hundred Transformations Worm would wake up soon.

Perhaps bored from waiting, Li Wen held the reward from the fourth stage in his hand, a mysterious seed, and played with it.

He didn’t know its species, suitable environment, or planting date.

However, feeling the Energy Value within it, he could confirm that it was a relatively rare material.

Since he still had to wait, Li Wen decided to “squeeze the time sponge” and have Yuan Wang Catalysis it on the spot, then transplant it later. As for where to plant it? He hadn't thought about it yet.

But who cared? His prize definitely couldn't be given away to others; he was certainly taking it with him.

Although this space was smaller than the outside world, the spiritual energy concentration was much higher, which greatly aided Yuan Wang’s Catalysis process.

Within mere tens of minutes, the tree began to bear fruit—five-pointed star-shaped fruits.

When these fruits appeared, not only Qing Yan but even Ya Bao couldn't suppress the stirring in their hearts; their primal instincts ignited their desires.

“Ya~”

“Stinky Li Wen, I want to eat.”

“Ying~”

“Me too, me too.”

Yuan Wang’s life form was extremely special, so it didn’t have such a strong craving.

This showed how high the seed’s rank was, capable of eliciting a desire at the life-form level, but it seemed that Ya Bao and Qing Yan were not the only ones affected.

The Hundred Transformations Worm nearby also seemed to catch the sweet scent of the fruit. Still in a dream state, its body moved slightly, coming towards the fruit tree.

As if having experienced a long dream, it appeared very hungry and, in a short amount of time, swept all the fruits from the tree clean.

After eating, this revered ancient totem finally awoke.

Seeing the one person and three beasts before him, its first reaction was: “Who are you all? Why are you in my territory?”

Because in its memory, it had never seen a human Beastmaster in this space, and it couldn't be blamed for designing the secret realm trial to be too difficult.

For a tribe’s population, the probability of simultaneously possessing talents related to Catalysis and passing the first four stages while the Hundred Transformations Worm was awake was simply too low.

So, it was very confused that this plan had been waiting for too long, so long that even the plan’s creator had forgotten its existence.

Li Wen’s mind whirred, and he decided to establish some connection first: “Respected Hundred Transformations Worm adult, I am a believer who saw you after undergoing your trial.”

After Li Wen’s reminder, it remembered that it had such a plan, but soon it detected something amiss in Li Wen’s words.

Don’t those people outside usually call me “Harvest Worm”?

Although it initially only planned to freeload here, it later witnessed the tragic sight of the local tribe suffering from crop failures due to natural disasters.

When awake, it had helped the local people several times, and the title “Harvest Worm” came from this.

Slowly, its gaze became somewhat unfriendly, and it spoke in a low voice: “Tell the truth? You’re lying.”

“Uh... actually, I contracted a young Beastmaster of your kin, and the main reason I passed the trial was to ask you some questions.”

Li Wen wasn’t afraid at all this time; even if the other party could really manifest a lie-detecting ability, it would be useless, because he genuinely believed what he said from the bottom of his heart.

He had merely hidden some thoughts of “milking” it for benefits; what elder wouldn’t give a meeting gift to their junior?

Although Li Wen’s ideals were rich, reality was stark, and the subsequent developments completely exceeded his expectations; the Hundred Transformations Worm before him was utterly stunned.

“Kin? Do I even have kin? Why don’t I know this?” it thought to itself.

Then it looked at Qing Yan on Li Wen’s shoulder, a bit confused. It really did look somewhat similar. Could it be that it truly had kin?

“Is the kin you speak of the little fellow on your shoulder? What species is it?”

Li Wen thought, “Could it be that it’s still groggy from sleep? It can’t even remember its own species.”

“Little Green Worm, do you have any impression?”

The Hundred Transformations Worm thought carefully for a long time but still couldn’t recall this species; there was no such species in its era at all.

Although it had indeed forgotten its original species, it could confirm that it was definitely not this so-called Little Green Worm.

Moreover, after reaching the Saint Rank, it had essentially become fundamentally different from its original tribe.

What’s more, it had always been a lone worm, and its concept of a tribe was very vague. Even if it were truly kin, what of it? It didn’t feel as close to them as it did to that annoying big tree.

“I’m afraid I’ve never heard of it.”

“So you might not get the information you want. You could have asked for a small favor, but this, I truly don’t know.”

“That’s impossible, Qing Yan and you have so many common points,” Li Wen said, expressing his incomprehension.

Common points? Speaking of this, the Hundred Transformations Worm became interested. In all these years, it had never seen a pet beast that shared common points with it.

Li Wen’s words were simply a fantasy in its eyes, but now that it had just received a favor, it listened patiently.

“Oh~ Do tell, what are your so-called common points?”

“The eight attributes that Qing Yan can learn and master on its evolution path perfectly match the eight abilities you display.”

“Namely, Water, Earth, Insect, Fire... Dark, Illusion.”

Upon hearing these familiar attributes, the Hundred Transformations Worm seemed to recall something and spoke hastily.

“Wait, I think I know the reason for your misunderstanding.”

“The abilities of these eight attributes have nothing to do with me, but this little fellow might have some relation to me.”

“Because those eight attributes correspond to my eight wives.”

Li Wen: ???

My goodness, a stud in the insect world!