Upon hearing Xiao Wu's painful cry, Ye Tian instinctively looked up.
To his shock, he saw that Xiao Wu's entire body seemed to be engulfed in flames—an eerie, deep blue fire radiated from her.
"It hurts so much!"
Xiao Wu's face twisted in agony, as though the flames were consuming her.
Seeing this, Ye Tian's expression turned serious. He placed his left hand on Xiao Wu's shoulder while his right hand summoned a Taiyi Divine Needle.
"Don't panic. Tell me, what's happening inside your body?"
"My… my soul power… it's all being drawn into my arm…"
The pain was so intense that Xiao Wu could barely speak coherently.
"I'll first block the meridians leading to your arm."
With a solemn expression, Ye Tian took a deep breath and swiftly wielded the Taiyi Divine Needle in his right hand.
"Ye Tian, be careful!"
At that moment, the Sea Witch stepped forward in alarm, warning him.
She had sensed the violent fluctuation of spatial energy around them.
Before Ye Tian could react—
Suddenly—
A massive suction force erupted from Xiao Wu's body.
Ye Tian instantly lost his balance.
The next moment, he felt a dizzying sensation as everything around him spun wildly.
By the time he stabilized himself, he looked around and realized that the Sea Witch and the others were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he found himself in a world filled with glowing, luminescent creatures.
Instinctively, he reached out to touch one.
The glow instantly dissipated.
"What pure soul power…" Ye Tian murmured in amazement.
"The burning sensation… it's gone."
Xiao Wu clutched her head, then raised her gaze, her eyes filled with astonishment.
"Where is this place?"
"A human and a soul beast hybrid… interesting."
A cold, emotionless female voice suddenly echoed.
Ye Tian followed the voice and saw a silver-haired girl floating mid-air ahead.
Her expression was as cold as ice, as though she had never smiled in her life.
Her indifferent gaze barely glanced at Ye Tian before settling on Xiao Wu.
"I never expected a little one like you to actually find a way in."
"N-no… it wasn't me. It was Ye Tian."
Xiao Wu instinctively took a step back.
Even though she knew that the silver-haired girl before her was a divine-level soul beast, she couldn't help but feel an innate sense of resistance.
"Oh?"
The silver-haired girl's icy gaze shifted back to Ye Tian, as if trying to see through him completely.
A chilling sensation instantly washed over Ye Tian.
This wasn't just psychological—it was a real, tangible cold.
The Silver Dragon King's power was truly terrifying.
With just a single look, she could release elemental energy.
Fortunately, the icy pressure didn't last long. The Silver Dragon King suddenly coughed violently, her body swaying in mid-air as if she might fall at any moment.
She barely managed to stabilize herself and, acting as if nothing had happened, turned away coldly.
"Follow me."
Ye Tian wasn't sure what the Silver Dragon King intended, but given her immense power, she had no reason to harm them unnecessarily.
So, he hesitated for a moment before following her.
Seeing Ye Tian move forward, Xiao Wu followed closely behind, whispering,
"What does Her Majesty the Dragon God want from us?"
Ye Tian glanced at her and reminded her in a normal tone,
"No need to whisper. She can hear everything."
In the face of true power, no small trick could escape detection.
Hearing this, Xiao Wu's face flushed with embarrassment.
She dared not ask any further, quietly walking alongside Ye Tian toward the Silver Dragon King.
After walking for about three minutes, Ye Tian noticed that this mysterious realm wasn't very large—only around three to four square miles.
Beyond that, everything was pitch black, like an eternal night.
Eventually—
The Silver Dragon King led them to a simple wooden hut entwined with tree roots.
As soon as Ye Tian stepped into the hut's vicinity, he instantly felt the overwhelming presence of life energy—several times stronger than before.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
These tree roots… they looked like the roots of the Golden Ancient Tree.
So, this realm was somehow connected to the Heart of Lake Island?
Up ahead—
The Silver Dragon King landed lightly in front of the hut.
Her face was filled with exhaustion.
Clearly, guiding them into this space had consumed a great deal of her power.
And for someone as gravely wounded as the Silver Dragon King, such a loss was nearly impossible to recover from.
Seeing this, Ye Tian began calculating in his mind.
According to the timeline, the Silver Dragon King had likely not yet captured the Skydream Iceworm—a powerful energy source.
Which meant that her current strength was severely depleted.
Even with the nourishment of life energy, she was barely surviving.
"You know why I brought you here?"
Despite her weakened state, the Silver Dragon King's voice remained sharp and commanding.
Xiao Wu quickly bowed and said, "We are but insignificant beings, unworthy of guessing Your Majesty's intentions."
Hearing the words "Dragon God," the Silver Dragon King's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She replied flatly, "Just call me Gu Yuena. And I am not the Dragon God."
The Dragon God was long dead.
She and the Golden Dragon King had merely inherited the Dragon God's power.
They were entirely new entities.
Sensing Gu Yuena's displeasure, Xiao Wu felt a suffocating pressure strike her mind.
She didn't even dare to apologize.
Gu Yuena's presence was simply too overwhelming.
Seeing Xiao Wu fall silent, Gu Yuena frowned slightly again.
Since when did soul beasts start acting with such human-like awareness?
Her cold gaze then fell upon Ye Tian.
"Human, you speak."
"My name is Ye Tian."
Ye Tian smiled lightly and corrected her.
He wasn't going to play along with her cryptic games.
With a faint chuckle, he said,
"If you already know the answer, why bother asking us?"
"Are you defying me?"
Gu Yuena's tone remained as cold as ever.
At the same time, a flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes.
This human wasn't even a soul master, yet he had helped the little rabbit find the secret realm's entrance.
And in her presence, he showed no sign of fear.
Only two kinds of people would act this way.
Either they were utterly foolish—
Or they were exceptionally intelligent.
Clearly, Ye Tian was the latter.
He must have realized that she was gravely injured and couldn't afford to use too much power.
If she killed them now, she'd have to spend an unknown number of years searching for new candidates.
Even though she understood this, a trace of barely perceptible anger surfaced on Gu Yuena's frosty face.
This boy knew exactly how to provoke her.
Gu Yuena narrowed her eyes slightly, her icy aura condensing.
"Do you really think I can't do anything to you?"
Ye Tian chuckled softly.
"Miss Gu Yuena, you must be joking. I doubt you woke up after countless years just to scold me, right?"
Hearing this—
Gu Yuena didn't respond.
She simply narrowed her eyes and stared at Ye Tian.
Ye Tian, undaunted, met her gaze head-on.
(End of Chapter)
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